New Foamy Wot 4 by Ripmax

[Alan Moore]

The wing on my Wot4 Foam E is starting to get alittle wobbly. I will probably have to pack it out if I want it stay rigidly attached to the fuselabe- nor sure if being wobbly makes any real difference though.

Alos, the aircraft does not glide particularly well. I like to power up high and then give the esc a rest on the way down, but the plane does not glide that well. I was wondering if turning the esc brake ON might help- and if so what the disadvantages of it turned on might be.

Alan

[Cirrus]

I've put the break on mine. Means I now nkow reliably whether I'm under power or not on approach which is great. Also means the prop does not windmill and slow me down on approach when the power is cut (some like the break off so windmilling slows the plane down if coming in too fast).

Mine has a great glide. You sure the CG is correct? With stock battery i get a nice long glide from up high.

Is the wing lose at the leading edge or trailing edge?

[Alan Moore]

Its wobbly at front and back. Probably as a result of general wear and tear.

[Simon Chambers]

Mines wobbly all over and is full of glue and duct tape but still glides great. I leave the prop break off as it reduces the glide and allows smoother, more controlled acrobatics when in a dive. cheers, Si.

Edited By Simon Chambers on 09/09/2012 19:28:11

[Alan Moore]

I had convinced myself to turn to brake ON until I got this post! I think I will just have to use some trail and error to see what suits my style of flying best!.

Alan

[Paul Churchley]

I have just bought my first WOT 4 Foam E and I am trying to decide if I should do some mods prior to maiden flight. If anyone can help with some advice I would appreciate it...

1. Replace ESC?
   This is a new Mk 2 version and has the 40A ESC. I have read here and elsewhere that there have been many ESC failures. Were those just the older 30A ESCs or are these 40A ESCs also prone to failure?
   
2. Tape hinges?
   I was going to do this regardless before the first flight but now I have the model I notice that the hinges look pretty solid. Is it really worthwhile taping even when the existing hinges look fine? Is there any disadvantage to taping because if not then it might be worth taping just in case?
   
3. Bigger wheels?
   My club flies at a grass field and although the grass is cut weekly it can get long enough to flip some models. I have been told by members that bigger wheels are not required but again, adding bigger wheels cost just a few pound so if it isn't adding much to the weight I thought I might do it?

Anything else I should be doing prior to flying?

[Greybeard]

Leave it as it is – no mods needed. When taking off I start the run with up-elevator which is let out as the throttle is opened and the model accelerates, this stops it nosing over.

The only thing I would advise is that you reduce the control throws to about 50% of those given in the instructions for the first few flights or use the rate switches; it’s quite a lively little beast.

[Phill @ Elite Workwear UK]

Hi Paul,

I have flown mine from grass and tarmac and neither posed a problem.

The original supplied speed controller has been used for a hundred or more flights and has not hiccuped once.

I did however have a workshop mishap that damaged the elevator and tore a bit of the hinge - duck tape sorted both but I didn't feel the need to do this as a precaution.

Phill

[Cirrus]

Agreed - the 40A ESC is fine. It was the 30amp ESC that was in adequate. Only thing I've had to do to mine is pack and glue the engine mount as was becoming a little lose. But that is after nearly 100 flights.

[Paul Churchley]

Thanks everyone.

I shall leave it all as stock for now then and see how it goes.

I finished the build this morning. The only problem I had was the decals. They took me over 3 hours and although they are acceptable they are a little tatty in places. It is impossible to do a good job IMO. I even used soapy water but found that it was losing it's sticky after the water was squeezed out so I stopped after a while and just put the rest on carefully and slowly.

One more question... prop brake on or off? How is it set out of the box and how would I change the setting? Does it matter?

I have set up my transmitter (DX8) so that the Mode switch controls the amount of Expo... docile... medium... manic! I haven't yet flown a proper powered plane before (just helis and a motor glider) so I suspect I should be fine on the low rates and part throttle. We'll see I'll be buddied at first at my local club anyway.

Maiden flight tomorrow wx permitting.

Edited By Paul Churchley on 14/09/2012 13:01:00

[Cirrus]

stock on mine was break off, which means prop will windmill round with no throttle on the glide. Leave it as is for now, see what you think. I've put the break on as I found it added drag on landing approach windmilling and also it confused me as to whether I had cut throttle or not.

good luck with the maiden.

