Wings Makers F35

[Solitaire]

Looks sharp, 19k. Well done.

[19000rpm]

Thanks, guys.

I just added a coat of Krylon matt finish which brings down the various intensities of gloss on the surfaces to an even matt finish. Looks more like the real thing now.

The weather forecast is turning to rain for the next week or so. I hope to squeeze in the maiden, but I need to fly this off ashpalt or concrete because of the light weight gears and small wheels. The only place close by to do that is the school parking lot when it's nearly empty. Maybe, Sat. or Sun. if the winds are fairly light and the rain holds off.

[19000rpm]

I got tired of waiting for a smooth runway opportunity (It's hockey season at the school runway/parking lot) to show up so I decided to fly it off the grass even with the wimpy landing gear set up. Well, to my surprise, it manage to get it'self in the air after a very long roll out.

Once in the air it became very obvious that the CG as stated in the manual was waayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy off. It was so nose heavy it looked like a porpoise as I came off the throttle and back on to keep it in the air. Also, the explanation for long roll out.

So now I'll fiddle with the CG to figure out where it really is. All part of the fun.

[akent]

That looks GREAT, 19k!
It's really hard to hit on something that, like Gabe says, keeps with the military feel.

Good job!
Kent

[19000rpm]

Thanks, Kent. Making them look sharp is a big part of the fun for me.

I emailed wings makers on the CG issue and Joe answered saying it is correct. Well it's not. It's at least 1/2" further back. I haven't had a chance to try to fly it with the newly located CG. I'm hoping that I have it right. I sure don't want to turn this beauty into a pile of foam.

[Gabe]

I found a few cog calculators online a while ago. I can't remember off the top of my head what the sites were, but I'm sure if you googled "COG model airplane" you would find them.

[19000rpm]

Thanks Gabe. I've heard back from Joe and he insists the COG is correct. I'll try looking up the COG calculator.

[19000rpm]

Well, since I was already on the ladder getting down the Art Tech Mig I thought I'd grab the x-35.

I had stored it last winter and spent some time trying to figure where the CG actually is. I finally compromised at a point from where I left off trying to balance it last year.

I took it to the school lot. It got into the air without too much trouble but it took way too much trim to keep the nose up.
I landed it and said to myself, "This is a waste of time." I pulled out all the extra weight and put the battery approximately where it is shown in the manual...Sometimes a picture of where the battery goes is worth more than the published CG.

The plane flies perfectly now. No trim and it glides gently and lands like a butterfly with just a touch of power at the flare.

It isn't terribly fast though. I don't need to make it a rocket, just a bit more authoritive. One of these days, I'm going to get around to installing a 70mm fan, 45A ESC and 4S. That should be a very satisfactory step up in performance.