New FMS/Eflite Su-30 coming soon

[hcew]

and sluggish on the sticks

If you are very nose heavy it is normal. The SU flies stabel with the big range of 115 and 150 CG. But if you go more back, the model is becoming more agile and during landing to get a nose up attitude is easier.

[xviper]

1. Mine is not "very" nose heavy.
2. Nose heaviness does not imply sluggish (and normal) behavior. I can make this thing spin like a top if I turn off AS3X and put the rates up to 125%. I want AS3X. Sluggishness is not a function of being nose heavy.
3. I've already said this plane has a huge range of CG. It doesn't matter where, within this CG range, the plane still flies the same.
4. As is, I have no problem landing in high alpha. It isn't hard at all.

I have other planes that are balanced nose heavy and when the stabilization is turned off and the rates turned up, they roll like crazy. Otherwise, they are sluggish.

[radfordc]

All repairs finished and ready to fly again. Things to notice... added a gyro; not because the plane needs one but it was the easiest way to get tailerons and improve roll rate. Added a 4.8v NiCd pack as a redundant Rx battery. Routed the Rx antenna outside the fuselage to prevent getting blanked by the battery when the plane is coming head on.

[Hugh Wiedman]

All repairs finished and ready to fly again. Things to notice... added a gyro; not because the plane needs one but it was the easiest way to get tailerons and improve roll rate. Added a 4.8v NiCd pack as a redundant Rx battery. Routed the Rx antenna outside the fuselage to prevent getting blanked by the battery when the plane is coming head on.

Looks as good as new, well done. Let us know how she flies now. BTW, what CG are you at and what battery and weight are you using. Interested to find out how it performs with the tailerons. Also, are you landing with or without the speed brake, inquiring minds what to know!

[radfordc]

CG was ~145mm...about a half finger in front of the 150mm marks. I will need to recheck after the repairs. The plane may be just a little lighter....The gyro and battery added weight, but I removed all three gear doors and door servos. Two of the doors were broken so just removed them all.

I used the Zeee 5200 (770g) and the CNHL 5000 (824g). First landing was without air brake and then the next ones were with the airbrake....lands better with.

[Hugh Wiedman]

CG was ~145mm...about a half finger in front of the 150mm marks. I will need to recheck after the repairs. The plane may be just a little lighter....The gyro and battery added weight, but I removed all three gear doors and door servos. Two of the doors were broken so just removed them all.

I used the Zeee 5200 (770g) and the CNHL 5000 (824g). First landing was without air brake and then the next ones were with the airbrake....lands better with.

Thanks for the info. I've got over 50 flights on mine and haven't quite got it figured out yet! I have found that it flies best (and gets off grass the best) with a CG also at about 145mm using a 5000 weighing in at 754 g. I'm ending up with the same flight times (just over 3 minutes) with that compared to a RT 5500 (798 g) and an HRB 6000 (825 g), due to the need for a bit more throttle with the heavier batteries to get the same characteristics as with the lighter battery. I'm landing using flaperons and for some reason find it gets it's nose up easier on landing without the air brake as most of my landings with the air brake are closer to 3 pointers. May just be my poor landing skills but have yet to get remotely consistent on my landings. I ask all these questions because I find the experience of guys like you can only help me learn just a little better. Thanks again.

[radfordc]

Checked the weight and balance and the CG is still at 145mm with the 770g battery. The total flying weight is 4480g (book specifies 4380g). Winds are blowing 30mph today, but maybe I can fly it again tomorrow.

[Tow]

When running tailerons on this thing - how much deflection are you using?

[radfordc]

I will measure later. This is high rates. Low rates are 60% of this.

[radfordc]

Got a break in the winds today and flew five flights. With the tailerons set at max throw as shown above the rolls were blurry fast. I ended up with the following settings: End Points for ailerons 60/60; elevators 80/80. Tail movement measured at the trailing edge of the stab: aileron High rate 23/23mm; Low rate 17/17mm; elevator High 35/35; Low 20/20. Expos all set at 40%

https://youtu.be/nsNcPGLa3BU

[radfordc]

Some short video of todays flights. Most of the flight was edited out in order to avoid the dreaded "black dot in the sky" syndrome. I really need to work on landings...coming in too fast.

https://youtu.be/-UMQPwgJpv8

[xviper]

Some short video of todays flights. Most of the flight was edited out in order to avoid the dreaded "black dot in the sky" syndrome. I really need to work on landings...coming in too fast.

https://youtu.be/-UMQPwgJpv8

That thing flies like it has VT on it. I'm also amazed that you don't have more retract carnage with those rough grass landings. I would have torn mine out long ago.

[radfordc]

Adding the tailerons to this plane did require just a little "tweaking". I used a cheap Hobbyeagle A3L gyro. The gyro does the mixing for the tail internally so you don't have to do anything in the Tx. But, because the tail and the wing ailerons needed to move in the same direction I did have to reverse one of the tail servos. I took the servo apart and switched the motor wires and the two outside wires on the pot. This of course meant removing the servo from the plane which meant removing one EDF and the ESC cover to get the servo wire unplugged. Not a big deal.

A way to avoid this would be to not use the wing ailerons at all. Configured like that you wouldn't have to change the direction of the tail servo physically, but could do it in the gyro programming. I think the plane would roll great with just the tailerons. Then you could use the wing surfaces as flaps only. I might give that a try.

[Tow]

I will measure later. This is high rates. Low rates are 60% of this.

Thank you! I was thinking running tailerons only evt. setting up ailerons as flaps. I will try (whenever weather/winter prevails)😊

[nuts-n-volts]

I do just that - elevons on the tail and wing ailerons only working as flaps. It flies great! Simply adjust travel for roll or pitch to suit your preferences. This jet lands perfectly with flaps full down and speed brake out. Performance could be better. A jet this size should have been made with 2 fully separate systems. The ease of 1 battery is certainly a plus. Not the fastest out there but it will power thru the maneuvers just fine.

[xviper]

I do just that - elevons on the tail and wing ailerons only working as flaps. It flies great! Simply adjust travel for roll or pitch to suit your preferences. This jet lands perfectly with flaps full down and speed brake out. Performance could be better. A jet this size should have been made with 2 fully separate systems. The ease of 1 battery is certainly a plus. Not the fastest out there but it will power thru the maneuvers just fine.

What RX are you using? I'd like to do flaperons and tailerons but using a HobbyEagle A3L will limit the gyro control to only the tail.

[radfordc]

but using a HobbyEagle A3L will limit the gyro control to only the tail.

In rate mode and the gains at 50%, the gyro was too sensitive and the plane was rocking side to side. I turned the gains down to 25% to get things smooth again. This plane really doesn't need gyro stabilization at all. Solid in the air.

[nuts-n-volts]

I tend to use 8010Ts in most all my jets. Never use gyros. Doesn't mean I won't. I just haven't found the need. I agree with rad. I think this jet behaves quite smooth and nice without.

[xviper]

In rate mode and the gains at 50%, the gyro was too sensitive and the plane was rocking side to side. I turned the gains down to 25% to get things smooth again. This plane really doesn't need gyro stabilization at all. Solid in the air.

Very good. I've got a 10-ch coming for something else. I guess I can use the 636 in that instead and put the 10-ch in the SU.

[radfordc]

Reconfigured the controls so that the tailerons control pitch and roll and the wing surfaces are flaps only. The flaps have full up, take off position, and full down. The airbrake is also actuated when the flaps go full down. I mixed in a bit of up elevator with the full flap position.