So I still need to get the maiden video processed, but let's do a bit of a flight report of the last two weeks.
I did the maiden flight Saturday the 14th, and it's a good thing I had brown pants on.
I could control it - but just barely. She screamed all over the sky and I was playing catch up, about two moves behind her at every step. And on landing, she came in wings level but as soon as it touched grass she immediately started cartwheeling. One control rod got bent, but no other damage to the plane. That was my last charged battery for the day so I counted myself very lucky to get her down, and figured I just wasn't a capable enough pilot for a fast plane like this.
I just didn't want to be responsible for turning her into a pile of sticks, and figured someone else could fly her better. So I decided to take her to the RC auction next Saturday morning. And while lots of people at the auction admired how she looked, the price it was about to sell for was a insulting. So I bid over them and took her back home myself.
"Self," I said, "you're going to need to learn how to fly her, so get to it." So I packed her up and went to the field Saturday afternoon with my EPP Cuda and a couple other planes.
It was a beautiful day with very calm air, and the EPP Cuda was just ripping across the sky going exactly where I pointed her - I was even having fun doing Laine's 'roll speed test' of full throttle vertical and full aileron deflection, and trying to get it to do a hammer head turn (which is not easy without a rudder). When it was time to put the Balsa Cuda up, I had just finished talking to a noob flyer about the effects of nose heavy vs tail heavy and I thought to check my CG again.
And with the 3s2200 battery in jammed all the way forward in the nose, she was tail heavy. And then the clues added up for how it behaved on the maiden flight. And I started to have hope.
I ended up putting 1/2oz of lead weights in the nose to get a slightly nose down CG where the leading edge of the wing meets the fuselage. And it was like flying a whole different aircraft! She felt locked in - didn't flop all over the place on takeoff, and with a couple clicks of down trim she ripped across the field on a low pass, hands off! Vertical climb is unlimited, and the roll rate is just nuts - but when I stop flopping the stick around, she stays pointed right where I left her and I'm not chasing her all over the sky anymore. :applause: I haven't had the cajones to try high rates, but I am having a great time with her now!
The only thing I still need to address is landing. My EPP Cuda comes in wings level, touches grass, and slides along for 20 or 30 feet pretty as you please. The Balsa Cuda comes in wings level, touches grass, and immediately transitions to a cartwheel. One clue I have as to what's going wrong is the battery has come loose and it flopping around inside when I pick it up. And because the battery is so far forward to make the CG work, I only have 1 strap holding onto it at the back of the battery. My hypothesis is when it first touches down on landing, the battery gets jerked forward, and since the battery cables stick out the side of the battery it jerks some side forces in when the battery moves, which throws the plane into wacky cartwheels. So I'm going to build a foam battery holder case that fits into the nose and prevents the battery from having anywhere to move, forward, backward, or sideways, and see if this solves the problem.
And now I want to buy a Night Cuda to try the 35" wingspan one out
I did the maiden flight Saturday the 14th, and it's a good thing I had brown pants on.
I could control it - but just barely. She screamed all over the sky and I was playing catch up, about two moves behind her at every step. And on landing, she came in wings level but as soon as it touched grass she immediately started cartwheeling. One control rod got bent, but no other damage to the plane. That was my last charged battery for the day so I counted myself very lucky to get her down, and figured I just wasn't a capable enough pilot for a fast plane like this. I just didn't want to be responsible for turning her into a pile of sticks, and figured someone else could fly her better. So I decided to take her to the RC auction next Saturday morning. And while lots of people at the auction admired how she looked, the price it was about to sell for was a insulting. So I bid over them and took her back home myself.
"Self," I said, "you're going to need to learn how to fly her, so get to it." So I packed her up and went to the field Saturday afternoon with my EPP Cuda and a couple other planes.
It was a beautiful day with very calm air, and the EPP Cuda was just ripping across the sky going exactly where I pointed her - I was even having fun doing Laine's 'roll speed test' of full throttle vertical and full aileron deflection, and trying to get it to do a hammer head turn (which is not easy without a rudder). When it was time to put the Balsa Cuda up, I had just finished talking to a noob flyer about the effects of nose heavy vs tail heavy and I thought to check my CG again.
And with the 3s2200 battery in jammed all the way forward in the nose, she was tail heavy.
And then the clues added up for how it behaved on the maiden flight. And I started to have hope. I ended up putting 1/2oz of lead weights in the nose to get a slightly nose down CG where the leading edge of the wing meets the fuselage. And it was like flying a whole different aircraft! She felt locked in - didn't flop all over the place on takeoff, and with a couple clicks of down trim she ripped across the field on a low pass, hands off! Vertical climb is unlimited, and the roll rate is just nuts - but when I stop flopping the stick around, she stays pointed right where I left her and I'm not chasing her all over the sky anymore. :applause: I haven't had the cajones to try high rates, but I am having a great time with her now!
The only thing I still need to address is landing. My EPP Cuda comes in wings level, touches grass, and slides along for 20 or 30 feet pretty as you please. The Balsa Cuda comes in wings level, touches grass, and immediately transitions to a cartwheel. One clue I have as to what's going wrong is the battery has come loose and it flopping around inside when I pick it up. And because the battery is so far forward to make the CG work, I only have 1 strap holding onto it at the back of the battery. My hypothesis is when it first touches down on landing, the battery gets jerked forward, and since the battery cables stick out the side of the battery it jerks some side forces in when the battery moves, which throws the plane into wacky cartwheels. So I'm going to build a foam battery holder case that fits into the nose and prevents the battery from having anywhere to move, forward, backward, or sideways, and see if this solves the problem.
And now I want to buy a Night Cuda to try the 35" wingspan one out
