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Chris Stephenson

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Everything posted by Chris Stephenson

  1. Chris Stephenson
    Thanks Tim I had the plane out again today for a couple more flights. I had removed the shim under tail and messed with the CG quite a bit, for a range of maybe 3"! The plane is very insensitive to small CG changes and the stall is very gentle...it just mushes forward. Which is a testament to that very odd looking wing. I do want to rework my tail hinges, I'm thinking maybe pin-type hinges. The tape for me is just not gonna be a long term thing. I think this is due to the way I ran my linkage up through the tail center-line to just in front of the hinge line rather than underneath the way you did. My linkage pushes directly up or down at the hinge line. I'll get it sorted, I'm inspired now so I'll make it right. I can see why it's one of your windy day planes Tim. It was somewhat breezy here today as well and the plane hardly noticed it. Chris
  2. Chris Stephenson
  3. Chris Stephenson
    back to the apron
  4. Chris Stephenson

    fly over

    Chris Stephenson posted a gallery image in Member Albums

    fly over
  5. Chris Stephenson
    Shortly after takeoff
  6. Chris Stephenson

    Chris Stephenson posted a gallery image in Member Albums

  7. Chris Stephenson

    Ready to go

    Chris Stephenson posted a gallery image in Member Albums

    Ready to go
  8. Chris Stephenson
    OK, it's flown. A few minor issues to solve but all in all, it went well. I'll be taking that decalage change I made out. The plane wanted to climb constantly, so much I had to top out my trim. Simple fix, also need to check the balance on my prop/spinner and a couple other small items, but all in all, a nice plane. Thanks again Tim   Chris   Edited By Chris Stephenson on 06/06/2015 22:43:17
  9. Chris Stephenson
    First flight today, pics to follow. Tim, I'm curious, did/do you have decalage in your plane? I found I had to add a 1/16" shim just behind the rear horizontal stab mounting screw to get the wing and tail to be leveled the same. Probably I got it a tad off when I glued the vertical into the fuse. Also, I found I have to slide my battery all the way back to the forward wing mount former for the plane to balance at the CG, and I still had to add 3/4 oz of lead to the tail. The plans and your pics show your battery, which is heavier than mine, several inches forward of where I have to mount mine. I used some thickened epoxy up in the firewall area and floor/battery tray area and probably added weight there. Live and learn I guess, it's strong in any event. Chris
  10. Chris Stephenson
    I'm at the final stages now should be covering tomorrow. Another question if I may, is the CG point shown on the plans for the CS60 at the root of the wing along the fuse, or at the tip of the wing like you did with the Speed Twin? Looking forward to that first flight now, perhaps next weekend. Thanks again for such an interesting model Tim. Chris
  11. Chris Stephenson
    My model is pretty much to the point of covering now, just finishing up a few details like the lower chin scoop and landing gear wires. I gotta say Tim, this is a brilliant way to make spats. At first I was gonna find some nice pre-made FG units but decided to give your method a try, beautiful results and not tricky at all. A bandsaw and vertical belt sander move wood around quickly, so the whole process took perhaps a hour. For the upper front and turtle deck sheeting, I cut 1/4" strips of 1/16th balsa and my final results turned out nice and uniform. Once done, I painted some thickened epoxy on the inside to strengthen it and voila! Good form, light and strong. Oddly enough, I decided not to make my own canopy, opting instead to use one on the shelves of Great Planes for some other plane. It was handy, so why not? I gotta ask Tim, are you a Star Trek fan? As I look at this model, I see a Kingon Bird-of-prey from the original series...must just be that swept forward wing I guess. Starting to see the light now, anxious for that first flight. Chris
  12. Chris Stephenson
    I tend to like my planes responsive as well, but not at the cost of smoothness. So I tend to dial in full throw and start with 40% expo...a habit from my heli days, dual rates will kill you there. I'll just start with +/- 6mm then. Thanks Tim Chris
  13. Chris Stephenson
    So, what throws did you wind up with Tim? And what hinge tape? I'm at the point of just about to do the upper decking. Wing is all done as is the tail, minus this issue with the elevator. Thanks again Chris
  14. Chris Stephenson
    Hi Tim Hope you are still monitoring this thread, I'm a bit late to the party. I'm building up a CS60 with the plans only, and this thread, I have some questions: How much flex is there in your elevator. I've never set a plane up with a control linkage like this before and I find that my elevator is not nearly as rigid as I am used to...usually I can grab and elevator and move it up or down and move the servo back and forth, not possible with this setup. I used a thin music wire in tube up through the fin and out the top as shown in one of the posts. I find it is impossible to hinge the thing such that there is not a point where the music wire has to bend to continue to push or pull to it's extents. I can get a good 6mm either way (more up than down) without any binding but any more and the wire is starting to bend. And then there is the general "flexiness" of the whole thing. What did you use for hinge tape? How much throw do I need? Thanks Chris Stephenson
