Cermark Fantasy Racer

[Doozer]

Thanks 19. That's is very good advice to anyone. If you crash because you couldn't wait, you'll end up waiting longer. I'm hoping to have it in the air Sunday.

[19000rpm]

I had my Gee Bee out this AM for a long awaited range test and taxi test.

Out at the field, when I was checking control throws, I noticed that the rudder was responding in mostly one direction. I can assure you that when I tested the rudder at home yesterday it worked flawlessly.

As it turns out; it appears that I only glued the elevator servo down, not the rudder servo. Since they are side by side I can hardly imagine why I only glued one down.

The aborted maiden does go to illustrate why double and triple checking before a maiden can "sometimes" avert tragedy. No minor attribute to the practice.

Anyway, the canopy glue I use for servos is curing now so no maidening of the GEE Bee today. Disappointing, but better than some alternate outcomes.

[Doozer]

I only had a little damage from the crash but the one thing that stood out was that the elevator control horn popped loose. That went right back in with some epoxy. I had to epoxy one of the wing snaps back in. Everything's straight and looking good. I'm going to try and get back out this evening. If not I'll take it out tomorrow morning.

I think the landing gear could use some stiffening.

Good luck on yours.

[19000rpm]

Yes, I can remember kent cautioning about the aileron horns possibly coming out. Mine has a ton of glue on them. I decided to put some screws in them bathed in epoxy.

The LG seems a bit soft where it meets the mounting plate. I wonder if some epoxy in the edges would do the trick?

Thanks for the good wishes. Looks like the maiden will be a few days from now. Wind and rain in the forecast.

[Doozer]

went back through last night... good thing I did. The stab was pretty loose, I guess that's how the control arm popped out. Also, I found the reason for the extreme left pull... after inspecting the rudder with the electronics fired up, I was way off... i mean way off. I'm not sure how I missed it. The only explanation I have is that I was setting up 3 aircraft to fly the night before, and I must have just thought I did it. Yet another reason to have a checklist.

I'm going to try again today. I may not have a camera man today because my kids are back in school from spring break. Or... I might just go scouting for a larger runway. One without curbs. ;D

Are you guys using the Amped Up Batteries? If so what do you think about them? I have two 2200's I've bought from my LHS @ $20 ea., but I've yet to use either of them. I'm wondering if it's worth getting two more. Also, can you toss up some pics of your battery placement?

[19000rpm]

As usual, rushing and/or a lack of procedure is the root of many problems. We know it. We still do it. We're stupid.

I haven't use the Amped Up batteries. I went straight to 4S. In this case a SkyLipo or Eflite in the 2200 range.

I think the only thing that might be a drawback to the AU batteries is cycle life. Poor cycle life is sometimes the case with the less expensive packs. But, who knows. I've got some cheap batteries that, seemingly, will not die. I bought a couple of very expensive Thunderpower batteries that were crap. Go figure.

Looks like another gloomy, windy and rainy day tomorrow. It may be Wed before the maiden. The pilot figure is about to wet his flight suit in anticipation.

[Doozer]

Let's be PC here 19. Its now called "repeated non-intelligence." Stupid people like me, are easily offended

I've always been a Hyperion guy. I have Hyperion batteries from years ago with many many cycles on them, and they weren't taken care of all that well either. I was using a three year old 3S 25C 2100 in my gasser as an rx pack, and I'm using one in my Pitts as an rx pack (bought them both at the same time). I even used the one in my Pitts as a flight pack for the Stinson. Granted I haven't been running much in the way of electrics in a long time but still... those packs are old.

Except for the PZ pack that came with the Stinson, and the two AU packs I bought, everything else is Hyperion. Most of them are resting comfortably @ 30% right now. So I'm very reluctant to try something new because Hyperion's have worked well for me. But the price on the AU batteries is pretty hard to beat unless you go to China. I never do any 3D so having a high discharge rate is not that important either. I never charge over 2C unless I'm rushed, and when I have time I'll charge at 1C. Not having the capability to charge over 1C is a slight drawback... for me. For others that have to charge at the field this could be huge.

Anyway, I'm off to the field in a few. I have no camera man for today. I'm just taking the Stinson and the Gee Bee to the field. If there's any carnage, I'll take pics of the aftermath. Hopefully I'll have some good news to report about the Gee Bee. Keep yo fingers crossed brothas!

[Doozer]

Haha... no carnage today. I didn't get any video because it was just me and my father... we've tried it with him and the camera before and we tend to get a lot of wildlife shots and nothing really of the aircraft.

Anyway, flew two packs through the Gee Bee. One for 5 minutes, one for 6min 30 seconds. I took off into an intermittent head wind of about 5 to 7 mph. I had some issues with down elevator and right roll right off the bat. Not sure if the battery placement is wrong or I just didn't have it trimmed out correctly, but I trimmed it out. Also, had issues with orientation.

Because I had some right roll for some reason I ended up upside down in the down wind leg of my circuit. I couldn't even tell until I went to bank and banked the opposite way and down. Luckily I had enough air so there was no crash, but both my dad and I let out a collective "oh Sh!t," because it was really really close. I'm going to have to paint it for sure. I'm thinking black and white checkerboard across the bottom wings and a portion of the bottom should be perfect.

