Maiden Flight Report!
Conditions were not ideal for the EVA Bipe, but they were ideal *enough* to give it a shot. I dialed in low and high rates from the transmitter, and selected a 1500mAh 3 cell as the winds were brisk enough to warrant the extra weight. For calm weather I'll try a 1300 or even a 1000 3 cell. Only one flight was planned as I didn't have time to charge a second pack.
I usually start with high rates on a maiden just in case I need the extra throws, and will then switch to low rates depending on what happens.
Upon takeoff, it was EXTREMELY squirrely, so I dropped it into low-rates which helped a lot. It did need quite a bit of trim, which is not too surprising since it's got four very large ailerons and the tail surfaces are huge as well. I had to get some altitude to do the trimming, as the trees down low were really causing a lot of turbulence.
My rates are still too high for general flying and for smooth landing approaches, but they were good enough to fly out the pack and see what it can do. With high rate throws it was super responsive, and should be capable of most aerobatic maneuvers.
After 5 minutes of fighting the wind (at one point I was flying backwards) I lined up for a landing and brought it in on the grass nice and smoothly.
The items remaining on the "To-Do" list:
- Adjust the rates
- Install the cowl
- Patch a small hole I put in the horizontal stab
- Test with smaller batteries (in lower winds)
- Install a decent canopy pull-tab to remove canopy
The EVA Bipe will be a nice addition to my park-flyers, and will fit in nicely with my other Mountain Models planes - the Switchback and the Lucky ACE. They all have different flight characteristics and on a nice day I can see taking all three out to play.
My buddy came along to fly, and took some video of the first minute or so, but it is mainly just me fighting to keep control and trimming it out. I'll see if he can do some more video when weather is better.
