What did you fly today?

[davegee]

Flew my B-2 Spirit and Freewing F-35A V3 today. Pretty good flights on both. Regarding the F-35, I have added some scale or other improvements on the plane:


1) From Kallend files on Thingiverse, I printed up a new afterburner "tail feathers" and removed the stock foam one. I used some various airbrush techniques to come as close as I can at this point to the real ones.
2) Also, from Kallend, on Thingiverse, he designed a good nose gear strut reinforcer that works very well.
3) Scale looking afterburner from Chris Wolfe, aka RC Geek. Very realistic at high power settings.
4) repainted the vertical tails to show markings from 33rd Fighter Wing, based out of Eglin AFB several years ago.
5) a printed grate that goes on the underneath area of the fuselage to help route intake air to the motor and avoid ingestion of FOD.
6) Have reverse thrust set up for keeping on the runway on landings.

Plane flies well, this was the 16th flight on it so far. Still getting it down how best to fly it. Stock setup, no flaps at this time.

[kallend]

[Elbee]

Grossman56

[Grossman56]

Hi guys, was up early to head for the field before the heat got oppressive. Wind stayed down and I saw Dave Gee out there as well. Got four flights in on the RV8, simply because that bright orange is about the only thing I have that will stand out against the haze we've had for the past few days. As well as the old Bearcat, using a brand new 4000 4s battery on the second flight, New motor and new battery seem to be a lethal combination
I'd post pics but a) I didn't take any and b) you're probably sick of seeing them

Grossman56

[Hugh Wiedman]

Got out yesterday with 5 aircraft and was lucky enough to get 15 flights in between the occasional drizzle and winds constantly changing. Wind was either calm (at which time I ran out and flew like my hair was on fire ) or 25-30 shifting in directions (time for a brew and cigar) as mini fronts moved through. Kept it cool though, in the mid 80's, instead of the normal mid 90's.

Each of these flies and lands completely different, so each flight kept my focus. Been a while since I flew the Spitty, what a spectacular air frame. Need more of those 1600mm Flight Line warbirds! I get 12 minutes on a SMC HiV 5900. Sweet!

[davegee]

I got out this morning before the temps Really got up there, it was close to 80 degrees F at around 8 am, and is supposed to rise to close to 100 degrees later. A few hot days like that this summer up here, to be sure.

I got my 37th and 38th successful flights on my B-2 Spirit, and my 42nd flight on my Freewing F/A-18C. It was a nice outing but I could feel the thinner air with the temp and altitude (5,000 feet) I didn't want to push things too much, especially with the thin and small winged Hornet. But it flew great, did a couple of speed runs in "afterburner" which looked cool. I have brakes that I can apply using the bind button on my DX 18, and that worked well as I landed a bit long but the brakes easily stopped it well before the end of our relatively short runway. I'm getting a little more comfortable applying the brakes without tipping a wing in doing this by oversteering the nose gear while applying the brakes.

The Spirit flies great, not too hard if you respect the weather, like winds. I generally fly in little or no wind. It is still pretty rough for takeoffs due to our runway, and it popped up like an RAF jumpjet off a carrier from one of the bumps in the runway. Not much I can do about that without resurfacing the runway, which won't happen, but with that huge wing, it is somewhat forgiving until I can build up airspeed. Still a great airplane with tremendous presence in the air for a foamie, and a nice cruiser once it's flying in the circuit around the field.

[kallend]

kallend, that is amazing. Electric? Does not matter, it is amazing. Best, LB

I have a reputation to uphold, as the weirdest member of the club.

[Elbee]

kallend, that is amazing. Electric? Does not matter, it is amazing. Best, LB

[kallend]

http://bit.ly/4eY20DC

[davegee]

Thanks for your thoughts, DCorsair. I think we are in agreement on tires and wheels. I used to fly big gassers at competitions around the country, and I don’t remember hard crappy tires on them ever. And a lot of the foamies I fly today have passable wheels and tires, but with my Flightline Corsair, FMS P-47s, and EFlite P-51s, a solution to stock tires had to be found, at least that’s how I felt about it. The Corsair wasn’t “terrible” in this regard, but landing performance and tracking definitely improved with the Robarts.

