Heights of great achievement.
Reply no.30 - perfection comes from there.

That is one of the nicest, heart touching things that anyone has EVER said. God bless you Dharmik.

 

After months of waiting, maidened her yesterday with disastrous results at an uncharted pond. She proved to be a beautiful ripper on the first two runs. Bow rising menacingly from the water at half throttle. At three fourth throttle she was almost trying to get airborne. I became overconfident and took her to the extreme end of the pond and turned her around for a high speed approach and pass. Midway down, she ran afoul of some underwater weeds and remained stuck despite all efforts to free her. One of the local urchins jumped in and forcibly ripped her out. One prop destroyed. Then as he swam with her, he dropped her nose first into the water and she sank with a fully charged LiPo. She bobbed back to the surface however, and I was able to disconnect the battery. Some of the extra detailing has been destroyed. It's back to the build again.

As far as performance is concerned, I couldn't have built a better Torpedo Boat. Pity that even though I had a camera at hand, I wasn't able to capture the action.

Lesson learnt: Don't ever sail a boat in a water that is unknown and make sure you have a rescue system ready before you sail.

First proper run of the PT 109. Lower your speaker volume at 53 seconds - the speed picks up and so does the music!

Lucky to have found this particular soundtrack dedicated to the PT 109!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTO7AG59mxQ&feature=youtu.be

First of all sir, superb soundtrack... very fun to listen oldie goldie Jimmy Dean's work... Already downloading Youtube track..

The craft is also stable and the abrupt turning is eye-catching... Could you explain how you achieved so sharp turns....?

Thanks Adi, I could attempt to give you a technical/lengthy explanation, but I would rather be honest - NO IDEA!

Jokes apart, I guess the hull shape and the twin motors/props/rudders did the trick along with the correct CG and balance. I deliberately made the craft sit low in the water to achieve the correct profile, however, water seepage through the rudder tubes proved to be a problem. Ripped the whole thing apart and remodelled it.

The boat looks really stable and quick. The turns are amazing. I really agree to Adi..that there must be any principle to achieve this which we don't know to be exact. Anyways VC sir...Its great for me to come back on the forum starting from your thread. You are an artist....and...I like to read and see your work. There are some people on our forum who really make RCI a wonderful place to read and learn anything from water to air. And you are one of them....

Thanks.
Cheers.

Perhaps there is IS a secret behind her manoeuvrability. My Mother spent hours working on the hull - sanding, patching, M Sealing, sanding. She knew what this boat meant to me. She was my biggest supporter/fan. She left me forever, without any warning, suddenly on 24/11.

Perhaps, she is guiding the PT 109 through its fast turns and manoeuvres. I am just the the TX operator. I won't/can't claim any credit for the stability or performance of this boat.

I'm sorry but I didn't intend to share my grief in public here. However, here it is. I miss her so very much, and I can't get over this now, and probably, never will.

I guess it is OK to share this with the members on this forum. She knew what www.rcindia.org meant to me as I would update her with all relevant details posted on the forum every evening and she would absorb all of it. In fact, she shot my first Hovercraft video, running after it on its maiden run with the digi cam. Sweetheart Ma.

Band of Brothers.................I would request you NOT to comment on her demise with condolence messages or R.I.P. messages. Just let it be. Let her rest.

Comments on the boat and her performance are welcome. Let's leave it at that.

The boat is beautiful; an endeavour of love that shows. Something lives on, and always will

Beautifully done, flawlessly detailed. An excellent piece of craftsmanship! 

Thank you my friend, do I have your permission to post pictures of your beauty bi plane (Pitts Special) or do you want to unveil her yourself?

Lots to learn from you VC Bhaiya. Impeccable!!

Chota Bhai, I am going to start working on my Schnellboot all over again. I need to get back to my normal life asap. Wish me luck.

Looking forward to it. Best of Luck!

Thanks Chotu. It is the detailing and the scale accuracy which is of paramount importance to me. I don't want to build a high speed craft with inaccurate scales and ratio/measurements in 4 days. I would rather attempt to maintain scale accuracy (afap) and will take my time over this.

high speed stuff there VC, beauty

Danke and welcome back Gusty! You were missed.................

VC sir, Now this is COOOL! 

VC sir, I tried building this boat in my dreams, i couldnt.....I can only assemble n programme helis..

But building a boat from scratch is something exceptional which u did..Hats off.

Doctor, thank you for the kind words  . Scratch building is often portrayed in an exalted manner by some modellers. It is not all that difficult as one can be a little lenient as far as design and dimensions are concerned. We don't have to stick to the "exactness" of a plan. However, scratch building a model to scale and keeping it as close to the prescribed dimensions of the real thing is a different ball game. If one attempts to add to it realistic scale detailing and markings then he is asking for sleepless nights, especially while residing in a non metropolitan city/town in India. I spent a week fruitlessly searching for someone to paint the '109' to scale on the gun turrets and then decided to have stickers cut out - and they are NOT to scale.

This baby was a real experience after the hovercraft builds. Whew!

you always inspire me VC sir !!!!
infact you are the inspiration behind my first project on which i am working on....

Just went through this post again. Amazing!

As Severus Snape said to Lord Voldemort, "My Lord, you have performed extraordinary magic"

"There was a lot more to magic, as Harry quickly found out, than waving your wand and saying a few funny words."