Solved Thank you all for your help! Not mini Simple scout engine making it turn up and left, how fix?

[The_Red_Aviator]

I have had problems with my simple scout due to it jumping up into the air and to the left, almost made me quit the entire hobby. Please help me out because I have no idea on what to do. I’m probably asleep rn or at school so don’t expect a response anytime soon, thank you for all your guy’s help!

 

[Tench745]

Add down-thrust and right-thrust until it behaves.

 

[The_Red_Aviator]

Add down-thrust and right-thrust until it behaves.

And how could I do this?

 

[Aslansmonkey]

Washers behind the motor mount is one way. You can re-make the power pod with a downward and rightward angle too.

Is this the MINI scout or the regular scout? The mini scout's power pod should have had down thrust and right thrust built into it, but if you mounted the firewall to the wrong side of the pod, it would be straight both directions and would result in a plane that pulls up and left.

The regular scout shouldn't need either, but some peoples results are different.

As I said, you can usually correct for this by adding washers as shims behind the motor mount screws to add different thrust angles.

 

[The_Red_Aviator]

Washers behind the motor mount is one way. You can re-make the power pod with a downward and rightward angle too.

Is this the MINI scout or the regular scout? The mini scout's power pod should have had down thrust and right thrust built into it, but if you mounted the firewall to the wrong side of the pod, it would be straight both directions and would result in a plane that pulls up and left.

The regular scout shouldn't need either, but some peoples results are different.

As I said, you can usually correct for this by adding washers as shims behind the motor mount screws to add different thrust angles.

You are talking about the metal + looking thing right? What screws do I use for that because my B pack seems like it didn’t have the screws to have that metal + thing, and the motor on the fire wall

 

[Foamforce]

You are talking about the metal + looking thing right? What screws do I use for that because my B pack seems like it didn’t have the screws to have that metal + thing, and the motor on the fire wall

Yes, the motor mount is the metal X. I usually use the screws that come with servos for the motor.

Just to be sure we’re talking about the same problem, does it only go to and to the right under high power? We’re all assuming that it’s a thrust angle problem because of what you said in the title. However, it could be a few other things. A video would help us diagnose better.

 

[The_Red_Aviator]

Sadly I do not have a video, but the main issue is that it flies up and to the left before it crashes. I’ll send images of my plane rn

 

[Foamforce]

Sadly I do not have a video, but the main issue is that it flies up and to the left before it crashes. I’ll send images of my plane rn

That looks straight enough. Have you checked the center of gravity? That’s the first place to start.

Be patient with it! It took me about ten tries before I could fly without crashing. Stick with it!

 

[The_Red_Aviator]

How should I check the center of gravity? How could I change the center of gravity because I’m like 99% sure everything is working correctly and is perfect

 

[Foamforce]

How should I check the center of gravity? How could I change the center of gravity because I’m like 99% sure everything is working correctly and is perfect

Go to 1:16:47 in the build video and Josh shows you how.

 

[The_Red_Aviator]

Thank you! Seems like the center of gravity is good, didn’t test it with battery though. I think the wings are off center actually, it would explain why it would want to go left since it seems the right wing is going higher

 

[Foamforce]

Thank you! Seems like the center of gravity is good, didn’t test it with battery though. I think the wings are off center actually, it would explain why it would want to go left since it seems the right wing is going higher

You have to test the C.G. with the battery in it. The battery is a big part of the weight, and the most variable. Getting the C.G. right is very important to do right.

Having the wing slightly off center, like a quarter inch, shouldn’t make much difference. Check that your rudder is perfectly straight when the page is turned on and transmitter is on. If it’s at all to the left, use sub-trim to adjust it until it’s perfectly straight. Did you build with ailerons too?

 

[The_Red_Aviator]

You have to test the C.G. with the battery in it. The battery is a big part of the weight, and the most variable. Getting the C.G. right is very important to do right.

Having the wing slightly off center, like a quarter inch, shouldn’t make much difference. Check that your rudder is perfectly straight when the page is turned on and transmitter is on. If it’s at all to the left, use sub-trim to adjust it until it’s perfectly straight. Did you build with ailerons too?

I build with ailerons aswell, and also a custom bomb dropper servo

 

[Foamforce]

I build with ailerons aswell, and also a custom bomb dropper servo

Ok, then you’ll need to make sure that your ailerons are also perfectly straight while the plane is plugged in and transmitter on. Put a straight edge across the top the the wing and make sure the aileron lines up pretty with it on both sides.

And go back and test the C.G. with the battery in. Testing without the battery is worthless.

Good luck and post more pics!

 

[The_Red_Aviator]

Ok, then you’ll need to make sure that your ailerons are also perfectly straight while the plane is plugged in and transmitter on. Put a straight edge across the top the the wing and make sure the aileron lines up pretty with it on both sides.

And go back and test the C.G. with the battery in. Testing without the battery is worthless.

