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Seagull 80" DH Chipmunk


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A word of warning:

FRSky have released a new range of speed controllers, the Neuron series. 40, 60, and 80A jobbies.

The range of features is brilliant. An SBus cable connecting the ESC to the Rx feeds more telem info than you can shake a stick at, from current, volts, consumption, rpm and temps.All that and a BEC that can provide 8A at varaible voltage. All great I hear you say?

Well yes it is great, however the BEC provides DC down the red wire of the throttle channel and the SBUS cable. So if you use an onboard Rx pack, cut both the red wires from the ESC or you will fry the esc. Mine is now fried.

In my opinion there is insufficient labelling in the product manual. The unit is brilliant, but watch the Rx supply, get it wrong and you wont get a second chance....

Cheers

Danny

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After pontificating far too much over C/G on these Chippys, I moved the LiPo back a little for my last flight yesterday and I have to say that the model "felt lighter" to fly, (if that's a thing?).

So unable to go flying today I did a spot of measuring and nose weight removal and more measuring etc.

img_20190421_163225.jpg

Suffice to say that my last flight was at Seagulls recommended 130mm and to get back there it turned out that I needed to remove all noseweight and put LiPo back in it's fully forward position - DOH!

Ah well, that leaves mine 5oz lighter than it was and me looking forward to the next flying session. These really do fly very nicely indeed.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Chris and I went flying again last night with both the Chippies, and they are a lot of fun.

I removed some telemtry equipment (sorry Chris) and also the two Rx packs, to run solely on the 8A BEC integrated into the new Neuron ESC's. This moved the c of g to 130mm which is where Chris is at. I flew a BMFA scale Schedule and it was lovely, all be it a little more nervous. I think I will move the c of g a little forward to suit my style of flying.

Probably shift the C of G by adding one Rx pack back into the model, and using a dual feed, ESC BEC as main source, LiFe pack as standby, using another one of Chris's clever little boards

I hope Chris doesn't mind me posting this video, I hadn't realised he was stood behind me filming

Motor Turnigy 4258 500kV, 5S 5000 mAh, 15 x 10 APC, Neuron 60 ESC, Frsky RX8R Pro. weight 9.25lbs

Cheers

Danny

Edited By Danny Fenton on 15/05/2019 11:09:24

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  • 1 month later...

Danny/Chris

I've followed your blog and was impressed with the Chipmunk so I ordered one. 3 months later I've finally received one.

Although the instructions are easy to follow, I have a question which I hope you can help with, how do you wire the landing lights. I've enlarged you photos but still can't see how you did it.

Thanks

Russ

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Hi Russ

Good choice. I'm sure you'll have lots of fun with it.

I have the lights working on mine but I have to say I can hardly see them in flight. There must be something brighter that we could use.

I connected them in to the Rx supply via an RC switch.

Something like this, available at many different places. That then plugs into a spare servo channel that I slaved off the flap channel.

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Hi Danny,

I bought that GT Power set some time ago for a future (?) hovercraft project. They are indeed really bright...

It needs a separate 2S battery and it switches on/off by a free RX channel (slaved to flaps, gear or whatever).

Mine came from topcom.com/ UK warehouse at €7,5 all in to BE.

Hope this helps a bit.

Cheers

Chris

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  • 2 months later...

Hi all,

I enjoyed reading this thread.

I have always had a soft spot for the Chipmunk and really like the look of this one. I have a Seagull Sea Fury and the dimensions seem to suggest this is about the same size? On the other hand I saw the Slec/ Apache Chippy at the Nats and it has the same wingspan but looked considerably larger? I did a search on the internet but have found no pics with pilot etc. to gain a better idea. Does anyone know how the Slec and Seagull compare? Or does anyone have a Sea Fury they can compare it to?

Many thanks.

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Posted by Denis Watkins on 26/08/2019 18:30:38:

George, all 3 models are similar size

Colour does alter perception of size, so one livery at a glance can alter an objects appearance

In Design the quote is " Colour alters mass "

Edited By Denis Watkins on 26/08/2019 18:31:20

Thanks Dennis, I agree that colour can make things look bigger. I also find it interesting how walking around the Nats and looking at 75" aerobatic models I find myself thinking they look quite compact really until I remind myself that in my hobby room they will take up some considerable storage space!

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  • 2 months later...

Chip Chip Horay! You can tell I am feeling' Chipper' that the Chipmunk is ready to go. The last Seagull ARTF I assembled was about thirteen years ago and although there is a very familiar fit and feel they have definitely made big improvements. It was a straightforward build and took about a week. No modifications although I was tempted to after having felt the weight of the individual components (the model has come out at just a couple of ounces below 11lbs so not bad at all). Model is for sport flying and so wanted to simply put together between kit builds.

I was fortunate in that the wing tube went in no problem but I did spend an hour filing out a hole for a wing bolt to get it to fit. I also had to do some sanding to get the stab and rudder assemblies to fit and align correctly.

The decals are an issue for me; I do not like to see shiny surfaces around them and so spent a day cutting out each item before attaching them to the airframe. As there is no flying weather I am tempted to strip out the ply from the canopy assembly as it is quite hefty (pilot tacked in and screws used to hold canopy so I can modify later).

Danny, do you know what weight saving you made on the canopy/ hatch?

chipmunk.jpg

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