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Maiden Flight Reports
#31

Test flew the new Edge 540 this morning couldn't have been a nicer flyer and bearly needed a click of trim.

However on the 4th flight the Motor stopped, It had made a couple of odd noises earlier which I had miss took for a timing issue, I knew the prop wasn't loose as I'd snugged it up firmly just before I left for the field.

I managed to get it down softly enough in the weeds at the edge of the field, the undercarriage came away, other than that no damage tho.

I thought it must have been a loose magnet or perhaps two but after bulling the motor apart it seems that the steel ring that holds the magnets had come unscrewed from the back plate that holds the shaft. this had reduced the end float of the motor so much that it had just bound up

here's a pic

   

John took some pics of it in the air I'm hoping that he might post one here if he sees this this thread

“The knack of flying is learning how to throw your machine at the ground and miss.”

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your thoughts turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return."  ~Leonardo Da Vinci
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#32

Many thanks to John, who is certainly handy with a camera, for taking these photo's of the edges first few flights.

   

   

   


“The knack of flying is learning how to throw your machine at the ground and miss.”

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your thoughts turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return."  ~Leonardo Da Vinci
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#33

    Hi folks,
I made a quick trip down to the field this arvo on the way to work when I had a few mins....I haven't flown for a good month so was desperate to get a little stick time.
I brought my HK Coota a few months ago so thought it best to give it a try...checked online wind speeds at about 8k/h before setting off and of course when I got there it was starting to brew up towards I rekon 20k/hr however I was determined still to maiden.
I ran a 3S pack even though HK reccomend a 2S, went for a 3S after doing much reading up on the RC Groups Coota thread.
Wheels are way too small for a grass take-off so I went for the routine hand lauch into wind......she climbed well enough without too much trouble and battled into wind and threw her round down wind where she flew pretty quick....it's a fairly small model with a 1M or so wing span so it comes on pretty quick to loose profile.....it's also not that forginving and prone to tip stall so you really have to keep the power on into the turns.......
I made 3 flights...the last one turned into a semi nightmare as upon the desent for landing into wind I desended too quickly and too far away and lost her into reeds/bush towards the right hand side of the field...after much throttle blips and bush walking I found her after 20 or so mins luckily with no damage due to the soft, reed-like landing...I called it quits then and went to work with 'trench-foot' due to water!Current sat here typing this barefooted!
Can't wait to try her off the water but need more stick time over land to get confidance up....
ALL in all quite pleased and relived!
Simon
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#34

Nice work Simon - who needs Wellies then?
See you down at the field some time Smile

Steve Murray
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#35

Well what a beautiful day, Darren mowed the lawn & all were waiting in anticipation of the flying ahead.
The Twinstarr ll sat in the sunshine a glistened waiting for its maiden flight.
I waited for Darren at his leisure to maiden the red & white beast.
After some preliminary checks Darren started the motors & like any new toy I what waited for something to go wrong – it did one engine started whilst the other reset itself. After a short gasp it reset itself and started.
All checks now completed Darren & I walked out to the field, I was thinking will it fly, will it perform, will it go like all the reviews that I have looked at or will it be a huge dud?
Darren started the motors & as it left his right hand like a big graceful bird it climbed & Darren said wow & the two engines sounded fantastic, different to any other sound I had heard before.
Now I felt relaxed as Darren fixed the trims ever so slightly it was graceful to watch. It rolled, climbed & turned just like all the reviews I had read.
All the hours spent building the plane was rewarded in that maiden 4 minute flight.
After the flight the trims were adjusted to my type of flying by Darren & after battery recharge we again put the beast in the air, Darren handed the controls to me & wow it behaved magnificent.
The plane did come with brushed motors these were changed brushless Towerpro with Turnigy esc’s.
It was a completely different build that I have ever experienced, with all the wiring had to be handmade, all the wiring is actually in the wing. I made special Y cables for power & extended aileron cables.
All worth it after seeing it flying so gracefully today.
I would like to thank Darren for all his help & especially for the praise on how the plane was set up & built.

