I have some further questions about the ft flyer aileron mod help!

[Spence]

Hi all, I purchased the parts to make the ft flyer aileron mod possible, but the tube that the parts came in from flite test one cap was popped off when I got it only leaving the 18(store said 20) control horns hanging out. I sent a request to flite test and I just today got the new order of 8 pushrods and the 6 linkage stoppers, and a bonus 20 free control horns! But, here is the how to sort of on how to mod the ft flyer with ailerons http://flitetest.com/articles/ft-flyer-with-ailerons. It said that the wings need to be flat, and the sbk kit ft flyer doesn't have flat wings. It has dihedral. I am still able to roll my ft flyer with the rudder, but it does kind of an eccentric roll and I have to go up really high to do it. So should I just build another ft flyer with a flat wing and then add ailerons? The sbk kit ft flyer is still in really good shape, but I think i want the ability to do more tricks with the ft flyer's great speed envelope of not having to carry loads of speed. What is it like flying a flat wing plane? is it scary if you already have mastered a poly/di hedral winged plane? Does it stick where you put it? I mean I have two black sheets of dollar tree foam board just lying around. I also have 4 hxt 900 9gram servos, pushrods, linkage stoppers etc....


Thanks,
Spence

 

[mjmccarron]

With dihedral the ailerons won't respond as well. If you want to do a flat wing, just get ahold of a sheet of DTFB and cut a new one and install your ailerons on that leaving your SBK as a 3ch. I haven't tried an aileron mod on a Flyer yet so that's just my humble opinion. Flying with a flat wing will not be scary but you do have to counter your turns. It won't self level as quickly if at all but it won't be prone to sudden instability and should have many of the dihedral wings characteristics. Most aileron (4ch) planes still have some dihedral. I would think that even with dihedral the aileron mod would still work but not as well as with a flat wing. To me, a more serious concern would be adverse yaw caused by the down side aileron acting more like a flap and inducing drag. This is like adding opposite rudder in a turn. This is even more prevalent due to the big angle of attack the "drag lifting" wing flies at (incidence). Differential aileron throw is used to counter or minimize this effect. That's where the up throw is greater than the down throw. This can be done mechanically or by using two aileron servos. In any event, keep us posted.

Have fun,

Mike

 

[Spence]

I am not sure if this ft flyer/blue dart has dihedral, but look how well it flies with ailerons! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXDO37TWnJM

 

[mjmccarron]

That's pretty cool. Looks to me like it has dihedral. I may have to try one.

Mike

 

[Spence]

so should I try it with my ft flyer? the current sbk kit one that i have that has dihedral? well it for sure has dihedral because I can see the cabon fiber rod that is supposed to prevent the wings from folding doesn't go flat across the wing. So should I give it a try?

 

[mjmccarron]

Why not? Its call "Flite Test" Not "Flite Sure Thing" Give it a try. If you don't like it you can just tape the ailerons over with packing tape and go back to 3ch. If it works as good as the video you posted it should be a lot of fun...

 

[Spence]

Ok, here it goes, I will get started soon. so if it works ok with the dihedral, I may build one with no dihedral and have some fun

 

[mjmccarron]

Now you're talking'! Sounds like a good plan.

 

[Spence]

alright after loads of time and tinkering, here is what I came up with: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0rFW5wjHmU

 

[mjmccarron]

Looks good. Let us know how it flies.

Mike

 

[Spence]

My ft flyer with the ailerons flew terrible! No matter what i did it would always wing grind the ground to one side(tried trimming the ailerons to one side, the rudder) It is also wet now, so I don't have a plane to fly yay(I am just going to build a new ft flyer out of black dtfb without ailerons)

 

[Spence]

Oh, and also when I went to print out these plans: http://assets.flitetest.com/article_files/FT-Flyer-Swappable-TILED-PLANS_1360987128.pdf

The wing parts are missing, and thats all that it shows too

 

[mjmccarron]

Hi Spence,
Sorry to hear about your aileron Flyer. I don't mean to insult your intelligence but check that your ailerons are not reversed. looking at the plane from the back, when you move the stick left the left aileron should go up. If they're reversed it can cause what you describe. In reality, you should have been able to leave the aileron stick neutral and fly just as before on rudder/elevator. Anyway, give it a quick look.

Black DTFB is not as good for some reason as it's white counterpart. The paper doesn't stick nearly as well so be aware of this and seal your edges. The tiled plans have only one wing shown on them. you have to flip it over and trace the other from the half template.

Good luck. Don't give up on ailerons. I'm sure you'll get there.

Mike

 

[Spence]

I think I will just give up for now, build an ft flyer from the black dtfb and just have fun with a design that works.

 

[dholcomb]

4 Flyers with Ailerons

I have built 4 FT Flyers with Ailerons so far. Working on the 5th one now. The short of it is I was flying my Flyer at the field and someone said, "I sure would like to have one of those if it had ailerons." That started the trend. My ailerons look different than you may think and I use 2 servos to power them. They fly great. I am now trying to find a way to power the ailerons with only one servo.

Good luck on your adventures. Keep trying and you will get it soon enough.

Thanks for letting me share,
David...

 

[lazermule]

I added ailerons to my standard FT Flyer (With dihedral) and it flies awesome. I just set a servo farther forward of the other two rudder/elevator servos and cut in the ailerons and went to it. Like I said it flies awesome.

Here's a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Evbz-y-ytXk

LM

 

[Maingear]

Here is how I did my ft ailerons: http://forum.flitetest.com/showthre...rons-Solves-CG-Issue&highlight=maingear+flyer

 

[lazermule]

Here is how I did my ft ailerons: http://forum.flitetest.com/showthre...rons-Solves-CG-Issue&highlight=maingear+flyer

That's how I did my ailerons as well. Worked out good, I'll probably build another and do the same as mine has seen quite a few flights now and is showing her age.

LM

 

[Ron B]

Lazermule
are you going to put floats on it so you can fly in all that snow?

 

[lazermule]

Lazermule
are you going to put floats on it so you can fly in all that snow?

I have some skis, might try those..

LM