What did you fly today?

[RRHandy]

Nice flying.

[Oxotnik]

Around lunchtime today, I was actually being productive at my desk, when I checked email and read the winds were low and friends were headed to the field. My workday abruptly ended and I tossed a few batteries and a couple planes in the Tahoe and I headed to the field. Flew the FlightLine P-38 twice, Freewing FW-190 (V1) thrice, Durafly Das Ugly Stik five times (I think), UMX Hoglet once, and flew a new club member's Timber a few times to trim it and get good flap/elevator mixes. Then, I went home and assembled my Freewing F-86 (80mm Jolly Roger). Gonna maiden the F-86 tomorrow. Wish me luck.

[Shirty]

Good luck! :)

[F106DeltaDart]

Around lunchtime today, I was actually being productive at my desk, when I checked email and read the winds were low and friends were headed to the field. My workday abruptly ended and I tossed a few batteries and a couple planes in the Tahoe and I headed to the field. Flew the FlightLine P-38 twice, Freewing FW-190 (V1) thrice, Durafly Das Ugly Stik five times (I think), UMX Hoglet once, and flew a new club member's Timber a few times to trim it and get good flap/elevator mixes. Then, I went home and assembled my Freewing F-86 (80mm Jolly Roger). Gonna maiden the F-86 tomorrow. Wish me luck.

Good luck! Be sure to dial in some elevator up trim before the maiden as well, the elevator should be just a few mm above the flat part in the tail.

[Oxotnik]

Thanks! I had my elevator even with the flat. Will adjust it. Is that just for take off, or the whole flight?

[F106DeltaDart]

Thanks! I had my elevator even with the flat. Will adjust it. Is that just for take off, or the whole flight?

It is for the entire flight. Good luck!

[Shirty]

Just curious, whys that 106? I don't have this bird though a mate does, is it just to do with the dihedral of the tail? Or a little incidence? I'm a fan of the sabre I wouldn't have thought the design would need it. Cheers

[Beeg]

I think it has to do with the book CG being so far forward. If you do a search in the RCG thread for the "tail sit test" you will see that this plane flys much better with a much further aft CG than what is called for in the book. Even with my big batteries shoved aft I still cannot get to the (200mm, I think?) point without adding weight to the tail. "HondaJet" at RCG posted a piece about the CG on this plane.

[Beeg]

Here's a post by "HondaJet" but there are many with drawings and details in this extensive thread.

[OV10]

Just curious, whys that 106? I don't have this bird though a mate does, is it just to do with the dihedral of the tail? Or a little incidence? I'm a fan of the sabre I wouldn't have thought the design would need it. Cheers

Shirty,
No dihedral or incidence issue.
It's a weight shift restriction for the battery not being able to physically moving far enough aft.
There is the same issue with the FL P-38 thus the 4mm up elevator per the manual as "neutral" trim setup.

[Shirty]

Cheers boys. As I said don't know much about this model but I do like it. Might be a stupid question but what's the standard batt most are using for about what flight times? Is dropping the mah a option? Not that it's a issue, I've looked at a lot of vids of this bird and she looks like a pretty sweet flyer. I haven't noticed any excessive corckscrew in a aileron roll so I'm guessing this tiny bit of up elevator doesn't really affect its handling, except maybe a little more stick pressure to hold it nverted I'd guess? My mates looks great, though he doesn't bring it much to the field as he gets a bit nervous with it as he's relatively new to edf's, so I haven't seen much of it in the flesh. This ones another in my "planes I'd like to own soon list".

[Oxotnik]

I'm very wary of driving my CG too far back for my maiden flight. I don't want to have to deal with a squirrelly plane, in addition to potentially being way out of trim. If I fly it with the CG in the manufacturer's prescribed box, should I expect any serious problems?

Also, where did you all mount your RX? With the servo wires coming from forward and aft, I'l very limited on mounting locations. I mounted it on the ridge, just aft of the ESC. That location worries me a bit because it's so close to the ESC and motor wires running to the fan. I'm running a diversity receiver, but both antennae are still close to other EMI sources. I guess that should dig out some servo extensions and find a better location.

