All Us intermediate pilots, Lets Share

[Grossman56]

Yeah, I was thinking that too, I loved to be able to put that personal touch under my name as well. Maybe that will come back, I know that its going to take time to get everything up and running. I really miss the CP personally and the Buddy List.

Grossman56

[Grossman56]

Hey OV, I added 'eh' to my title. go into your profile and hit user settings, you'll se where it says Decorated pilot or whatever, you can add a few syllables if you want

[OV10]

Gman,
THANX.......... Was all over the User Settings and if that first category "User Title" was a rattler I'd be dead !!!! You can wipe out the default and put whatever you desire and uncheck the "set to default" box over on the right. So it never went away, we just had to be smart enough to find it.
Good to go buddy, so now put your personal touch in as you said above!! When you try to save it wants you to add your B-day, no fear...... just do it and then in the drop down box below it select "hide age and date of birth" if you don't want others to know how crusty ya are :eek:.

[Grossman56]

Comes a point in life when its not so much the age as the mileage!!
I still feel like I'm under warranty!!

Grossman56

[farmflyer]

Comes a point in life when its not so much the age as the mileage!!
I still feel like I'm under warranty!!

Grossman56

Gman wish that were true cause I got a few things I'd like to make a warranty claim on😜

[Grossman56]

HAAARRR!!!

[Grossman56]

Well, the weather is sure shaping up out here in wonderful Wyoming, up to 60 today!!
So, hopefully, tomorrow, Saturday, will be the same and I can finally get back in the air again.
Got a new motor in the Waco and did some touch ups on the wing tips, put a new set of landing gear on her as well and CA'd those pesky pants onto the fuselage, hopefully that'll solve the problem. Checked the CG for the umpteenth time and its fine, funny that on the instructions it call for 85mm, but when you measure it, 85mm is on the rear of the center tank on the top wing, a lot further back than the drawing implies. So, soon to do battle with her once again, I'm still not 100% sure of the motor mount, even though I've run braces through the foam and glued it with every glue known to man, we'll see.
Going into my third year of flying and having no trouble flying the Mustangs and the Pitts, its this little RocHobby Waco that I still don't feel like I've really mastered!! Go figure!!
Last year, I managed to get a gyro into her which helped a bit but she's still the Wacky Waco, but I look at it like this, If I can fly this dang thing, I can fly anything.
BTW, no She's not going with me on my first day of flight, call me chicken!!!!

Grossman56

[OV10]

Hello Gman,
I've got the Dynam Waco and it is a joy to blast holes on the clouds with. If you ever somehow mangle that RocH Waco, do yourself a favor and replace it with Dynam.
A 50 vs 40 span and 4S power which I know you have because your Stang and Warhawk batts will fit in. I've been using 4000mAh 4S in my Waco which is what I use in damn near all my 1/8 scale warbirds. Or don't wait and just add another larger Waco to your fleet and you won't need a gyro to fly it!!!
Best regards,

[Grossman56]

That's my plan, I wouldn't buy another Roc Hobby Waco when I can get the Dynam Waco in a bigger scale. Half the problem out here is the wind, the little airplanes just don't cut it when the gusts hit.

Grossman56

[Konrad]

That's my plan, I wouldn't buy another Roc Hobby Waco when I can get the Dynam Waco in a bigger scale. Half the problem out here is the wind, the little airplanes just don't cut it when the gusts hit.

Grossman56

Have you tried gyro assisted flight on all three axises like the AS3X system?

I for one was very reluctant to use gyros in my planes (I thought it was cheating somehow). But now that it takes me well over an hour to get to my flying fields (too much development) I hate to have my flying day cut short as a result of wind. My dumb thumbs do this far too effectively as it is. Steady wind isn't too much of an issues, it is those gusts! Gyros have been real effective addressing the wind gusts. Now the gyro won't address other controllability issue like wheel pants, too far an aft CofG, warped wings or control slop.

Now I have to admit that a gyro equipped plane does fly a bit different. Like the inertia in rolls seems to disappear. No need for opposite aileron inputs on your point rolls.

