EDF off grass runways ???

[tigerman]

Anyone flown the Freewing / FMS 70mm F16 off a grass runway .Might buy one but I am a bit suspect that it will be OK on a grass runway .Look a right idiot to fork out £250 on a EDF only to find it will not take off on our runway .All the promotion videos always show them taking off on a perfect tarmac runway

[Former Member]

[This posting has been removed]

[Chris Walby]

Depends on how long the grass is and the size of wheels. Our grass is kept quite short and if the ground is hard then most edf's are ok. Give it a couple of weeks growth and its very different.

Another issue is how flat, bearing in mind you have no prop wash its only air speed that gives you any control surface response. Great if you your edf accelerates like a scolded act, but if it marginal then you can eat a lot of runway up.

We have a couple of very unhelpful bumps that make the ground run tricky keeping it straight plus holding it down until there is sufficient air speed to make a safe climb out.

Not flown one although the HK vampires are very popular and as a back stop you can hand launch and belly land if the grass is too long.

All the best and let us know how you get on

[SIMON CRAGG]

I was a bit concerned that my Freewing Hawk would struggle off grass, but it goes off like a scalded cat!. Made up some grills to stop grass being sucked in. Just dont be tempted to pull it off to early!.

[Ian Jones]

Posted by Chris Walby on 16/12/2018 21:26:43:

Depends on how long the grass is and the size of wheels. Our grass is kept quite short and if the ground is hard then most edf's are ok. Give it a couple of weeks growth and its very different.

Another issue is how flat, bearing in mind you have no prop wash its only air speed that gives you any control surface response. Great if you your edf accelerates like a scolded act, but if it marginal then you can eat a lot of runway up.

We have a couple of very unhelpful bumps that make the ground run tricky keeping it straight plus holding it down until there is sufficient air speed to make a safe climb out.

Not flown one although the HK vampires are very popular and as a back stop you can hand launch and belly land if the grass is too long.

All the best and let us know how you get on

... although sometimes a bump in the grass can lift the nose just enough to get some air under the wings, the take off that follows can be a bit hairy though.

Edited By Ian Jones on 17/12/2018 10:36:26

[Brian Cooper]

Operating an EDF from grass is not too tricky but, as has been mentioned, there is no prop-wash over the tail so you have to gain a good amount of speed before lifting off.

It pays to take off going fast and flat (be gentle with the elevators), letting the airspeed build up for a few seconds before going vertical.

[Chris Walby]

Brian,

Ooorrr going vertical after take off, not with my edf....yes fast low pass to limited vertical, but it won't sustain vertical let alone accelerate.

PS - What's the model as I fancy one of those?

[Brian Cooper]

Chris,

If you are asking about the model in the profile, it is a Gold Wing (manufacturer) Yak 55, distributed by Global R/C.

It is a 3D model with 88" wingspan, powered by a DA 50 petrol engine fitted with an AS tuned exhaust system (very powerful). . It is an extremely agile model and capable of doing about 3 rolls per second, plus it will prop-hang on less than 50% power and punch way cleanly and accelerate whilst going vertical. . It is about 8 years old now but still going strong and it still compares well with modern 3D machines.

It is great fun to fly.

B.C.

Edited By Brian Cooper on 17/12/2018 14:30:44

Edited By Brian Cooper on 17/12/2018 14:31:13

[tigerman]

Thanks everyone .I have sorted out the problem about EDF of a grass runway .With the problem of will it or won't it take off on grass ,only 3 minutes flight time , I always seem to have the wrong size battery .I am going to pre order the new Flightline Corsair .That will defiantly take of on grass and I should get 7 minutes flight and I have the right battery for the 1600mm Corsair

[tigerman]

I going to have to bite the bullet ,I have never order anything from outside the UK before .So a first for me I am going to order the Flightline Corsair from Motion RC Europe and fingers crossed all will be fine. The good point Motion R C have a good reputation so all should be fine

[pete taylor]

Here's most of my current EDF fleet that all take off from grass with no problems other than the Canberra being a tad low slung for longer grass!

The Avanti isn't shown, but we all know what that looks like