[dingy]

Mr Bixler,
A few weeks ago I completed the completed the “Bixler” from Hobbyking. I set it up with a few additions, was not happy with the clamping arrangement of the wings.
I added a couple of picture hooks to the underside of both wings a fed an elastic so the wings were pulling towards each other. As per the photos I had two positions for the hooks. I actually have moved the hooks closer to the fuselage as per the first mark on the underside of the wing.
Chris Maddox did the initial flight a few weeks back but it was very windy & was set up the best we could, yesterday I took Mr. Bixler by the hand – told him to look to the stars & beyond and as he left my hand and started his climb toward the heavens & knew this was going to be a good flight. It responded very well considering again it was strange wind patterns.
Mr. Bixler after about 6 min flight suggested he would like to come home so I circled the airfield & approached from the left to right. As all good stories go the wind picked up ten-fold and Bob H. Said to me “were did that come from?” I really didn’t care where it come from I was more concerned where it was going to end.
Well it was a happy landing as Mr. Bixler nearly landed at my feet – “ Oh what a feeling.” Conclusion is this is a good plane & I shall have many hours of good flying in the future, if anybody thinking of purchasing one I fully recommend it!

[smuzz]

Congratulations Ingo!
I like the nice shot of your workshop too - especially the German beer wall emblems, I want me some of them

[dingy]

Hey Hey Hey,

Thanks Steve.

You picked up on that - there good eah? I 'll take a better photo - looks better now I've actually tided up!

[Drew]

I've sold out to the dark side!!!

I ordered an EPO MX2 from Hobby King at Midnight on Wednesday and it was on my doorstep Friday morning. After dropping my son at cubs, I started assembly at 8:30pm and it was ready for fly by midnight.

The look of the plane is good. It definately has the 20M appeal. A 1.4M wingspan and generous sized fuse makes it look like a solid model. A flying weight of around 2Kg reingofrces that.

There appers to be more than enough thrust on the 36-48 motor, 70A speedy and 4S pack. The plane jumps into the air on half throttle and Jason provided evidence that it hovers and can pull out of a hover quite adequately (more on that later).

Assembly was straightforward except for the tail wheel. The instructions were complete but useless due to the thumbnail sized images and terse descriotins. All hardware is inlcuded and everything fits well and easily.
The XT60 plug which is pre-attached to the ESC leads appears to be incorrectly machined and the pins do not correctly mate with the socket. It appears that they have not been cut correctly to compress into the socket. We bypassed this on the maiden by forcing the pulgs together and using sticky tape to make sure they stayed that way.

The first flight allowed simple trim with only a a couple of clicks here and there. It liked a bit of speed and the COG was possibly off a little. The 4S pack is stuffed into a cavity forward of the wing spar and was wedged in with some spare foam. Unfortunately, shortly after trimming, the canopy flew off. After I had a couple of false landing attpempts, I handed the controls to Jason who offered to bring it in for me.

On the last turn, the battery came loose (the canopy was no longer there to assist with holding it in) and dangled overthe trailing edge of the wing. Very fortuantely, the sticky tape probably prevented the battery coming loose!! However, this dramatically forced the plane into a tail heavy situation (the battery was now a good 30-40cm behind it's balanced poisition) and immediately triggered quite an impressive hover maneuver by Jason. He was able to pull out and complete another circuit before skillfully bringing it in for a gentle landing.

Thanks to Gary's keen eyes, the canopy was quickly and easily retrieved from the edge of the reeds.

A rubber band rectified the weakness of the canopy retrntion magnet and some velcro was added to ensure the battery stayed where it was put.


Later, a second flight was attempted. Again take-off was spritely and the plane looked and felt quite stable in the air. However, about 2 minutes in, it felt as if the motor stopped. Reducing power and re-applying returned thrust. I sought to bring it down by gliding it to approach height and using power to correct my lack of gliding skills. With reasonable air speed, this plane glides in quite nicely.

For landing, it does need to be flown in and an error at the threshold of the runway cause it to balloon and I then had a bit of a panic as it got to the end of the runway which ended with a hard landing on the RH wheel and nose. The only damage was the wheel pants and a slight twist on the RH under carraige support.

