Bruce Austin

Hi Chuck I was out in 3 degrees and bright sunshine with the P 1600 a couple of days ago. I used three 1800 3S and got between 40 minutes and 52 minute on 4 minutes of power from each of the three lipos. Three hours of fun that afternoon.On the longer flight, I, (and the Kites) got a pocket of thermal running parallel with the busy M40 at around 300ft. with a gentle wind of around 4mph. Great fun Go With the Flow Bruce

Hey there Chuck You have to get that P1600 airworthy! I was out this afternoon, trying out some basic slope soaring together with the Red Kites. Their wing span is about the same, and don't seem the least bit intimidated. They come over and fly with the P 1600. They are not the least bit aggressive, just curious about this strange bird. They are a great incentive for me getting to grips with this slope soaring.caper. Somebody said that it is addictive. I'm afraid that they are absolutely right about that! Go With the Flow Bruce

Yes Pete, I see that you are absolutely right about Chuck recommending that motor. So Thank you Chuck Happy flying in 2015 Go With the Flow Bruce

Happy New Year Guys and Dolls. Hope Santa brought all the right things! I'm still flying the P 1600 with the previously mentioned minor Mods. Everything is behaving well. Volantex 30 amp ESC no problem. Pete's recommended Propdrive 2836 1000kv does the job very well. Thank you Pete. The best is that with the 3mm decelage adjustment to raise the stab to 0 degrees just works so well. Great glides! Feeling my way into slope soaring with 15mph winds has been great fun, but I am thankfull for the throttle back up to save the long walks!!! Had a good fly with the Red kites on the slope. They are a great warning indicator for where the turbulence is. I can really really recommend the Phoenix 1600. I am using Zippy 3S 1800s and 2200s which also work well in my P2K. Go With the Flow Bruce

Hi Guys, Bruce here again. PK 1600 EARLY WARNING HEADS UP. Out in the winds this afternoon, flying the PK 1600 was great fun with the Red Kites on some slopes. Oh this Phoenix flies sooooo nice!!! Landing was a serious challenge (for me) in the low level turbulence. REASON FOR THIS POST, is to raise awareness of a potential problem on that ply stiffener at the outer ends of the 1600 wings. I did a cartwheel landing and noticed that I had cracked the ply spar on one of the wings. (My inexperience in turbulent weather). Post mortem removal of that 28cm ply spar shows that there is not much glue used! Actually NONE along the bottom of the groove and only three dabs here and there along the sides of the ply. Shame really, because that 3mm ply should be ok if glued properly. I am going to replace it, and the other one with a 4mm solid carbon spar which I just happen to have available. There's no actual damage to the foam, lucky for me. This bird is really such great fun to fly, so it won't take long to get her aloft again. Now I must get some sloping practice on the simulator, with some turbulence, for landing practice. Hmmmmmm thinking that my T6J may just have some limitations for flap landings. I am working my way back trough this entire thread to check out the options. Flicking switches with half frozen fingers doesn't really feel that practical. I need the throttle stick for the motor. Hmmmmm. I must admit to casting eyes in the Taranis direction. Go With the Flow Bruce

Hi Guys Thank you for the thoughts on that misbehaving ESC. I have set it to one side for a "rainy day" I have been flying my new Phoenix 1600 with great success. I have to admit to a couple of minor mods to get it to my own liking and style. 1 I took out the 41 gram weight hidden under the battery tray. 2 Blenderm tape on all the hinges 3 C of G is now sitting at 83 mm from leading edge. Might yet squeeze another 2 or 3 mm , but that is a finer detail for another day! I am able to use zippy 1800 or 2200 lipos tucked under the wing almost completely off the rear of the battery tray. I am using that clever but simple idea of the velcro backed ruler to reach the battery in and out of that rearward location. 4 Thanks to Pete's suggested motor with 4mm shaft, I am driving the standard 10X 6 folder with a "propdrive 2836 1000kv outrunner. This works very well. 5 I decided to live without the flaps in the meantime and have kept the flap moulding on the wing intact for strength. 6 I did add a little reinforcing to the bottom of the rudder using 2mm carbon rod pins. 7 The decalage!!!! For the maiden this plane just wanted to loop at any hint of full throttle Well I set this up on the bench and after checking it out decided to lift the elevator leading edge by 2mm, I thought it might need even more, but settled on this for the second maiden. This showed a marked improvement but still not right. Back to the bench and insert another 1 mm (now 3mm). Next flight this is very close to being right. I suspect that another half mm might be spot on, but this is good enough to get some proper stick time. Now had two good afternoons in 4mph breezes and today in 8mph light wind. Landing without flaps is doable on open fields. Am able to get 35 to 45 minutes flight from 4 minutes throttle/ battery timer from the 2200 zippy with 10 to 15% left in the lipos. This 1600 now floats like a bird!!! Where I fly, we have Red Kites around. They like to come around and investigate and they do fly with the Phoenix. As a 70 year old Newbie from 15 months ago, I am having a ball and got my A certificate Silent flight electric two months ago. Having a ball! I'll say!!! Go With the Flow Bruce

