yellowbusguy
Junior Member
Mine went together looking square to the bottom too. I the future though, I'll use my test method to check for incorrect alignment. More flights this evening.
Versa Wing teething issues
- Thread starter yellowbusguy
- Start date
Mine went together looking square to the bottom too. I the future though, I'll use my test method to check for incorrect alignment. More flights this evening.
tommy_mental
Member
Hiya,
Just wanted to share,
I also worked on the same issue by 1) increasing default elevon position up abt 6 mm 2) added couple drees thrust angle 3) reduced the weight in the front by half, thus moving the CG abt 10 mm back. I went overboard on the uptrim - returned it back to flat/level with the bottom surface, and the plane flew like it was on rails with just a couple of clicks of trim.
So there was the key to the tent. Cheers!
Just wanted to share,
I also worked on the same issue by 1) increasing default elevon position up abt 6 mm 2) added couple drees thrust angle 3) reduced the weight in the front by half, thus moving the CG abt 10 mm back. I went overboard on the uptrim - returned it back to flat/level with the bottom surface, and the plane flew like it was on rails with just a couple of clicks of trim.
So there was the key to the tent. Cheers!
yellowbusguy
Junior Member
Today I got to go out and make a good four flights in really good air and I have to say i'm disappointed with the Versa. With fairly high speed, if you pull hard elevator the thing snaps left into a spin....every time. If you slow down , it wants to tip stall and when it does stall it drops a wing suddenly, you'd better have some room left to get it back. It is the kind of plane that you have to stay on top of every second. I'm not sure what the problem is with the automatic snap spins, I think weight is to blame for the poor low speed handling. Fortunately it only costs 25 dollars, because it isn't going to live long like it is.
yellowbusguy
Junior Member
Hiya,
Just wanted to share,
I also worked on the same issue by 1) increasing default elevon position up abt 6 mm 2) added couple drees thrust angle 3) reduced the weight in the front by half, thus moving the CG abt 10 mm back. I went overboard on the uptrim - returned it back to flat/level with the bottom surface, and the plane flew like it was on rails with just a couple of clicks of trim.
So there was the key to the tent. Cheers!
To be clear, the point of balance moved rear 10 mm from the recommended point? I have up built into the elevons and it does like that. I sure there is an issue with the CG with mine.
tommy_mental
Member
Hi there!
Yes, exactly. I had ~100 grams of weight in front to keep the plane balanced on the recommended CG points. Removing half the weight and only leaving ~50 grams moved the CG marks 0.5 - 1.00 cm back/aft from the stock CG. Inverted flight requires virtually no up elevator which makes me think I got it in the sweet spot. Another thing supporting this is the fact that it flies as well without built in up elevons.
Lastly, in contrast with your situation, I find mine glides for ages and doesn't tip stall in low speeds and it hardly torque rolls when I punch the throttle. Since I see you have already given up on the plane I guess you won't risk too much if you try moving the CG back and relieve the nose of some weight before finally decommission it.
Once I get home I'll make some measurements and give you a more exact number on the CG position since what I said above is a rather rough estimation.
Cheers!
T.
Yes, exactly. I had ~100 grams of weight in front to keep the plane balanced on the recommended CG points. Removing half the weight and only leaving ~50 grams moved the CG marks 0.5 - 1.00 cm back/aft from the stock CG. Inverted flight requires virtually no up elevator which makes me think I got it in the sweet spot. Another thing supporting this is the fact that it flies as well without built in up elevons.
Lastly, in contrast with your situation, I find mine glides for ages and doesn't tip stall in low speeds and it hardly torque rolls when I punch the throttle. Since I see you have already given up on the plane
I guess you won't risk too much if you try moving the CG back and relieve the nose of some weight before finally decommission it. Once I get home I'll make some measurements and give you a more exact number on the CG position since what I said above is a rather rough estimation.
Cheers!
T.
