[wingtipper]

I did some test flying of my own on tuesday afternoon and Wendsday.
I got this little "Thunder tiger" Yak 54 from Hobbies in the hills a few days ago. Mine came with a motor so all I had to do was add an RX, servos and an ESC and I was away. There was the usual few hours taken to assemble it but no nasty suprises here, all was very nicely straight airframe wise and the hardware supplied was of good quality. Attaching the canopy to it's frame was about the most time consuming part of the build.
I didn't make many modifications other than add a canopy hatch as I could see my self searching for it in the swamp after it ejected, if I didn't. The only other deveation from the original recipee was the use of an 1800 mah 4s pack instead of the 2200 3S recomended by the manufacturer.
I tested the motor using an 11 X 5.5 plastic electric prop and happily noted that it drew 32A static and had a healty amount of thrust as well.

So off to McCoy field on tuesday afternoon, I put a little extra dubbin on my leather boots to help keep my socks dry but it wasn't realy needed the field was quite flyable.

This is a light model with generious controll surfaces so I expected it to be a lively one to fly. It took off in a very short distance, I reckon about 10 ft on around 3/4 throttle. It seemed perfictly trimmed in pitch and needed just a couple of clicks for the ailerons. I gave it two flights that afternoon as the light was faiding. The factory sugested C of G was pretty much where you'd want it.
Four flights on Wednesday, tho' it was a bit gusty the little Yak54 handeled the conditions with no problems at all.

It's a light stiff built up balsa model with a very healthy power to weight ratio, it's not extreemly fast with the prop I was using but it can move smartly if you ask her too. She will go vertical indefinatly and Knife edge with very little coupling. It flies like a much bigger model, realy nicely in fact. It's just what I want, an easy model to carry down to the field when the road is too when to drive in and one that is a lot of fun to fly as well!!

INSTRUCTOR EH !!!! WELL DONE JASON ! .

[gbanger]

Looks like a nice plane Jason, If you can get some longevity out of it I recon you are on to a good thing.

[samste]

It actually looks like a nice Plane, Good Buy by the looks of it and like you said something easy to Transport and still lots of fun to Fly.

Steve

[Flying fisho]

Nice pick Jason, looks a nice edition to your 3D flier collection. Looking foreward to seeing it in the air. I have joined the ranks of 3D flier owners (E-flite Eratix), now my aspiration is to be able to fly it to it's capacity.

[secant0give]

Nice pick Jason, looks a nice edition to your 3D flier collection. Looking foreward to seeing it in the air. I have joined the ranks of 3D flier owners (E-flite Eratix), now my aspiration is to be able to fly it to it's capacity.

Welcome aboard Wayne !! 3D flying is great fun, it's a real chalange!!

I wouldn't say this one is in the same league as the Eratix as a 3D flier, It's more of a light sports areobatic flier that can be coaxed into doing some 3D
I'm still tinkering with it and will probably try a few different props and perhaps change the throttle curve on my TX to make it a little more progressive as it's a little all or nothing at the moment. I think this is due to the speed controller I'm using. Time will tell, It's only had 7 flights so far.

Posted by gbanger - Yesterday 04:30 PM
Looks like a nice plane Jason, If you can get some longevity out of it I recon you are on to a good thing.

Gazz, I hope I get lots of air time with it, but you know what they say, a model airplane is only on loan from lady luck and for what ever reason, she does take them back from time to time.

[gbanger]

Come on Jason, I thought you were a glass half full man?
or to put it another way... Don't take any shit from the lady luck bitch!

[Flying fisho]

Gave an inkling of an E-flite Eratix maiden report in the flying this weekend thread, but I believe this dream plane deserves an expanded report. Set the throws to sports mode as per instructions and even so because of huge control surfaces was scared to maiden it. Gazz did the honours and needed very little trimming but flew a little tail heavy & too tame on the throws. Added a little lead to the nose and moved the pushrod to the outer hole of the servo arm for more throws. In the air again & what a show, knife edged in Gazz's hands again but more rudder throws needed. Flew vertically at less than full throttle, prop hung at 3/4 throttle & floated in slowly for a landing. My turn for a nervous flight with Gaz beside me as a security blanket, but the nerves soon disappeared when I learned just how easy this beauty performed. Rolls, loops & imelmans seemed to perform themselves & made me look better than I felt. Landed easy although a fair way down the strip. Turned around & gave the usual momentary 1/2 throttle to get it moving for taxiing & nearly took off again, havent had a plane this powerful before. Could not be happier with it.

