FPV Raptor?
- Thread starter Carbon
- Start date
Just got my Raptor today. A friend picked it up for me from the Moruya (Australian) warehouse. I'm amazed at the size of the plane. I thought I might be able to fit it into my current storage areas when assembled, but it's too big.
I'm fairly impressed with the plane so far EXCEPT 1. Deans plug; 2. the aileron control rods are missing; and 3. an aileron servo is twitchy and had to be replace straight up. Thankfully I've already got a couple of spare servos lying around, so I pried out the dodgy one. I've got plenty of spare wire for control rods and I think I've got some speed snaps to stick on the control horns. I've already changed the connector over. I'm only going to use the stock ESC for test flying - hopefully it'll hold out.
EDIT: I found the little bag with my aileron and flaps control horns! They had fallen out onto the couch and under the box. I was packing up the box and I spotted the red ribbon in the packet. Glad I didn't make up new ones after all! It's late here, so I'm going to stick the decals and control horns on tomorrow. Should only take a minute.
I'm fairly impressed with the plane so far EXCEPT 1. Deans plug; 2. the aileron control rods are missing; and 3. an aileron servo is twitchy and had to be replace straight up. Thankfully I've already got a couple of spare servos lying around, so I pried out the dodgy one. I've got plenty of spare wire for control rods and I think I've got some speed snaps to stick on the control horns. I've already changed the connector over. I'm only going to use the stock ESC for test flying - hopefully it'll hold out.
EDIT: I found the little bag with my aileron and flaps control horns! They had fallen out onto the couch and under the box. I was packing up the box and I spotted the red ribbon in the packet. Glad I didn't make up new ones after all! It's late here, so I'm going to stick the decals and control horns on tomorrow. Should only take a minute.
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So... Fitted the aileron control rods this morning and stuck on the decals. It balanced out nicely with the 5000mAh 3s about 1" back from the tip of the nose. I had an issue with the ailerons - although I'd replaced the servo to be exactly where the old one was, the two ailerons moved together. This meant I had to take the wing off, remove the Y cable and plug the ailerons into separate channels.
With that sorted, I tried to ROG, but the grass is still green and grabby, so the best I got was some slow taxi. I got one of my fellow fliers to launch for me, but he didn't throw it hard enough and I got a bellyflop on the grass. The prop put 3 shallow scars on the fuse below it, and the velcro that I'd hot glued to the battery tray came loose (didn't have enough glue on it really...). I ran out of time to fix it and would rather someone who knew what they were doing (or could throw properly) attempt the next launch. That means you, glydr.... No pressure!
Hopefully the thermals will be just as good tomorrow. It was hard to land the Bixler and AXN today, as they just kept gliding!
With that sorted, I tried to ROG, but the grass is still green and grabby, so the best I got was some slow taxi. I got one of my fellow fliers to launch for me, but he didn't throw it hard enough and I got a bellyflop on the grass. The prop put 3 shallow scars on the fuse below it, and the velcro that I'd hot glued to the battery tray came loose (didn't have enough glue on it really...). I ran out of time to fix it and would rather someone who knew what they were doing (or could throw properly) attempt the next launch. That means you, glydr.... No pressure!
Hopefully the thermals will be just as good tomorrow. It was hard to land the Bixler and AXN today, as they just kept gliding!
glydr
How many letters do we ge
No trouble! Sorry to not make it today, had home duties!
Though the weather isn't that great tomorrow. W to NW 20 to 30 means more usable lift up Theodore.
I did manage to get the Bix into some thermals while playing paper plane drop with the kids. Twas a nice day.
That's alright. Was mostly showing off a couple of aspects of the hobby and getting another guy going with his planes.
If the wind's good at theodore the raptor should do the job up there once trimmed out. Might have to find a lighter battery setup.
If the wind's good at theodore the raptor should do the job up there once trimmed out. Might have to find a lighter battery setup.
Wing loading's pretty light, but loaded up with a 5000mAh battery and no fpv gear, it's about 1.4kg. Any plane that heavy needs some good air over the wings to create 1.4kg of lift.
I'd be able to launch it, but I wasn't willing to hand the tx to the others that were there... If the grass wasn't so sticky I'd be able to ROG it.
