HSD new twin EDF 90mm Large ME-262

[Flamingo]

I have powered up mine ME262, used the S-BUS with FUT

only issue I had was to reverse throttle back to normal!
no change to control box necessary

observations:
electric breaks on transmitter channel 8 works only on and off, but stopping not too hard
all rudder movements 2 times too big, will change to inner servo lever
retracts with wheels dia 80 and 65mm for me much too hard, will disassemble to check oil and spring
CG no issue w/2x 6s 5.0 and 2s 1.8Ah
changed parallel XT90 extension w/AWG10 to 2xXT90 AWG12 w/current sensor in one line/to one ESC

questions:
will it require elevator compensation when applying flaps for landing?

[Gringotuerto]

I did fly this last week, so here is some more info.

1. I thought I had the CG at 145mm, but I needed a significant amount of up elevator. Maybe 145mm is conservative, or maybe I didn’t exactly get it right, but anyway, I will move it back a bit next flight. I would advise putting visible up elevator to start with because it is harder (and scarier) to trim when your plane wants to nosedive hard into the ground.

2. More confusing is that I needed a HUGE amount of aileron trim. I didn’t see any warpage, or non-centered rudder, or any other explanation. Here is my best guess at the moment, but I don’t have a lot of confidence in it: note that the fuselage is very wide, and so there is plenty of room to not have the batteries centered. I put a receiver battery in the front next to the main batteries, so perhaps I inadvertently put the main batteries a little off to the side….? Maybe. I didn’t think of this until later, so I didn’t take a picture of the position. Anyway, my advice is, draw a centerline and keep your batteries centered. Even with something light like a 50g receiver battery – the fuse is so wide that you can put it a good 10cm off to one side, and have 500g-cm of torque around the roll axis. That might not have been my problem, but it can’t hurt to pay attention to lateral balance.

3. Regarding flaps/ele mix, I didn’t notice any change, but also I never did get it leveled out and landed still struggling with trim. So I can’t say I really know. Let’s say, there isn’t a huge mix required.

4. Also I had throws set up more or less per the manual (maybe 16-17.5mm on the ailerons vs the recommended 16mm). I found this to be too high, and stupidly I didn’t have other options available. I would recommend putting throws on a switch, and using the values in the manual as “high rates”.

5. I thought this would accelerate and fly like a brick. It just feels so heavy, and I doubted that twin 90’s would carry that much weight. But I found it was not underpowered at all, and was very agile in the air, and floated on landing. In fact my expectation was so far off that I ended up making two landing approaches, both of them WAY too fast. In the end it floated forever down the runway. I see wing loading as 133.8g/dm2 on HSD website, but I don’t have similar figures for some of the Freewing jets. It would be interesting to compare to other models.

6. My landing was really ugly and broke off one of the mains. Attached are a couple pictures so you can see how they are mounted. They are anchored to the plates you can see on the top of the wing. It should be an easy repair, and there was no other damage. After looking at this, I think they are not super strong against sideways force, especially inward, which is exactly how I hit the ground (yawed to put some inward force on the one that broke off). Of course, that’s not to say there is anything wrong with this…land well and you won’t have this problem J

Overall it was not a good maiden flight, but I did feel that the plane itself is better than I expected. I need to change balance, trim, and throws (in other words, just about everything), but once I get that set up I think it will be a great flier. It seemed to be very maneuverable, stable, powerful, fast….in short, everything you would want from an EDF jet.

[Flamingo]

you said the landings were too fast and endless floating
did this happened with flaps down by 32mm (only) as per manual?
you encountered not much wind, may be less 20km/h, right?
btw thanks for sharing your experience will consider for sure

[Gringotuerto]

you said the landings were too fast and endless floating
did this happened with flaps down by 32mm (only) as per manual?
you encountered not much wind, may be less 20km/h, right?
btw thanks for sharing your experience will consider for sure

I think I had flaps per the manual. There was approximately no wind. I think any "floating" was due to my flying and expectation more than anything else. I expected it should land with a higher throttle than it actually needed, so I came in too fast.

[Flamingo]

easy disassembly of the front leg
the sticky oil at the spring makes it stiff
overall nice quality😀

[Gringotuerto]

OK here's a bit more information (Edited this a couple times as I found more info):

1. My aileron throws were way off. I don't know what I did wrong, I thought I measured it the night before I flew. But I haven't touched it since, and the aileron is at about 26mm instead of the manual recommended 20mm (and I had intended to be even lower than the recommended). So this accounts for the twitchy behavior. I will fix it before next flight.

2. If you ever pull out the gear and brake wire, you might wonder which is which. After some measurement and inspection, one of the connectors is marked with a white dot. That one goes to the retract unit, and the other one is the brake.

3. I ended up trying both 6.0v and 7.4v on the servos (I stupidly "factory reset" the MFC-2085 and lost all the correct settings). It seems the throws are the same, but the torque should be more on 7.4v. I think the servos are rated for 7.4v, so I set the "aux" voltage to that.

A word of caution that may or may not apply to you - I am using an AR9350, and when I programmed the gyro, there is a menu in the programmer there that enables/disables channels. And the brake channel I was using (channel 7) is DISABLED by default. So although the brakes worked when I first hooked up the receiver, they stopped working as soon as I programmed the gyro. It took me a long time to figure this out, but now they work again.

[Flamingo]

here are some pics quite impressive seize🤩

[EDFjetpilot]

Maidened my -262...overall impression...just a great flying plane!

Admittedly, I'm not a big fan of the -262, but this one is quickly growing on me. Very stable, plenty of power for scale flight, predictable landings...and the twin 90s sound awesome.

I set mine up per the manual using Futaba sBUS. Usually factory recommended aileron throws are too much for my liking, but not this time...the factory recommended throws all felt good. Factory recommended CG felt good as well.

I did dial in some up trim with flaps down, the plane wants to pitch down with flaps down, and the MFC didn't have this mix programmed in already. No worries for me since I use flight modes to set trim for flap/gear deployment. Just be aware you may need a flap/elevator mix or appropriate flight mode trim (compensation).

Once I got the flap/elevator compensation dialed in, using half flaps on takeoff allowed the plane to rotate with no elevator input. It made for a very nice scale takeoff. Once established on the climb out, I raised flaps and she maintained her climb rate with little elevator input.

I attempted a non-scale knife edge, and it wasn't pretty... not that I've seen a full scale -262 knife edge. However, I'm okay with it since I plan to fly more "graceful" maneuvers.

I was getting just over a 4 minute flight from takeoff roll to touchdown using Roaring Top 6S/5500/70Cs...coming down at 3.82v per cell. Most of the flight was about 70% throttle with a few full throttle passes for maneuvers.

Overall I'm very impressed with the size and performance. Oh yea, and I can fit the whole plane (gear up) in the short bed of my truck (with hard bed cover)...trailer not required. If you do need to put it in a backseat, the tail removes easily with 2 screws and a single multi-plug.

If you're looking for a great flying big Me-262, this is it.

Sean

[Flamingo]

oh I am so glad that Sean had a good maiden
here are my roll-out pics of today
we got today some snow in Germany and I used used it for a beautiful background

[Gringotuerto]

Nice photos! Mine's ready to "re-maiden" after the new setup, but I haven't been able to fly for several weekends in a row. Hopefully will get to it soon.

[EDFjetpilot]

Set her up per the book and you'll be good.

Sean

[Gringotuerto]

Set her up per the book and you'll be good.

Sean

Did you end up with a lot of up elevator trim, with the CG by the book? I did, and I'm wondering if I didn't quite get the empennage flush with the fuse. Maybe the horizontal stab is slightly down, requiring up elevator to compensate.

