Jon Weaver

Finally got around to doing my maiden.. Almost didn't happen.. I couldn't get the Prop Adapter to fit.. The motor shaft is just over 5mm.. But the adaptor wouldn't go on. I tried to push the shaft of a 5mm drill in and it would fit. So in the end, I twisted the drill into it and manage to remove a thin layer of metal, allowing the shaft of the drill to fit.. But it still wouldn't go onto the motor easily and but managed to force it on, but I dont' think its right. Anyway, Century are sending me a new adaptor, so I will swap it out. The Maiden was excellent.. It flew like a dream.. No need for any trims.. Just straight and level and perfect for what I wanted. It did found that on the ground it was a bit ustable.. Worse than the WOT4 (which was pretty bad with nose overs on landing).. I have fitted 75mm wheels, but it still wanted to flip over on landing.. And steering was a bit hit and miss.. But overall it was excellent. What I did like about it, and why I think its better than the WOT4 for my application i that its much more stable and less "twitchy" With the WOT4 it was quite agile (which is a good thing).. But when I switched my "Auto Pilot" on it "wobbled" when trying to level out.. I managed to 'tune' this in software, but this just reduced the amount of Auto Pilot I had, almost negating its use. It was very odd to watch.. it was like a 'spring'.. Every time you turned and let go of the stick, it would "twang" left/right until it got level again.. But with the RIOT, its so much more stable (or I should say less agile).. Even if I quickly give it full left, right, left, right on the aileron, it hardly moves.. So Auto Pilot is going to handle this much better. So now I just need to get all my electrics fitted.. I have already cut all the holes I need (And that went better than I expected).. I just need to thread the cables, and terminate them.. And hopefully my next flight will be FPV! Thanks again.. If anyone is interested, I will report back when its done.. WIth some pics! jon

I have to say. I have been loose fitting sll my FPV/Autopilot gear into my RIOT tonight and its a MUCH better platform than the WOT4. There is so much space, i dont think i will have to cut any foam out to,get it to fit. i am still planning to mount the Video TX underneath on the outside (for cooling) but there is plenty of space left inside that i am still considering moving it. irrespective of the problems i have hard so far, i think i made the right choice going for the RIOT,

Posted by Frank Skilbeck on 17/09/2014 16:59:42: Posted by Jon Weaver on 17/09/2014 11:38:01: I could have sworn I used 8, but perhaps not.. .I just found a picture of my last plane and clearly I only used 7.. But I wanted to use 2 batteries on the RX, and I assumed I would have to use the 8th channel? You could Y lead the 2nd battery in on any servo channel. You can also get aileron differential by offsetting the servo arms if you still want to go with a Y lead on the ailerons, but that stops you from using the transmitter from adjusting the degree of differential. Cheers.. I am reading contradictary info about having 2 batteries.. It seems that having 2 setup like this will not offer redundancy should the main pack go flat. So I need to do some experiments.. Century are now sending me a new wing, so I hope to have that for the weekend! Jon

Because I was aware of hte lack of glue in this 'cup', I gave it a good pull and it appears to be attached to the foam, but its doesn't feel great. So in my case, I planned to remove the red paint from the part of the wing which goes into the socket, and then glue it.. So not only will be it be secured by the longs screws (as intended), it will also be glued in too. It will be MUCH stronger this way, but impossible to remove if I need to replace it. I had a reply back from Century about the wing (With the trapped cable).> They told me that it was wrong.. And I should not attempt to glue it.. Instead they want to replace it.. So I am going down that route instead as I don't like the idea of the gap between the top and bottom of the wings!

Posted by Charles Lee on 17/09/2014 11:45:33: Using the channel for aileron control would be better as set up is so much easier. Sorry... What is your recommendation here.. Using 1 or 2 channels for Ailerons? All of my planes use 1 channel for Ailerons and a y-cable and I have never noticed a problem.. But then again, I never realised there was a problem and perhaps have always instinctivly corrected when I have induced yaw. So this is certainly something I want to look at. Back to my original concern.. What are peoples views about gluing the tail in, rather than relying on the screws!?

Cheers.. I did a bit of reading and start to understand.. But I can't do this as I don't have enough channels.   I am using an 8 channel RX and am going to use the RIOT FPV with an Autopilot.   So all 8 channels are taken.. Unless I drop the 'alarm' in which case I could free one up. ANd lets be honest, the alarm was pretty useless last time i lost my WOT4, so is it any use? When I get the RIOT built I might have a go at separating the channels. Jon   Edit: Actually.. That might not be true.. Perhaps I only need 7.. i can't remember and need to go back to my drawings to see. As far as I can remember, I need 1 - Throttle 2 - Aileron 3 - Rudder 4 - Elevator 5 - Alarm/Buzzer 6 - Flight Mode 7 - Display Mode 8 - ???   I could have sworn I used 8, but perhaps not.. .I just found a picture of my last plane and clearly I only used 7.. But I wanted to use 2 batteries on the RX, and I assumed I would have to use the 8th channel?     Edited By Jon Weaver on 17/09/2014 11:41:37

