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Freewing P.15 Diana

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  • Freewing P.15 Diana

    I am new to this forum and have no idea how to search topics. I have an issue with balancing this EDF Jet/Wing. I am using an Admiral 1600mah battery that is recommended in the manual. I use the finger balance method and so far it will not balance with that size battery. A friend suggested that it should be balanced like a low wing airplane by turning it upside down. The instructions do not say how to balance just where CG is. Does anyone have suggestions on how to balance this EDF? My setup is the Admiral 3S 1600mah battery with a Lemon receiver. I see Youtube videos of people using even 2200mah battery pack and flying. Just no video of how to balance. The videos always show the battery in it place where I had put it and still is nose heavy. My balancing technique is putting fingers on underside or belly at the distance of 58mm from LE point in manual. Can anyone help me with my balancing issue?


  • #2
    Originally posted by Seabee87 View Post
    I am new to this forum and have no idea how to search topics. I have an issue with balancing this EDF Jet/Wing. I am using an Admiral 1600mah battery that is recommended in the manual. I use the finger balance method and so far it will not balance with that size battery. A friend suggested that it should be balanced like a low wing airplane by turning it upside down. The instructions do not say how to balance just where CG is. Does anyone have suggestions on how to balance this EDF? My setup is the Admiral 3S 1600mah battery with a Lemon receiver. I see Youtube videos of people using even 2200mah battery pack and flying. Just no video of how to balance. The videos always show the battery in it place where I had put it and still is nose heavy. My balancing technique is putting fingers on underside or belly at the distance of 58mm from LE point in manual. Can anyone help me with my balancing issue?
    If it's nose heavy, have you tried moving the battery rearward? I kinda get from your post that you put the battery in where you believe it should go and that's it. You leave it there and expect it to balance the plane on the "marks". Do you move the battery around at all? And yes, you would hold the plane upside down to balance. It's been a while since I owned this plane and I recall using 1800 and 2200mah batteries and both balanced fine with the batteries in different locations. I think one of them, I had to put it on its edge and shove it way back into the narrower part of the compartment. A 1600mah Admiral shouldn't be a problem at all. If it's still nose heavy, something isn't right. That being the case, you best dial in a few degrees of UP elevator for the launch. Put the UP on a switch so you can turn it off once it's flying.

    BTW ................ I've never heard this plane called "Diana". Where did that name come from?

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    • #3
      XVIPER, Thanks for the information. I was trying to balance it in a normal upright position. It was always nose heavy. I would move the battery all around. If I placed it far back on its side then the battery hold down strap was no longer on the battery. I will try this balancing it upside down. I did not realize there was another thread dating a few yeas ago. I asked the same balancing question there.

      The name Diana, was on the Freewing Box and the manual. It is called Li P.15 Diana, not sure why. All the research I have found on this plane I could not find the name Diana associated with it.

      Again, thanks for the information. I posted on RC Groups and had over 100 views and not one comment. I just want to properly balance and fly her without any mishaps.

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      • #4
        Seabee87 It's been so long that I forgot what the box had on it. Intersting. I used to call it "Lippy".
        Anyway, about holding the plane. I go by this rule of thumb: A low wing plane, hold it upside down. High wing, hold it right side up to balance. The finger method is as good as any mechanical balancer. I used to use one and some planes, it was still difficult to balance as they were very "tipsy" at the CG, even when the battery was perfectly placed. (Such planes are very sensitive teeter totters and you make do the best you can.) If you have a mid-wing plane or one that is hard to tell if it's a high or low wing, do this ......................... put the plane level on a stand and look at it from the side (from the end of a wing) a couple of feet away. Now ask yourself, relative to the wing mid-line, where does most of the plane's mass reside? Imagine it with the weight of the motor, esc or EDF installed. Is the weight above the wing or below the wing? Above the wing, hold it upside down. Below the wing, hold it right side up. This way, the teeter totter effect is reduced. If it's more or less even, then do it whichever way it's the least tippy.
        The next question most people ask (and it doesn't apply to this plane) is do you balance it with the retracts deployed or retracted? Well, ask yourself more questions. How much time does this plane spend flying with the wheels down and how much time does it fly with the wheels up? Do I trim it with the wheels still down when flying or with the wheels up when flying? When the wheels are down, what's the plane doing? It's usually taking off or getting ready to land. During those times, the pilot is most likely "on the sticks" because the plane is changing its flight conditions rapidly. When you trim the plane, you do it to try to get it to fly "hands off" (ie, neutral)? During those times, the retracts are "UP". For me, I want my plane to fly "hands off" and thus trimmed, when the wheels are up, so I'll balance it wheels UP. For those who fly around with the wheels down the whole flight, then that's a whole different story. Then there are those who do mixes so that at the flip of a switch (usually the gear switch), the trim changes. Well, for those pilots, that a different drum they march to.

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        • #5
          Since you have been helpful with setting up my P.15, I was wondering if you might help me with another problem. The decals on the wings are peeling off. I have a feeling that the first flight at full throttle with finish peeling them off. Since it EPP foam I am not sure what will glue them back on. Someone said to take Foam Tac and thin it with lighter fluid. I would think light fluid, made with Naphtha and eats plastics. Anyway, any good suggestion. Another friend said to make a decal and paint on the symbols. Always afraid the foam with start dissolving.

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          • #6
            I don't think it's EPP foam but rather, EPO foam. EPP can handle all manner of glue and solvents. EPO, not so much. Doesn't really matter, personally, I would mess with lighter fluid even if it was safe on this type of foam. Cutting FoamTac with any solvent is messy and in the case of lighter fluid, could be dangerous. FoamTac is thick mostly when it gets old in an open tube. If you take a fresh tube of it or even the glue that comes with many of these Freewing planes (in those little white tubes), it'll be thinner and spreadable. If the decal is starting to peel, use a small stick like a toothpick or wooden end of a Q-Tip and apply a thin film on the underside of the decal that you can lift up using tweezers. You mostly need to get the glue on the edges so it doesn't start to lift again. Gently press/squeegee down on the decal working to the edges. Any glue that escapes can be carefully wiped off with a bit of rubbing alcohol on a small section paper towel.
            If you're not too much into esthetics (like me), I've been known to just use some hinge tape (Blenderm) and stick down the edges that are lifting. Scotch "magic" tape will also work. You'll see it but when it's flying, you won't notice it.

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            • #7
              For some decals you can restick them down with a very light spray of polyurethane or acrylic clear coat, then when dry, seal the whole plane with the same.

              I generally apply a clear coat either matte, satin, or gloss on any new plane to prevent the markings from peeling and to offer some protection against hanger rash.

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