HobbyZone - SuperCub x 2
Parkzone -T-28D Trojan
Guanli - Cessna 182 / F4U Coursair
Multiplex - Twinstarr ll
Electrafun XP - Back from the dead - It flies


In the Hanger waiting Build
Guanli - ME 109 / Zero / P47 / F4U Cousair / T-109 / Spitfire / P47
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Decathlon – Balsa - Big

The World Models - 40" Clipped Wing Cub Sunburst Red

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JR XP662 – 36MHz Radio – Mode 1
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#36

My compliments Ingo
I looked very stable in the sky and I was very impressed with the magic turbo prop like sound the twin rig made.
Well done mate.
Gazz

Parkzone Stryker 27 Evolution
E flite Ultra Stick , T 28 Carbon Z
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Don't ever let the fear of landing keep you from taking off!
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#37

Congratulations Dingy - yes, I was on the flight-line as Darren let it go and as soon as it took to the air it looked like a winner. You'll have fun with this one by the looks of it Smile

Steve Murray
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#38

Sorry to have missed the maiden mate.
Hope to see it next weekend

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#39

Thanks Guys,

Your comments were appreciated.

Dingy

HobbyZone - SuperCub x 2
Parkzone -T-28D Trojan
Guanli - Cessna 182 / F4U Coursair
Multiplex - Twinstarr ll
Electrafun XP - Back from the dead - It flies


In the Hanger waiting Build
Guanli - ME 109 / Zero / P47 / F4U Cousair / T-109 / Spitfire / P47
Skyartec - Funjet x 2
Beaver - Balsa
Decathlon – Balsa - Big

The World Models - 40" Clipped Wing Cub Sunburst Red

In the Hanger Repair Shop
Guanli - P47 / Spitfire / Cub 3 Channel Modified / Skylark Glider

JR XP662 – 36MHz Radio – Mode 1
DX7 2.4GHz Mode 1
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#40

G'day Ingo. Great to the see Twinstar fly so beautifully. Obviously by the contents of your writing you were absolutely chuffed. it's a beautiful plane hope your following flights will be as rewarding as the maidenBiggrinBiggrinBiggrin

Smile
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#41

Gday Ingo

Glad to hear all went well for you, the twins do sound quite angry don't they. Biggrin
I was a bit concerned though when you stated that one engine fired up whilst the other failed to kick in. I had that issue when I was initially setting up my Twinstar and traced it to a difference in voltage drop across my throttle y lead. I ended up going through a pack of y leads until one worked perfectly and the problem resolved itself. If your problem persists you may need to make a mental note to always keep a little bit of power on until your are solidly back on terra firma. The concern is that you chop the throttle on finals and then may need to go around however only one engine sparks up thus leaving you in a nasty asymmetric config. I have also read on some forums that some fliers have had success changing their motor timing to ensure both motors spin up concurrently every time. This seems to have no real rhyme or reason and differs from motor to motor/ esc combo.
Look forward to having a "twin off" with you when I have my one sorted, I am in the process of rewiring with heavier gauge silicon wire due to all the existing wiring getting very hot during ground runs.
FYI I am running Turning 35/36 1400kv motors, 2 Plush 60A esc's with BEC disabled, 9*7 3 blade props powered by 2*3S 2650 Nanotech batteries one to each motor/ esc. From memory pulling just shy of 50 amps per motor.
Sounds insane flat chat. Thumbup

Cheers
Rob B

Cheers
Rob B
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#42

I would just ditch the Y-Lead and use 2 separate channels on the receiver with a mix.

Then slave that mix into the rudder Wink
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#43

Date: 3 Apr 11
Conditions: Ideal - no wind at all, excellent visibility, perfectly mown strip
Aircraft: SkyAngels (JPower) Mig 15
Pilot: "Junior" Murray

