Coming back to the hobby with some fresh builds.
- Thread starter Vimana89
- Start date
Vimana89
Legendary member
Tested the Vulcan today with rudder. Working nicely, will try to get some video in the coming days. Have not had a chance to get foam yet, and the prototype biplane was underwhelming, but I have just enough foam left to try something new. I am working on a really basic KFM monoplane. 24 by 6" wing, 3ch V tails. Straight tractor with a motor very similar to the F pack motor and a 6x4 prop. I have not experimented enough with simple monoplane builds, and others here tear it up with them all the time. Figured I'd build something light, clean, easy, and totally overpowered. Will post when it comes together.
Monte.C
...
Yes!
Vimana89
Legendary member
Flies well, but has a random nose dip every now and then. I think its twitch from old servos combined with the wind on those V tails. Will test more when I get the chance, but the design shows a lot of potential. I'll try to get footage if the weather allows. Also of my Vulcan with 4ch upgrade.
Vimana89
Legendary member
Windy and/or super hot most days, but I have learned a ton with this plane and it's still a work in progress. The servo twitch didn't come from servos, but from the receiver. The featherweight FSIA6 receivers are tempting for their weight, but less durable and less reliable. They can be kinda buggy, and are more prone to dirt and wear. The boxier ones are worth the tiny bit of extra total weight, because they are super reliable and built like a tank. After swapping, controls run clean and smooth.
After that, I flew the plane and it flew well with one major issue: it didn't roll, but spun. No big deal with my motor to break right out, was kinda fun doing it, but just not proper. Unlike other more successful 3ch V tail builds, this one didn't have enough roll coupled in, and today it just hit me like "duh". It may not be R.E.T., but dihedrals will still do the same thing the V tails weren't enough on their own for, and couple in more roll to the yaw. So now I'm going with dihedral wing tips, an easy retrofit with KFM. Just cut along bottom like normal, but then along the top of the KFM layer, then crack and glue.
Next time I fly, it will have the dihedral wingtips, so hopefully I can get some proper rolls. My most recent Arrowhead has a 3ch V tail config, and rolls great. Part is the lower aspect delta wing, but a big part is the dihedral wing tips I have on that version.
So overall, this little project is teaching me a lot. I learned the handling and CG preferences of straight wing monoplanes better, so I'm more confident on designing, building, and flying them. Also, I learned that the featherweight receivers aren't worth it, at least not for me in the dusty desert banging my planes around with exposed receivers or semi open fuselages. The dihedral with 3ch V tails thing is a useful rule of thumb. I expected the tails themselves would fully couple roll and yaw as much as a R.E.T build, but not quite, a lot more yaw heavy so dihedrals are pretty much as necessary for 3ch V tail as R.E.T.
I'll be back with more pics, vids, etc. when I have the opportunity. Also, I will grab some new foam in the next couple weeks and do another KFM build, plus an Armin wing build attempt.
After that, I flew the plane and it flew well with one major issue: it didn't roll, but spun. No big deal with my motor to break right out, was kinda fun doing it, but just not proper. Unlike other more successful 3ch V tail builds, this one didn't have enough roll coupled in, and today it just hit me like "duh". It may not be R.E.T., but dihedrals will still do the same thing the V tails weren't enough on their own for, and couple in more roll to the yaw. So now I'm going with dihedral wing tips, an easy retrofit with KFM. Just cut along bottom like normal, but then along the top of the KFM layer, then crack and glue.
Next time I fly, it will have the dihedral wingtips, so hopefully I can get some proper rolls. My most recent Arrowhead has a 3ch V tail config, and rolls great. Part is the lower aspect delta wing, but a big part is the dihedral wing tips I have on that version.
So overall, this little project is teaching me a lot. I learned the handling and CG preferences of straight wing monoplanes better, so I'm more confident on designing, building, and flying them. Also, I learned that the featherweight receivers aren't worth it, at least not for me in the dusty desert banging my planes around with exposed receivers or semi open fuselages. The dihedral with 3ch V tails thing is a useful rule of thumb. I expected the tails themselves would fully couple roll and yaw as much as a R.E.T build, but not quite, a lot more yaw heavy so dihedrals are pretty much as necessary for 3ch V tail as R.E.T.
I'll be back with more pics, vids, etc. when I have the opportunity. Also, I will grab some new foam in the next couple weeks and do another KFM build, plus an Armin wing build attempt.
Vimana89
Legendary member
The dihedral wingtips made a big difference in handling and a moderate improvement in stability too, which was already fine but now rock solid. The plane now rolls properly instead of spinning. The project is complete and just about dialed in, and I can call the finished product as well as the learning process a sucess👍
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