Now the other half of the problem with smaller models is visibility. I find that with foam EPS model they are often very light so they can fly fine at slower speeds. This means that you can fly them in close (easier to see anything up closer) and still get the same feel as the larger ships when thinking about degrees of motion per second.
This model demonstrates this very well, and it's a bi-plane!
http://www.motionrc.com/e-flite-viki...-wingspan-bnf/

All the best,
Konrad

[Grossman56]

I have an A3L in all my airplanes with the exception of the Apprentice and the Supercub which have AS3X. The Waco is better with it and really, I've had a lot of success with it, the biggest problem, in my opinion, is the wheel pants, or should I say the strut pants. They have a nasty habit of moving while in flight and causing all kinds of weird things. I've tried several mod in hopes of getting them to stay in place, this time, I CA's them on and we'll see. The biggest problem in Wyoming is the gusts. Also had a problem with the cabane points coming loose so they are all glued back in place as well

[Grossman56]

Anyway, just got back from a brief trip to the ol' flying field. Beautiful day, but the wind was a bit too gusty. Flew a few circuits with P-2 and made sure the new gyro was working (I put an A3 in her so if Diane decides to try her out, there's a sort of panic button available)
She flew ok, but just dragged along while into the wind and took off like a bat out of hell on the down wind leg. Anyway, first flight of the year was successful, brought her around and did a near vertical landing, which is always fun, then quit while I was ahead. Not so much the wind as the fact that she really doesn't have enough power to fight her way in strong winds. P-1 has the old Waco motor in her (3536 kv 850 as opposed to the stock motor 3536 kv 800) so she's marginally better (both have FMS50A ESC's in them) I would recommend that if you're swapping out your Pandora motors, this might be an option if you want one that "Goes to eleven" to quote Spinal Tap.
PS, RocHobby has a MXS 3536-1250kv motor as well, which I haven't tried, but may be a even better investment, just a thought.

Grossman56

[Konrad]

KEEP YOUR PANTS ON!

Wheel pants have a bad reputation for giving you nothing but trouble. This reputation is second only to the carburetor for trouble (that's why we fly electric). The reputation is really not deserved. The problem with wheel pants isn’t the pants but the way they are mounted to the landing gear. Most instructions show something like Figure 1. This is basically a single point mount (cantilevered). This allows the whole pant to flex (Figure 2) do to landing shock, engine vibration and small obstacles on the runway. To solve this a second mount is placed on the other side of the wheel see Figure 3.

[doctormike]

I don't have trouble with wheel pants...never have. Do they get a bad rap for a convenient excuse? Doc

[Konrad]

I have to ask do you have any wheel pants?

They are a real source of ground handling issues. Usually they are fouled with dirt and grass. They are also a maintenance issue as they break their mounts at the slightest encouragement.

Changing to a mounting system that supports the pant on both sides of the axle alleviates a lot of this and also eliminates the pant itself from being a wheel brake (like in Fig.2) which often results in a ground loop.

[fhhuber]

There are a few ways to mount the wheel pants that work well... Its just hard to find good illustrations of the ways that are reliable.

I like a combination mount that uses short tubes to trap the axle at both sides of the pant (no wheel collar needed) and then either a strap or bolts to affix the pant to the strut. Dural gear get the bolt, wire gets the strap. 3 points of support but only the bolt/strap prevents rotation on the axle.

[Konrad]

Are you suggesting that I redraw the figures, or render them at a higher resolution?;) The Dubro, Sig, etc., provide the means to mount the pant from the inside with little to distract the eye from the outside. This is the anti rotation feature most use. Most attachment schemes do not address the failure modes as a result of the cantilever mounting.

For wire mounts I like to add a vertical component to act as an anti rotation feature this is assuming that the strut exits the pant near the top of the wheel pant.

[Grossman56]

Speaking of pants, I'd love to get some for the Pandoras, does anyone know where or who to go to to buy them?

Grossman56

[Konrad]

What size are the wheels?
Sig, Great Planes, and Horizion Hobbies all sell pants. With the abuse they take I'd like to see you go with those made of fiberglass. ABS is fine but fiberglass is better. IMHO!

[Grossman56]

What I was referring to though, and tried to find the proper name, was the triangular plastic piece that mounts between the wheel pant and the fuselage as seen here in one of the more rare times she kept them on. What I ended up doing with the new set is CA'ing the top of them to the fuselage, they sort of 'snap' into the pants, but its not a great system at all. With the Pitts, its hinged and a permanent part of the landing gear from the factory, better method.



Grossman56