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WSM Smoked Turkey And Salmon Superbowl Sunday

2010-02-08T10:04:00.000-08:00

For Superbowl Sunday BBQ I am cooking two Pre-Brined Turkeys and a fillet of Steelhead Salmon on the Weber Smokey Mountain (WSM). I am trying another injection to marinate one of the turkeys. It is Tony Chachere's Butter Creole Injectable that included a injector with the marinade.

The rub that I am putting on the Salmon will be a light combination of Golden Brown Sugar, Granulated Garlic, Fresh Ground Pepper, Salt, Light Dusting Of BBQ Rub and that is it. It needs very little and the end product will be fantastic. Even those who do not eat Salmon normally always try this and usually have seconds and are surprised they like it so much. I can eat Salmon all day so I love it, smoking it is a bonus and this is just the appetizer version.

The Turkeys cooked fairly fast as the Smoker temperature was 350° for several hours and overall was on the WSM for around 4 hours total. I added a few fist size Hickory pieces to 2 full chimneys of Charcoal and still had plenty fuel left. The Turkeys were once again outstanding. I am beginning to prefer just to season the Turkeys with dry rub and other herbs as I feel it gives excellent results. The injection marinade from Tony Chachere's was just ok. I only used 1/2 to 3/4 of the bottle and the Turkey was plenty saturated with enough as it was. The main difference was the texture, taste wise they're both delicious. and each was very moist. It would be hard to really change the excellent taste of just adding a brined Turkey to the WSM with a little seasoning under the skin and dusted on top and inside the cavity. You really can't go wrong with a Turkey on the WSM and I enjoy trying new marinades, spices, herbs and will continue to mix it up.

There were plenty of Turkey and side dishes for leftovers. The Turkey carcasses will be used to make Turkey Stock and this will go into a 7 Bean Soup I'll make later. I also will make another soup this time using noodles, celery, and carrots with the Turkey stock and meat.

Parkzone Radian Repairs And New Flight

2010-02-04T07:14:00.000-08:00

After the crash back in the summer I had to wait for some of the parts to come off backorder and finally arrive at my local Hobby Store. During this time it allowed me to use some of the neglected RC planes in my hangar such as the Hobbyzone Super Cub and Parkzone Corsair. Well the parts finally arrived months later and they sat with the damaged plane untouched for several more months. During the Radian's long retirement I also purchased a Parkzone Sukhoi and an E-Flite Blade MCX helicopter, both which kept me entertained for some time. I finally got disgusted at looking at the Radian's current state of condition and started to organize all the parts both new and salvageable in order to get the plane back in the air.

Parts I had to purchase:

I could have replaced the wing due to several cracks and a huge split down the right wing in particular. But with a little Gorilla Glue and some strapping tape I determined that it was stable but would keep and watchful eye on it during it's repaired maiden flight(s). I installed larger, stronger neodymium magnets in the wing mounts using silicon and X-acto blade to recess area then covered with a piece of strapping tape. I also was undecided at replacing the ESC as it took a nice dent in the front and wasn't confident in it's ability to deliver uninterupted power or worse a complete failure at altitude. After re-installing the ESC 30A E-Flite and motor testing it seemed ok.

Started with the new bare fuselage which needed everything installed. First was the servos from the old fuselage that I removed with the help of an X-Acto blade and then pliers to lightly pull out. The Parkzone servos where installed with a flexible white caulk of some sort and which I assumed was silicon. Others have installed servos with a hot glue gun, which I have, but thought I would use the original silicon adhesive which would make removing them at some point easier. I purchased 100% DAP silicon which was labeled as Kitchen and Bath sealer and tested it on the old fuselage's foam which worked well. So the servos went into the slots with silicon already bedded in and excess silicon that squeezed out I smoothed off. The old AR500 receiver was installed with new double sided foam tape and then I proceeded to the install the Brushless Motor, the Prop Adapter/Spinner, Prop, ESC, and binded everything to my Spektrum DX6i. Everything worked well and I added necessary trim and programmed some exponential and high/low rates for the Radian. Only thing left was to test fly it at the local park and hope that all is well with the repairs and the ESC holds up as well as the wings. And oh ya, DON'T FORGET TO INSTALL THE CARBON SPAR PRIOR TO FLIGHT!

Flight went perfect, an even better hand launch as it needed almost no additional trim. Did a few slow, throttle on laps at low altitude to ensure all is well. Then I flew at higher altitude and powered off for a 25 minute flight in moderate/light wind. Everything felt great and I was relieved to see the Radian fly so well and missed flying it all these months. I had quite the audience from the moment I arrived at the park with the huge wingspan of the Radian the kids and eventually the parents came closer to watch. The Radian is very easy to fly and while I was gliding I was casually answering questions from a curious Dad on the plane, flight times, costs, last crash I experienced at the same location etc. I'm glad to have the Radian back in the active hangar rotation.

Parkzone Sukhoi Micro RC Airplane Modifications Begin

2010-02-02T06:35:00.000-08:00

So after a few flights on the Parkzone Sukhoi Micro RC Airplane I began to search on what I could modify to improve it's speed, visibility and overall flight time. This led me to the various RC forums and helpful hints from the owners who have had the Sukhoi a lot longer than myself and who collectively flight tested many of the solutions and then posted their results. So here is what I have done thus far.

Visibility
I removed the original stickers on the Parkzone Sukhoi and thought that I was going to use the Krylon H2O spray paints that I have used in the past on some of my other planes. The additional weight that the paint would add concerned me so I am trying the MonoKote Trim Sheets like I have also used on my other planes. I added an exact copy of the original shape in the Yellow color then added a little strip of Red on the wingtip to experiment. So far it works well but adding more would help additionally but will add to weight. Not through testing on this mod. Here are some tips and examples of other Sukhoi owners painting and using markers for color

Programming
I started flying the Sukhoi with the Spektrum DX5e but soon thereafter knew that this plane would benefit from the additional programming that the Spektrum DX6i allows for, especially the exponential programming. Horizon Hobby has a good article as well as video HERE that covers this. I have many flights now using the DX6i and it's programming it has smoothed the flights as well as allowing for the original snap barrel rolls and fast loops.

Propellers
Reading through the online forums several GWS props are being used to increase speed and torque to the Sukhoi. So far I have purchased the GWS 5030 and I have placed an order for the GWS 5043. Here is a analysis done on the props from RCgroups member turboparker.

Battery Upgrade
Several different options that I have read about but I have an order for the larger Hyperion 240mAh so I haven't received them yet. Here is some information on the batteries. (on another plane)

will be continued, here is another link to the RCGroups Sukhoi HUGE Owners thread
also the MOD finder thread is HERE

rest of post here.

Parkzone Sukhoi Micro RC Airplane Added To Hangar

2010-01-06T09:58:00.000-08:00

The Parkzone Sukhoi has been available for some time but it never really appealed to me based on it's size and cost. I figured for the money I'd rather purchase a "full size" RC plane that isn't as delicate as a micro plane and that allows for greater speed and distance. Well I purchased one anyway and I'm glad I did. The Sukhoi presently comes in a BindNFly version which allows me to use my Spektrum DX5e or my new DX6i 2.4ghz radios. For my first flight I used my DX5e and it was immediately apparent that I should have used the exponential on the DX6i radio. The Sukhoi is a very aerobatic, responsive plane and I knew as much from the other owners who warned of it's fast controls. I broke the propeller on the plane not long after my first hand launch. I mis-managed the throttle and simply didn't have enough. I assumed it was going to fly vertical I guess and really take off with too much throttle. This was not the case, and after replacing the propeller my second hand launch was successful but I had a heck of a time trimming the little plane in the air while maintaining it's flight path away from the ground. I needed to add a lot of up trim and right aileron in order for it to fly straight but once trimmed I was having a great time with barrel rolls, inverted flight, and loops. It wasn't exactly relaxing when flying the Sukhoi as I was fully concentrated on preventing a day ending crash and then pushing myself to try a few tricks. I left the flying field happy at the results but came away with a few thoughts on how to improve future flights.

Not long after the first flights I re-binded the Sukhoi to my Spektrum DX6i which allows me to use the radio's programming to add exponential and adjust the High/Low rates as well. This "softens" the controls a little so I can fly less "twitchy" and when comfortable I can easily turn on the High rates for the ailerons and rudder to allow for sport flying. Here is an article and video on programming the DX6i for the Parkzone Sukhoi. I also have begun small modifications to the plane which address my need for additional speed, visibility, longer flight times and added thrust at launch. I'll cover the modifications in an additional post in which I'll add cost and where I purchased as well as my thoughts on the end results.

Marlin 795 Rifle - Range Report With Intensity Scope Installed

2009-11-16T22:30:00.000-08:00

Range Trip - (ati stock, caldwell nxt rest, various ammo, new Intensity 4-12x44mm AO scope and one piece mount)

My recent trip to the range with the Marlin 795 confirmed that there is no way the new one piece scope mount will be moving anytime soon. The scope mount probably would be secure without the extra loctite blue I added but it's just added insurance at this point. Others that were using two piece mounts have experienced the mount moving after shooting hundreds of rounds. I ensured that the mount and the receiver were cleaned of all oils and grime using Gun Scrubber and a rag. I furthermore added a few drops of Loctite Blue to the inside left of the actual mount and also to the threads of the 5 mount screws.

I started the target at 25yards, to make the zeroing of the scope easier. Prior to arriving I had the scope elev and windage all set as close to the middle as possible. The scope needed a lot of up elevation clicks (50+) and a little right adjustment. Because of the various heights of the shooting benches, I struggled with the rest that I purchased. It was too tall, and I couldn't use the rear rest at any point and was fighting the front rest for a comfortable position. I had to many variables I was playing with. New rifle, stock, mount, scope, and way to many varieties of ammo (cci blazer, rem gold, rem sub, win 333, eley). I had a bunch of FailureToFire, FailedToEjects, and more through approx 250 rounds. Most can probably be due to a newer rifle settling in and some of the subsonic ammo I was cycling through it.

Between 25 to 50 yards no adjustment, 100 yards need a lot of up elevation, I think 25+ clicks on the already 50+ clicks added at 25 yards.. I ran out of sunlight so I never finished all that I wanted at the range that day. What I thought was a powerful scope at first at 12x quickly looks small at longer distances when trying to hit the paper targets. I'm adding 2 small strips of electrical tape to the inside of the rear scope ring to gain back some elevation clicks. I didn't want to remove the scope mount and add shims underneath the mount after securing it so well. We'll see how it works on my next trip to the range.

I see a lot room for improvement in my shooting and perhaps now that I'm finished inhaling all these paint fumes I can concentrate I why I purchased the rifle in the first place, ... to shoot the darn thing :)

1.) orig stock just painted 2.) 25yard second target sighting in

Marlin 795 Rifle Scope - Intensity 4-12x44mm AO unboxed

2009-11-08T20:03:00.000-08:00

Here is the Intensity 4-12x44mm AO scope that is going on my Marlin 795. I am mounting it using a One Piece Mount that will be extremely secure and prevent and scope movement. The scope mount rings you see in the pics below are going on another rifle, and it's a bolt-action unlike the Marlin 795 semi-automatic.

** Updated Pics - Intensity Scope Installed the Marlin 795 **

Marlin 795 Rifle - Value .22LR plinker fun

2009-11-07T20:32:00.000-08:00

I started modifying the Marlin 795 later in the afternoon and just brought the ATI Fiberforce stock inside from recent painting since its warmer then my garage and I wanted to see it installed. I didn't receive my scope this week as I thought I would so that will go on next week. I also just received my Caldwell NXT rest the other day. I am going to go ahead and bring the Marlin to the range tomorrow for kicks and test out the iron sights. My rear sight was installed crooked, looking down sights it is way to the right. Very tiny rifle compared to my old bolt action. Looking forward to tomorrow!

I also used the Krylon Camouflage paints (khaki, olive, brown) ... forgot to add that I used Krylon Matte clear on top of the paint in hopes of added durability.

Here are few pictures of the ATI Fiberforce stock modification using a Dremel and high speed cutter bit. Since it wasn't made for the Marlin 795 you have to remove the section in (pic 2) to fit the magazine. And also on the bottom of the stock you must remove a little of the stock to make a recessed area to fit the Marlin 795 trigger guard (pic 3)

Pic 1

Pic 2

Pic 3

Pic 4

Overall a fairly easy task to adapt the Ati Fiberforce stock to a Marlin 795 and might be worth a little coin and effort to experience a different feel for the rifle.

Smoked Meatloaf - Bacon Wrapped and Other Versions Weekend Smoke

2009-09-19T17:48:00.000-07:00

I haven't done Meatloaf on the WSM (Weber Smokey Mountain) in quite a long time so while I was at the store I picked up the necessary ingredients and thought I would add a little variety to the cook this time by adding a few more ingredients. I purchased 4lbs Ground Beef, 2lbs Ground Pork, 1lb Bacon, Red and White Onions, Zucchini and the rest of the ingredients I already had at home.

