Two clues before I even brought out the planes. There was only one guy there at 11a on a beautiful Sunday.And he left right after I got there and saw him struggle to land a foamie Cessna. The wind was dead calm, except when it wasn't when a sudden gust would pop up.
First flight: Did I get the CG wrong because it flew tail heavy as fuck. Trims were all off. Where is that sudden wind coming from?? Barely got it down. Made some adjustments and found that the elevator trim was elevator up, not where I had put it when I reset up the airplane... Put the battery where it used to go, making it a bit nose heavy. Third flight, much better balance, trimmed up nicely but here came the gust and it just threw it into the ditch in the middle of the field as I was trying to get it back to the runway.
Butchers bill: tore off the nose gear taking with it the balsa sheeting under the fuse between it and the battery compartment, broke the prop and lightly bent the prop shaft (dammit). Damaged the firewall.
The field really needs to be levelled, the Geotex is bumpy and barely useable. The flyable space is too narrow for my comfort as I fought the sudden gusts. I won't be able to comfortably fly the 26 and 30cc planes there, I fear. But it will have to do for this year. My son is at the NH Renaissance Faire today, and I see that it's on the same road as the Fremont Flyers field. I looked at it on Google maps and it is a wide and clear space, they even fly turbine jets there ... Their club fee is $40 less for a better field. It's 45 min away though... I will need to consider it next year if SNHRCC still doesn't have a field.
It's kinda tight In there. The LiFe 2100 mAh 2S receiver pack turned out to be a smidge too big to fit in the well behind the tank over the landing gear, but it fit below the wing and is clear of the throttle servo. I made a shelf of thick closed cell foam CAd to the bottom of the battery and snap-lock velcroed to half that shelf behind the landing gear well, and used a glue gun along the edge of the fuselage. It's secure and accessible. The leads are clear, the two loose ones are the ailerons and flaps. Going to be delicate closing up with the wing I place and the long wing leads.
Just a quick video of the 10 cc running with the Master Airscrew Scimitar 11x6. I don't have a lot of experience tuning these small 10cc single needle engines. Not a fan as it's hard to find the sweet spot between a nice safe and consistent idle, and a max full throttle setting.
All that's left is to set the wing up, find and adjust CG and get a final weight. Without the wing it's at about 5.8 lbs. Designed all up dry weight is 7lbs.
Hoping to finally get to the Flying Tigers field today. I don't enjoy flying with an audience, so hope it's not crowded.
I had installed a double switch to control power to the ignition and receiver, when I went thru "relearning" the circuit connections, and realizing I needed a IBEC, which I could not find, a Tech-Aero IBEC/Kill switch (too expensive) and chose the RCEXL IBEC Opto kill switch I found at, and only at, Valley View RC. This device requires only one power switch for the receiver, from which it get power for the ignition with the nice benefits of the Opto kill switch. My OCD made me find a single switch to replace the double as I did t want the weight nor an unnecessary unused switch. This would mean fixing the king whole that I made for the double switch. The single switch arrived today.
I had waited to fix the hole until I knew the dimensions of the new single switch. I ad ordered the rectangular one, black, because it was in stock and I thought it would be easier to refit. They were out of stock it turns out and thru wonderful quick support (I think a few hrs after I ordered it), VVRC emailed me asking if an oval one was okay. I went silver, oval. I did silver because I always do black ... Black probably would have been better
Dried, sanded down to smooth, and cleaned. Looks good!
Dry fit the switch, patch fits perfectly.
Install completed, cote applied and clean. I prefer these servo screws from RTL Fasteners as I hate the usual stock Phillips head screws that always seem too soft and easily stripped.
The inside, switch and patch backing.
I am waiting for the LiFE batteries for all three gassers due here Friday. This allowed, in addition to removing the double switch, removing the 5v regulator I had installed to cover the higher voltage 2S LiPO I was using. One less complicator, one less failure point.
The Master Airscrew scimitar 11x6 props also arrived today. Painting the tips for safety. Once the battery installed, receiver packed away, CG and weight checked, it will be ready to maiden! I want to get my first familiarization flights at the new to me Flying Tigers field done before that. I need some refresher flight hours first.
I also want to set up another heli, probably one of the 500's, next. Meanwhile sim, sim, sim
Went sailing today... Was supposed to be breezy and dusty according to my Windy app, but there was little to no wind, so meh.
This Evolution 10cc gas engine hasn't been started since I crashed the last Ultrastick back in 2021, some 5 years ago (damn, has it been that long?). It hasn't been my favorite as I find the single needle carb a bit of a challenge to get a safe idle out of, but it's a good smooth running engine.
Today I installed the RCexl Opto Kill with BEC, and it lit up perfectly. It's plugged into the gear switch, and the kill works great.
Filled the tank, powered it up and it started on the first try! Spent hours today trying to find a decent idle, as setting the high is easy. Managed a decent run up, but at idle it tends to idle high and drop off, settle, then after about 20 secs stall out. I don't think it should do that.
But IT RUNS! After a few hours, I am giving it a rest. My understanding of gas engine tuning is rudimentary and I tend to waffle around settings. Part of my issues is I don't know quite what is acceptable. My goal is a low enough idle to not create roll away thrust, and not quitting.
We'll get there. For now I consider this a win.
I am thinking the 12x6x3 is too much prop and may be causing my tuning issues. I need to check inventory, but Gemini thinks a good 3 blade is 11x6x3. For now I threw on a Xoar 12x6. On Tuesday we'll see how this does. In further discussion with Gemini, I think I will be going with the Master Airscrew Scimitar 11x6.
