Sportster Picture and Maiden Thread

[Marty72]

Yeah, the penny didn't do it alone, I had margin, cg was a tad less than 2 3/8, with the penny. I was able to get to 2.5 (as I was over 2.5 w/o the penny), close enough. after the maiden of the Sportster, I can maiden the P 40. I really need some flying time, the last 2 weeks, only one session. And I had prop trouble that session. I bought some Gemfan 9 4.5 for the B pack, they worked fine (Scout 1.0). For the Scout 2.0 I went to C pack. So I was down to my last HQ 10 4.5 prop, I ordered some Gemfan 10 4.5 (10 of these). Well these props really suck, they seemed to be made differently than the 9 4.5 Gemfan props. In the light wind, they were extremely slow, more throttle just made more fan noise. So I switched back to my one HQ and that solved the problem. I've ordered several different props, APC and HQ and I'm going to experiment a bit (using the Scout). 9 5 9 6 10 4.7 10 5.0 I had no idea that the same spec prop could perform so differently. Not sure what is wrong with the batch I got, but something is. I'm guessing the blades are flexing, the props are not slipping on the shaft. I tried 2 props from the batch, same result. The 9 4.5 GF worked fine and the 10 4.5 HQ was even better (btw, both of these props feel stiffer). I think I'm going to be using APC primarily going forward as they seem to have a very good reputation. The HQ props break really easy but work great.

Oh yeah, interesting take on the 2 planes. thanks,

 

[BATTLEAXE]

Yeah, the penny didn't do it alone, I had margin, cg was a tad less than 2 3/8, with the penny. I was able to get to 2.5 (as I was over 2.5 w/o the penny), close enough. after the maiden of the Sportster, I can maiden the P 40. I really need some flying time, the last 2 weeks, only one session. And I had prop trouble that session. I bought some Gemfan 9 4.5 for the B pack, they worked fine (Scout 1.0). For the Scout 2.0 I went to C pack. So I was down to my last HQ 10 4.5 prop, I ordered some Gemfan 10 4.5 (10 of these). Well these props really suck, they seemed to be made differently than the 9 4.5 Gemfan props. In the light wind, they were extremely slow, more throttle just made more fan noise. So I switched back to my one HQ and that solved the problem. I've ordered several different props, APC and HQ and I'm going to experiment a bit (using the Scout). 9 5 9 6 10 4.7 10 5.0 I had no idea that the same spec prop could perform so differently. Not sure what is wrong with the batch I got, but something is. I'm guessing the blades are flexing, the props are not slipping on the shaft. I tried 2 props from the batch, same result. The 9 4.5 GF worked fine and the 10 4.5 HQ was even better (btw, both of these props feel stiffer). I think I'm going to be using APC primarily going forward as they seem to have a very good reputation. The HQ props break really easy but work great.

Oh yeah, interesting take on the 2 planes. thanks,

Do you balance your props? An unbalanced prop will cause crazy harmonics due to the wobble of being unbalanced. Do you have a prop balancing stand?

 

[Marty72]

Do you balance your props? An unbalanced prop will cause crazy harmonics due to the wobble of being unbalanced. Do you have a prop balancing stand?

No I haven't been but yeah that's next on my list. I doubt that is what is happening here but it's going to be a problem as some point and hitting resonance frequencies is never good, it destroys everything. It's something I'm going to want as I like my stuff work smoothly. Not sure why I've waited this long.

What do you think about this unit? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006N72Y8/?tag=lstir-20

What are you using?

 

[BATTLEAXE]

No I haven't been but yeah that's next on my list. I doubt that is what is happening here but it's going to be a problem as some point and hitting resonance frequencies is never good, it destroys everything. It's something I'm going to want as I like my stuff work smoothly. Not sure why I've waited this long.

What do you think about this unit? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006N72Y8/?tag=lstir-20

What are you using?

Yea that one looks decent. There are also ones that use magnets instead of the shaft resting in a cradle. I don't know how accurate it needs to be but it would seem to me that the balancing shaft would create friction in the saddle, causing inaccurate readings.

I built one kinda like what you would do with a balancing stand and it uses hard drive magnets to hold the shaft in place, near frictionless. Here is a quick vid

 

[Marty72]

Yea that one looks decent. There are also ones that use magnets instead of the shaft resting in a cradle. I don't know how accurate it needs to be but it would seem to me that the balancing shaft would create friction in the saddle, causing inaccurate readings.

I built one kinda like what you would do with a balancing stand and it uses hard drive magnets to hold the shaft in place, near frictionless. Here is a quick vid

Cool. I'll take a look at it. thanks. I'm out .......

Merry Christmas all.

 

[Marty72]

Last day of the year: Maiden Video of the Sportster. Hope you enjoy.

 

[BATTLEAXE]

Last day of the year: Maiden Video of the Sportster. Hope you enjoy.

That looked awesome Marty, great lookin build and it flies like dream. Do you find it flies different then the Scout being a low wing?

