David Ovenden Posted March 22, 2021 Author Share Posted March 22, 2021 Really just waiting for the motor screws to arrive now. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan p Posted March 22, 2021 Share Posted March 22, 2021 that does look superb? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ovenden Posted March 26, 2021 Author Share Posted March 26, 2021 I have been setting up the ESCs and testing the motors today. All seems to be working as intended. The tx is programmed. I have fitted a 6-axis gyro. I have no idea if it is needed, but it seemed a reasonable idea to fit one as I had in stock. Looks like maiden flight could be next week if the weather behaves. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ovenden Posted March 28, 2021 Author Share Posted March 28, 2021 It's currently looking like Tuesday could be test flight day. Everything is checked and as ready as it can be. I think!! It accelerates pretty quickly along our driveway and seems to have loads of available thrust, so I don't think it's going to be underpowered. What it will fly like remains to be seen. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan h Posted March 28, 2021 Share Posted March 28, 2021 Fantastic build David. Good luck for the maiden !!!! Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john stones 1 - Moderator Posted March 28, 2021 Share Posted March 28, 2021 If it flys like it looks David, it'll be fantastic, have fun. ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Fenton Posted March 28, 2021 Share Posted March 28, 2021 Looks superb David, well done ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ovenden Posted March 29, 2021 Author Share Posted March 29, 2021 Thanks for the kind comments guys. Happily the fuselage with wing centre sections easily fits into the Meriva! Weather still looking good for tomorrow.? 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan p Posted March 29, 2021 Share Posted March 29, 2021 Wishing you success for the maiden? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Leighfield Posted March 29, 2021 Share Posted March 29, 2021 That’s a fantastic build of a great subject. Good luck with the maiden David. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dwain Dibley. Posted March 29, 2021 Share Posted March 29, 2021 Good Luck David.. I have 3 planes to maiden tomorrow, 5 if I get the rubber power in the air. Nothing as nerve wracking as the Curtis tho. D.D. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ovenden Posted March 30, 2021 Author Share Posted March 30, 2021 7 hours ago, Dwain Dibley. said: Good Luck David.. I have 3 planes to maiden tomorrow, 5 if I get the rubber power in the air. Nothing as nerve wracking as the Curtis tho. D.D. Hope you get all 5 models in the air DD and that they are all first-class flyers and fantastic fun! Enjoy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Davis Posted March 30, 2021 Share Posted March 30, 2021 Best of luck with the maiden David. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ovenden Posted March 30, 2021 Author Share Posted March 30, 2021 Back home after a successful maiden flight. I have some adjustments to make, but it took off fine, looked great in the air and landed smoothly . I have some (very poor quality) video of take-off and landing I'll try to edit and post this evening. Plus a few questions that maybe some of you guys can assist with. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ovenden Posted March 30, 2021 Author Share Posted March 30, 2021 Video clip of pre-flight taxing here on you tube: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ovenden Posted March 30, 2021 Author Share Posted March 30, 2021 (edited) Take-off video (taken on a very old camera) courtesy of my fantastic wife who gave up her morning to "go flying" ? 1968179916_Takeoff.MOV As you will notice I didn't need full throttle to take off so there is plenty of power available for the model. I wonder about dropping from 5s to 4S lipo ?? Edited March 30, 2021 by David Ovenden 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ovenden Posted March 30, 2021 Author Share Posted March 30, 2021 What we managed to get of the landing! Landing.MOV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ovenden Posted March 30, 2021 Author Share Posted March 30, 2021 (edited) A very poor video clip of the model flying. Sorry it is the best we could do with the old equipment we have. Will get a friend to do something better next week I hope. Clip here on YouTube: Edited March 30, 2021 by David Ovenden Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ovenden Posted March 30, 2021 Author Share Posted March 30, 2021 (edited) Thanks for your kind comments . I hope many of you have managed to get out flying today and to enjoy the fantastic warm weather. Once you have got back home and put your planes away I would like to pick your brains. The Condor test flight was pretty successful with no nasties but a few issues to resolve. Most obvious was that there was way too much elevator throw. Fortunately flicking in the low rate (70%) made things manageable but still more than ideal. I have now adjusted the throw at the servo (inside the fuselage) so that should be OK. Secondly, there was a marked tendency to climb under full power so I dialled in some down trim, but the nose would drop when the power was off. So it sounds like more down thrust is needed? Or is there just too much power from the 5s lipo pack? I didn't need full throttle to take off and almost all the flight was 1/2 throttle or less. So maybe 4s would be enough? The model weighs 4.7kg but there is 1200W from the 2 motors at full throttle. After a 4 minute flight the 7000mah lipo was still showing 74% so it is not power hungry. The weird thing is that on landing both YEP 60A ESCs were "double beeping" which notifies Low voltage. However, measuring the LiPo pack showed all 5 cells at 4.0v. The ESC is set for "slow down" at 3.2v per cell. So something is very off there. Because of this issue I stuck with just the one flight. Any thoughts. I have a dedicated separate 10a UBEC so maybe I ought to fit that rather than rely on the ESC BECs? Your thought appreciated. David Edited March 30, 2021 by David Ovenden Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Fenton Posted March 30, 2021 Share Posted March 30, 2021 Looks fabulous well done! Down thrust, i have an indoor cub that competes in scale comps and the prop angle relative to the centreline has to be as per scale. And indeed if you increase airspeed it climbs. I think thats normal, however mine was a bit too much to keep smooth, i dialled in a mix with down increasing with throttle, it worked well. As for ESC low volts warning couly your packs be "sagging" under load? I have telemetry on all my models to monitor for this. Just a thought. Well done on the maisen, really awesome 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Leighfield Posted March 30, 2021 Share Posted March 30, 2021 Congratulations David, you must be chuffed with that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ovenden Posted April 19, 2021 Author Share Posted April 19, 2021 On 31/03/2021 at 00:11, Colin Leighfield said: Congratulations David, you must be chuffed with that. Thanks Colin. Tomorrow I am taking the model out again for more flights having made a few tweaks. Biggest one is a change from 5s to 4S power as the model really didn't ever need full throttle and climbed strongly at WOT. We will see how it works out in practice tomorrow. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ovenden Posted April 21, 2021 Author Share Posted April 21, 2021 Well, yesterday's flight proved that 4S power is enough to fly the plane easily. However, it still climbs steeply under full power. The elevator with reduced throw is still sensitive even with 30% expo added. That might suggest the CG is too far back - though it is spot on where the plan shows it. The Condor does fly but not currently in the relaxed smooth fashion I was hoping for. So I will add some more down thrust and move the CG forward a bit (use higher C / heavier LiPo) and see if that improves things. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ovenden Posted April 21, 2021 Author Share Posted April 21, 2021 (edited) In a follow up to the last post. I have checked the plan which shows the CG position at 76mm from the leading edge. The wings are parallel chord and there is no stagger or sweepback. 76mm on a 230mm chord wing means the plan cg is at 33% of mean wing chord. This seemed a little far back. So I've spent 1/2 an hour using the formula in Gordon Whitehead's book "Scale Aircraft" to calculate the CG. According to that formula it suggests the CG should be even further back at 80mm! So my question is am I right in trying to move the CG further forward. Any thoughts? Edited April 21, 2021 by David Ovenden spelling! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Leighfield Posted April 21, 2021 Share Posted April 21, 2021 That would be my instinct, not that it is necessarily correct! If you moved it forward say 3 mm it would at least be an indicator of what to expect and is unlikely to cause a disaster, I would have thought. I suppose the most important thing if you do move the c of g forward is what the nose does after you reduce throttle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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