Just finished up a blunt versa build with extra parts I had laying around. I have many hours of multirotor experience, but less than 10 packs of experience with any RC planes.
T-Motor 2216-9 1100KV, 3000mah 4S, 9x6 Prop, Separate 100mah 3S for video, Remzibi OSD, 5.8 ts351, Gopro, motor mount is a .69$ metal bracket from home depot, Laminated the whole plane in Scotch Moving and Storages tape, control horns are the ends of popsicle sticks, dollar foam board...
Make sure and give yourself some adjustment with the control rods to dial in some reflex as others have stated. Balanced the CG right at the balance points provided with the blunt plans. I actually prefer a bit more throws than suggested for fast rolls and general shenanigans.
First flight was basically perfection. The launch was a bit sketchy, the prop stalls at idle and I'm at 6200 feet at my launch point. %20 less air volume at that altitude!!! Also, the plane is around 1.2Kg AUW! At about a 20-30 degree dive I was able to hit 90mph! Tracks like it's on rails, and the stall characteristics are totally chill.
T-Motor 2216-9 1100KV, 3000mah 4S, 9x6 Prop, Separate 100mah 3S for video, Remzibi OSD, 5.8 ts351, Gopro, motor mount is a .69$ metal bracket from home depot, Laminated the whole plane in Scotch Moving and Storages tape, control horns are the ends of popsicle sticks, dollar foam board...
Make sure and give yourself some adjustment with the control rods to dial in some reflex as others have stated. Balanced the CG right at the balance points provided with the blunt plans. I actually prefer a bit more throws than suggested for fast rolls and general shenanigans.
First flight was basically perfection. The launch was a bit sketchy, the prop stalls at idle and I'm at 6200 feet at my launch point. %20 less air volume at that altitude!!! Also, the plane is around 1.2Kg AUW! At about a 20-30 degree dive I was able to hit 90mph! Tracks like it's on rails, and the stall characteristics are totally chill.
yellowbusguy
Junior Member
I haven't given up yet. My next step was to play with the CG and see what happens. I'll try to set it up as you described and move the balance point back and take some weight off of the nose. I'm just frustrated and I don't have enough wing experience. Thanks and happy flying Bob
Sorry to hear you've got more problems! I haven't experienced any of that with my three builds (one pointy, two blunt nosed) Versa's. Can you post pictures of your build focusing on the control surfaces/elevons, linkages and servos? I wonder if you have too much slop on the control rods? Did you put coffee stirrers taped down to the wing, or some sort of guide similar to ezikiel12 on yours?
My versa all tracked like they were on rails with a TX setup with everything between 100% throws/0 expo to 50% throws/30% expo. I typically like to fly mine with 70%throws/30% expo.
I've had 1-2 tip stalls/snap rolls while coming in for a landing where I lost too much airspeed at too high an altitude, but they were also windy days with shifting wind direction that made it hard to land straight into the wind.
On calm days (generally when I maiden a new build), I try to test out everything, which includes high altitude (3-4 mistakes high) unpowered glides to check the stall characteristics, and generally I can stay up wings level with full up/back elevator. I have to put in some aileron input to make it snap roll/drop a wing, but it recovers quickly.
Everytime I fly my versa, I actually feel ok about chopping the throttle at high altitude, and letting it glide if I need to take my eyes off the plane because of something happening on the field, or needing to look at my TX. I feel it pretty much flies hands-off without any stabilization hardware. I did happen to mount an APM in my latest build, and took it out to tune this past weekend. I was flying lazy 8 patterns for about 20 minutes in the APM autotune mode and took my eyes off momentarily to look at the tablet screen that was running droidplanner to check the roll rates as measured by the APM, and look at my battery voltage. I actually got bored of flying the figure 8's and ended up landing because it was getting hotter and the wind was picking up. Still had 3.9V per cell after 20 minutes of APM tuning where autotune requires you to give max roll inputs 20+ times, and pitch inputs 20+ times.
Last edited:
