Skyline Corvus 540 or PA Ultimate Project

So...

I really would like to build the Precision Aerobatics Ultimate, to replace my Eflite Ultimate, representing quite the upgrade in the process, but that's gonna be an expensive build. In the meantime, I want something aerobatic, not too expensive to lose, and fast, to replace the Ultimate and the Pulse XT 25e.  I REALLY want that PA Ultimate... and in the end may just wait and get it. But I REALLY want that powerful Corvus. I spec'd out a Skyline Corvus 540 build, electric with some oomph. At $140, she isn't so painful to replace, and I have the most expensive parts already on hand.

PA Ultimate

Skyline Corvus

But the PA Ultimate... "she so fine..."  and I love the way Ultimates fly. The parts I am getting for the Corvus could easily be used in the Ultimate, and I have the motor and ESC on hand for both planes. The Corvus would require investment in new 6S batteries, the Ultimate would fly 3S with what I already have on hand. The Corvus would be wicked powerful with a 1400 watt motor (she is rated for 1000-1200 watts, but who's got time for that?).

To build either plane I have on hand the motors, ESCs, and receiver, likely the prop. I would need to get the servos, and a BEC,

I spec'd and priced out Spektrum A5040 metal gear mini digital servos, a quite affordable, excellent performer, and Spektrum/Horizon Hobby quality. I love Horizon Hobby, but they use bicycles to deliver parts from Champaign, IL (8 days to get to NH, please...). May buy them from someone else (probably Hobby King... But I think they use cats with ADHD to ship and deliver from their US warehouses and their times have been so hit and miss lately).

I can pick up a 6V BEC anywhere for less than $10.

In the end, there is a $100 difference between the prices of the aircraft, with the PA coming in at $250 for the ARF. That's quite a chunk of change, not just in initial investment, but in "cost of crash" and the agita it induces.

When I finish the Spitfire, I will need to think about what I want to do... I am leaning to the Corvus, and sometime later I can do the PA.

I met a wonderful man some of you may know, James Tyrie. He LOVES to build. I didn't get a chance to talk much to him, but would love to chat and learn from him, see his work!

Fun, friends and an Ultimate crash

Banner day at the SNHFE field in Merrimack! It started a bit rough but ended good. Nice crowd out this afternoon, and they were good company.

I crashed the Eflite Ultimate finally. Took 5-6 years. She was that plane that I could always depend on to be predictable, (unlike the Eflite Stearman who will tip stall into a death spin so kuchbasnlook at you). The gray skies were causing us problems keeping the orientation bubble going. I thought I was going to hit another plane (not his fault) and looked away from mine. When I looked back I could not make out her orientation. She was just a black silhouette. I called out that I had lost orientation, and moments later I flew her right to the scene of the crash.

I crushed the front and broke the right lower leading edge. I just don't care enough to rebuild her. While she has never crashed she has taken a beating and its time to let her go. First flight of the day...

I flew the Eflite Stearman with a 4S. She had more power than she needed but flew kinda sluggish; she doesnt like the extra weight. I landed and changed out to a 3S and she performed much better. I did a couple of touch and go's, flew some piggish aerobatics (single surface ailerons, unlike the upper and lower on the Ultimate) and on the last landing the prop must have touched. Prop cam loose and the motor went out of phase. Usually I can simply stop and restart the motor and she will find her phase again, but this time she just wouldn't, even with a hard restart. So that was the end if her flying day, and will be until I sort that out.

I then tried to take the 10cc Sukhoi up. Tried, for as I picked her up her engine would quit. Recall the last time I flew her and went vertical, she quit and I deadsticked down. It was so bad all I had to do was move her and she would quit. Ron listened and told me she was running rich. 

Me, Steve, and Ron

Ron and Steve were willing, so we started trouble shooting. We ended up field stripping the engine. In the end they left, and I spent the  next couple of hours tweaking the needle valve on the single needle RCGF 10cc. She just kept quitting if I moved her. Near 5pm I finally got her where she wouldn't quit in idle and when moved. I took her up and flew around, simple flight, and landed. On roll out, a bit bumpy even with the Geotex runway, she quit. Tweaked a bit more, and finally found the sweet spot. Flew around, did simple aerobatics. Idled in flight, flew fine. Taxied to the gate, and... She quit when I stopped her in idle. 

Not sure what's going on.

While I was working on her, Kenny Pappas stopped by and we had a nice chat. I got him.to share the adventure of trying to get a flying field up and running in Tyngsboro at River Bend.