Hi guys Now that this eye watering humour has settled, can I ask the serious question. What are the recommended sloping goggles for the slopes. I know about polarised amber low light glasses for use when trout fishing, and they do me very well in the summer evenings on flat field flying. But, I'm wondering about reasonably priced snow goggle type for those eye watering wintry days??? Go With the Flow Bruce

Thank you for that Wolston Flyer. Then here's another symptom for this problem ESC. Sometimes when first connecting the battery the tones were quite faint, and then if disconnected and then reconnected, the volume of the tones would be normal !!!!! Go With the Flow Bruce

Hi Pete Here's the link for the problem ESC H-KING 35A Fixed Wing Brushless Speed Controller (UK Warehouse) Here's a newbie question Now that its out of the plane, do I still need to connect it to a motor for bench testing and set up, to pick up the programming tones?. Also once an esc is set up for one motor or plane, will it still operate correctly if coupled with a different but compatible motor, or do we have to do a new set up for each new application? Go With the Flow Bruce

Hi Pete. The first thing I tried was the re calibration of the throttle, but it just cried with no effect on the motor. I only bought the 35amp ESC recently and it has only had three batteries through it , so it's not like my other "tried and trusted" well used items. Bit of a mystery!!! All the control surfaces operate as normal, so it can't be the RX Prior to that, at very low throttle it was chirping and the motor would judder slightly one way then the other. Then, with slight increase on the stick the motor would turn the correct direction, right up to full stick, Close the throttle the motor stopped seemed ok no smells, no magic smoke. But then after that it wouldn't run the motor. The motor is fine and now runs with the new ESC, so it's definitely not the motor Now with the other 30A esc fitted it arms correctly all seems correct, and no peculiar noises Running the supplied prop, with 2836 1000k motor on 2200 3s 25c, pulls 19amps at full throttle burst on the bench. I'll pull back the sleeves on the problem ESC connectors to check them out, but they do feel tight, and don't have a hot burnt look, but we'll see in the morning. Go With the Flow Bruce

Hi there Mart Thankyou for that. Well I tried it but it just cries. I tried to get it into programming mode, but eventually gave up.. I've re installed the original 30 amp Volantex managed to set that up and brake is set. All is well and ready for next flight. Maybe I got a faulty ESC from HK.???? Go With the Flow Bruce

Hi there Pete and all others on this forum who are supplying such great info. My query. I have just fitted a 2836 1000kv "Propdrive" coupled to a 35A esc to my Phoenix 1600. I have set the brake to "on". I am running an 1800 3S lipo I have a lipo checker at the field and always check the state of the charge before I connect any battery.. When I open the throttle a small amount there is a high pitched chatter and the prop shudders continuously until I open the throttle further, then the prop runs as normal with no chatter. The other day i ran a few maiden flight circuits and landings without any drama and all was good. But...... On one flight when I opened the throttle, the chatter recurred and the prop just shuddered without actually picking up speed. I returned to the pits to investigate. No burning smell or anything else out of the ordinary. The prop is free to turn without hooking on anything. When the problem occurred there was still a 40% charge remaining I had the canopy open, and the nose pointing down while checking, and then tried the throttle again and all was back to normal and I had another three or four flights without any further problem. Sun was setting and so time to go home. I have bench checked again, and at very low throttle the chattering is there but as soon as I open the throttle all is normal. What's going on??? Go With the Flow Bruce

