Forum members' new models: Let's see them.

[GrumpyGnome]

Maybe it's a 'spot the plane' competition....

[leccyflyer]

Finished the repairs and repaint on my spare Durafly Spitfire 1a today. I had the second set of decals for the squadron markings left over from my original kit, so, as both Spitfires were the same and I had to repaint over the repairs, the spare became Eric Lock's EB-G.

 

Maiden flight of EB-G will have to wait a few weeks for the grass to get cut at the club field, but that's okay as my rusty thumbs might have worked out a few cobwebs by then. 

[Ron Gray]

My new FMS Viper, had its maiden flight on Tuesday which nearly ended in tears (faulty gyro RX) flew again today with a new RX, brilliant despite the very cold and strong NE winds. 

 

Mine's the one in the foreground!

 

 

Today's flight

 

 

 

[Kevin Fairgrieve]

18 minutes ago, Ron Gray said:

My new FMS Viper, had its maiden flight on Tuesday which nearly ended in tears (faulty gyro RX) flew again today with a new RX, brilliant despite the very cold and strong NE winds. 

 

Mine's the one in the foreground!

 

 

Today's flight

 

 

 

How faulty was the RX Ron?

Programming or hardware, and which RX?

 

[Ron Gray]

An old S8R Kev. It was working fine on the ground and everything moving as it should. As soon as I took off (with the gyro off) I was into a fight with it. The Viper didn't want to climb and was very sluggish in response to the controls, just like it was in Safe mode. Turns were gigantic including having to fly behind me (!!!). Another peculiar thing was that the retract switch had reversed itself, normally, and this is how I had it configured, switch forward for U/C down, switch back for up but after take off I flicked the switch and the legs stayed down, switched it the other way and legs up. I flicked the gyro switch between the modes as I just didn't have enough elevator authority and put the rates switch on high which resulted in massive over controlling on the ailerons. By this time (4 mins into bucking bronco and barely controlled flight) I decided to land. Fighting it all the way down I came in a bit hot, touched down (1 leg) and decided to go round again at which point it decided to tip stall but I then made one of the best saves and managed to recover it before coming in again and landing it on the grass. It was very nearly a bin bag job!

 

Back in the pits I discovered that I had little to no elevator movement so rest the gyro (from the Tx) and regained full movement but couldn't access the gyro setup (Tx) to turn it off. At that point I decided that I needed to replace the Rx with an X8R which is what I did for today's flight and no problem it flew like it was on rails. I have ordered a new S10R from T9 which arrived today so will fit that before Saturday but, tbh, despite todays very strong cross winds I didn't really miss not having a gyro!

Edited March 2, 2023 by Ron Gray

[Kevin Fairgrieve]

2 minutes ago, Ron Gray said:

An old S8R Kev. It was working fine on the ground and everything moving as it should. As soon as I took off (should have been gyro off) I was into a fight with it. The Viper didn't want to climb and was very sluggish in response to the controls, just like it was in Safe mode. Turns were gigantic including having to fly behind me (!!!). Another peculiar thing was that the retract switch had reversed itself, normally, and this is how I had it configured, switch forward for U/C down, switch back for up but after take off I flicked the switch and the legs stayed down, switched it the other way and legs up. I flicked the gyro switch between the modes as I just didn't have enough elevator authority and put the rates switch on high which resulted in massive over controlling on the ailerons. By this time (4 mins into bucking bronco and barely controlled flight) I decided to land. Fighting it all the way down I came in a bit hot, touched down (1 leg) and decided to go round again at which point it decided to tip stall but I then made one of the best saves and managed to recover it before coming in again and landing it on the grass. It was very nearly a bin bag job!

 

Back in the pits I discovered that I had little to no elevator movement so rest the gyro (from the Tx) and regained full movement but couldn't access the gyro setup (Tx) to turn it off. At that point I decided that I needed to replace the Rx with an X8R which is what I did for today's flight and no problem it flew like it was on rails. I have ordered a new S10R from T9 which arrived today so will fit that before Saturday but, tbh, despite todays very strong cross winds I didn't really miss not having a gyro!

Sounds like quite the f(r)lite!, pleased it came home in one peace.

 

[Ron Gray]

It was a quite scary flight, no doubt Mark will recount it on Saturday! But as above, the good news is that it does fly really well and I've just bench configured the new SR10+!