Once I got it trimmed it flew well. It's definitely more squirrelly than the Stinson. Where you point it is where it goes, and there is ZERO auto-correction. I found myself on the sticks a lot more than I was with the Stinson and there was certainly no looking away at this point. It banks and turns super tight, and handles it self really well at slow speeds. It rolls on a line and flies upside down on a line as well.

My first landing was at zero power and there was a little bounce. The second landing I greased (really! I understand why they call it that now), and I turned to my dad and thanked the sim immediately. I had a lot of fun flying the Gee Bee, but I understand now how much I am not ready for a larger version of this plane. I may buy and build one soon, but it will be a while before I trust myself to fly it.

Good times, Great Plane!

[19000rpm]

It sounds like the same video I get with my wife behind the camera. Where was the plane? Was that a duck or your Su 34? What zoom lens? ;D

Two good flights and a greased landing too. Talk about your RC high!

The R4 is nothing but symetrical airfoils all the way around. Wings, tails even the fuse. So, like you say, it goes where you point it. Right side up, the otherway, or on its side. It doesn't care where you point it or what the attitude is relative to the horizon. That's what these planes are all about: Pylon slicing accuracy or crazy aerobatics. What ever you want.

You've let the Genie out of the bottle. You're going to have a lot more fun with this plane!

[Doozer]

I felt more connected to the plane. More like a participant, less like a bystander.

Just a little news about the Amped Up battery.... I'm not sure 3S 20c 2200 is going to cut it. I put 1800 back in the pack I flew for 5 minutes. That's 50 more than I wanted to use. I really thought I would be safe at 5 minutes. I'm charging the second pack now, but it was below 11V at the start of the charge. That was the first use too. If that pack doesn't die in less than 30 cycles I'll be happy.

I guess 3S 3000 might be a better fit. Maybe I'll go 4S too... what packs and prop are you guys using?

[19000rpm]

You're definitely more connected.

SkyLipo and Eflite 2200mAh 4s. I believe a 3300, maybe larger, will fit though. I think the prop upgrade is an APC 12x6. Whatever kent recommended a while back. Basically like the stock prop, but it works better because it flexes less.

[19000rpm]

Finally the maiden!

I've got a nice polo field not too far away so I scooted over there after lunch to do the deed.

The wind had died down to 10-15; which I thought would be fine for a maiden with a plane this size and weight. I normally opt for lighter winds for maidens. I just couldn't see this thing getting kicked around by today's conditions. It's pretty beefy with the 4S.

The grass is a little lumpy at the field, but the large wheels handled it nicely. I was able to taxi all over, even some of the rougher spots with impunity.

I pointed her into the wind and slowly advanced the throttle. Somewhere between 1/4 and a 1/3 throttle she was ready to fly, aided in part, from the nice headwind. I added a bit more throttle.

The ROG was fairly smooth. A little abrupt because I was holding a little extra elevator for the transition from tailwheel on to tailwheel off the grass.

I noticed right away it needed a few clicks of up elevator to trim it out. This is most likely due to the slightly noseheavy condition I set the plane up with. I'll be moving the battery back just a bit for the next flight.

Once the elevator was trimmed I did a few lazy eights to see how the rudder and ailerons were trimmed. Trying to take in account the wind speed and direction it appears those trims were just right.

I did some loops. Very tight without using full up elevator.

Aileron rolls were nice, very axial, if not overly quick.

I punched the throttle downwind and she seemed pretty quick. Reversed into the wind and it still seemed pretty fast.

I did a few approaches to check landing speed and she slowed nicely, just about a hover into the wind before she wanted to tip stall. A little power and it walked right out of the stall.

I shot a couple of landings, and in the wind, not very much throttle was required for clean touch downs and rollouts. Very nice!

I didn't do any inverted or knife edge. I thought I'd save that for another day.

The flight was about 4 1/2 mins. The Eflite 2100 4S 30C took 1222mAh's on the charger. Since I wasn't at WOT except for a few seconds at a time, I'm thinking gentle sport flying would be in excess of 5 1/2 mins, with some cushion. Maybe more.

I couldn't be more pleased. My wife ordered me not to crash this thing, so now we're both happy. At least today.

[Doozer]

Outstanding! After going back and re-reading kents posts, I've decided I'm going 4S too. Mainly for the comfort of having it fly at half-stick like it's WOT on 3S. I just have to get the prop. Batteries I have.

No way i would have thought about a maiden in 15 mph winds. Balls of steel. I was a little nose heavy too. I'm thinking my battery was too far forward.

Can't wait to get it in the air.

[19000rpm]

Yep, there are no disadvantages to the 4S. Not too often you can just plug a 4S in. Usually you're going to need to change out the ESC. Not with this set up.

[19000rpm]

I got in a few more laps today. This time at the Rec Area. This is a rough gravel road. I was a bit concerned for th wheel pants.

A short bit of gravel road and it was airborn. I had slid the battery back a bit so the CG was more neutral. No elevator trim needed this flight.

I can't say enough about the handling. Precise and agile. considering this is a foam bird, I don't think it gets any better.

This plane cuts quite a figure in the sky with its unique styling and sound. After a couple of minutes I noticed a few cars pulling over by the side of the main road. I could hear the people yelling cheering.

Landing on the gravel was a snap. Nice roll out.

Any concerns I had about flying this plane, just about anywhere, were soundly put to rest.