YellowAlert

Thanks all for looking out for for items at the bring and buy this weekend. Oddly enough I might be getting rid of a thew things at the bring and buy tomorrow, never planned on losing my precious 12FG and Laser

I did inform a few shops and clubs. Apparently most thieves are smart enough to take out the radio/engine and dispose of airframe, so not much hope of recovery but worth a try.

Stolen from parked car in Lewes, E Sussex, 27th August 2013:

1) YT Dragon Lady, white with black and yellow trim, missing cowl, wheel pants and windscreen. Futaba 617 RX. Mostly Futaba servos. Laser 100 engine stamped "SJ" on mounting lug

2) Multiplex Dogfighter RR, white with black and red trim. Non-standard orange trim on underside of each wing-tip. Futaba 617 RX. Standard MPX "tuning" motor/ESC. No-name servos

3) Aluminium flight case containing vast array of tools, LIPO charger, tacho etc and Futaba 12FG TX (owner "Sam Jones", with TM-14 FASST module).

Please PM me if you have information on these items. Thanks, Sam

A couple of notes regarding the Sanye range: In the unlikely event that you hadn't noticed (!) these are OS clones, about a generation behind the times and there is nothing wrong with that. Note however that Magnum engines are shinier looking presumably having been cast with more care and/or better materials/tools. There is a price premium to pay of course, and I've no idea if a Magnum's are better than ASP or SC internally by any significant measure.

It seems ASP engines have a slightly better finish compared to SC too which would explain why SC are the cheapest of the lot. Again I wouldn't like to speculate if internal QA is any different between the ranges. I would hope not as the factory would have more SC engines returned compared to the others and you would expect modellers to notice and make it known if it was the case..

One quick note regarding Saito motors: sure they are powerful and revy motors ideal for performance models, but they prefer high nitro fuel to perform and consequently drink it rapidly so they can be expensive to run. Someone was telling me the current Saito range was designed to meet the needs of early 3D/prop-hanging models 10+ years ago before electric power virtually took over that market. Might explain why they like revving fast and guzzling high-nitro fuel! To be fair you don't HAVE to run them on high nitro but other motors seem happier on less so its just something to consider..

Sam

The supplied ABS (I think) wheel wells are junk - poorly fit and fracture at the slightest look of my snips during trimming. Yet again my buddy warned me to expect this so I just sprayed the wells (badly) matt black:

FW190 - 8.jpg[/attachment]

A good tough plate design for sure but I couldn't drill holes just the right size for the supplied self-tapping screws. Either I drilled too small and the screw snapped, or bigger holes that don't have enough "bite" and will probably collapse on landing. So I've ordered some M3 blind nuts to go in the back to bolt them in nice and secure. My guess is originally the plates were all-ply and self tappers that size made sense as they will probably snap in a heavy landing, saving the wing from structural damage. Fingers crossed I don't have too many heavy "arrivals" as the new arrangement is going to be far less forgiving..

Next up I made up the wing surface connectors. I've heard people say you shouldn't use swing keepers on a model of this size, so I dutifully soldered up some 3mm rods and installed:

FW190 - 5.jpg[/attachment]

Perhaps if I'm really bored one evening I'll "upgrade" these to nice soldered linkages, but it's a really difficult job to do well - even with a nice hot gas iron in my experience!

I don't much like the hard balsa servo bearers being epoxied end-grain to the mounting plates, but I'm going ahead with it anyway:

I've been meaning to start my FW build for literally years now, so I'm hoping by starting a build thread it will inspire me to complete the build. Wildly optimistic I know but here goes.. I won't document the build chapter and verse, just highlight areas where I have doubts or otherwise diverge from the manual. NB: this is the 74" version and will be Laser 150 powered.

First bit to tackle is the wing. A buddy of mine recommended sorting out retracts etc before attaching the two panels at the last possible moment to minimise hangar rash (the manual suggest attaching the panels quite early). He also suggested mounting the retract can to the wing instead of the fuz - thus eliminating another point of failure (the air-line coupler from fuz to wing).