For $175 on the doorstep - this looks like it will be quite a performer. Now the pilot just needs to work out how to fly but specifically - land it .

Hopefully - John Hale has some video of the flight. I'll try to extract and post some photos.

[secant0give]

Excellent report!! and quite a nice plane too, Nicely finished
and with a few little things fixed up I'm sure you'll get a great deal of fun from flying it!!

Well done !!

I'm very keen to see the video as well

[Drew]

Jason,

Thanks for the help and kind words. I've found someone who skinned an Extra to look just like my MX2 and been practicing landing flares!!! .

I also must apologise - it seems that when the boys helped me pack up, I've acquired your velcro box with your emergency epoxy. I hope the field dries out so I can have another practice with the new plane next week and return your velcro.

[sglnichols]

Hello Gents,
Thought that I'd give you all a smile with respect to my latest maiden flight. I purchased an Electrifly Cataline well over a year go to use at the closest lake. Have just finishished building her and 'maidened; this morning.
Well...it's a good job I took a towel and my boardies........
I checked COG and throttle, control surfaces, etc and all appeared ok. Maybe in hindsight a tiny bit tail heavy and maybe I was eager.....
She lifted off the water fine and then before I knew what was happening she dipped her left wing and before I could even swear the model was inverted on the lake....maybe I should of checked lateral balance? Maybe one motor was pulling more than the other? However the cat seemed to track ok during taxi tests.........
I looked upon the model on the lake about 20 meters away with a sense of resignation. I then bit the bullet and waded out to collect her. Lucky I'm in Oz or I prob would of let her swim with the fishes! Water temp not too bad and the depth was about just up to my chest!
Due to water impact the airframe was fine but have a feeling all the electronics are toast.......will re-visit the model when I get over the devastation.............!
Anyway........thought I'd give you all a smile as to what I was up at at 7am this morning!
Have been in UK for last 6 weeks so looking forwards to seeing you all at the field/s soon........
Cheers,
Si
PS - didn;t have the courage to take a pic of the inverted model!

[smuzz]

Sorry to hear that it didn't work out Simon, but it's interesting all the same. I got one of these a while back as an airframe-only kit - not assembled yet because I haven't got the space to store the thing. It will be interesting to compare notes with you after you've towelled yourself dry and completed a crash investigation!
All the best,
Steve

[kizza42]

Wash everything down in distilled water if you can and then let them dry for a few days, Silica crystals or rice will help.

When this happened:


We literally hosed the dirt out of the motor and its run fine ever since.

I'd personally prefer to err on the side of slightly tail heavy, Last thing I'd want on takeoff or landing is for the nose to dig in and flip the plane. When it does come time to attempt a landing, don't forget to leave the power on and ease her in, stalling into the drink is a fine recipe for another flip

[gbanger]

Hi Simon
Sorry to here that mate.... its a big dissapointment when a miden goes south.
I'm curious does it have counter rotating props?
I'm sure you checked the aileron centering before take off. If all that was OK the only thing I can imagine would roll her over so quickly would be torque particularly with high throttle (both props spinning the same direction) and aileron trim/aileron servo failure or a combination of both.
What throttle percentage did you have on when she rolled over on you.
Anyway I'm glad the airframe is intact. From a recover point of view you are lucky its make of foam I suppose.
Gazz

[brotherblonde]

Sorry to hear about it Si. I think you'll find that if it flies inverted in the UK, it should be fine here!

[sglnichols]

thanks guys........
I'll get the silica crystals on the go...maybe only the motors are gone......
Gazz....it didn't have counter rotating props....manual suggested not to do so. Aileron centreing fine. I am guessing I was at 75% throttle. I think next time I am going to try and use expo on the controls surfaces to counteract twitching fingers around the centre points of the sticks......what do you think? I have never flown with expo before.
The annoying thing is not really knowing what the cause was....but I am not ruling out the problem lying with the pilot being green after going without stick time for so long.....time in invest in a decent sim I think.......and some new motors.....