So with the amount of meat that I purchased I was going to make two separate loaves and try different ingredients in each. While this would be fine, I figured what the heck, I'll make 4 different loaves and see if I come across anything that is remarkably better than the other Meatloaves that I've had. A quick look around the kitchen to see what I had and I was off with my plan. Here is what I came up with for the 4 loaves. Before adding the unique ingredients of each I mixed all the meat together with the sautéed onions, red bell peppers, garlic, then ground pepper, corn flakes, saltines, oats, then lightly dusted with BBQ rub I had left from the Butt/Chuck smoke, after mixing with my hands I then added 6 beaten eggs and sectioned off 4 pieces to make the individual 4 loaves:

Meatloaf #1 - Double OG (onion garlic)

red and white onions diced (doubled)
garlic freshly minced (doubled)
red bell peppers diced
corn flakes, saltines, oats
eggs beaten
bacon wrap

Meatloaf #2 - Zucchini Mushroom

red and white onions diced
garlic freshly minced
red bell peppers diced
corn flakes, saltines, oats
eggs beaten
zucchini diced
mushrooms diced
bacon wrap

Meatloaf #3 - Jalapeño

red and white onions diced
garlic freshly minced
red bell peppers diced
corn flakes, saltines, oats
eggs beaten
jalapeño fresh (2) de-seeded diced

Meatloaf #4 - Salsa, Black Beans & Cilantro

red and white onions diced
garlic freshly minced
red bell peppers diced
corn flakes, saltines, oats
eggs beaten
salsa
black beans
cilantro fresh
chili spices(new mex, ancho pasilla)

After all the loaves where formed I placed each on wax paper and lightly dusted with BBQ rub.

The WSM was filled with 1.25 chimneys of Kingsford charcoal and Cherry and Hickory wood chunks. It was at 325° when I placed the waterless foiled pan on and then on the lower grate I added the Salsa Bean and the Jalapeño loaves. The upper grate was installed and the 2 bacon wrapped loaves (zucchi-mushroom, doubleOG) went on. I placed a probe in one of the loaves on the lower grate and one probe to the upper loaf to monitor temperatures.

First basting with the 2 different glazes came on when the loaves hit 155°, the WSM smoker was running around 295°. The bottom loaves got a glaze of ketchup and Tapatio hot sauce, chile powders. The upper loaves got a glaze of BBQ sauce, Ketchup, brown sugar.

After around 10-15 additional minutes the loaves reached an internal of 165° and I removed them from the smoker. The rested with a aluminum foil lightly covering the top then sliced and sampled. My impressions were the additional spices and salt could have easily been increased to all the loaves. Each had a very mild taste as I was very light on adding spices. There was no clear winner out of the 4 loaves we tried. Perhaps when the second or the third servings are devoured we'll have a favorite. The Jalapeño was not spicy at all and I could've increased the amount added to that loaf. The Salsa bean loaf flavor wasn't nearly as flavorful as I thought it would be with the strong ingredients added, especially the chili powder. They each were very delicious and had great smoke flavor and added depth with the glaze and different ingredients. I'm looking forward to the arduous task of judging the leftovers until they're finished.

Bacon Wrapped Double Onion Garlic & Zucchini Mushroom Meatloaf

Salsa Black Bean Cilantro & Jalapeño Meatloaf

Bacon Wrap Zucchini Mushroom Sliced

Salso Black Bean Cilantro Sliced

Jalapeño Sliced

WSM - Pork Butt and Beef Chuck Roast Weekend Smoke

2009-09-13T11:52:00.000-07:00

I purchased 3 Picnic Pork Butts and 1 Beef Chuck Roast for dinner this Sunday evening. I fully plan on having lots of leftovers and will vacuum seal most with the Foodsaver. I am getting a very late start this Sunday as it is almost noon. Didn't feel like doing my traditional overnight due to several factors including the wind and light rain that started late last night. We have an overcast day today but the wind has died down and a only a little chance of rain in evening.

I set up the WSM (Weber Smoky Mountain) with two chimneys full of unlit Kingsford charcoal and then added my smoke wood, 2 pieces of Hickory, 1 piece of Apricot, 3 pieces of Cherry wood. I foiled a water pan to obtain higher cook temperatures since I'm short on time. My usual plan would be adding the larger Brinkmann water pan filled with warm water and relax for a 12-14hr cook at 220°-230°. I currently have the 3 bottom vents open at 50/50/0 and I am more than likely going to have to adjust the vents in the cook to start low and based on time open them up to speed the cook. The WSM was running 270° so I then changed vents to 50/0/0. I don't want to be outside tending the cook and pulling pork late in the evening but for the most part I'll just let the WSM do it's thing. Meat temperatures are being monitored remotely with my Maverick thermometer with 2 probes. One is being used on the upper Pork Butt and the other in the Beef Chuck roast also on the upper grate. Made a quick rub with the following:

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 kosher salt
3 TBS turbinado sugar
3 TBS granulated garlic
3 TBS granulated onion
2 TBS new mexico chile fresh ground
2 TBS ancho pasilla chile fresh ground
2 TBS minced dried garlic
1 TBS coarse ground black pepper
1 TBS oregano dried
3 tsp old bay seasoning
2 tsp thyme
2 tsp all spice
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp seasoning salt

Will update as the cook progresses -

Here is the beer assortment that my Brother brought over, he's running another Triathlon this weekend so no brew for him. I've had some of these before but the new ones are the Don De Dieu and the little Budda (novelty -lucky drink co. china). others - Celebrator / Afflingem / Samuel Smith

Updated 2pm - Beef was at 168° so I decided to pull it off take a few pics, foil it, then return it to the smoker until fork tender. Pork is at 155°ish

Updated 2:45pm - WSM @ 265° and upper pork @ 164°

Updated 3:20pm - WSM @ 255° opened and checked tenderness of Beef and used fork to sample end cut - delicious and internal 210°, lots of juice! I decided to leave the beef, pork looks good, put the other probe in one of the lower pork to get temps. Upper pork 168° lower pork 162°

Update 4:30pm - WSM @ 260° - fork tender throughout, removed top foil and sample for snacking. Ready to remove and then add more pics.

Update 5:05pm - WSM @ 270° - took off the Beef Chuck and brought inside to rest. It didn't get a lot of rest, constant fingers taking samples off. Made a couple tacos while still monitoring temps of Pork.