Anyway first up attach the surfaces:

FW190 - 1.jpg[/attachment]

(the ailerons are attached using plain old thin CA as standard - I've never seen the need for pinning CA hinges having never seen one fail in flight and plenty of ailerons ripped apart during a crash while the hinges remain solidly stuck to the remains..)

In answer to my own question (4-st petrol sound), this doesn't sound too bad:

Still not as nice as glow 4-st mind..

I was talking to a warbird expert about this kindof subject recently.. He always said smaller Spritfires aren't so good, best start with 1/6th scale (around 72" span). The Kyosho and Dennis Bryant models are no doubt good but 1/6th scale+ models have far more 'presence' in the air anyway.

Adding another mere 10-15 inches to the windspan adds an amazing amount more to presence too, but this is apparently where a lot of warbird newbies go wrong - an 88" warbird can weigh twice that of a 72" model and demands far more from the pilot.. I can tell you flying a 72" warbird is a big enough step up from .60-size models - just don't ask how the Wycombe MFC BBQ got bent last year!

Consequently I think the smart thing to do is start with a 72" ARTF - which is why I'm building a YT FW-190 right now (build thread to come). Even though it's "only" an ARTF there is plenty more complexity to make the build lengthy and interesting. The idea is to learn the typical warbird mistakes on an ARTF I'm not emotionally attached too. Then perhaps after many (50+) incident-free flights I'll put the time and effort into building a 'proper' 1/5+ scale model (plenty of good choices in the OP).

One thing I will say however is please, please don't put a 2-stroke petrol in it - one way to ruin a nice scale model is to make it sound like a cheap lawnmower! I don't know what the larger 4-stroke petrols sound like (all I know is they're expensive!), but you can't beat a 4-stroke glow in the 20-25cc range..

Sam

Performance was indeed much improved with an 13x8 prop, so I tried a 14x8.5 for fun, now it really motors Static current draw is 68Amps - a bit on the high side as the ESC (70A rated) gets a bit warm. However so long as WOT is only used for relatively short bursts I think it's just about within limits. Flight times are down to 7 minutes on this prop however - just long enough IMO, and did I tell you it's really fast

Here's a better pic of the front end stud mounting:

Here is my electric conversion for anyone interested. I'm completely converted to using studding for mounting motors now. It has lots of advantages:

1) simple and cheap (ok that's 3)

2) the studding should bend upon heavy "arrival", absorbing impact cheaply and reducing chance of breaking the fuz or bending the motor shaft

3) easily tweaked a bit for thrust-line corrections

4) easily adjusted to suit alternative motor of different length (assuming same backplate dimension, as is usually the case)

Performance is kinda wimpy with the power setup taken from my Wot4, so I'll try up-propping, which I expect to do the trick as the Wot was deliberately under-propped to yield 12+ minute flights. If that doesn't do the trick I've a higher KV motor to try which made the Wot ballistic in testing but cooked the the ESC and motor - might suit the more slippery Acro airframe better for a speed fix. Yep that's a lump of lead behind the motor for CG correction - nothing to worry about really, the heavier the better during blustery winter months..

NB: the current (under-propped) setup is:

Lipo: 5S 4000maH

Motor: Hyperion ZS4020 12 (543KV)

Prop: APC-E 13x6.5

Sam

[attachment=0]ImageUploadedByTapatalk1349608362.863596.jpg[/attachment]

Here she is with all the prettying bits attached. Looks awesome I think, and flys 100% better with sidethrust. Great for barnstorming and lands at walking pace, much like a Cub only more unusual Only snag was upon landing the balloon wheels pancake, jammed in the wheel pants so it tripped over the nose. Cracked jell coat on underside of cowling was only damage however, so I'll find some harder wheels to solve that problem. All in all very happy with how the project worked out

Next up is a YT FW190 (72", Laser 150 power)..

Sam

There is a fair amount of lattice work up front and (unusually) it has been glued fairly well, so Poly-C should just give the balsa enough rigidity for smooth e-power. Remember traditional models are heavy up-front to handle the vibrations IC motors produce and pure-electric models have a fraction as much wood around the motor mount.

