V-Trainer

[Marek Malinski]

Hello!!

Decision made. I will get v-trainer and dx6i (thanks Eric and Timbo!).

Now i have a few questions about putting it all together to work.

I already have manual for v-trainer but all those pictures there don't tell me too much. 

So i was hopping that someone who did it before could share some experiences maybe send some pictures etc 

I must say i am a little concern about mounting servos and receiver.

 

[Tim Mackey]

best to post the actual questions - a few at a toime on here, and we will reply. Pictures will help also

[Andy Dockerill]

Marek,

 

did you get the v-trainer? I'd never heard of them before Timbo wrote about them in a thread. I am looking to buy my first fixed wing for outside flying and wondered how you were getting on???

 

Andy

[Marek Malinski]

Hi

Nope - i bought second hand very cheap Hobbyzone SuperCub.

 

People i fly with said that v-tail plane will be very fast.
I don't know if they right or wrong.

 

mm

[Jonathan Lewzey]

Wrong! V tail has nothing to do with speed. The V-trainer has a large, lightly loaded wing and is not overpowered on the flyingwings recommended power. It would have been better for basic training than the supercub.

[Tim Mackey]

Ah well, some people eh

[Marek Malinski]

10 people = 11 different opinions

 

Do we have anyone here who actually owns V-trainer? (just curious)

[Tim Mackey]

Yes me ( well the wife actually ) 

She loved it, so did I , and it took a LOT of abuse - like I do when a new a model arrives in the hangar.

She did outgrow the rudder elevator setup and now is frequently seen doing battle with the wildthing up the orme.

The V trainer was given to a worthy cause locally.

for WHAT ITS DESIGNED TO DO its excellent. No morre, no less, Full stop.

 

Now, stop wondering, and get buying and flying.

[Andy Dockerill]

Timbo-

In your opinion would the V-trainer take ailerons? Obviously they could be fitted to any plane, but would the large dihedral on the V-trainer wings make them ineffective.

Just trying to think ahead before laying down the cash or is there a similar 4 channel alternative?

Andy

[birdy]

Do you need ailerons? In my experience a rudder works fine till you get on to airabatics, and a trainer is never going to be an F3A machine anyway.

[J V R]

 

Just noticed this thread, funny because I hope to have mine ready by Thursday this week to maiden it, but getting up for work at 0430 for 7 days isn’t helping

[Jonathan Lewzey]

Doesn't need ailerons for what its designed to do ie. be a basic trainer for circuits and orientation. learning to fly.

A similar size aileron trainer would be the Minimag, but 40 size electric/ic trainers still can't be beaten for all round training, especially in british weather

[Tim Mackey]

I agree...forget ailerons on this one. I see they now have a mini version of it too

[J V R]

 

Finished the V- tail But had to put quite a bit of ballast up front to get anywhere near the correct C of G .

Up at 0630 & down at the local park by 0650, did a quick range check & up & away the V-tail went. Bearing in mind this is the first time in 30 years that I have done any flying so it took me ages to sort out the trims & the elevators need a bit of adjusting as it would not fly level unless some down elevator was applied. After about 20 mins with only 2 heavy landings it was back home for coffee & sort out the trimming with the V-tail and clean the grass & mud off the under side.  

[John Cole]

I'm afraid I've come to this thread very late, but I've a couple of thoughts on putting the V-trainer together: too late for the post-starter but may be of help to others.

 

First let me say I'm really pleased with mine.

 

The main mod I made was to the LiPo mounting: I cut a horizontal slot right through the nose part of the fuselage, to hold the LiPo - sized to be a snug fit, and relieved at rear-right to let the cables out.  I then glued two strips one each side of the slot, near the front, to stop the LiPo coming out sideways.  I now slide the LiPo in from the rear, slightly angled.  Seems very secure.  I used Mylar strips, but thin ply would work too.  Doing it this way is easier and you get the LiPo further forward, too.

 

The lead shot supplied as noseweight: if you use this then it's hard to adjust after the glue has set.  Another time I would use lead strip at the front of my LiPo slot, bent round the Lipo, initially sizing it to get the recommended balance point, but then adjusting it so it flies nicely - in my opinion the recommended balance pointt is a little too far forward (a safety measure).

 

It took me some time to realise it's better to fit the motor to the mount after getting all the cables in place, and with the wing in place.  Note: screw the mount in place so the grub screws are horizontal; if they are vertical, the lower one is hard to tighten.  And yes, do tighten them HARD or they undo and fall out!

 

Don't test the motor-run direction with no prop: bad for the motor.  Test it in place, but connect it to the ESC using a screw-block connector.  Then solder up when you've worked out the correct leads-match.

 

Flying Wings recommended the very-small 2-pin JST connector.  I found it a LOT easier to use Deans T-connectors.

