Bonzo Moon

Versa is great, though I found difficult to get the CG in the right place, hence I added a nose to mine which worked well. Not easy to throw too unless you're good at boomerang launch (and I'm not.) Video of the nose job, wheels I added and maiden are below! Did you see my Versa with a nose job and undercarriage video too? The maiden. Prop was too big and hit the ground , but flew like a demon!

Too right! Peeing with rain outside (again) and there's not room to swing a cat in my cold garage!

A little project I did to use a spare Lidl chuck glider foam wing I had kicking around. Scale up the foamboard Flight Test Mini-Mustang and give it a better wing. Not as easy as I thought it would be! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXCLyCqhlTk&list=PLLdle7NDE_1Y_XC3kjOSIUDJcRxVrhez-&index=1

My EDF design GETS IT'S MAIDEN! Lidl Nose, foamboard wing and 45 mm EDF My first attempt at EDF 'jet' design, a foamboard/Lidl nosed Vulcan finally got it's maiden! How did it go? Build blog and more details of design is linked at the end and list of parts on the video. 45mm AEORC EDFhttps://www.banggood.com/custlink/DDDhe4Gzwk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IlZnV3Sav4&list=PLLdle7NDE_1Y_XC3kjOSIUDJcRxVrhez-&index=1

Wow, 70 mm, sounds amazing. I remember you posting before saying you guys were flying a few of them. Any pics of the one with a 70 mm EDF please? Like to see how that was designed.

Ha, yes I agree not a lot of Lidl left, but the nose saves the bother and weight of building a nose and in some ways is less complicated. Plus more aerodynamic maybe. I designed it as I went along and no doubt it would have been better if I could have kept wiring out of the air duct. I taped the servo wires to the foamboard, and tried to route with that in mind, but it was difficult to avoid as all wires and the 3 wires from the EDF have to cross the airflow at some point to get to the centre of the fusi and the rx and battery. I doubt it will affect the thrust, if I dare use that word on a baby edf! It was a design as you go job, Mk2 will be better assuming this flies well! Just under 500 gms with a 1.3 mA 3 s lipo.

My latest project. The Lidl/foamboard EDF Vulcan. My 1st EDF Lidl glider just had an EDF mounted on to of the fusi, this time I wanted to create something that looked like a jet! This is my 9th Lidl build and I had a spare fusi as one of the builds was a biplane! They are all on my channel. Designing was fun, especially figuring the 'engine' intake ducting. I'm pleased with the finished design. It was a long project as this time I ordered the EDF from Aliexpress and it took two months to arrive. I've linked the Aeorc 45mm EDF at Banggood, should be quicker delivery. Around the £15 - £20 mark, depending what deal is on! No maiden yet as weather is awful! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTjSyig2jIE&list=PLLdle7NDE_1Y_XC3kjOSIUDJcRxVrhez-&index=1 No maiden yet as weather is awful!

Yes, they suck the battery! And good idea to mount ESC on the outside. I considered it but couldn't think of an easy, tidy way to do it. Yours is in a good position there. I didn't try a roll and didn't try it at high rates, but was thinking last night of taking out the dihedral to make it roll better. As you say, dihedral isn't good for rolling. The dihedral did make it very easy to fly though, it flies itself. I think at half throttle with a bit of gliding or soaring flight time might be near 10 mins. I haven't tried it with the 800 mA 3s yet. As I said test flight was with just a 480 mA 3s. It got very warm. My first Lidl was a yellow one as in the picture. That looks pretty tidy to me!

Great idea! Funnily enough I'm considering doing the same, either with the Vulcan or with my foamboard F22. I'm still trying to figure out the design. I want to make it simpler and lighter than that Vulcan. Or I might do it with my Lidl nose Vulcan. Any chance you could post a pic or video of your Vulcan job please? This was my redesign of the Flight Test f22. It's less heavy has a more simple nose end. It flies well but don't think I have video of the maiden.

I did think about it, wanted to keep it simple as a first time playing with an EDF. Next project will be a bit more adventurous!

My no 7 'Lidl glider' RC conversion. My first time trying EDF, and a super maiden flight. A joy to fly.Full build details and the maiden are in the video.

Mmmm, that is weird, maybe the fusi developed a bend. Distorted in sunshine or something? Mine didn't come ready to fly , I even had to glue the two fusi halves together and it was too easy to build in a bend while doing so. The incidence of the tail was out which I think contributed to my problems. Got it sorted in the end though and it flies well.

Hi Phillip, Sorry to hear that! On Wednesday I finally managed to get mine flying really well. I had changed to angle of incidence on the tail after that flight, as I think I built in a bend when glueing the two fusi halves together, but it was still porpoising at times. I'd also tried more nose weight. The last thing I tried was a little down trim on both ailerons. Bit of an experiment really to try and change AoI a bit more. Anyhow, Wednesday it flew really well , best at half throttle. It is a bit overpowered with the motor prop I had on. I changed to a smaller prop too. It was floating around and dead easy to fly. Full chat it looped easily . Re the ESC overheat, I have seen people mount the esc on the outside of the fusi in the airflow. Or as you say, fit a scoop. White plastic teaspoons cut off make a good scoop!

Too right and you learn a lot sorting out bad flyers!

