Timo Starkloff Posted November 19, 2017 Author Share Posted November 19, 2017 I started preparations for the pilot. Since I have plans for at least one other model in 1/6 scale, I made a template from plywood. I use it for checking the position in the cockpit, then transfer the silhouette on foam to cut the 3D figure of the pilot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timo Starkloff Posted December 6, 2017 Author Share Posted December 6, 2017 What about a nice pair of ski? Last weekend we‘ve had the first snow. It’s already gone, but I want to be prepared for the next time. Even the original Turbulent is flown with ski (and with floats, but that’s something for next year, maybe). The first job is to make a model for the ski from plywood. Not much progress on the pilot and exhausts, yet. There were other things to do. I was flying indoor again a week ago, something which works better each time. I still need some more accumulators and maybe I try 3S350 35C. This would spare another 10 grams, to be spent again on the pilot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timo Starkloff Posted December 7, 2017 Author Share Posted December 7, 2017 Two sheets of 1mm balsa applied to the master form and glued together with wood glue look a bit like a hedgehog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timo Starkloff Posted December 11, 2017 Author Share Posted December 11, 2017 The ski are nearly finished. The bottom is covered with 25g/m2 glassfibre. Both together weigh 20g, 12 more than the wheels so that’s fine. Yesterday everything was covered in snow, but it just lasted for a few hours. Long enough for a visit to the Christmas market, but not for any tests with the Turbulent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piers Bowlan Posted December 12, 2017 Share Posted December 12, 2017 They are very neat Timo (as usual). They will probably work on wet grass too, if not so realistic. I was offered a pair of skis for my full sized Turbulent many years ago when I was a member of the Tiger Club at Redhill. One of the problems was that when there was a decent snowfall I couldn't get to the airfield but when it began to thaw, it was too thin and slushy, when the skis would quickly freeze onto the snow. Full application of power with the stick fully back and full rudder waggle would break the skis free from the snow and the flight could then commence. So I never did do any Turb on ski flying myself, sadly. Post some pictures of your model flying when you get more snow, it will look very festive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timo Starkloff Posted December 25, 2017 Author Share Posted December 25, 2017 I‘ll try to get some pictures, Piers. Unfortunately the ski are finished now but no snow in our region. Pilot and exhausts still missing, but I finished the cockpit panel and it looks quiet good. Maybe I manage to put a FPV camera in the cockpit, a realistic view is great then. Merry Christmas everyone! Edited By Timo Starkloff on 25/12/2017 10:58:40 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timo Starkloff Posted February 11, 2018 Author Share Posted February 11, 2018 Bad winter for flying with skis - temperatures change every few days or hours, so no nice snow surface and no flight test yet. But end of February is a indoor model airshow and I'll try to finish the Turbulent concerning pilot and engine. The pilot from foam is once again covered with balsa filler, made fluid with some water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devcon1 Posted February 11, 2018 Share Posted February 11, 2018 What a beautiful build. It looks great with skis. One of the prettiest Turbulents I've seen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timo Starkloff Posted February 17, 2018 Author Share Posted February 17, 2018 Thanks, I like that nice little plane, too Tomorrow will be the first test flight with a pilot. Weight of the seat and pilot is 19 grams, nearly as much as the 3S350 accumulator. But no need to worry with center of gravity, since he is sitting almost on the point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timo Starkloff Posted February 19, 2018 Author Share Posted February 19, 2018 With a small M3 screw the pilot is easily detachable, in case of indoor weight saving or placing a FPV camera inside the cockpit. No new inflight pictures yet, but the looks of the Turbulent are much improved by the pilot. Now only the engine tubes and wires and details around the canopy are missing. We just have had enough snow for taking some pictures on skis, sadly this snow was mainly in forest area so no chance of flying there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timo Starkloff Posted March 6, 2018 Author Share Posted March 6, 2018 I'm constantly changing projects now Getting carbon tubes for the Whirlwind lasted longer than expected, but last week I received a 6mm ABS tube from Aeronaut via my local model shop. Otherwise it would have been 2.50€ for the tube + 5€ or more for shipping. Bending the 3mm ABS tube for the cockpit frame with a heat gun was quiet easy, but not so for the 6mm tube. It gets soft qiet fast, but there is no way to get a a smooth radius. So I rememberedthat sand is used for bending stell tubes. In my case I closed the ends with tape and filled the tube with sand (knocked a bit against it to get it really full). And after two or three tests, the result was still not perfecct but good enough for use on the model. And after some colouring and adding wires, the motor looks perfect realistic. Amazing, I have to say Another small but easy to add detail are the wires for the brakes from fuselage to the wires. I saw them on a picture when looking for the shape of the motor tubes. I just took a 0.14mm² wire and fixed it with cyano. Flying indoor is still possible, although the weight steadily increased to about 370 grams by adding all thos scale details (including the small 3S350 accumulator on board). Last sunday our indoor space was a bit limited and I took the pilot out (-20 grams). The result was an much easier behaviour at low speeds. And I'm ooking forward to fine spring weather to fly the Turbulent outside. The few flights until now have been really satisfying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McG 6969 Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 Your VW flat four is looking great, Timo. What an achievement with your project. Then, of course adding some