Official Skynetic 1.4M Shrike Glider Thread

[Jetbird]

Yes.”From memory there is a hole there to put a screw in if you want to but there isn't one out of the box.”.

wrong

[ridgerunner]

Both of my Shrikes had the bottom hatch screw installed from the factory.

[fox flyer]

I just bought this glider because I'm a sucker for full house foam sailplanes and the price was reasonable. It flies well enough but the prop/spinner setup isn't ideal. I ended up using epoxy on the spinner to keep it from flying off when I cut the power. It's also a little disappointing that they used C clips for the prop retainers making prop swaps difficult. I also needed to dremel the spinner where the prop rubs it or tightening the spinner at all produced too much friction and the blades would not fold. I think most beginners are going to have a hard time with the prop/spinner situation, otherwise it's great. I do appreciate the plug in wings and the pin to hold the wings on however due to the spar, a cartwheel is still going to break the wing. Multiplex has this figured out., they also use a pin to keep the wings on but the spars interlock at the roots. When a cartwheel happens, the wings breakaway clean. It's brilliant and should be adopted for all foam glider, especially those aimed at beginners.

[Rhodesengr]

CG Clarification
The manual says 65mm behind the leading edge but the photo shows 65mm behind the fuselage insert which is about 10mm further forward. Which is correct?

[fox flyer]

THe aft location is what I used and your rx AND battery have to be shoved WAY back in the fuse to get that CG however with this location the plane flies well with a neutral elevator

[Rhodesengr]

THe aft location is what I used and your rx AND battery have to be shoved WAY back in the fuse to get that CG however with this location the plane flies well with a neutral elevator

OK thanks, so just to be clear 65mm back from the actual leading edge? More or less the rear edge of the connector.

[fox flyer]

Yes, if not a little further back than that for a neutral dive test.

[Rhodesengr]

Yes, if not a little further back than that for a neutral dive test.

OK cool. I usually shoot for a slightly nose heavy CG so the dive test yields a mild pull-up.

[fox flyer]

Yeah, CG is suit to taste but as delivered if a 3s 2200 is placedin the middle of the battery tray the CG will be WAY too far forward. I get over 3 min. of WOT on the 2200 pack to storage voltage and I typically just climb for 10 or 15 sec then glide. Doing so with this plane results in 20 min. flights in dead air which is pretty impressive. It's no F5J glider but for the price, it's hard to beat. Due to the short span it's also very responsive to minor aileron inputs

[Rhodesengr]

Yeah, CG is suit to taste but as delivered if a 3s 2200 is placedin the middle of the battery tray the CG will be WAY too far forward. I get over 3 min. of WOT on the 2200 pack to storage voltage and I typically just climb for 10 or 15 sec then glide. Doing so with this plane results in 20 min. flights in dead air which is pretty impressive. It's no F5J glider but for the price, it's hard to beat. Due to the short span it's also very responsive to minor aileron inputs

I run my Walrus with an 1800. The I fly, I use power very intermittently. I just fly up and power off and try to find thermals. I bet the 1800 will balance easier. I will look at that tonight.

[fox flyer]

Yes it will.. I'm actually using an SMC HV 2000-2400 pack which is lighter than a typical 2200. Charging it to 4.35 gives a little added boost and of course more capacity. I'm going to try a 10x5 aeronaut prop as I'm sure the ESC and motor can handle it.

[Rhodesengr]

The 3S 1800 45C fits and balances nicely to give COG 65mm behind actual wing LE. It is pretty close to being centered under the provided battery strap. I have not air-tested yet but will soon. My 3S 1800 came from GensAce

[fox flyer]

Actually the climb rate with my HV pack and the stock 9x5 prop is pretty impressive. It's better than I thought it would be

[Rhodesengr]

H Stab issue:
I went to maiden my Shrike today and actually got it in the air some but I ran into sort of what I want to call a design defect. The stab is supposed to "snap" into the fuse but the method for that is just some bumps in the foam. The mounting scheme is not very determinant. In trying to adjust the elevator, I saw the there is substantial play in the stab when the elevator servo pushes the rod back. The stab moves with it a fair amount. This tends tend to work against "up elevator" and I could see that in the air. I'd like to glue the stab in place but t then there is no access to the elevator servo horn.

I am wondering what others have done. I have two ideas in mind. One would be to glue the stab firmly in place but do some surgery on the back of the fuse to provide access to the elevator horn. The other idea would be to try and pin the stab to the fuse by drilling some holes through the fuse and stab and using some dowel rod as the pins. I like the the glue idea better. I think the holes around dowel pins would get bigger over time unless I put some rigid tube in place for the pins.

Others see this and have good solutions?

[ridgerunner]

When I first got the Shrike, I noted the H-Stab looseness, but figured the designers knew what they were doing so went ahead and flew it that way. However, the stab would shift in flight and was adversely affecting the elevator - Not Acceptable!

To fix it, I put a bead of glue around the outside of the H-Stab/Fuselage interface - just enough to keep it from moving. If I need to remove it in the future, an Exacto knife to the glue bead should do the trick.

[Rhodesengr]

well, I glued it in with epoxy. It is not coming out..ever..But to get ongoing access to the elevator horn, I cut off some of the fuse foam. I used a razor blade so I have the remove3d piece intact. I may either leave it off, tape it in place so its removable or, possible glue it back when I get everything adjusted. I'll post a photo in a day or so.

[John W]

The direction for the Shrike says that the cg is 65 mm behind the leading edge of the wing but the picture in the manual shows 65 mm aft of the front edge of the foam in the fuselage. Which is correct?

[trashpandachef]

Well, Motion has just lost a customer. I just received my Shrike, and upon assembly, found that the wings DO NOT mount flush with the fuse fore to aft (over a 1/4" gap on the trailing edge of the right wing) I contacted Motion, but they failed to mention that I was going to be on the hook to send back their defective product. Way to go, folks. The quality of the Skynetic products has made sure I won't be buying form Motion again anytime soon (my Velocity lost its prop first flight, and no replacements are available). Quality control is a big issue here.