[gbanger]

Its difficult to say what the cause was.... I was just going through the motions to try and dispose of the things that didn't cause it. It's very strange for a dual engine aircraft to roll over so violently.
When you get the old girl sorted bring ity down to the field so we can do a pre flight on it so you don't get bitten again... sometimes 2 heads are better than one.

[robair]

Gday All

Rotating off the water too early could cause that violent wing drop, if the aircraft was rotated below stall speed as soon as she got out of ground (water) effect a true stall would potentially be induced.
Very nice looking aircraft BTW.

Cheers
Rob B

[Drew]

This is a standard foam plate 3D floater. I tossed it out stock everything and it sat in the air really quite nicely after a few clicks on the tirms here and there. Up and down a few times with nice easy elevator/harrier landings to get the CG "right" and it is a joy to fly.

Howver, I must admit to flying error #1: I didn't check the control surfaces and assumed they were fine post assembly. THe elevator was reversed and I dorked it in almost immediately - breaking the stock prop. Fortunately, I had my prop box with another 9x5 prop. THe orinigal supplied prop was very off balance before I added a significant amouint of tape and the replacenment was far better balanced.

Unfortuantely, I think the hit weakend the .5mm fibreglass motor mount which is a cross shape that is embedded in slots in the foam. After about 4 flights, it was noticeably pulling to the right and inspection showed a clear right thrust angle that was not there earlier.

A good but not impressive 3D flyer with plenty of power for the job. It will be one of my regular stock planes but I fear that durability will be lacking for a craft which will be subject to significant G's and experimental maneuvers.

[Jungle]

Maidened my T-28 this evening, stupid time to fly but, meh, why let fading light stop you ;-)
My big brother said it was a great little plane & I have to agree. What a forgiving little ride. Only the second of my planes that have wheels,
Almost finished building the Dynam Meteor...

[Skidz]

If you crash a T28 it is definitely pilot error (a.k.a "dumb thumbs").

[Jungle]

If you crash a T28 it is definitely pilot error (a.k.a "dumb thumbs").

yep i agree 100%.....unless you're flying at my place and have 40+ obstacles turbulent airflow from around the house, trees, hills...

[smuzz]

Date: 23 Oct 11
Conditions: Ideal - good visibility, freshly mown super-wide strip, very light occasional breeze
Aircraft: HK Mini P-51D (http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store...ouse_.html)

KevB and Junior were talking this model up yesterday and Kev allowed me a spare he had new in the box. It took about half an hour to assemble last night and the only things that required attention were to re-glue the canopy retaining magnets, and to remove the pilot's seat and instrument panel to facilitate the battery. I removed a tiny bit of foam too, just to get the battery to sit well. In went an orange receiver and a Rhino 1250 mAh 2S battery and I had a look at the throws - there was no documentation at all with the plane, so everything was pretty much rule-of-thumb. I toned down the elevator throws a bit but left the ailerons as they were.

First flight: It goes well, everything that Kev and Junior had said was correct - it really does fly as well as the Parkzone Mustang! I had it a little nose-heavy, so I shifted the battery aft for the next three flights. An excellent model that goes perfectly out of the box. It behaves as if it were twice the size. I didn't think it would do so well on a 2S battery with a 10A ESC, but the lightweight power-train is deceiving - at full throttle it rolls with authority and large loops are accomplished easily.

Overall impression: Absolutely excellent - we're fortunate to live in a time where for such a little outlay, you can buy something which is already 95% assembled and goes so well.

UPDATE: Flying on 1000 mAh 3S batteries really gets things moving along! I slipped a 3S battery in for a test flight and discovered that it exposed the fact that the propeller wasn't balanced properly. It wasn't obvious at the speeds a 2S battery was delivering, but the extra rpm from the 3S battery made it clear there was more noise and vibration. After balancing the propeller, it was very impressive for a small warbird. Highly recommended!

[Stuka]

If you crash a T28 it is definitely pilot error (a.k.a "dumb thumbs").

Yes definitely!! I can attest to that.