Corn tortillas in a pan with a tad butter to warm them up, added pulled beef when I could stop putting directly into my mouth, fresh jalapeños diced with onions and tomatoes, cilantro, queso fresco cheese, cheddar, hot sauce red, green sauce

Update End Of Cook - Pork was taken off the smoker around 5:50pm and foiled and place back on the smoker. I would have preferred not to foil the Pork as normally done during my other low and slow cooks. Finally at 7:10-7:50pm I took the foiled Pork off and left them rest. Pulled the Pork later and noticed almost no fat, all rendered off very well, only thing that really got thrown away was the bones that came out very easily. Good Pork Picnics that are cooling off in the fridge and most will go into vacuum sealed Foodsaver bags with ample amount saved for meals in the fridge separately.

Smoked Turkey Injection Seasoning - Labor Day Weekend

2009-09-07T09:19:00.000-07:00

Finally got around to smoking another Turkey in the WSM (Weber Smokey Mountain) cooker. The last Turkey that I smoked was last year, during thanksgiving where I did a total of two in the smoker. And we did a traditional oven cooked Turkey for a total of three.

This Labor Day weekend I smoked an injected Turkey. The injection included the following:

1/4 Apple Juice
1/4 Cup Butter
1 tsp Granulated Garlic
1 tsp Granulated Onion
1 tsp New Mexico Chile powder
1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper

Following the injection I next added BBQ rub both over the entire Turkey and under the skin near the breast. The first rub was one of my own from another cook and the second was a light sprinkling of Tony Chachere's which is a very salty rub, so I used it sparingly. The Turkey was then returned to the fridge as I got the WSM ready.

WSM was setup using a chimney of Kingsford lit, another chimney of kingsford on top, and finally the smoke wood was added. So the fire had the following

(2) chimneys - 12lbs approx Kingsford
(3) Cherry wood chunks
(2) Apricot wood chunks(one added later)

Foiled empty water pan, and an empty aluminum disposable pan to catch drippings and to hold turkey trimmings. The Turkey was then added to the top grate on the WSM and during this windy day the somewhat protected WSM was hovering around 300° with 1 vent off and 2 others at 50% open. I was using a Maverick remote temperature probe that was placed in the thicker part of the Turkey breast with the alarm set to notify at 160° internal. The entire cook was completed in 3 hours, a little faster then needed as the guests were arriving later then anticipated. So the Turkey was removed when the breast was in between 164°-170° and then it was wrapped snuggly in aluminum foil and placed in a cooler with two larger towels above and below to maintain heat. It held it's heat pretty well considering after we had worked all the appetizers and various other treats we finally got around to having our larger meal. After 4 hours the Turkey was still hot but could be carefully handled without burning when trimming.

Other meal items prepared where 10lbs Russet potatoes with additional Yams added then lightly mashed with butter, pepper, salt, granulated garlic. The gravy was comprised on the Turkey giblets and the drippings from the pan that was underneath the Turkey in the smoker. The drippings were very salty as expected mostly due to the Tony Chachere's rub I placed liberally in the body cavity. Also in the gravy were the pan leftovers from the ABT's (stuffed jalapeños) that were cooked in the oven so there was a lot of charred goodness from that. Cornbread that was cooked in the oven and had additional jalapeños and green onions added. A side salad with mixed greens, apples, walnuts, red onions and a raspberry vinaigrette.

HobbyZone Super Cub returns to the air with new color

2009-09-05T18:00:00.000-07:00

I have neglected my old workhorse, the HobbyZone Super Cub for far too long. With the addition of the ParkZone Corsair F4U and most recently ParkZone Radian I found less time to fly the ole' Cub. One of it's strengths is the ease of flights and less aggressive flying dynamics that make it a perfect trainer for the new pilot. I will always have a Super Cub in the hangar for this exact reason. As friends and family become interested, I have handed over the controls to the Super Cub to many new fliers after a short instruction. The most recent crash with the Super Cub was a result of a new flier and even though I had all the replacement parts delivered, I never put the Cub back to flight worthiness until last night. I added some high visibility trim strips from Monokote (Day-Glo Red) to the upper wing and tail rudder. After a range check I took the Cub out to the flying field even though it was very breezy. I did the same lipo conversion that I had on my previous Cub and placed my stock Corsair 3s1800mAh lipo in the bottom. I used my Skymate sm18 to check the wind speed out of curiosity and found that my guesstimate was pretty accurate. Winds were averaging 15mph and gusts up to 20mph during a couple minute test period. I was confident on my pre-flight and power of the lipo to pull the Cub out of harms way if needed.

The flight went pretty smooth, less than half throttle and the Cub would practically not move in the air, almost hovering and stuck in the wind. Tip the nose and add power and I was able to make headway. Performed a few instant flips heading into the wind, a few large circles and low flyby's feeling how difficult a landing would be. I landed after 15mins(no wheels) in the grass field just to check over the decals and surface areas incl rubber bands etc. All was well and the motor being new smelled a little as it was getting broken in for the first time and was warm. I readied for another hand launch and had the Super Cub in the air for 20 secs when throttle cut off, I still had control of plane so I just landed off in the field and figured it was a low battery cutoff. Yep, low-batt cutoff as I forgot to charge the 1800 fully before I left! It was reading 10.v right there on the spot. It was a good flight so I just decided to call it a day at the field and will make a return visit with additional color on the wing and other planes.

Thoughts - the new Trim sheet color(day-glo red) however bright as they are up close were not as noticeable at altitude as the trim colors I recently tried on the Corsair(yellow). That surprised me, so I have to try a little yellow or maybe the neon green I bought recently on the Super Cub's wings.

Here are my other RC posts

WSM - Whole Beef Brisket, Chicken Quarters and ABT's

2009-08-30T13:23:00.000-07:00

Well the weekend has arrived! The Beef Brisket prices around my area haven't been on sale for quite awhile but I picked a whole un-trimmed packer Beef Brisket 12+lbs @ $2.22lb, which was a lot less then several other large supermarkets.

Prep and Rub

Purchased 2 packages of dried chiles. Pasilla Ancho and New Mexico chiles. Even though they are dried they contain a lot of moisture so I cut open the chiles and de-seeded them and then placed on a cookie sheet into a 220° oven for 20mins. After they are left out to cool then directly added to a coffee/spice grinder.

The Brisket was trimmed of a lot of fat(optional) as I wanted the rub to penetrate closer to the meat. I then added the following for the rub. Granulated Onion & Garlic, Chili(ancho pasilla), brown sugar, Chili(new mexico), fresh ground pepper, allspice, kona coffee, thyme, etc. Lightly salted with Kosher salt before adding rub.