True. Those who never have launched a plane before will do it really softly. I remember the first time I launched my Bixler it almost touched the ground, but the motor got it up to speed in time. Now I launch like this:
After reading the reviews on the Raptor, and having already swapped one servo over for a pre-crapified HXT900, and due to the windy weather that's prevented a maiden this weekend, I've done a little work on the plane. I've pulled out the other servos to keep as spares and replaced them with the last of my good HXT900s (I'll be buying TG9e servos from now on). I also pulled the positive wire out of the ESC receiver connector and soldered a UBEC in. This should serve the dual purpose of providing power should something go wrong with the ESC, while taking the stress off the unit. I'm now feeling much happier with the plane.
Light winds are predicted for tomorrow, so hopefully it'll be maiden day. I always say if you want a job done right, do it yourself. I shouldn't have any trouble launching it myself.
Light winds are predicted for tomorrow, so hopefully it'll be maiden day. I always say if you want a job done right, do it yourself. I shouldn't have any trouble launching it myself.
Headed to the oval for a test fly this morning. There was a bit of dew on the grass, and this grass is more your playing field type stuff - smaller blades of grass and a little softer. I thought that if I couldn't get it to ROG (or is that DOG) on the grass then I could use the astroturf cricket pitch, and if that didn't work I'd give it a good hard chuck.
Plan A worked, however, and I was surprised at how well the rudder tracked it. Much smoother than the tail draggers or even the tri-wheel planes I've flown. About half way across the oval, it took off by itself. Needless to say it needed a bit of down trim, but not a crazy amount. I also needed a little trim on the ailerons.
The roll rate is nice enough for a big glider - better than the Bixler. The polyhedral isn't as effective as the Bixler or AXN's but it gets there in the end. I haven't installed flaps yet, but it can get down fairly slow without stalling. The wing chord isn't as wide as the Bixler and I found the glide slope to be more similar to the AXN. On the topic of the wing, I didn't see any flexing or bumping on any of the low, fast passes I did.
After some mixed throttle flying, I landed and felt the motor and ESC. The ESC was barely warm, but the motor had a little bit of heat. Landing is much like other gliders - it just keeps going and going. I used the technique of putting it off into the distance at the other side of the oval, cutting the power, turning back toward the oval and pushing the nose down until the plane's about 1-2 metres above the ground. The ground effect and speed keep the plane low and stable and it eventually touches down and slides in at my feet.
All up I'm really really happy with this plane. I think it's a new favourite and I can't wait to stick some FPV gear on it. With a 5000mAh battery, it balances nicely and wing loading feels pretty low. The additional drag of a camera and cl antenna probably won't be felt in the scheme of things. One slightly annoying thing is the motor angle. When you trim it to level at half throttle, going to full throttle makes it climb a little more than I wanted and speed bottoms out - top speed is at just over half throttle. I guess it doesn't matter too much, but I'll have to watch my altitude when flying FPV. I already have a tendency to fly higher than I should with the Bixler, which only climbs marginally on full throttle without stick input.
Plan A worked, however, and I was surprised at how well the rudder tracked it. Much smoother than the tail draggers or even the tri-wheel planes I've flown. About half way across the oval, it took off by itself. Needless to say it needed a bit of down trim, but not a crazy amount. I also needed a little trim on the ailerons.
The roll rate is nice enough for a big glider - better than the Bixler. The polyhedral isn't as effective as the Bixler or AXN's but it gets there in the end. I haven't installed flaps yet, but it can get down fairly slow without stalling. The wing chord isn't as wide as the Bixler and I found the glide slope to be more similar to the AXN. On the topic of the wing, I didn't see any flexing or bumping on any of the low, fast passes I did.
After some mixed throttle flying, I landed and felt the motor and ESC. The ESC was barely warm, but the motor had a little bit of heat. Landing is much like other gliders - it just keeps going and going. I used the technique of putting it off into the distance at the other side of the oval, cutting the power, turning back toward the oval and pushing the nose down until the plane's about 1-2 metres above the ground. The ground effect and speed keep the plane low and stable and it eventually touches down and slides in at my feet.
All up I'm really really happy with this plane. I think it's a new favourite and I can't wait to stick some FPV gear on it. With a 5000mAh battery, it balances nicely and wing loading feels pretty low. The additional drag of a camera and cl antenna probably won't be felt in the scheme of things. One slightly annoying thing is the motor angle. When you trim it to level at half throttle, going to full throttle makes it climb a little more than I wanted and speed bottoms out - top speed is at just over half throttle. I guess it doesn't matter too much, but I'll have to watch my altitude when flying FPV. I already have a tendency to fly higher than I should with the Bixler, which only climbs marginally on full throttle without stick input.
