ken anderson. Posted June 4 Share Posted June 4 shifty had his/her maiden flight today,a couple of clicks of elevator and a click of aileron....and he was in a circuit,and not convinced the cog is sorted,think i need a touch more of lead.......but up and down in one bit,job's a goodin...thanks Richard. ken anderson....ne...1...Shifty Maiden dept. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Futura57 Posted June 4 Share Posted June 4 6 minutes ago, ken anderson. said: shifty had his/her maiden flight today,a couple of clicks of elevator and a click of aileron....and he was in a circuit,and not convinced the cog is sorted,think i need a touch more of lead.......but up and down in one bit,job's a goodin...thanks Richard. ken anderson....ne...1...Shifty Maiden dept. Looks great. A good colour scheme makes the world of difference to a model and makes it stand out from the crowd. And a pilot is the cherry on top. It takes a bit more effort compared to one or two slabs of colour which tends to prevail. I appreciate some don't enjoy covering, but it's definitely worth the effort. Sounds like you've just got to get the C of G sweet spot and you'll be racking up the flights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Harris Posted June 4 Author Share Posted June 4 Nice one Ken, bet it looks great in the air. Just a little fine tuning needed. Don't ask me how I know this but it is worth checking that your motor is square, if your thrust line is a out a tad you will notice it immediately as you apply power. Add packing at the top of the mount if it climbs under power and vice versa if it dives under power. Flying shots next? get the Wease on the camera...... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken anderson. Posted June 4 Share Posted June 4 Hello Richard.... I think the thrust line is ok ...Shifty was ok at different throttle settings...just felt a bit iffy on the sticks...I rechecked the cog when I got home,it was slightly tail heavy...not a lot....so I'll add a touch of weight to the front...it was windy and as the model is light....it was easily caught by it... Ken Anderson....ne...1...Shifty dept. PS....sent the photos to Kevin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Harris Posted June 12 Author Share Posted June 12 These were posted over on the book of face, thought they were worth sharing here. Nice job on the covering. Not seen a delta as yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas W Shelley Posted June 18 Share Posted June 18 Finally took mine out for a fly - even got somebody to video it. It was not the easiest maiden, it seemed tail heavy although on the second flight I was still not happy with the CG after adding some more lead. I'll add a little more next time and then also play around with thrust angle. Always nice to test something and still get it back in one piece. Unfortunately you can't see an awful lot on the video: It seemed a little underpowered. I will get it flying and the CG sorted and then move to a bigger motor. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Harris Posted June 18 Author Share Posted June 18 Well done Tom, thanks for the video. Looks like a bit of church roof is needed in the nose and maybe reduce your throws a tad. Is your thrust centre inline with the wing centre (ish)? Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas W Shelley Posted June 18 Share Posted June 18 (edited) Thrust doesn't look too bad, so I'll maybe just experiment with some tiny washers tomorrow. Yes throws were way too much 😅 they were dialled down a lot for the second flight Edited June 18 by Thomas W Shelley 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Jones 2 Posted June 18 Share Posted June 18 Looks good and yep a little more nose weight like mine . Balance is a personal thing … once it’s to your liking .. enjoy ! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas W Shelley Posted June 19 Share Posted June 19 (edited) Not the best video 😅 but a slightly heavier battery got the CG right on. It was pretty windy today and I was flying like an idiot in this first flight. Got it dialled in much more on later flights but didn't film those. All in all a great plane. On the final flight it glided beautifully on landing, didn't want to touchdown - thanks Rich, let's have some more Rutan style designs 🙂 Edited June 19 by Thomas W Shelley 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Harris Posted June 19 Author Share Posted June 19 Much better Tom, the extra nose weight did the trick. Looking forward to more videos as you get familiarised and fine tune it. Even after 100 odd flights with mine it still surprises me how well the canard version slows up. Funny you should mention Burt Rutan, after the Shifty article was published I had a gent contact me who has got a set of plans that Burt sent him in the 70s. It is for his first homebuilt design the VariViggen, apparently the plans were used to construct a model that he strapped to the top of his car to analyse the aerodynamics. It wouldn't be my first choice for a Rutan as I like the sleeker vari-eze and pond Racer etc I'm picking up the said plans next month to ponder over, it may grow on me. Two thumbs up for the camera man! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Harris Posted June 19 Author Share Posted June 19 Forgot to mention, your thrustline looks fine. As you throttled up after the aborted landing it tracked straight with no pitch change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas W Shelley Posted June 19 Share Posted June 19 Very interesting! I have to agree that the variviggen is somewhat lower down my list too - the starship is probably my favourite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Harris Posted June 20 Author Share Posted June 20 10 hours ago, Thomas W Shelley said: Very interesting! I have to agree that the variviggen is somewhat lower down my list too - the starship is probably my favourite. I'd forgot about Starship! pretty. A twin Shifty would be quite doable I reckon, couple of engine pods slotted onto the wing and maybe stretch the nose to compensate the extra rearward mass, it would certainly sound different! a 'TWIFTY' 😃 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas W Shelley Posted June 21 Share Posted June 21 I experimented with a slightly bigger/lower kv motor. I had to add so much nose weight it was about 700g AUW and unsurprisingly tip stalled after hand launch. I'll just get the same motor as you or something comparable - it's a narrow window of power/weight for motor choice I guess. There is a kit out there for the starship but it's not cheap and I think it would be much more fun to design something from scratch. The plan form of the starship wing is a clever solution to the CG problem of two motors at the back. The Multiplex sonic liner was pretty close in design - it's surprising there isn't anything similar out there nowadays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Harris Posted June 21 Author Share Posted June 21 Tom, Unlucky, the suggested motor was tested extensively on 3 prototypes and they're all still flying well with varying AUW's due to differing capacity Lipos. Though I don't think any have hit the 700g mark. There's an abundance of similar motors to ours due to the drone scene, 4max offer a good one. I will have a look over the weekend and see what I have in my motor stock. Rich 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas W Shelley Posted June 21 Share Posted June 21 That's very kind Rich but I've just ordered an equivalent that's actually even a few grams lighter but should have plenty of power. I did actually carve away the former at the front of the battery hatch to allow a 1000mah 3s right up into the nose. I glued in a few lead weights previously with gorilla glue and I think because of how that foams up and creates a tough sort of honeycomb structure across that space, it should give it the security it would otherwise be missing in that area. I'll try again next week 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken anderson. Posted June 22 Share Posted June 22 i added 20g of lead to Shiftys nose and flew it...much better with the extra weight so ...just nodding down at the 85mm CG position...and less movement on the ailerons... anyone else making the model...( ended up with a total of 100g of lead in the nose to achieve the CG),,,,but i cant see how you would(wood) be able to keep the rear of the CG lighter. ken anderson...ne..1.........shifty dept. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Harris Posted July 3 Author Share Posted July 3 Ken, All of the beta test models had nose weight added, as you know balsa can alter in weight quite a bit from one sheet to another so I am guessing this is what makes the difference (as well as different motors, servos etc). The first delta I know to is being built, spotted it on noseybook, I will try and locate it again later and post a few photos. Rich 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Harris Posted July 7 Author Share Posted July 7 As promised, took a bit of finding. Nice neat job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Harris Posted July 8 Author Share Posted July 8 I've had a flight video sent me from Bernd, a modeller from Germany. He has built his Shifty from depron which weighs in at a hefty 320g! The main wing features a Kline-Fogleman aerofoil. Even with its light weight it handles the wind remarkably well, not sure how durable it will be. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anders Wellsten Posted August 1 Share Posted August 1 Hi I wanted a break from my 2 year owndesign project, Farman Goliath. I have always wanted to build and fly a canard so i got the shortkit from Sarik. I was worried about the weight but i think i am okay 490g with a 1300 3s . I went for a retro look inspired by the Staggerwing. Maiden this week if the weather holds. cheers Anders 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Harris Posted August 2 Author Share Posted August 2 Anders, The beauty of simple models, you can easily squeeze them in between other builds. Great job, looking forward to a full flight report 🙂 Rich 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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