basslord1124 RC flight and Flitetest journey/diary - Perkyplanes & RC

[basslord1124]

So got another video posted on youtube:

I basically talk about retiring the old FT Mini Scout airframe and what the future plans are for the FT Mini Scout. I even did something I have never done before with an RC plane...destroy it by hand...on camera. In a way, it was kind of liberating. I am gonna miss that old Scout as it was kind of a challenge to fly BUT I have hopes that version 2 will be better.

I did some work on the FT Bloody Baron over the weekend. Got all my linkages hooked up. I did order some 2mm linkage stoppers and put those on. It made linkages soooooooooooo much nicer to deal with. Pic is below. I was thinking that I originally set up the Baron as full on 4 channel and I am really wondering if I will be using the rudder that much. Kinda wondering if I should've left the rudder off of it and just do ailerons, elevator, and throttle for a good bank and yank. Guess we shall see. Actually I will be leaving rudder off of version 2 of the Scout.

I mixed things up and got my RC stuff this time off of ebay. Got some good prices on everything and I didn't have to wait a decade on shipping like when I order through banggood. I may start doing ebay more often now. Some more parts came in today. Got some 6" and 8" props and my new mini Scout motor came. 2650KV...and probably the nicest packaged motor I have ever seen. Pics are below.

Tiny Trainer is almost ready to go and Bloody Baron is pretty close too now. So hopefully be getting some maidens out of them here soon.

 

[Wildthing]

I wouldn't build without linkage stoppers, makes life so much easier

 

[mayan]

I wouldn't build without linkage stoppers, makes life so much easier

I like them too. How do you get them in the holes of the servo arms? They have a thick screw that needs to go through and makes the left over after drilling quite thin.

 

[Wildthing]

I like them too. How do you get them in the holes of the servo arms? They have a thick screw that needs to go through and makes the left over after drilling quite thin.

Find the proper size drill bit and any little burrs after drilling just trim off with you box cutter.

 

[basslord1124]

Yeah I like linkage stoppers too...use em for most builds. These 2mm ones save me some time from having to drill holes in my other smaller ones (the pushrod wire I use is thicker than the linkage stopper).

I have used drill bits or even some of my precision screw drivers to enlarge the hole on the servo arm. Once it's started, it gets easy after that. Take my nails or a razor blade to clean off the excess plastic.

 

[FDS]

A pin reamer is a good tool for the servo arms, they are pretty cheap too.

 

[bracesport]

@basslord1124 - I gotta ask for some more pictures of that motor!?

 

[basslord1124]

@basslord1124 - I gotta ask for some more pictures of that motor!?

Can do...

Got it on Ebay...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/3B-R-2207-...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

Hoping it will work ok.

 

[basslord1124]

So it dawned on me that I may have enough spare parts and stuff leftover that I can work on this thing without spending anything. I suppose I "may" need to get a receiver, have to look at my stock to make sure. But I know I've got an ESC/motor/servos to do it. I'm glad b/c I wanted to do this for a while now.

Father-in-law got this from somewhere and gave it to me. I don't know if it's a Walmart glider or not. Has a 22" wingspan. Everything is super thick foam except the elevator/horizontal stab. It's really very thin with a split elevator. I want to get away from the split elevator so may make it a single elevator. I'm not 100% sure if I'll keep the stab or make one out of foamboard. One thing is for certain, if I do use it, I will reinforce it with CF or some wire b/c it's so thin. Ailerons are only there for decoration as well as rudder. I probably won't use the rudder as it's pretty small anyways. Ailerons, I am thinking I may have to cut them off and attach a foamboard aileron. Should be an interesting and fun project.

 

[basslord1124]

Oh yes, this happened to me as well the other day. So I was cutting up one of my power pods to use the latter half as a detachable battery pod, and upon cutting I accidentally cut into the ESC. Should've been more careful/disconnected the ESC.

Basically severed one of the servo wires coming off the ESC. It's kind of a tight fit, but should be repairable. I have already cut some of the outer covering back so I can solder it back here soon.

