Tony Kenny Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 Hi all, I just bought the Dynam Smart Advanced Trainer, great looking plane and looking forward to getting through certification with it! The construction is quite a bit more than I expected for an ARTF but I was impressed that there was a sheet of paper with some extra information from somebody who has built one. Nice touch! I do have a little question. The holes on the elevator to mount the control horn are the wrong way around and too close together to match the supplied horns. Should I get a smaller horn to fit the holes or just mount the one I have in a slightly different place with new holes? To do that, I think it will have to straddle the metal rod, will that be OK to do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denis Watkins Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 Pin drill the plastic horn Tony, as accurately as you can You are already aware that using the foam like a pin cushion is not recommended Drilling the foam would just weaken in Someone was hopeless in their decision making Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Hopkin Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 You sure the horn doesnt go the other side of the elevator? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Kenny Posted August 16, 2017 Author Share Posted August 16, 2017 Posted by Dave Hopkin on 16/08/2017 21:34:48: You sure the horn doesnt go the other side of the elevator? Quite sure, the servo arms come out from the tail fin and in this case it's below the horizontal stabiliser. I did try it from the other side, but the control rod simply wouldn't reach there. @Denis thank you for the suggestion, I'll have to order a smaller drill bit. Although, I could use one of the existing hole and then I'd just have to add one to the foam rather than 2. A bit disappointing that I'll have to buy a drill bit and modify components in a £170 ARTF, but I guess there's no other way. TK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Bertram Posted August 17, 2017 Share Posted August 17, 2017 Tony, I would be careful of using the extra information sheet regarding the CoG as this makes the aircraft very tail heavy and it could make the plane fly only once in unexperienced hands. Ask me how I know (and it was an instructor flying it)! I think after the repairs, I used the measurements in the book. Will check later. It now flies quite sweetly although looks a bit battle scarred Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Kenny Posted August 17, 2017 Author Share Posted August 17, 2017 Posted by Bob Bertram on 17/08/2017 08:38:41: Tony, I would be careful of using the extra information sheet regarding the CoG as this makes the aircraft very tail heavy and it could make the plane fly only once in unexperienced hands. Ask me how I know (and it was an instructor flying it)! I think after the repairs, I used the measurements in the book. Will check later. It now flies quite sweetly although looks a bit battle scarred Thank you! I'll take both to the field when the club instructor test flies it for me and make him aware of this. Likely we'll try a hand launch and glide to the ground first to see how it looks before trying it powered up! Are the control horns on the rudder and elevator the same size on yours? I'm not sure if mine has the wrong control horn supplied or the holes drilled the in the wrong position, because they're not even the right distance apart even if I turn the control around or try the other side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Bertram Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 Hi Tony, yes my horns were exactly the same and used a pin drill to make new holes. I didn't straddle the joiner just butted up to it although it does overhang the elevator a tiny bit. Either way should work. I checked the CoG and am using the 75-80 mm as per the manual not the 85-90mm as the sheet suggests. Perhaps with more experience you could move it back but it will be much more lively! Annette Douglas wrote a good article about the Smart in the December 2013 issue of RCM&E. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Kenny Posted August 25, 2017 Author Share Posted August 25, 2017 Thanks for the advice, I drilled the control horn rather than the wing, but also glued the horn as well as using the screws, just in case. Whilst setting up, the rudder servo didn't sound healthy, after a few uses of the rudder, it stripped the gears and I could hear the motor spinning, but no movement. Not rally impressed and lucky I had a spare hiTech servo to put in! Will be calling the retailer next week about that. Got this bird in the air today and it's a real beauty, but, the test pilot quickly noted that the motor kept cutting out, although we still had control so didn't appear to be radio signal (and of course we range checked first). Wondering if there's no airflow over the ESC, so will be doing some static testing later. For the price of the plane, not overly impressed about the number of out of the box problems. Not to mention just how much construction was needed. The other A/RTF models I had were a breeze and no issues at all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denis Watkins Posted August 25, 2017 Share Posted August 25, 2017 Don't over do the static testing Tony, as you know there is little air movement The model is proven already and following the guidelines should get it into the air again On servos, and stripping gears This is usually achieved at the moving surface end of the mechanism, where the leverage to do such damage is at its greatest. For example, a quick bang or knock to the rudder or elevator surface will strip the gears in the corresponding servo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Kenny Posted August 25, 2017 Author Share Posted August 25, 2017 Where do you guys have the ESC? When mine arrived, it was already stuck to the right hand side of the fuz, although it fell off as soon as I carefully took it out of the box! (yeah, it's not been a great experience with this one). I put it back in the same place but I'm not convinced it's going to get much airflow there. I'll check the instructions again in case I missed something, then might try flying it with the ESC hanging out and see if anything changes. cheers TK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Kenny Posted August 25, 2017 Author Share Posted August 25, 2017 OK, everything checks out, power is within the abilities of the ESC and it barely getting warm after several minutes on full power on a static test and no glitching. My thoughts are turning to my placement of the receiver so I'll try that and range test again at a greater distance. If it still happens, maybe a faulty ESC? As for the servo, to be fair, i did seem to have too much of a range on it and it was hitting the sides so maybe I just didn't react quickly enough and was still moving it before adjusting! So it's probably me that buggered it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Hooper Posted August 25, 2017 Share Posted August 25, 2017 The ESC in these things is rubbish, as are the servos. Just my opinion Tim (reviewer Annette Dougles's husband.....) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Kenny Posted August 25, 2017 Author Share Posted August 25, 2017 With it glitching, would it be wise to replace the ESC and not take the risk of it failing mid air? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Hooper Posted August 26, 2017 Share Posted August 26, 2017 Posted by Tony Kenny on 25/08/2017 21:41:51: With it glitching, would it be wise to replace the ESC and not take the risk of it failing mid air? We did, after several flights. Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Kenny Posted August 26, 2017 Author Share Posted August 26, 2017 I noticed that at low throttle, it was pulsing the motor on and off too. At full throttle, it draws a little over 22A Swapping the ESC for the 40A from my smashed up Sensei and it's running smoothly even at low throttle. Next weekend, I'll repeat the range check and get it in the air and see what happens. With this new ESC, it draws about an Amp more, which was unexpected, but still well within the tolerance of the ESC. Fingers crossed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Kenny Posted September 2, 2017 Author Share Posted September 2, 2017 Turns out it was the receiver after all. I replaced the ESC and we flew it again today and it glitching was worse. After repeating the range check, is was a big fail. Tried the Rx in another model, just in case it was the setup and sure enough, nowt! Flies wonderfully, a bit different to other models I have, has a lot of lift on the approach which means I can take it slowly and gives me time to react. Anyway, got sorted.. but then ended up ripping the front wheel off because the spat was back to front and it dug in the ground on a slight dip. Minor damage only, although a bit disappointing. Still, lessons learned, looking forward to next time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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