FT Simple Storch - BUILD

richardbbq

New member
PowerPod now almost complete. Interestingly I could only make use of three out of the four screw holes for the binding plate (cross shaped metal piece) as the lower one didn't correspond to any hole on the wooden mount and was right on the bottom of the PowerPod.
The re-enforcing tape I have used is Norton Bear cloth tape, which is what is easily available where I live.
Hope this helps any other noobs who are building like me :)
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nhk750

Aviation Enthusiast
That looks good, but I would move the Speed Controller closer to the motor so you can get your battery connector out of the bottom closer to the front of the pod so the battery will be towards the front for better weight and balance and also you want the controller as far away from the radio as possible. I have a hot setup for my new plane here...

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nhk750

Aviation Enthusiast
New Storch ready for maiden

Just finished with the decal work, experimenting with vinyl Cricut decals and had some fun messing around with it.

Turnigy Aerodrive SK3 3530, 1340kv brushless outrunner.
Paired up with a Turnigy plush 40 amp speed controller with a 5 amp bec. Also using Turnigy 3S, 2200ah, 40C battery. 9x6 APC prop.

1057g, a little heavy, but the Storch fly's better heavy...

I messed up the wing build a little bit, but I think it will fly ok...we will see...I also spent more time on this one than I was planning on as it will be another trainer. My first Storch barely flys anymore, but it does still fly...this will be the replacement.

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nhk750

Aviation Enthusiast
Symmetrical Storch Wing

I did some research on the wing I messed up on and it looks like I made the wing more symmetrical by having the bottom leading edge angled like it is. You can see in the picture what Im talking about.

I am just a little nervous for my maiden on this Storch as I have spent way more time than I originally planed on it (What else do you do on a rainy day). It was supposed to be a replacement trainer to be crashed and not worried about...

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mikeporterinmd

Still Learning
I did some research on the wing I messed up on and it looks like I made the wing more symmetrical by having the bottom leading edge angled like it is. You can see in the picture what Im talking about.

I am just a little nervous for my maiden on this Storch as I have spent way more time than I originally planed on it (What else do you do on a rainy day). It was supposed to be a replacement trainer to be crashed and not worried about...

I had the same fold in my wing. It seemed like the extra fold gave the wing extreme lift any time the nose was slightly up. Increases in pitch resulted in dramatic altitude increases, sometimes going vertical. It was very, very floaty. But, I am not a very experienced pilot so...

While not very easy to fly, it certainly wasn't prone to crashing, either. Landings were very soft. I also added a steerable tail wheel, so my initial angle of attack was less than a stock Storch, but still, takeoffs were trivial. If I taxied too fast, the plane would take off. I was on grass, and so was giving it a fair amount of power when taxi-ing. I think this made the tail lift very easily.

In the end, I remade the wing and was very careful to get a proper fold. I still ended up with a hint of the fold on the bottom by the spar, but just a hint.

I'm still not sure what causes this fold. I think maybe a hard spot develops in the foam board where the spar is glued on, making a fold easy to generate if you are not very careful to keep the bottom flat when doing BOTH of the top glues. i am using WR-DTFB.

On the rebuild, my first glue went well enough, and I thought I was home free, but on the second glue pass, I almost folded the bottom, but I caught it in time.

I forgot to the move the trailer edge spacers in 1/4" or so as specified in the plans. The trailing edge spacer is aligned with the back of the bottom of the wing. The wing is still flat on the bottom, so I'm not sure what effect this will have. Perhaps slightly less camber?

I'd fly it unless you have spare board to remake the wing.

One further note: I was using the standard 10x4.7 slow fly prop that comes with a C pack. I will try the 9x6 APC next time. A little bit more speed might help with the floaty feel. As I said above, I am not very experienced.

So, I destroyed the old wing just to see how strong it was. It was quite difficult to fold it - relatively speaking. Nothing snapped or gave way, just a gradual crushing of the mating components in the root. It's a nice design.

Mike
 

richardbbq

New member
I ordered the 'C power pack' (https://store.flitetest.com/power-pack-c-fixed-wing-large/), which came with EMax servos (ES08A)- the linkage stoppers supplied won't go through the servo arm- the holes in the servo arm are barely big enough to accept the supplied wire- any suggestions how to get around this?
The hobby shop I went to said he never came across linkage stoppers before, so I tried not using them but bending that supplied wire is nigh well impossible- too strong.
I'm a bit stuck now and can't advance because of it. I was thinking of just using a straightened paper clip instead...

Any advice is appreciated- thanks!
 

mikeporterinmd

Still Learning
I drill out the control arms using a small hand "pin drill". It's pretty easy to do by hand and you don't risk slipping like might happen with a power drill.

