Multiplex Gemini

[jez]

hi maurice ,

nice one, me got one too ,

and a twister !!!!!!!!!! oh bliss . had a flight with the gem today and ended in disaster!!!!!!

not shure what happened just lost all control on a low approach to landing and hit the deck !!!! bit of damage but not what a bit of c.a cant fix , bit gutted though .

any way back to fun jet, i got a spare aon  t2415-4900 motor has anybody got any experience of tuning up the fun jet as it seems a shame not to use it but may be a bit too fast for prop, only got a 2mm shaft too any idea what props to run,

hope all had good xmas, happy new year to all  

[Bill(Rowdy) Yates]

Hi All, (from sunny Whiting Bay - I wish!!!!!  It's been bucketing down all night and all day so far!!)

Sorry to hear about your Gem Jez, but you'll soon fix that I'm sure.  Had fun with laptop, 8mth cocker (Beccie) decided to chew adapter lead, hence no charge, so using wifies computer.  Jez, how the.....do I get my picture small enough to go on profile ??  Still raining and blowing too! I guess it's got to be the train shed as against the plane shed!!

Happy New Year to you all.    Hic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  x(from wifie.)

[Maurice Baynton]

I didnt like to say but i had a prang also with my Gem on Boxing day  same mistake i usually do ,flew infront of the sun . Broke bottom wing & prop, fixed wing, I had a spare  prop but bigger(no good) put a smaller one on  ,( no good)3 broken props. got to get proper size again 9x4.5.     Funjet ready for take off when weather permits

[G]

I've had a few bad landings with my Gemini but luckily it's survived unscathed.  It's a tough little plane.  I've been caught out by the drag and lack of float of a biplane compared to my other planes that glide for ages when I'm landing.  So with the Gemini I've landed short of the runway a couple of times.  A balsa plane would have broken something, but the Gemini is fine.  It won't survive a full-on death plummet, of course, but it certainly takes bad landings in its stride. 

[Tim Mackey]

Maurice, a trick which my instructor taught me ( many years ago ) - if you find yourself flying across the sun - and we all do occasionally - hold the tr up in front of your eyes as a shade - enough to stop the glare, but obviously still be able to see to fly back into clearer vision.

[jez]

about pics bill i use adobe photo editing software and re size the pics to below the recommended size of file, 1050x750 seems about right hope this helps.

got the gemini back together , 2 new wing servos needed !! but looks good again up in pennines at mo might have a flight tomorrow if the gales and monsoooooon gives up !!!

got to do a bit of shopping for the new models !!!!! some esc's and motor goodies to research might have to get a bigger garage ,

roll on the summer

jez

[Maurice Baynton]

thanks for the tip Timbo, i,ll try to remember it. Jez , have you got Funjet up yet

[jez]

hi maurice no not yet got to get motor and prop will be gettin it in new year been a bit busy over xmas repairing gemini and celebrating the usual burp will let ya know when hope gem ok

jez

[Maurice Baynton]

Gem had 2 flights at club strip today . O.K. except for 2nd landing (a bit heavy) another broken prop & broken wing ,repairable. I took funjet but was advised i needed a bit more flying under my belt, no one there would fly it , they were mainly Heli lads. All the best .

[Former Member]

[This posting has been removed]

[Bill(Rowdy) Yates]

New Years day went to Whiting Bay hoping for a quick fly unfortunately wind at 32km since then Gales/Gales/Gales,beautiful sea though and brilliant waves no surfers though.

Managed to get my photo into my profile thanks to help from my stepson Dave in england. I tried what you suggested Jez by it wouldn't work for me am afraid I am not very good at computering.

I think you might have snow in the UK anybody flown with ski's yet?

[Mike Stevens]

I ahev just bought the kit as a step up from my Twin Star II - what power set up have people opted for please -  the standard M/px one, the D version or an alternative?

Thanks

Mike

[jez]

hi mike

i used them /px acromaster upgrade on mine and it is well worth the extra , flies really well and has loads of extra power in reserve, a friend has just built gem with the standard power set but due to the wonderfull weather not yet flown so i cant compare the two

all i will say is i aint dissapointed in the performance !!!!!

cheers

jez

[G]

That's an interesting idea, using the Acromaster motor in the Cularis.  I have the Acromaster motor in my Gemini and it's a nice quiet smooth motor.  Powerful too.  I think it's identical size and weight to the standard Cularis motor but with a higher kV?

In my Cularis I'm using a MVVS 3.5 1200, just because I had it.  The MVVS is a very nice motor, a fraction heavier and more powerful than the Acromaster motor.