I'm updating as the cook progresses so thats what I have thus far. The WSM is cruising along at 345° for a high heat cook and I'm enjoying my first beer and trying out my new remote Thermometer.

update - 1:50pm - peeked in on Brisket and its looking good and smells great, smoker running 345ish and the Brisket is at 150

Update 2:30pm - removed brisket from smoker, was around 160° and after foiling returned to smoker for finishing. Good color, burnt end was tasty, when sliced it'll be good to see if it needs anything additional (rub was a low salt version)

Updated 5pmish - Wind picked up last few hours and the charcoal is running low so I just let it slowly do it's thing. Smoker temperature steadily lowered and temps around 250° before brisket was removed. It's still resting but I took a small piece to appease the cook before the feast

Update: sliced after resting-
nice color inside, the flat was easy to slice as it was a little firmer than the point. The point was very tender and moist with great flavor due to the additional fat in the area. Mostly eating the brisket as is and using the additional Red No. 5 sauce every so often. Here are the updated pics after slicing

Brisket flat

BBQ links to forums and helpful information

The Virtual Weber Bullet BBQ forum (wsm smoker)
TVWB High heat brisket discussion (here) another (here)
My other BBQ cook logs with Pictures Here

ParkZone Radian - What A Few Months Off And No Coffee Equals

2009-08-16T08:26:00.000-07:00

A recipe for disaster. The winds the morning I woke up early where nearly non-existent and in my rush to get out to the park and avoid the crowds I hastily grabbed my flight bag and the Parkzone Radian. I was excited to finally get it into the air for the first time in over 2 months. I had just returned from Lake Tahoe, where I was on vacation and was planning on bringing the Radian to get aerial videos of the the lake and surrounding area. There just wasn't enough room in the vehicle without damaging the Radian so I left it at home. So now, finally getting the chance to get the Radian in the air, I grabbed my flight bag and was off to the a local park where I fly.

Upon arriving, there was just a small family on the nearby playground equipment and a morning walker or two. I made my way onto the expansive green park lawn with basically the whole park to myself. A 350 yard stretch in one direction by another 150 yards in another, rare in this area for a freshly cut grass landing. I caught the attention of a young Father with his two kids who started to make his way to my start location to watch the launch. I put together the Radian, checked voltages on my batteries, checked wing alignment and trim on elev and rudder, did a range check and readied my stopwatch to keep track of the flight. The Father and his two kids settled on the park bench about 15 yards back and we exchanged good mornings as he told his kids to watch the airplane take off. I walked off to my usual starting point and hand tossed the Radian in the air under a little more the ¾ throttle, easily making altitude before I throttled down and began to familiarize myself with the flight controls and flying the Radian, cobwebs were steadily disappearing just under 2 mins into the flight when during a left hand turn one of the wings came off! The Father says, "OH NO!", I respond "OH NO is RIGHT!" I'm shocked while watching the Radian, nose first with one wing still intact in a death spiral, no input on rudder or elevator is affecting the inevitable. It crashed pretty hard into the grass about 120 yards away, that I can be thankful for. The rogue wing decided it wanted to take a more slower and graceful flight back to earth then gently landed about 20 yards from the plane with no damage soon after. I took the walk or jog of shame with my DX5 radio in hand to survey the wreckage. Embarrassment, disappointment, and the lack of knowing what the heck happened fueled my rush to examine the plane and get back to my flight bag to see if it is repairable.

Picking up all the litter was hard, all the work and time I spent on adding the paint and strengthening the fuselage and other various items. This was the first time really where I had a major crash that was going to require a lot of time and worse MONEY to recover from. The Radian is filled with expensive electronic equipment and the parts like the wing and fuselage are not cheap by any means. It becomes quickly apparent that I will not be flying anymore that day, or the next day for that matter as the fuselage is split and the wing damaged on initial inspection. I got back to my flight bag and original launch area hoping that my accident wasn't noticed by too many on lookers. Thankfully the young Father spared me the embarrassment of having to show him the damage as he left with his kids allowing me a private moment with the remains of my favorite plane =). So off to my vehicle with a ravaged Radian and my head low knowing I was about to spend a lot of time at the Hobby shop ordering parts.

edit- I just added some post crash pics of the Radian for those of you who enjoy my misery lol. I already have the parts ordered from my local Hobby shop but just recently noticed my ESC has sustained damage! The crash was the result of the carbon spar rod not being installed in wing. It was left at home and the only thing holding the wings on were the neodymium magnets I installed when I first purchased the plane. I only realized this after returning and going over the damage and realized the spar was nowhere to be found. I thought it came off in the wreck and I perhaps missed it when retrieving the wreckage.

Here are some links that I used for the repair:

Parkzone Main - parts listing home(parkzone.com)

Hobbyzone.com Radian parts listing(auth retailer)

RedRocket Hobbies Radian parts listing(auth retailer)

EBAY - search on "Parkzone Radian"

WSM Smoker Bacon Wrapped Pork Loin Stuffed and Peppers

2009-07-24T09:23:00.000-07:00

Another Pork loin stuffed and smoked on the Weber Smokey Mountain smoker. This was a request from a family member for our vacation up to Lake Tahoe, California. The plan was to roll slice the Pork loin and add similar stuffing ingredients as I've done before except that I will add a Bacon wrap around the Garlic/Spinach/Mushroom to give it additional flavor. I also added fresh Sourdough bread(should've toasted) in place of using croutons or bread crumb stuffing. Here are a few pics of the BBQ which turned out great.
(previous stuffed loin cooks with similar ingredients and pics here, and here )

The meal was cooked the day before then I used my Foodsaver vacuum sealer to seal the whole meal and place in the fridge. I followed other cooks advice who use a pot full of boiling water to reheat the meal directly in the package to ensure moistness. It was the first time I reheated in this fashion as I usually will use the oven or for smaller portions the all familiar Microwave. The ABT's (stuffed jalapeños) have to be reheated in the oven to obtain the crisp bacon and allowing the firmness of the pepper to retain.

WSM: Pork Loin Stuffed - Garlic Mushroom and Apple Cranberry

2009-06-15T17:34:00.000-07:00

Here are the pics from the weekend using the WSM (Weber Smokey Mountain) smoker. I bought a 10.14lb Pork Loin that I sliced in half and then roll sliced the two pieces for 2 different stuffings.

Pork Loin Stuffings

1. Freshly minced garlic 1 bulb, 10oz sliced mushrooms, red onions, spinach, salt pepper and some bbq rub, into skillet for just about 5 mins to meld the flavors, added a little white wine and then a package of Corn Bread stuffing mix, mixed and set aside.

2. Granny Smith apples, Cranberries(ocean spray sweetened cranberries in bag) about 1 handful, red onion, Orange rind and juice and half orange added, fresh ground pepper and salt and added to skillet for 5mins approx and a little cornbread stuffing mix that was left over.