Sorry.. Still don't fully understand.. I think I need to do a bit of searching/reading as I am sure there will be a YouTube video or something. Jon

Can I ask for "aileron differential" is? Is this winding in/out the celvis to point BOTH aileron up/down a bit? On my RIOT, after reading the comments about the Vertical Stabilizer coming off, I think I am going to glue mine in, as well as screwing. I have sanded the red paint off, to reveal the white EPO below, and I think I would feel more comfortable if I simply glued it in place and then put the standard screws in to secure it.. Hope I don't break the tail off at some point and need to remove it and then will regret gluing it! So if anyone has any negative thoughts about using Glue, I am interested to hear before I crack on.. Jon

My word.. Century really do have some quality control issues. Picked up my RIOT today after the wings had been replaced and then realised that the Servos would have to be swapped.. No big deal, but when I got home tonight, I realised that the cable for the LED was routed badly inside the wing, so that not only was it jammed solid, but it created a gap between the 2 layers of the wing meaning that they are not glued together. On the other wing, you could look down the middle and see no gap at all. And the cable was nice and loose. I tried to pull the cable out hoping that it might allow the 2 parts of the wing to close up.. But it was stuck tight and I ended up snapping the cable.. In truth, I didn't plan on using the LEDs anyway.. But I am more worried about the strength of the wing, since the 2 layers arn't stuck together. I am now paranoid about the other problems.. (Such as the tail coming off) and wonder if I should glue that in place as well as screwing it?? Jon

Posted by Stevo on 16/09/2014 11:06:48: YES! YES! Bigger wheels!! Mine takes off from grass... and continually nosed over. Replace those cheese metal axles and fit bigger sponge wheels. Never a nose over since. NOTE: making it a 4cell and 10x6 turned it into a monster. What a difference in performance! Cheers.. it was exactly my plan.. Will do the same as I did on the WOT4.. Just drill the holes slightly bigger. And use some bolts/nylocs and larger wheels.. Cheers.

A question to the RIOT flyers... Its well known that the WOT4 benefits from Bigger wheels.. And on my WOT4 I added 75mm wheels, and drilled out the under carriage to take an appropriate sized bolt. I have another set of 75mm wheels and I planned to fit them to my next WOT4, but since I am now going for the RIOT they are no use.. Or are they? Would the RIOT benefit from larger wheels? To fit them I would simply have to drill out the mounting hole and make it 1mm bigger, to take the larger axle. Is there any reason NOT to do this? I can't imagine anything negative, but you never know! Jon

I am glad that I read to look out for this, as I wouldn't have spotted it and may not have noticed.. Its wasn't just a tiny bit out.. They were miles out (OK 5mm).. But I would imagine that this would have affected how the plane flew and even trimmed out, it would have been a handful. I dropped Century a mail and they would exchange the wing, but I would have to send the faulty one back.. So I have left this with the model shop to work out and if they can get a replacement, I will buy it.. Otherwise I will wait until stock is available again. They did have a green RTF and the ailerons appeared to be OK on that one, so I am hopeful that its possible to get a good one.. its a bit of a poor show really, but re-assuring that Century would replace the wing.

My RIOT purchase is turning into a nightmare.. I ordered one on-line and specifically ordered the red one as thats what I wanted.. But they sent blue and didn't seem to understand that someone might want a particular colour. .Perhaps I am being petty, but I wanted it in red.. Since they don't have red (and its out of stock from the manufacturer) I went to a model shop which I knew had one. But I was told to look at the hinges as some people had found them out of line.. And true enough, one side of one aileron was set about 5mm to low, so was completely out of line from the wing. They are now seeing if they can get a replacement wing.. So I am now waiiting until either they get a wing, or new stock comes in. So I think its going to be a few weeks before i get one.

Thanks PB. I did read the posts about missing glue and will certainly be checking mine over and may even glue everything just to be sure. With regards to the wind.. I am frankly a coward and only fly in near still conditions.. So this should never be an issue for me.

I have no doubt that the Skymule would be perfect.. But I think I am still going to go for the RIOT.   Not only is the Skymule out of stock.. I am concerned about the lack of spares.. And think I would prefer something 'british' which has good after sales support. I think if the SkyMule was actually in stock, I might have a punt, but considering I don't know how long I would have to wait.. ANd ordering from China is almost certainly going to take weeks if not months and cost a fortune in duty.. It just doesn't seem worth the risk.   So I think its going to be the RIOT.   All of my electronics have now arrived from China, so I just have to get cracking and start to build it.   Jon   Edit: And If I am entirely honest, I was a little concerned to see a crash where the motors simply exploded out of their mounts.. I get the feeling (As you implied) That there are only mounted/glued inside the EPO.. rather then mounted on a frame secured to the firewall. So I don't get the feeling that it was that robust.. Edited By Jon Weaver on 28/08/2014 10:56:55