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Trying to buy a Durafly Tundra


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This persistent weather is a pain!

 

however, the wind is 2 mph on thursday so the field should have the usual 'support team' there so will be going to see them with the Kingfisher and hope to get some actual circuits in.

The plane lost all it's signal connections, probably me messing about, but had to re-bind the lot and get it all working which it is, so ready to fly, all charged up and new Tx batteries.

At least I'm getting to know my way round the Tx system far more now.

The flaps and their modulation still eludes me, but not required at this stage so all trimmed flat to the wing root and aileron position.

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Perfect nearly today at the field. Lots of people there some I know, and Martin was roped in again for help which he is happy to oblige.

He putthe Kigfisher up in the air and promptly bought it back.

To cut a long session short, he de sensitised the whole plane, reducing the travel of the surfaces by about 60 % and the throttle way back to have the speed far more in my senses and it flew with him really well, stabiliser off.

Took my 2 batteries to get to this level but it is good to see the plane flying and at a rate thar seemed comfortable to me.

 

He managed to buddy up his Tx to mine and tested that.

It is on a switch so next time easy to buddy connect and slowly get me into the groove.

 

A good day with the plane well trimmed and sorted. Takes off well simply on the throttle and drew several complimentary comments from the experienced flyers.

Following the weather now, and hoping for a good day next Tuesday when I will take control with Martin to catch it!

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Feels nice bringing your model home in one piece doesn't it?

No reason why that can't continue with you flying it now that the model and buddy system are sorted.

 

A couple more batteries or on-site charging facilities might be a good idea if you can afford it.

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Battery capacity is very short.

After the trimming in flight by Martin etc the time ticks by, but the battery was down to 5% (!)

It's been on charge for 3 hours, the 3 lights are still red.

Need to look into a charger while at the field.

Any advice please?

 

It was great to see it in fight, Martin handled it really well and enjoyed the modern foam experience I think.

Seeing Gurth's Junior 6 roaming around low in the sky reminded me why I'm doing this lark.

It looks great, and I think this Kingfisher can give some of the same too.

Edited by 911hillclimber
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Well done for persevering, it was a great flying day today and our patch had a good turn out.

 

With the type of model you are flying, you should get at least 10 minutes on a fully charged battery.

 

My Tundra on a 3s2200 will fly quite happily for 10 minutes, and have 20% at least left in the pack.

 

Without knowing your set up, it might be worth making sure that the battery is balanced before flight, as this can make a huge difference. 

 

If you have got a lipo checker, its worth checking the individual cells, as one could be on the way out.

 

Hope this helps!

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2 hours ago, 911hillclimber said:

Thanks Simon.

ref bettery

Still charging, and one light on green, other 2 on red still and the charger is warm to the hand.

Have a battery checker which can look at each cell, so will check it later.

Hope toget back to the field on Tuesday if the weather is right.

If you are in any doubt about the state of the individual cells, scrap it! Good batteries at a sensible price can be found either at Hobbyking, or China Hobby Line. At your stage, you do not need so called "top end" Lipos!. I am gobsmacked at the price some newbies pay for batteries (not their fault, but another good reason for joining a club and getting some sensible advice).

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Now at 10.30pm and all the 3 cells are green, the charger cold.

Each cell is 4.22/4.19/4.27V and the battery tester states 12.69V and 99% charged.

 

The batteries came from 4-Max (3S-11.1V-2200mAh and this one has 'run' for about 2 hours on and off.

I was surprised it showed 5% after all the trimming flight time, about 10 mins.

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8 hours ago, 911hillclimber said:

Now at 10.30pm and all the 3 cells are green, the charger cold.

Each cell is 4.22/4.19/4.27V and the battery tester states 12.69V and 99% charged.

 

The batteries came from 4-Max (3S-11.1V-2200mAh and this one has 'run' for about 2 hours on and off.

I was surprised it showed 5% after all the trimming flight time, about 10 mins.

Have you got the correct prop fitted? If you send me the spec. of the motor, the size of the esc. and the weight of the model, I'll put the figures into e.calc, which help determine the optimum prop for your model. Your Lipo sounds fine!.

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9 hours ago, 911hillclimber said:

 

I was surprised it showed 5% after all the trimming flight time, about 10 mins.

"About" 10 mins is a bit worrying, you need to set up a throttle activated timer and do a few shorter test flights, say start at 6 mins and then measure the remaining battery capacity and adjust the timer so you normally land with over 20% capacity left. This will give you allowance to go round again if required and also you may find on windier days you fly with a bit more power.

 

Rather than try and buy a charger set up for the field you'd be better getting a couple more lipos so you can get several flights in at each session.

