Crane Fly Light , Autotogyro Trainer , For experienced pilots trying autogyros for the first time.

[Tom Wright 2]

We were lucky with the weather right through the weekend and got plenty of flying . Glad to hear you are gaining confidence flying your CFL Deyrick .

Tom.

[Tom Wright 2]

As Terry's CFL has the rudder and elevator servos mounted in the rear floor section rather than at the rear I am currently converting one of my my models to check the effects of the mod . This does involve a little more work , much longer push wires and adding guides.

Will post photos and results of flight test .

Tom.

[Deyrick Gibbins]

I did think of doing that on mine, would have been beneficial as the control rods even with some thin guides weigh less than the lightweight servo extensions without servos.

A couple of flights yesterday during calm periods, not looking good for next few days.

[Bernie]

Hi Tom, Today I was just getting ready to test fly my CF and was sorting through my lipos one of them is severely swollen .I'm really not sure what to do next with it it does look a tad dangerous .being a leky man what's you'r advice please Bernie.

[Tom Wright 2]

Hi Bernie

Swollen lipos is normally an indication that they have or are reaching the end of there usefull life . Some will continue to work quite well if the current draw is not very high for the C rating. It's also a matter of how swolen that normally dictates what usefull life remains .

Swelling can be caused by keeping the lipos fully charged for long periods, or when used with motor / prop combinations that draw heavy currents by comparison to the C rating . It is normally recomended that lipos not in current use are stored at 40 - 60 % of full charge . Another thing to avoid is running the lipo right down to LVD ( low voltage cut off ) as this will shorten service life and often result in premature swelling .

Chargers that also balance the cell voltages should be used to help prolong life.

Lipo's for light models such as the CFL are very inexpensive these days ,so I find it is best to spend an extra quid or so to get one with a decent C rating and then run it at half the rating or less , 40 C or more is what I aim for . Hope this helps, but if doubt exists best to get a new one .

Tom.

[Martin McIntosh]

I wonder if this was a TGY Nanotech since these have given me similar problems even after just one flight and a light load. A clubmate, who flies electric only, had to scrap nine of them. I now only use the cheaper, lower C TGY or Zippy in the same models and the problem has gone.

Still not had the chance to fly my CFL. It will just have to wait a little longer.

[Terry Whiting 1]

Hi Bernie,

I advise not to use any swollen lipos I have over the past three years suffered two doing just that, these were run down using a 12v 9w car rear light bulb then dunked in a plastic bucket of brine for a week which killed them completely. As Tom said these small batteries are really cheap.

Hi Tom,

The push rods on mine are 1.5mm carbon rods with plastic quick links on their tail ends, and on the servo arms I used metal swivel fittings with allen key grub screws, makes for easy adjustment.

I was going to use 2mm C/rods with one pair of support guides, but I felt with 1.5mm C/rod I felt more comfortable by use two pair of guides.

Regards to you both,

Terry

[Tom Wright 2]

Hi Guys

It did not take long to move the servos forward, then fit the guides and push rods,which are all under the boom .

Tom.

[Tom Wright 2]

[Deyrick Gibbins]

Very neat Tom.

On the Turnigy Nanotech question I have been using them for 6months, 1000 3cell 25-50C, 950 2cell 25-50C

and some 300 2cell 35-50C all without issue got 5-6 of each.

I do not push them by pulling to much current and never discharge to low, usually 3.7 to 3.8 per cell when removed.

Got a couple of 2200 3 cell 25-50C used in my Quad/Tricopter with no issues either.

Deyrick

[Martin McIntosh]

My failed ones are 35-70C. Maybe that is the difference.

Martin

[Tom Wright 2]

Deyrick

I have used nano tech lipos since they first came out and have no complaints at all .

I have been busy today building a CFL that will be going down south to a busy pilot who has very limited spare time to scratch build .

I got all the parts from Coolwind and AJ Blades , just leaving the spruce ,balsa and servos to find from my stock, which certainly results in a fast accurate build that should fly off the board, that is if the weather improves enough to give it a try.

The model will have the "Terry mod " and possibly some small additions to improve the glamor factor as the recipient has flown Autogyro's before.

Tom.