Mike
 

nhk750

Aviation Enthusiast
I ordered the 'C power pack' (https://store.flitetest.com/power-pack-c-fixed-wing-large/), which came with EMax servos (ES08A)- the linkage stoppers supplied won't go through the servo arm- the holes in the servo arm are barely big enough to accept the supplied wire- any suggestions how to get around this?
The hobby shop I went to said he never came across linkage stoppers before, so I tried not using them but bending that supplied wire is nigh well impossible- too strong.
I'm a bit stuck now and can't advance because of it. I was thinking of just using a straightened paper clip instead...

Any advice is appreciated- thanks!

Invest in some zbend pliers too, they make life good.
https://www.amazon.com/z-bend-pliers/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=i:aps,k:z bend pliers&tag=lstir-20
 

nhk750

Aviation Enthusiast
Last flight of the Storch

Well, I think this crash did my first Storch in for good. The crashed was caused by the left servo extension wire coming loose. I know I installed it correctly, but did leave the wing on since the last flight...probably should check under the wing connections before flights...Anyway, the only other cause could have been some sort of interference. I use Spektrum DX8 DSMX and a AR610 DSMX receiver. I am flying in a residential area with probably lots of WiFi going on. I am not 100% sure of the cause of crash, but the servo wire was disconnected when I performed the after crash inspection. Take a look at the video and see what you think...

 

mikeporterinmd

Still Learning
At least you're not in the trees so the electronics are still yours to reuse. The wing still looked ok, and perhaps the tail. I just learned the other day that denatured alcohol pops hot glued objects free. It certainly removed servos easily enough. What I don't know is if you can use it to remove the tail portion of the Storch and reuse in a new build. I'm going to try it on some dead planes I have later on today.

One other thought: try some "extreme packing tape." I crashed the other day and popped all sorts of things loose. I put a few wraps of this tape around it, and it appears to be as strong or stronger than before.

Mike
 
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nhk750

Aviation Enthusiast
Which prop for a rookie flier (C pack): 9x6 APC or the 10x4.5 slow fly that comes with the C pack?

Thanks,

Mike

The slow fly prop is good to start with. The 9x6 does go a bit faster. The slow fly 10x4.5 will give you low speed power and be a little more manageable for mistakes...
 

nhk750

Aviation Enthusiast
At least you're not in the trees so the electronics are still yours to reuse. The wing still looked ok, and perhaps the tail.
Mike

The wing is really beat up and I used paint sticks on it to keep it from folding length wise and the tail already sheared off once and in pretty bad shape too. I guess I was lucky it would fly at all...
 

surdumil

New member
servos for flaps

I'm building an FT Simple Storch and I'm trying to figure out how to do the flap and flaperon options.

First, if you opt for separate flaps and ailerons and you want to use one channel for each, this requires two servo Y-cables, correct? One for the ailerons and one for the flaps?

Second, to support flap operation where both flaps deflect in the same direction, does this require a direction-inversion mod to one of the servos?

Third, is there a way to set up a Spektrum DXe transmitter for flaperon operation to suit the Storch?
 

Hai-Lee

Old and Bold RC PILOT
I'm building an FT Simple Storch and I'm trying to figure out how to do the flap and flaperon options.

First, if you opt for separate flaps and ailerons and you want to use one channel for each, this requires two servo Y-cables, correct? One for the ailerons and one for the flaps?

Second, to support flap operation where both flaps deflect in the same direction, does this require a direction-inversion mod to one of the servos?

Third, is there a way to set up a Spektrum DXe transmitter for flaperon operation to suit the Storch?

Yes, you would normally require 2 "Y" harnesses , one for Ailerons and the second for the flaps unless you link the flaps mechanically and drive them both from the one servo.

You could modify one of the servos, buy and fit a servo reverser inline with one of the flap servos, or just fit the servos exactly the same mechanically in each wing which is simpler though a little aesthetically displeasing.

I do not have the mixing procedure you are asking about though I would consider looking into a small margin of "Crowfoot" mixing especially if you intend to explore the extremes of the STOL flight envelope.
 

N4RF

Member
You can do one channel for ailerons and another for flaps. I did mine that way. You will need at least a 5 channel transmitter and I'm not familiar with the DXe to know how many channels.

The servos for the flaps will need to be oriented in the same direction so that the move in the same direction. You will notice that when you install the servos for the wings, they are oriented opposite each other - both bodies on the inside and the arms on the out side. For flaps, the servos will have to be oriented so that both bodies are facing to the left or the right to that when the signal reaches them the move in the same direction.

Try it first before installing them with a servo tester.

Best of luck!
 

nhk750

Aviation Enthusiast
Had a great maiden flight of the new scratch build Storch today, video to come probably tomorrow. It was awesome! It has unlimited vertical with my power setup and flys light a dream. Did some great aerobatics today for a rookie!