 

To stop the O-rings flying off, I tied them to (one of) the screw-heads with button-thread.

 

I fly mine using Futaba 2.4 GHz.  I drilled two holes at 45 degrees to the axis, "swept back" back out of the electronics space, and glued 2" lengths of drinking straw into them.  The twin aerials go one in each.

[mike prior]

I have just got the new V-trainer with aileron wings!

 

  My first model.... indeed, some parts were missing...very disapointing start. Im sure the nice man at flying wings will send the parts, but still mseesed up my weekend.

 

 I got the Spektrun DX6i with the kit, very nice ,but with the rudder/elivator mix I have the elivator on the left stick. I cant find a way to change this over so that the rudder works on the left  stick with throttle & the elivator on the right like my simulator.

 Can anyone please help

[John Cole]

Mike: the most-common way to assign the sticks to channels for a 4-channel plane is:

Right stick: Up-down = elevator, Left-right = Aileron

Left stick: Up-down = throttle, Left-right = rudder.

This arrangement is called Mode 2. 

The controls on the right stck are as per a full-size plane's joystick.

 

The older arrangement still preferred by a few (Mode 1) is:

Right stick: Up-down = throttle, Left-right = Aileron

Left stick: Up-down =elevator, Left-right = rudder.

 

If at some stage you want the help of an instructor than he will need to fly the same mode as you, so I recommend you choose mode 2, as more instructors fly that way.

 

I expect you can re-assign the simulator controls to match this arrangement.  I can't follow what you mean about the controls on the Spektrum.

[TonyS]

Hi Guys,

My wife bought me one of these and I'm sure I'm missing something.

I've finished the build and despite asking the chaps at Flying Wings for assistance, after the first reply it's gone silent so I'm coming back to you chaps.

 

First and most obvious point. All the publicity shots of the plane suggest there's a battery bay cover but mine didn't come with one i.e. the battery is open to view. Is this right?

 

Secondly, , having built it exactly to spec and using a 2200mAh 2S battery I needed to add around 100g of lead to get the CG on the underwing carbon spar. Again, is this right? The battery is a far forward as I can get it without cutting through the nose completely.

 

Finally, the thin carbon pushrods for controlling the ruddervators (?) were so thin that the flex affected the movement of the control surfaces. I've replaced these with snakes.

 

Has anyone else come across any of these problems?

 

T 

[birdy]

Mine too had the battery on top, and I had to use all of the supplied lead to get the balence. And I agree the pushrods are thin, but they seems sufficient on my V. My main problem in practice has been getting sufficient control throw to have authority in stronger winds.

[Smurphboy]

Posted by TonyS on 13/12/2009 23:03:45:

Hi Guys,

My wife bought me one of these and I'm sure I'm missing something.

I've finished the build and despite asking the chaps at Flying Wings for assistance, after the first reply it's gone silent so I'm coming back to you chaps.

 

First and most obvious point. All the publicity shots of the plane suggest there's a battery bay cover but mine didn't come with one i.e. the battery is open to view. Is this right?

 

Secondly, , having built it exactly to spec and using a 2200mAh 2S battery I needed to add around 100g of lead to get the CG on the underwing carbon spar. Again, is this right? The battery is a far forward as I can get it without cutting through the nose completely.

 

Finally, the thin carbon pushrods for controlling the ruddervators (?) were so thin that the flex affected the movement of the control surfaces. I've replaced these with snakes.

 

Has anyone else come across any of these problems?

 

T 

 I found that the battery all the way forward worked fine. I'd check how stiff your hinges are. The first time I made mine using UHU Por, they were really stiff and caused the problem you mentioned. I'd redo them and use two decent beads of Por pushed gently together, this gave a much more flexible hinge and less flex in the carbon pushrod.

Its a great model though! I'm fitting a camera to mine for when the weather is better.

[birdy]

I used blenderm tape for my hinges and used hot glue for the rest.

[TonyS]

I just thought I'd post an update having now actually flown my V-Trainer....

Having moved on in terms of experience I recently sold my brand new and never flown V-Trainer to a friend. I insisted that I flew it in his presence before I felt comfortable with accepting the money, particularly as I'd raised the issue of weight and CG here before.

I added boat loads of lead as above, moved the battery all the way forward and generally re-arranged all the guts as far forward as possible before I finally got the CG on the spar under the wing.

On test gliding it it plummet nose-in even with full up elevator.

I took out around 20g of lead and tried again - it plummeted nose-in again

I took out another 20-30g of lead and it flew (it was still nose-heavy and needed another 10-15g of lead removing).

At this point, the CG is well back of the carbon spar - maybe 30mm.....

 

Don't know how everyone else found their CG on this plane?

 

Now it's been shifted back it flies really well. Nice and slow which is exactly what you'd want as a beginner and therefore bang on the nail for a plane designed as a first model.