[Tosh McCaber]

On 22/02/2023 at 16:20, brian wood said:

1/5 p51 enlarged 25% from the bt plan powered by kolmn 50 4 stroke all balsa and ply as per bt design but with some mods to structure ,ive been waiting to maiden it for the last few months,it has modified robart retracts converted to electric and home made oleos.

That's really nice!

[Tosh McCaber]

4 hours ago, leccyflyer said:

Finished the repairs and repaint on my spare Durafly Spitfire 1a today. I had the second set of decals for the squadron markings left over from my original kit, so, as both Spitfires were the same and I had to repaint over the repairs, the spare became Eric Lock's EB-G.

 

Maiden flight of EB-G will have to wait a few weeks for the grass to get cut at the club field, but that's okay as my rusty thumbs might have worked out a few cobwebs by then. 

Excellent, Leccie- obviously not the minis!! One for each arm?

[leccyflyer]

For favourite aeroplanes it's worth having a spare - especially when they are very likely to be discontinued at any time. I was able to get the missing tailwheel assembly from Hobbyking Global warehouse, though it took a few weeks and I already had a spare canopy, radio mast and 3D printed a replacement scoop for the underside. Having bought the model a few weeks ago for spares it was nice to get her airworthy again. Will be flying a flock of the micros down here this morning hopefully. 🙂

[Paul De Tourtoulon]

13 hours ago, leccyflyer said:

Finished the repairs and repaint on my spare Durafly Spitfire 1a today. I had the second set of decals for the squadron markings left over from my original kit, so, as both Spitfires were the same and I had to repaint over the repairs, the spare became Eric Lock's EB-G.

 

Maiden flight of EB-G will have to wait a few weeks for the grass to get cut at the club field, but that's okay as my rusty thumbs might have worked out a few cobwebs by then. 

You can't have enough Spitfires, wouldn't a 12s get it off the longish grass ,.😅

[leccyflyer]

Spot on with the "can't have enough Spitfires "- very true. 😄

[PeterF]

This one is a bit of a departure from my normal larger outdoor RC models including a 1/4 Tiggie. It is from the Vintage Model Company kit and is 18" wingspan and weighs about 30g with rubber power. Took a bit of time to get used to handling such fine pieces of balsa, thing such as 1/16" spars were sent to test the ham fisted. Test flights at tomorrow's indoor flying.

 

 

[Manish Chandrayan]

That suits a Tiggy nut Peter. Lovely model

[Graham Davies 3]

Another foam creation:

 

Pitts S2A. 40" span, 2lb 11 Oz. Set up to fly on 3S 2200 packs using a 1200kv 3536 motor on a 10x5. Constructed from Diall (B&Q) laminate underlay; 3mm and 5mm thickness. Painted directly to the foam in emulsion and covered in Laminating film. Worked OK, but I'm terrible at covering at the best of times! Colour scheme as a tribute to the Ukrainian Aerobatic team....

 

Didn't quite get finished today in time to maiden. In any case, it's a bit parky!

 

Graham

 

 

[Outrunner]

Very nice Pitts Graham, very light too for a 40" span model, should fly well. Is it built from a plan and did you mould your own canopy?

 

Good luck with the maiden.

[Peter Miller]

Looks great Graham.

 

I saw that two had gone flying...Brave masochists!!

 

Fit skis for this coming week!!!.

[Graham Davies 3]

Thank you both.

 

Peter, I did plan to go, but the '1 hour's work' I needed to finish it became 5! As it was cold, I decided to press on..

 

Outrunner, It's an own design. I have a very simple method; I print out a 3 view and decide my scale. I then create a conversion factor so I can multiply measurements I take from the drawing to get the size I want. I then use the fuselage outline to make a 'cruciform' construction using a side view and top view. I create a number of formers and clad the whole lot in 3mm foam. I have to make some decisions how to make it strong enough at the front; I can tell you about that if you are interested. The wings are made using the outline and 3 spars at 25, 50 and 75% chord. There are no ribs as such. The front of the cowl is some polystyrene that came free with my fridge freezer; carved, sanded, filled and painted...

 

Graham

[Graham Davies 3]

Oh, the canopy is from my CAP 232, that is,er, 'retired'...

