Wots Wot XL

[Rich too]

Cheers John, another forum member very kindly gave me a deal  on it that I could not refuse . I cannot wait to try it...

Edited By Rich2 on 05/08/2016 20:08:52

[David P Williams]

One of our club members has one with that engine and it's just perfect. I'm still struggling with the Saito 180 - either too much vibration or overheating, or both.

[Rich too]

Thanks David, that is good to know. Shame about your Saito, they are normally cracking engines, and I hope you get it sorted.

[Tim Flyer]

I hope your "Wotties" are coming on ok chaps. Mine took off this weekend! I ran my laser 155 up in the garden for a few minutes and tuned it in with the cowl off and took the plane for its maiden flights yesterday . The weather was decent but we had a wind of about 10mph plus and it wasn't constant so it made conditions a bit less than perfect for a test flight. After quite a bit of " mucking about" assembling this model and a brand new laser engine I must say I was nervous as I didn't want to smash it! My fears that the tail wheel tracking on the runway would be poor were totally unfounded. The standard set up works well. At first I had a bit of a problem trimming the ailerons as they were sticky around centre line with my over enthusiastic hinge gluing! I have now loosed them further so they work properly. The plane flies beautifully. I had set up standard manufacturers settings and the recommended 20% expo, I also set up a rates switch for ailerons and elevator with 60% low rates setting. I found the recommended rates more than enough for the type of sport flying I do and the plane was a joy to fly and does nice slow aerobatics without worry. In the hands of an expert pilot it could do a lot( not me!). I am running a 17x6 prop and that seems perfect it will climb vertically on just above half throttle on my Laser 155. I think I have the power just right! I didn't use much full throttle as I'm still running in but it seems plenty for this plane. The engine did not miss a beat with no stalls or dead stick. It stated first flick too! I had two flights of close to 20minutes using the standard 440ml tank and had fuel to spare on each. Landing the Wottie was great. It has great slow flying characteristics and lands almost as easily as it takes off. With a little power on for landing it comes in nicely, and the nice draggy twin wings help it to slow down fast so it doesn't use a lot of runway. Happy flying!

 

 

Edited By Timothy Harris 1 on 14/08/2016 09:35:18

Edited By Timothy Harris 1 on 14/08/2016 09:49:04

[Bob Cotsford]

Mine is on hold again as I don't want to get my bandaged fingers oily. A moments carelessness and a prop tip through a finger nail, not the most pleasant of experiences but it could have been worse.

The moral? Don't mess with the OS!

[Tim Flyer]

Sorry to hear that Bob. Sounds super painful . That's something I dred ... I enjoy piano playing too! I hope it heals soon. Oil/fuel and cuts are a bad combination .

Edited By Timothy Harris 1 on 14/08/2016 09:53:54

[Former Member]

[This posting has been removed]

[Rich too]

Posted by Timothy Harris 1 on 14/08/2016 09:34:25:

I hope your "Wotties" are coming on ok chaps. Mine took off this weekend! I ran my laser 155 up in the garden for a few minutes and tuned it in with the cowl off and took the plane for its maiden flights yesterday . The weather was decent but we had a wind of about 10mph plus and it wasn't constant so it made conditions a bit less than perfect for a test flight. After quite a bit of " mucking about" assembling this model and a brand new laser engine I must say I was nervous as I didn't want to smash it! My fears that the tail wheel tracking on the runway would be poor were totally unfounded. The standard set up works well. At first I had a bit of a problem trimming the ailerons as they were sticky around centre line with my over enthusiastic hinge gluing! I have now loosed them further so they work properly. The plane flies beautifully. I had set up standard manufacturers settings and the recommended 20% expo, I also set up a rates switch for ailerons and elevator with 60% low rates setting. I found the recommended rates more than enough for the type of sport flying I do and the plane was a joy to fly and does nice slow aerobatics without worry. In the hands of an expert pilot it could do a lot( not me!). I am running a 17x6 prop and that seems perfect it will climb vertically on just above half throttle on my Laser 155. I think I have the power just right! I didn't use much full throttle as I'm still running in but it seems plenty for this plane. The engine did not miss a beat with no stalls or dead stick. It stated first flick too! I had two flights of close to 20minutes using the standard 440ml tank and had fuel to spare on each. Landing the Wottie was great. It has great slow flying characteristics and lands almost as easily as it takes off. With a little power on for landing it comes in nicely, and the nice draggy twin wings help it to slow down fast so it doesn't use a lot of runway. Happy flying!

Edited By Timothy Harris 1 on 14/08/2016 09:35:18

Edited By Timothy Harris 1 on 14/08/2016 09:49:04

That's great, well done Tim.

[Rich too]

Posted by Bob Cotsford on 14/08/2016 09:43:23:

Mine is on hold again as I don't want to get my bandaged fingers oily. A moments carelessness and a prop tip through a finger nail, not the most pleasant of experiences but it could have been worse.

The moral? Don't mess with the OS!

Ouch! have a speedy recovery Bob.

[Bob Cotsford]

thanks all, it's nothing bad, just a shallow cut alongside the nail on my left index and another down the centre of my middle finger nail. I have to say that the one through the nail was possibly the most painful experience of my life for a few minutes after it happened. It definitely pays NOT to fly alone when something like that happens as shock from the pain is quite debilitating - also a nick from the tip of an OS 120 prop produced an incredible flow of blood, who'd have thought a finger could hold so much? Didn't stop me flying my ep Curare today

[Paul Marsh]

Mine was flown this weekend. had 3 flights all ok.

[Rich too]

Posted by Paul Marsh on 14/08/2016 20:50:54:

Mine was flown this weekend. had 3 flights all ok.

Excellent

Does anyone know if the supplied tank stopper can be used for petrol? The instructions are very lacking in some areas. I was going to buy a Dubro tank and then thought, the one supplied should be of sufficient quality otherwise why bother including it?

Cheers

Edited By Rich2 on 20/08/2016 19:27:20

[cymaz]

If there is any doubt, get a Dubro. Risk a nice plane like that for the sake of a £2 bung?.....nah.

[Bob Cotsford]

In view of the frequency of leaky tank reports with Ripmax ARTFs just replace the whole tank and play safe. Ripmax obviously thought the supplied clevises were of sufficient quality too

[Rich too]

Fair enough, but it does annoy me when the supplied hardware is not fit for purpose.

[cymaz]

Posted by Rich2 on 20/08/2016 23:19:03:

Fair enough, but it does annoy me when the supplied hardware is not fit for purpose.

You are not alone! More annoying as the kit comes from a long standing designer/ builder. Maybe Foss should just provide the airframe at a reduced cost, leaving the pilot to choose his own hardware. Though, this would probably mean only a £2 reduction in the list price such is the quality of the hardware

[Former Member]

[This posting has been removed]

[Rich too]

Posted by cymaz on 21/08/2016 06:32:33:

Posted by Rich2 on 20/08/2016 23:19:03:

Fair enough, but it does annoy me when the supplied hardware is not fit for purpose.

You are not alone! More annoying as the kit comes from a long standing designer/ builder. Maybe Foss should just provide the airframe at a reduced cost, leaving the pilot to choose his own hardware. Though, this would probably mean only a £2 reduction in the list price such is the quality of the hardware

I agree, and the weird thing is that the model is generally great quality. Fwiw I may email a complaint.

[Tim Flyer]

Agree Percy ,but Chris doesn't actually make a Wots Wot XL traditional kit though. I did have my eye on an "Extra Wot" that he produces which is like a scaled up "Evo" version Acro Wot. For most of us and including me , time is a major issue. Having said that traditional kits certainly can last . My acro wot is very solid😉

[Rich too]

I have just ordered a Dubro tank from JE. This has left a sour taste in my mouth and I decided to contact Chris Foss. Unfortunately, there is no email address on the website - how ridiculous in this day and age.

I shall send a fax....

[Former Member]

[This posting has been removed]

[Rich too]

I appreciate that Percy, but they have his name on them.

Email - unfortunately all of us in business have to deal with them - I would go back to snail mail in my business tomorrow.

The Wots Wot XL has a rrp of £300 so is not a budget model. If the quality is not up to standard (you simply cannot use the clevises) then do not include them.

I have sent him a fax. If he does not respond I simply won't buy another of his designs.

[Bob Cotsford]

It's not really a fair comparison Brian. I know a professional kit builder and his finished products go way beyond what we expect from an ARTF. Come to that, an ARTF just takes care of the quick and dirty part of the build, not the final fitting and kitting out which can be what makes or breaks a model. I do take your point though that what we get in the basic ARTF airframe alone is usually exceptional value for money and accessories should be treated as box fillers, not top quality items. Even big name ARTFs need to have accessories scrutinized as they are quite often cheap options included to make up the parts count.

In my own experience of the Ripmax/Foss XL designs we are getting a fairly well built (but still to a budget) large model that has been nicely covered and most importantly perhaps, flies extremely well. I know I couldn't build a similar model for anywhere near the cost of the ARTFs, even using the HK style covering, and there's a lot of that used on these XL models - covering with Profilm would need a new mortgage!

I had the Wot 4 XL, very nice flier but a little underpowered with an ASP FS120 and I ended up selling it on.

I have the Acrowot XL, NGH GF38 and possibly my favourite model at the moment.

I have the WotsWot XL again with the GF38, that's awaiting it's maiden and I expect it to be just as good to fly.

What I've noticed is that each of these has shown an improvement in fit and finish on it's predecessor though Ripmax have a few points remaining to catch up on - eg still using dowel pushrods and the quality of the connectors. Still, for less than £250 they are exceptional value in my opinion.

Of course there are airframes available from HK that are cheaper, but my experience is that they are not as well thought out, built or finished.

Edited By Bob Cotsford on 24/08/2016 09:33:31

[Rich too]

I agree Bob, the quality of the model is great, its just the accessories that I am complaining about. It is fine supplying cheap items, but not if they are unusable - those clevises would be liable to fail and therefore are dangerous to use. Why risk a lovely model for the sake of some cheap clevises? The pushrod is marginal - I will use it but others discard it.

[Tim Flyer]

I think that summarises it well Bob. I paid about £250 for my Wots Wot Xl which is a bargain. I did do loads of strengthening in it as is usual on these things.in terms of price it is a bargain but certainly doesn't make a such a great model if you just build it as per instructions with included accessories. It flies beautifully I can add. I also had the Wot 4 Xl before with an OS 120 AX 2s which was ballistic but resonated on some throttle settings with the long elevator push rod! Unfortunately I lost it due to a brownout. On this model I have put in dual UBEC and dual switches . On another matter it would be great if someone knew the covering film order colours so I can buy some for future repairs for the inevitable "hangar rash". What I have done recently with models is keep bits of cut off film when building them in a small box so I can try to colour match when visiting stands at shows...that seems to be the best way to buy the film.