[gbanger]

A lttle tip Wayne, make sure you put a lock nut at both ends of the rods against each of the clevises

[Flying fisho]

I am going to run this on 8s with an 18 x 10 prop at this stage. Even that will make this a vertical climbing monster.
Thanks again for the tip Gazz. The purchased clevices had nuts included & I had already installed them as locknuts.

[wingtipper]

mate 8S will be spinning that prop at around 8500 rpm .
my one on 12S WILL BE DOING ALSO 8500 RPM , 8S is a lot lighter than 12s but the 12 s will spin a 21 x10 . i think like you say 8s will be a screamer , and you still have 10s as an option
by the way where are the pics wayne , hope i get to see this one , i missed your MX2 .

[Flying fisho]

Haven't really done much work on the MXS-R. A few frustrations in that aileron pushrods were too long & wheel axles missing from the kit (many thanks to Hobs in the Hills for rectifying that prob, an advantage for buying local). Also snapped the undercarriage off the Eratix last Saturday and have spent available time in it's repair.
Am going to test a few props on this, initially an 18x10, also have a 17x10.
Havent been able to use ecalc site of recent, so is gueswork from me, will post results after static test.

[secant0give]

Make sure you have it well secured, these mighty electric setups can really pull!!, and what might happen if it gets away doesn't bear thinking about.

One easy way is to drive a couple of pegs in the lawn with a bit of armaflex wrapped around them. "Armaflex" is that black spoungy lagging they use to insulate pipes. Just give me a yell if you need some I've got a box full of short peices. This is the usual practice for starting, running, tuning, glow engines

[wingtipper]

I use a foam tube that kids use as floats in pools . $5 at 2nds world. Or 2 dollar shop , they are hollow , cut and slice and they fit over leading edges for hanging testing etc

[wingtipper]

UPDATES ???

[Flying fisho]

No work on this for a while, repairs on Eratix then 1500km of driving. Back home Thursday night

[Flying fisho]

This build has been painfully slow for me. Am down to the nitty gritties of its power train & associated electrics. My understanding of the section is limited & is puzzling me.

Have made connector for 2 batteries in series as follows:
Red lead from speedie to male terminal of first bullet connector.
Black lead from speedie to female terminal of second bullet connector.
A separate short lead from female terminal of first bullet to male terminal of second.

So far so good I believe but now comes the puzzling section, the separate BEC.
Positioning of 3rd battery, BEC not yet finalised as is dependant on COG.
Zippy compact 1300mAh 2s battery connected to switch input. Switch output connected to BEC input. I have red & black pair of wires from BEC output that I presume goes to Aux in receiver.
Will not be using Y-lead for ailerons and presume second aileron lead will also go to receiver.
Am I on the right track so far? If so will need some help setting up transmitter for all of this new stuff I have not touched on before.

Comments & assistance welcomed

[gbanger]

See me down at the field on the weekend mate and I will go through it all with you. The second lead fron your ailerons goes into Aux 1 on your reciever. The general rule of thumb is the right aileron plugs into Aileron and the left aileron plugs into Aux 1. Your radio will designate Aux 1 as the second Aileron channel automatically when you select dual aileron during setup.

[Flying fisho]

Thank Gazz, at this stage can you also please confirm I am correct with BEC connection to RX

[chook]

what time will the gates open today

[smuzz]

It was a ballsy effort by the Flying Fisho today - maidened this machine and all went well. Congratulations Wayne!

[Flying fisho]

Final finishing setup before cherry flight.
I chose this switch/ampmeter wired up between BEC & it's separate battery.
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store...ispay.html
There was a cutout in the fuse sizeable enough for this switch and I utilised it accordingly. Oops it protruded into the fuse & prevented the canopy dropping into place
   
Cut out into the canopy to overcome this & tried to push it into place & it was stopped short by the rudder & elevator servo's. Cut 10mm off the base of the canopy & bingo.
   
At PEMAC today tried to bolt wings on for first time and fuse holes were out of alignment sufficent to make the bolts too tight to turn. Fortunatley my habit of bringing my workshop to the field provided the necessary files to open the holes & attach the wings. A few more wiring questions to Gazz & it was ready for a maiden.
Set dual rates up at 50%, 70% & 90% & chose low rates for maiden. Eased the throttle and it accelerated to take off speed in under 10 metres & about 2/3 throttle. A gentle climb into the air, circled & levelled for trim check. Initially trimmed some right aileron & later left trimmed bringing it back to zero, Cross wind gave false initial impression. A little up elevator trim needed and it was flying as if on rails. Took 3 attempts at landing with instructions coming from the ever willing & capable Gazza. Undercarriage withstood the light bounces from this near 5kg monster.
Second flight I tried a few aerobatics with medium & then high rates. Decided to try a practice approach & reduced rates to medium (intending low) and promptly lost the plot through stress levels & lack of top & bottom colour contrast. Got within under 10 metres from the ground before utilising ample grunt to climb vertically but I was still disorientated. Mericfully & gratefully Gazz took the reins & brought it in for a much better landing than my earlier landing and certainly better than it's impending touchdown on the land.
Again many thanks for your assistance Gazza.
Overall rating 9.5/10 for this Seagull beautiful beast. The top of the wings will have a colour uplift & I am sure the rating will then be 10/10

[secant0give]

Nice one Wayne !!
Glad to hear the test flight went well and that your Happy with the new machine

I look forward to seeing it in the air !!

[Flying fisho]

Thanks Jason, would have been nice to have you there for it's maiden seeing as you had a hand in choosing it's power train. Am going to restrict it to PEMAC for a while until I get used to landing the sucker a bit earlier on the strip. Am also thinking of intruducing flaperons or spoilerons to assist in slowing it up after final turn.

