[smuzz]

Had this in a box for long enough to be embarrassed about that fact - so it was time to put some air underneath it.

The build was pretty simple the only notes were ...
1. Getting the wing-retaining bolts to meet the blind nuts ... drove me nuts
2. The inner edges of the ailerons and outer edges of the flaps were binding against one another - not good. The only "binding" we want is with the receiver!
3. The individual propeller blades were supposed to be attached to the spinner backplate with woodscrews. Sifting through the RCGroups thread (always takes a couple of days) indicates that these are a hazard - the heads sometimes snap off the screws, or much worse, they split the prop and backplate meaning that when you least expect it, your motor will throw a blade! Disaster follows. I got some 25mm M2 nuts and bolts instead and fixed the blades on with those.
4. Earlier releases of this model had the flap and aileron hinges glued on at the factory after the paint had been applied - always a bad move. Several models have been lost with these coming apart in flight (RCGroups again!). I checked all mine over carefully and FMS seemed to have fixed that little problem.
5. No fuel-tubing rings were supplied for the clevises, so I had to cut all nine of them myself and fit them - there was no way in the world I would have taken off without them in place.
6. A small warp in the tailplane made gluing the spar an exercise in self-control, but in the end it was satisfactory.

This model actually came with a battery - quite unusual. So, I charged it and used it, even though it had those Deans-style connectors (which suck!). Tested the CoG and it was right at the front of the range - good to go.

It flew well, a couple of clicks of aileron and rudder trim - but nothing alarming. Plenty of power on the small 2200mAh 4S battery. It rolls slowly, but it wasn't designed to be an interceptor. On a low pass at top speed it looks very sinister - just like it was supposed to be

All up - very good, easy to fly and ground handling is tops. Looks great in the air and on the ground ... even if the Hakenkreuz is missing from the fin.

       

By the way - here's the real thing ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cU6OK1zSxKg

[wingtipper]

very nice mate . i think we should stick to the bushcare groups methods of controlling the regrowth in the swamp though , might get a few complaints if we do it the stuka's way

[smuzz]

very nice mate . i think we should stick to the bushcare groups methods of controlling the regrowth in the swamp though , might get a few complaints if we do it the stuka's way

It'd be a helluva lot of fun though, 'tipper

[Raptorfly]

Its a really nice plane to have because of the unusual look. I'll join you with my Ju-52 next time.

[smuzz]

No worries mate - we can do that!

[wingtipper]

yep ill take the p51 up with you two.

[smuzz]

A couple of times today I threw this model into a tight turn, only to see it yaw the other way! These were a couple of hairy moments where I thought I'd lost it completely. Max (at PEMAC) made the very sensible suggestion of organising some differential on the ailerons - I'll definitely be doing that before the next flight as I think he's right on the money there.

[gbanger]

I had a HK Stuka Steve and if I slammed the elevator back hard it would roll straight over onto its back, took a little getting used to.
Gazz

[smuzz]

Thanks for the heads-up that Gazz.
Yeh, the Stuka is an unusual beast - looks great on a low pass though!

[secant0give]

you might also mix a little rudder in with ailerons

[smuzz]

Thanks Jason - I tried a couple of rudder-only turns in flight today, but I need to increase the rudder throw as it's lacking authority with the current arrangement. There's not much rudder surface area compared to most other planes of 1400mm wingspan.

I've got to get used to flying it in a more scale-like manner too, as I've been chucking it about like the Trojan and it's not really the right airframe for that

[wingtipper]

with my p51 i added a rudder mix for the more scale like flying . definitely fly's better this way , but must remember to turn the mix off during rolling maneuvers .

[smuzz]

Thanks Frank and Jason - mixing in some rudder did the trick nicely and it's much better behaved in the turns now. Since I'm too lazy to apply the rudder manually, mixing was a good option. It actually rolled much better with the mix left in, Frank - I wasn't expecting that ... but the Stuka is a strange machine.