Chris Barlow Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 Excellent news on the maiden Rosco and a stunningly creative colour scheme.Cant wait for the video. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosco Posted April 18, 2016 Author Share Posted April 18, 2016 Hi all, Here's the first fe flights of my Ballerina. The conditions were good although a little breeezy. The grass was beautifully smooth and short but still kept catching the wheels of the Ballerina as you'll see........ The first flight I set it up to be a bit more nose heavy wich proved to be too much. It was a very quick fight because I was literally holding it in the sky. I had to pull down on the elevator stick most of the flight because as soon as I let go it just dropped its nose and looked like it was going to be a lawn dart. The second flight was a little longer and I moved the battery back a bit which made it a little easier to keep up in the air but it was still very twitchy. I think the control surface movements that I had it set on were a bit extreme and that is the cause for this. The landing at the end was a nice glide in but the darn nose over killed it! Third flight was short, the battery was running out and it was a little easier to control although still twitchy. Rosco Edited By Rosco on 18/04/2016 22:16:21 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyD Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 congrats another one in the air. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff S Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 Congratulations on a successful maiden of a beautiful looking Ballerina. I know mine will look nothing like as good as that. Rather than a too far forward CoG your first flight looked like it was over sensitive to elevator which usually indicates a rearward CoG. How much elevator trim did you need to get it to fly hands off? On a maiden I tend to set a bit of back stick on the grounds that it's more comfortable to trim out the elevator when the model is climbing rather than when it's threatening act as the lawn dart you mention, Geoff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john stones 1 - Moderator Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 Looks very agile Rosco John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john stones 1 - Moderator Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 Looks very agile Rosco do you need a bit more forward rake on the u/c, looks to tip too easily ? John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosco Posted April 19, 2016 Author Share Posted April 19, 2016 Thanks guys, much appreciated comments. I agree, more forwards rake is needed on the uc.Tail heavy is what I thought on that very first take off because it literally pointed straight up but I was probably to heavy handed on the throttle and the elevator. After that, like I say, I had to hold so much elevator to keep the nose up that any movement on the ailerons was amplified in turns. I also never had it a full throttle because it was just too erratic.I progressively moved the battery back until it was balanced as per the original COG spot and it was much more controllable but I'm sure that I've got way to much movement in the control surfaces. I have some expo dialled in but I'm going to tame down the movements a little.I also thought about adding some up thrust to the motor.I'm sure that the cog was getting better as I moved the battery further back. The end of the second flight shows that it had a nicer balance as I brought it in to land.Another reason I also think that the control surface movement is extreme is because when I do back off the throttle a little, it calms down. At an all up weight (including battery) of 625g it is also at the whim of the winds and the oval that I'm flying at in the vid is notorious for having little pockets of turbulent air swirling around within the outer tree line. I've flown there many times and had the most stable models thrown around in turbulence there on the calmest of days!I'm sure I can sort out the issues and next time I'll have a nicer flying model, please stay tuned, I'm not finished yet!RoscoEdited By Rosco on 19/04/2016 00:32:02 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosco Posted April 19, 2016 Author Share Posted April 19, 2016 Forgot to mention that there was no hands off flying Geoff.I was limited on time and it was a very rushed affair so no real time to play around with trimming it too much.I was comfortable enough to fly it a few times in that 'twitchy' state but I honestly was just happy to get it back in one piece.I'm sure I'll get it flying some knife edge before you know it!!Rosco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Barlow Posted April 19, 2016 Share Posted April 19, 2016 First flight was lively wasn't it! Just a bit of tweaking at it'll be spot on. I remember your P51 being quite sensitive and you managed to tune that it until it flew very nicely. I'm sure you'll soon have the floaty aerobatic bird the rest of us have been flying. Well done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted April 19, 2016 Share Posted April 19, 2016 I am glad that mine was not as twitchy as that!!! Small model and too much control throw by the look of it but I am sure that you will get it sorted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosco Posted April 20, 2016 Author Share Posted April 20, 2016 Hello all,Another very quick update......Thrust angle changed very slightly, pilot added, throws tamed down a little and unfortunately I had to do a minor repair due to some damage caused in the transportation phase after my maiden flights the other day. All fixed now though.Last on my list is trying to sort out the uc. Part of the reason she kept nosing over was because one side was a bit lose and wobbly. I've got something in the mix and hopefully will have that sorted soon.No pics of that stuff yet, I'll put some up though and I'll also get some pics of it completed and put them up in the completed gallery once I've got this lot done.Hopefully there will be some flying done over the coming weekend involving the