Official Black Horse 2350mm Gilmore Red Lion

[RCBobP]

She flies!! Finally got everything together, ran out of excuses, got control of my shaky knees, fired up the Saito engine and off she went.

Before I maidened I put the plane on an EZ Balancer and at the 114 mm mark was too nose heavy for my liking. As luck would have it, I had a strip of twelve 1/4 oz lead weights (3 oz.). I laid it on the tail of the fuse, right in front of the tail wheel and it balanced perfectly. I had to make some adjustments with the wheel pants, as the wheels were rubbing up against the pants. After that, I fueled up the tank and started the engine. Needed to do a mechanical adjustment to the throttle servo arm. Like I said, at that point I ran out of excuses.

Take of was eazy breezy. Got up to altitude. As many have indicated, at low rates it has a sluggish roll rate. I'm not used to this kind of scale flyer. I fly mostly aerobatic and pattern planes. Still, I babied it all the way. Didn't try any loops, but will do so once I get used to flying it in circles. As you can imagine, the first landing I was a bit nervous. Got it on the ground, but it nosed over and flipped. Probably should land with high rates on the elevator just to get maximum deflection to keep the tail on the ground.

It's fun to have something that not everyone else has, so it certainly draws attention from other pilots. Everyone is very impressed with the quality of the model. Stay tuned for more updates. Thanks to all who posted their tips on this forum.

Bob

Bob

[RCBobP]

For anyone that used inflatable DuBro wheels (or the like), what PSI is recommended?

[DaleD]

Thank you! The thing about those wheels is that they're pretty gawky...however with most of them inside the pants...it's not that big of an issue. I went with black so they would be less noticeable.

About the collars...I had some 1/4 inch ID on hand...which is slightly larger than 6mm but they still clamp on real tight. (tight enough for me to be comfortable) If for some reason they slip, they have metric ones as well.

I get these from McMaster-Carr: https://www.mcmaster.com/catalog/6436K12

Looks like collars like these are available other places as well. (Home Depot, Amazon, etc etc)

Thanks for the link.

I’ve placed an order for 2 each in 1/4” and 3/16”.

DaleD

[Twowingtj]

Interesting clamp collar. Thanks for the link.

[djmoose]

Thank you! The thing about those wheels is that they're pretty gawky...however with most of them inside the pants...it's not that big of an issue. I went with black so they would be less noticeable.

About the collars...I had some 1/4 inch ID on hand...which is slightly larger than 6mm but they still clamp on real tight. (tight enough for me to be comfortable) If for some reason they slip, they have metric ones as well.

I get these from McMaster-Carr: https://www.mcmaster.com/catalog/6436K12

Looks like collars like these are available other places as well. (Home Depot, Amazon, etc etc)

Those wheels look REAL nice. Hope they perform as well as they look, please keep us posted.

I’d like to get a couple of those split collars. Would you kindly share a link to your source and any additional details? The supplied screw used as the wheel axel is 6mm if memory serves correct. What size collar did you select?

Thanks

DaleD

[DaleD]

Just a little teaser:

A real teaser indeed. Beautiful model being handled well.

DaleD

[DaleD]

I found these Fly Wheelz that I think will work perfect for the 44. Thinner, slightly more bounce (not much) and comes with a spare set of rubber.

https://northwestrc.com/Spot-On-RC--FlyWheelz--5--BLACK_p_3387.html

I've also switched to some clamp-on collars for in-between the LG and the wheel. (instead of a nut or locknut)

Those wheels look REAL nice. Hope they perform as well as they look, please keep us posted.

I’d like to get a couple of those split collars. Would you kindly share a link to your source and any additional details? The supplied screw used as the wheel axel is 6mm if memory serves correct. What size collar did you select?

Thanks

DaleD

[djmoose]

Just a little teaser:

[djmoose]

I found these Fly Wheelz that I think will work perfect for the 44. Thinner, slightly more bounce (not much) and comes with a spare set of rubber.

https://northwestrc.com/Spot-On-RC--FlyWheelz--5--BLACK_p_3387.html

I've also switched to some clamp-on collars for in-between the LG and the wheel. (instead of a nut or locknut)

[Twowingtj]

Duplicate post

[Twowingtj]

djmoose Congrats on the maiden!

When tuning the Gilmore in, it wound up being a warbird/pattern plane approach. The ailerons are scale and fairly small. similar to those on warbirds, so 20deg and 25deg worked.