 

[mayan]

So it dawned on me that I may have enough spare parts and stuff leftover that I can work on this thing without spending anything. I suppose I "may" need to get a receiver, have to look at my stock to make sure. But I know I've got an ESC/motor/servos to do it. I'm glad b/c I wanted to do this for a while now.

Father-in-law got this from somewhere and gave it to me. I don't know if it's a Walmart glider or not. Has a 22" wingspan. Everything is super thick foam except the elevator/horizontal stab. It's really very thin with a split elevator. I want to get away from the split elevator so may make it a single elevator. I'm not 100% sure if I'll keep the stab or make one out of foamboard. One thing is for certain, if I do use it, I will reinforce it with CF or some wire b/c it's so thin. Ailerons are only there for decoration as well as rudder. I probably won't use the rudder as it's pretty small anyways. Ailerons, I am thinking I may have to cut them off and attach a foamboard aileron. Should be an interesting and fun project.

Man someone is feeling like experimenting . Good luck!

 

[basslord1124]

Yeah just a little.

 

[basslord1124]

Oh yes, this happened to me as well the other day. So I was cutting up one of my power pods to use the latter half as a detachable battery pod, and upon cutting I accidentally cut into the ESC. Should've been more careful/disconnected the ESC.

Basically severed one of the servo wires coming off the ESC. It's kind of a tight fit, but should be repairable. I have already cut some of the outer covering back so I can solder it back here soon.

Fixed.

 

[basslord1124]

Well here's a first for me...I'm pretty positive I just bent a prop shaft. It's the motor I am using on my FT Simple Cub which is Headsup Hobby Powerup 450 1100KV motor. And due to some things with the motor, I am just going to get a new motor instead of a new shaft. The motor has pretty much stayed on the Cub and not used on anything else. On my first crash I had noticed that the bell had separated ever so slightly from the rest of the motor. It wasn't a big gap and was probably ok in the long run, but I could tell it moved a little bit. I tried to loosen the set screws to try and move it back, but due to trying to find a good fitting allen wrench I ended up rounding the screws off. So they are pretty stuck for right now, and the bell is still in the same place. Continued using the motor. Had a few more flights/crashes with it, some coming down on the nose. The last nose down broke the FT plywood firewall. At that point, I just ran it for a minute or 2 and noticed a horrible vibration when it got to maybe half throttle. At that point, I just figured it was the broke firewall causing the vibration. Replaced firewall, and the vibration is still there. I've got video of the experience if anybody wants to check it out.

Onto some more positive news....

I did have some balance issues in the first few flights with the Cub. I noticed that it balances better with a 2200Mah 3S pushed all the way forward. My 1600Mah 3S I was using before was not enough weight in the front to balance it good. So once the motor is fixed/replaced, hoping to have some flights with the 2200. Better balance AND longer flight time!

Also, will be headed on vacation in the next week to Gatlinburg. Going to bring along the Tiny Trainer. Probably gonna do the final touches to it this week so it will be ready for next week.

Something else I have noticed, I have a Turnigy 2200 3S that has gotten better if that makes sense.

Original thread:
https://forum.flitetest.com/index.php?threads/internal-resistance-issue-with-a-3s-2200mah.55461/

I have noticed that the Turnigy's IR numbers have gotten better as I've used it a little more and cycled it some more. This last round, it was charging just as quickly as my Zippy 2200. Before it seemed like it always took a little longer to charge/discharge. Lipos are strange!

 

[basslord1124]

Well we have had some amazing weather days here in our area. With that in mind, I have tried to get out and fly even if my results did not end in successful flights. FT Simple Cub yesterday...and I tried the LongEZ today.

My LongEZ flight today was probably one of my shortest flights ever and I think it all comes back to launching it. My mind is set on launching a plane AND not getting my arm/hand/fingers chopped by the prop. It's a pusher and a very exposed one at that. So my fear and anxiety is there full on during launch. So, just can't seem to get a good launch out of it. Maybe someday. Here is the damage:

I did get video of the experience as well. I was thinking of saving this one and the Simple Cub video for future craziness/crash compilation videos...BUT I think I will release them here in the coming week.