Have surveyed today's damage. Definitely needs a new motor (need to buy), replace both mini servos on wing, replace servo arm on rudder (that is if the servo is still operational), plug a few dings here and there. Back of wing needs some attention too. Luckily I have a cowl in store. Not a quick fix. But it will fly (or die).

Where there's life there's hope I suppose!!

[Claudius]

Date: 29 Oct 11
Conditions: Passable, threatening to rain, light to moderate crosswind.
Aircraft: HK UAV 168 (http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store...duct=17106), 2x 4S 2200mAH, 100A speedy, Turnigy G25 870kv, 10x7 prop

Guys and I (finally!) finished putting together the UAV-168 today (configured just for a test flight with RC gear only; autopilot and other bits to follow later), and snuck over to Area 51 around midday just as everyone left was packing up or heading out.

Pilot reported no trimming required during climb out. Performed several circuits, at high and low speeds (with and without flap deployment), and a few practice fast approaches (which I think were interpreted increasingly nervously as aborted landing attempts by all watching) before a slightly hot but otherwise uneventful landing.

Logger on the CC speedy gives a (conservative) estimate of 12 mins cruise with this config.

Thanks again to Gaz for hanging about to lock up behind us, and to Steve M for some build advice along the way.

   

[smuzz]

Congrats Claudio - all good. Looking forward to the full-house trials

[secant0give]

Yes the HK UAV 168 flew well, very well and has a good turn of speed also!!

I also flew the Artemis for the first time earlier that morning

I put the report on the end of this thread

http://forum.rcflyingclub.com/showthread.php?tid=471&pid=8851#pid8851

[Raptorfly]

I flew my new 90mm Eurofighter at area 51 yesterday. apart from the canopy ejecting on first flight all went well and will be pushing it more next time.Sorry the video is not the best but thats all we had at the time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHHn_uY1od4

[popeyepete]

HK Stinger 64

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store...duct=17942

Maiden flight was hairy, even with 80% expo it was all over the place. Also found even with the 2200 3S nanotech as far forward as possible still tail heavy.
2nd flight - dialled in 50% dual rate, sinker in the nose and much much better. Although the esc carked it as i found out once i was home, this made me crash apon landing and snapped the tip off the wing.(Easy fix luckily)
Read up in the forums that the esc is dodgy, so that will be replaced with a 40a.

Did try it with a thrust tube, but it blew a corner up and foulded the tube. Need to find a better way to keep its shape better.

Overall pretty happy with the jet.

[Jungle]

Took the Dynam Meteor up today at the field rather than my house. Pretty gusty, lots of crosswind.
Flew it on 4S 3300 nano- didn't set the timer correctly so not sure how long but approaching 4 minutes.
Aileron response was good but roll rate surprising slow- will need check out why.
Elevator response was good but as its travel reaches full, she rolls so will need to look at that. Not much i can do except maybe reduce the control throw as these things don't have a lot to begin with, everyone mods them for more. I did think one side had slightly more travel than the other close to full travel and the result in the air confirms it.

Full power pass was a lot slower than i hoped. I guess the fixed gear is the reason. Some people remove them others, add retracts. Ill look into both options.

The rudder has a decent amount of throw but wouldn't hold knife edge, others have said it would.

Landing control was good, jet doesn't want to slow down and floats. Made a number of landing runs before trying properly. Was ok in the gusty conditions and the jet touched down nicely but hit by a gust just as the nose was about to touch, pitched the jet up and onto it's back. Was going to slowly to recover. Hit inverted but flat, only damage was a broken tail. Its fixable but it's pretty flimsy so i'll probably need to add some strength to it.

Overall. Its a nice model, CofG seems correct and response is reasonable if not a little slower than i expected.
Need to get it back into the air on a calmer day for a better appreciation.

[samste]

HK Stinger 64

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store...duct=17942

Maiden flight was hairy, even with 80% expo it was all over the place. Also found even with the 2200 3S nanotech as far forward as possible still tail heavy.
2nd flight - dialled in 50% dual rate, sinker in the nose and much much better. Although the esc carked it as i found out once i was home, this made me crash apon landing and snapped the tip off the wing.(Easy fix luckily)
Read up in the forums that the esc is dodgy, so that will be replaced with a 40a.