  15. Chris Stephenson
    Tim: Now that's a good lookin' plane. As if it wasn't before! Like to think I had something to do with that . Not too sure I see a need for the winglets...at least on our models. Look darned sexy though. Man you Brits know how how to make a nice plane... Barry: 63" will be a really nice size, we should work on some molded parts for that. My Skyrocket came with a lot of them, really quickened the build. Chris
  16. Chris Stephenson
    I flew mine again this last weekend, thorough enjoyment. Those turn and burn passes with the gear up are breathtaking. I did add a couple of large heatsinks to the esc's, but they still got quite warm (like 160+ F). Guess I'm just gonna have to get some airflow through there or go to bigger esc's. Darn cool plane though, I was really having fun with it. This weekend I'm going to work on a canopy plug so I can produce a thinner/lighter canopy. Got my plans for a 60" CS in the mail today, guess what's next... Chris
  17. Chris Stephenson
    Looks great Collin. What did you use for a canopy? I need to fly my ST again, I have not had it out since January. A 60" would be cool. That's the size of my XF5F. I used two 4S packs in parallel driving a pair of Hacker A30-10XL's swinging 10X10's. The sound is mesmerizing. Chris
  18. Chris Stephenson
    Rex I guess my plane is around 6 ounces heavier than yours. I know I can carve some weight out of my canopy, the "donor" canopy I started with is pretty heavy. A slightly smaller battery may dump a bit as well. Thanks for the numbers, they give me a target to shoot for. Time to put my new vacuformer to work. At present I am pulling around 24 amps into each motor, this with 7X6's. I'm happy with the performance...always want to try for more though . I have a pair of 7X7's to try, gotta make certain my thermal problems are solved first. Chris
  19. Chris Stephenson
    Excellent idea Rex. I like the tandem mount/heat sink idea. I finally did cut the covering from my ESC's and strap on heat sinks. Have not had a chance to try it out yet though. Also went to a smaller spinner. I liked those carbon units I was using but they were just too big for the model. I put on a nice pair of 1.5", aluminum backed plastic units. Looking forward to the next day flying. What kind of numbers are you guys getting for wieght, current etc.? Chris
  20. Chris Stephenson
    Flew the plane again yesterday. I'm liking it more and more. With the 7x6's it clips along at a pretty good rate. High speed/gear up passes look really good. I've done nothing yet about cooling, the front part of the fuselage is all full of battery and battery mount, so cutting a hole in there would do little to get much flow over the esc's. But, I'm finding with proper application of my left thumb, the esc's seem to be ok. I may still do something for airflow yet, but in the meantime, I'm really liking it. Chris
  21. Chris Stephenson
    Thanks, I'll try that first Tim. Chris
  22. Chris Stephenson
    I've been thinking about that, the way I see it there are three options: 1. Try putting heat sinks on my existing esc's. I've done this in the past with so-so results. 2. Go to larger esc's or esc's with heatsinks built in. 3. Add cooling scoops to the sides of the fuse to get airflow across the esc's. I don't like the idea of butchering the plane in a non-scale manner, but this might be the best idea. in fact, I already made several such scoops on my new vacformer . They are small, about 1.5" long and 0.5" wide. I think placed properly and ditto with the esc's and an air exit hole, I might be able to turn this issue around completely. Chris
  23. Chris Stephenson
    Had it out again today. Went with a pair of 7x6's, huge difference. The model is a good bit faster now. The esc's warmed up even more, so I kept the flights short. Your right Tim, I don't know how the inverted performance was on the proto, but mine likes being upside down with just a little down elevator. Chris
  24. Chris Stephenson
    Thanks Tim I have to admit, the lack of washout had me quite nervous until I did that first stall test. With my heavier wing loading and those tapered wings, I expected DH-88 like stalls. But all worries were for naught, it just sauntered off the ground and went where I pointed it at all speeds. The stall is just a gentle drop of the nose...mushy. My greatest concerns now are the el-cheapo esc's I used. They are an ebay item, rated at 30 amps but getting warm now at 20 amps. I'm going to the AEF event next week, I'll take the plane there and see if i can find some higher quality esc's for it. Thanks again for a great plane! Chris
  25. Chris Stephenson

    Chris Stephenson posted a gallery image in Member Albums

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