About Mike

I'm a software engineer. Look into the about page for more information about me.

Value Hobby Aviator 60 Update

I am closing in on about a dozen or so flights on my Value Hobby Aviator 60. It is an awesome flying plane. I highly, highly recommend it. If you’re looking for a nice high-wing plane then there is no reason you shouldn’t be considering it. I did just have one issue with it. After my last flight on a day full of good flying action I noticed the covering peeling back on the fuselage. With the generous amount of oil from the 2-stroke fuel giving it a gritty look it kind of reminded me of those old WWII photos … Continue reading

Red Bull Zivko Edge 540 Build (Part 3)

Welcome to another edition of the Red Bull Zivko Edge 540 build. Stop by the first and second build threads to check out the whole story! Tune-up So when we left off I was have some serious issues with the Magnum XL 70 RFS. It wouldn’t run right when mounted to the airplane. I’m not a small engine expert so I basically threw my hands up at the whole situation and dumped the plane in my dad’s lap. One point that was mentioned to me was that the tank was sitting a little high compared to the carb. The first … Continue reading

Home Theater Refresh (Pioneer SC-1223-K Review)

Recently my Sony receiver, which has been with me through college, finally gave up the ghost. I’ve been in limbo on what would make a good replacement. After doing some research and coming to one conclusion and then after seeing the reviews I changed my mind and ended up deciding on the Pioneer SC-1223-K Receiver. Tech Spec My old Sony most likely subcomed to heat failure. It also didn’t have any HDMI inputs. The tech in it was also from a time past, when 5.1 just became a “thing”. For its replacement I wanted to get something that was not so much future … Continue reading

Magnum XL 70 RFS 4-Stroke Engine (Red Bull 540 Update)

I blasted out an update on the Red Bull 540 build rather quickly. I am stuck trying to get the plane in a fly-able condition. This is why I haven’t had another update on the plane. I can’t fly it! I ordered a Magnum XL 70 RFS 4-stroke glow engine from HobbyPeople.net. If you read the update post you’ll know that ordering from HobbyPeople.net was a pleasure. However, getting the engine to work has not. I am having some trouble getting this engine running correctly. After searching around with Google and looking through posts here and other forums I cannot find a … Continue reading

SPMReader Update

Here is a quick update regarding the SPMReader application I created for Spektrum RC Aircraft Radios. It’s been about a month since I announced the SPMReader application. The amount of work that I’ve been able to put into the application hasn’t been as much as I hoped. The biggest updated is that the application now supports the following radios and features: DX18 Converts the SPM to a standardized XML format. DX8 Converts the SPM to a standardized XML format. Currently working on the conversion. It doesn’t look like much now, but the first two points under each radio is important. Once … Continue reading

Using Gitorious, TortoiseGit, and Msysgit Together

And Not Crying! So if you’ve read previously I’ve setup a Gitorious server at my work to do some POC that doesn’t necessarily need to go into our source control systems for standard release software. Up to this point I’ve only used the CLI on Ubuntu to issue git commands. I kinda was at a loss on how to work with Git on a Windows machine. Since I’ve used TortoiseSVN and I knew there were other Tortoise* derivatives I checked to see if there was a flavor that supported Git. Turns out there is, TortoiseGit. TortoiseGit is just an interface … Continue reading

CentOS 6 and Gitorious

At my work we use and I manage Team Foundation Server for our source control system. TFS has great application life-cycle management. Outside of work I use GitHub.com for project hosting. Git is a great source control system. GitHub provides a great service for those needing a remote repository.  TFS has its benefits. Git/GitHub has its own benefits. This post won’t degenerate into which is better or how you should avoid one and use the other. That said, I’m a big proponent of using the best tool when the situation dictates it. Anyhow, recently I wanted to do some development at work that … Continue reading

Airfoilz Foamie Planes

I just ordered and received an Airfoilz Edge 540 NX plane. This isn’t the build thread. While waiting for the plane to arrive I wanted to familiarize myself with how it was built. Turns out I couldn’t find the manual online. Here are the manuals that came on the CD. Hopefully your Google search will land you here! Airfoilz NX Series Airfoilz NX Manual Bipe NX Manual Ver 1 Full Fuse Planes Bearcat Bearcat Manual Bearcat Part Sheet Rev 1 Edge 540 Edge 540 FF Manual – Ver 1 Edge 540 Part Sheet Extra 260 Extra 260 Manual (DropBox) Extra … Continue reading

Red Bull Zivko Edge 540 Build (Part 2)

Red Bull Zivko Edge 540

Part Two of the Red Bull Zivko Edge 540T build. Continue reading