Solved Why does my FT Spitfire keeps rolling to the left?

[Planelover104]

Hi All,

Every time I try to fly my FT Spitfire it keeps rolling to the left and crashing. I have tried to rectify this by trimming the plane so that the left ailerons go down and the right ones come up but still the plane is rolling towards the left a lot. Even if I put full right aileron to counter the left banking there is still no effect of it on the plane. What should I do to rectify this problem?

Thanking you in anticipation,

ATK

 

[TheFlyingBrit]

Check this out

 

[Ketchup]

Also you should try glide tests. If the plane glides fine then you have torque/thrust angle issues most likely, if it goes left even when gliding then you have other issues. The first thing to do though is find out which one it is.

 

[Planelover104]

Thanks for sharing the video!
So basically I should put some right rudder input and right aileron input to counter the left roll when I takeoff?

Check this out

 

[Planelover104]

Also you should try glide tests. If the plane glides fine then you have torque/thrust angle issues most likely, if it goes left even when gliding then you have other issues. The first thing to do though is find out which one it is.

Thanks for your suggestion! I'll try to do a glide test with my plane as soon as possible.

 

[danskis]

Ketchup is right but I'm not sure how you would do a glide test with a speedbuild spitfire. You're going to have to throw it awfully hard off a hill into some tall grass in order not to damage it. Your wing is probably warped from the build process. It would be easy to build a new wing.

 

[Indy durtdigger]

When your checking for the thrust angle @Ketchup mentioned check to make sure the firewall is glued onto the proper end of the power pod. The end with the funky angles is the correct one. As for the warped wing @danskis mentioned something I did wrong on my first FB plane was not getting the bevels on the leading edges the same resulting in the wing halves having different profiles when folded over causing them to generate different amounts of lift. Just something else to check, good luck.

 

[Planelover104]

When your checking for the thrust angle @Ketchup mentioned check to make sure the firewall is glued onto the proper end of the power pod. The end with the funky angles is the correct one. As for the warped wing @danskis mentioned something I did wrong on my first FB plane was not getting the bevels on the leading edges the same resulting in the wing halves having different profiles when folded over causing them to generate different amounts of lift. Just something else to check, good luck.

Thanks for your reply! I have attached my firewall on the square side of the power pod like shown in the picture below. Is this is the correct way to
attach it? Also how can I check if my wing is wrapped or not?

 

[Planelover104]

Ketchup is right but I'm not sure how you would do a glide test with a speedbuild spitfire. You're going to have to throw it awfully hard off a hill into some tall grass in order not to damage it. Your wing is probably warped from the build process. It would be easy to build a new wing.

Thanks for your reply! Yes I was also wondering how to glide test the plane without it getting damaged in any way. As I do not have tall grass where I go to fly it could badly damage my plane. So I guess I can't really do a glide test with it. Are there any other ways to find out whether it's a torque issue or the issue of the wings without having to glide test the plane? Also how do I check if my wing is wrapped?

 

[The Hangar]

Thanks for your reply! I have attached my firewall on the square side of the power pod like shown in the picture below. This is the correct way to
attach it? Also how can I check if my wing is wrapped or not?

Yes, that's the correct way. You can add a washer between the motor mount and firewall to angle the motor right. Also, make sure your tail, wing, and fuselage are all aligned perfectly. I had to rebuild the tail on my duster and it was just slightly off which caused for a pretty crazy remaiden. It required full right rudder trim to keep it going straight.

 

[Planelover104]

Yes, that's the correct way. You can add a washer between the motor mount and firewall to angle the motor right. Also, make sure your tail, wing, and fuselage are all aligned perfectly. I had to rebuild the tail on my duster and it was just slightly off which caused for a pretty crazy remaiden. It required full right rudder trim to keep it going straight.

Thanks for your reply! I'll check if my tail, wing and fuselage are aligned properly. I have tried to give a slight angle to the motor but the screws that come with the 9 gram servos are not long enough to hold the motor properly with the washers.