Loin Prep / Pre Smoke

After roll slicing the 2 pork loins I salt and peppered the inside and added stuffing, rolled the stuffing, and then used 100% cotton butcher twine to tie and secure, salt pepper the outside on each. I added just a dusting of bbq spice on the Mushroom Garlic.

WSM Smoking

Used the middle grate for the Pork Loins and the empty, foiled water pan, it was around 320° when I added the loins. I had Apricot wood chunks and a chunk of Hickory for this cook.

About 25mins later I finished preparing the ABT (stuffed Jalapenos) and I added those to the upper grate. (creams cheese, red onion, bbq spice rub, covered in bacon)

Into the cook about 1.5 hours I added my first glaze to the Apple Cran loin. The glaze was heated in a saucepan till bubbling and consisted of Blackberry preserves and lemon juice. I applied the second time about 15mins before removing the loins. The Garlic Mushroom was not touched once it was on the WSM, but they both received drippings from the ABT's above, heavenly bacon drippings!

Finished

Abt's were on for approx 1h45mins and then off
Pork Loin had about a 2h45min cook to 160° internal temp. The WSM went from 320° - 280° throughout the cook.

WSM - Another Smoked Stuffed Pork Loin

2009-06-11T07:26:00.000-07:00

Purchased a nice size Pork Loin that I am going to smoke on Friday evening. I liked the previous stuffed Pork loins that I did in the past and I will repeat certain aspects and document them here. This Pork loin, like the others, came in a cryovac pack and is rather large. I like to slice them directly in half and then roll-slice/cut each of them to about 1 " thickness. This allows them to be stuffed with two different ingredients and allows more space for the stuffing had I just slice down in the middle as you would for a butterfly cut.

Choices on stuffing

I like to add two different type of stuffings for variety and have found that guests enjoy tasting both as well. An apple cranberry with a fruit glaze is always popular and goes fantastic with the pork. The glaze on this can range from orange juice or other fruit juice with a little sugar or an easy glaze by using various jam or preserves heated in a saucepan. Applied near the end of the cook or throughout to layer the flavors. I have no set plans, as you can't really go wrong with this one. I also like to add either breadcrumbs or croutons to add to the body of the stuffing. It allows it all to come together nicely and the stuffing will hold together easier.

Another stuffing that I experimented with was a mushroom garlic onion spinach mix. Add fresh mushrooms and garlic and other ingredients in a skillet and eliminating some of the extra moisture. Again adding bread crumbs or croutons and your choice of spices. With this stuffing, it greatly improves when adding a creamy finishing sauce. I tried a little alfredo sauce on top of finished slices and it turned out great. I'm curious to see what other finishing sauces might pair well with this and I might delve into the tomato based ones this time. We shall see and I'll update the topic with pics and thoughts once I finish the cook tomorrow.

Any thoughts or experiences?

Here is one the cooks I did in the past using the Weber Smokey Mountain:

Forum for Parkzone Hobbyzone BBQ related topics

2009-06-10T09:25:00.001-07:00

RC Planes and BBQ Misc Forum

Right, another forum joins the web, like we need another forum added to the congested topics that have been covered endlessly.....

Just added a new forum covering RC planes such as the Parkzone Radian, Parkzone Corsair, Hobbyzone Super Cub. Also included topic for my BBQ related pics and information with mods etc for the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker. Take a look and view as a guest or help contribute to the content by registering.

RC Planes and BBQ Misc Forum

My Brute game guide and tips mods scripts

2009-06-09T06:40:00.000-07:00

I'm still playing My Brute on a regular basis as it's easy and takes just a few minutes. They only allow 3 fights a day which can slow your progress and limit the amount of weapons and bonuses you receive so I have looked at way to improve and allow more efficiency in fighting other Brutes.

I have been using various mods to my greasemonkey scripts and these have allowed me to fight and manage my other pupils with greater efficiency. If I notice an increase with traffic to the My Brute posts I'll add what I have learned with game guides, scripts, and character mods that can be achieved. For now I'm trying to get ahead in these tournaments but the level of experience your Brute must achieve is relatively high in order to win these matches. The game and it's relatively randomness of not only the fights but the weapons and bonuses it gives can be frustrating and confusing. So far, the luck of the draw has allowed me to advance rank quite fast but I'm hungry for more weapons and bonuses.

For Game play Guides and Scripts on how to play with pupils and other additional information join the discussion here

My Brute - Game Guide

WSM Smoker Weekend: Roaster Chicken, Sausage Fattie and ABT's

2009-06-07T09:50:00.000-07:00

Skinless trial Roaster Chicken

Fired up the WSM(Weber Smokey Mountain) again this weekend and grabbed three Roaster Chickens from the store along with a roll of Jimmy Dean sage sausage and 15 fresh Jalapeños and a 1lb of bacon. I changed my normal process with the Roaster Chickens a little. I butterflied the Chicken as normal, removing the backbone and cutting to make two equal halves. This time I removed the majority of the skin, mostly the breast and thigh areas. I was attempting to see how the rub and marinade would cover the chicken in a more direct way to the meat instead of the skin. After skinning and washing the chicken I applied my rub. Two different ones, but they both contained the usual Salt Pepper, garlic, sugar. I went with a soy marinade with a little white vinegar and a little more sugar(white,turbinado. The second was a beer and fresh rosemary mix that would sit for a couple hours.

continued..................

The smoker was fired up with Kingsford briquets and since we have an abundant source of orchard smoke wood here in California I went and got a 4-fist size piece of Apricot. The smoker was reaching 350º+ with the waterpan in place but empty and foiled, I wanted a higher smoke temp for the chicken/sausage/abt's. Chicken was added shortly after.

The Sausage Fattie was next and I stuffed with a mixture of onion, mushroom, salt, pepper, Parmesan and rolled it all together on placed on the top grill with some of the other chicken. Everything was pulled in about 1.5 - 2hours and I then had room to put the Jalapeño peppers on. The ABT peppers where relatively mild and the easiest way for me to determine this is when I'm slicing the hotter Jalapeno peppers usually send their fumes into my eyes and nostrils. I could tell the somewhat larger peppers wouldn't be as hot as others in the past. I still de-seeded and de-veined the peppers and stuffed with cream cheese and BBQ rub and wrapped the halved peppers with 1/2 slice of bacon for every half pepper. In order to get the remaining coals working I propped the lid on the WSM a little in hope to achieve hotter grill temperature which was beneath 300º. 45-60mins later I everything was ready for the meal.