I wrapped up, headed home, and took the Big Dobbie to Outback, and then Castro's for a cigar.

Tonight I have some work to do.

Happy Easter Bunny day!

Mobile Hangar in Meridian, MS

Working up in Meridian, staying in a very nice hotel for the week. I brought up the Eflite Ultimate, the Frankenheli Tarot FBL, and the Erazor 450. I found a dirt field behind my hotel, and I went out to fly the Ultimate and the Erazor there today. It was very dusty, and my aircraft got a lot dirty. Not sure this is going to work, won't likely fly there again... I had planned to use the abutting road as a runway, but despite being off the main roads there were too many cars, more public than I expected. So I flew off the dirt... Very smooth, but unforgiving. Broke the wheel pant off the Ultimate on one side. I flew the Erazor, and for some stupid reason kept putting the nose down in nose in hover when I wanted to bring it back. I knew I was doing it but kept making the same mistake, and on the third time I over reacted and pushed the nose even further forward, and she dropped. Hit hold, leveled her out but suffered a blade strike. I think part of it was being very uncomfortable flying in this field because its not home... my focus was off. Another part was flying with my head up my ass: always on edge flying the helis. Dropped the Erazor, delaminated one main blade but that was it. The feathering shaft looks good, surprisingly. I am not so sure the main shaft is unaffected, but I spun it without the blades and it spun pretty damn true, no vibration. I didn't bring any extra stuff up, forgot the heli boxes at home. If I can find some in town she'll be flight ready again. I need to find a better flying field, one with more privacy. Trying to find the local field, Meridian Aeromodelers don't have a website. My boss thinks the local club flies out of Topton Air Estates where a closed runway exists, not far from where I am staying. I may try to run out there tomorrow and see what's up.
 

 

In the meantime, doing repairs in the hotel room! Wonder what the maid will think?

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

"If you don't want to crash, don't fly."

Its been a rough couple of months. I have had 3 crashes, 3 resets of my "Time since my last crash" clock (scroll down). Two were pilot error, both loss of orientation when I flew into poor visual conditions (one sun, one poor contrast sky), and one was structural, the plane simply folded up and died. All were complete losses. I got to thinking, I don't have many planes that I haven't had to repair, minor or major. Most have been victims of my flying skill, or lack thereof. For those others, there is plenty of time...

The first Twinstar was inverted as I crossed the sun line, too low under a tree line. I lost her orientation as I was turning and banking out of an inverted flight path and threw her into the ground so hard she literally became toothpicks and powder. I managed to recover the important parts, and quickly bought a new one. The price is too good, and she is fun to fly. I have only flown the new one once or twice.  (Twinstar links on my blog).

The Twinstar disaster.

A couple of weeks ago, my beloved but much abused Eflite Ultimate 20-300 was flipping around, when I thought I was too close to another plane and in the gray skies over the woods I lost orientation and could not figure out where she was going, until she arrived at the scene of the crash... An ambitious man might have rebuilt her, but honestly, she had been through enough. It was time to let her go. I won't replace her... can't, they don't make her anymore, and right now I can't afford the Precision Aerobatics Ultimate, a long time dream of mine.

The Ultimate FU.

And lastly, I am sure not my last crash, my fourth Eflite Pulse XT 25e simply folded up in mid flight and died an ignoble death falling into the trees and mud between the Merrimack River, and our flightline. Simply. Fucking. Folded. In. Half. At $200 a pop just for the airframe, I have spent almost $1500 on that model of airplane. The first three I admit I killed, but this last one... damn., just broke my heart.

The end of a legend.

I have lost planes. Everyone who flies has. Paul Verger, an AMA hall of fame pattern flyer I am sure, once told me, as we watched the confetti that was once a multi-thousand dollar 100cc plane he had been flying a moment before flutter to the ground, "If you don't want to crash, don't fly."  I get bummed when I crash, but I really don't see the point of getting angry. If you don't crash, you aren't trying hard enough. But its not cheap, and there is a lot of time and effort put into the building. Nothing, for sure, like a kit builder who puts his or her soul into each frame member they glue together, but its still a lot of time, and effort. 

So why am I having this run of bad luck? Have I always been a marginal pilot? WTF is my problem?

Most of my early crashes, or really, all of them, were due to learning where the flight envelope ended, either exceeding the capabilities of the model through ignorance, or just losing control. None of this required skill, I was just a talented member of The Society for Aircraft Demolishers, SAD for short. I am literally a sticker carrying member. It took me while to learn, for example, that even if the Eflite Stearman can twist a tight turn, aerodynamically she can't pull it off and will instantly enter The Spin of Death. I had to learn that several times. Its one of the reasons I am such a good MacGyver builder: I could and needed to fix those bonehead crashes, and I gave myself plenty of practice. I tore landing gear off more times than I can remember, broke engine boxes, crushed wings, broke the underside of frames. put holes in wings, wings in trees, grass and brush fields, crashed in roads, snapped props in half and clean off. Given enough CA, epoxy and wood, I can rebuild anything. Most of the time it was coming in too hot, coming in too low and landing in the trees, practicing the art of the 3-in-1 landings (a Bouncing Betty). failing to flare, or flaring too soon, ran out of gas in the wrong place, learning how not to spin, and that not all stalls are recoverable, and that depth perception matters.  Flying is costly, in time, money and energy. But like any addict, I keep going despite the pain.

Now my crashes are usually mid-flight loss of orientation. I can land anything eventually, and generally intact. But I think my depth perception, which has always been an issue, is getting worse. I also can't always see clearly in my contacts, or even sometimes my glasses, sometimes getting a floating contact while on final. Older eyes. Contrast is a problem: in dark gray skies, even with amber/yellow lenses, I am flying a black silhouette. I have watched a lot of my older flying buddies give up the hobby because they can't see well enough...

I also haven't been on my A game. I have noticed of late I have trouble finding the right DR and expo for my planes, even ones I have flown for a while. I am sometimes heavy handed, other times too light on the controls. Sometimes I watch my aircraft start to stall and am a bit slow to react. Or I do a an aerobatic maneuver too far away in the line of the sun... Its like sometimes when I fly lately, I am not paying attention to flying, and am worried about the tree lines, or the wind. I think a big part of it is that I am not flying nearly the hours I used to, back when I really could fly anything, focused.

But that's changing. I am flying with a club again, and enjoying the friends I am making at the field. I enjoy watching others fly well, poorly or not at all and enjoying it. I like seeing other mortals make mistakes, and marvel as Tommy tosses a plane around in a planned frenetic dance that shows his intuitive flying skills. I love watching the arrogant guys fly and ignore others less worthy around them, a clique of there own, and I love watching Dennis, the new guy, cursing with joy as a plane is taken through its paces, a grown up kid. Everyday that I am working, I wish I was flying. Every day I am flying, I am wishing it wouldn't end.

That's the real change. I am enjoying flying again. I don't think I realized that in the past couple of years where I wan't flying with others or at a club, it wasn't fun. I wasn't flying the hours I usually did. I wasn't sharing this experience with others, and I missed that. I miss Kenny Chandler, and my friends at MCRCC, where I would spend 12-14 hrs a day flying.

So I am trying not to take these crashes too seriously. I am sure I am responsible for 2 out of the last 3.  But that is just the way it is. I am learning, every day I fly, I learn. I need to let these lessons sink in, and become a better pilot, and not get discouraged.

And I am loving every minute of it.  If you don't want to crash, don't fly.

And come on... every pilot knows a crash is just an opportunity to get a new plane.

My Name is Ken, and I am an RC Addict

I am not mocking addiction, I do actually have one. My addiction to RC aircraft is real.

In the past two days I have made two major purchases. 

Being an idiot, I am buying my 3rd Hangar 9 10cc Ultrastick withing the last year, having the last one take too long to come out of a hammerhead. This time I will figure out how to fit the elevator and rudder servo's near the CG as opposed to aft, and put a smaller tail wheel on it. Dare I use the stock? Hmmmm... not sure. I am pretty sure I will spend more money I don't have putting bigger wheels on it, partly to make it more amenable to our field, but also because I like big wheels and I cannot lie.

I pulled the trigger on the Seagull Ultimate from Legend Hobby. I love the Ultimate. I cried when I had a midair with my balsa Eflite Ultimate, one of the best airplanes I ever had, which they degraded to a foamie so I won't get it again. I chronicled the demise of my lovely Pitts Model 12, and pouted that I hate flying and will never build another plane. So yeah, addicted, because I made these two purchases I probably shouldn't be making. I totally felt like a kid stealing cake from the kitchen... I'll get over the guilt, and I will still have cake.

I guess this weekend I will finally get around to salvaging parts from the pile on my "death bench", from the dead Ultrastick and Pitts. As part of my pouting over the losses, I haven't been down in the shop since I dumped the Pitts there. It's time.

First day, first flight, first crash

Today I loaded up for flying! My apartment living requires I adapt to loading my car.
 