Cheers

davegee

[DCORSAIR]

I"ve been posting some work I've been doing on the E Flite P-51D and the FMS P-47D razorback models. This (Robart tires/stock wheels) is not new, it's been known at some level for years, and I have had it on my E Flite P-51 since 2021. Made a world if difference with that airplane.

I took my LOU IV P-51D out this morning and my FMS Penrod and Sam P-47D, as well. The P-47 has recently been outfitted removing the stock hard main gear wheels (identical to those used stock on the E Flite P-51D) and replacing it with the hybrid stock wheel and substituting the hard rubber tires with the softer, hollow, rubber Robart 3.5" tires. For today's test flights, I could not have asked for better results. Even though I had a bit of crosswind this morning, both airplanes tracked pretty much true to the centerline, made nearly flawless touchdowns and rollouts to a nice under-control stop straight ahead.

Funny thing, I've had these FMS P-47s for years with those hard tires on them. I didn't put it together until recently that the stock E Flite P-51 and FMS P-47 wheels are identical. I knew they were at least similar, but figured two different companies would have a different take on how they design and build their kits. It wasn't until I started having takeoff/landing problems with all these airplanes recently, that I looked into replacing the stock wheels/tires, especially on my P-47s, which had become a problem recently with some gawdawful landings and minor damage to the airplanes coming out of them.

Turns out, I think I had just developed some bad habits operating these airplanes for takeoffs, and especially landings. Bottom line is, for me: making the mods with the hybrid tires/wheels on the P-47s totally changed how they land and takeoff, as today was probably one of the most satisfying series of flights on these airplanes in a long time. I have a third FMS P-47. It is awaiting an order from Robart for these tires until I take it up again.

Cheers

Davegee

Yes, installing good tires can make a huge change on how some models handle, I have been flying for 40 yrs this year actually and have flown many giant scale and smaller scale planes as well, alway threw the junky stock tires in the trash and installed either Robart rubber tires or Dubro low bounce rubber tires or even the Dubro low bounce foam tires work great on some models, I know the Freewing EDF jets would perform better as for ground handling and such with better tires, I know a lot of guys could care less about what wheels to use but it makes a big difference, more so on giant scale warbirds which are mostly taildraggers anyway.

[davegee]

Well said, Elbee. Had E Flite and FMS used softer rubber tires like what I did with my planes, a lot of heartache and resentment from customers would not have happened. I’m glad this combination has worked so well for me and any others who have also done this mod, and the realistic performance in the field yields amazing results if flown properly.

I’m finishing up a 1/32 scale printed model of the SpaceX Dragon crew capsule. I had to order some small magnets that just arrived today that will help secure hatches for display. Callie will make a few vinyl transfers that I’ll get in a couple weeks. I’ll take some pics when I get the magnets in and email to your private email address.

Very appreciative of your helping me get up and running in 3D printing!

Davegee

[Elbee]

davegee thanks for that, Dave. It rings so true.

IMHO, all in all, the extra costs are worth it.

It is a crying shame that all of the manufacturers don't add a better tire and wheel combo to their aircraft, (some are doing better FMS's F-86 comes to mind).

I know they'll shout "But the Costs" and "our customers don't really care about those things."

I say, "Phooey".

Many of us upgrade tires and wheels (some design their own wheels and tires), so why not pay for that up front and not have an issue to start.

I can only surmise they own mass inventories of hard tires with medocre wheels.

I have been in manufacturing and there really does come a time in the life cycle of inventory to just let it go, take the hit, and make a change for the better.

Been there and done it. It sucks, but to stay competitive, sometimes it is those little things that make all the difference even at a higher price point.

Respectfully, LB

[davegee]

I"ve been posting some work I've been doing on the E Flite P-51D and the FMS P-47D razorback models. This (Robart tires/stock wheels) is not new, it's been known at some level for years, and I have had it on my E Flite P-51 since 2021. Made a world if difference with that airplane.

I took my LOU IV P-51D out this morning and my FMS Penrod and Sam P-47D, as well. The P-47 has recently been outfitted removing the stock hard main gear wheels (identical to those used stock on the E Flite P-51D) and replacing it with the hybrid stock wheel and substituting the hard rubber tires with the softer, hollow, rubber Robart 3.5" tires. For today's test flights, I could not have asked for better results. Even though I had a bit of crosswind this morning, both airplanes tracked pretty much true to the centerline, made nearly flawless touchdowns and rollouts to a nice under-control stop straight ahead.