Inspired by MickeyT's example at Parramatta Park on Oz day, we decided to get one. Building was a non-event with everything pretty much self-explanatory. Some of the parts could have offered a better fit, but not too bad. For the maiden, I elected to leave the drop-tanks and the 30-mm cannon (which is what I think it is) off the outside of the airframe - just wanted to get the important things attended to.
Configured with the stock 50mm fan+motor and ESC, we added an Orange receiver and a Rhino 1050 mAh 3S 20C battery. The cockpit area is cramped, with the receiver taking up a lot of space. I've got some re-working to do there yet as I need to move the receiver away from the elevator servo arm. We got the battery in for a motor-run test and discovered that the fan shroud was preventing the fan from spinning at all. It was glued in and pushed out of its circular shape (thanks for the help Gazz). Removed the fan and shroud and glued it in with 5-minute epoxy after repositioning it a little better in the duct. Fired it all up and all was well. We made sure we had no more than the recommended control throws, a lesson from the T-33!
The first two hand-launches demonstrated that we had forgotten that EDF jets need a little time to accelerate as Junior was giving it way too much elevator and causing a stall. The intake was a little bruised after these and will need some elapor therapy during the week. But, on to the flight - Kieran reminded us to give it a little time to get on step from the hand-launch before yanking on the sticks. This did the job and it was off. Very noisy but its flight characteristics were pretty good and it looked reasonably scale. Flew the battery to exhaustion and dead-sticked the landing - the surprise was how much it liked to glide in on the approach.
Got the battery out of the plane and on to the charger - it was at 3.3V per cell, so I don't think it will be serving us long into the future. Anyway, we recharged it and flew two more flights later in the day because the conditions were superb.

Overall Impressions: It does fly well when you give it a chance. We think we might invest in a cheap bungey because the hand-launches were a bit marginal. I'm going to re-furbish the nose and we'll be back at it. A bit difficult to compare it against the T-33 just yet, because the T-33 didn't have the advantage of a reasonably good battery. I'll get back here with an update some time.

Steve Murray
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#44

Im intersested to hear both yours and Owens thoughts on both aircraft when you get the T33 sorted.
I was very impressed with the little T33 at Blacktown and would like to hear you opinions on both aircraft.
Its nice to have a micro jet in the boot where ever you go, just in case you feel the need for speed.
Gazz

Parkzone Stryker 27 Evolution
E flite Ultra Stick , T 28 Carbon Z
Skyartec Skyfun Scorpion,Skyfun 90 EDF
Hobbyking Voltigeur, Funfighter T28, Mirage 2000, Minimoa 2.4m Glider
Jet Teng L-39 HPAT Stumax 90
Pheonix Tiger 50
FliteWork Extra 300 LPX 2.6M
Spectrum DX9i , DX6

Don't ever let the fear of landing keep you from taking off!
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#45


That little machine flew nicely. I realy liked the look of it in the air, it fairly slipped along after fan stopped as well.

I reckon it'd be a Keeper Smile


“The knack of flying is learning how to throw your machine at the ground and miss.”

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your thoughts turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return."  ~Leonardo Da Vinci
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#46

(03-04-2011, 08:19 PM)gbanger Wrote:  I looked very stable in the sky and I was very impressed with the magic turbo prop like sound the twin rig made.

+1. It definitely has a nice note to it Ingo. Looked great too!

<table width="100%" border="0"><tr>
<td>
<span title="No longer arboreally challenged!">Parkzone Stinson SR-10 </span>
Extra-300S EPP
<del>F-18 Blue Angels 64mm EDF</del>
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Spektrum DX6i - Mode 1</td>
<td valign=top>
Parkzone T-28 Ultra Micro
E-Flite UMX BEAST
SRL Index
CloudsFly / AXN Floater
"2x6" basla/ply kit built glider
SBach 1000mm</td>
<td valign=top>
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UAV-168 (bigger UAV)
<span title="2nd-hand; rebuild on-hold">"BigBoy" Hugin (biggest UAV)</span>
<span title="For invading small countries">X-8 flying wing</span></td>
</tr></table>
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#47

No worries Gazz - when we get them tuned, you can take them each for a fly and see for yourself!
Cheers Jason - yes, the glide ratio took us by surprise too. A deadstick on a maiden is not the best time to learn about gliding characteristics for the first time Wink but fortunately it was favourable, I expected it to sink quickly.

Steve Murray
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#48

Dropped in to the PRCAC field around 1.30pm. No-one there and the conditions were pretty good for flying the helis (apart from the gusting southerly).