 

[The Hangar]

I watched the first half and it looked like it flew beautiful! I'm going out to fly with friends but I'll watch the rest when I get back! Good job and happy new year!

 

[Marty72]

That looked awesome Marty, great lookin build and it flies like dream. Do you find it flies different then the Scout being a low wing?

Thanks Battleaxe. I definitely flies different (but I can't yet put my finger on it), now I only have 2 flights on it (wind picked up). It's stable and floaty, it handles much slower than the Scout. I set the throws up just like the Scout but the Sportster needs more authority. I think I'll like it more as I get comfortable with it, but right now, I think the Scout is a better plane overall. The Scout is just a great all around plane, it goes real slow, easy for beginners but can also be very maneuverable. Now you've flown way more planes than I have but I just flew them back to back this morning (fair comparison). I've also got about 70 flights on the Scouts, so that makes me quite biased. The Scout also flies faster with the same motor and input. The weights are very comparable but the Sportster is less streamlined. I'm eager to fly it some more and make more adjustments. I just enjoy watching it fly. I love the design of the Sportster, so sturdy and great for belly landings! Durable as can be.

 

[Marty72]

I watched the first half and it looked like it flew beautiful! I'm going out to fly with friends but I'll watch the rest when I get back! Good job and happy new year!

Thanks Hanger.

BTW guys, I'm going to post a video of me flying the Scout this morning after the maiden of the Sportster. The video quality isn't all that good, though. Maybe I'll try using my iphone as a hat cam next time. I'm going to post this over on the Life of a Scout forum.

 

[BATTLEAXE]

it goes real slow,

I would say it landed pretty slow, barely even skidded on the ground. That was a landing the Queen would ride on! Especially watching it from behind you, it looked like you were just taking the dog for a walk lol!

It definitely is not as streamlined as the Scout, which should help keep the plane in flying parameters. @Sero said his was slow on the C pack as well. I really liked the way the Sportster stalled, held the stall with full control, yet with the motor pack I use it had power to spare. I can't fairly compare them with a C pack, but between the Scout and the Sportster, both ran the same motor and prop combo, I liked the Sportster slightly better. Mostly because it flew like a warbird and was durable. The Scout was a bit faster on the top end but I had more fun with the Sportster. I changed to the 3 blade 11x7 which definitely upped the fun factor. Really any FT plane I put this motor into ends up being more fun, opens up other flight characteristics you don't see in low and mid-range speed.

Have you tried any stuff with it yet, loops or rolls?

 

[Marty72]

I did a few loops but that was it. No rolls. I was just really careful with it, just want to get a feel for it first. I'm going to play with props and such. I just need some more flight time really. I really like how it looks in the air, it looks so much more substantial than the Scout. I can see why you'd pick it for floats, it's perfect for that.

The home builders have ruined my landing areas, driving heavy equipment through them. I can no longer land on the sand with wheels. The Sportster is built for landing on it's belly in sand. No clean up, the Scout is a PITA, as I've got to get all the sand out before I can fly again.

The Scout was designed for a B pack, so adding a C pack and using a smaller battery isn't fair to the Sportster.


Tell me again, what motor did you have in it? a link?

 

[The Hangar]

I did a few loops but that was it. No rolls. I was just really careful with it, just want to get a feel for it first. I'm going to play with props and such. I just need some more flight time really. I really like how it looks in the air, it looks so much more substantial than the Scout. I can see why you'd pick it for floats, it's perfect for that.

The home builders have ruined my landing areas, driving heavy equipment through them. I can no longer land on the sand with wheels. The Sportster is built for landing on it's belly in sand. No clean up, the Scout is a PITA, as I've got to get all the sand out before I can fly again.

The Scout was designed for a B pack, so adding a C pack and using a smaller battery isn't fair to the Sportster.


Tell me again, what motor did you have in it? a link?

This is the motor.
https://store.flitetest.com/great-p...00-outrunner-brushless-motor-gpmg4620/p647307

 

[Marty72]

This is the motor.
https://store.flitetest.com/great-p...00-outrunner-brushless-motor-gpmg4620/p647307

Is this true?
REQUIRES SS-45 ElectriFly Brushless Speed Control (GPMM1840)

 

[The Hangar]

Is this true?
REQUIRES SS-45 ElectriFly Brushless Speed Control (GPMM1840)

No, any 45 amp esc that's 4s capable will work just fine.

 

[BATTLEAXE]

Is this true?
REQUIRES SS-45 ElectriFly Brushless Speed Control (GPMM1840)

I am running a 40 amp Eflite ESC with a 5V/5amp BEC

 

[BATTLEAXE]

It will take anything from 3-6S

 

[Marty72]

RimFire .15 35-36-1200

What does the 35-36 designate?

 

[The Hangar]

RimFire .15 35-36-1200

What does the 35-36 designate?

35-36 times the power as your usual motor. Lol, I just made that up.

 

[The Hangar]

I am running a 40 amp Eflite ESC with a 5V/5amp BEC

You would need a 45 amp esc to run 4s though...