C-47 from 13th Squadron
- Thread starter CrshNBrn
- Start date
Test Fly RC
Elite member
Wow a twin F Power Pack!
Do you have a link to where I can buy one later, maybe?
CrshNBrn
Elite member
Whoops! My bad on my earlier post: I used the smaller A Power Pack Twin Radial. You could fit in a larger F motor, but don't need it.
https://store.flitetest.com/ft-power-pack-a-twin-radial/
https://store.flitetest.com/ft-power-pack-a-twin-radial/
Reviving this thread for a question. I just maidened my DC-3 this weekend and it seemed pretty tailheavy with CG set at 3". Can anyone verify this? I noticed the FT version (50" WS) had the CG marked at 2". This would explain my maiden flight experience but I just wanted to check on here for good measure.
At 3", it was shooting skyward most of the flight and was stall spinning with anything over 30% pitch (regardless of speed).
At 3", it was shooting skyward most of the flight and was stall spinning with anything over 30% pitch (regardless of speed).
Niez13
Elite member
Sorry to hear it was tail heavy. I haven't flown my C-47 in a while but all I know is I would put a 3s 850mah battery to the front of the battery box, the CG was at 3 inches back from the most leading edge and it flew great. I did tend to like flying it slow so that might explain why it was favoring tail heavy. It definitely will spin at too low of speed/pitch because that is the design nature of the C-47. I just feel bad it was that bad for you. The next time I am able to bring out my C-47 I will have to fully check and see how well it flies and at which exact CG. However, I know I had success at the 3" inch mark in the past which is what's weird.
Thanks for your reply!
I'm running a 1300mah at the very front of the battery box and that was balancing perfectly at 3". I'm going to do my due diligence and make sure I don't have any weird thrust angles or incidence issues. I'm pretty sure I ended up with a good amount of down trim and that trim seemed okay with power on or off.
Assuming everything checks out, I'm thinking of extending the battery box a bit to try to move CG FWD and I was also thinking of trimming the ailerons to be more neutral, rather than flush with the trailing edge which puts them in sort of a down angle (like flapperons). The stall was coming on so quick (even at cruise speeds) it was hard to tell if it was a wing loading problem or AOA problem.
As long as I flew with very small pitch movements, it did fly okay. I didn't do any slow speed on that flight but the landing went okay, if a bit hot into some tall grass.
I'm running a 1300mah at the very front of the battery box and that was balancing perfectly at 3". I'm going to do my due diligence and make sure I don't have any weird thrust angles or incidence issues. I'm pretty sure I ended up with a good amount of down trim and that trim seemed okay with power on or off.
Assuming everything checks out, I'm thinking of extending the battery box a bit to try to move CG FWD and I was also thinking of trimming the ailerons to be more neutral, rather than flush with the trailing edge which puts them in sort of a down angle (like flapperons). The stall was coming on so quick (even at cruise speeds) it was hard to tell if it was a wing loading problem or AOA problem.
As long as I flew with very small pitch movements, it did fly okay. I didn't do any slow speed on that flight but the landing went okay, if a bit hot into some tall grass.
So I looked everything over in my build and didn't see any glaring issues. My thrust angle is slightly positive from horizontal but not enough to convince me it would cause any major issues. Also noticed slight asymmetry between the wing dihedral, but again, nothing crazy.
I went ahead and adjusted my ailerons and extended the battery box all the way to the front bulkhead. The bad news is that only gained me about 1/2" of forward CG movement with my 1300 mah 3s battery. Now I'm deciding whether to send it as is or to try to run two 850 mah 3s' in parallel (since I'm not a big fan of just adding dead weight). I'll report back with any updates.
I went ahead and adjusted my ailerons and extended the battery box all the way to the front bulkhead. The bad news is that only gained me about 1/2" of forward CG movement with my 1300 mah 3s battery. Now I'm deciding whether to send it as is or to try to run two 850 mah 3s' in parallel (since I'm not a big fan of just adding dead weight). I'll report back with any updates.
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Finally got a chance to do more flying and draw some conclusions. In short, I had to much elevator travel. Once I dialed that back to design spec., the plane was more docile. It would still snap out of turns (always to the right) but mostly at full stick deflection. The reduced elevator travel increased the turn radius so more rudder was needed to keep the turns in check. I set up the model for differential thrust but never used it.
Unfortunately, a signal loss and late recovery resulted in the model crashing (although repairable). The C-47 is a cool bird that I'll probably revisit but I'm going to take a break from it for a while. No issues with the model design that I can see. After doing more research, it does seem that this is just one of those planes that is a little more difficult to fly. Thanks all for chiming in.
Unfortunately, a signal loss and late recovery resulted in the model crashing (although repairable). The C-47 is a cool bird that I'll probably revisit but I'm going to take a break from it for a while. No issues with the model design that I can see. After doing more research, it does seem that this is just one of those planes that is a little more difficult to fly. Thanks all for chiming in.
Niez13
Elite member
I am glad to hear that it started coming together there. I will make a note on the elevator throw on the website and I thank you for helping me find it.
Sucks that it lost signal though. I have lost three planes from losing signal at FF so I know how you feel. Thank you for building and testing my C-47.
