Did Some Flying Today

Tony

Tony

Staff member
I wasn't going to upload this, but decided that I might as well since I had the video of it.

The first part of the video is of the maiden flight of the RCH F-117. This plane is going to need a LOT of work. It was nose heavy, which it should be, but there was not enough air going over the rudder to keep it from torque rolling from the motor. This caused a spiral of death and it crashed.

The second part is of the HK450GT. Yes, this is still ALL clone. mg90s servos on the cyclic, EXI D213F servo on the tail with an Assan GA250 gyro. The tail is rock solid, best I have EVER had with a clone.

There are some issues though. One, the motor is underpowered. I need more power, like something around 500w. If you have a motor, let me know. The ESC is fine. The new Zippy 30c batteries are just what they are, cheap. The battery that I flew in the plane is the same one that I flew in the heli. I needed to run it down. And it already has air under the packing. Yup, one flight and puffed. Didn't even do anything hard with it. Battery was only slightly warm after the heli flight.

I want to apologize for the modulation of this video. The mic on this new camera sucks big time. There is no way I can shoot any videos with this to upload for tutorials unless I can find a way to turn it down. A LOT. So turn the sound down, I don't do much talking and the talking I do is with my step dad, nothing for the video.

Enjoy!

Just Flying - YouTube
 
Lee

Lee

Well-Known Member
I tried to fly yesterday night in the baseball ground, but the mozzies were so bad i had to run for it. When i got home, i looked like i had the plague :D Very itchy.
 
Tony

Tony

Staff member
That is why I had to cut this one short. Mosquitoes and gnats, just horrible! And having the sun right in my eyes to my left didn't leave much room to fly. Either way, I'm trying to get back into the air and practice for this 600.
 
Tony

Tony

Staff member
The more I fly this heli, the more it comes back to me as to why I really liked it. There is still a LOT of blade grip slop, but this thing is just stuck in the air. Very solid and predictable.
 
Westy

Westy

LEGEND
niceone Tony!!!!

Lee ...... you should utilise the 8 channels and put an insect spray can under her belly and get a servo to depress the spray can .... and DEAL to those MOZZIES!!
 
Island Breeze

Island Breeze

Senior Rc-Help Member
Lee said:
I tried to fly yesterday night in the baseball ground, but the mozzies were so bad i had to run for it. When i got home, i looked like i had the plague :D Very itchy.
Click to expand...

it beat's being chased by a BEE

- - - Updated - - -

Nice! the only thing your missing is the cow's in the back ground from your original video that i saw. LOL
 
Tony

Tony

Staff member
I don't fly over the field when they are out most of the time. And I never do it with a heli. Planes will not do as much damage as a heli to them.
 
Dirk

Dirk

Member
Tony, that crazy F-117 of yours displays the typical signs of insufficient vertical stabilizer surface area. Maybe try and increase the size of vertical stabilizer somewhat.
 
Tony

Tony

Staff member
That is EXACTLY what I was thinking as well. Just not enough rudder to stop the lateral forces against it. I will make them about 50% bigger and give it another go. I think they are laying down too far as well.
 
Tony

Tony

Staff member
I made a modification to the rudders on the F-117 and she has stopped torque rolling to the left. Now, it's tail heavy and wanting to bank to the right. I think the crashes that it has had has taken it's toll on the poor plane.

I will be uploading the new plans tonight when I get to the base with the larger tail section, and modifying the CoG 1.5" forward. She didn't want to do anything but nose straight up into the air.

The end result was a lawn dart that pretty much took care of the first test plane. Now I have some info to put towards the next one. Has anyone else tried to fly this plane? What were your results?

I'm officially completely out of foam board now. I would buy the wife flowers and ask her if I can order a new box, but the flowers would be as much as the box lmao. I would get slapped hard for that one...
 
Tony

Tony

Staff member
Wasn't going to, but I had the video so decided to edit and upload it. It's nothing special, but hoping to get some more eyes on the plane for ideas. I may be missing something that you guys can catch. IMO, I need to move the CoG forward, as stated above, about 1.5". The next plane I will move the motor up slightly and move the battery even farther up.

It's weird though, when it was torque rolling with the small rudders on it, it almost felt like it was nose heavy.

Another thing, I'm wondering if the elevons are not large enough. You can see them in he video kinda, but best to look at the plans. I'm thinking of using a different design with washout strips just to see what happens.

Have a watch and let me know what you think.

F 117 Second Test Flight - YouTube
 
Dirk

Dirk

Member
Looking much better. It does look a little tail heavy to me. Looking at the video I was wondering about two things. What is that on the elevon hinge line? Balsa strip or something sticking up? It is difficult to see on the video. Anything sticking up there is going to destroy the airflow over the elevons. It also looks as if the hinge line does not run parallel to the trailing edge of the wing. Have you tried making it parallel to the trailing edge perhaps? That should tame down the tip stalling tendencies. The way it is now promotes tip stalling because of the large control surface throw at the wing tips. All the action is outboard and nothing is happening inboard. Any possibility of moving the servo more inboard? You are losing quite a big percentage of your wing area there with that servo acting like a nice big spoiler there.

I think I must build one of these to do some testing, just need an EDF.

- - - Updated - - -

Looking much better. It does look a little tail heavy to me. Looking at the video I was wondering about two things. What is that on the elevon hinge line? Balsa strip or something sticking up? It is difficult to see on the video. Anything sticking up there is going to destroy the airflow over the elevons. It also looks as if the hinge line does not run parallel to the trailing edge of the wing. Have you tried making it parallel to the trailing edge perhaps? That should tame down the tip stalling tendencies. The way it is now promotes tip stalling because of the large control surface throw at the wing tips. All the action is outboard and nothing is happening inboard. Any possibility of moving the servo more inboard? You are losing quite a big percentage of your wing area there with that servo acting like a nice big spoiler there.

I think I must build one of these to do some testing, just need an EDF.
 
Tony

Tony

Staff member
The strip that you are seeing is a BBQ skewer. It's there to strengthen the wing where the elevons are, otherwise it flexes reducing the control even more than the BBQ Skewer is doing sitting there.

The elevons do make a triangle sort of. However, if you look at the plans, I have changed the elevon shape already and gotten rid of the triangle. I had the same thoughts that you did. Might have to run some strips to force the air straight when they move. we will see though.

And the only way to move the servos inboard would be to use a bellcrank to make a 90º turn to the elevons. One thing to remember about these foamboard planes, they fly more via incidence rather than airfoil, especially one like this.

Thanks for the tips, keep them coming if you have any more. They will all help out before I call this a "done" plan.

And you can get a 64mm EDF off ebay pretty cheap. Something like $25 for the fan, motor and ESC. At least that is what I got mine for. And it's pretty decent.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom