Hai-Lee
Old and Bold RC PILOT
Greetings from a FB addict!
There appear to be 2 types of persons posting about their FB FT builds and they fall into 2 distinct groups. The groups are those who like to show their latest creation and those who complain about the problems they are having with the FT designs and their rendition of them.
I am not the only builder and flyer of FB FT designed planes in my club but funnily enough the flyers in my club are also divided into the same two categories as those who post on the FT forum. A fair while ago I managed to get one of the flyers to move from the complainer group to the enthusiast group when he asked for my help with his FB FT builds.
He was making so many mistakes It was difficult to resist just building the planes for him, but I persevered. The list of mistakes he was blaming on the FT designs is extensive:
1. The Hot melt was not strong enough. - Told him that glue selection was his and besides you should not leave your planes locked in the car on a hot day.
2. The Planes were difficult to impossible to balance. - Once I pointed that he was using different weight FB and that there was more tail than there was aircraft nose he understood the importance of material selection.
3. The planes flew poorly. - Once he realised that large lead weights in the nose allowed the plane to fly but the stall speed was greatly increased.
4. The dreaded roll and dive upon launch was also blamed upon the design until he was informed of the issues involved.
5. Some FT designs did not fly without massive amounts of trim offset. - Traced this issue to wings of different profile and even different incidences. Even had rudder and tail alignment issues.
6. Some designs were far too twitchy. - He did not follow the throw suggestions and ignored the Expo settings because he did not understand them.
7. Ground loops and trim variations were a problem until he was informed about the need for down and side thrust in the designs which he had not understood and so ignored.
The list goes on!
Now he is building more carefully, taking his time and getting it right, following all of the build instructions to the letter and making allowances for any material variations he is forced to make. In addition he has learned to ask for help or ideas if he thinks he has, or might have, a problem with a build.
The moral to this little and soon forgotten post is that unless you are using the exact material and techniques used in the original design you will definitely get different results to those of the original FT build. There is a second lesson to be learned, reluctantly in some, no 2 planes will fly exactly the same so if you can fly your trainer it does not mean you can fly that new FT mini in the same manner. When flying a new type of aircraft you need to do what I still do and that is LOOK, LISTEN and LEARN.
Do your research, take your time, build it right, and you might not have to build it many times before you can finally flight it properly. ABOVE ALL, ask questions as many times as you need to get the answer you are seeking, the answers cost nothing! If the answers are wrong then just maybe the questions is wrong and should be rephrased to better explain the issue and ensure that you supply all relevant information!
Fly high, Fly often, and land gently! (I wish I could). :black_eyed:
There appear to be 2 types of persons posting about their FB FT builds and they fall into 2 distinct groups. The groups are those who like to show their latest creation and those who complain about the problems they are having with the FT designs and their rendition of them.
I am not the only builder and flyer of FB FT designed planes in my club but funnily enough the flyers in my club are also divided into the same two categories as those who post on the FT forum. A fair while ago I managed to get one of the flyers to move from the complainer group to the enthusiast group when he asked for my help with his FB FT builds.
He was making so many mistakes It was difficult to resist just building the planes for him, but I persevered. The list of mistakes he was blaming on the FT designs is extensive:
1. The Hot melt was not strong enough. - Told him that glue selection was his and besides you should not leave your planes locked in the car on a hot day.
2. The Planes were difficult to impossible to balance. - Once I pointed that he was using different weight FB and that there was more tail than there was aircraft nose he understood the importance of material selection.
3. The planes flew poorly. - Once he realised that large lead weights in the nose allowed the plane to fly but the stall speed was greatly increased.
4. The dreaded roll and dive upon launch was also blamed upon the design until he was informed of the issues involved.
5. Some FT designs did not fly without massive amounts of trim offset. - Traced this issue to wings of different profile and even different incidences. Even had rudder and tail alignment issues.
6. Some designs were far too twitchy. - He did not follow the throw suggestions and ignored the Expo settings because he did not understand them.
7. Ground loops and trim variations were a problem until he was informed about the need for down and side thrust in the designs which he had not understood and so ignored.
The list goes on!
Now he is building more carefully, taking his time and getting it right, following all of the build instructions to the letter and making allowances for any material variations he is forced to make. In addition he has learned to ask for help or ideas if he thinks he has, or might have, a problem with a build.
The moral to this little and soon forgotten post is that unless you are using the exact material and techniques used in the original design you will definitely get different results to those of the original FT build. There is a second lesson to be learned, reluctantly in some, no 2 planes will fly exactly the same so if you can fly your trainer it does not mean you can fly that new FT mini in the same manner. When flying a new type of aircraft you need to do what I still do and that is LOOK, LISTEN and LEARN.
Do your research, take your time, build it right, and you might not have to build it many times before you can finally flight it properly. ABOVE ALL, ask questions as many times as you need to get the answer you are seeking, the answers cost nothing! If the answers are wrong then just maybe the questions is wrong and should be rephrased to better explain the issue and ensure that you supply all relevant information!
Fly high, Fly often, and land gently! (I wish I could). :black_eyed:
