Well it is time to add a plane to the hangar. Have plenty of jets but a side from a Dynam 185 glider I haven't had a plane to fly lately. Hopefully this one will last longer than my Dynam T-28 Trojan.
Build took a little longer than it should have due to wiring and linkage problems. LED Connector from fuselage to vertical stabilizer came off while pulling slack back into fuselage. Would have been nice to have a bolt on tail section rather than having to glue it on. Second, linkage to flaps and ailerons was too long to adjust out using supplied plastic clevises. Was able to make new z-bends so everything worked out okay.
Hope to maiden it this week after bad weather passes through.Now if it will last longer than the T-28.
Tech One Swift
Tech One Swift
Monday, December 12, 2011
Friday, November 18, 2011
New F-22 Megajet
Well it has been awhile since I had a large foam board jet so I constructed a new F-22 Megajet. It has a 40" wingspan and is 56" in length. This time I put the Turnigy 3648-1450KV motor in it. I'm currently using a 60 amp Exceed ESC, 7X4.5 TGS prop and using 2 SkyLipo 3300 mah 3S 40C batteries connected in series to provide 6S voltage.
I have now flown it 3 times and am getting about 5 minutes fly time using some throttle control. I am currently limiting WOT runs due to the fact that when I static tested the motor it was pulling 106 amps at WOT. Not exactly sure why I am getting this high of an amp draw since I used the same exact combination on my XF-18 and it pulled only 70 amps a few months back.
Thinking about dropping back to a 4S battery combination hooked up in parallel so I can increase the prop diameter. Previous Megajet handling characteristics where much greater using a 9X7.5" prop on an 960KV motor. Liked being able to hover and hold high alpha without using high revs.
I have now flown it 3 times and am getting about 5 minutes fly time using some throttle control. I am currently limiting WOT runs due to the fact that when I static tested the motor it was pulling 106 amps at WOT. Not exactly sure why I am getting this high of an amp draw since I used the same exact combination on my XF-18 and it pulled only 70 amps a few months back.
Thinking about dropping back to a 4S battery combination hooked up in parallel so I can increase the prop diameter. Previous Megajet handling characteristics where much greater using a 9X7.5" prop on an 960KV motor. Liked being able to hover and hold high alpha without using high revs.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Hard Foam T-28
Well it has been a while since my last post. The weather has been as bad as it can get for both the flying and the R/C equipment. That has finally started to change with the much cooler weather.
Bought a Dynam T-28 from NitroPlanes but it was short lived. Didn't get the CG far enough forward and it crashed trying to land it. Unfortunately the plane is structurely weakest at the point where the wings screw to the foam body. If you decide to try this plane be sure to place the 3S 2200 mah battery as far forward as possible. Battery will just slide into the cutout for the cockpit keeper at the front.
Since I had usable remnants of the Dynam I used some of it's dimensions to construct my own T-28 out of hard foam from HobbyLobbby/Elmer's. It has a 51" wing span and is 40" long. Currently using a 3015 TowerPro motor from HobbyKing with a 9X7.5 prop.
After a few flights I snapped both the carbon fiber wing spars doing a loop but managed to land it without futher damage. I'm currently replacing them with thicker spars and hope to have it flying soon. Will probably go to a larger diameter prop for additional slow speed thrust.
For those who live locally here in Arlington, Texas we moved back to Webb Community Park while TCC is redoing the remote parking lot next to 360. The park is busy with soccer and football but the additional parking recently built has helped keep us flying.
Time to start hooking up the LEDs now that it is dark by 7:30.
Bought a Dynam T-28 from NitroPlanes but it was short lived. Didn't get the CG far enough forward and it crashed trying to land it. Unfortunately the plane is structurely weakest at the point where the wings screw to the foam body. If you decide to try this plane be sure to place the 3S 2200 mah battery as far forward as possible. Battery will just slide into the cutout for the cockpit keeper at the front.
Since I had usable remnants of the Dynam I used some of it's dimensions to construct my own T-28 out of hard foam from HobbyLobbby/Elmer's. It has a 51" wing span and is 40" long. Currently using a 3015 TowerPro motor from HobbyKing with a 9X7.5 prop.
After a few flights I snapped both the carbon fiber wing spars doing a loop but managed to land it without futher damage. I'm currently replacing them with thicker spars and hope to have it flying soon. Will probably go to a larger diameter prop for additional slow speed thrust.
For those who live locally here in Arlington, Texas we moved back to Webb Community Park while TCC is redoing the remote parking lot next to 360. The park is busy with soccer and football but the additional parking recently built has helped keep us flying.
Time to start hooking up the LEDs now that it is dark by 7:30.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
XB SuperNova
Well not much flying going on recently with all the wind and construction going on where I fly. Flew more in the last couple days than I have the last month and a half.
Just finished a new build this week. I'm calling it a XB SuperNova since it is a modified FoamFighters SuperNova but they used EPP foam. Only used the main outline drawing and vertical stabilizers from their plans since my build is out of foam board from Hobby Lobby (craft store). Maiden went great with only slight repositioning of battery, thanks to FoamFighters exact build specifications.
I'm currently powering it with a Turnigy 2218/2500kv motor with a 6x4 prop. The ESC is a Turnigy Trust 55 amp. Not getting much more than 60-70 mph with this configuration. Tried both 3S and 4S battery configurations. Pulling too many amps with the 4S (60amps wot) so will probably only use 3S (48amps wot) for most flights. This combination got me a measured 97 mph on a smaller F-18 earlier this year.
In the process of building a new one powered by a Turnigy 3648/1450kv using a 6S battery. Used this configuration on the XF-18 and it put out right at 1300 watts. Never used a radar but know it was pushing 90 mph on the XF-18(61"x 41"). Will need lots of carbon fiber if I plan on breaking 100 mph. Plan on reducing height by half now that I have a working model with a known CG to work from.
Just finished a new build this week. I'm calling it a XB SuperNova since it is a modified FoamFighters SuperNova but they used EPP foam. Only used the main outline drawing and vertical stabilizers from their plans since my build is out of foam board from Hobby Lobby (craft store). Maiden went great with only slight repositioning of battery, thanks to FoamFighters exact build specifications.
I'm currently powering it with a Turnigy 2218/2500kv motor with a 6x4 prop. The ESC is a Turnigy Trust 55 amp. Not getting much more than 60-70 mph with this configuration. Tried both 3S and 4S battery configurations. Pulling too many amps with the 4S (60amps wot) so will probably only use 3S (48amps wot) for most flights. This combination got me a measured 97 mph on a smaller F-18 earlier this year.
In the process of building a new one powered by a Turnigy 3648/1450kv using a 6S battery. Used this configuration on the XF-18 and it put out right at 1300 watts. Never used a radar but know it was pushing 90 mph on the XF-18(61"x 41"). Will need lots of carbon fiber if I plan on breaking 100 mph. Plan on reducing height by half now that I have a working model with a known CG to work from.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
End of MegaJet and XF-18
Well due to a crash and age there is no MegaJet or XF-18 anymore. Will need to replace the main picture after sufficient mourning.
The F-22 has given me lots of enjoyment but stress on the wings and verticles was beginning to show so I decided to scrap it for the motor and electronics allowing for a new build. This jet was extremely easy to fly and gave me many hours of enjoyment. It flew just a easily inverted as it did right side up. In the end you can only expect so much from 5 foot jets made of 40" x 30" foamboard. While not the fastest of jets (40-50 mph) it's high thrust to weight ratio made for great 3D flying.
The XF-18 unfortunately met it's demise early. Just after launching it torque rolled causing some wing damage so I decided to scrap it for the parts also. Making repairs on this 5 foot foamboard jet would be risky at best since I was using a highspeed motor setup on it. It was easily hitting 70 to 80 mph and was placing too much stress on the foamboard elevons. In fact I have already crashed to smaller F-18s due to the elevons being ripped off during highspeed dives. Elevons need to be built out of basewood if using highspeed motor arrangements on this ParkJet design.
Just added a new jet to the hangar. It is a very highly modified RCFoamFighters Frill Dragon. It hardly resembles the original Dragon but wing dimensions come from their design so I have to give them credit for the build. Using the basic dimensions allows for a known CG. Recently orange and black seemed to be the new 2011 color but truth be known I was just out of blue tape and started using up the orange tape. More tape will be arriving soon and so will the patriotic color scheme.
The F-22 has given me lots of enjoyment but stress on the wings and verticles was beginning to show so I decided to scrap it for the motor and electronics allowing for a new build. This jet was extremely easy to fly and gave me many hours of enjoyment. It flew just a easily inverted as it did right side up. In the end you can only expect so much from 5 foot jets made of 40" x 30" foamboard. While not the fastest of jets (40-50 mph) it's high thrust to weight ratio made for great 3D flying.
The XF-18 unfortunately met it's demise early. Just after launching it torque rolled causing some wing damage so I decided to scrap it for the parts also. Making repairs on this 5 foot foamboard jet would be risky at best since I was using a highspeed motor setup on it. It was easily hitting 70 to 80 mph and was placing too much stress on the foamboard elevons. In fact I have already crashed to smaller F-18s due to the elevons being ripped off during highspeed dives. Elevons need to be built out of basewood if using highspeed motor arrangements on this ParkJet design.
Just added a new jet to the hangar. It is a very highly modified RCFoamFighters Frill Dragon. It hardly resembles the original Dragon but wing dimensions come from their design so I have to give them credit for the build. Using the basic dimensions allows for a known CG. Recently orange and black seemed to be the new 2011 color but truth be known I was just out of blue tape and started using up the orange tape. More tape will be arriving soon and so will the patriotic color scheme.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
XF-18 Comes to Life
Well it has been awhile since my last post. I decided to up the ante on the XF-18 since my maiden flight in December. I flew it for a while just using a BlueLipo 4S 30C 2200 mah battery. It flew nicely but didn't feel or sound like a jet.
On a whim I connected two BlueLipo 3S 30C 2200 mah batteries in series kicking the voltage up to 22.2 volts. It now rockets through the air even while using the throttle sparingly. I'm keeping high speed passes short since I'm still using the 60 amp Exceeds esc. It pulls close to 70 amps at WOT. It shows 1300 watts on my Turnigy watt meter.
I have now bumped the batteries up to two SkyLipo 3S 40C 2200 mah batteries in series. Only getting about 3 1/2 minutes of flight time but loving every minute of it. It is capable of unlimited straight verticle launches. Have run it up to over 990 feet according to my range finder. Can't get a lock on it higher than that.
I'm sure there is more in it but as posted earlier there is only a single 3mm carbon fiber ribbon limiting wing flex.
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