Hobby Newbie Learning Diary; Family Included!

[mayan]

This thread has been so good. Over the course of today, I've read through it all. It's great to watch you progress from a total noob at the start, to being able to pilot an Edge 540.

Your vids at the start were pretty much, launch, crash, launch, crash, repeat (no offence intended)

But by the end, you were properly flying.

I'm just getting into this hobby, and your diary in this thread has been really inspiring. There's so many good tips in it, on building and flying, that I'll be taking note of. And it's also been great to see you letting your kids be part of it, and just be kids!

You mentioned showing off for friends at a BBQ a while ago. Well I had a fun story along those lines too.

My other hobby is archery, but proper archery with a recurve. Not those daft compound things that most folk in the US seem to use

Anyways, after burgers and a few beers, my neighbour and I got out our archery gear, and started shooting at a bag of dirt in the garden. Until one arrow missed, and hit the fence at the top of the garden. Had it been 1/2inch to the right, it would have been buried somewhere in the car radiator

So anyway, thanks for continuing to post about your journey into this hobby.

No offense is ever taken. It’s all good comments that helped me get better at what I wanted to achieve. Showing my many crashes before having a successful flight is part of the learning curve. I found that every crash made me want to do something better, that way every crash got me a step closer to where I am at today in the hobby. Again loads of luck with flying, and if there is anything I can advice on just post it even on this thread. Any question you ask is sure to help myself and others get better at building and flying.

And most importantly share, share your failures and successes with us we all love to support and push in the right direction.

 

[mayan]

I relation to the wing fixture for the TT Mod I suggest that you have a read of the Slick Trick build especially where the assembled fuselage and wing as shown together. https://forum.flitetest.com/index.php?threads/collaborators-build-2-slick-trick.54111/

To stop the fuselage from failing the fuselage has a reinforcing plate added to each side, (I used FB), and the wing profile is also cut out of the reinforcing pieces. With 2 skewers through the fuselage the top canopy does not need to be fitted except that it keeps everything inside the fuselage.

I know it works and works well. Sadly the model has a bit of performance and does not like nose first impacts. The wings generally outlast about 3 fuselages.

Have fun!

Got some stuff to do in the morning but will have a look during the day when I can get on the workbench.

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction as always.

 

[mayan]

Being overwhelmed with all the alerts I received during the night on the forum, and having responded to most is running me late on schedule hope to still push in a remaiden for V2 of the Mini Edge today.

 

[mayan]

Being overwhelmed with all the alerts I received during the night on the forum, and having responded to most is running me late on schedule hope to still push in a remaiden for V2 of the Mini Edge today.

Packed the car with my TT and Mini Edge V2 just in case I'd find time to go flying on the way back home. It was winder than what I like for flying the TT but still tossed it in the air, to get some windy flying practice done like I told @buzzbomb to do earlier today.

I gave the Mini Edge V2 another maiden too today but again with no real success to get in a good flight. I crashed quite fast, again the motor disconnected, again I broke a prop and again had no way to fix it in the field. I need to get some good flight time on it to figure it out. I am surprised though that the air frame is holding up to my crashes and that only little repairs are required each time. I am breaking a few servos arms though but have plenty spare so that isn't making me worried.

Didn't have someone to film me and I had recently gave back the GoPro a friend lent me. Tried filming with my iPhone off the hood of my car but no real good footage, will edit it later today and post the highlights.

 

[mayan]

The crash on the V2 Mini Edge today cost me my last 9x4.7 prop a bumming moment considering I have Saturday morning to go practice quietly since my mom is gonna take the kids to a museum.

Do I let that stop me? Hell no! I went to this store which I hate because the owner ain’t nice and is very disrespectful to my builds. He keeps pushing me to build a balsa plane telling me to stop building FB planes. I keep telling him that I don’t want to that I am happy with a cheap air frame that can easily be fixed or replaced. Any how I put my ego aside and went to get myself some new props.

That’s also when I came across this:

It’s a buzzer that is supposed to go off when I power off the Tx. Lately I stopped flying over the grain field because the grain is so high that even with a streamer I can’t find the plane if it lands / crashes there. I moved myself a few meters towards the cabiage field but there the dirt is hard and dry making each crash/landing a hard to watch moment and usually means a broken or chipped prop and some repairs on the airframe. If I’ll figure out how to make this buzzer work I just might go back to the grain field. A soft pillow for a hard crash .

 

[mayan]

It’s a buzzer that is supposed to go off when I power off the Tx.

It works and works like a charm too. It is simple to connect, simply an extension to any servo in use and will go off with a loud beeping sound if the Tx is turned off or there are no stick movements for a whole minute. It cost me only 8$ and is worth every penny spent on it. Back to flying over my safety net the grain field again.

I also went out to the hardware store and stoped being a cheap ass and got myself some normal screws and bolts to hold down the motor. This motor isn’t going anywhere now, had enough of flying motors with this model.