Did a pre-flight check after all the adjustments through the week -- all good.

Powered up and noticed the canopy vibrating on one mount so I powered down and removed the canopy (to be adjusted later).

Powered up again and flew the Logo for 3 minutes straight. Nice!! Thumbup Kept the altitude low in case issues developed and did not try any fancy stuff on flight #1. I am using 2 x 6S batteries in series to give 50V. One is strapped rather forward to give the correct CG. With the canopy off, it could come adrift and that would be a real problem!

All uneventful so the maiden flight was a success Thumbup. Next run I will adjust the throttle up some more. This helicopter has tons of power. The 3 minute flight could easily be extended to 5 minutes as only 1000mAh taken from the packs.

Motor slightly warm which is excellent.
ESC very cool -- perfect!
Main gear cold (which means the meshing is excellent. Too tight and the gear can get hot and melt the teeth).

       
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#49

Nice work Dave - at 12S ... wow, I wanna see that running-up properly. Congratulations, considering there was wind about the place as well.

Thanks for the photograph down the cross-strip too, it looks like nearly all the surface water has run off overnight - a nice surprise!

Steve Murray
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#50

Given my thread calling for opinions on my intended purchase of the BF109 Messerschmitt I can hardly blame Pete for confusing my P47 Thunderbolt. Thank you Kieran for doing the honours of take-off & supervising its maiden. Pretty much straight from the box, it took to the air & flew hands free at half throttle without any trimming needed. True to Kieran's words, "it's a Parkzone, it will fly great with the CG at the back of the wing" (exagerated a little !!!). This easy flier, yet gutsy plane flew better than it's Phoenix clone and allowed a greeny like myself to perform a loop & a roll. I think more credit goes to the stability to the plane. A little imbalance of the freshly installed flaps, prompted Kieran to land it without them. On the 1st attempt, its approach into a light headwind kept it aloft longer than desired. 2nd attempt was picture perfect and a credit to both pilot and manufacturer.

"Flying might not be all plain sailing, but the fun of it is worth the price."
Amelia Earhart

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#51

Great report Wayne, glad to hear all went well.
Look forward to seeing it over the weekend.

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#52

Well done Wayne. I am sure you are chuffed.

By my maths, I reckon by Christmas you will have 40+ planes! Biggrin

Dave

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#53

Thanks guys, but I cant take all the credit, just a great plane and a great supervisor.
I certainly have started my collection in a fllurry Dave, but if you look near the end of the Parkzone Messerschmitt Bf-109G thread, you will see that I hope to stem the influx by building a balsa model from plans provided by Mick. I shouldnt need to break the boredom with retail therapy for a long time now or maybe in smaller chunks from Bunnings & HK.

"Flying might not be all plain sailing, but the fun of it is worth the price."
Amelia Earhart

E-flite Apprentice WS 1475 (the best trainer) Thumbup
Parkzone P-47D Thumbup Thunderbolt & T-28 Trojan Thumbup
E-flite Eratix 3D 25e Thumbup Thumbup
E-flite Extra 300 3D indoor flier
E-flite Rhapsody Balsa biplane - on repair bench
Super N Cheaper Edge 540. under build
SRL Extra 330 3D depron profile plane

Spektrum DX6i & DX8
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#54

I test flew my PA Extra MX this morning I've been waiting for a calm day to fly her for the first time and finally nice weather and some free time have co-incised.
I got a 5 min flight with 6S 2200's and still I have, I reckon at least 3 mins to spare before the battery low voltage alarm on the telemetry comes on. The PA Motor and ESC are super efficient and with the Vox 15X6 prop it's a very nicely matched power system. I can recommend this plane to anyone as a super fun machine to fly.
It comes with concise and clear instructions on how to put it together and the build quality of this kit is something to behold.
With the C of G positioned where P A recommends, it seems perfectly neutral in flight. Trim it to go vertically up thumbs off and it comes down vertically just the same, thumbs off, it flies a straight line where ever you point it. Even edge on there's little to no roll coupling. Just quarter roll add full opposite rudder and it stay's there with just over half throttle if you power it up more and it climes, a little elevator and it turns, magic! That really makes KE easy.
It will also fly so slow with out doing anything nasty. I think this would be a very hard plane to crash if you were treating it sensibly, it's just so forgiving to fly and it's very easy to see and orientate in the sky. It immediately inspired my confidence in it, I think it's a very capable plane and oh did I mention it's light ?? Smile
The one thing I have to do it not flair too early when landing and avoid dumping it on the strip, on the second flight I managed to do just this and loosened up the undercarriage mountings, It's nothing too major but none the less something to watch out for. Land it gently Smile