[secant0give]

Good Stuff Wayne! Sounds like your having a lot of fun with it
One thing I could suggest is to make sure the colour scheem is very distinctively contrasted between top and bottom
I can't remember what it's like from when I saw it in the box
One thing about flying 3d is that it will test your orientation and any extra help in that department certainly doesn't go astray
Nothing more certain than you will become disorientated but how quickly you gain your orientation again will be a key factor

[Flying fisho]

As previously mentioned Eratix control throws were a little lame so adjusted rudder & ailerons at the control horns. Carefully adjusted evenly, assisted with verniers & again as accurately as possible aligned the ailerons with the centre of the wings. Took it up myself this morning (reducing aileron throws by transmitter but not enough) and within seconds after take-off shattered my nerves when it rolled quite violently to the right. Steadied it by stick & completed a left turn to allow max time for straight line trimming. First time I have had to make such major trimming. Trimming madly to the left, it continued its right roll. Overtrimmed it & when I left sticked, produced a rapid left roll & ended up inverted. After many mosquito-like moves, 3 heart attacks & stained undies, I had it high enough again to trim it again to level flight. Cant figure out why ailerons needed to be trimmed 3/4 left to produce level flight. Any ideas? First was Moneyshot - money shot & now Eratix. Are plane's names influencing behaviours or just me
PS. Underside is clear film so orientation colourscheme quite adequate.

[secant0give]

As previously mentioned Eratix control throws were a little lame so adjusted rudder & ailerons at the control horns. Carefully adjusted evenly, assisted with verniers & again as accurately as possible aligned the ailerons with the centre of the wings. Took it up myself this morning (reducing aileron throws by transmitter but not enough) and within seconds after take-off shattered my nerves when it rolled quite violently to the right. Steadied it by stick & completed a left turn to allow max time for straight line trimming. First time I have had to make such major trimming. Trimming madly to the left, it continued its right roll. Overtrimmed it & when I left sticked, produced a rapid left roll & ended up inverted. After many mosquito-like moves, 3 heart attacks & stained undies, I had it high enough again to trim it again to level flight. Cant figure out why ailerons needed to be trimmed 3/4 left to produce level flight. Any ideas? First was Moneyshot - money shot & now Eratix. Are plane's names influencing behaviours or just me
PS. Underside is clear film so orientation colourscheme quite adequate.

Oh bugger don't ya hate it when that happins ?? !! You got it back OK tho'

I'm not sure why it would be so far out of trim unless you changed something when you shifted the linkages out on the servo arms, perhaps the servo arms weren't perpendicular and shifting the linkages changed the center position of the ailerons. Just a guess ??

[Flying fisho]

Thanks for your thoughts Jason but I thought I had that covered during adjustments.
When Aileron throws adjusted at the horns expected some clevis tweeking necessary. Marked centre wing front & back & used a straight edge to ensure ailerons parallel and adjusted with clevis. One of the guys at Penrith suggested wing warpage, but I cant spot it.

[gbanger]

I will have a look at it if you are flying out west today.

[kizza42]

Sounds like the rudder or the thrust line is out.

Mechanically center everything, Get her up high, power off and see if its still rolling, if so:
Trim till flying straight: add one click of rudder for every click of aileron. Shouldn't need more than a few clicks

If you need a stack still then yes your wings are warped.

[Flying fisho]

thanks for the comments guys. Will see you at PEMAC Gazz. A tweek guru will be welcomed again.

[gbanger]

Well after we sorted Waynes Eratix. I decieded to take to Super Tucano out for a few taxi trails as I was still a little concerned that it might be a little underpowered (for my liking).
To my surprise the 5.7 kg flight weight was no issue with the aircraft lifting the nose at 50% throttle with no elevator input. I did 4 take off throttle ups and backed off each time the nose lifted. I set 50% flaps and on the 5th run the aircraft had other ideas and decieded to take off so I pushed the throttle up to 80% and it floated effortlessly into the blue stuff.
The wind was starting to pick up and as this was an unplanned flight I left the flaps at 50% and the gear down.
No trim adjustments at this time with the gear and flaps deployed so I did a couple of circuits just to check the balance.
It felt very neutral and probably needed a few clicks of down elevator but that was probably the flaps.
I flew a few approaches to check approach speed and set the flaps to 100%
To my surprise the fat bastard was not interested in decending until i reduced the throttle to less than 40%, even had to kill the throttle completely on the final approach at the threashold.
It finally settled back onto terra firma with a lot less pace than I thought it would.
I will leave the current power system in and do a couple more flights before I make any changes.
Surprisingly nimble and stable at all flight speeds for such a heavy aircraft
SWEET...................
       
   

[smuzz]

Good work Gazz - those Hacker motors can be counted on to deliver, by the looks of it.

[gbanger]

Spot on there Steve, I was only up for 3 minutes but did 5 take off runs prior to that.
The Hacker certainly surprised me but the airframe surprised me the most.

[secant0give]

Nice one Gazz

[Raptorfly]

Well done Gary. I knew you could not just taxi it.
Very happy to hear that it flew well even at that weight. Lets hope mine works out the same.