 

[Ketchup]

Thanks for your reply! I'll check if my tail, wing and fuselage are aligned properly. I have tried to give a slight angle to the motor but the screws that come with the 9 gram servos are not long enough to hold the motor properly with the washers.

You shouldn't be using servo screws for the motor. There should be a set of specific screws for mounting the motor and that is what you are supposed to use.

 

[Planelover104]

You shouldn't be using servo screws for the motor. There should be a set of specific screws for mounting the motor and that is what you are supposed to use.

Oh! I was using the 2 long screws that come with the servos because in the power pod build video Josh mounted his motor with them. I also did not get any separate screws for mounting the motor with the speed built kit.

 

[Ketchup]

Oh! I was using the 2 long screws that come with the servos because in the power pod build video Josh mounted his motor with them. I also did not get any separate screws for mounting the motor with the speed built kit.

The screws shouldn't be in the speed build kit but instead should come with the motor. Josh was ok using servo screws since it was an x mount and the motor wasn't directly attached to the firewall. If you used a newer FT power pack or one of the recommended setups then your motor will most likely come with its own screws to use and you should use them. With motors that bolt straight onto the firewall the screws go into the motor, so you want to use the included screws to make sure that you don't mess up your motor windings by using a screw too long or anything. Also what motor are you using?

 

[Planelover104]

The screws shouldn't be in the speed build kit but instead should come with the motor. Josh was ok using servo screws since it was an x mount and the motor wasn't directly attached to the firewall. If you used a newer FT power pack or one of the recommended setups then your motor will most likely come with its own screws to use and you should use them. With motors that bolt straight onto the firewall the screws go into the motor, so you want to use the included screws to make sure that you don't mess up your motor windings by using a screw too long or anything. Also what motor are you using?

Thanks for the clarification! I am using a sunny sky X2212-1400kv (https://xyzhobby.com/shop/sunnysky-x2216-kv880-brushless-motor-version-2/) motor which has a x mount.

 

[Ketchup]

Thanks for the clarification! I am using a sunny sky X2212-1400kv (https://xyzhobby.com/shop/sunnysky-x2216-kv880-brushless-motor-version-2/) motor which has a x mount.

Looking at the motor it does come with screws and you actually don't need the x mount. On this motor you can just leave out the x mount and use the included screws to bolt the motor to the firewall.

In this picture you see the assortment of screws that they included. Some are for the x mount and others are for mounting the motor directly.

 

[Planelover104]

Great motor I have 3 of them in various planes, suprisingly powerful for there size although I find bthe 1250kv ample for foamboard planes now I am convinced you have too much torque. Best to check the watts output, if your using the x-ii version that produces upto 1080g of thrust, the X-iii version goes up to 1450g of thrust.

My motor give 950 grams thrust with a 9"x4.5" prop. So how should I reduce the torque roll?

 

[Planelover104]

Looking at the motor it does come with screws and you actually don't need the x mount. On this motor you can just leave out the x mount and use the included screws to bolt the motor to the firewall. View attachment 193715
In this picture you see the assortment of screws that they included. Some are for the x mount and others are for mounting the motor directly.

Thanks for the help! I'll try to mount the motor directly to the mount with some washers. Also which side should I put the washers on?

 

[Ketchup]

Thanks for the help! I'll try to mount the motor directly to the mount with some washers. Also which side should I put the washers on?

Left side for right thrust.

 

[Planelover104]

Its the version 2 that baby can kick out between 1080g and 1380g of thrust no wonder its got a torque roll issue.
I use the 1250kv version in my cub and it has adverse yaw on take off, I need rudder to keep it going straight till its in the air. I can take off on 1/2 throttle and cruise around on 1/3.

Thanks for your help! I'll take of with 50 percent throttle and use rudder to straighten out the plane the next time I fly. Also will it be better if I use an 8x6 prop which gives me 760 grams thrust the next time I fly?