Okay, lots of fun with #2 so far....
On her maiden flight yesterday I had the the rates turned down WAY too low (i.e. aileron at 60%, elevator at 50%). Mistake. After a nice hand launch where she tracked out true and straight, I had a beast of a time turning it around only to see it gradually descend into the ground at a high rate of speed while I'm pulling the elevator stick back with everything I had. Verdict? Nose heavy with no elevator control. Fortunately, the only things that really shattered were the engine pods.
After a quick rebuild last night using the smushed pieces as templates, I enlisted my kid to help and went back again this afternoon . As you'll see in the video (apologies for the poor quality), takeoff was a little sketchier- its hard to hand launch it. It flew best at 80% aileron, elevator at 85%, and rudder at 100%. I still crashed on landing, but nothing too serious. Keep the speed up on landing and you'll do better than I. I also want to strengthen the horizontal stabilizer, as it had too much wiggle in the air. It looks crooked in the video.
I'd like to emphasize how
cool this thing looks in the air. Its so big! It's also my first edf and it flies a little differently than a prop plane, but has been a great learning experience. Definitely "working on it."