Well I got it flying in the end after a long afternoon of trimming and experimenting and in the end it became obvious that it wasn't a CoG issue as had been suggested, and I didn't need the 60 gms of lead on the nose. My cut and shut to change tail incidence pretty much solved the problem. But also, having used a different motor and prop to that in the RTF I concluded it was overpowered and the bad incidence was what caused it to climb so hard even when on reduced power or trying to glide in to land. Now with the incidence changed a bit it's quite happy at half throttle, and I've changed the prop from the 5045 3 blade to a 6 x 4 which is the size Bixler use, it might help to depower it a bit. Other observations. It's very easy to build twists and bends into the fusi if the you are putting together the ARTF version. But my cut and shut worked ok. I have found that instead of putting carbon into the tail to stiffen it, tape is just as effective. All in all a good learning experience. And I know I need to improve my throw.

Yes, thanks. I had Googled the model before buying and I knew some Bixler builders had done that. I considered it and I've done it on some of my Lidl glider conversions, but I didn't really want to add that much extra weight to the tail. I'll re-consider it now!

It was very well packaged. More likely it happened, (perhaps?) when I very carefully glued the two halves of the fusi together. I used Uhu Por which gave much more assembly time than hot glue, but I started from the nose when putting the halves together. It's logical, start at the big end I thought. Foam is flexible and stretchable. It's 35 inches long and when I got to the tail the end it was slightly out. Only a couple of mm but it did annoy me TBH but there's no way you'd pull it apart again without wrecking it to correct it. You get one hit to get it right. Maybe that distorted it? Who knows. If there was a next time completing the ARTF I'd probably start in the middle putting the halves together. And I will post my flight attempts today, there were a lot before I got it flying ok, and my conclusions video tomorrow if I get a chance to edit it. I'll keep you in suspense! But it was not a CoG problem!

Thanks for the helpful comments Matty. I did get it flying well this afternoon and I will post a full account in a day or two. I did it step by step, and as you say, including checking the glide . I usually give my own design models a lob first to see how they glide before I ever try a power fly, though for some reason as this was a kit I wrongly assumed it'd be OK! For those people who said 'nothing wrong with it, you're just a rubbish RC pilot' , here's a comment on my YT channel today about the Bixler. 'check the incidence angle of the horizontal stab... a dude on my club had that problem with this same aircraft and had to modify the tail's angle.' Which is exactly what I did! They don't always fly great straight out of the box! Though I have figured what I think was another issue.

The only other consideration is the ESC is too close to the RX and caused interference? I'll add a ferrite ring on the BEC feed. It's tidy with the ESC inside but I see Andrew Newton has his outside on his Bixler. Better cooling that way too. Maybe I need to do some butchering which is a shame as it's a nice looking model. Just checked I had already put on a ferrite ring!

And I checked the trims after that first off the ground take off that didn't work.

I did notice that too, the fact it appeared to quite suddenly want to climb uncontrollably, hence I gave it a good inspection once on the ground. I always make sure batteries are very secure, so that wasn't the issue. It's velcroed right up front. Elevator servo worked when I tested pre and post flight? I am mystified, but it wasn't doing what it should do that's for sure! I'll see what it's like after my CoG change (which as I say is suggested on other forums) and the tail job I did. Might even get a chance to try is again today!

Will do Ron. Thanks.

Thanks for the replies. Some helpful and some rather rude. I was the one flying it, I know what it was like to fly. These are supposedly easy to fly, and I can fly RC. There are plenty of vids on my YT channel of me flying OK. This was a flying pig. It was not POWER, it was porpoising when I shut the throttle. Anyhow, some of you seem to know better. deliberate demonstration of 'a lack of skill'. Is there really any need for this in a friendly forum? I've read of other people having similar porpoising problems, I suppose they were all incompetent model flyers too then? If you look at the side elevation drawings of the Bixler THE TAIL INCIDENCE IS SHOWN IN THE SAME INCIDENCE AS THE MAIN SPAR. MINE WAS A FEW DEGS OUT. There was something wrong with this model and I suspect a combination tail incidence and CoG and that's what people being helpful have suggested. 15 years of flying RC, as a novice I can do better than this. Steve, you are downright rude. You weren't flying it.

Popular opinion from everyone else (several people on other groups) is that it was tail heavy not nose heavy and those were the symptoms I saw. I DID trim the elevator down as far as I could, it made no difference whatsoever. Even powered right down and diving and as soon as it had speed was climbing like a nutter. I've seen other people of forums saying that had exactly the same problem. Other people on forums have said tail heavy and said the quote CoG is incorrect. Looking at drawings of the Bixler the tail and main wing should be zero zero and mine wasn't. Maybe it bent went I glued the two fusi haves together. It was an ARTF not a RTF. I've been flying RC for maybe 15 years and can usually get some kind of control and get a model back on the ground, even some of my own design scratch builds, but that was a real challenge. You said 'over controlled'? You weren't flying it mate. It wasn't 'over controlled' I had little or no control and I've been flying models for years like I said. You suggest I had control and it was OK? Ha ha, I just about crashed it in! And I usually do a stall and power off to see how a plane behaves. There was no way I could with that. The ones I've seen that flew 'straight out of the box' in YT videos have been RTF and no u/c. Stay tuned. I'll show you soon how this flies with MORE nose weight. NOT tail heavy! ? And with the right incidences! and Ron ... Strange that. My brother has one, no U/C and I fly it with him on buddy lead. CofG as per the book, 2200 3s, flies really well with throws dialled back. It may well be the bad tail incidence was the problem with mine, though as I said above if you Google other people have had issues with Bixlers so I'm not the only one!

Yes. Mine was ARTF so I had to add a motor, plus I added u/c. The RTF has motor installed, maybe it's lighter than the one I used. And with a tailwheel too it will be more tail heavy. I added lead at the nose and it was spot on where they told me to balance it. I have read of other people having issues with these too. When I was trouble shooting this I saw a guy on another forum had to put a heavy padlock up front to get his to fly well! I'll get there in the end.