[EDFjetpilot]

Did you end up with a lot of up elevator trim, with the CG by the book? I did, and I'm wondering if I didn't quite get the empennage flush with the fuse. Maybe the horizontal stab is slightly down, requiring up elevator to compensate.

I wouldn't say it's a lot. I did give it a few clicks of up trim, I'd say it's less than 1 mm.

Yea, I'd say double check that the empennage is fully seated into the fuse. If not, that could definitely change the stab angle of incidence and require more elevator trim.

Sean

[Gringotuerto]

I finally re-maidened this after many changes. Two biggest changes:

1. I set up high rate throws by the manual, with low throws about 80% of the manual. The first time, I had the ailerons way too high. No reason, I just screwed up.

2. I noticed the front of the empennage seemed high, which would pitch the h-stab down, and require strong up elevator to overcome (my first maiden the thing wanted to dive like crazy…I almost plowed into the ground many times). So I removed the two screws, made sure there was nothing binding, and just carefully put it back in there. I think it sits more flush (see two photos). Maybe there is only a mm of difference or less, but that is a lot when it tilts the entire h-stab. So the lesson is – be careful to get this fully seated and flush, so you don’t have decalage problems.

With these changes it was awesome! It flew great, and landed very easily. It was like night and day vs. my first flight.

The only quasi-adventure was that with the decalage corrected, now I had too much up elevator, and the plane took off before it really had enough airspeed. But I kept it at a low angle of attack and at full throttle it quickly got up to safe speed. I guess the lesson there is – it might be good to keep some forward pressure on the stick during takeoff if you don’t yet know your trim, to prevent premature takeoff.

Below is a link to a video of the “first maiden.” It was all over the sky, completely crazy:
https://youtu.be/A57xjMTkHPM

I don’t have a video of today’s re-maiden, but it was quite boring. It flew like on rails, and landed softer than a butterfly with sore feet.

So it was a great day, but I also didn’t push it at all. I just flew in an oval at ½ throttle, fine-tuning the trim. I look forward to doing more with this in the future.

Two photos - before and after re-seating the empennage. I think it was not quite flush in the first photo, which would angle the h-stab down a tiny bit at the back. In the second photo I still wouldn't say it is flush with the fuse, but the key point is that both mounting posts are correctly seated on the attachment points inside the fuse, which should mean it is straight.

[EDFjetpilot]

I finally re-maidened this after many changes. Two biggest changes:

1. I set up high rate throws by the manual, with low throws about 80% of the manual. The first time, I had the ailerons way too high. No reason, I just screwed up.

2. I noticed the front of the empennage seemed high, which would pitch the h-stab down, and require strong up elevator to overcome (my first maiden the thing wanted to dive like crazy…I almost plowed into the ground many times). So I removed the two screws, made sure there was nothing binding, and just carefully put it back in there. I think it sits more flush (see two photos). Maybe there is only a mm of difference or less, but that is a lot when it tilts the entire h-stab. So the lesson is – be careful to get this fully seated and flush, so you don’t have decalage problems.

With these changes it was awesome! It flew great, and landed very easily. It was like night and day vs. my first flight.

The only quasi-adventure was that with the decalage corrected, now I had too much up elevator, and the plane took off before it really had enough airspeed. But I kept it at a low angle of attack and at full throttle it quickly got up to safe speed. I guess the lesson there is – it might be good to keep some forward pressure on the stick during takeoff if you don’t yet know your trim, to prevent premature takeoff.

Below is a link to a video of the “first maiden.” It was all over the sky, completely crazy:
https://youtu.be/A57xjMTkHPM

I don’t have a video of today’s re-maiden, but it was quite boring. It flew like on rails, and landed softer than a butterfly with sore feet.

So it was a great day, but I also didn’t push it at all. I just flew in an oval at ½ throttle, fine-tuning the trim. I look forward to doing more with this in the future.