Funny thing, I've had these FMS P-47s for years with those hard tires on them. I didn't put it together until recently that the stock E Flite P-51 and FMS P-47 wheels are identical. I knew they were at least similar, but figured two different companies would have a different take on how they design and build their kits. It wasn't until I started having takeoff/landing problems with all these airplanes recently, that I looked into replacing the stock wheels/tires, especially on my P-47s, which had become a problem recently with some gawdawful landings and minor damage to the airplanes coming out of them.

Turns out, I think I had just developed some bad habits operating these airplanes for takeoffs, and especially landings. Bottom line is, for me: making the mods with the hybrid tires/wheels on the P-47s totally changed how they land and takeoff, as today was probably one of the most satisfying series of flights on these airplanes in a long time. I have a third FMS P-47. It is awaiting an order from Robart for these tires until I take it up again.

Cheers

Davegee

[Reptielenfreak]

The f22 90mm raptor, no wind so it was amazing.

[Grossman56]

Yeah, not bad for 8 years old. She's been to Muncie twice, several times down to Riverton, she's my gal!!
In case anyone missed it, I changed out the stock motors for 760kv's, they take a different motor mount so there's a bit of drilling to be done and you need adaptors for the motor /ESC connection. The good news is that the stock ESC's work fine. Also, I'm using the FL B25 prop system on her. Replaced the stock prop shaft with the B25's. And again, the good news is that the prop blades are the same, the difference is the reinforcement and the method of securing the prop onto the prop shaft, much much better method


As you can see, better screws to mount the prop on the spinner and an aluminum prop lock. No the only thing that little screw that goes through the center of the spinner does is hold the front part of the spinner on.

Grossman56

[Elbee]

Grossman56, Boy Howdy, that is a good-lookin' airframe. Great debrief, too. Best, LB

[Grossman56]

Slowly but surely, I'm getting the Tigercat back to her old self and actually, better! Got a good flight on her this morning after replacing one nacelle that had a loose motor mount. I'd repaired it and kept it for a spare and after the crash, I reinstalled it. Unfortunately, it just couldn't hack it, so ... Last flight a while ago, I landed rather hard due to a low flying idiot in a full scale. One main didn't like it, so I repaired the retract with some spare parts I had, but it hit a 'divot' in the runway on the second flight and popped off the arm in the servo itself. So now I'm airborne with a faulty retract. Full flaps and gear down. I've got three wheels, so maybe I'll be lucky. One of the great things about the Tigercat is that with full flaps, she'll crawl. Touched down and the gear folded on the damaged side but stopped within three feet. The result, some scraping on the gear door and some chewing on the prop, minor stuff. I snapped the strut back on the retract trunion (feels like a good pop when you snap your back), taxied her over some rough spots and she folded again. So, I have a new servo on order.
Hopefully, this will be the last thing I have to do for awhile.
Good news is she flew absolutely great on the first flight, so I can live with a small amount of work.


Grossman56

[kallend]

Fun to fly! Check out this 2nd flight on my first Autogyro!!

Flew mine today in a pretty good gusty wind, and it handled it just fine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B98oQZXpmik&ab_channel=JohnKallend

They're on sale right now. It's a lot of fun for the $$

[davegee]

I took my new Freewing F-35 out to the field this morning. I first flew my "weathership" Beech 18. Winds were much less than ideal but it was a good workout for takeoffs and landings on an airplane that can handle them.

I did a bunch of ground tests on the F-35 like taxi tests, high speed taxi down the runway and then trying the new (for me) reverse thrust system, range checks, and the like. I was leaning towards stopping after those were completed, but then the wind died down some. Probably more than I should have tackled for a maiden of this little jet, but first one went ok, despite the winds. Got it back down safely although less than an impressive touchdown and rollout due to the winds which were probably more than it can really handle, at least while I'm at the sticks!

