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my flight log
- Thread starter bracesport
- Start date
- Tags flitetest rc gliders rc planes slope soaring
AUGUST 30 2020
I was motivated to get in the air today - It was blowing a stiff northerly and I thought why not try the tip of the Peninsular which is only 5 minutes drive from home - I have attempted some flights in this region but not from where I chose to fly today - I am not sure it is the perfect site as it was quite inconsistent in the lift (well from my nubes perspective), however, it is quite spectacular and I will go back!
What is not so obvious is the I find the downwind turns easy peasy - the simulator has really paid off - I did try a few options with rates and expo, but I think I needed more weight to penetrate better - there was lots of obvious buffeting - next time I will ballast it up a bit.
View attachment 178157
I was motivated to get in the air today - It was blowing a stiff northerly and I thought why not try the tip of the Peninsular which is only 5 minutes drive from home - I have attempted some flights in this region but not from where I chose to fly today - I am not sure it is the perfect site as it was quite inconsistent in the lift (well from my nubes perspective), however, it is quite spectacular and I will go back!
What is not so obvious is the I find the downwind turns easy peasy - the simulator has really paid off - I did try a few options with rates and expo, but I think I needed more weight to penetrate better - there was lots of obvious buffeting - next time I will ballast it up a bit.
View attachment 178157
Ok, now the excitement is over we can be honest - it was great to maiden the fusion and it does fly, but the best flight I got was only two minutes long - I have a long way to go - next time I will take two ships to compare the flying characteristics and some ballast in my pocket - I also think my sticks are too long so will shorten them too - with the slope it should be graceful and exhilarating but my lift was very turbulent so I was fighting all the way, I suspect I needed a bit more of a northwesterly rather than a pure northerly at that site.
Wind speed was 40kph N
I have been having some real progress flying the simulator at Torrey Pines, but I think the big difference might be in the trimming as the gliders in the simulator are undoubtedly trimmed better than my physical ship! Nevertheless, those 'saves' on the hill and coping with downwind turns are a testament to the simulator!
Today is the first day of spring so anything is possible!
Wind speed was 40kph N
I have been having some real progress flying the simulator at Torrey Pines, but I think the big difference might be in the trimming as the gliders in the simulator are undoubtedly trimmed better than my physical ship! Nevertheless, those 'saves' on the hill and coping with downwind turns are a testament to the simulator!
Today is the first day of spring so anything is possible!
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OCTOBER 04 2020
I chanced a quick flight today before lunch - the wind was blowing from the north so I thought it would be ok back up on the peninsular.
I have added a wee bit of nose weight since the last outing and the wind was lighter this time (maybe 30kph) - after many unsuccessful flights on the left-hand side resulting in a walk of shame, I moved to the right-hand side and things improved - towards the end I managed some way better flights after finding the lift was up higher in the air - sadly as I was making progress, I damaged the left aileron so had to call it a day.
I am pretty sure the elevators have way too much travel as you can see the tail whips around way too quickly.
I chanced a quick flight today before lunch - the wind was blowing from the north so I thought it would be ok back up on the peninsular.
I have added a wee bit of nose weight since the last outing and the wind was lighter this time (maybe 30kph) - after many unsuccessful flights on the left-hand side resulting in a walk of shame, I moved to the right-hand side and things improved - towards the end I managed some way better flights after finding the lift was up higher in the air - sadly as I was making progress, I damaged the left aileron so had to call it a day.
I am pretty sure the elevators have way too much travel as you can see the tail whips around way too quickly.
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OCTOBER 04 2020
I chanced a quick flight today before lunch - the wind was blowing from the north so I thought it would be ok back up on the peninsular.
I have added a wee bit of nose weight since the last outing and the wind was lighter this time (maybe 30kph) - after many unsuccessful flights on the left-hand side resulting in a walk of shame, I moved to the right-hand side and things improved - towards the end I managed some way better flights after finding the lift was up higher in the air - sadly as I was making progress, I damaged the left aileron so had to call it a day.
I am pretty sure the elevators have way too much travel as you can see the tail whips around way too quickly.
