Following instructions (first post)

Hoomi

Master member
For a start, I'm going to paint it in a yellow similar to my Waco, and I have some sparkly black tape for highlights. I haven't decided on decoration beyond that.
 

buzzbomb

I know nothing!
So far, I have the power pod and wing built, but didn't snap any photos in-process. Next time I get down to the dungeon to work on it, I'll take a few.

I plan on painting it the same yellow as the Waco, mostly because that's an easy color to see in flight.

In the meantime, here's the link to the maiden flight video of the Waco, which I had way too much fun customizing. I'm really happy with how the flying lines turned out.

Dynam Waco Maiden Flight
Nice flight and build! Really, though? "Green Acres?" Where did you dredge that up from?! :) Nice blast from the past and a nice bird. Thank you for both.

Your Simple Scout is a very clean build. It was recently added to my build list. I can only hope mine looks close to as good as yours does! (y) You can actually do the bevel-cut. You're already there! I foresee great and exciting things coming from you, @Hoomi.

Again, welcome to our Forum Family!
 

Hoomi

Master member
The Green Acres theme came out of some break-time discussions with a co-worker, when I was still planning on buying the Waco. I joked about putting a pig in the cockpit, playing off the old, "when pigs fly," line. That led to thinking about the character Arnold Ziffel from Green Acres. Mostly, it was just having fun with it.

If I could find a fitting sized figure of Muttley from the old "Dick Dastardly" cartoons, he'd be a great pilot figure for the Scout.
 

Hoomi

Master member
Paint done, though it needs a couple of final touch-ups. In this photo, I haven't yet trimmed the spectral tape.

I stuck the foam from the wing holes back in place, to help keep excess spray paint out of the interior (and off the servos). I should be able to put the turtleback on this evening, and maybe get the servos installed on the wing.
ScountPaint.jpg
 

Paracodespoder

Elite member
I have never tried it before, but do you think that a scout would fly ok with flaps?
I did mine with flaperons, and while they did slow it down, it flies super slow already. If you want even more stol capabilities than it already has (which it takes off in only a few feet already without the flaps), go ahead and program them in.
Btw, I think I had about 40% down programmed in, no bad affects on the flight characteristics as far as I could tell.
 

Hoomi

Master member
Getting closer, though the maiden is going to be possibly delayed while I order a replacement servo for one of the ailerons. It seems to have a damaged gear inside, moves rough, and intermittently stops moving when it needs to. If it's acting up on the bench, it's darn sure not going in the sky.

I still need to properly mount the motor pod, which will include the motor facades on each side. I think that turtleback gave me more trouble than any other part of the build so far.
Scoutbuild5.jpg
 

mayan

Legendary member
Getting closer, though the maiden is going to be possibly delayed while I order a replacement servo for one of the ailerons. It seems to have a damaged gear inside, moves rough, and intermittently stops moving when it needs to. If it's acting up on the bench, it's darn sure not going in the sky.

I still need to properly mount the motor pod, which will include the motor facades on each side. I think that turtleback gave me more trouble than any other part of the build so far.
View attachment 127861
Wow I love it!!!
 

Hoomi

Master member
The Scout should be ready to maiden, with a new servo for the aileron, and everything fastened down. I ordered the recommended battery from FT this evening, so should have it in time for next weekend.

Today, though, I actually maidened my Freewing Stinger 64. Only issue was I have the gyro gain too high, and it was rocking back and forth repeatedly on the ailerons. Still managed to bring it back around and make a not-so-pretty, but still safe, landing. On the plus side, that was my first ever EDF flight, and I didn't crash the plane, despite an unexpected glitch.
 

buzzbomb

I know nothing!
Wow, she is Puuurty! Beautiful build. I love the "hoses" you added to the stacks. That was a nice touch. My Scout does not look near as good as yours does. She IS balanced, though (I had to add a nickel towards the back of the turtle deck) and she is ready to go. The heavy rain forecasted here for tomorrow has changed to "widely scattered." There is hope.

Maybe we'll both have some Simple Scout flight footage to share in the next couple of days!
 

Hoomi

Master member
Since, in the build video, they commented on the BBQ skewers protruding from the stacks as looking like spark plugs, I figured I needed plug wires. It's just heat-shrink tubing, so it shrank to fit the skewers at the end, and smaller for the routing back between the cylinders.

If I were planning on keeping the power pod easily swappable, I wouldn't have added the faux wires, but I have the pod held by both the skewers, and I added a little hot glue along the bottom.

I'm going to put together a way to hold my keychain camera either right above, or just behind, the cockpit.
 

Hoomi

Master member
I took the Scout up for her Maiden this morning, and she did beautifully. I need to edit the video and post it over on YouTube, but for the moment, here's a screen-grab from the video.

Time from lift-off to touch-down was about 5 minutes 45 seconds on the 3S 1300 battery. I think I'll set my flight timer for five minutes next time, which should give me ample margin for landing, or if I need to make another pass for whatever reason. Most of the flight, I had the throttle way back, and for this first flight, didn't try anything fancy (no rolls or loops). I had the rates set for 50% with 30 expo, and she still had more than ample control.
ScoutMaiden.jpg