F22 First EPP Foamie

[19000rpm]

I flew it through a couple of the 1000 mAh packs and all went well. Some nice, straight, high speed runs, WOT loops and rolls (adding max throws to the elevons worked well) good high alpha. Speed in the 60's somewhere, but difficult to tell with the 10-20 wind. Like Kent mentioned; this plane likes the wind.

I tried my 1300 mAh pack on it and it didn't like that one. I think the C rating isn't up to the job. I'll get some 30C's soon.

No damage. Everything is as tight as new.

I think this ends the development of this bird...Except maybe I'll throw the Grayson V3 jet motor on it at some point. ;D

Edit: I'm killing off planes faster than the Red Baron. Yesterday the Gunfighter and today the F22.

I was putting on a demo for my wife who was "attempting" to video it.

I was going through the paces, cobras, fast loops and rolls. I was keeping it low for the video. All of a sudden it went nose in. I don't know what happened. I guess it was either another pilot error, or maybe an elevon failed, or a servo popped off. I did have an Rx glitch in the morning. It was flying along and I lost contact momentairily. Maybe it was that. I think I'll send the Rx (6100e) into Horizon and see what they have to say.


Where the motor used to reside.

It's not going to get fixed.

The battery was thrown clear.

The video just shows a speck in the distance so that's no help.

The CF tube in the front was buried about 5" in the dirt.

I've got lot's of rebuilding and building to do so the F22's return is on the bottom of the list right now. When it rains it pours. ;D

[akent]

WOW! You really hit HARD to tear it up like that!!!

That's worse than mine was when the 500 chewed it up!

Was it WOT when it hit?
Are you going to rebuild that one or build up another one?
Kent

[19000rpm]

Apr 18, 2010 18:03:06 GMT -6 akent said:

WOW! You really hit HARD to tear it up like that!!!

That's worse than mine was when the 500 chewed it up!

Was it WOT when it hit?
Are you going to rebuild that one or build up another one?
Kent

I think it was close to WOT. It was just a blur.

I think I'll just patch this one up for expediencies sake. Got too much else going on. I'll patch the wing and build a new fuse. I'm going to work on it in between the Super Corsair and the P51.

[19000rpm]

I realized my flying fleet was dangerously depleted and the F22 was the quickest to get in the air of all of the aircraft I'm working on. So, by tomorrow AM she should be airworthy once more. Not as purty as before but in the air again.

[akent]

Apr 19, 2010 17:52:05 GMT -6 19000rpm said:

I realized my flying fleet was dangerously depleted and the F22 was the quickest to get in the air of all of the aircraft I'm working on. So, by tomorrow AM she should be airworthy once more. Not as purty as before but in the air again.

That's why I LOVE these foam things!!

They are too much fun and too easy to get flying!
Kent

[19000rpm]

Well, she flew as good as new...The SECOND time I rebuilt it.

After thousands of flights I made a classic noob mistake. A mistake I thought was far behind me. Just goes to show you; there is no end to mistakes as long as you aren't paying attention and taking each step seriously. I was in a rush and that's the reason, but not an excuse. ;D

While I had checked the elevons for left and right, somehow I managed to ignore, or go blind, to up and down.

After reviving another "lawn dart" mess it was back to business as usual. What a great plane, even if it looks like Grandma's patch work quilt you don't see that when it's doing a Cobra or going by at 60+. ;D

[akent]

You know, I have made that mistake twice now. Once with the P-51 (crash!) and once with the first Grayson F-22 (crash!).

I hate it when brain farts get in the way!

That's awesome that yours is flying again!

Do you have any trouble turning at full throttle?
Kent

[19000rpm]

Apr 20, 2010 19:31:00 GMT -6 akent said:

You know, I have made that mistake twice now. Once with the P-51 (crash!) and once with the first Grayson F-22 (crash!).

I hate it when brain farts get in the way!

That's awesome that yours is flying again!

Do you have any trouble turning at full throttle?
Kent

She turns OK at WOT. I don't feel like it is as tight at it could be though. I think the EPP build is the cause. How does it turn in comparison to the Stryker?

[akent]

I actually have not tried to turn the Stryker at WOT with the new motor any more than just to keep it pointing straight! I have shot it up, though.

At WOT with the stock motor, the Stryker maneuvered like it was on rails. I think it would do the same even with the power increase. I just hate to overwhelm those cheesy feeling servos. Those things squeal just sitting there and sound crunchy when you move em around. They sound just like the stock P-51 servos did. I stripped the aileron servos out on a landing and replaced them with Hitec servos (don't remember the number) on the P-51. I think I'll do that with the Stryker at some point.

Anyway, the difference is:
The Stryker feels like driving a Ferrari.
The F-22 feels like an old Dodge pickup with a Ferrari motor in it.

The original F-22 feels like a go cart!

Kent

[19000rpm]

I like those analogies.

So, we're back to the realities of having the appropriate airfame to achieve the best flight characteristics for a certain type of aircraft.

I remember when Paul Newman, the actor, put a Porsche motor in his VW. Kind of like the Grayson in the F22, or your Ferrari in the Dodge pickup. He said it was fantastic on the straightaways but not so great in the turns. ;D

[19000rpm]

I've had a chance to fly the F22 in relatively calm conditions for a number of times now and I'm very satisfied with this plane. The speed and aerobatic capabilities are in the "Geeze this is Fun" range. It may not be the fastest bird around or the best in aerobatics but it's darn good.

I think the F22 deserves a 10 in the "Bang for the Buck" category and a 7.5 in the "Overall Performance" category.

[akent]

I agree with your assessment, 19k!
Another huge plus is that you can build completely different flying machines from the same plans.
I have no plans to retire my original F-22. It flies slowly too well! It is nothing like the new one.

I hope the weather lets up so I can fly the hotrod with the added CF. If it gets to where it will turn at WOT, then I'll love it too! Oh, and I maxed out the elevon throws now. I even put the DX7 at 150 percent.
I hope to fly it soon!
Kent

[19000rpm]

Apr 23, 2010 16:25:38 GMT -6 akent said:

I agree with your assessment, 19k!
Another huge plus is that you can build completely different flying machines from the same plans.
I have no plans to retire my original F-22. It flies slowly too well! It is nothing like the new one.

I hope the weather lets up so I can fly the hotrod with the added CF. If it gets to where it will turn at WOT, then I'll love it too! Oh, and I maxed out the elevon throws now. I even put the DX7 at 150 percent.
I hope to fly it soon!
Kent

I think if you've got the elevon throws maxed out and the additional CF on the elevons you'll find the turns are somewhat tighter at WOT.

Waiting for the weather to clear here also. Wind, then wind and rain. Maybe Mon will be OK.

[akent]

I hope you get to fly soon!
As I mentioned in the other post, the extra CF and throws made mine fly great! I am really happy now!
Kent

[19000rpm]

I've decided to do a rebuild on the EPP F22.

Although the original was very nice it had its limitations and I think I might be on to some changes that will stiffen the airframe enough to make it respond quicker in turns and rolls and reduce the flexing that I believe inhibits top speed some.

The key area I'll be working on is around the prop opening. In the orignal plane there was a lot of flexing from the prop wash and wing warping because of the thrust and most of it centered around the prop slot.

Instead of starting a whole new plane, I'm going to use the original back half and graft on a new front half with new CF reinforcements through both halves.

I'll post some pics later.