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I have an SAS sckitzooo, not sure how it's spelt.  Its quick to make, 2 channel e + a, a great flier and has many many many many flights in its record.

 

After a 22 year rest, it will be flying again very shortly, is great on fuel ( porriage ) and not too big.

 

A great model.

 

Regularly flown all year round from a confined slope, but grass area just big enough to land. I even did a touch and go, once.

 

I have flown it from coastal sand dunes with the tide out, sharpens your skills and you have a depth of beach to land on safely...flown from an isolated beach/dunes in winter.

 

It could quite easily be made into a powered flier, ic would be my way.....but it would be quite fast I feel.

 

A slope soarer would teach you a lot, even a basic one.

 

Lidl from Sunday have an £8 glider that many have converted to RC, I'm gunna get 2.

 

Edited by Rich Griff
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20 hours ago, 911hillclimber said:

Now at 10.30pm and all the 3 cells are green, the charger cold.

Each cell is 4.22/4.19/4.27V and the battery tester states 12.69V and 99% charged.

 

The batteries came from 4-Max (3S-11.1V-2200mAh and this one has 'run' for about 2 hours on and off.

I was surprised it showed 5% after all the trimming flight time, about 10 mins.

 

10 mins is a pretty long flight for a powertrain like that. I would set your timer at 6 and land by 7 next time; you are looking for a resting voltage of no less than 3.5V/cell in order to preserve the cycle life of your packs. Discharge them that low consistently and they will not last long!

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On 27/05/2021 at 17:14, 911hillclimber said:

It's been on charge for 3 hours, the 3 lights are still red.

 

PS - There is something wrong with your charger setup if it can't charge a pack like that in an hour or less - a 1C (i.e. 2.2A) charge is only an average of 25W, probably a peak of 30W. Literally any charger on the market should be able to do that. Very strange...

Edited by MattyB
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1 hour ago, 911hillclimber said:

Charger came from 4-max along with the batteries as a balanced package.

charging it by the thin wire lead, white 4 way plug.


Ok, in that case if you are going to fly electric regularly then you are going to need a better charging setup than that - charging that slowly will drive you nuts once you have more packs. Get a decent 150W setup that can do at least 6S packs, you won’t regret it. No-one ever wished they had a less capable charger!

 

Edit - I know many here sing 4-Max’s praises, but it’s baffling to me that they would provide a charger like that for batteries of that size, especially given they have a good document on their site about choosing chargers. Not a great advert for them

IMO.

 

Edited by MattyB
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'Not a great advert for them'. Matty, before you knock 4-Max, perhaps hillclimber didn't read the document you highlighted, or speak to them for that matter, to get their advice. There is often no substitute for talking to someone knowledgeable before buying. The charger may be faulty or simply not very capable.

 

'Three hours of charging' rings alarm bells with me! I hope you are charging on a concrete floor, in the garage for instance, where it can't set fire to anything! 

 

Never discharge to 5% and a battery should not be discharged to less than 20% normally, if you want the battery to last. 

Edited by Piers Bowlan
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Electric flight is not my major interest Hillclimber but I'd like to echo Simon's remarks about charging any Lipo you are unsure of. I learned the hard way in February. Thinking that that the balance function on my charger would take car of matters when one cell was showing far less charge than the other two, I plugged it in.The LiPo exploded setting fire to my Big Guff and WOT 4XL. I was lucky not to lose the house! Full details here but the pictures below tell the story before and after!  https://www.modelflying.co.uk/forums/index.php?/topic/47237-charging-lipos-a-lesson-learned-the-hard-way-and-how-the-big-guff-met-its-end/#comments

 

My charger, an X120 from Hobby King which I bought from a clubmate needs a 12 volt supply. At home I use an old Power Supply Unit bought from another clubmate. At the field I use my van battery. 

 

I believe that there are chargers today which may operate off the mains and from a 12 volt supply. Doubtless a more knowledgable enthusiast will be along soon with recomendations.

Maiden Flight 3.jpg

Remains of Big Guff.JPG

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I have a serious concern as to who is giving 911H advice as its an accident waiting to happen.

 

Why fly a model on purpose until it dead sticks (on low voltage cut off) or you run the lipo to a point of damage?

 

I have flown my wife's kingfisher many times and 5 to 6 minutes is reasonable from a concentration and spare battery for emergencies and eventualities point of view. Ok if you really push the throttle management you might get 10 minutes, but I would not do it with a trainee because its teaching them completely the wrong approach to risk. I was once told and every time I fly always have a plan B in case something changes (dead stick or external influence) and you need too react to the new situation. 

 

Lots of good advice on the forum.

 

PS - Struggling to see how it takes 10 minutes of flight time to trim a Kingfisher in.... its super tolerant to battery position and has a wide C of G  

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