The Phoenix Project: Reborn from the ashes of Stinger.

[Beaver5150]

Wow! Made it home in time to fly a couple packs before the storms hit. Surrounded by thunder and lightning with some unpredictable winds.....
That was fun!! Phoenix handled it!
There was some bucking and jumping around from the turbulence and occasional wind shear, but the F.C. gyros (Aura5) were able to keep up.
I didn't have time to strap on the Runcam.... that would have been fun to watch from Fpv.

 

[Beaver5150]

Two more flights after the storms, before it was too dark.
The first one, about 2 minutes in, I lost both ailerons. Phoenix went into an unrecoverable roll and straight down through a tree. I expected to have to extract from above, but oddly enough....
Plane made it to ground directly under the tree, right side up, with no visible damage, just no alierons. (Aura5 or Tx ??????)
A quick restart and preflight inspection brought the alierons back as if nothing happened, so I finished running that pack, then ran another flight afterwards with no issues.
That's 2 trees now with this one. It seems to be a christening ritual now, usually due to a gremlin or a configuration error, but both Mongrel and Phoenix have survived these little incidents without harm and were flown immediately afterwards.
It could be luck, It could be proof of durability, or maybe both...... I'm not quite sure.
We live to fly another day, weather permitting.
We're dodging rain next few days.

 

[Beaver5150]

Previous benchmark flights at 4S/2300mAh yielded just over 20 minutes to low-voltage alarm (3.3v per cell).
Today I tried a 3S/3600mAh pack and made it to 32 minutes.
Again, I don't push my Lipos that far except for establishing a maximum time limit.
So, my limit for 4S/2300mAh (Tx timer) has been 10 minutes out of the max of 20.
My 3S/3600mAh limit will be 15 minutes.
In both cases, I will only be using 50% to 70% of either size pack.
The numbers suggest Phoenix is getting around 10 minutes per 1 amp-hour or 1000mAh. So far this is the most efficient setup I've run.
2814/950Kv "unknown brand" drone motor.


In other news:
Trim is closer to neutral now, and is consistent and controlled when in manual mode (no auto-level).
There isn't much more I'll need to do to this bird besides LEDs and a few minor structural enhancements.

 

[Beaver5150]

6 pack session this morning after structural enhancements last night.
I inserted a piece of aluminum angle stock in the center of the wing after seeing wing flexing on hard pull-up from inverted. It added 3 ounces in the right place, so CG is almost perfect now.
Also revealed was that Phoenix is slightly underpowered from what I wanted.
A straight up vertical climb turned into a vertical hover.
I adjusted the motor mount upward to make room for a 9.4x5 prop as I use on Mongrel with similar 850-960kv motors. I have been using an 8x5 prop up to now. Hopefully the efficiency may improve if max thrust doesn't.

I relocated the esc rearward a few inches as it was too close to the prop and may have been generating prop noise at higher speed.

 

[Beaver5150]

Near miss on the elevator servo. Phoenix was acting kinda weird. Post flight inspection revealed bad gears.
Grounded till further notice.
Now I have to put the Aura5 back on Mongrel.

 

[Beaver5150]

Phoenix is back in the air after the servo was replaced, but not after another attempt with that A3-S4 controller. I probably won't be using that one anymore unless I build a small plane.
The motor mount has been replaced with something a bit more rigid and that allows easier motor swaps.
I also put the mudders on the landing gear as I'm swapping wheels around in preparation for another project I'm about to undertake.
Pics coming soon.....

 

[Bo123]

I really should build one of these....

 

[Beaver5150]

I've been running an 9x7 prop on 980Kv lately. I kinda like it. While cruising, I can match prop speeds of real planes flying over.
I went back to lightweight wheels to get rid of some weight.
New motor mount is working perfectly.
I've been touching up the finish a little with some of that plastic safe spray paint, mainly to cover grass stains and finger prints on the white foam-board, but also seal the paper to make it a little more resilient.
Here's the latest pics.....

 

[Beaver5150]

In this current configuration, I was able to get an absolute maximum flight time of 33 minutes on a 3S/5200mAh LiPo, cruising just above half throttle and just above stall threshold.
That time would have been longer had a big flock of medium sized birds not came through and gave me moving targets to chase...... I went to full throttle then. Three of those birds circled back and "hung out" for 3 to 5 minutes with all of us circling around each other as if they were trying to figure out what I was or whether or not they should attack me. That probably knocked a good 5 minutes off my time.
It's always those white "stork/heron" looking birds I see hanging around by cattle and such.
It was fun whatever they were.

 

[Beaver5150]

It seems Phoenix is on standby while I've been busy setting up and flying a recently rebuilt Trex 450-SE, putting double tail booms on Mongrel, repairing the steering on my Traxxas Slash, hot rodding a cheap r/c buggy, and other things.
Phoenix is however, the perfect standby plane since I already know how to set it up on any radio/controller and can expect it to fly right. I have my new Aura8 (Potenza) on it but have yet to finalize the setup.
The Aura8 has no auto-level capability, so I don't need it so much except for daytime flying when I attempt to go 3D. Mongrel is my night flyer, so I need the Aura5-lite with auto-level to keep things under control even though Mongrel has enough lighting to keep a good line on the orientation while running manual mode.
With Fall coming on and daylight going away, I have to keep my night flyer up and running. It's no fun when it's already dark by the time you get off work and need to get airborne to unwind.

 

[Beaver5150]

Phoenix is back to primary plane now that Mongrel is damaged and ready for an unavoidable refit.
LEDs are being installed as well as some cheap electroluminescent wire.
I'm going for a more stealthy lighting profile while trying to maintain good visuals for orientation.
Power has been run to wings and tail, and remaining LED strips will be installed tonight.

 

[Beaver5150]

LED process is on track. I've extracted some strips from Mongrel's broken wing and transferred them to Phoenix.
I have yet to finish the frame and tail.
I already have a few night flights in so far.

 

[Beaver5150]

The additional weight of the ever increasing optional equipment had altered the flight envelope somewhat. The Phoenix feels slightly heavier, and the stall speed has increased, though the stalls themselves are very manageable and easily recovered with some throttle.
The weight increase is substantial enough that the current power system has become somewhat underpowered for hard verticals.
It might be time for a motor swap.

 

[Beaver5150]

I finally acquired more LED strips to further complete the night lighting. There is a specific mode I'm going for, which will be based on a "thunderbird symbol" with the outstretched wing with simulated trailing feathers. They will be red to go with a flaming red Phoenix theme, with blue feather tips to produce an interesting purple hue similar to the Blue-Dots they used to put in the red tail light lenses of cars to get a purple hue when the lights are on.
I won't bother with pics or videos until the thing is finished. Here is an example of what I'm after, but the end result will be somewhat simplified. Just imagine luminescent blue tips on the feathers, and you're there.