My thoughts on the skinless chicken was that the outer meat was drier based on not having the skin and accompanying fat layer. It did however take on more of the rub and marinade taste into the meat as expected. With chicken that is skinless a higher temp, faster cook, for smoking would of had less dry outside meat but it was delicious, and once past the outside layer the whole chicken was very moist as usual. So between the 2 different rubs and marinade chicken the beer rosemary was ok, the soy, vinegar, garlic taste was very good. The saltiness of the soy/vinegar allowed it to penetrate more through the chicken as is usual. Keep the beer marinade for marinating the cooks, the chicken with the rosemary would of been better without it. The fattie was just ok, have had a lot better, the abt's always a hit, and these were VERY mild and had no surprises with very hot ones. All the peppers were extremely mild due to the batch and longer cook time, they were like popping candy.

I still prefer the SKIN ON - Roaster Chicken that I usually cook like this previous Cook log

Click here for additional BBQ's using the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker

Parkzone Radian Sailplane Paint Modification

2009-05-29T19:16:00.000-07:00

Started some of my Parkzone Radian mods. I decided to add paint for higher visibility at the higher altitudes. So the plan was adding under wing identifiers(stripes) and adding a fluorescent color to the top of the wings. I also removed the horizontal tail and added color to the top and bottom area. They're several different options of doing this and some of them include adding Econokote which, like Monokote, is a film that is applied with a low heat iron. Another is using Krylon H2o paint, which is latex foam safe and comes in an aerosol spray can.

I decided on the Krylon H20 paint and added Red(red sea) altitude stripes on the under wing and added Yellow(yellow sea) on the top of the wings. Before adding any paint I lightly sanded with 300 grit and removed minor surface problems on the foam. Then sprayed down with a mix of water, alcohol, baby shampoo to clean off the oil, dust or other debris. Next, I covered the top wing with a light spackling mixture (I no longer would recommend this cosmetic mod, adds unnecessary weight and time) to attempt to obtain a smooth finish on the top of the wings. My concern with the spackling was that it would add to much additional weight and may not be worth the effort(not worth it imo). I applied the spackle with a flexible credit card, dipping in water, and smoothing the surface of the wing. Once the spackling has had enough time to dry I sanded with 250 grit to eliminate high spots and to smooth some lines. I should've spent much more time on the sanding portion of the spackle, as after I painted some lines are still visible. In the future, I'll probably avoid this step as it didn't add a lot more to the finish, and the bottom wing, which wasn't spackled looks fine. I repeated my cleaning method with spray bottle then wipe down. I then proceeded to tape the bottom of the wing adding 4" for the spacing of the stripes. I added 2 coats, sometimes 3 depending on how it looked after 15 minutes worth of dry time. The upper wing painting and horizontal tail were very easy and also received at least 2 coats.

The final step was adding a couple light coats of Minwax^® Polycrylic^® Protective Finish. This would add additional protection to slight dings and scratches as well as protect the paint. It is a water base polycrylic and application with a brush and sponge brush couldn't have been easier. Clean-up and/or mistakes are easily cleaned and dry time was really fast. While I had the polycrylic out I reinforced the fuselage directly over the wings. I added a light layer of polycrylic, then laid out a small section of .5 oz fiberglass cloth and added another layer of poly on top. The cloth is extremely lightweight and almost could have done a few layers as there only a slight noticeable difference.

So that's it thus far for my Radian mods. The entire process was done over a couple days and added approx 3 oz total weight to the Radian. I have additional ideas that I want to accomplish with the Radian and my other planes but for now I'm happy and looking forward to more flights.

Another step I am looking at is adding Holographic tape of other high visibility tape to the leading edge of the wings. I have some Reflectix silver metallic tape on the Radian now but haven't seen it in the air yet.

Here are some tape links I located they may be of interest to you.

1. Holographic Metallic tapes - Tape Brothers
2. Reflective tape - Identi-tape
3. RC group topic on tape

edit 08/24/2009 - I recently started using Monokote Trim sheets, they are basically stickers, adhesive backed and to help proper placement I used a couple drops of baby shampoo in water then lightly applied to sticker, after correct placement I put pressure on all areas with towel to help get the moisture out, go back after awhile and apply more pressure to ensure it sticks well and eliminate air bubbles etc. I am working on adding additional colors but so far the Yellow is great but the chrome on the Parkzone Corsair is just ok, it only flashes once in awhile at altitude on the leading edge on wing. I'll add more info and pics of the project after I add more colors and flight time.

WSM Smoked Pork Spare Ribs and ABT's

2009-05-17T17:03:00.000-07:00

Passed by the local supermarket to see what they were offering for my next meal on the Weber Smokey Mountain cooker. I was mainly looking for something either in a Brisket, Pork Butt, Pork Ribs. They had a great selection and figured a shorter 4-5 hour cook was what I was in the mood for with some good ole' spare ribs and Jalapeño stuffed peppers aka ABT's. I paid ($1.78lb / 12.53lbs / $22.30) for a cryovac of Spare Ribs.

Once the Pork Spare ribs were home, I removed them from the cryovac package and thoroughly washed them in the sink. Some people do not bother washing their ribs but this is a step I always take with all my poultry and pork. I laid the ribs on my larger cutting board and using a sharp boning knife I cut them St. Louis style, again just my habits as they will work just fine directly on the smoker without trimming. I mixed some fresh rub, limiting some of the chili quantity this time as the chili became bitter last time when I applied a little too much. Also added salt, pepper, kosher salt, garlic, cumin, sugar both brown and turbinado, cayenne pepper, onion powder etc.

The ribs, now rubbed were sitting for a 45min's while I got to the smoker ready. I added a full water pan and plenty of smoke wood from our local orchards. This time a mix between Cherry and Apricot, and since I had plenty and it was a mild wood I thought I would add more wood chunks than usual to test the smokiness and just how well the ribs accepted it. The Weber Smokey Mountain smoker was at an easy 300° pretty quickly in our 90° weather. I then added a rib rack(upside down turkey roaster rack) and added the ribs to the middle section of the smoker, just above the filled water pan. The trimmed pieces filled the upper grate. The spares and the trimmed cuts where cooking at 230-250° highest was 280° or so thru my Tel-tru thermometer in the lid. The whole meal was about a 4.5 hours cook time, including taking them off for a quick BBQ sauce glaze and returning to smoker, the trimmings came off earlier as "chef treats".

Off the smoker, with just a little bbq sauce glaze that was added 10mins before, additional sauce(s) served on the side

The ABT's went on the upper grate as soon as the ribs and trimmings were removed, this was kind of backwards having the appetizers last but I was more interested in eating ribs then the Jalapenos.