[Shirty]

I'd agree ox. I ALWAYS err on the side of a little nose heavy for maiden. I find I can land a little better as it helps to give you a steady decent rate when I'm learning a new plane. After maiden I'll make adjustments as I feel necessary to get it a bit more near neutral. A good idea for maidens (even if your good with your radio), is have a mate with you to help on trims if needed. Only reason is if it turns out way heavy in either direction, it may be all you can do to hold onto it so a extra set of hands can help if the cg or something is drastically wrong. Ask me how I know... lol. ;)

[Beeg]

Don't worry about getting too far aft without taking extra measures. Even with the battery as far aft as you can go and mounting your Rx on the clear above the fan intake (where I mounted mine) you won't be anywhere near the aft limit. At least not on any stocks version I've heard of.
Dont over think it. Just arrange everything aft, charge your batteries and go have fun!

[Oxotnik]

Shirty, I agree with you completely about having a friend/mentor standing beside for maiden flights (unless it's an simple, low-cost plane). I've been bailed out several times when I couldn't release a stick long enough to click in some trim. Plus, I like having a really experienced flyer standing next to me, to help talk me out of tough situations and/or to remind me to 'keep your speed up on the turn onto base'. My club is great for that kind of help.

[Beeg]

Here, I went and snapped a quick pic of my receiver placement. I little further aft than what I stated previous.

[Beeg]

If you're not familiar with RC Groups thread tools.

Log in.
Go to the thread.
Select "thread tools"
Scroll down to "Show attachments in this thread"

You will find a multitude of photos of how various people have configured their bay on this model.

[F106DeltaDart]

Don't worry about getting too far aft without taking extra measures. Even with the battery as far aft as you can go and mounting your Rx on the clear above the fan intake (where I mounted mine) you won't be anywhere near the aft limit. At least not on any stocks version I've heard of.
Dont over think it. Just arrange everything aft, charge your batteries and go have fun!

Stated perfectly. Even with the CG as far back as you can get it, it still flies excellent. The only difference is how long it takes to rotate on takeoff. The rotation and climb out will be much easier towards the aft end of the CG envelope.

[Oxotnik]

Successful flights of the F-86. The video below is a composit of the three flights. The second flight had a beautiful landing. The gear pulled out of the mount on the third landing. I'm not sure if I had adverse yaw at touchdown or if I hit a hole. The gear housing simply pulled out of the foam well (as is common on Freewing and other manufacturers, the gear well was bonded onto painted foam. So, the paint released. It'll be a 5-minute fix to bond the gear back into the wing.

I've read your comments about the CG's affect on the rotation. It took me forever to get the plane off the ground, into a stiff (10-15 knot) headwind. I will definitely look at ways to move the CG aft. This is my first 'real' EDF. What I noticed most (compared to prop planes) is that the takeoff run is long, the climbout is very slow, and turns are very wide (as highlighted by myoh-**** moment when the F-86 dropped behind some tress on my maiden approach and landing).

As everyone has said, I love the F-86. It's an awesome plane!!

This video is a dogfight between my EFlite P-47 and a Wildcat. It was primarily a turning battle. I was much faster than the Wildcat, but he was much more nimble. This is my favorite type of flying, by far!

The death of my EFlite P-47. I was attempting to engage another EA. I banked hard left, at high speed and high g. For unknown reasons, the P-47 over rotated and went straight down into the ground. Despite valiant efforts by the pilot to pull the nose up, the efforts were for naught. The camera survived (obviously) and I may be able to salvage a few components, but the P-47 is dead, dead, dead. I have flown her hard, have thoroughly enjoyed her, and have definitely gotten my money's worth.

[Aros]

Ah the good and the ugly of the hobby. Sorry for your loss Oxotnik!

I had a little adventure of my own today. Took my Volantex ASW 28 out for a lazy thermal flight on a nice day. I forgot to adjust my battery forward when I added my Mobius to the tail. The results are predictable. I fought her valiantly to no avail. The Tree Gods needed a sacrificial lamb and my ASW 28 was just the ticket. My good buddy came out and climbed the dang tree and got her down! Unbelievable. Man, nothing beats a good friend!