I also used some orange duck tape to help me with the planes orientation. Put a piece on the front to help recognize front from back and on the right wing to help with left right. Hope this helps my learning curve with this model. Unlike the TT this model is very sensitive and needs to be handled genetally for a calm flight. Any stick movement especially if you fly like me full throws is super hard, but practice makes prefect and so I need more practice .

EDIT: I won’t be working on the TT/Edge crossover today since I have the morning shift at work tomorrow after a long while in which I wasn’t working due to the health issue I had. I have though looked at what @Hai-Lee recommended I read, still need to put some thoughts to it.

 

[buzzbomb]

It’s a buzzer that is supposed to go off when I power off the Tx

That's a really good idea! My uncle nearly lost his plane in a tree two houses over, earlier today. It took them forever to find it. Not a joke. Even in the field I fly in, when my plane goes down, I pick a spot in the distance and walk towards it. I can never take my eyes off of it until I find my plane. Please translate the name of the product, so I can google it and see if or something similar is available over here.

 

[mayan]

"lost plane buzzer" this is what I searched for on AliExpress to get myself some more for a more reasonable price, because this store I go to is expensive. Here is a link to it on AliExpress: https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesal...B_20190320223824&SearchText=lost+plane+buzzer

 

[buzzbomb]

"lost plane buzzer" this is what I searched for on AliExpress to get myself some more for a more reasonable price, because this store I go to is expensive. Here is a link to it on AliExpress: https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesal...B_20190320223824&SearchText=lost+plane+buzzer

Thank you.

https://hobbyking.com/en_us/hobbykingr-discovery-buzzer.html

$3.26 from a U.S. warehouse! You can betcha that's going on my next HK order! I'm emailing the link to uncle, now. Thank you again.

 

[mayan]

Thank you again.

You’re welcome again.

 

[mayan]

So I looked at the footage from yesterday’s practice and it was crap!

I managed to cut out only one good shot of the TT showing me flying up wind and then down wind try to see the speed difference.

And here is the fairly short remaiden of the V2 of the Mini Edge. Again I crashed way to fast to really feel the plane. Hoping for better luck on Saturday.

 

[buzzbomb]

So I looked at the footage from yesterday’s practice and it was crap!

I managed to cut out only one good shot of the TT showing me flying up wind and then down wind try to see the speed difference.

And here is the fairly short remaiden of the V2 of the Mini Edge. Again I crashed way to fast to really feel the plane. Hoping for better luck on Saturday.

Wow. That was hard to watch. Kind of like my last video, I imagine! Hey, at least you weren't crashing from multiple angles, multiple times for multiple minutes! That's a win!

The TT vid doesn't show what you want it to. I think you had to be there to really recognize what was happening. I've got that in a few of my vids, now. It's seriously disappointing when it happens.

The V2 Mini Edge? You know my knowledge and skill level, but it looked to me like it had no lift. You threw it the air, the motor kept it there a bit, but there was just nothing to keep it in the air. Unable to to sustain flight, it just fell out of the sky.

I know it's not designed for it, but what if you dropped all that nose weight by fitting it with the equivalent of an A-pack? If it crashed and burned, that'd tell you it wasn't the weight on the front end that was the issue. If it flew, even marginally, that would lead you in a different direction.

Just some thoughts, my Brother! Keep on keeping on, and I'll hopefully see you in the air this Saturday, with Kilroy, myself and my son!

 

[mayan]

The V2 Mini Edge? You know my knowledge and skill level, but it looked to me like it had no lift. You threw it the air, the motor kept it there a bit, but there was just nothing to keep it in the air. Unable to to sustain flight, it just fell out of the sky.

I know it's not designed for it, but what if you dropped all that nose weight by fitting it with the equivalent of an A-pack? If it crashed and burned, that'd tell you it wasn't the weight on the front end that was the issue. If it flew, even marginally, that would lead you in a different direction.

Just some thoughts, my Brother! Keep on keeping on, and I'll hopefully see you in the air this Saturday, with Kilroy, myself and my son!

Tired the F pack motor in the past on a smaller version of the build and that burnt my ESC . This version (Mini Edge V2) has flowen before with this setup, see bellow. The problem I know I have and have no way to fix atm is the deflection rates and expos that I am not setting up because my Tx is giving me a hard time with do that. So the planes I fly at all times are more sensitive to my stick movements.

 

[buzzbomb]

Tired the F pack motor in the past on a smaller version of the build and that burnt my ESC . This version (Mini Edge V2) has flowen before with this setup, see bellow. The problem I know I have and have no way to fix atm is the deflection rates and expos that I am not setting up because my Tx is giving me a hard time with do that. So the planes I fly at all times are more sensitive to my stick movements.

