Russell Fletcher

I have been continuing to check out the vario sensor (-VM) and have found it to be very useful. The main reason being that it outputs altitude on the Eclipse 7 Pro display as well as the vario tones. The surprising thing is that it is not quoted as being a pressure altimeter at all! Anyone have any information on how it works. It could be that the TX is simply counting the vario +- steps up and down and that there is no direct altitude output. Setting zero before a fight and flying up and down to 400ft for 20 minutes results in an error of about 6 ft on landing. Not bad and could just be caused by temperature effects. It has been very hot around here! Much better than a GPS, although it can be a bit slow in updating the results if you climb on engine or dive. As there is no total energy compensation it could be getting confused between displaying rate of change and absolute altitude. Anyway, any information would be appreciated

Ian Thanks for the input, pity about the TX displaying unused sensors. In terms of pros and cons, it is early days as, due to the weather, so far I have only found zero or very weak lift. But the lack of total energy comp' is obvious. Need to try it in a real stonker to check it out properly. I use the audio but only for climb. The sink setting just makes a continuous noise. There is a "sens slow/fast" setup on the TX that nobody seems to know about. Might be an averager for the vario. The audio climb system works in increments of 3ft (1m) and outputs a beep for every step. So faster climb gives faster beep rates and you can calculate this. At 1m the unit is at the low end in terms of sensitivity, others being 0.3 or 0.1m. Don't know how much of a limitation this is but if you are starting from scratch it would be worth checking with others. The lower sensitivity may make it less susceptible to TE errors. The TX has no earpiece output but I can add a chip to provide this. One of the reasons I went for the lower cost Eclipse is the eye level display. I have found that the neck strap gets in the way with the lower ones. So I am not into the laptop option. If there was software for a phone mounted high up I might try it. By the way, the iView failed to get to IOS7 and hence it's out of date software does not support vario. Oh, if you are using an Optima 7 receiver with full 6 servo setup you will need Y cable. The advanced sensor station needs a separate power input.

I purchased a Eclipse 7 Pro to get telemetry for gliders as my other more complex older radios do not have it and are expensive and untidy to upgrade, I must say that I am impressed at what you get for the price. At present I am only using vario and pack/receiver monitoring and it seems to work well for locating general ares of lift. I still use the eye ball in the thermal because of lack of TE. A major drop off in the Eclipse is that it insists on listing all the sensor results that are not connected. So it is about ten clicks to get from the vario to the pack voltage. Anyone know how to switch off the unused telemetry inputs? Can this be done using a HP-22? It is obviously a TX issue as it does this even with an Optima 6 receiver that does not support external sensor inputs. Thanks in advance.

Dave, Thanks, that's very helpful, so they form a cross brace between the struts themselves.  Yes, we could certainly do with an improvement in the weather, maybe later next week. I am retired and even with access during the week I have only managed about 6 sessions this year. But it will improve. Russ

Dave,  Could you please help me out with the flying wires. I can see how the four V shaped wires with three clevis' fit from top of rear centre strut and top front of lower wing root to outer struts, but I also have four single wires with a flat plate (not bent) on one end and a single clevis. Looking at your photos these seem to run from the tops of the four outer wing struts, but what do they attach to at the other end?  Is it somewhere on the fuselage? The front shot of your engine with extra weight shows what looks like some cables screwed to the fuselage top, but the front two would be under the cowling. These four are not shown mounted in the instructions but are listed in the parts list. By the way, what holds the top wings together, is it just the flying wires.  Thanks Russ

Rudder bar/servo link :-  I noticed that the thick bar with a clevis at each end for connecting the rudder servo had a problem. When tested the steel pin at one of the clevis ends pulled out because the angle prevents the clevis from locking properly. I used the one supplied to get the length right and then replaced it with a piano wire link with Z bends. If you remove the horn from the servo and mount it on the wire you can get the whole lot back in by re-installing the ply rudder bar.  Russ