details as you are doing, gets the weight up as well. Regarding the bending of the ABS tube, instead of sand, maybe you could try a soft metal wire introduced into the plastic to have it bent nicely... ? Just maybe? Cheers Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timo Starkloff Posted April 21, 2018 Author Share Posted April 21, 2018 Possibly, Chris, but I would need one with 5mm diameter. All in all I’m really satisfied Finally spring is here. Or already summer? More than 30C yesterday and today! I took a short movie of the outdoor Turbulent. It flies absolutely great outside, even with a bit of wind. But I still have to optimize the propeller. Smaller should be better for higher speed, in case of wind and for aerobatics. **LINK** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timo Starkloff Posted December 17, 2018 Author Share Posted December 17, 2018 It’s now one year of flying with the small Turbulent. The project to build a plane for flying indoor and outdoor was quiet challenging, but worked fine. Since summer I’m working on a plan for the German FMT magazine, but it will take some time to get it finished since I’m also busy with building the Whirlwind. In summer I had to change the motor. Outdoor you fly longer periods with a higher power setting and there is no motor cooling. On one hot summers day the Hacker motor stopped working. The new one is a Aerodrive SK3-2822-1090, a few grams heavier but it can run a long time on full power. And it’s better suited to slow flying with less rpms per volt. For indoor flying I use a Graupner Slow-Fly-Prop 9x3” and a small 3S350 accumulator. The pilot could be taken out to have another 20 grams less, if necessary. The center of gravity is a bit to the rear and the flaps are set on about 50 degrees. I need a large gym for relaxed flying, but can do some more manoeuvres than only flying circles. Touch and go, figure eight, kind of a wing over, and for more adrenaline some high speed rounds with flaps retracted. Outdoor flying can be done with any accumulator from 3S350 to 3S1300, the prop is a smaller Graupner Slow-Fly 6x4. CoG is a bit forward and flaps are needed only when flying tight manoeuvres in a small space over the airfield. The 6% thin airfoil with a small incidence is working fine up to medium wind conditions. I fact, the limiting thing is the motor power available, the model still flies fine. Really good looking is the landing gear during low passes or turns away from you, when you see the lower side of the model. Starts are best from a flat surface but als possible from grass with some elevator to prevent a nose over. Landings are easy and there is no chance to provoke a stall with a spin. Best description of flying characteristics is: Easy but not boring! So what lessons learned for the next model? The main focus will be on indoor flying and therefore a much slower speed. Bigger wing area and less weight. An airfoil slightly cambered on the lower side for a bit more lift without flaps. Less and smaller servos (actually 6x D47 with 5 grams each), maybe only 2S accumulator for indoor flying since I don’t need full power there. Rudder linkage with a thread instead of cfk tube. Lighter covering. And a lighter pilot puppet. Timo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timo Starkloff Posted December 17, 2018 Author Share Posted December 17, 2018 This November I’ve been to my second indoor meeting with the Turbulent, near Mannheim. Flying was fine and I met Jorgos again with his amazing free flight and radio controlled scale models. He’s been to England too and one of the few others who’s building wooden models for indoor flying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timo Starkloff Posted February 24, 2019 Author Share Posted February 24, 2019 Yesterday I've been to the small indoor meeting in Crailsheim, South-West Germany and made the first flight with skis. Everything went fine and I didn't notice a different behaviour (no wind, of course). Snow ist difficult in our part of Germany, only a few days have been white here and that was either too short or too windy. Last December I had a collision with a foam plane. Pilot at the other end of the gym thought to fly some rounds with me without having a talk before... So that was a test for robustness. Only minor damage occured which was repaired in two hours (hinges of one flap came out, wood of the wing holder inside the fuselage broke and the motor came off). The tough Turbulent flew fine again afterwards If there is interest, I can post some pictures of the indoor meeting in an extra thread. Timo Edited By Timo Starkloff on 24/02/2019 17:57:00 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew767 Posted February 24, 2019 Share Posted February 24, 2019 Yes please Timo....There is interest. Andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timo Starkloff Posted February 25, 2019 Author Share Posted February 25, 2019 Your welcome **LINK** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timo Starkloff Posted February 27, 2019 Author Share Posted February 27, 2019 Spring weather is finally here with much sun and already 13-20 °C. At last a few inflight pictures! Although only the ones of the second flight with flaps were ok. Outside flying is perfect without flaps, but for the camera man slower is always better. Timo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timo Starkloff Posted January 26, 2020 Author Share Posted January 26, 2020 Finally plans and article are published in the German FMT Timo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesus Cardin Posted January 26, 2020 Share Posted January 26, 2020 Congrats, Timo, for the design, the model and the plans being published! You sure deserve it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timo Starkloff Posted January 19, 2021 Author Share Posted January 19, 2021 Finally weather conditions were perfect and I was able to fly the Turbulent with skis in snow. I made a test flight with them already a year ago indoor, but until now never outside. It was great to fly, no change of flying characteristics and touch and skimming across the snow surface doing touch and goes was just great Only one small inflight picture since I was alone and flying plus taking photos isn't that easy with an agile model. Timo Edited By Timo Starkloff on 19/01/2021 05:50:21 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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