 
I took the Ultimate with its funky rudder and the Pulse which seemed fine and headed out to Wingmasters field. Met a handful of members, all with really good skills and pristine aircraft... Nice, welcoming guys!
 
I set up my stuff, and took the Pulse up. There was a brisk crosswind, but nothing I have not flown in before. It was like I had never flown in my life... I took off heading askew down the paved runway, and managed to putz her around in the pattern. Then well before she was due, her power started to drop off, and full throttle did not give me much. I had checked the battery before flight. I was at the wrong end of the field. I brought her around, and managed to head her into the wind, AND SHE WOULD NOT COME DOWN! I was so psyched out by my poor flying that I failed to try the spoilers. She overshot the runway and I knew I did not have enough power to go around. I put her down, not too hard, nice and flat, but the off field cabbage has big chunks in it and she tore off her landing gear, which as always rolled under her and punctured the wing, this time taking out a spar... Her battery was actually fine at 3.75V per cell. WTF.
 
Crap. Very first flight. Surely they think I'm a twit.
 

She threw the gear forward after rolling over them.

 

You can't tell but both wings were punctured through and through by the wheel pants flipping underneath.

 

 

Fours hours of work and she is no longer pristine, but looks pretty good:

 

 
The Tail vert stab was cracked, I think before the flight, but loosened in flight. I replaced it with one I had from a previous Pulse. I am out of 12x8 Xoar eprops, so I put a 12x6 on her. Wonder if thats a mistake? Ordering more 12x8, and it will be a while until I can fly again.
 
Mike, Steve, and Jon (and one other guy whose name I missed) were kind to me, and I decided to take the Ultimate up, and flew her better, but still without confidence or my usual skill, for several packs. She survived and I handled the cross wind much better. I learned to put her down on the runway, which while not particulalry narrow, required a finer degree of airmanship than landing on a wide field as I have been acustomed to. It also required better to touchdowns as the asphalt is unforgiving.
 
Thank goodness I did not bring a heli.
 

 

 

 
Now that I have my "first Tee jitters" behind me, hopefully my next flight will be more enjoyable!
 

Posted with Blogsy

Ultimate bits

A Handycam vid... only what we could use from the long DVD, since the autofocus, invisible viewfinder, wacky zoom and operator wedgie pretty much made most of it unwatchable! So, here are bits and pieces of me flying my Eflite Ultimate!

Spoilers!

Monday found Kenny Chandler and me alone at Bob Miller Field on a beautiful afternoon burning holes in the sky flight after flight after flight. Kenny had his foamy Edge and his Ugly Stick, I had my A-10, Eflite PulseXT, and Eflite Ultimate, along with my EXI 450 BeastX FBL heli. We flew for over 5 hours non-stop! The field was perfect, low cut and dried out, the winds light and variable with not a cloud in the sky. It was wierd... only Al showed up to visit, and Vinsen stopped by to toss his big Yak in the air between clients. A gorgeous afternoon and no crowd? Especialy since winds and weather have kept us grounded for many, many days.

Kenny programmed some spoilers into his Stick, about 35% and 50%. The performance on landing at 35% was pretty remarkable. She sank smooth and sharp, down at the tail, very controllable and perfect 3 point touchdowns without a bounce. I had been toying with the idea and decided to put spoilers into my DX8 on the PulseXT, 45% and 80%. It was impressive! So much better than flaps! I thought for sure it would stall the wing and create havok, which is why I had been reluctant to try it, but the spoilers did exactly what they should do. She settled quickly, cleanly and much more stably with the spoilers. Cean landings, tail down, no bounce on roll out, very stable and predictable on final with stable charateristisc spoilers deployed in flight. Spoilers... the future for all my dual aileron planes!

The Ultimate finally had a flight mishap after nearly a hundred flights. Coming around with a nice crosswind, I realized too late she was on high rates and I over controlled on final when a gust lifted her wing. Having done some stunning aerobatics on high rates I failed to drop down to low rates on approach. She caught a wing and her prop struck. She looked undamaged, surfaces worked, motor ran fine, so I took her around again. I could hear something wrong as the sound changed when I leveld out of climb. Landed her clean and saw the motor drop down. The motor was free in the cowl! Surprised she had flown at all. This wasn't evident at takeoff, so I think it was cracked and this last flight broke it free. The cowl is chipped and cracked, so I have some minor Bondo work ahead of me, and will need to rebuild the firewall. Toying with the idea of making more room to put a 3300mAh in there, but honestly she flies so awesome as built, and the added couple of minutes of flight probably aren't worth to trouble and changes in flight characteristics. Pics with the repairs to follow.