It has a long tail moment, similar to a pattern plane, so 12deg and 15deg worked well.

Replacing the glitchy elevator servos made the biggest difference on mine. With the long tail moment, just a little off center on the return had a big effect on how it felt.

[djmoose]

Thank you 406! We all know that the true test for CG in flight is the inverted flight test...I just did not have enough aileron to feel ok to roll her yesterday. I don't push things until I'm comfortable. Baby steps! More to come!

djmoose great job!!!!!! Really glad your maiden went well!! Your write up was excellent.

I will say I am in complete agreement about the ailerons!!

Cheers on the maiden!

[406PIlot]

djmoose great job!!!!!! Really glad your maiden went well!! Your write up was excellent.

I will say I am in complete agreement about the ailerons!!

Cheers on the maiden!

[djmoose]

She has flown! One maiden flight, I was the only one at the field, so no video.

AUW: 23.45 lbs (no lion, closed cockpit, 12S 5200mah)
CG: 114.6 mm from LE

Batteries:
2 6S 5200 Zee packs - https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B08GLMY3BT
1 2S 2200 pack for Rx

Taxi and takeoff were no problem...needed right ridder to keep her straight, but that's par for the course.

I personally need more aileron. My high rates were per the manual and I'll be adjusting.

This plane loves rudder...if you don't fly rudder, you might not enjoy flying this plane and it's probably not going to look great in turns. The good thing is that this plane responds well with rudder input. Not only in coordinating turns, but for aligning your lines, not to mention corrections for your landing approach.

Rudder rate as stated in the manual is perfect.

I need more time on the elevator...I stayed on high rates the entire flight...as I didn't want to loose any aileron. Yes, as she flew yesterday, some would say pitch is twitchy....but I didn't notice any other tail heavy tendencies...so as of right now, it's just nicely sensitive on pitch. (this has been stated before in the thread...I'm just confirming with my experience)

In fact...at 114.6 CG, everything pointed to it still being nose heavy. I wont know for sure until after a few more flights. I'll keep in mind that even if it's nose heavy...moving the CG back will give the elevator more authority. It truly is a balancing act to get everything the way you like it.

Landing in just mowed grass on a rolled field was butter. Not even a bounce. (another reason I don't think it's tail-heavy) I stayed with the stock wheels and had no problems. However I BET landing on pavement wouldn't be as smooth.

More to come!



P:S: I don't ever mention expo in a thread like this as I feel it's completely pilot preference. Just saying that because I want to head off any expo suggestions on the elevator or ailerons. Trust me, I don't need any more or less. :-)

P:P:S: I do have a Jeti Rex10 Assist Rx, but the gyro stayed turned off the entire flight. IT won't get turned on until I get the plane trimmed and flying they way I like.

[406PIlot]

Ok here is a picture i snapped when i got home from work.

[RCBobP]

No problems at all with balancing the plane. The heavy motor helped quite a bit. I didn't have to add any additional ballast or weight. I am using the 112mm CG and it's perfect. I included a picture from when i was laying things out during assembly. I'll get an updated picture and post later. However things didn't change. Fuel tank / batteries / switches etc all stayed in the same location shown.

Awesome, thanks!

[Twowingtj]

406PIlot Nice clean install. Pretty easy to do when there's an area the size of most garages to work with lol.

[406PIlot]

Yes, that sound. Purrs like a kitten! Did you have any issues balancing the plane? That engine adds some weight to the front, so I'd like to see how you set up "under the hood". Battery placement, etc. Did you have to add any aft weight? Did you balance at the 112 mm mark?

No problems at all with balancing the plane. The heavy motor helped quite a bit. I didn't have to add any additional ballast or weight. I am using the 112mm CG and it's perfect. I included a picture from when i was laying things out during assembly. I'll get an updated picture and post later. However things didn't change. Fuel tank / batteries / switches etc all stayed in the same location shown.

[RCBobP]

Looking good RCBobP.... That saito FG-90 pulls the gilmore fantastically with a 24x12. OHHH THE SOUND!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, that sound. Purrs like a kitten! Did you have any issues balancing the plane? That engine adds some weight to the front, so I'd like to see how you set up "under the hood". Battery placement, etc. Did you have to add any aft weight? Did you balance at the 112 mm mark?

[Twowingtj]

406PIlot Sounds great!