 

[David Davis 2]

1 hour ago, Graham Davies 3 said:

Another foam creation:

 

Pitts S2A. 40" span, 2lb 11 Oz. Set up to fly on 3S 2200 packs using a 1200kv 3536 motor on a 10x5. Constructed from Diall (B&Q) laminate underlay; 3mm and 5mm thickness. Painted directly to the foam in emulsion and covered in Laminating film. Worked OK, but I'm terrible at covering at the best of times! Colour scheme as a tribute to the Ukrainian Aerobatic team....

 

Didn't quite get finished today in time to maiden. In any case, it's a bit parky!

 

Graham

 

 

I love the registration.

 

[Graham Davies 3]

2 hours ago, David Davis 2 said:

I love the registration.

 

I don't know what you mean...

 

😀

[Tosh McCaber]

Like it Graham!  Tell us more about the front end?

[Graham Davies 3]

Thanks Tosh.

 

The front end is surprisingly straightforward. I created a 1/8" ply former to mount the motor to. This also keys to the central 'crutch'. The vertical part is clad with 1/32" ply to double up from F1 to just behind the lower wing, and includes a single pylon to mount the top wing. This also keys in an undercarriage block so the motor, undercarriage and wings are all mounted to something a bit more sturdy than foam. The motor is bolted directly to the front former, and a layer of polystyrene glued directly to the former. The hole for the motor is big enough to allow both passage of air, and access to the bolts holding the motor on. This really simplifies the cowl as it is permanent and does not need any complications in order to make it removable. I then simply sanded it to shape! Once in shape, I gave it a light filling, followed by a fine sanding. The model then got painted with emulsion. Yellow first, brushed and dabbed with a piece of sponge to take out the brush strokes before being masked and the blue sprayed on, slightly thinned. Over this is a covering of 38gsm laminating film, applied with a cool (100degC) iron. Goes on OK, but you can't really bully it at this temperature, although that is just as well as it may well warp the structure if you do.

 

It's all a lot simpler than it looks!

 

Graham

[Outrunner]

36 minutes ago, Graham Davies 3 said:

Thanks Tosh.

 

The front end is surprisingly straightforward. I created a 1/8" ply former to mount the motor to. This also keys to the central 'crutch'. The vertical part is clad with 1/32" ply to double up from F1 to just behind the lower wing, and includes a single pylon to mount the top wing. This also keys in an undercarriage block so the motor, undercarriage and wings are all mounted to something a bit more sturdy than foam. The motor is bolted directly to the front former, and a layer of polystyrene glued directly to the former. The hole for the motor is big enough to allow both passage of air, and access to the bolts holding the motor on. This really simplifies the cowl as it is permanent and does not need any complications in order to make it removable. I then simply sanded it to shape! Once in shape, I gave it a light filling, followed by a fine sanding. The model then got painted with emulsion. Yellow first, brushed and dabbed with a piece of sponge to take out the brush strokes before being masked and the blue sprayed on, slightly thinned. Over this is a covering of 38gsm laminating film, applied with a cool (100degC) iron. Goes on OK, but you can't really bully it at this temperature, although that is just as well as it may well warp the structure if you do.

 

It's all a lot simpler than it looks!

 

Graham

 

 

Sounds like an ideal plan article for RCM&E

 

 

[Tosh McCaber]

Here's a photo of the 800mm wingspan Pibros that I built over 3 nights on and off.  I  don't know how I missed this before- it was designed by Marcel Guwang in the late 90s.

 

My one weighs 165grams- just under 6oz- I suspect lighter than the originals!  Great change from the usual larger construction- ultra simple- a sheet and a bit of Diall B&Q EPS.  The most time was spent thinking of where to place the lightweight Rx, 2 mini servos and a 220mah NiMH battery for balance- I moved them around on top before digging holes in the build up.  It's got a sub fin for chucking, and a tow hook under for high starts.

 

I'm waiting for a chance of a proper flight- nonstop rain here for the next week apparently (thus the indoor photo!). I have given it a few chucks in the local park-and it flies! When I get a chance, I'll try the slope- when the winds in the right direction!

 

I'm going to build another with leccy power.  Can anyone with experience of this size/ weight model make any suggestions as to what motor/ prop combination would work?