[secant0give]

I'd be inclined to go for spoilerons over flapperons. ie raise both ailerons rather than lowering them. It will be much easier to control with ailerons raised and likely be rather tip stally with them lowered.
By all means try them both ways but set it up so you can turn it off easily and try it out nice and high to start with.

With a little more experience with that particular plane and the building confidence that will bring, I'm certain you'll land it easily enough every time with out any mixing of the ailerons. It's just practice, do a couple of flights of just approaches and touches and goes and you'll find it all falls into place quite quickly. A new plane always takes a bit of getting used too.

[wingtipper]

Top stuff Wayne . Well done , love that elevator double setup . Was that a kit design or you customising touch ?

[Flying fisho]

Thanks Frank but not too sure about "well done" unless you mean how my brain was fried during my last landing attempt. I would love to say it was my customisation, but I struggled enough with the improvisations I have mentioned in this thread, let alone come up with Seagull's clever elevator control design on my own.
Thanks Smuzz, I initially missed your post as it arrived whilst I was composing my own. Very flattering but you forgot about where all didn't go so well, a bit of a setback on my already diminished confidence that will take some recovery.
Have been mulling over the suggested extra yellow on the top of the wing and have decided they will be better placed on the bottom together with a tapering stripe on the bottom of the fuse where they will be my visual verification of right way up. I also have a black SEAGULL sticker going on wing top. Lots more stickers provided that will further decorate this classy looking model. Gazz can you remind me on here what you suggested be sprayed onto the model to assist in getting the stickers on without bubbles.

[gbanger]

Just use a spray bottle with tap water in it and 4 or 5 drops of dishwashing liquid. Set the nozzle to mist and only just wet the surface before applying the sticker, it will help you position it properly and then you can squeegy out any air bubbles. Leave it for about 2 hours before flying to allow the glue to dry.

[secant0give]

Good tip Gazz, I'll try that next time I add some stickers !!

[Flying fisho]

Although last Sunday's flights at Penrith were the official maidens of this beast, it's flights at McCoy I feel are more significant because of it's restricted runway length & approach space.
Taking off is easy because of ample grunt without any torque roll whatsoever, simply accelerates at 3/4 throttle into the air like it owns the airspace.
Kept the plane on low rates (50%) which still allowed fast rolls and ample manoeuverabilty.
Then came the landings and the importance of correct approaches, which sadly I am still lacking in skill. My first attempted landing (Saturday) I came in from too high & fast, so hit the throttle & aborted for another attempt. A little less aggressive than the first but managed to drop it onto terra firma just past the pilot box but unable to stop before it hit the long grass below the trees (thankfully no damage).
Second flight after calming shattered nerves and ended with a less than pretty landing. Depth perception all out of whack with a big plane and nearly put it into the reeds beside the Grace end of the runway. Startled by its position I lost the elevator plot and the wheels & cowl dug into the soft ground & did a foreward tumble onto its roof. Again no damage except for a cowl full of mud & grass. So much for an uneventful Saturday.
Not wanting to attempt a left to right landing I waited most of today for the wind to come from the forecasted direction and only had one MXSR flight for the day. Earlier I walked onto the runway mentally preparing a better approach than yesterday and am happy to say it paid off. Didn't quite perfect the feathering onto the ground and had a little bounce on landing, but it stopped about 3/4 of the way down the strip & taxied back to the taxiway beside the pilot box.
Many thanks for assistance from Gazz & John Hale for being there to support me.

[Raptorfly]

Well done Wayne, she is a beast of a plane. Love the look and you set it beautiful to fly.

[wingtipper]

thanks for the update Wayne . Very glad you are giving Mckoy a go with this beast . it's always nice to have a couple of instructors standing beside you when your on edge . i find it helps having someone talk you through it .
loving this thread , i'll be following in your footsteps with a plane of this size very shortly . i'm fortunate to watch someone else go through trials and tribulations 1st though

[secant0give]

Good stuff Wayne !!
Sounds like your getting used to it
Do a few touch and goes with it at the start of each flight
And practice doing S turns to wash off a little speed on the approaches if your coming in too hot
S turns are handy to have in your bag of tricks to knock the edge of a fast approach

[Flying fisho]

5 "S" turns eh , looks like it is SIM time again. Upgraded Phoenix to V4.0.p and found a 3.3m 17.3kg Piper Pawnee monster that strangely mimics the MXSR's performance on our field. So looks like I practice "S" turns before the real things goes down the "S" bend

[Flying fisho]

Missing info finally posted. Actual flying weight 5.3kg. In living up to manufacturers habits, it has exceeded specified weight by 10%. Specs stated should be up to 4.8kg. Good things to remember when purchasing power train according to manufacturers specs.

[wingtipper]

is that with batteries and all WAYNE ?

[Flying fisho]

Specs & actual, both flying weight incl batteries

[gbanger]

Hey Wayne
I know you loved your MXS-R but it was probably just a little to heavy and that is a big problem when you are trying to take small steps to flying bigger aircraft. I also know that you were pretty dissapointed when you found out that Seagull had discontinued manufacturing said beastie.........
well never fear..........
at great expense to myself (not really) I have found a replacement for you.
You said you wanted a bigger airframe.................. well check this sucker out......... I am thinking about this one as my next big beastie but a little further down the track...... DON'T THINK ITS McKOY MATERIAL THOUGH.......You could fly it there... George would... but I wouldn't.
The ony drama is that it will need to be powered by a minimum of 12S........... yep thats what I said 12S

http://www.peakmodel.com/index.php?main_...oduct_info&cPath=1_97&products_id=1060

Now that's what I'm talkin' bout.........................