The EXI flew well, but I think there are some issues with the setup of the heli, and balance. On startup she wobbles a little like she is trying to find her balance. Once airborne she needs some right rudder (I have her set up with the tail rotor with Finless Bob's Trailing Edge control so this definitely should not be happening, let alone the gyro should not allow it). I flew her a bit, did not crash her, but she tipped over after a nice sideways landing and I input the wrong aileron having stopped paying attention as I was hitting Hold, pushing her to the right and suffered a blade strike. Stripped the elevator servo, no other damage. I am not sure I like the EXI D213f servos on her, for no particular reason than I wonder about centering and persistent movement since the BeastX and the heli are setup well. I ordered some Solar digital MG servos from Hobbypartz, 11g instead of 9g as they measure the same size, with about 1.7 kg torque, 0.11 sec at 4.6V. The EXI are frequently NIS, so I think they want to move people to the Solar. They are being sold by Hobbypartz with the point the recenter very precisely suggesting they also move precisely. More on that when I change them out.

Speaking of changing them out... I have had the Hitec HS-82MG servos for my 500 heli for a couple of weeks, but have been very distracted of late and haven't swapped them on to the 500. I need to do that... she is my favorite heli (though the Align 600 FBL I have NIB is likely going to be my go to heli when I build her). The EXI is my fun trainer, easy to crash, easy to fix, stable fun flier. I can't love her or I would never advance my skills...

As I noted in the previous post, the AR600x for the Sbach is here, having been sent a new one. The tech said there was nothing wrong with my original, but to keep me happy they were sending me a new one. Really? I am pretty sure the original one had issues as you can see in the vid... I have replaced the ESC/BEC with a 40A from HeadsUPRC. I wonder if its enough? I really need to get an inline wattmeter... I will get the ESC and receiver installed and get her up as soon as the weather and my schedule allows. The SBach is easily one of my favorite planes!

Closing this post with my pirateyness! Had my pirate sandals and one of my piratey T-shirts on! Get your inner pirate on!

 

Eflite Ultimate Flight Ready

Yesterday I started work on my new Horizon Hobby Eflite Ultimate. Today I finished her. Really this airplane is an easy and straightforward build. Its rather delicate though. It's a 3D aerobatic plane, so is purposefully very light. Pressing a part into place with light pressure, such as a servo screw into a predrilled hole, is met with cracking sounds from the fuse. One blog post talked about being concerned about the screws used to secure the interplane struts and the possibility of putting a driver through it. They are small, and challenging to get into place and screwed tight. And yeah... a driver slipped and I poked a hole in the cote... The battery compartment isn't all that bad, but the tray wall is weak or at least the joints weren't glued well (it snapped off  clean at the joints when I was putting a piece of Dual Lock on the other side for the ESC). I strengthened it with popsicle sticks and glued the joints with CA and all is well. The battery compartment is smallish at the entry, but plenty of space beyond. Setting the battery against its Dual Lock without breaking the tray is a bit challenging, but doable. All in all, a simple build, and she looks very good, but she is fragile!

She is equipped with an Eflite Power 10 electric motor controlled by an ExceedRC Proton 40A ESC. She has a Spektrum AR600 DSMX receiver. I am using EXI D213f digital metal gear servos all around, which I have had great luck with.

Spektrum receiver in situ. Also note the sharp corners of the plastic wing fillets. These things snagged on everything and eventually one snapped off. Once I got the wing on I CA'd it back on.

I had to place the ESC opposite the battery on the same tray (the black velcro loop is for the battery).

Canopy glue on the canopy with painter's tape holding it in place. Quick easy fit.

Eflite Ultimate Build Day #1

My last plane for a long time... Building the Eflite Ultimate from Horizon Hobby is easy and very straightforward. Some have complained about weak control pieces, but I found them to be fairly strong nylon. Maybe Eflite changed them? The plane is much smaller than I expected, but looks good!

The wings came joined. I had to install the ailerons and the servos.

The servos are angled slightly to align with the air stream, I guess, but angled off. The control rod is straight with the aileron. This geometry results from the swept back wings.

Yes... Goof Off will remove the paint from the sticker... who knew?

I misread the photo and installed the rudder control horn on the wrong side. I had to pop it off, and reinstall it. Came off surprisingly easy despite the CA on this side and the back plate on the other.. Lucky me.

The rudder and elevator leads are dangled down through the fuse. easy as I could stick my hand all the way up through the fuse.

Tomorrow I plan to finish the tail, install the electronics and the motor. Should be able to finish her!