I maidened my Super Cub yesterday at our field. Using 4S 4000mAh, 65A ESC and 4042 motor running a wooden 13X5 prop.
With the very little dry runway patch available it taxied and took off very gently with just over half throttle. No trim what so ever was required.
The wind was on the Strong/breezy side and it did wobble the plane a little but those massive overhanging wings kept the plane nice and steady.
It was very easy to fly, no bad habits and a very nice and gentle flyer at less than half throttle.
Did a few low passes and the size of the wings make thin Cub very impressive to look at.
Landing was the only issue. The wind pushed me slightly off the dry short grass and just to the edge and the left landing touched the wet grassy slush and bang sudden stop ripped, bent and broke the already flimsy under carriage.
Apart from mud and s@#@T in the cowl the plane was fine.
Will have to sort a new landing gear. (If anyone has a 1/4 or 1/5 piper landing gear for sale let me know).
       

[gbanger]

Shame about the landing gear George.
As I had to add 250 grams of weight to the cowl of my Tucano to balance the plane, you might want to re think your motor choise. I will stick with what I have for a few more flights and even though it flew well, I am looking at bigger power options purely for more instantaneous response from throttle input, but don't let me put you off what your up to... just keep it in the back of your mind and watch this space.
The biggest issue of running a larger motor is where to put the extra battery.... anyway as I said it flies great, I just felt it needed a little more power.

[Raptorfly]

Shame about the landing gear George.
As I had to add 250 grams of weight to the cowl of my Tucano to balance the plane, you might want to re think your motor choise. I will stick with what I have for a few more flights and even though it flew well, I am looking at bigger power options purely for more instantaneous response from throttle input, but don't let me put you off what your up to... just keep it in the back of your mind and watch this space.
The biggest issue of running a larger motor is where to put the extra battery.... anyway as I said it flies great, I just felt it needed a little more power.

How heavy was your motor?
How far did you push the Battry forward. Did you go through all the way to the fire wall?
My SK3 5055 430kV motor weight is 378gm.
I can go 8S to add weight and power on a min 16X8 prop..

[gbanger]

My Hacker A50-14 is 370 grams and my Lipo is a Turnigy 6S 5000 25C @ 800 grams.
No, I am only half way down (see photo) My battery is mounted in a housing mounted at 45 degrees and sits against the back of the frame half way between the fire wall and the aft end of the front wheel compartment.
   

[Flying fisho]

From memory yesterday was the first time I actually maidened a plane by myself although thankfully I had Gazza standing beside me as a security blanket and a potential pass the parcel recipient if necessary.
The recently acquired HK Zlin 50L 25E http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store...duct=24553 went together reasonably easy although I modified the pushrods for ease of assembly. Powered by Turnigy Aerodrive SK3 - 3536-1400kv Brushless Outrunner Motor, 11 x 7 APC prop, TURNIGY Plush 60amp Speed Controller, Turnigy MG90S Metal Gear Servos 1.8kg / 13.4g / 0.10sec & a HK Orange 6ch receiver with satelite.
With small wheels & being a tail dragger I was half expecting it to nose over on take off so gave it (unnecessarily) heaps of throttle and it leapt into the air with ease but appeared to torque roll left. However with the end of runway willows fast approaching I left sticked the ailerons which were super responsive even with 80% throws & 50% expo. (My next take off was right to left & I rolled quickly to the right which indicates a simple overstick rather than torque roll)
Took the bird up to a safe height & levelled off to check for any trimming needs & it flew thumbs off perfectly. It has the fastest roll of any of my planes, will knife edge, prop hang & perform most aerobatic manoeuvers, yet fly sportingly and is my fastest plane thus far. Floated in for a comfortable landing.
I rate it my second favourite not far behind my E-flite Eratix.

[chrism]

A piece of aviation history is coming back to life this weekend in Auckland NZ. It is the maiden flight of the first airworthy De Havilland Mosquito in more than a decade.
See the youtube clip to have have a look at this beautiful bird.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vQOY3d89JE&feature=player_embedded

For more information to those that are interested go to the Avspecs facebook page

http://www.facebook.com/Avspecs?ref=sgm

[chrism]

De Havilland Mosquito takes to the skies of Auckland.
She flew perfectly out of the hanger according to Keith Skilling one of the test pilots.
http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/warbird-...eo-5108120

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEyDlgJYIF8&feature=plcp

[secant0give]

That is AWSOME !!!
Imagine feeding those two thursty merlins??
60-80 gallons an hour each !!

[Flying fisho]

My latest purchase/build, a Pulse XT 25E had it maiden this morning. Was a bit torque rolly on take off, only needed a few clicks of up elevator trim to make it scoot through the sky and handle with ease. Running a Turnigy G32 770kv motor with 4s 4000 battery with a plush 60amp speedie and initially a 13x6.5 APC prop. Upped the pitch on the prop to a 11x8 and became noticeably faster. Kindly, Samste lent me his GPS for the second flight and in a 5 minute flight, clocked up 8km with a top speed of 176kph. Am stoked, have almost doubled my previous quickest flight, and although suffering normal maiden flight jitters, the speed did not worry me in the slightest. Hmmmmm have I caught Samste's bug, I feel the need, the need for MORE speed.

[wingtipper]

nice setup fisho . pics or it didnt happen .

[Flying fisho]

IT happened, but no pics, sorry

[smuzz]

Congrats Wayne - a good day's work