UPDATE: While discharging sime batteries I never got around to flying, I ran the Xoar and it scared me how many rpms it must have picked up, it was insane. It also found a great idle, likely as it didnt koad up and the smaller prop produced less thrust. I can't imagine what the 11x6 will do... EVO manual says 12x6 is the recommended prop, Gemini sees that but thinks the 11x6 will be a better performer. I agree after reading the arguments
The new motor, a DYS D2836 880kv 70g from Amazon arrived on time today, and when I got home from work I installed it with no drama. I had first tried to see if my ESC programming card would work with this Sonic 60A ESC (generic, quite old actually), but nope. I have two of the same card and neither one turned on, even when I added a reciever pack to the circuit. The original prop shaft fits (4mm), is true, and the prop with the sweet aluminum spinner has been installed.
I had nothing to lose, so fired it up and it runs AWESOME! Prop tracks clean and the spinner with no wobbles. Very nice motor!
Checked CG (3.25-3.5 inches) and its a bit nose heavy. Adjusted the battery aft and now just a hair nose down. Perfect. A couple of cosmetic chores, and off to the field as soon as I get a day off. So glad this debacle is done. Special thanks to John Hayes for the stunning wing repair (and I won't forget the Guinness!).
By the way, thinking of naming it the "Its always something...".
I've spent so much time this past week on the Alpha Sport 450 since I got the wing back from John, that I have lost track of where and why I started on this last little adventure, but I ended up where I should have started...
I share these misadventures because I want you to know we all have them in this hobby. For me, most are self induced thru laziness, lack of skill, or carelessness, often a combo of all three. "There is always something", (I think the difference between nitro/gassers, heli pilots and electric pilots is how much "something" we are willing to deal with. I am at that level after a week of shenanigans where I am not going flying today because I am totally a shit magnet right now and I don't think I could emotionally handle a crash. I am totally up against my something limit).
The jist is that the original ESC, a 40A Hobbywing more than a decade old, just quit working the other day. One moment fine, the next a paperweight. Since I like to use what I have on hand (I am cheap), I used the closest thing I had, a 60A ESC. This works fine with the 450 sized motors, just a lot of reserve for a sport flyer, and not much weight difference. Tested the setup with all the electronics on rhe Alpha, awesome all worked fine the first time. Took a half an hour to tuck it all in and make it all pretty, went to fire it up, dead as a doormat. Nada. Checked everything, nothing wrong. Pulled it out, tested it again still nada. Fine, I have another one, also 60A but a smaller profile. Tested, works fine. Installed. Still works fine.
But I felt a vibration and noticed that there was a wobble in the prop. Inspection revealed that the motor shaft at the prop end had bent in that crash, actually in the fall from the Ent from which it had impaled itself upon. Inspected the motor and there was an almost undetectable shaft bend, that magnified when the prop shift was in place. Easy peasy, I have changed out motor shafts, and I happen to have a baggy full of them.
Its easy. Pull the mount X-plate off the back. On the back end of the motor, the shaft is secured with a c-clip. Slip that off, careful not to shoot it across the room. You can now pull the outrunner shell off the back. You are now holding the inner workings in one hand, and the outrunner shell with the connected shaft in the other. On the side of the top of the outrunner there are usually 1-2 lock screws. Remove them. You can now tap the shaft out. Simply reverse the process with your new shaft. Which I don't have... the ones in the baggy are a mm too small. WTF, I have never had a motor smaller than a 450 sized. So I just put it all back together.
Still trying to be cheap (there's my problem right there....), I have another motor, unlabeled, but looks a bit squatter and a bit wider than the 450 outrunner. Looks like maybe a little more powerful. Let's try that!
This "new" motor has a mounting plate that is about 0.5mm off from the 450. Its really not that much bigger a motor. But this won't fit my firewall, which is that 450 sized. Here's a idea! Lets spend a lot of time and energy, let's build an adapter firewall out of ABS plastic, drill it so that both sets of mounting screws fit: the 450 ones off the firewall secured to the new firewall at the end of the extenders, and attach the new motor to that firewall. Took a while to fabricate: cut the ABS, drill the ABS, install the motor (works fine connected to the electronics in testing), install the firewall, attach the motor. Quick spin, all works! But the prop shaft is one of those that bolts to the outrunner shell, not attached to the motor shaft, and its a touch short. I happen to have a slightly bigger one that fits! Replace the old with the new. Attach the prop. Now I can't use the original aluminum spinner because the new prop shaft is not drilled for the center securing screw, but I have what is probably the original Alpha Sport red spinner NIB. I attach that. But the stock self-tapping screws that secure the cone to the base are crap and one head-strips just trying to screw it in. Spend a lot of time and cursing to remove said stripped screw, and replace with nice 2mm regular hex head.
Looks great! Let's fire it up! All looks good, advancing throttle, and then the motor screams and slows down, so I shut it down. Try a couple times, same thing, won't reach full throttle without screaming and slowing down, and on the third try shuts itself down. Won't run now at all. No magic smoke, that's good... There was a time when I knew what this was that was happening, but not today*. Crap... did I burn out the ESC??? I removed the entire apparatus, motor, new firewall, extensions, and connected the original motor (fine, just bent shaft). Whew... everything works, ESC is fine. So its the motor.
* I think it was ESC timing... The new motor has 14 poles so will need high timing setting. Will need to break out the programming card.
And here we are. I am where I should have started but I have been nickle and diming myself to death and was trying to save money and maybe upgrade the motor that didn't need upgrading just replacing. I bought the 880kv version of this little motor that produces about 243 watts (oddly specific) which would be great for this plane. I won't have time until maybe Sat night as I go back to work, but I hope this is the end of my Alpha Sport 450 adventure.