Good luck and post more pics!

What’s C.G. And also I’ve tuned everything already

 

[Aslansmonkey]

CG = Center of Gravity. The plane should balance on that point front to back. On the scout this is 2.44" (or 62mm) back from the LEADING edge of the wing. With the battery installed and with a finger under each wing at that distance back the plane should be slightly nose heavy to fly properly.

There are other factors that could be affecting performance too. The tail plane (horizontal stabilizer) should be PARALLEL with the bottom of the wing. If it's angled down, the plane will tend to climb. Angled up relative to the wing and it will tend to dive. In a similar fashion the tail and rudder should be perpendicular to the wing (or average of the wing, since there is dihedral). If it leans one way or another it won't affect things much, but if the centerline of the tail is not perpendicular with the wing chord (center line of the wing left to right), the plane will tend to turn based on that angle being off.

I had a lot of my early planes fly poorly because I had angles bad in one way or another, or twisted wings, where one side had a slightly different angle of attack from the other. In fact, I bet I built 6 or 7 planes that DIDN'T fly before I got one that did. The beauty of foamboard airplanes is that it's relatively cheap to replace them if something is wrong.

Post photos of your plane from head on, top down, and from the sides.

But most of all, don't give up. Almost everything I build now flies...almost.

 

[The_Red_Aviator]

I have had problems with my simple scout due to it jumping up into the air and to the left, almost made me quit the entire hobby. Please help me out because I have no idea on what to do.

I have had problems with my simple scout due to it jumping up into the air and to the left, almost made me quit the entire hobby. Please help me out because I have no idea on what to do. I’m probably asleep rn or at school so don’t expect a response anytime soon, thank you for all your guy’s help!

I’ve pushed the motor back, maybe this will help it function correctly (i rewatched the original release video and it shows them with no X metal thing so I think ima be good

 

[The_Red_Aviator]

CG = Center of Gravity. The plane should balance on that point front to back. On the scout this is 2.44" (or 62mm) back from the LEADING edge of the wing. With the battery installed and with a finger under each wing at that distance back the plane should be slightly nose heavy to fly properly.

There are other factors that could be affecting performance too. The tail plane (horizontal stabilizer) should be PARALLEL with the bottom of the wing. If it's angled down, the plane will tend to climb. Angled up relative to the wing and it will tend to dive. In a similar fashion the tail and rudder should be perpendicular to the wing (or average of the wing, since there is dihedral). If it leans one way or another it won't affect things much, but if the centerline of the tail is not perpendicular with the wing chord (center line of the wing left to right), the plane will tend to turn based on that angle being off.

I had a lot of my early planes fly poorly because I had angles bad in one way or another, or twisted wings, where one side had a slightly different angle of attack from the other. In fact, I bet I built 6 or 7 planes that DIDN'T fly before I got one that did. The beauty of foamboard airplanes is that it's relatively cheap to replace them if something is wrong.

Post photos of your plane from head on, top down, and from the sides.

But most of all, don't give up. Almost everything I build now flies...almost.

Sorry about messy room, using bed because it’s not full of hot glue and cardboard scraps lol

 

[Aslansmonkey]

The X metal thing is just a different way of mounting the motor. It's not necessary but does give two advantages. 1) It makes it easier to add washers to adjust angles on the motor and 2) It makes it much easier to remove the motor on models that are NOT using the "power pod". But don't worry about it. Most of the planes I build don't use it either.


From your photos it looks like your construction is good. It's hard to make a definitive diagnoses on that without actually examining the model but I can see no obvious misalignments so we can probably rule that out as an issue.

It does look like your motor has a little up thrust angle. Thankfully on these power pod birds that's easy to fix. You can remove the power pod and glue a small piece of foam board across the front opening, so the power pods front naturally angles down where it attaches. Some of FT's designs have this built in, but the Simple Scout does not (Normally it's not needed on the scout). It's a simple thing you can add to put in some downforce though to fight the upward tendancy.

While you have the power pod out for this, look at the left/right thrust angle of the motor. Again it's hard to tell from the photo, but it looks like there is a little left thrust on the motor. This should be neutral on the scout. You could possibly loosen three of the screws and glue some shims of cardboard or something under the left side (Be careful not to plug the center hole) to add a little rightward trim.

Or, if you have the foamboard, just build a new motor pod from scratch. and before gluing the firewall on, make sure the motor is pointing straight ahead in all angles.

I think you have a plane that SHOULD fly, though, and just needs some tweaking.

The Scout is probably my favorite plane. It flies very well and is pretty forgiving. I have an XL and regular scout now, though the regular is my second scout and I built it with a low wing and removed the scalloped edges (scratch build). I still have a mini scout in the garage but the electronics are removed. All of them fly well. My original scout is the plane I really learned to fly with.

 

[The_Red_Aviator]

Can I put a washer in between the motor and the power pod so it levels out?