Back to the basics and on to the next level-The next phase of my RC Experience(learning diary)

Vimana89

Legendary member
All my new props came in the mail! First time with the Lumenier brand, I got their 6x4x2 "slow fly", 5x4x4, and a whole grip of 5x3.7x4, which are dirt cheap even compared to the others. I took out the DR1 with the nice light 1100 and a 5x4x4 on it with a lot of down elevator trim. Still the slight ballooning, but I was impressed. This was my best flight yet on the DR1! Going to take out the Arrowhead with a 5x3.7x4 and see the difference from 5x3x3.
 

Vimana89

Legendary member
The four blade prop is fantastic on the Arrowhead. No overheating, still decent efficiency/economy on 1806 3s, and the handling is markedly better on low speeds and aerobatic maneuvers. I will probably rebuild the slender delta on 1806 again and test it with one of these or even the 5x4x4. Maybe I'll get some good high alpha out of that design without having to resort to an overpowered motor. Going to take out the "Phantom of the boneyard" power glider, and give flying a rest for a bit. I've got some footage to go through and share, including some nice footage of the '39 P.A. special from yesterday.
 

bracesport

Legendary member
@Vimana89 - I do love the V tails - firstly I like the look of them and they seem to suffer less damage on landing - I have only used them with elevators up till now (bank and yank style) but with my new sailplane I have also programmed the rudder functionality - still to maiden that one!

Phil
 

Vimana89

Legendary member
@Vimana89 - I do love the V tails - firstly I like the look of them and they seem to suffer less damage on landing - I have only used them with elevators up till now (bank and yank style) but with my new sailplane I have also programmed the rudder functionality - still to maiden that one!

Phil
Nice to hear about your experiences, will definitely be giving the V tail a try, on some low aspect stuff like I mentioned above and probably some more or less conventional stuff too👍.
 

Vimana89

Legendary member
Alright. So The DR1 is flying more or less good now, the Arrowhead is better than ever with the new prop, and about to be available as a printable resource very soon, thanks once again to @Grifflyer . I am still waiting on my Charlie kit and the rest of my parts. In the mean time, I can rebuild my little slender delta on the 1806 and start drawing up plans for the '39. My flight with that one yesterday told me it's pretty much right where I want it and any more changes would likely botch something.
 

Vimana89

Legendary member
So after finally getting the diamond V tail plane flying half decent, I realized and learned a few things. One is that V tails are pretty good for maneuvering in high alpha, yet not good for axial rolls, sort of like RET. Another is that besides the high alpha capability and looks, this diamond plane isn't terribly interesting. It can loop, not particularly gracefully, can't really roll well, probably needs a longer nose and even more forward CG if it's even possible to completely eliminate the ballooning. It's sort of a one trick pony, unless I maybe put a lot more R and D in, which I've got a lot of other things I'd rather build at the moment. I think I'll take the electronics and just rebuild my slender delta with the new four blade prop, that should get the high alpha going. Overall, the slender delta is much more interesting and capable. The diamond wing is probably best returned too when I have the skills and time to make It better.
 
Last edited:

Piotrsko

Master member
Probably why there isn't many full size with this wing style. I can't even think of an example.

Other than breaking off, inverted V tails work really well in high alpha.
 

Vimana89

Legendary member
FT taking a bit to ship my stuff including the Charlie kit. Once they do it should be fast from within the same state. I'm going to stock up on foam and Velcro in the mean time, and there's two things I want to focus on: the beginning of drawing plans for the '39 special, and the rebuild of my mini slender delta on 1806. My experiments with the four blade prop on the Arrowhead show that while it's not a good pop for top speed, it has a ton of spare thrust for slower flight and hopefully good high alpha.
 

Vimana89

Legendary member
Today, I'm going to put in some flying time on my current best performers. I already took the Arrowhead out, that's always a blast! Did me some serious aerobatics(some nice deliberate moves here and there with primal stick mashing in between as filler). Time to take out the DR1 and test between 5x4x4 and 6x3x3 props, for science. After that, I'll try to get some more stick time on the '39 and Vulcan. I also need to go through my footage and edit and compile some stuff, and update some of my threads, and even go back and edit resources and articles to be more accurate and concise with what I know now.
 

Vimana89

Legendary member
Testing the Vulcan and '39 Special with 5x4.5x2 bullnose props in place of the 5x3x3 I was using before. These are not slow flyers, 3D, high alpha planes or anything like that, I wanted the Vulcan to fly more like a Vulcan. I think two bladed props would be best for these planes, though I prefer three or four on the Arrowhead, and my smaller slender deltas absolutely need at least the three.
 

Vimana89

Legendary member
Both planes fly well with the 5x4.5x2 props. The motor on my DR1 has a weird issue. I made a newb mistake a couple times and turned off the TX before removing the battery on a couple occasions and the thing jumpstarted into what looked like fairly high throttle, which is pretty dangerous. Ever since, I've been making extra sure to do things in the right order by disconnecting the battery first and then shutting off the TX on all my planes. I'm doing some research and it seems this still shouldn't happen even if I do things in the wrong order. Is there a problem with my motor or ESC? I read something about a failsafe setting not being on zero throttle? Could that be it?
 
Last edited:

Grifflyer

WWII fanatic
Both planes fly well with the 5x4.5x2 props. The motor on my DR1 has a weird issue. I made a newb mistake a couple times and turned off the TX before removing the battery on a couple occasions and the thing jumpstarted into what looked like fairly high throttle, which is pretty dangerous. Ever since, I've been making extra sure to do things in the right order by disconnecting the battery first and then shutting off the TX on all my planes. I'm doing some research and it seems this still shouldn't happen even if I do things in the wrong order. Is there a problem with my motor or ESC? I read something about a failsafe setting not being on zero throttle? Could that be it?
Yes, it is your fail safe set too high on the throttle channel.
 

Vimana89

Legendary member
Certified DR1 fan now. Doing high alpha on multi-wing is my new thaaaang lol. Speaking of iconic niche planes I'll always have a spot for...I've got foam...I've got time....I've got overpowered four bladed props, and a spare 1806. Time to bring back my specialty signature style bird.
 

Grifflyer

WWII fanatic
Certified DR1 fan now. Doing high alpha on multi-wing is my new thaaaang lol. Speaking of iconic niche planes I'll always have a spot for...I've got foam...I've got time....I've got overpowered four bladed props, and a spare 1806. Time to bring back my specialty signature style bird.
Any video?