Two photos - before and after re-seating the empennage. I think it was not quite flush in the first photo, which would angle the h-stab down a tiny bit at the back. In the second photo I still wouldn't say it is flush with the fuse, but the key point is that both mounting posts are correctly seated on the attachment points inside the fuse, which should mean it is straight.

Great to hear your re-maiden went much better!

Sean

[Gringotuerto]

Great to hear your re-maiden went much better!

Sean

Thanks, I forgot to mention one other item - I was careful to center the main batteries laterally. I think they were not centered the first time.

Also, I notice foam ailerons usually have a tiny warp. When trimming by sight before the first flight, it is better to go by the outside edge than the inside edge (or the average), since the outside part exerts the most torque. Taking all this into account, my aileron trim was also within a click or two of correct on the second flight. On the maiden it was waaaaaay off. I never did get it level on the first flight.

[moomoo]

for those who have the HSD ME262, I had trouble initializing the ESC's (reverse throttle) but after I did the ESC's do not give the usual no. of peeps showing the battery cell nos. or the musical tones normally given at the end. the fans seem to run fine. has any one encountered the same issues??? have not flown mine yet.
moomoo

[Gringotuerto]

for those who have the HSD ME262, I had trouble initializing the ESC's (reverse throttle) but after I did the ESC's do not give the usual no. of peeps showing the battery cell nos. or the musical tones normally given at the end. the fans seem to run fine. has any one encountered the same issues??? have not flown mine yet.
moomoo

Sometimes I have a little trouble hearing the tones because the ESCs are buried inside a lot of foam, but I believe mine do give 6 beeps when I plug in the battery. And yes, I also had to reverse my throttle (Spektrum Tx/Rx) to work with this ESC.

[Gringotuerto]

OK, I finally figured out why this plane was so difficult to control. The empennage is secured by two plastic posts with metal inserts, and an M3x10 screw goes into the metal insert. My screw had pulled the insert right out of the post, so the post was free to move up and down. This meant the empennage was not really attached, and could rotate about 5 degrees up and down. That's why I always needed huge elevator trim changes, even in mid-flight.

In retrospect, I’m lucky to still have the plane….the empennage could have just fallen off.

Below are pictures of a normal post + insert, and then the empty post, and the fallen-out insert. I lined the inside of the vacant post with epoxy and pushed the insert back in.

Anyway, I strongly suggest that everyone should be extra careful putting the empennage on. For example the empennage’s front post goes into a foam hole, and it is a pretty tight fit. I thought the screw would pull the post into the hole, but apparently what happened instead is that the screw pulled the insert out.

[vduniec]

Maidened mine two days ago. Had an exciting first takeoff. There’s a slight hump in our runway coupled with the under slung thrust line, The plane became airborne too soon. It pitched up and started to roll to the right towards the pilots stations at our field. For a half second I contemplated aborting take off and probably heavily damaging the plane but decided to try and fly it out. I pushed the nose down and corrected roll with left rudder. The plane flew out of the situation and proceeded normally. I initially assumed that I had the CG too far aft but once airborne, I actually needed 4 clicks of up trim. The first flight was just basic orbits to trim out and then set up for landing with half flaps. We have a 400’ paved runway and I intentionally came in fast just to be safe but the brakes worked fine and stopped the plane by the end of the runway. I have the brakes programmed at 35% through the plane’s Multi Function Control board.

On the second flight, I held a little down elevator on takeoff roll and only used about 75% thrust. Further down the runway, I released the down stick pressure to neutral and the plane lifted off in a very scale like manner. Second flight was uneventful. Roll is a little sluggish at factory settings but provides handling. It doesn’t seem like a speed demon but it looks and sounds cool flying by. Everybody made mention of its presence in flight.

Second landing was again too fast and I ballooned on the flare. Did the bouncy, bouncy down the runway and scraped the nacelles slightly. Not a big deal since it’s an easy cosmetic repair and I plan to repaint it anyway.

Overall, I am happy with the plane and look forward to flying it again after repaint.