[Tom Wright 2]

Martin

I have used lipo's since they first appeared ,and found that the higher C rated ones tend to give longer service before swelling or significant on load voltage drops occur, but I tend to run most electrical / electronic mid priced model parts well below the claimed specifications, and do accept from time to time a sub standard component may have slipped though questionable quality controls , mind you the problem your club mate had, and assuming the lipos were new and correctly charged , is completely unacceptable .

Tom.

[Martin McIntosh]

Me too. This guy is an engineer also and is the local Guru on leccy flight. He uses massive cells frequently and has had no problems with the lower 35 or 40C versions which I now use. ( well within capabilities).

Martin

[Eric Hartley]

Have downloaded pdf and ,obtained the fire glass parts from coolwind and the electrics etc. from Giant Shark and it all seems to be going together well. However not having a great deal of experience with electric power I note that the brushless motor does not have a shaft protruding on which to attach the prop adapter and prop. Please advise me how to proceed.

Eric

[Malcolm - coolwind.co.uk]

Eric,

The motor has a built-in prop saver mount and does not have a Shaft

The following pictures show how to mount the prop

Good Luck with the build,

Malcolm

coolwind.co.uk

[Terry Whiting 1]

Hi Malcolm.

I like what you have done on you site it looks truly professional. Enjoyed the brows through you stock too.

Are you going to stock an ESC suitable for the E-Max BL 2220/07 as I think it will require a 40 amp?

Kind regards

Terry

,

[Malcolm - coolwind.co.uk]

Terry,

Thank you for your kind comments.

The answer is yes, probably within the week, along with a lot of other goodies

 

Malcolm

coolwind.co.uk

Edited By Malcolm - coolwind.co.uk on 11/10/2013 12:14:08

[Tom Wright 2]

Hi Eric

Welcome to the CFL thread. If you have any questions at all just shout as we have a friendly bunch of guys here to help.

Tom

[Eric Hartley]

Hi Malcolm

Thanks for the info.

Incidentally most impressed with the fibre glass parts - there is no way I could have produced anything like.

Eric

[Deyrick Gibbins]

A few flights today late afternoon, still in one piece and going well.

I second Eric's comments on Malcolms stuff, very good and accurately cut.

See he is getting an increasing selection of bits for various Gyro's.

Deyrick

[Tom Wright 2]

Hi Deyrick

Assuming you now have the model trimmed for optimum flight performance ,can you give us any indication how it performs against the Auto - G ?

Tom.

[Tom Wright 2]

Just to add to the above we are particularly  interested in the ability to fly slowly  and keep the model close in without undue pilot stress.

 

Tom.

Edited By Tom Wright 2 on 12/10/2013 19:47:17

[Deyrick Gibbins]

I had posted over on the RCGroups CFL thread yesterday that i agreed with your findings.

The Auto G flys faster than the CFL at cruise and needs more speed at takeoff.

The Auto G feels heavier in the air while flying when the CFL seems to float in comparison.

The CFL is easier i think to fly easy circuits with, close in and at slow speed.

I have not tried any High Alpha sort of stuff for slow speed but have had it hovering stationary no problems in a small breeze.

I think the Auto G will feel lighter in the air once i get the AJ Blades on it as they will perform better than the standard foam blades going by Tom's experience and others that have used home made wooden blades on them.

I have not flown the AutoG since I finished the CFL so will need to try it again see if it still feels the same after getting more Gyro air time.

Deyrick

Edited By Deyrick Gibbins on 13/10/2013 12:45:25

Edited By Deyrick Gibbins on 13/10/2013 12:46:41

[Tom Wright 2]

Deyrick

Thanks for that , it is always much better to hear a truly independent account ,posted on this thread ..

I am certainly pleased with my Auto - G blade / plate conversion , as the model is now far less prone to needing replacement parts , and does seem to fly lighter . A guy in the States has done a similar conversion and his reports are very much in line with mine .

To be fair to the Auto - G the stock model does fly well , and if flown with care in suitable conditions, by a pilot with some previous auto gyro experience it 's a perfectly viable model , but for those of us that fly a lot , and for those with no previous I think new parts could be needed quite often .

The stock delta 3 plate does eliminate the problem of getting the blade alignment ,and bolt tension correct , so to avoid vibration with the conversion set up attention must be paid to getting the blade bolt tension right.

Tom.