View attachment 180484 View attachment 180485
I chanced a quick flight today before lunch - the wind was blowing from the north so I thought it would be ok back up on the peninsular.
I have added a wee bit of nose weight since the last outing and the wind was lighter this time (maybe 30kph) - after many unsuccessful flights on the left-hand side resulting in a walk of shame, I moved to the right-hand side and things improved - towards the end I managed some way better flights after finding the lift was up higher in the air - sadly as I was making progress, I damaged the left aileron so had to call it a day.
I am pretty sure the elevators have way too much travel as you can see the tail whips around way too quickly.
View attachment 180484 View attachment 180485
, love the scenery
OCTOBER 04 2020
I have to add that I also took my sons EPP chuck glider that I converted to RC to the slope as well - sadly, on the first flight the wind whipped it over backwards into the top of a massive pine tree - we went back after lunch with a 5m stick and after climbing as far as I could I just managed to tease it out of the top branches and slowly got it back to the ground getting it caught on the way down several times!
At 56 I am too old for climbing trees!
I have to add that I also took my sons EPP chuck glider that I converted to RC to the slope as well - sadly, on the first flight the wind whipped it over backwards into the top of a massive pine tree - we went back after lunch with a 5m stick and after climbing as far as I could I just managed to tease it out of the top branches and slowly got it back to the ground getting it caught on the way down several times!
At 56 I am too old for climbing trees!
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OCTOBER 04 2020
I have to add that I also took my sons EPP chuck glider that I converted to RC to the slope as well - sadly, on the first flight the wind whipped it over backwards into the top of a massive pine tree - we went back after lunch with a 5m stick and after climbing as far as I could I just managed to tease it out of the top branches and slowly got it back to the ground getting it caught on the way down several times!
At 56 I am too old for climbing trees!
View attachment 180550 View attachment 180551
I have to add that I also took my sons EPP chuck glider that I converted to RC to the slope as well - sadly, on the first flight the wind whipped it over backwards into the top of a massive pine tree - we went back after lunch with a 5m stick and after climbing as far as I could I just managed to tease it out of the top branches and slowly got it back to the ground getting it caught on the way down several times!
At 56 I am too old for climbing trees!
View attachment 180550 View attachment 180551
@Wildthing - yip, the EPP is amazingly resilient and sure does take the knocks!
I got a bit of feedback that the bobbing up and down of the fusion in flight could be an aft CG issue - next, I will retest with a bit more nose weight and see if that calms things down - a second note was that I am probably overdoing the ailerons in the corners which is causing the nose to drop too much with the knock-on effect that the speed is bleeding off and height is given up.
I started playing with the rates towards the end, but my left aileron servo froze putting an end to it - I am looking forward to trying again after some maintenance!
I got a bit of feedback that the bobbing up and down of the fusion in flight could be an aft CG issue - next, I will retest with a bit more nose weight and see if that calms things down - a second note was that I am probably overdoing the ailerons in the corners which is causing the nose to drop too much with the knock-on effect that the speed is bleeding off and height is given up.
I started playing with the rates towards the end, but my left aileron servo froze putting an end to it - I am looking forward to trying again after some maintenance!
OCTOBER 11 2020
Back to the big slope today with the EPP Fusion - I finally managed to coordinate a session with my flying buddy/mentor/trainer 'Jono' and it was forecasting a sedate 31 kph (17 knots) but it ended up blowing 60 Kph (32 knots) - Yikes!
We took a few planes, but it was blowing too hard for anything that wouldn't bounce on landing so we only flew the Fusion - I had also promised my son Xander (nearly seven) a little spin on the buddy box, and I was keen to have the buddy box available for me so Jono could help me with my landings - luckily we did as the four landing attempts I did needed Jono to salvage when I bungled it in the turbulence - we were pushing it with today's wind and my skills!
We added some ballast and ended up with an AUW of 1.1kgs (1.3m wing) - Jono handled the launches given the wind strength today, but I got to fly and managed a half dozen flights - It was awesome - In summary, the flying was my best too date, both in technique and time in the air - I was proud to feel comfortable with the downwind turns and had fun with some loops and rolls - the sim time has really paid off!