The mounting holes on the Cularis are standard and there's plenty of room, so a wide variety of motors will fit.  The official Multiplex options are rather expensive (the MVVS isn't a cheap option either).  This is partly because the Himax motors are not cheap and partly because the supplied speed controller is (in the case of the Acromaster set) an expensive Castle Creations one.  They're definitely good pieces of kit, but cheaper options are certainly possible.

One thing to get right is to make sure you get a motor with the same shaft size as the official one (5mm), so that the official Cularis spinner fits.  (The spinner is a bit of an odd size and hard to replace with any generic spinner). 

[Bill(Rowdy) Yates]

Hi all, had a couple of good fly days this week only trouble is the rough weather of late has covered my lovely beach with stones, so no flights for gemini.

GWS Tiger moth takes off in about 6ft so I could find that much clear sand and almost spot lands with a soft breeze, I also have a Graupner Elektro UHU (Big Tipsy) pusher, that dosn't mind a few stones, I like the centre wheel in fuselage,good for touch and goes when beach allows.

I still havn't managed to try my Jets yet, Fields far too wet must be .patient and wait for spring

I am awaiting arrival of my Flycamone 2 next week so hope to have some video's of Whiting Bay.I can share with you all.

Bill

[G]

I think I'd better post a correction to my one yesterday about the Acromaster motor in the Cularis.

I thought the Acromaster and Cularis motors are the same size but they're not: the Acromaster motor is smaller.  The Cularis motor is a little longer and weighs 28g more.  They have very similar power outputs because the Acromaster one spins faster, having a kV of 1140 while the Cularis one is 700kV.  So the Acromaster one is designed for spinning a smaller prop faster, and the Cularis one is designed for spinning a larger prop slower.

So if you want to buy a Multiplex motor for the Cularis, the Cularis one might be the best bet.  But if you already have the Acromaster one, that would work fine.  With the Acromaster one you might need to add a bit of lead to the nose.  Plus take care you don't draw more amps than your speed controller can handle: if so, use a slightly smaller prop.

In reality gliders like this are not too fussy, quite a wide range of motor power and revs does the job fine, you just fit whatever prop at full throttle draws a little less amperage than the max ratings of your speed controller and motor. 

[Mike Stevens]

I have decided to plump for the Acromaster power set up too.

I noticed from the couple of reviews I have read that the motor thrust can be an issue on maiden flight. One had no problems whilst the other had to much up thrust. Is there a good starting point and is it fairly obvious?

Thanks

Mike

[G]

Maybe screw the top screws in one more turn than the bottom screws (the mounting plate has four screws, you add downthrust by screwing the top screws in more than the bottom ones). 

That's only a little bit of downthrust but you can always increase it later if the plane goes up too much when you apply power.  Let's face it, going up isn't such a big a problem, what you definitely don't want is a plane that goes down when you apply the power!

[MThemadhatter]

Hello, I am thinking about getting a gemini as well. I already have a spare 35A Scorpion commander ESC and am looking for a motor and prop to go with it. I am trying to keep the cost down and having been looking at some of the less expenive brushless motors.

One that has caught my eye is the BRC A2814-8, this is 300w at 1000kv with 30A max current draw. Do you think this is a good match for the Gemini ? 

[G]

Yeas, that looks perfect.  The weight, power etc are about right - a little heavier and a little more powerful than the standard power set is exactly what you want.  The BRC motor's shaft is 4mm, same as the official motor, so the standard prop holder will fit. 

I think you may have to knock the shaft through so it sticks out the other end since the motor needs to fit behind the firewall, not in front of it.  Or maybe that will work without changing the shaft, hard to tell from the photo.

By the way, I suggest you use a 40A speed controller, don't use a 30A one, that would be cutting it too fine.  Don't you hate it when speed controllers catch fire?

[MThemadhatter]

So 35A is not enough for a 30A motor ? I ran a 35A motor on it on my heli and it was fine.

Another couple of motors  have looked at which are a little more expensive are the scorpion

3008-28 1253Kv 30A 400W 

3008-32 1086Kv 28A 400W

These have movable shafts and I have one of there motors on my heli. A little more expensive. I don't really want to get a new ESC at the moment all I need are motor and prop to build the plane.

[G]

You should be fine with a 35A ESC.  When I started I had two planes that each had a 30A ESC with a 30A max motor and eventually both of the ESCs ignited!  So since then I've always used ESCs that are plenty big enough so I don't have to worry about them.

[MThemadhatter]

Thanks for that

I am now weighing up whether to get the Gemini or the Mini-mag, just working out the cost ect. Do you think the Gemini handles the wind better than a minimag ?

[David Ashby - Moderator]

Not a lot in it but the Gemini is a little heavier so in theory should cope better I guess.

[paul@scc]

Grabbed a few pics of my gemini today. This little plane was in a nasty crash a couple of years ago, about ten pieces had to be glued together. She is still a great flyer.