OK Guys spinner issue is sorted.out by HK. Thank you all for all the helpful info and sources. Pete, I want to use some of the HK decals on my Phoenix but have absolutely no idea how to work with the provided Decal sheet. Can you please point me at the correct forum topic or video, as I am sure it must have been asked many times before. Just about ready to maiden the 1600, weather permitting! Go With the Flow Bruce

Thank you Pete, Chuck and Glasshopper,for your responses. I have a recent little HK problem which is well on the way to being resolved. So I won't go into the whys, and where fores right now. Chuck I totally agree about being irritated at the lack of spare for such an obviously popular model. The problem right now, with that HK folding prop and hub which does indeed look correct, is that it is not in the UK Warehouse. My last attempt at purchasing from that route resulted in a UK VAT surcharge of £4.00 plus Post office handling charge of £8.00 to collect the £ 4.00. Note that that package was exempted Import and Excise duty! So £12.00 was added to the cost of the item! No,I don't think I'll do that again in a hurry. HOWEVER. I did get a full credit from HK after I explained what was what. My experience with HK is that they have always treated me fairly when being diplomatic. Go With the Flow Bruce

Hi PK2 Guys Just wondering where in the UK I can get a spare, or replacement prop adapter for the 4mm motor shaft and standard prop size. I can't seem to find it on the HK site It's the exact same hexagon one that is supplied with, and fits into the back oft he folding prop, that the factory PK2 is supplied with. Sorry if this seems kind of dumb, I don't know the exact technical term for it Go With the Flow Bruce

Hi P2k Guys I've been having lots of fun with my P2k over the past six months. Now I have taken the plunge and am putting together its sister, the 1600 version. I don't see it mentioned on any of the other forums,so I mention it here as it comes from the same factory source. It has the identical fuselage but some other aspects are just a little different. Is anybody else flying the 1600 version? Is this the correct forum for the "airing" of this model, so to speak. Any comments and observations will be welcome. (e.g. there is a 41gm ballast hidden under the battery tray. This I reckon should come out, and some experimentation with the battery location should optimize the Cof G for gliding purposes) Go With the Flow Bruce

Hi Guys, I am an ex subscriber to the digital version. (expiry September this year). I was quite dismayed to find that I can no longer access the issues which I subscribed for. Did I do something wrong, Should I have saved them somewhere, somehow? In good faith, I have emailed the subscriber help service around three weeks ago, but have not yet had a response. I did enjoy the the Emag, but being a pensioner, I find that I need to make some cutbacks, and the Emag was one of them. Is there a way that I can access or retrieve my own subscription copies. The way I see it at the moment, I seem to have hired the digital versions for the year, and then they have been withdrawn, or have I got this wrong? Go With the Flow Bruce

Thanks guys for your observations. I did in fact install the flap servos, and did change all servos for metal gear, but didn't think that, that would make any significant difference to the balance point. Oh and I did put blenderm along the hinges, but that's not really a heavy item either. Does anybody have an actual dimension of the aimed for balance point back from the leading edge? (other than the recommended 70mm) I am flying a much repaired Bixler 2 with the 2200 lipo and often get 50 minutes to an hour with 10 minutes battery timed on throttle use. So I was kind of hoping for something similar with the PK2. When I find the solution, I'll let you guys know. Thanks for your thoughts so far Go With the Flow Bruce

Hi Guys, I've now got my second PK2 maidened. ( first one I managed to fold the wings after a couple of other events) Oh, this thing is just so quiet and graceful. I love it! Built as per factory, with standard motor and prop, but I have altered the battery layout to get the battery under the wing, for better balance, I am currently trying to find out where the majority of PK 2 folks have established the optimum C of G if using a 3s 2200 lipo. I have been using an 1800 Zippy but only get about 6 minutes total after three or four climbs, so thinking about the 2200 to try for a couple more climbs. 4 to 5mph breeze on flat field flying. I know that the factory manual says 70mm from leading edge. I have got it to 75mm but found it still nose heavy with the 1800 Zippy. This arrangement needs a lot of elevator up trim to keep it flying (by the way, I happened to measure the C of G marks under the wings, and found that one was 70mm while the other wing was 75mm, how about that for factory QC!!!!) I am now aiming at 80mm, by sliding the battery under the elev/ rudder servos. I realise that the wind conditions will sometimes dictate a bit more nose heavy. I am just curious about how far back anyone has gone to balance? I don't want to add any lead if I can avoid it. Go With the Flow Bruce