I also got to fly Jono's Fusion which flew a tad smoother than mine - Jono is a really great teacher - I learned to climb and turn today rather my habit of turning and losing height - it was a simple case of yank and bank (nose up and turn) rather than a bank and yank!
I need to sift through the videos to find the one with Xander flying - he even did a loop (inadvertently)!
Back to the big slope today with the EPP Fusion - I finally managed to coordinate a session with my flying buddy/mentor/trainer 'Jono' and it was forecasting a sedate 31 kph (17 knots) but it ended up blowing 60 Kph (32 knots) - Yikes!
We took a few planes, but it was blowing too hard for anything that wouldn't bounce on landing so we only flew the Fusion - I had also promised my son Xander (nearly seven) a little spin on the buddy box, and I was keen to have the buddy box available for me so Jono could help me with my landings - luckily we did as the four landing attempts I did needed Jono to salvage when I bungled it in the turbulence - we were pushing it with today's wind and my skills!
We added some ballast and ended up with an AUW of 1.1kgs (1.3m wing) - Jono handled the launches given the wind strength today, but I got to fly and managed a half dozen flights - It was awesome - In summary, the flying was my best too date, both in technique and time in the air - I was proud to feel comfortable with the downwind turns and had fun with some loops and rolls - the sim time has really paid off!
I also got to fly Jono's Fusion which flew a tad smoother than mine - Jono is a really great teacher - I learned to climb and turn today rather my habit of turning and losing height - it was a simple case of yank and bank (nose up and turn) rather than a bank and yank!
I need to sift through the videos to find the one with Xander flying - he even did a loop (inadvertently)!
OCTOBER 11 2020
Here is one more video with my son Xander having a go, some loops and rolls, and more landing practice! I have to say the buddy box was awesome - two multiprotocol modules in the Jumper T16, one as the receiver and one as the transmitter worked flawlessly with the FSi6s!
I left the audio on to hear what was going on!
Here is one more video with my son Xander having a go, some loops and rolls, and more landing practice! I have to say the buddy box was awesome - two multiprotocol modules in the Jumper T16, one as the receiver and one as the transmitter worked flawlessly with the FSi6s!
I left the audio on to hear what was going on!
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OCTOBER 11 2020
Here is one more video with my son Xander having a go, some loops and rolls, and more landing practice! I have to say the buddy box was awesome - two multiprotocol modules in the Jumpoere T16, one as the receiver and one as the transmitter worked flawlessly with the FSi6s!
I left the audio on to hear what was going on!
Here is one more video with my son Xander having a go, some loops and rolls, and more landing practice! I have to say the buddy box was awesome - two multiprotocol modules in the Jumpoere T16, one as the receiver and one as the transmitter worked flawlessly with the FSi6s!
I left the audio on to hear what was going on!
NOVEMBER 24 2020
After weeks of crappy weather, today was calm enough to fly, so I took advantage of my lunchtime to maiden my scratch build DLG - sadly I broke an aileron hinge on the first throw, so out came the BAMF - it was a tad windy but I have been hanging out to fly - launches are fun even at half speed and she rockets straight up - I was trying to gain height into the breeze and also float a bit more - even did some slope soaring.
I noticed a crack in the BAMF fuse - either it has been there all along or I did one too many hard landings, so I called it a day and took her back to the shop for some epoxy - (at any rate) lunchtime was we over!
I have a new south-facing slope site!
After weeks of crappy weather, today was calm enough to fly, so I took advantage of my lunchtime to maiden my scratch build DLG - sadly I broke an aileron hinge on the first throw, so out came the BAMF - it was a tad windy but I have been hanging out to fly - launches are fun even at half speed and she rockets straight up - I was trying to gain height into the breeze and also float a bit more - even did some slope soaring.
I noticed a crack in the BAMF fuse - either it has been there all along or I did one too many hard landings, so I called it a day and took her back to the shop for some epoxy - (at any rate) lunchtime was we over!