[Paul Churchley]

OK. Will do.

Thanks

[Paul Churchley]

Maiden flight was strange.

Another experienced club member flew it and he couldn't trim it out as he ran out of elevator trim range. This is strange because we centered everything from the start and it all looked fine beforehand. He landed it OK be only just especially as it was a little windy.

We checked everything over and re-centered the elevator servo wire and the second flight was fine.

So all trimmed out for sensible training speed and 30% expo and I took over. All was fine. A bit twitchy but it was quite windy. Normally we wouldn't be doing a maiden on such a windy day but he is a superb pilot and I had every confidence all was fine.

I did some general flying around and then some low approaches then a landing. Then a take-off, more circuits and another landing. All fine.

Not bad for the maiden flight of the WOT4 and my very first flights on a normal plane... i.e. not a motor glider.

More next week weather permitting.

It does need bigger wheels for grass... it nosed over on every landing. not a problem but I think 3" wheels would help.

[Cirrus]

Anyone replaced the wheel axle yet on their wot 4? Pilot error yesterday resulted in me shearing off the wheel axle bolt. Looking for a replacement. Might have to improvise.

[Capt Kremen]

Hi Cirrus,

I (routinely) replace the soft 'Chinese' metal axles on ARTFs like the 'Wot4', 'AcroWot', 'Riot' etc. with the stub axles from Dubro (other brands are available too). Tap in a search on the inter-web and you'll find them.

Add bigger wheels and so far I can fly of even the worst pot-holed, bovine encrusted, horse-shoe divetted flying sites!

[Paul Churchley]

What size wheels do you recommend for the WOT 4? I have heard 3" but are they big enough? Much bigger and it would start to look wierd.

[Paul Churchley]

Bought some 3" wheels. They are much bigger but not too big IMO.

Should get to fly again Wednesday or Thursday.

[Paul Churchley]

Well they didn't stop it nosing over so not sure they made much of a difference

[Phill @ Elite Workwear UK]

Hi.
Is the UC on the right way round?
Sorry if this sounds patronising but I made this mistake when I first built mine and it kept nosing over.
P

[Paul Churchley]

Not patronising as that is a simple mistake but yes, it is on the right way... I wish it wasn't because swapping it round might fix it!

The U/C bends forwards slightly and it looks like it could benefit from being a little more forward than it is already.

Trying again today wx permitting and I will try to get the touchdown speed right to see if that can help.

[Simon Chambers]

More throw on the elevator needed? Mine very rarely flips over on landing.

Si.

[Paul Churchley]

Yes, I am on low rates and so the elevator throw could be more.

[Paul Churchley]

A bit more elevator throw seems to have fixed it

[Simon Chambers]

Posted by Paul Churchley on 21/09/2012 21:56:05:

A bit more elevator throw seems to have fixed it

Cool.

Once you get used to flying it, you'll find you'll want to up the rates.

Currently I'm running on 140% with as much throw as I can get it to do. Plus I've got 40g of tail weight to push the C of G as far back as it'll go before it becomes too pitch sensitive.

Had great fun today learning how to do flat spins with it. Unfortantly the last attempt I pulled out a bit too late. So its now sitting in the kitchen waiting for the Gorrilla glue to dry ..... again. 

Apart from breaking the nose, cracking the other side of the wing (both halves have been cracked now) and breaking the prop, it's also bent the motor bell housing.

The motor does still turn freely though, so once the glue is dry tomorrow, I'll just run it as is again. Maybe if I orientate the previously bent prop saver, I can cancel out the imbalance? The vibration from the bent prop saver did make it sound like a throaty IC plane.

Si.

Edited By Simon Chambers on 21/09/2012 22:23:06

[Alan Moore]

I found that my Wot4 Foam E was almost impossible to fly at any distance because the decals are so similar above and below the wing i couldnt tell the underside from the top!

The answer was to paint it a dark colour under the wing and a starburst on top-now its so much easier to orientate.

The disadvantage of using paint is that it tends to crack and rub off, plus aerosol paint is very expensive in the quantities that are required, and the masking process is a bore.

Has anyone come across a 'kit' or 'set' of decals made especially for the Wot Foam E? It would make life much simpler just to have to put stickers on the aeroplane and not have to worry about cracking or the hassle and expense of paint.


Alan