Did try it with a thrust tube, but it blew a corner up and foulded the tube. Need to find a better way to keep its shape better.

Overall pretty happy with the jet.

Pete ,
If you have a 60 amp speedy it maybe better as reading some info on motor specs that it can draw up to 45 amps, And if you are using the nano techs lipos it probably will draw that much.

It did look Nice in the Air Though, Great Color Scheme and looks like it Will do some nice maneuvers when cog and trims are set right

Steve

[smuzz]

Interesting report on the Meteor Simon, the mixed results are confusing.
I know that Kieran has one which is due for a maiden soon, if it hasn't already - will be interesting to compare reports.

[Jungle]

Interesting report on the Meteor Simon, the mixed results are confusing.
I know that Kieran has one which is due for a maiden soon, if it hasn't already - will be interesting to compare reports.

Hi Steve,
Yes from the good/great reports i had read, it seemed a no-brainer. Going to add some strength to the rudder base with some fibreglass.

I'll be keen to hear the result of Keirans'. Just need to fix it and throw it at the sky again to get some more time on it

[Skidz]

(I was doing the flying so not sure if there were flight photos or videos...)

The report for the FMS Trojan goes like this:

Pre-flight set-up checks seemed to suggest all was well with aile, ele, and rudder throws/expo looking the goods. Flaps and retracts tested fine. There were various views on how much current the stock set-up should pull so we tested with SteveB's power analyser and connected a 4S 3000mAh Nanotech. After Steve got the wiring correct we tested 33A at full throttle (note: two batteries connected to each other directly is bound to cause sparks! - there is an explanation for this mishap but this post is not the place. Steve had a "D'oh, what was I doing??!!!" moment).

George (Raptorfly) reckoned there was some cornflakes missing at full throttle as the propeller wasn't growling like it should. He was convinced there should have been more power.

We decided all was good enough for the maiden so maiden we did.

After deciding the direction of the prevailing wind (Area 51 is quite shifty in that way) I throttled up and lifted in to the air under 3/4 power only to observe the plane rolling left (slow) and pitching up quite dramatically. Despite the calm exterior, I was really doing some fancy stick work to keep the plane straight and level with enough speed and also fly the circuit pattern. I decided the pitching up was the more pressing issue and offset with down elevator. The down trim took a lot of adjusting as I wasn't really happy until -45 was on the display. That is about the limit for 'down" trim. A couple or so circuits wrestling with the trims nearing their limits was actually quite distracting. Per Gbanger recommendation, flying was done with the gear extended.

With the roll adjusted and battery nearing full-time, I put 50% flaps and made for a landing approach. Too high and too fast required a go-around with SteveB in my ear with his Quanum telemetry telling me the batteries were going flat. One more approach and it had to count..

Long approach, cut the throttle to 0%, 50% flaps and eased it down for a nice smooth landing. The plane felt quite solid on the landing. I guess 3kg AUW will create that effect. 100% flaps would be best but the ballooning effect was not known and I wasn't going to switch that in with the trim issues and the near exhausted battery. Just one more issue to deal with so I didn't do it.

Once on the ground post maiden, I adjusted the elevator neutral setting by re-doing the links and abolishing the -45 trim. The second flight suggested this was a bit too much so some more trimming to do. The second flight was gear retracted. At full power it didn't seem to have the required 'sparkle' so I blamed SteveB's battery and he blamed my ESC timing setting. A much easier flight (no trim wrestling) followed by another smooth landing.

Three thumbs up for the FMS Trojan. It does look very impressive. I now have to root around with the ESC timing to get the required amount of cornflakes from the motor.

Edit: the Nanotech only took 835mA to recharge so my throttle settings (or ESC) has to be the issue. Once sorted, I shoud have the required amount of cornflakes to make the plane hoot. It didn't occur to me on engine run-up tests that 33A was no where near the ESC limit at 50A. Hopefully I can get close to 40A and get some sparkle happening.

[Very nice looking plane in Red/White US Navy trim. Easy to see].



Dave