Jump to content

Acro Wot ARTF (balsa) chat


Recommended Posts

Well I have had mine for a few months now and I have to say I love the way it flys. I bought mine as a lower cost alternative to the xl version and I was worried I would miss having a larger model. But my standard size acro wot with a laser 70 is proving to be a very enjoyable model. Now the arft is manufacured to a price point and as it comes in the box it is ok but things can always be improved. I was thinking of buying a new kit and building it up with some improvements

building in a tank acess hatch

better quality horns and push rods

removing the covering before assembly and recovering with somthing better quality

 

is there anything else I should concider?

Edited By Phil 9 on 12/04/2017 12:48:17

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Advert


well I thought I would re examine the fuel tank in my acro wot in the hope I could lower it.

this would be simple I thought as the stock tank flops about if unsupported there should plenty of room but there is not. if you pull the tank out from the fire wall recess it rests on the cut out in former 1 so can not be lowered without cutting out part of the former. As this former is used to attach the wings it can not be modified to a large extent

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted by Jonathan M on 16/04/2017 15:47:57:
Interesting that your batts are in the tank bay. Mine would up just forward of the servo tray, and still needed 50g tail lead to balance.

it is just the way it worked out. For the most part I used mini servos and the engine is a laser 70

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted by Phil 9 on 21/04/2017 17:27:52:

is it just me or is the engine mount that comes in the IC pack very soft there seems to be a lot of flex on mine

yes its just me. turns out the engine mounting bolts were slackening off even with lock nuts. I put a plain nut on first and then a lock nut together with some lock tite

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
Posted by Pitts Special on 07/06/2017 17:18:02:

This is my first IC model.

So do you set the CofG with an empty or full tank?

Can you feel the CG move as your tank empties in flight?

Balance with the tank empty...only just slightly nose down. When the tank is full it will be more nose heavy at the beginning of the flight( elevator trim might be needed). As the flight progresses the CG will come to the correct point. You might need to adjust the trim again....but nothing too much to notice .

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

In my experience, the AW doesn't need any aileron differential at all.

I started with an aileron-rudder mix on a switch as I had when learning on my high-wing trainer, but then realised two things:

(1) low-wing aerobatic planes don't seem to suffer adverse yaw to the same degree as high-wing trainer types, and the AW turns perfectly well on aileron and elevator.

(2) More importantly, I needed to learn to use the rudder independently anyway so that, for e.g., I could feed in rudder in turns only as necessary, use rudder to fly and take-off/land in crosswinds, perform axial rolls correctly including opposite rudder, etc.

The only mix I now play with is slight down flapperons for short landings in low wind conditions, with a very little bit of elevator mix to control things.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

PS One important thing to check before doing anything else is the wing-incidence. If your initial flights show a need for consistent up-elevator trim then, assuming correct CG, you might have a manufacturing fault as I did of negative incidence! I solved this -1deg incidence by packing up the TE to produce the correct +0.5deg, and the AW now flies much better as a sports aerobatic.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I removed the wooden elevator push rod on mine to do some maintenance and the closed loop wires slackened off. obviously the wires were resting on it at some point.

now I think I may replace it with a 3mm carbon push rod. will a carbon rod flex to much over that distance?

another option would be to mount the servo in the tail

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I used a snake on the elevator and secured it well at either end and in the middle to eliminate flex, but this involved opening holes in the rear fuselage and then re-covering them.

To tighten the slack on the rudder, instead of replacing the whole caboodle, see if you can ease off the crimped brass or aluminium tubes at the servo end and re-crimp (or replace them, plus some thin CA inside) once you've got the right tension in the wires.

Or just move the servo forward a few mm's?

Assuming your CG was spot on, I wouldn't mount a servo at the tail, unless you want to add lead at the nose.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...