I took it up for a second flight when the winds died down again, but of course once I was aloft. they came up with a right 90 degree angle at about 10 knots, and very gusty. I was able to get it on the ground ok, actually better than the first landing, but as it slowed down to a stop, I momentarily scraped the front underneath parts of each wingtip. These parts are plastic, and easily sanded and repainted so you won't see them.

I did have one "Homer moment" as I was trying to get somewhat proficient trying to get the reverse thrust activated to help slow it down to a stop on landings. My backup radio that I'm using right now is a DX 9, as my DX18 is in the shop in Illinois getting the roller switch replace that went bad.

I had the B switch set up as the forward/reverse control for the motor. So, I have it set up so if you push it forward away from you, you are in forward thrust. If you flip it towards you, the reverse thrust is armed and you can add reverse power by advancing the throttle stick. Well, while testing this at very low speed I accidently flipped the "GEAR UP" switch behind it and the gear retracted on the rough runway. DOH!! Just very minor foam scraping easily fixed on the bottom of the fuse, but probably a classic human factors issue with having two different switches in proximity to each other that can cause major problems if you mess it up. I think more training on my part will help correct the problem, hopefully.

I can't really give a good analysis of the flight performance of the airplane today due to the winds. I was really fighting them and this was probably more than this little plane was ever designed to handle.

But it did fly fairly well despite those challenges, and I will always fly this plane in much calmer conditions in the future. It is a pretty cool plane, and I think next week or afterwards, I'll be able to put on a bunch of flights to get a better read on where the settings should be. I took the dual rates and expo values for the control surfaces from a guy on the internet who calls himself: FAT GUY FLIES RC. He had some good ideas on how to fly this airplane, and I thought this was a good start for me. He wasn't far off and I think I can keep them fairly close to what he has and it will fly great.

Cheers

Davegee

I just got back from the field for a couple more test flights of my new Freewing F-35 70mm plane. Was windy and some rain storms throughout the day but this evening it was fairly calm and I got a couple good flights in to get a better feel for this little aircraft. Takeoffs were fine, although it is hard to nail down a fairly straight takeoff run, partially due to the conditions of the runway, but also I probably need to dial down the steering a bit to find a happy medium. But overall, not a big deal.

This 70mm motor is pretty peppy (even at 5,000' MSL Field Elevation at 72 degrees F) and the light airplane weight helps it really speed through the air. It is always in control, but you still have to stay on top of it (I'm using low control rates per Fat Guy Flies RC videos), especially at high power settings. For landings, the first landing I apparently had a tailwind, even though our wind sock didn't show it. But the plane sailed pretty far down the runway before touchdown and I didn't have time to activate the reverse thrust for braking. It stopped prior to the end of the runway, but this plane is a bit "tippy" due to the narrow wheel base, and it dragged the right wingtip for a second or two before uprighting itself and slowing to a stop. Very minor damage that wingtip which is plastic, and has already been repaired for the next flight.

For the second flight I took off the opposite direction, sensing there was a tailwind going the other way. Airplane flew better off the runway and for landing, with a small headwind I was able to reduce the power a lot more than I had on the first landing, and it settled into a nice high alpha attitude for landing. This time, although I didn't really need to, I was able to get the reverse thrust going to learn that a bit more, especially if the plane lands long again!

All in all, this is a nice little airplane. I'm not expecting much out of it, mainly to be my "weather ship" to fly and warm up before flying my jets like the F-15, F-18C, and B-2 Spirit. I will probably add an afterburner light display for fun at a later time. I think the reverse thrust will work fine for this airplane instead of adding wheel brakes like I have on the other jets. It's a pretty simple airplane, with at this writing, no flaps, flaperons, or tailerons. I might do some tests adding some of those down the road.

I'm going to repaint the stock scheme a bit, painting out the blue vertical tails to the dark grey fuselage color, and Callie is making me some decals to put on them from a squadron that flies out of Eglin AFB, FL. A good friend of mine used to fly in the AF out of Eglin for a while, in F-15Cs. In fact, he told me that he actually flew the real plane that the Freewing F-15 replicates in its markings and paint job. He really loved the F-15, flew it most of his career until he retired several years ago. I'll attach a drawing of how the new tails will look when Callie gets the artwork back to me.

Cheers

Davegee