First flight

[Stryker]

Built my FT Tutor from the videos. Did the first short flight today to see how it did. Getting cg correct was tough. I have my battery all the way back to my receiver at the rear on the power pod. No where close to where they have it in the video. It did take off ok, though it listed to the left a bit. Not sure if that was from the thrust angle, something not square, or if I was accidentally adding aileron when I applied elevator. I have since turned down the sensitivity on my ailerons to try again tomorrow. It flew ok for my first build and first flight. Landing was a little rough. It tipped when it touched down and chipped the prop. It also bent the wing tip a little. I've straightened that out and swapped props. I've got no experience except a week on a sim flying. It was nothing like the sim for take off and landing lol. There are no clubs by me to work with. I'm really far out in the woods. Any tips for what true cg should look like and how to protect the wing tips? They are really vulnerable. I can cut and build a new wing fast enough, but I'd rather find a way to help prevent the damage till I can fly adequately.
Thank you for all of the input, and the help yesterday with my esc. It's been a fun project so far.

 

[RickHunter]

Welcome to the hobby. Your first flight went much better than mine. Haven't ever flown the tutor so I don't know it tendencies, but if is rolling a little left give it some right trim on aileron. If it fells like it's sliding left, right trim on rudder. I get a little altitude, go straight, and around 2/3ish throttle get off the sticks to see which way the plane is going on its own. Then trim from there. Expo (sensitivity) and Rates (how far your control surfaces travel) can play a role, but you will get better with setting those over time. The wings will take a beating. I repair my when I can (popsicle sticks come in handy), but like you said you can build a new one pretty easy. I went through a few planes before I got the hang of it (still crash them today), but I love this hobby and it's worth it.

 

[Stryker]

Thank you for your tips. Winds will be 2mph tomorrow afternoon, so I'll follow your advice and see how it goes. I appreciate the information! I'll also buy some Popsicle sticks lol.

 

[RickHunter]

Good luck. Happy New Year. I will be flying as well tomorrow.

 

[LitterBug]

I try to be more conservative with glue on the far back portion of the tail to help keep the balance in check. Seems like some of my first kits were super heavy from an over abundance of glue. Weclcome to the fun!

Cheers!
LitterBug

 

[Piotrsko]

Not sure that having the battery that far back is a good thing.
You are power off test gliding it? Fixes bunches of flight problems. You also get to let it fly itself to a couple of mistakes high, but those crashes tend to be more explosive

 

[Stryker]

Not sure that having the battery that far back is a good thing.
You are power off test gliding it? Fixes bunches of flight problems. You also get to let it fly itself to a couple of mistakes high, but those crashes tend to be more explosive

I have not test glided it. I'll look that up and try it. I'm confused as to why it's so nose heavy, needing the battery that far back. I used all of the same parts as they did, including the battery. I bought the power back directly. Maybe I have my landing gear angled wrong? Here's a picture of the build. I can add some tail weight to move the battery forward. It's almost over the cg right now. I put a small piece of foam in as a spacer to make sure it couldn't break loose and fly forward.

 

[RickHunter]

Did those wheels come with the kit? If not they might be why your nose heavy. If you can remove them easy, pop them off and check your cg. Again haven't built the tutor, but heavy wheels infront of your cg can make it nose heavy. Which might explain why you have to push the battery so far back.

 

[RickHunter]

If the wheels are the case. You might be just fine with the battery towards the back as long it is safe and secure. If not you can also add a little weight to the back to bring your battery more forward. I use Tire Sticky Weights from Amazon to help with cg issues on my builds. But there is a ton of things you can use. Just don't make it too heavy. Always better to be nose heavy than tail heavy.

 

[Stryker]

Did those wheels come with the kit? If not they might be why your nose heavy. If you can remove them easy, pop them off and check your cg. Again haven't built the tutor, but heavy wheels infront of your cg can make it nose heavy. Which might explain why you have to push the battery so far back.

They are the wheels from the kit. It's all directly from Flite Test. Followed the video instructions. I could have used more glue accidentally, but that would be all. I'll pull up a still of the wheel angle from the video and compare to what I have. Thank you for the info!

 

[RickHunter]

Also, if your battery is bigger or heavier than the one he used on the build, that might be why you have to go further back. Nothing wrong with pushing it back if that is the case. As long as it is secured good. Plus I belive you said you've already flown it. If you were tail heavy there is a very high probability you would not have a plane left.

 

[Piotrsko]

Avionics weight and location are nose heavy things also. Believe the relative term is called moment arm. From a design point, model aircraft have a significantly larger control surface requirement

 

[Captain Mouser]

Is that made of foam board? And where did you copy it?

 

[Stryker]

Is that made of foam board? And where did you copy it?

It is the FT Tutor. Yes, foam board. Plans are available on their site. Decent size plane that handles wind ok. It's quite capable with the right motor, prop, and battery. More power than most rtf and bnf trainers. It flew great after I got my cg correct and added some angle to the motor mount. Not the fastest and very floaty, but it will do knife edge easily, flat spin, and hovers well.

 

[Bricks]

There is nothing wrong with where a battery has to sit to balance the aircraft I would rather move the battery back then add weight. The lighter the plane is to a point will fly much easier especially for a beginner. Double check where the balance point ( CG ) is according to the plans.