David Ashby - Moderator Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 Right then, this could indeed be interesting. I've been captivated by Rich Harris' autogyros at the Greenacres fly-ins over the last few years and, not least Tom Wright's Cranefly thread here on the forum and really fancy one myself. So here goes! The model is from the plan Rich sells here. This is what it should look like when complete. Cancel all leave Richard, I have a feeling some help may be required Edited By David Ashby - RCME on 20/10/2012 16:01:05 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ashby - Moderator Posted October 20, 2012 Author Share Posted October 20, 2012 So, I now have the HC30 head from HK. The plan and some fittings from Rich. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ashby - Moderator Posted October 20, 2012 Author Share Posted October 20, 2012 In truth it's not the balsa bits that I suspect will be a challenge, rather the setting up, balancing etc... This is the fuselage body after a week or so. A few modest deviations - it's quite a 'brick outbuilding' of a fuselage so I'm using a thinner balsa for the top deck, I'll probably make a ply hatch cover, we'll see. Servo wise, I just grabbed a few spares so those are Jamara 2kg minis in situ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ashby - Moderator Posted October 20, 2012 Author Share Posted October 20, 2012 So far so good, and here's the main mast coming along. I'm not sure I'll bother to face each side with balsa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ashby - Moderator Posted October 20, 2012 Author Share Posted October 20, 2012 Fuselage underside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ashby - Moderator Posted October 20, 2012 Author Share Posted October 20, 2012 The fuselage boom is stated as 6mm carbon tube - it was probably my...er....'building' but only 5mm seemed to fit when all was done so I've used 5mm tube inserted into 6mm. Same at the tail for the supports. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Concorde Speedbird Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 Should be interesting! CS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken anderson. Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 well done to young ashers for comming away from the ARTF camp.....and doing some good old honest building.......up here at Anderson Aviation Co we will putting up some photo's of our latest creation...... ken anderson ... ne..1.... ceo of AA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Walters Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 Good on you David! I shall watch this with great interest! Terry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Wright 2 Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 Head Line News ..........Editor plunges into dark side ! You will love it David be prepared for lots of fun. . Tom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon burch Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 A bit of incentive for you. Defintely go with colours you can see well. Biggest problem with autogyros is orientation. The Firefly flies like a trainer. As long as your hang angle is set right, and you choose a suitable day, your maiden should be one to remember. Cheers, Simon Edited By simon burch on 20/10/2012 17:45:08 Edited By simon burch on 20/10/2012 17:46:33 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Harris Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 David, Looking good so far, it is pretty simple to build but the fun part is the flying. Slow flying, fast flying tight turns, power off glides, loops, stall turns and even rolls for the brave but the best characteristics are they are impossible to stall! I can go on all evening about them but the only way to find out for sure if its your thing is to have a go, I take my hat off to you mate Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Fenton Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 Funnily enough one of those HobbyKing head assemblies fell into my basket complete with some blades just last week Looks good David Cheers Danny Edited By Danny Fenton on 20/10/2012 19:04:42 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radge Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 Ooerr..... too many moving parts all going in the wrong direction, but I could be persuaded if the maiden video shows a satisfactory result. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ashby - Moderator Posted October 20, 2012 Author Share Posted October 20, 2012 Cheers lads...er... I have bashed balsa before you know ....but not for a while and I'd forgotten how absorbing it is too. It's all rain forcast down here tomorrow so I should have some more building time. The motor I've selected is another 'spares box special' - an Overlander 2836/08 which is good for 250 watts when spinning an 11x7 on 3S if I remember correctly from previous installations. the washer adds the side thrust. Edited By David Ashby - RCME on 20/10/2012 21:41:19 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grasshopper Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Good stuff David, I too started a Fire Fly 2 build a week ago and I am just about at the same level as you. As you have said, I think the build is not going to be the difficult part here and have been scouring the net for hints and tips on setup. Fortunately there are several 'walk-throughs' for beginners which give simple step by step advice on how to get from small hops to actual flights. The original Rich Harris build blog in particular is an essential read for anyone building this model. I have completed the head changes and making and balancing of the replacement triangular fibre-glass blade holder plate. The 10 minutes spent balancing this plate was worth the effort since what started up as a wobbly affair ended up in a smooth running assembly. I will be following this thread with interest and if you like can throw up a few pics. of my build and also let you know how my (steep?!) learning curve goes on the flying front. Peter Edited By Grasshopper on 21/10/2012 18:21:39 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Harris Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 David, Peter, Had an afternoon down at Old Warden yesterday and one of the 'locals' (who is a forum member) was flying his FF II in a light breeze to good effect. Of course I had my video camera to hand so asked him if he didn't mind me filming a flight for 'inspirational reasons' He flies well I thought? Rich Edited By Richard Harris on 22/10/2012 18:15:38 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grasshopper Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 thanks Rich. My best 'inspiration' moment was the video of you (?) gunning the motor and then putting the Tx on the ground while the FF took off on its own. Stability or what? I think your better half accused you later of doing a dance as it soared away. Looked like it to me. Peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ashby - Moderator Posted October 22, 2012 Author Share Posted October 22, 2012 Thanks Rich, that's good to see. I'll have lots of questions about the set and flying down the line but for now I'll take it one step at a time and get her to that stage. Hi Peter, good to hear from you. I'll be looking at the triangle later this week I think. I'll probably cover the fuselage first, perhaps make the tail feathers too beforehand. Feel free to pop some piccies in this thread, it would be great to see them. Latest pics here show the top deck hatch pinned into place ready for sanding to shape. The mast is done - I won't bother with facing it with balsa I don't think, it seems strong enough? The motor mount is in place now and I've found a cowl from an retired E-flite Nieuport 17 that might finish off the front - we'll see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BILL PETTIT Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 Peter: yes I too think Rich was dancing, Now I tell you first hand that That Fire Fly -ll is now mine because of Rich's generosity and his dedication to advancing Autogyro flight not only over the big pond and all around the globe. David if you build the fire fly to the plans you too could do a hands off take off. The FireFly-ll is a very dosal and forgiving Autogyro and a great first time model. You will enjoy it. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ashby - Moderator Posted October 24, 2012 Author Share Posted October 24, 2012 Rich, lads, I was wondering whether balsa tail feathers would be ok instead of 6mm Depron? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon burch Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 If you were going for balsa, I don't think you would need to go as thick as 6mm. I just used 3mm depron glued together using uhu glue as I can't get hold of 6mm easily. Only problem I can see is adding weight at the back might need a fair amount of weight at the front to get the desired hang angle? Regards, Si mon Edited By simon burch on 24/10/2012 07:24:06 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ashby - Moderator Posted October 24, 2012 Author Share Posted October 24, 2012 Thanks Simon, no sure 6mm would be too much as you say. I think I can get hold of some 3mm Depron now you come to mention it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grasshopper Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 I went down the 6mm Depron route as I had a load of bits left over from my recent Concorde build. The rudder is hanging taped from the boom following painting. The total weight of tail, rudder, boom, hinges, control horn - is 37g. I did not follow the plan on the underside but just layered Depron sheet to make a 'box' for the boom. All glued with good old ever-flexible POR! I am not a fan of push-pull linkages in this sort of light weight build so am using a super light snake insted and mounting the rudder servo inside the fus rather than below the fus floor. On the servo mount former, F3: having mounted the rotor + plate on the mast and fitted and carbon tube control rods I was not over happy with the servoarm/control rod geometry. I have altered this slightly by moving the base of F3 forward by 11mm while leaving the top of F3 glued to the front of the mast support assembly. This gives a right angle between the control horn and the servo arm. The down side is that previously F3 acted as a support former for the mast base assembly so I will add a couple of balsa blocks just behind the servos, rather similar to the F4's. I lack some basic setup knowledge on autogiros so would welcome some comments or pointers to articles etc. I assume that the blade mount plate sits nominally at right angles to the mast, left/right and back/forward and that the various values given are offsets from this position? For example, if the initial setup is +2 degrees up then the plate is moved from being at right angles back/forward to the mast to being 2 degrees tilted up at the front. At the same time the left/right remains at right angles. If my premise is correct then what are the neutral settings for the plate and what are the expected maximum 'throw' requirements in each direction. If I have these then I can check my servo movements are sufficient. Peter Edited By Grasshopper on 24/10/2012 09:16:37 Edited By Grasshopper on 24/10/2012 09:18:08 Edited By Grasshopper on 24/10/2012 09:21:16 Edited By Grasshopper on 24/10/2012 09:22:00 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ashby - Moderator Posted October 24, 2012 Author Share Posted October 24, 2012 Those tail feathers look good to me Peter. Yes, good questions re the head set-up - hopefully Rich can drop by with some help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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