FT Bushwacker BUILD

[BATTLEAXE]

The 5g, was the lesser of two evils. They don't seem to be straining, tried to make sure the hinges were as free moving as possible.

Hey I got a question, have you ever used flaperons? And if you have do you know if there is still some roll authority with ailerons when the flaperons deployed or is it fixed stationary?

 

[BATTLEAXE]

I have figured out how I am going to move the Hstab up and cut a crap ton of weight out of the tail. I did some sketching on the templates and judging by the shape it might look a little more half Cubbish, maybe have a more Storchy side profile, but will look like a sleek bush plane for sure. More to come

 

[The Hangar]

The 5g, was the lesser of two evils. They don't seem to be straining, tried to make sure the hinges were as free moving as possible.

Hey I got a question, have you ever used flaperons? And if you have do you know if there is still some roll authority with ailerons when the flaperons deployed or is it fixed stationary?

Programmed them into the cub but was never able to test them fully. I think they act like elevons though, except that you are controlling pitch with a switch if that makes sense...

I have figured out how I am going to move the Hstab up and cut a crap ton of weight out of the tail. I did some sketching on the templates and judging by the shape it might look a little more half Cubbish, maybe have a more Storchy side profile, but will look like a sleek bush plane for sure. More to come

Sweet. Eager to see the pics.

 

[BATTLEAXE]

I think they act like elevons though,

If they act like elevons in the down position and let up some on the inside of a roll then that is the way to go. They would create adverse yaw that way though, less drag on the inside of the roll.

 

[The Hangar]

If they act like elevons in the down position and let up some on the inside of a roll then that is the way to go. They would create adverse yaw that way though, less drag on the inside of the roll.

That sounds right to me...

 

[BATTLEAXE]

Try it on the cub tomorrow see what happens. You could do it on the ground as well, deploy flaperons and see if there is any movement when you move the right stick.

 

[The Hangar]

Try it on the cub tomorrow see what happens. You could do it on the ground as well, deploy flaperons and see if there is any movement when you move the right stick.

Good idea - I’ll try it.

 

[BATTLEAXE]

Can't wait to see the vid, good luck

 

[whackflyer]

I just put the username thing together, you must like them. Do you still have yours and do you have pics? Would you build another one? And if you did build another, what would make it the ultimate whacker for you and how would you fly it, scale or 3D?

Sorry, I don't have any pics or have either of mine, they're long gone. That said, if I was going to make one purposely for 3D I would add maybe a quarter inch to the control surface width for more authority, and make sure my servos and linkages were set up for maximum throw. I would probably iron the edges of the tail feathers or add a spar, if you don't do that they're kinda weak. If I was to do STOL, I would probably do split flaps, leading edge slats, and possibly use the idea that @Dr. Looping Looie inspired.... 1/8th scale car shocks for those hard landings! I would for sure add trailing braces like you said on the gear. And if you're wanting 3D you'll want some slow fly props. Have fun!

 

[whackflyer]

Both of my Whackers were built with split flaps, people who have built with flaperons say the handling gets really weird at low speeds. That said you'll probably want all the aileron surface you can have for 3D. If you have a capable radio, you could do split flaps that deflect up and down just like normal ailerons to give you full span ailerons, but when you pop the flaps on, they come down and act as flaps. One of my friends did this on his EPP Rans S7, it works very good.

 

[BATTLEAXE]

And if you're wanting 3D you'll want some slow fly props. Have fun!

I usually run a 9x6 as a go to standard but I did order 4 10x45 props to play with this plane, might be here in another week or so. Also waiting on a new Tx to replace mine, warranty on all the LOS issues I was having. Noticing I was losing one channel at any given time, some were what I thought as ESC cutouts I am attributing to a channel LOS. Some times I would lose just aileron or elevator, and I couldn't program dual ailerons. I been through the trouble shooting with over 20 planes in the past 6 months and this is the last place to look. Hopefully it is fixed with the new Tx.

Both of my Whackers were built with split flaps, people who have built with flaperons say the handling gets really weird at low speeds. That said you'll probably want all the aileron surface you can have for 3D. If you have a capable radio, you could do split flaps that deflect up and down just like normal ailerons to give you full span ailerons, but when you pop the flaps on, they come down and act as flaps. One of my friends did this on his EPP Rans S7, it works very good.

So what you are saying is the flaperons don't act as limited ailerons when deployed? No roll authority?

 

[whackflyer]

So what you are saying is the flaperons don't act as limited ailerons when deployed? No roll authority?

They still work as ailerons but they're not as effective at slowing the plane down as split flaps are and sometimes they will make your plane handle really weird at slow speeds. If I was you I would try flaperons and if you don't like them, cut the flaps free and use split flaps.

 

[BATTLEAXE]

They still work as ailerons but they're not as effective at slowing the plane down as split flaps are and sometimes they will make your plane handle really weird at slow speeds. If I was you I would try flaperons and if you don't like them, cut the flaps free and use split flaps.

That's exactly what I am going to do, split flaps are easy to add after the fact. And there is no rule book that says I have to use 8" of the ailerons to create flaps. I could keep the ailerons full length and make fowler style flap out of plastic like I did on the Spear and make them closer to the CG for more stability.

Thanks for the help BTW, very useful info, takes out some of the guess work.

 

[BATTLEAXE]

Here is the fuse plan laid out to reflect the changes made to the tail to get the Hstab higher up on the fuse:

This is a shot of the over all scheme, the new lines have been drawn in on the FB for the most part, anything I have omitted is already cut off the plans.

Here you can see how I cut the long curve off the bottom to save on unnecessary weight. This is where the profile of the plane will change some to look more like a Storch. Not that I wanted to look more like the Storch but it has more benefits then just the profile.

This is the old location of the Hstab...

New location of the Hstab, it moves up 1 3/4". Significant relocation difference to maintain the same designed incidence between the wing and the Hstab. This is where the Hstab will be subject to more cleaner air in an invert. Again this is a theory, flight will tell the story, but if this does or does not make sense then let me know. This still gives the profile of having a rear windshield as well.

Here on top of the cabin is where I will be frenching in some skewers to take the abuse of the wing and also handling access to inside the cockpit for maintenance or use of a cam for either onboard recording or FPV. It will also reinforce the skewers used for the rubber bands to hold the wing down.

Where the B fold is made at the flat bottom of the fuse will be skewers or pop sticks to reinforce the landing gear as well.

 

[The Hangar]

So @BATTLEAXE i tried out the flaps on my Cuba this morning, and I have vid to upload. When flaps are deployed, and you give left aileron, the right flap stays the same but the left flap becomes straight with the wing as if you weren’t giving any aileron input or flaps. I hope that helps. Oh, and upon giving it flaps, she pitched straight up!

 

[BATTLEAXE]

So @BATTLEAXE i tried out the flaps on my Cuba this morning, and I have vid to upload. When flaps are deployed, and you give left aileron, the right flap stays the same but the left flap becomes straight with the wing as if you weren’t giving any aileron input or flaps. I hope that helps. Oh, and upon giving it flaps, she pitched straight up!

So there is roll authority when flaps are deployed, good to know. Pitched straight up means you will have to play with the throttle and elevator upon landing, would work really well for take off though.

How was the flight?

 

[whackflyer]

So there is roll authority when flaps are deployed, good to know. Pitched straight up means you will have to play with the throttle and elevator upon landing, would work really well for take off though.

How was the flight?

You can easily program your TX to add some down elevator when you pop the flaps on. For the shortest landings possible you'll be playing with your throttle and elevator the whole way down anyway. BTW @BATTLEAXE, what TX are you getting?

 

[The Hangar]

So there is roll authority when flaps are deployed, good to know. Pitched straight up means you will have to play with the throttle and elevator upon landing, would work really well for take off though.

How was the flight?

I had a blast. The video is downloading.

 

[BATTLEAXE]

You can easily program your TX to add some down elevator when you pop the flaps on. For the shortest landings possible you'll be playing with your throttle and elevator the whole way down anyway. BTW @BATTLEAXE, what TX are you getting?

It's a direct replacement DXe for the one that I have that doesn't hold signal, the woman at customer service was so accommodating and assured me the issues were a faulty transmitter. I didn't even have to send the old one back, might use it for sims

I had a blast. The video is downloading.

Cool, did you put it through it's paces?

 

[BATTLEAXE]

Here is everything cut out, makes it easier to see the changes.

All the answers are in and it's ready to fold up.

Side note- decided to install the tops separately. The nose hood and windshield will be a one piece operation, same with the rear deck and rear windshield. I will tape the cut out plans of these pieces together and make them both one section of FB. The bottom tail deck was sectioned off with two score cuts across and even intervals to glue it in sections as opposed to trying to glue, straighten and center all in one shot. It will make for a more square tail and relate well into the tail feathers.