OK Guys, thank you for sharing the info and experiences with the HK altimeter. That has reassured me that my one is probably ok and I just need to get more familiar with it. NOW, for the next question. I have also purchased the HK bluetooth widget to go with the altimeter. There is a little switch with positions: SETUP, STOP, and RECORD. I have downloaded the Android App for this onto my mobile The Chinglish description is a bit weird!!! Can anybody tell me how they usually set this up, and how they use it at the flying site, in practical and normal English, Please. Thank you guys for all the help and the lots of useful info which I have gleened on other topics in this great forum. Go With the Flow Bruce

So, have managed to get a couple of afternoons with the HK altimeter, and thanks to you guys been able to download the data as well. I found that the com 5 port was the one that seemed to bring forth the data. Can somebody tell me if that is of my doing or that this device has a mind of its own? IE why not com 1 or com 2? or any other com for that matter? Another, perhaps silly question. My understanding from the HK blurb is that it has a 63h recording capability! does 63h mean 63 hours or something else? First time I did the down load and then cleared the memory (i think), there had been in the region of 2 hours recorded and it said it was 98% full. 2nd flight with what I assumed was a cleared out memory, I again got about 2 hours record and again it was 98% full. Both recorded sessions ended mid flight (run out of memory) and still plenty lipo life. For the second flight i tried to set up the recording at 1 second intervals to get a longer record time compared with the first session. Maybe i did not get it right??? I'm obviously still trying to get familiar with this thing, but already, i am getting some interesting (to me) details like catching a thermal for around 3 minutes, climbing rate, climb peak altitude/ height whatever. i am glad that i purchased the altimeter, and I anticipate some fun analysing what's what. I can't vouch for how accurate it is, but at least it works as a fair indicator of what I'm doing! or not! as the case maybe. Looking forward to more info on this device from those in the know! Go With the Flow Bruce

Hi Pete B and thank you very much for the response and the pointers. I think my problem was trying to work out the com port number. I did revisit your suggested links. Then with a bit more poking at the site control bar suddenly there was data on the graph. So the system and the gadget does work, and that is a relief. Now I must make a couple of flights and see what revelations are awaiting me. Thanks for the help Pete B. Go With the Flow Bruce

Hi guys. I bought the HK altimeter a couple of weeks ago, BUT i am exasperated! Can someone please direct me with links, or paste the instructions for accessing the driver and software. I have managed to get as far as the welcome screen and can flip between the two options. I have plugged the altimeter into a spare RX and battery and ran it upstairs and down and so on, but when I plug the altimeter into the usb and into my laptop, it glows red, then the altimeter part goes through an ongoing sequence of blue and red flashing leds. But when I then go to the graph screen there is no data showing. I am pretty certain that I have missed out on something, but don't know what. The driver??? I am not so clued up on computer skills, so be gentle with me. Please, please, I am begging on my knees! Go With the Flow Bruce

Great news, the PK2 kits are in stock at UK Warehouse. Mine is now on the road Just so's you know. I had requested email notification, but was also watching morning and evening. NO NOTIFICATION, I was just lucky to be monitoring Go With the Flow Bruce

Hi There Ryan Welcome to the HobbyKing "waiting club". Short answer to your question, I have absolutely no Idea about when things will be coming back into stock. Just an interesting observation, from my side. I took a quick look down the HobbyKing list of Gliders, and noticed that many are now showing"OUT of STOCK". This has obviously been a great summer for us RC pilots, and i reckon there must be quite a few new guys out there too. HobbyKing must have had a bumper year for sales. Glad I have my Bixler 2 as back up for flying. Go With the Flow Bruce