What did you fly today?

[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

[Elbee]

paulrkytek, Looks as if you had a glorious day. Great tribute. Best, LB

[paulrkytek]

Armed forces day yesterday at Pontefract Park so the club had a meet and greet the public stand. Spot the 5 planes I displayed

[Hugh Wiedman]

Hugh Wiedman, Does your Jet Jam come with Plane Peanut Butter? Best, LB

No, not plane but Crunchy, to match my landings.

[Elbee]

Hugh Wiedman, Does your Jet Jam come with Plane Peanut Butter? Best, LB

[Hugh Wiedman]

Had my own personal EDF Jet Jam yesterday. 8S F4, F16 and Euro and 6S Mig and F18. All SMC HiV powered. Winds a little funky, gusting and switching into crosswinds at inopportune times, but anytime I get out to fly is a good day.

[f4u ausie]

Its still in 1 peice,, all that matters ,,, it is fast., but i agree the smaller 70mm s prefer light winds,,.. no fly tmorrow morn 4 me(sunday) wet cold crappy and all else i can think of... but to b fair, its been a good winter so far, b safe have fun to all

[davegee]

Good Job Davegee., I always suffer the pucker power on first flights in calm wind. Can't imagine trying in gusty wind. My hat is off to you. Nice looking model

Best Regards, Rex

I think the jury is still out for me and this plane, Rex, but I'm really looking forward to flying it in calm or low wind conditions to see how it goes. We have serious runway problems with bumps, dips, fissures, etc., and it makes for a wild ride down the runway with a jet that takes up most of the runway to get airborne. Not so much a problem with the prop planes that I have which have much bigger wheels than the jets and a much shorter takeoff roll, which helps.

I'll report back when I'm able to do some more test flights on it. I was fairly satisfied with CG location and performance even with all the wind. I don't see a big problem getting this 70mm jet tamed somewhat to being a good flyer. We'll see...

Cheers

Dave

[jetfool]

Good Job Davegee., I always suffer the pucker power on first flights in calm wind. Can't imagine trying in gusty wind. My hat is off to you. Nice looking model

Best Regards, Rex

[davegee]

will do, f4u aussie! Planning on sometime next week, weather permitting.

Cheers

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

[davegee]

Hi dave b sure to let us in on the f35 maiden ,, u always keep us informed.... anyway i had one when first released,, (my second edf).. found it to be a scally wag ( trouble) great looking little 70 never the less b safe hav fun.

will do, f4u aussie! Planning on sometime next week, weather permitting.

Cheers

davegee

[davegee]

Thanks, Hugh. Did some taxi and range checks with it at my house yesterday. I think I have the reverse thrust set up properly, and will practice some runs on the street outside our house today. Never done reverse thrust before on a plane weighing less than 100,000 pounds!

i’ve read and seen videos it can be pretty squirrely with book rates, so for now I have for high rates on my transmitter the Low rates posted in the setup manual. Then the rates go down proportionally from there to the other switch settings. I just don’t want to fly like a drill bit right out the chute on the maiden.

Will report back results of first flight tests when I do them.

cheers

Davegee

[f4u ausie]

Hi dave b sure to let us in on the f35 maiden ,, u always keep us informed.... anyway i had one when first released,, (my second edf).. found it to be a scally wag ( trouble) great looking little 70 never the less b safe hav fun.

[davegee]

Dave,
Not necessarily off topic, anything that improves our flying experience is right on.

Speaking of SMC, got out yesterday with a couple I rarely fly, but with SMC packs they fly great. The FMS 1700mm P51, definitely underpowered (and yes, I do need to weather it, but something else always ends up getting priority, like repairing after mishaps), but flies much better on their 4400HiV or 5300 standard, nice and light, which helps this pig.

Also flew my 8S F4 & F16, which gives me over 5 minutes on the HiV 8S 5900.

Got my repainted Stinger 90 up which I've upgraded the fan to the 6S big 12 blade I took out of my F16 when I converted that to 8S. The Stinger is a rocket with that fan and is flown on a SMC HiV 6S 5900 for 5-6 minutes. Can't beat that. 🤙🤗

Hi Hugh: I just bought a Freewing F-35 the other day. Just getting most of it put together. Turns out my Admiral batteries are too long to fit (the CG is WAY back there), so I tried the shorter Spektrum G-2 smart battery which fits, and also the SMC battery if I lay it down on its side so the canopy clears. I'm going to buy at least one more of the SMC packs shortly. I'm hoping this little F-35 flies well. Probably maiden it next week.

Cheers

Davegee

[davegee]

DG, As a group they are selling the intellectual property (IP) for their Aluminum Retract Line, Aluminum Struts & Wheels.

The Rubber Tires and Plastic bits are being outsourced, but they say they will not miss a beat keeping up with those Inventories.

All the ZAP adhesives are still a part of Robart as far as I know.

I believe there are prospective buyers, but I have not heard of a pending sale.

I had chatted briefly with 'she whose authority exceeds my rank' about the prospect and finding out more.

When I researched the opportunity, I found that it is only the in-house aluminum manufacturing segment being dismantled and only the IP that is for sale as stated above.

Best, LB

Thanks for that info, Steve. I was totally unaware of all these happenings until Rex mentioned them in a post earlier today. I wish them and our hobby the best, going forward. I've used their retracts and other hardware for over 20 years.

Cheers

Davegee

[jetfool]

Hugh,
Your Fleet looks great. Enjoy reading your updates and tricks of the trade. Would love to get the FW F-4 but don't think my ability to fly it warrants it. No EDF experience.

[Elbee]

I hadn't heard about a sale of Robart? Do you have any more info on that? I sure hope that doesn't cause them to reduce inventory or quit the business altogether.

DG, As a group they are selling the intellectual property (IP) for their Aluminum Retract Line, Aluminum Struts & Wheels.

The Rubber Tires and Plastic bits are being outsourced, but they say they will not miss a beat keeping up with those Inventories.

All the ZAP adhesives are still a part of Robart as far as I know.

I believe there are prospective buyers, but I have not heard of a pending sale.

I had chatted briefly with 'she whose authority exceeds my rank' about the prospect and finding out more.

When I researched the opportunity, I found that it is only the in-house aluminum manufacturing segment being dismantled and only the IP that is for sale as stated above.

Best, LB

[Hugh Wiedman]

Hey Hugh: a little off topic, but just wanted to let you know that I've been giving my test SMC 5000 a workout with several planes, especially my F-18C and F-15C. Flies great in anything I put the battery in. I plan to buy more of these soon.

Thanks!

Davegee

Dave,
Not necessarily off topic, anything that improves our flying experience is right on.

Speaking of SMC, got out yesterday with a couple I rarely fly, but with SMC packs they fly great. The FMS 1700mm P51, definitely underpowered (and yes, I do need to weather it, but something else always ends up getting priority, like repairing after mishaps), but flies much better on their 4400HiV or 5300 standard, nice and light, which helps this pig.

Also flew my 8S F4 & F16, which gives me over 5 minutes on the HiV 8S 5900.

Got my repainted Stinger 90 up which I've upgraded the fan to the 6S big 12 blade I took out of my F16 when I converted that to 8S. The Stinger is a rocket with that fan and is flown on a SMC HiV 6S 5900 for 5-6 minutes. Can't beat that. 🤙🤗