RC Powers F-117 Maiden flight

[Tony]

Finally got the F-117 all together today during lunch. Checked and re-checked everything. I had my batteries all charged and ready. I had the CG dead on at the recommended 14" from the nose. The CG was so close that the plane sat balanced on the edge of a steel ruler all afternoon. The wait till quiting time almost killed me. I'd almost swear that time stood still for about 3 days between 4 and 5pm today.

Long story short, this thing is freakin awesome. Who'd a thunk a few scraps of foam glued together could fly like that. Hand launches are a breeze, landings are a bit fast but it slides in really nice on the grass. All the fussing with CG paid off, it only needed 1 click of up elevator and 1 click of left aileron and she was tracking straight and level. It is a little squirrelly on the roll but a little expo took care of that. Boy is this thing fast too.

If you are in to scratch building foamies then I would highly recommend this plane. One note though, and I can not stress this enough, this is NOT a beginner airplane.

[19000rpm]

Sounds great Tony. Send us some video if you can.

Happy landings

[19000rpm]

What motor, esc, battery and servo's did you use?

Happy landings

[Tony]

I am using the Welgaurd 2212-06 2200Kv motor that they recommend for most of their parkjets. A cheap 30A esc from the LHS, and HS65HB servos. I am using the 1750mah 3S lipos that I got for the G2 but when I was building the plane I put a really long peice of velcro up front so that I could use the 2200mah packs that I have for my 450 too. Grayson Hobby has the motor/esc combo for $39.99.

www.graysonhobby.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=22&products_id=414

They were out of stock when I tried to order so I ended up paying a little more (around $10 at the LHS) for the set due to my impatience. ;D The Grayson hobby motor is a Welgaurd that they put their name on.

[Tony]

Oh...and an APC 6x4e pusher prop. This is my first experience with a pusher turning this fast. At around 24,000 rpm the prop really screams. Makes a lot more noise than I expected. Sounds pretty cool in a low level, high speed pass though.

[19000rpm]

I've never had a pusher that turns that fast either. ;D

Are you using the flip launch holding on to one wing tip? I don't imagine it takes much to get it going with that high prop speed.

Happy landings

[Tony]

It hand launches really easy. Dave makes it look so easy in his videos and I thought, no way is it that easy, but it really is. Just hold it right behind the CG, set the throttle to about 50%, and give it a little toss. Once it has settled in, pull up a little and throttle up.