I have a new south-facing slope site!
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BAMF is fixed overnight - gotta love the power of epoxy - there were two cracks in the fuse, one at the head of the wing mount and another one halfway down the boom - yikes I was lucky not to have a failure in the air - I inserted Fibre Glass cloth into the front section to rejoin that crack internally and made a Carbon Fibre wrap for the boom - we live to fly another day!
OCTOBER 04 2020
I have to add that I also took my sons EPP chuck glider that I converted to RC to the slope as well - sadly, on the first flight the wind whipped it over backwards into the top of a massive pine tree - we went back after lunch with a 5m stick and after climbing as far as I could I just managed to tease it out of the top branches and slowly got it back to the ground getting it caught on the way down several times!
At 56 I am too old for climbing trees!
View attachment 180565 View attachment 180566
I have to add that I also took my sons EPP chuck glider that I converted to RC to the slope as well - sadly, on the first flight the wind whipped it over backwards into the top of a massive pine tree - we went back after lunch with a 5m stick and after climbing as far as I could I just managed to tease it out of the top branches and slowly got it back to the ground getting it caught on the way down several times!
At 56 I am too old for climbing trees!
View attachment 180565 View attachment 180566
. Looks like you're having fun, gliders are so awesome!
DECEMBER 13 2020
We had some kid's birthdays to attend today, but my wife said "go fly" I will go to the first one!
It was blowing from the southeast, so I thought I would go to my new southerly slope - close to home, and enough time to fly and get back for the second birthday party - I figured it was blowing quite hard, so I packed my EPP Fusion and my scratch-built Vista - Sadly when I got to the slope the wind was pathetic - these ships are in the 1.0kg range and right off the bat I could see this was probably futile - I have some perfectly acceptable 300g ships I could have brought along (note to self always pack a greater weight range) - nevertheless I tossed them with predictable results!
We had some kid's birthdays to attend today, but my wife said "go fly" I will go to the first one!
It was blowing from the southeast, so I thought I would go to my new southerly slope - close to home, and enough time to fly and get back for the second birthday party - I figured it was blowing quite hard, so I packed my EPP Fusion and my scratch-built Vista - Sadly when I got to the slope the wind was pathetic - these ships are in the 1.0kg range and right off the bat I could see this was probably futile - I have some perfectly acceptable 300g ships I could have brought along (note to self always pack a greater weight range) - nevertheless I tossed them with predictable results!
DECEMBER 14 2020
I still had some south wind today so I thought why not try the wing I chopped out of my DLG - I remembered that there needs to be some reflex in the flaperons, but I did not know how much - seems I way under did it and needed to hold a bit of up-elevator to get it into the air - once in the air it was too hard to control hands-free so I packed up and will redo the linkages with some permanent reflex and have another go!
Should I be able to do a glide test with a wing (my CG is 25% at the moment)?
I still had some south wind today so I thought why not try the wing I chopped out of my DLG - I remembered that there needs to be some reflex in the flaperons, but I did not know how much - seems I way under did it and needed to hold a bit of up-elevator to get it into the air - once in the air it was too hard to control hands-free so I packed up and will redo the linkages with some permanent reflex and have another go!
Should I be able to do a glide test with a wing (my CG is 25% at the moment)?
DECEMBER 14 2020
I still had some south wind today so I thought why not try the wing I chopped out of my DLG - I remembered that there needs to be some reflex in the flaperons, but I did not know how much - seems I way under did it and needed to hold a bit of up-elevator to get it into the air - once in the air it was too hard to control hands-free so I packed up and will redo the linkages with some permanent reflex and have another go!
Should I be able to do a glide test with a wing (my CG is 25% at the moment)?
I still had some south wind today so I thought why not try the wing I chopped out of my DLG - I remembered that there needs to be some reflex in the flaperons, but I did not know how much - seems I way under did it and needed to hold a bit of up-elevator to get it into the air - once in the air it was too hard to control hands-free so I packed up and will redo the linkages with some permanent reflex and have another go!
Should I be able to do a glide test with a wing (my CG is 25% at the moment)?