FMS Stuka Aileron setup problem

[JonM]

just got one of these nice planes and according to my knowledge ailerons are setup so they are level with the underside trailing edge. when i set the stuka aileron this way there is no room to give it any up elevator.

there is nothing in the instructions at all about control surface max min movements or how to set these offset control surfaces

[StarHopper]

Re: FMS Stuka Aileron setup problem

You've lost me, Jon. How do ailerons on a wing interfere with the elevator on the tail?
Stukas weren't delta, to best of my recall. <smiley image="anim_confused.gif"/>

[JonM]

Re: FMS Stuka Aileron setup problem

sorry i meant to say aileron not elevator.

i ended up eyeballing the aileron level with the underside of the wing on each side. then i set it up as a dual aileron plane. disconected the led from the gear channel and pluged the left aileron servo into gear channel and the right into aileron and the led into the empty y-connector where the aileron was.

now im able to independantly limit the left and right aileron servo up movement while allowing max down. im not sure how this is going to shake out flight wise but the servos no longer bind and try to rip the aileron hinges out of the wing.

ive got 4cell 4000 admiral battery and i have to add 1 ounce tailweight to get it to balance at 65mm. ive got everying else far back as possible

[CAPT.Mike]

Re: FMS Stuka Aileron setup problem

Ahoy there fellow airman, The Stuka is an awesome flying plane and you'll love it. Sounds like you have the ailerons figured out. There will be a tiny space between the wing and aileron when looking at it level. Aileron deflection should be about the same deflection up and down. If you have a 3 position switch set ailerons at different dual rates just incase you need to change in flight.
The gotcha point will be when the flaps are deployed there might be a slight lean or roll to one side. It will take a few flights to trim out. It took only 26 flights for me with tweaking flap and aileron adjustments.
The wing tips are narrow because the real Stuka was made to dive 70-90 degrees vertically. The wing tips are not as responsive as most planes and will have to rely on the elevator to recover from unusual attitudes which is rather small. The best setup is keep the plane light as possible, the landing gear will be happy too. The spec calls for a 2500mah and no added weight is needed and it fly's wonderful. My favorite battery is a 2200mha all the way forward with no added weight. It's perfectly balanced and wont nose over on rough surfaces. The tail surfaces will be more responsive also when flying. Flight time is around 6-7mins.
Be level as possible when setting down on landings. This is one smoooooth aircraft.

Happy take off's and happier landings.

[Konrad]

Re: FMS Stuka Aileron setup problem

I might add that one usually does not want more downward aileron motion. This often exaggerates adverse yaw ( the nose points the opposite way of the roll). At best this makes nice smooth graceful turns all but impossible. At worse is causes a sharp rise it drag that can cause the model to slow down and stall (snap).

So setup your ailerons with more up than down movement. If you must setup your ailerons with equal up and down movement be prepared to use some rudder to keep the nose pointed in the direction of flight. Most radios allow for coupled rudder to aileron (start with about 15%).

[JonM]

Re: FMS Stuka Aileron setup problem

I flew it yesterday.

I've tried dual rates on other craft when I first started and never really liked the feel of that or expo. I've been flying without any of it. When I fly I'm pretty gentle on the sticks as you really don't need to yank things about. At least that's the way I've always flown on flight simulators and later rc planes.

I flew it first time yesterday and everything seemed perfect. I couldn't really tell if I needed to trim anything or not as there was quite a bit of wind cranked up shortly after I got her in the air.


Flew with extra down and it didn't seem to hurt anything but I never got the aileron stick much past 20% throw. It was very responsive. Had no problem controlling her in the wind.

With flaps up midway or full down she flew straight and level. Throttle I never got past 1/2 as it did not need any more than that for flapup flying with no hint of stall.

I think everything is good to go but I needa calmer wind day to be sure. It was a 5 minute flight the 4cell 4000 admiral was down to 4.10 at landing.

[JonM]

Re: FMS Stuka Aileron setup problem

i see what you mean. i tried more aggressive maneuvers this morning and adjusted the throws more evenly. about to head out again this afternoon now that work is done.

its just a wonderful flying craft. cant be more happy with it.

[Bearcat]

Flew her today for the first time, very happy with this bird, not as fast as I thought she would be but that's fine, easy take off and easy landing..
One takeaway - the canopy blew off on the next to last lap around the field and I have no idea why it happened unless I failed to put the canopy down firmly.

Anybody else run into this issue?

[Gringotuerto]

just got one of these nice planes and according to my knowledge ailerons are setup so they are level with the underside trailing edge. when i set the stuka aileron this way there is no room to give it any up aileron.

I had exactly this problem, and the plane never flew well. You might be tempted to give more down-thrown than up-throw, just because there is not room for much up-throw. Resist this temptation. I tried that, and it was definitely much worse because it is like reverse aileron differential, and makes the adverse yaw completely unmanageable.

Maybe there is some manufacturing tolerance here and they are not all the same, but for me, the top of the aileron hit the wing and stopped dead with even the slightest upward throw. I considered trimming some foam off of the aileron or the wing or both, but eventually I gave up and sold the plane. I did give the buyer fair warning, and said I hated the plane because of this issue, and I demonstrated it to him. He decided he could live with it; I decided I could not. Good riddance.

It is a nice looking plane in straight and level flight, but this aileron issue just made it unworkable for me.

[fhhuber]

Typical Stuka issue if they don't get the ailerons and flaps hinged/spaced properly below the main wing surface.

The real cure is to completely redo the hinges dropping the control surfaces down and having the correct pivot line.

Full scale wasn't the best at maneuverability, but that isn't what it was really made for. A dive-bomber is always a compromise and tends to not do well at fighter tasks. This one has very little "fighter" to it. Its best maneuver in air-air was to point the nose down and run away.

*********************

As for canopies departing aircraft, the foam flexes and a tight fitting battery will push the canopy magnets apart and... bye bye canopy.
Negative G push can make a battery, held in the model by sticky back Velcro, depart any EPO model where the hatch (assumed above the battery. hatches in the belly seem to usually have better security than just magnets) is held with magnets.