I remember that video. I still don't do the prop vs. esc vs motor and and amp draw and all that other stuff. I still just buy the A-Pack, or the F-motor and trust FT to sort that all out. Personally, I'll probably do that for a long time to come. I enjoy the build, but I just want to fly!

I just didn't see stick movements in the way the plane fell out of the air. It may have been one that led to it, but after that? It looked like there was no control whatsoever. Just a weight, falling to the earth.

I'm currently running 30% Expo. I'm not even using duel rates. They just seem kind of unnecessary if I can control the stick properly. I just don't want to have to find a switch, that tells the trans to do something that I can just do myself. "Take off in low rate, then switch it to high." Why? How about I find the throttle level that works for launch and then just fly the plane? It works for me (when I fly) I'm flying FT Mini's! I don't need all that.

You want to fly the Edge so much I can feel it. That's where I am with the DR-1. I'm going 100% all the way. My thumbs will do their stuff, or I will crash miserably. Over time, I believe my thumbs will win. I'm going to give the build 100%. I'm going to give the flight the same.

Nearly everyone on this forum would say "NO, Don't do it! That's stupid!" That's what I'm going to do.

Get the build right. (Easier said than done.) Then let go. Fly it the way it was meant to be flown. You WILL crash the heck out of it, but if you do the above I believe it will fly, albeit briefly. Maybe gloriously. That tale is for time to tell... Then? THEN? Yes, my brother. You will own it. What comes after that? More fun!

 

[Hai-Lee]

I remember that video. I still don't do the prop vs. esc vs motor and and amp draw and all that other stuff. I still just buy the A-Pack, or the F-motor and trust FT to sort that all out. Personally, I'll probably do that for a long time to come. I enjoy the build, but I just want to fly!

I just didn't see stick movements in the way the plane fell out of the air. It may have been one that led to it, but after that? It looked like there was no control whatsoever. Just a weight, falling to the earth.

I'm currently running 30% Expo. I'm not even using duel rates. They just seem kind of unnecessary if I can control the stick properly. I just don't want to have to find a switch, that tells the trans to do something that I can just do myself. "Take off in low rate, then switch it to high." Why? How about I find the throttle level that works for launch and then just fly the plane? It works for me (when I fly) I'm flying FT Mini's! I don't need all that.

You want to fly the Edge so much I can feel it. That's where I am with the DR-1. I'm going 100% all the way. My thumbs will do their stuff, or I will crash miserably. Over time, I believe my thumbs will win. I'm going to give the build 100%. I'm going to give the flight the same.

Nearly everyone on this forum would say "NO, Don't do it! That's stupid!" That's what I'm going to do.

Get the build right. (Easier said than done.) Then let go. Fly it the way it was meant to be flown. You WILL crash the heck out of it, but if you do the above I believe it will fly, albeit briefly. Maybe gloriously. That tale is for time to tell... Then? THEN? Yes, my brother. You will own it. What comes after that? More fun!

When you start flying models with a wide speed range you will soon discover that a model flying at 100mph requires far less control surface movement than when it is landing at around 20MPH with flaps deployed! For TTs and the like dual rates are not really needed but be warned as you move onto high speed aircraft!

have fun!

 

[mayan]

@buzzbomb the plane most likely fell out of the sky because of over control. Trust me that the model has enough thrust power to fly. It's just really really hard to control.

 

[mayan]

@buzzbomb thanks for the tip. Your commenets are always welcome and make me take a different approach on things.
Although I really don't care if it crashes and know if will most likely happen for a while untill I get this figured out. I do take my TT on every outing to the field so I get to fly and have fun even so.

 

[FDS]

That Edge looked like it was flying really well, there’s plenty of thrust there and it’s smooth. It also looked beautifully built. It looks like it might be a touch nose heavy or the elevator trim wants a few notches up.
The only other thing I could see in that video is you are way too low, I fly at about twice that altitude with any plane except my TT. One of the reasons I don’t film my flights with a ground camera is that the plane is too small in the resulting video, because it’s up high. The height will give you much more time to work things out, especially with a faster, twitchier airframe.
That was the only thing that I could see that would cause a crash, being too low. I have a micro size Yak I am going to try out, so when I can’t fly that anywhere near as well as you flew that Edge, you guys can come tell me what to do better!
If your TX is being difficult I would start saving for a replacement, a better TX can help you fly simply by feeling more confident and having more precise control. I find rate and variable expo control very useful and use it often, it’s always on the same switch on my TX’s.

 

[mayan]

Thank you @FDS for the kind words. I still have a long way to go to manage to fly it like I want it to fly, but I am stuborn and will get there eventually.

 

[FDS]

I am starting to accept crashes a bit better, it’s a painful thing to watch something you spent so much time making get wrecked because you can’t coordinate two thumbs and some fingers. All of my crashes bar one have been down to my ineptitude, watching you guys reminds me I am not alone in dumb thumbing into the ground!