Have a great Easter !!

Jason

Many thanks to Popeyepete for taking this video



part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNkGqrisDQ4&feature=BFa&list=ULyt6aXt1KtjM&index=4

It really fly's nicely !!! and it's a fun machine too!!



“The knack of flying is learning how to throw your machine at the ground and miss.”

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your thoughts turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return."  ~Leonardo Da Vinci
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#55

Date: 7 May 11
Conditions: Ideal - almost no wind at all, excellent visibility
Aircraft: Parkzone F4F Wildcat

A month or so ago Junior, ChrisM and I bought some "airframe only" Parkzone kits from Modelflight. In this instance it was the F4F Wildcat, a 4-channel belly-lander. The plane arrives nicely boxed up and contains everything except motor, ESC, servos, receiver and battery - so all the push-rods, horns, clevises, prop-adapter, propeller, motor-mount and decals are already prepared. This was a pretty good deal for about $124.
The only question of course, was precisely which motor to put into it. I decided on the Turnigy 3530C (1100 kV) because I thought it would offer about the right amount of power transfer and because I happened to have one handy Wink Luckily, the stock propeller fits perfectly onto the motor shaft, as does the stock hub/retaining nut. It means that unless you get right up close and look through the cooling holes in the mock radial engine, you can't tell it's not the stock motor. On the bench, the motor and stock 9x6 prop drew about 18A, so that's quite manageable. The only real work that was required in the whole build was to get some 25 mm M3 bolts and nuts and use these as standoffs on the stock motor mount. Not difficult to do and not magic at all, so I didn't bother with a photograph. I completed the build (as much as it can be called that) late last night.
This morning, it was in with a 1600 mAh 3S 20C battery and a check of the control directions and throws. All sorted out there, no changes necessary. I wound it up to a little over half-throttle and got Junior to pitch it. It left us climbing perfectly steadily and straight as a die - very nice, just like the P-51D, I thought. Once it was up about 10 m or so in the climb out, I went up to full throttle and it tracked very smoothly across the sky. It has more speed and momentum than the Mustang and climbs and rolls a bit more briskly than scale. Very well-behaved though - it didn't do anything it wasn't asked to do and ripped around the sky making me look a much better pilot than I really am.
Landing was just as per the Mustang, only slightly better because a rudder is stock. It glides smoothly and is easy to settle onto the belly-pan skid.

Overall impression: It's a gem, and I'm not going to change a thing!


Attached Files Thumbnail(s)
   

Steve Murray
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#56

nice one steve i like this model Smile

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#57

For the money you've spent on it, Im thinking about doing the same thing. especially after I saw it eat up those other two Trojans in performance yesterday afternoon. You not only out manouvered them but you had a truck load more speed.
You have hit the nail on the head with the set up mate, well done.
Im thinking we can start our own Roulettes ...... on a budget.
Gazz

Parkzone Stryker 27 Evolution
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Don't ever let the fear of landing keep you from taking off!
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#58

Cheers Gazz and Kev.
Yes, there might be better power-train and prop combinations for this model somewhere, but I think I used up a month's supply of good luck getting this setup first time around and will very happily leave it at that.
Would be great if you pick one up too Gary!

Steve Murray
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#59

G'day all

Well the twinstar finally emerged from the robair hangar and had a successful maiden in its new EP powered form.
Much thanks to kieran for his technical and flying support.
I am very happy that all my careful planning building and checking resulted in a non event flight

Cheers Rob B
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#60

Love the sound of the twin engines.
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