Building an FT Tutor from SBK advice

bisco

Elite member
looking at the video, this is very different from the ones i have built in the past. with josh sitting and the camera in front of him, i cannot see how he is mounting the rx around 6:40.
he usually points the camera inside, but it looks like the aura should fit in there easily, it is very small and won't affect cg.
 
The question hurts my brain. If you set it up 4ch you don't have to use ailerons.

But I bet you'll use them.
 

bisco

Elite member
but the 3 channel wing is easier to fly, more dihedral. judging by the first post, i don't think o/p wants to take this up unaided.
 
but the 3 channel wing is easier to fly, more dihedral. judging by the first post, i don't think o/p wants to take this up unaided.
Ah-ha! So the wing geometry is different. They gave it more dihedral because you have no roll control. That explains a lot.
 
This is where I got last night. You can see the white foam paper on the nose after my oopsie.
IMG_20220309_153549.jpg
 

Aslansmonkey

Well-known member
but the 3 channel wing is easier to fly, more dihedral. judging by the first post, i don't think o/p wants to take this up unaided.

The Tutor comes with one standard wing. There isn't a "non-aileron" version with more dihedral. You just build the standard wing without ailerons if you want to fly three channel. Or build it with them then don't use them. There is a "Turbo Wing", which is an additional purchase, that is for sportier flying, though I believe it still has some dihedral. There isn't a lot of dihedral in either wing, however, just enough to tame them down a little.

My son's has the Turbo Wing, though I don't know if he originally had that or built it after he folded the original wing flying 4s, fast, and tried pulling up quick (ever heard a wing slap? I have).

The Tutor DOES fly much better with Ailerons, that much is certain, so you'll definitely want to get there, but you can add them and just not plug them in until you're ready if you want to.

We found with our tutors that we added a skewer to hold the battery hatch in place. Unless you plan on taping it to the firewall it tends to blow loose without some form of retention.
 

Aslansmonkey

Well-known member
That's a great idea. I got several skewers from past kits. I think I'll add one tonight!

BBQ Skewers can be purchased in the grocery store. We get ours from Cub Foods. Piano wire for landing gear or servo wires can be purchased at some hardware stores (call first, not every one carries it). Dollar Tree carries foam board, of course. Do NOT buy foam board from Michael's or Walmart. It's denser from them and the balance will be off (or very hard to attain) using that foam. I know this from bad experience, sadly.

These are just some places to get stuff when you've used up what you have from other kits or are ready to move on to scratch building.
 
Got the rest of it built tonight. Decided on the 4 channel setup in the end and decided not to install the aura at first. Had a few hiccups along the way. I folded the wing over and blew out the leading edge, but a piece of tape (my lovely wife's suggestion) fixed that up. Then I installed the rudder and elevator servo on opposite sides (opposite of the score cut for the control horn that is), but that was a quick fix. Got all servos centered and neutral this time. Followed the build video and offset the servo horns on the ailerons. Then I programmed my receiver with 30% expo on elevator and ailerons. Also did a 20% mix from aileron to rudder as suggested. Got everything packed in and she's the most balanced plane I've built so far. Right on the CG holes with a 2200 mah 3s lipo. Only thing I want to do for sure is make sure the throws are around 12-16°. I also used the linkage stoppers I had on my spitfire build which made keeping surfaces neutral a breeze. Hopefully everything checks out and I can maiden it soon and give you guys good news.

Just wanted to say a quick thank you to everyone who has commented and gave advice on this build. You've all been a tremendous help and it means a lot that you've taken a few minutes out of your day to encourage me and offer tips and tricks.
 

luvmy40

Elite member
Got the rest of it built tonight. Decided on the 4 channel setup in the end and decided not to install the aura at first. Had a few hiccups along the way. I folded the wing over and blew out the leading edge, but a piece of tape (my lovely wife's suggestion) fixed that up. Then I installed the rudder and elevator servo on opposite sides (opposite of the score cut for the control horn that is), but that was a quick fix. Got all servos centered and neutral this time. Followed the build video and offset the servo horns on the ailerons. Then I programmed my receiver with 30% expo on elevator and ailerons. Also did a 20% mix from aileron to rudder as suggested. Got everything packed in and she's the most balanced plane I've built so far. Right on the CG holes with a 2200 mah 3s lipo. Only thing I want to do for sure is make sure the throws are around 12-16°. I also used the linkage stoppers I had on my spitfire build which made keeping surfaces neutral a breeze. Hopefully everything checks out and I can maiden it soon and give you guys good news.

Just wanted to say a quick thank you to everyone who has commented and gave advice on this build. You've all been a tremendous help and it means a lot that you've taken a few minutes out of your day to encourage me and offer tips and tricks.
Make sure to set the rates as well. It's more important than I thought at first. There should have been a deflection guage in the kit or plans.
 

WillL84

Active member
My first plane is my Legacy V2, I opted to setup for 4 channel and use the Aura 5. Waiting for nice weather to try it out. I also have the Aura configured to use flaperons and set the throws to 135% and expo to 30% like Josh said to do in the build video.
 

luvmy40

Elite member
My first plane is my Legacy V2, I opted to setup for 4 channel and use the Aura 5. Waiting for nice weather to try it out. I also have the Aura configured to use flaperons and set the throws to 135% and expo to 30% like Josh said to do in the build video.
135% Throw? 13.5 deg.?

The recommended throws for the Bloody Brit are 12 deg low rate and 20 deg high rate. I dialed my FT3D in at 15 deg low rate and just left the high rate at max deflection.
 
The aura does say set the rates to 120 to 135. I assume that's in case it has to "over correct" a mishap. I'm thinking about trying to get 12° to start and hopefully keep it airborne with small corrections and no aura for now. I might put it in later if I'm still having control issues
 

Mr NCT

Site Moderator
The aura does say set the rates to 120 to 135. I assume that's in case it has to "over correct" a mishap. I'm thinking about trying to get 12° to start and hopefully keep it airborne with small corrections and no aura for now. I might put it in later if I'm still having control issues
The plans call for 12 degree throws for all surfaces and 30% expo. Without the Aura set rates at 100. Hope this helps