The ribs turned out great and were extremely tender with a nice blend of spices and sweetness from the glaze. Another easy and fantastic cook from the WSM, and god bless the pig for all it's tastiness.

Here are a few other pics of the cook.

My Brute - Fight Me! Interactive deathmatch between friends

2009-05-14T17:28:00.000-07:00

"Settle your differences in the ring" is the tag line for the interactive death match MY BRUTE. Simple to play, simple to setup your own Brute. Choose a character and a name and that's it... time to fight. As you progress, you acquire unique weapons and skills. Take a look at my character and fight me. The fighting is automatically choreographed based on your weapons and skill set.

FIGHT ME HERE

Good luck!

Parkzone Radian Sailplane - Maiden Flights

2009-04-26T10:52:00.000-07:00

Had a fun time and did 45mins on the included 1300mAh stock battery. This was mainly flying low checking the glide ability and feeling the wind(5-11mph according to w.underground, always seems lower) as it was a little more breezy than I would've liked. I practiced low glides at no power for short landings and had some really graceful, at the side of my feet landings. The Radian can be one of those hand toss launch and hand catch planes. I had some 10+ feet slides that surprised me, but this was what others warned that you need to rub off some speed as it just wants to hang on landings. I was expecting the plane to want to slide forever but I circled around for re-approach if it was coming in too hot.

I was flying at a sports complex and the little league teams occupied 3-4 of the other fields. I positioned myself way out of view across a parking lot on the unused soccer fields. Man what a great place to fly minus all the stadium lighting. I had two gentleman leave their grandkids games to try and track the "pilot" down, they had to walk around the complex to find me so I landed and got to talk with both at separate times. One has been flying over 50 years and mainly flies gliders, slope soars. He was familiar with a lot of the equipment I had and some models both of us had. Explained to them this was my maiden and had a good laugh at a close call early in the flights(stadium lighting). They gave some positive comments on my flying being it was my maiden so that was certainly generous.

Sunday morning, 5-14mph (w.underground) very breezy, the Radian was literally not moving on dead stick, fun times practicing dead stick landings, high altitude. 31mins on stock 1300mAh - only 768mAh charged back in (fma mulit4).

Changed rudder pushrod to inner most hole on control horn for added response. Rudder is still slow when wing is flexing, but isn't to aggressive on slow flight either. Dead stick landings, all were smooth even with the wingtips dropping due to the wind, the Radian was at a basic hover until the gentle landing. Makes my flying look a lot more impressive than it is :D

Thoughts on Parkzone Radian maiden flight.
1. A little down trim for first launch
2. Conservative throttle at launch, be prepared to bring that nose down
3. Rudder input is slow on this breezy day, long turns
4. Rudder input REALLY slow on high throttle or nose dive(haven't changed the control horn position from stock on maiden, should've)
5. Will be a fun platform for my camera
6. Used 874mAh from stock 1300mAh battery 45mins multiple landings and goofing around really low just laughing at the glide hang time the plane has, powered on for 30 secs bursts then glide etc/ Also flew a PZ1800mAh for 40mins and had PLENTY left.
7. Needs under wing identifiers, also may put on holographic tape on leading edge, Econokote coverings for wing like a translucent orange or something bright .. still deciding.
8. Larger 1800mAh did fine, have a bunch of 2200mAh I'll try next.
9. Not that confident in the push on wings to stay put for the life of the plane, magnets, simple tape .. still thinking.
10. Very easy to fly, fun, great looking in the sky, very very stealth in air, does loops very easily, but I was enjoying the glide ability as this is my first plane over 48" wingspan so the 78" Radian wingspan is awesome!.
11. I am a noob thermal hunter, so far the Radian loves the wind.

Some Parkzone Radian Related sites:

Parkzone Radian Sailplane Arrives

2009-04-24T17:20:00.000-07:00

Read a few reviews and watched the flying videos that were posted on forums, vimeo, youtube and was excited to research the Radian further. Well, I purchased it and the Radian just arrived today. I'll be soldering deans ultra plug on and then off tomorrow morning to a park for it's first maiden flight.

Next I'll attach my video camera and add some aerial videos. It'll be great to see the different perspective and sound the Radian will have once at high altitude and no throttle. And here is the rest of it.

Parkzone Radian awesome sailplane

2009-04-22T09:20:00.000-07:00

update - I purchased the plane and have already started a few mods Parkzone Radian page

Parkzone Radian is a brushless powered, 2 meter sailplane that came on the market at the end of last year. I have always liked the flying dynamics of RC gliders and was researching either building one or perhaps purchasing a RTF (ready to fly) model. Now, new owners have added their flying experiences with the Parkzone Radian, adding their posts to various forums and videos on Vimeo and Youtube. I have made a decision and the Radian will be my next plane.

The Parkzone Radian has plenty of power and goes near vertical on takeoff with the brushless motor. It essentially uses the same powerplant as my Parkzone Corsair, a brushless 480 size motor with 11.1v - 3 cell Lipo's. The battery with the Radian is a little lighter as it's rated at 1300mAh. It is a basic sailplane as far as controls are concerned, it doesn't have ailerons. Those more experienced glider and sailplane pilots are equally impressed with the Radian and it's flying characteristics and ability to catch thermals and sustain very long flights. No stopwatch needed to get down in time before the battery runs out with this plane as once you power off at high altitude, get comfortable, she'll float for awhile and I foresee neck pain as the main reason to bring her back down.

I plan on attaching my video cam(pocketcamx), as seen in my previous aerial videos, and getting some vids up on my Vimeo site. I'll first trim the Radian controls out and get used to it's flying characteristics and get a few maiden flights under my belt. The plane looks to be an easy flier and would probably great as a starter plane for a beginner pilot. The landing may pose difficult for a newer pilot based on the Radian's ease of maintaining a glide and staying aloft, it wants to float all day and a longer landing field or spot will need to be utilized. As owners have indicated, the Radian may need a couple of approaches to settle the altitude and speed down enough for a graceful landing without taking up a lot of ground. I'm so looking forward to relaxing and flying without the need of the motor constantly on and having the prop folded at high altitude I'll be capturing the surrounding area with video and the wind as the only audible noise so it'll make my next few aerial videos very unique. Stay tuned the Parkzone Radian is already en route and will be delivered in just a few short, or long, days.

Parkzone Home - Radian
Parkzone Radian - RC Groups forum
Parkzone Radian - WattFlyer forum
Parkzone Radian - Vimeo vids
Parkzone Radian - Youtube vids