Anybody else scratch building tonight?

Wildthing

Legendary member
Back from an interesting maiden. No crashes but man does this plane just🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈. I added in so much down trim it starts to fight itself and become pitchy. I'm not sure if it's the shape of the wing, my thrust angle, CG or what. Will post video on the "what did you fly today" thread. This plane does boast some stellar high alpha potential and a good speed envelope, and loops are effortless. If I can get it working right,cool, if not I can't afford to waste too much time with it at the moment and will just use the parts to rebuild my slender delta.

Awhile back I read an article or You Tube video but with all your control surfaces level and in your case you had to trim it down he would bring it in, move the battery forward and set the trim back to neutral then test fly it again. He would move the battery around until it flew basically level with no trim.
 

buzzbomb

I know nothing!
Also posted in another thread, but figured I'd post it here since I mentioned the plane here. This is the second maiden. I have to fight to keep the nose down and not sure if it's thrust angle, CG, or something else.
You know, if you were to add the requisite huge control surfaces, your deltas could have some serious 3D potential! :D
 

Vimana89

Legendary member
Awhile back I read an article or You Tube video but with all your control surfaces level and in your case you had to trim it down he would bring it in, move the battery forward and set the trim back to neutral then test fly it again. He would move the battery around until it flew basically level with no trim.
It was CG. I knew I had thrust dead center which is where you want it for prop in slot pusher. The shape is basically a kite, it's extremely efficient at lift sort of like a Triplane, so it needs a very forward CG and still a slight bit of trim to keep the nose down. Much better when I took it out this time but wind and gusts picked way up before I documented the high alpha handling properly. V tails handle good on high alpha, it surprisingly feels more like having a rudder than using elevons. I'll share what Footage I can after switching to a heavy battery all the way forward.
 

Vimana89

Legendary member
You know, if you were to add the requisite huge control surfaces, your deltas could have some serious 3D potential! :D
That comes with experience and polishing the design. @Grifflyer increased the size of the ailerons on the Arrowhead which will be on the released plans. With the right power plant, that one is a good aerobatic and even 3D bird potentially. This new design has the potential but I played it safe with the prototype. I've done some light 3D on the ol' Floating Kidney, and that's just a RET plane. That's definitely where I'm headed though, deltas have a nice mix of high and low speed potential.
 

PsyBorg

Wake up! Time to fly!
working better! Wind kind of put a damper on things...this air frame doesn't particularly like wind, but the handling is pretty good with the V tail, enough to fight the wind somewhat.

What motor and prop are in that? It sounds WAYYY under propped with that super high pitch and not really going anywhere. that or those are the raycorp props like I got a few years back that would actually spin flat. they would make a god awful noise and actually slow down the faster they turned. WORST props EVER.
 

Vimana89

Legendary member
What motor and prop are in that? It sounds WAYYY under propped with that super high pitch and not really going anywhere. that or those are the raycorp props like I got a few years back that would actually spin flat. they would make a god awful noise and actually slow down the faster they turned. WORST props EVER.
It's a FT radial 1806 with a Lumenier 5x3.7x4 four blade prop. Not a lot of top speed, but plenty of spare thrust, and yes I buy a lot of Raycorp too.Depending on what size you get, some are nice and thick, but some like their 5x3x3 are so flimsy and make that nasty noise you mentioned. Honestly, this design hasn't been terribly interesting, and would likely be more work than it's worth to perfect it at the moment. It high alphas well, and would need an even more forward CG if it's even possible to eliminate the ballooning thing totally.My Arrowhead tailed delta does high alpha as well as like...all the other aerobatics and looks natural like a "fish swimming in a tank" while it flies(on the exact same motor and prop). Basically, all my other recent designs have been better than this, but it was fun to test!
 
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PsyBorg

Wake up! Time to fly!
I had trouble giving a full 4 sets of them raycorp props away at my first flite Fest. They finally found a home in the crafts tent for the wee ones to make pencil spinners out of. They were sooo bad. No one wanted them. Just about had to force them on the craft adviser as he wasnt happy about the flashing on the edges being too sharp
 

Vimana89

Legendary member
Took this bird out this morning and maidened. 15-17 mph winds with gusts and crosswind wasn't the right day to test a 15/30" wing that weighs like 8 oz or less fully loaded. Couple wobbly passes and brought her in safe. I maidened a bland plane with no battery hatch or graphical treatments, but since the wind has prevented me from further flying and testing I've added some style.
 

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buzzbomb

I know nothing!
Took this bird out this morning and maidened. 15-17 mph winds with gusts and crosswind wasn't the right day to test a 15/30" wing that weighs like 8 oz or less fully loaded. Couple wobbly passes and brought her in safe. I maidened a bland plane with no battery hatch or graphical treatments, but since the wind has prevented me from further flying and testing I've added some style.
I love the graphic! One of my all time favorite movies. I saw the four hour version at the theater when it came out. They even handed out a glossary at the door. It was quite the experience. Looks like she's all set for another flight on a day with less wind! :)
 

Vimana89

Legendary member
I love the graphic! One of my all time favorite movies. I saw the four hour version at the theater when it came out. They even handed out a glossary at the door. It was quite the experience. Looks like she's all set for another flight on a day with less wind! :)
Awesome! I never really knew much about Dune as a kid, but watched the original movie recently, and started watching the 2000 mini series. I'll have to finish that version of it some time, but I really like the original. I'll have to check out the graphic too some time. Definitely can't wait to get another shot to fly this plane and thoroughly test it.
 
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