It was caused by rubbish clevis ends where the internal thread had been made to fit by just flattening the tube. You only have to replace half the clevis/adusting rods as the other half can be soldered. Oh, one more discovery :- The ply rudder control bar is too short such that the cables to the rudder touch the fuz' sides and will cut into it.  Needs to be replaced with a longer one. Gosh we are having fun! Russ

David,  Yes, I made the 16 mm by measurng the centre line by eye but it should be 14 mm (the bearer thickness) + the crankcase lug thickness.  I HAVE STARTED TO ASSEMBLE THE CLOSED-LOOP CONTROL WIRES AND HAVE DONE THE STANDARD TEST AFTER , BY HOLDING THE HORN WITH MY FINGERS AND PULLING ON THE CLEVIS END WITH A PAIR OF PLIERS.  ******************HALF OF THEM HAVE FAILED!****************** i AM GOING TO REPLACE THE LOT. DAVE (C) MIGHT BE WORTH DOING A TEST ON YOUR COMPLETED MODEL.  Russ

Dave,  Thanks, I think I will use my old Tatone (that dates me!) Ali' radial mount. The screws will be very close to the top of the firewall and there won't be much strength up there looking inside. Might add an internal plate. I have the same concerns re' the crankcase webbing. Also, the top surfaces of OS 120 crankcase lugs are not flat, they are thiner at the edges. That makes it a no-no.  I will have to figure out a way of mounting all that lead so that it can't bust the engine in a crash.  Again, thanks for you input. Did you mod' the undercarrage to soften the landings? Russ

Hi guys, Received my kit and have started to go through it hand assembling various bits. It looks to be built to a very high standard although the front end looks very delicate for a 120 powered model.. I will have to watch those heavy landings! One thing I spotted early on is that if you hand assemble the cowl in the correct front/back position the thrust line marked on the firewall is far too low because of the downthrust. This is easy to spot if you have the two-tone green/yellow as the trim divide goes straight through the centre line at the prop. With the cowl front taped at 5 7/8" from the firewall the trim divide lines up on the fuselage on both sides. With the up/down position adjusted to give a straight line from nose to tail , it all looks very good, the top of the cowl being straight wrt to the top of the fuz in front of the cockpit and flush at the top join.. Using a square and spare Ali' radial mount for the 120, I calculated that the actual (crankshaft) thrust line is roughly 16 mm above the markings on the firewall. Interestingly, the photos in the instructions show the engine mounted on the wrong side of the mount bearers (from the top). This lifts it by the bearer thickness plus the crankcase lug thickness. On the 120 this is about 19 mm total with the mount supplied (close). I pass all this on for info guys. Dave C , your photo shows that your engine is mounted conventionally, i.e. not on the wrong side of the mount. Wondered if this gives the cowl a nose down look? If not I have obviously missed something. You might not spot it on an all red fuselage. Russ.

Dave, Again, thanks for the input. At 10lbs AUW the wing loading is nice and low. It must have quite good slow flying characteristics,  Like the photos and the supporting comments in your previous mails,  very helpful.  Russ

Daves (Monk and Cooper) Again, many thanks for the input  I am told mine is in the post, the delay being caused by your kind tip-off re' the colour.  After an e-mail from me Inwood checked their stock ( when in came back in) and all the kits were yellow/green with a picture of the red/silver on the box! Perkins, the UK distributor said that the manufacturing company stopped making the red version a year ago and never changed the box, so gone for the yellow/green.  Thanks for all the input on CG etc. Do you know what the final all up weight was after getting the trim right with lead up front? I am going to use a OS 120, so should have the same requirement for the lead. Russ

Thanks guys for all the input. Yet to get mine. Will keep you informaed

Thanks forthe input, that is a great help Russell

I was thinking of purchasing the 78" J Perkins Tiger Moth ARTF but have not found a review. Has anyone built, flown or seen someone else fly this model? I will be using an OS 120 so power and nose weight will be at the top end.  Any input would be great. Thanks in advance. Russell