I really want to be pretty open with my youtube channel. Not just show the amazing flights BUT to show the damage, carnage, crashes, technical issues, etc. Lets face it, we all have good days and bad days when flying. And mistakes, issues, crashes, etc teach lessons. I have noticed FT shows some of that too and that's a good thing. So, I do plan on releasing some quick videos of the bent prop shaft and LongEZ chaos.

It does bum me some about the LongEZ but oh well it happens (and there are more planes to fly)...debating repairing or a rebuild. Not a big rush anyways since it's a single sheet of foamboard and I've got other projects to work on.

 

[basslord1124]

Well we had about 3 days of beautiful weather and I attempted to fly things. FT Simple Cub, Long EZ, and now the FT Tiny Trainer. The FT Tiny Trainer was probably the only successful flight of the 3 and it still crashed. But I had it up in the air a good minute or so. Video is on the youtube channel. For the brief time it was up, I thought it flew pretty good...on 3S it was actually pretty quick! Hoping to get some more flights out of it and I am planning on taking it on vacation with us next week. I can't predict the weather or wind so I'm unsure if I'll get a good chance to fly it or not. BUT, I'm bringing it just in case. Also gonna bring a small indoor drone too just for some indoor fun.

This will probably be my last post in this thread before vacation and then I'll return back after vacation. I will have my phone with me so I can still post some. But honestly, for forums, I like posting on a computer more than I do posting on a phone. I may post in other threads while on vacation. If I do post here next week, it'll probably be brief.

I think there is a possibility of hitting up an aviation museum on the way to Gatlinburg. Plan to film/share that.

Also hoping that after vacation, I can finish up some other projects and attempt to fly those as well as work on these other ones (FT TT, FT LongEZ, Simple Cub...). Kinda stinks that 3 perfect flying days were 3 solid days of crashing, but hey live and learn. I will say I can't wait to really have some success with these guys.

 

[mayan]

@basslord1124 enjoy your vacation. Post the videos here would you ? Remember the most important thing on a vacation is to enjoy with the family.

 

[basslord1124]

Well I am back from vacation. Had a great time, although it felt like it was way too short even though we were there a week. Brought along the Tiny Trainer and all the necessary RC goodness (transmitter, batteries, charger, etc). Even though the weather was pretty much perfect there, I didn't fly. They have a nice park there in Pigeon Forge called Patriot Park that, to me, would be ideal for flying. Problem is, is that the area is obviously very touristy and I'd imagine the park would be full of people. We've flown drones there before, but not planes. Despite not flying, I did get the needed repairs done to the T. Trainer. I found that I had a 2S 800Mah that balanced better with the plane than the 3S 1000Mah I was using. So, I'll try out the 2S and see how it does.

On the way down to Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg, we also stopped at the Lexington aviation museum in Lexington, KY. Picked up a few souvenirs and got some video/picture footage of the museum. Plan to compile the footage into another youtube video.

Some more video goodness...set these to release while I was on vacation. Here you can hear the Simple Cub's bent prop shaft vibration AND watch the Long EZ skip through the grass...

 

[Wildthing]

Just a slight vibration , you sure there were 2 ends on the prop ?

Before the motor actually tore itself off I was going to say with the noise I had a grub screw sheer off or come loose on the can and it almost made the same sound.

 

[basslord1124]

Just a slight vibration , you sure there were 2 ends on the prop ?

Before the motor actually tore itself off I was going to say with the noise I had a grub screw sheer off or come loose on the can and it almost made the same sound.

LOL...I really haven't sat down to see how bent it was. The prop is, well, still holding up. Scratched up pretty good, some wear on the edges but not broken. It's an APC 9x6. Sounds like my Simple Cub has some flatulent problems or something.

And something else that's interesting. The FT Cub plastic firewall is still in tact. No issues other than maybe some glue reinforcement to the rest of the pod. The motor screws vibrated the motor loose til it fell off.

Good news...the new motor came in yesterday for the Cub. I'll add the old motor to the list of things I might repair some day...will need new prop shaft and new set screws (assuming I can get them out).