Ballerina and I should be able to get another vid but I can't guarantee anything!Till the next time,RoscoEdited By Rosco on 20/04/2016 22:31:03 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosco Posted April 25, 2016 Author Share Posted April 25, 2016 Hello all,I'm glad to say that I got my Ballerina up for another fly on the weekend.She flew much more smoothly on the tamed down throws,although I still think I need to tame down the elevator a little more.I did get some vid of it but I may need to edit it. I flew at my normal flying site and so had more space to fly in, therefore it is just a dot every now and then.Now for the bad news....I may have over propped it because there was a puff of smoke during its second flight and then the motor stopped. It was well and truly smoking on landing. So... After all that, she's flying much better but just not with a motor at the moment!Hopefully I can put a vid together now she's had a bit of adjustment.'Till then,RoscoEdited By Rosco on 25/04/2016 15:56:32 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Hi Rosco. Glad that you are getting her tamed. These wild wild women!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosco Posted April 28, 2016 Author Share Posted April 28, 2016 Hi all, It took a little while but here's my next couple of flights after adjusting a few things. It was going well until I cooked the motor! I've done as little editing as possible and it is a dot a few times. We were also having a conversation so there are bits and pieces of that in the audio too............ </ifram</div> Rosco Edited By Rosco on 28/04/2016 22:08:17 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted April 29, 2016 Share Posted April 29, 2016 Very nice. Looked to be a flat calm day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosco Posted April 29, 2016 Author Share Posted April 29, 2016 Thanks Peter, ironically, after I cooked the motor, the wind picked up and I was flying my Eager Beaver (another Rcm&e free plan) around and I was harrier landing it in the breeze. I could just chop the throttle and it would slowly 'harrier' down......Back to the Ballerina.....I'm rewinding another motor for it right now. I still think I have too much elevator authority but I'm looking forwards to getting it back up in the air. I almost wish I'd built the full sized one instead of shrinking it!Rosco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted April 29, 2016 Share Posted April 29, 2016 Hi Rosco. It did look a little sensitive to the elevator but I put that down to being smaller and very light. Still time to build the full size version I think you would like it even more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosco Posted May 15, 2016 Author Share Posted May 15, 2016 Hi all,I took my Ballerina out for a fly yesterday and started to get a better feel of its capabilities after trying some basic aerobatics. It is still a little sensitive in the throws dept. so that will still need to have some more fine tuning done.The best part is that I stuck my keycam onboard and filmed it.I will put a vid together when I have a spare few moments in the coming days.I'm hoping to be the first with some onboard footage!Cheers to all,RoscoEdited By Rosco on 15/05/2016 23:50:32 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McG 6969 Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 Hi Rosco, Fine to read that you are managing to 'tame' the lady. I won't give you any advice regarding fine tuning of course, but if I did, you could always try out the opposite of what I'd tell you... Regarding the onboard vid, AndyD did a few of them during some of his first Ballerina flights... but please, post yours as well anyway. They're always great to look at. And thanks for your 'cooling' advises at the Bella's blog. Hakuna matata Chris BRU - BE / CTR Video Control Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosco Posted May 16, 2016 Author Share Posted May 16, 2016 Yes, you are right Chris, Andy did. After I posted that, I thought that I'd seen it already done but wasn't sure if it was on a Ballerina Build. My apologies...I hope to be the second one to have some in-flight footage!Percy, regarding the expo, I have 30% dialled in but I'm sure it's just the elevator causing my problems. Thanks.Chris, I'm open to anyone suggesting anything, I'm no expert my friend.Thanks guys. I'll post the vid soon. I made a start on it today but I'm at work tonight (now) so it'll be up in the next day or two. It's nothing really fancy anyway although I'll let you guys be the judges on my inverted flight. One particular bit looked pretty cool from the outside!Cheers fellas,RoscoEdited By Rosco on 16/05/2016 13:16:17 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McG 6969 Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 No apologies needed, Rosco. You 'll be the second one to have some fpv-footage. And don't 'forget' to post it when ready... Do you think you have to much throw with your elevator? Hakuna matata Chris BRU - BE / CTR Throw Control Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyD Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 yea more flight footage,i need to have another go but its a bit hit or miss to where the cameras pointing untill its downloaded,i wanted to put the camera on the tail somewhere but was a bit worried about cg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosco Posted May 16, 2016 Author Share Posted May 16, 2016 @ Chris, Yep, too much throw of the elevator. Easily fixed.@ Andy, Yes, in-flight footage is pretty cool. I might post some Youtube clips on here to show a couple of spots where I've put a camera on my models. I taped it to the top of my PZ T28's tail once....worked well. I have the wider lens on my 808#16 and you are right, sometimes it can be tricky trying to work out what you are actually filming!Hopefully I'll have the vid done tonight.Until then,Rosco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosco Posted May 16, 2016 Author Share Posted May 16, 2016 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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