I was (kinda) joking when I said my power-plant is more likely to pull the front clean off anyway, but with 10S on tap I will need to manage the throttle carefully as I anticipate 3D levels of power in a decidedly non-3D airframe! Structural integrity could be an issue in general and not just the front-end..

Sam

My current project is this fairly big and very yellow Monocoupe: http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/stor ... duct=24002

The original plan was to power it with a Laser 150 I have spare, however upon delivery it became clear the model was originally designed with electric power in mind as the front-end is incredibly flimsy!

So my second HK delivery included a fairly hefty motor, 100A HV ESC, motor mounts and props etc. Power will be delivered from 10S 4000+ LIPO's I have spare Of course there is now a danger the power available might rip the front of the model clean off instead of having an IC motor shake it off!

Sam

I haven't got any Pi but I've been playing with something simpler: Arduino http://www.arduino.cc/

Nothing fancy like an OS or IO beyond a few digital/analog pins. To date all I've made is a (very crude!) 4-legged servo walking robot. Yep sure is fun coding in low-level C instead of the horribly bloated framework API's you get stuck with on mainstream "enterprise" projects.

Now I just need to write a pile of clever code to sequence a nice smooth gait pattern with variable ride-height, reversing and maybe even turning!

Sam

From searching Google the main recommendation is to reinforce the undercarriage mounting area

My guess is there is some confusion between the original kit-build "Uno Wot" (which you presumably have), and the similar recent Ripmax ARTF version "Wot Trainer". The latter is actually a glue-less ARTF and goes together faster than any model I've seen. Confusing huh? The kit version (like all CF models) is built like a tank and shouldn't need UC reinforcement, the ARTF version (like all ARTF models!) will need reinforcing. Always a good idea to use plastic bolts regardless.

Cheers,

Sam

Cheers Dave / Sam..

What exactly do you mean by snap?

As Dave said it will snap (tip-stall) violently during high-G - which is bad enough - even worse it will often go into something like a spin that is difficult to recover from, usually ending in a crash. The tough-as-boots model will survive but anybody you hit may not, so be careful! Deliberately make it snap at a safe distance to get a feel for things before doing high-G stuff anywhere near the strip.

Now I remember the mount with the power Slipstream is probably only suitable for an in-runner so ignore what I said earlier about using an out-runner as you would need to fab a new mount, not worth the hassle unless perhaps you already have a suitable out-runner to hand. The cheap 3000kv JP EnErG motor I have screams nicely on a 5.5x4.5 prop; 2000kv on a 6x5.5 should still be fun as Ali says.

Sam

3000kv JP motor 2000/2200 3s, 40A ESC.

 

Mine went like a bat out of hell, get some decent servos like hitech hs85

+1 IMO the same ideal setup I had on mine too. You want a 5.5x4.5 Apc prop too, fast but you don't have to use all the beans all the time. Learning fast flying on this near indestructible model was a good stepping stone towards flying the much faster FunJet. You can probably find a cheaper equivalent motor at HK but 3000kv is definitely on the money. As Nutz said, high kv = inruner, lower kv = outrunner, however there are exceptions, doesn't really matter if the numbers work and it will fit. Outrunners can be a pain in skinny glider noses for example, not an issue on the Slipstream. Whatever setup you choose be warned it will snap out the bottom of loops etc - the chairman of my last club nearly killed everyone in the pilot box after snapping out while combatting, which was quite exciting =-0

Bah, I keep missing out on those Pheonix sessions

This time I missed out due to watching this however:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0 ... land_Film/

Just watch it! I've done quite a bit of glider flying, a spot of heli-flying and even taken a joy-ride in an Extra 300L, but never tried microlighting. I used to dream of owning a yellow Piper Cub (and still do), now I also dream of owning a yellow Thruster

I think you fly Futaba 401's anyway, but just in case...

I had a cheap and nasty (early Align) 401-clone gyro that drifted fairly quickly on cold days, never quick enough to cause an accident but I had some close shaves. It was near-tolerable on warm days but didn't lock well at the best of times so I got rid.