Anybody flying today

Miamiheat

Cant wait for my first plane to arrive but in the meantime would love to see some plane/helis flying today in Dublin or close.
if you plan to fly just throw me the coordinates or address for satnav and maybe i'll see you there.
Thanks

Kashkai

Ah nuts Miami. I was flying my Radian and Kinetic hotliner in the Curragh today for about 90 minutes and would have loved some company. I could have brought my DX5 and let you have a go at the Rad. Wish I'd checked the Boards site earlier this morning. Opportunity missed:(

When your plane does show up, please don't attempt to fly her yourself as there are so many things to get right before your new plane gets some air. The pre-flight checks are vital to make sure all is working correctly. Your new DX6i radio, while a great choice, takes some time to set your plane up right the first time (the DX5e doesn't have as many set up options which is why it is the "starter radio"). The pre-flight checks will become second nature to you soon enough but its so easy to miss something simple and your flight might be over in seconds and you'll be picking bits of plane up. I'm not trying to put you off but a few pointers from someone experienced, Robbie or myself will make all the difference between and :mad:.

I got my first lesson almost two years ago to this day from Robbie and while I was cocky before the flight, I soon had sweaty palms and a dry mouth when she was up in the air, and that was with an experienced pilot like Robbie standing beside me using a buudy box:o. Trust me, you'll soon be wishing you had someone to tell you what to do when your investment is a hundred feet in the air and you then think, "Oh sh1t, how to I get this down in one piece?:eek:".

Your Rad will show up this week I'm sure. First things first, charge the battery. Then get to know your plane by going over each part to see how they all work together as a single plane. Read the DX6i manual cover to cover. Watch a few youtube vids of Radian flights to get some sense of her flying abilities. Assemble your plane, connect the battery (but stay away from the throttle) and see if you can bind her to your tx and get the control surfaces working in the right direction. See if you can do a range check. Try some simple control movements to turn the rudder right/left and the elevator up/down smoothly without jerking motions. Mashing the control sticks left/right and up/down is not how you fly a plane.

A lot to remember but it'll soon be second nature.

Miamiheat

May try to fly the Radian at the Pheonix park today (if not too much wind).

Kashkai

If you can dodge the rain showers, then fly away. Don't fly in the rain though as electrics and water don't go well together. Watch where you land as well as hitting a puddle won't do your motor, receiver or servos much good.

Probably a bit late for this advice though:D

I might be in the park tomorrow but the winds might be a bit strong.

Miamiheat

went around noon and wind were too strong, but then around 4PM it seemed better so I headed there with a friend and was able to fly for one hour in complete calm (empty park).

Bruthal

Miamiheat wrote: »

went around noon and wind were too strong, but then around 4PM it seemed better so I headed there with a friend and was able to fly for one hour in complete calm (empty park).

Thats great, i didnt think it would take you too long to get the hang of it.

Miamiheat

robbie7730 wrote: »

Thats great, i didnt think it would take you too long to get the hang of it.

Yeah, still must thank you for the pointers. Sure i have a lot to learn but felt good to fly it twice on my own yesterday and land it perfectly smooth. Flew over a heli (a real one). Or actually Heli flew below me. I find it surprising that they will cross the park right of top of the pacth though.

Rob we have to make plans to see each other again, this weekend was hard for me to comit but hopefully we'll get to hook up with Dave and fly a few of these birds.

Bruthal

Miamiheat wrote: »

Yeah, still must thank you for the pointers. Sure i have a lot to learn but felt good to fly it twice on my own yesterday and land it perfectly smooth. Flew over a heli (a real one). Or actually Heli flew below me. I find it surprising that they will cross the park right of top of the pacth though.

Rob we have to make plans to see each other again, this weekend was hard for me to comit but hopefully we'll get to hook up with Dave and fly a few of these birds.

Yes we will have to have 3 in the air at the same time.

Kashkai

robbie7730 wrote: »

Yes we will have to have 3 in the air at the same time.

And then we can play....."Which one is mine???":D

How about you two fly the Rads and I fly one of my Luftwaffe fighters to attack you;)

Bruthal

Prosperous Dave wrote: »

And then we can play....."Which one is mine???":D

That happens, even more so with slower planes:D

How about you two fly the Rads and I fly one of my Luftwaffe fighters to attack you;)

I would probably have the cularis out if i could. Its been out of the air 5 months now.

Miamiheat

it could be an interesting situation to lose track and forget which one is which.

Kashkai

Did you join that club in the Park Miami??? How are you getting on with them if you did? I've never seen any of them fly gliders before.

I was in the park flying myself last Tuesday and got talking to a few of them. Those guys were pretty friendly compared to the ones I'd met before.

Bruthal

Prosperous Dave wrote: »

Did you join that club in the Park Miami??? How are you getting on with them if you did? I've never seen any of them fly gliders before.

I was in the park flying myself last Tuesday and got talking to a few of them. Those guys were pretty friendly compared to the ones I'd met before.

When i used to be regularly fly there, it was a great laugh. That was at the end of the 80`s and early 90`s though. Only flew once or twice there in the last 20 years now.

Miamiheat

Yes Dave I am a member of the club.
Met with a couple of the regulars on the patch a couple of times and they are nice enough. Actually the club has a nitro trainer which they seem to be trying to track down for me. That would fit more their style and be less affected by wind.

Bruthal

Miamiheat wrote: »

Yes Dave I am a member of the club.
Met with a couple of the regulars on the patch a couple of times and they are nice enough. Actually the club has a nitro trainer which they seem to be trying to track down for me. That would fit more their style and be less affected by wind.

The windiest i ever flew the radian in was at hook head lighthouse. Gale winds. It can be flown in very windy conditions.

The nitros, or fast electrics, are more suitable for the park though, especially if there are others there flying them.

Kashkai

My electrics would give their nitros a run for their money, especially as I've souped up a few of mine;). My little Kinetic glider only has a 800mm wingspan but she has been clocked at close on 100mph according to online reports with an upgraded esc and larger 3 cell battery (stock set up is a 450mah 2 cell). Naturally I have the 3 cell set up:D. I'd love to see the look on their faces in that club when I open up her throttle:D

Robbie, when will you be back in action as it would be good to meet up with Miami and get all three Rads in the air. I wouldn't mind a look at your Cularis either. I meant to ask, why did you get her instead of the Radian Pro?

Bruthal

Electrics have no problem matching and probably out performing nitro. Once the motors became brushless and similar to AC 3 phase motors in operation (except with permanent magnets instead of induction) they can have very high torque.

Bruthal

Prosperous Dave wrote: »

Robbie, when will you be back in action as it would be good to meet up with Miami and get all three Rads in the air. I wouldn't mind a look at your Cularis either. I meant to ask, why did you get her instead of the Radian Pro?

Its not looking like i will be back in action anytime soon. Very slow healing, if at all. Next x-ray next monday. I had to bring a chair to the flying field with miami last week:D

I got the cularis because it was one i was looking at way before i got it. I dont actually own a radian. The son does. And the second one with all the FPV gear is another fellas, but is here permanently.

I just liked the look and design of the cularis, and when i got it, i liked it even more. It was actually looping fred (slope soaring) i got it off near 2 years ago now. He used to sell them, but is more into the pure gliders now i think.

The wings just plug in and out, no messing around with leads etc. That was a bit of a pain with the couple of radian pro`s i have flown for others. In my opinion the original radian is better.

You can fly it yourself and see what you think. Its 8 foot 6" wingspan as well, so a fair bit bigger than the radian.

Kashkai

Eight foot six inch wingspan:eek:. And I thought the Radian was big!

What do you mean when you say the wings just "plug in". Is that the Multiplex "plug" I've heard about? I know a few lads with the Radian Pro who got so sick of wiring servos at the field that they soldered on what they called a "multiplex plug" to make the process much less painful.

Bruthal

Prosperous Dave wrote: »

Eight foot six inch wingspan:eek:. And I thought the Radian was big!

What do you mean when you say the wings just "plug in". Is that the Multiplex "plug" I've heard about? I know a few lads with the Radian Pro who got so sick of wiring servos at the field that they soldered on what they called a "multiplex plug" to make the process much less painful.

Yes the cularis wing plugs in. The servo extension leads from the wing servos have their plugs glued into the wing ends.

Multiplex plugs are a green 6 pin plug and socket. I have used them for the FPV radian, to plug in the tx, and the camera, with the radian internally wired inside.

They are not used in the cularis, although some have used them as a mod, because there were reports of the servo plugs disconnecting in the wing root due to movement. The servo extension plugs are glued into slots in the wing roots. And the socket parts glued into slots in the fuselage wing joiner.

I found no problems what so ever with that though. I was very careful to glue the servo sockets accurately into the wing root and fuselage wing sockets, and glued the metal contacts in each servo plug so they were out at the end of the black plastic bits if you know what i mean. If you look at servo plugs, the metal contacts can move in them slightly.


The end result is that you simply plug the wings into the fuselage, and little catches lock them on. Its simpler than putting the standard radian wings on. The back wings also come off in a similar way.

It has a whole different performance to the radian in flight. Faster and much more agile. I think its fantastic in flat calm weather, although so is the radian imo. The cularis is better in windy conditions.

The fuselage is a fair bit bigger than the radian one too.

Miamiheat

Lads I flew the radian yesterday - all went well except second landing where my friend was to catch the plane in the air (i had mounted camera on belly). He grabed it by the rear end of fuselage and snapped it. Clean break so we should be able to fix it tonight.
Now with the time change i think I will spending a few early evenings at the park.
Robbie would you recommend that Cularis for Spain. I am flying there in April and would definitely like to have something to fly there. I can leave the plane at my sister's.

Bruthal

Miamiheat wrote: »

Lads I flew the radian yesterday - all went well except second landing where my friend was to catch the plane in the air (i had mounted camera on belly). He grabed it by the rear end of fuselage and snapped it. Clean break so we should be able to fix it tonight.

Cocktail sticks glued into one half, although put them in dry first, remove, and glue into holes, and let that dry. Then dry fit other half onto the cocktail sticks to check alignment. Now remove, superglue ends and fit together.

I use insulating tape to hold the halves tight, as it shrinks slightly when stretched across the break.

Here is one i repaired 2 years ago.





The radian is best caught on the front wings. Its much easier for the pilot to catch it than have someone else do it. I would of showed you it the last day except i cant do it at present for obvious reasons.

Now with the time change i think I will spending a few early evenings at the park.
Robbie would you recommend that Cularis for Spain. I am flying there in April and would definitely like to have something to fly there. I can leave the plane at my sister's.

Yes i would recommend it. There will be big thermals there, so you will have to concentrate and not let it get too high. They can climb fast in even small thermals.

Simon.d

robbie7730 wrote: »

The radian is best caught on the front wings. Its much easier for the pilot to catch it than have someone else do it.

Yea.. Much easier to catch yourself... Need to have controller strapped and hanging from your neck though (have a loop of bailing twine on mine!).. Can catch with throttle hand, and guide it in accurately with the other... Bring her in low as if to land against any breeze, then pull up as it get's close to slow her down even more.. Might need to do a run and jump for it the first few times, but is quite easy all the same..

Bruthal

Simon.d wrote: »

Yea.. Much easier to catch yourself... Need to have controller strapped and hanging from your neck though (have a loop of bailing twine on mine!).. Can catch with throttle hand, and guide it in accurately with the other... Bring her in low as if to land against any breeze, then pull up as it get's close to slow her down even more.. Might need to do a run and jump for it the first few times, but is quite easy all the same..

Yea thats how i do it, skim the ground out in front, then a climb to slow it in the last few meters. If its windy thats not really needed, and best keeping up a little. It can be tricky on good windy days.

I dont use a lanyard all the time myself though.

Having someone else catch it often ends in wildly grabbing at it though.

I caught the cularis once as well, but not great for the wing connections. So i dont catch that.

Miamiheat

Well my friend repaired it like a pro, and we did some reinforcements to make the whole fuselage stiffer.
Flew it today and it was good. strapped the cam on velcro for a first film

Simon.d

Miamiheat wrote: »

Well my friend repaired it like a pro, and we did some reinforcements to make the whole fuselage stiffer.
Flew it today and it was good. strapped the cam on velcro for a first film

Got out today myself after work.. Loving the stretch in the evenings.. Sent the camera up too, testing out a new side mounted position for oblique shots.. Handled very well.. Self portrait below:

Miamiheat

nice!

Miamiheat

new plane:
P1030667 (1024x767).jpg

Miamiheat

Lads just received a few batteries from hobbyking and one of them looks bloated (see pic). As I am a beginner and I have only heard dangerous stuff about these batteries I am wondering whether I should attempt charging it?

Bruthal

Miamiheat wrote: »

Lads just received a few batteries from hobbyking and one of them looks bloated (see pic). As I am a beginner and I have only heard dangerous stuff about these batteries I am wondering whether I should attempt charging it?

It certainly looks puffed. It could possibly be the heat shrink not shrunk properly. But more likely a bad battery.

The first thing i do in them situations is test the voltage accurately with a voltmeter or with the charger if its a digital one. All 3 cells should be the same or very close, as in within 0.02v or so, usually when shipped they are close to 3.8v per cell, but a truely puffed one would likely not have the cells well balanced, and often have at least one cell well below 3v.

Then if voltage is ok, I charge and do a proper full duration full load test on it. But you need to know what your doing, what voltages your getting etc across all 3 cells. A puffed battery will swell up more when fully loaded for any duration. This would be more for a used battery though.

Best advice for a new one is get back onto them and ask about exchanging it.

Dont charge and fly with that battery anyway.

Miamiheat

robbie7730 wrote: »

It certainly looks puffed. It could possibly be the heat shrink not shrunk properly. But more likely a bad battery.

The first thing i do in them situations is test the voltage accurately with a voltmeter or with the charger if its a digital one. All 3 cells should be the same or very close, as in within 0.02v or so, usually when shipped they are close to 3.8v per cell, but a truely puffed one would likely not have the cells well balanced, and often have at least one cell well below 3v.

Then if voltage is ok, I charge and do a proper full duration full load test on it. But you need to know what your doing, what voltages your getting etc across all 3 cells. A puffed battery will swell up more when fully loaded for any duration. This would be more for a used battery though.

Best advice for a new one is get back onto them and ask about exchanging it.

Dont charge and fly with that battery anyway.

The battery shows same voltages on all cells: it is charging now so i will keep on checking. However in the batch i got one of the batteries charged 2 cells @ 4.20 volts and one @ 4.13-4.14 --> is there anyway to recover that one or should i return it?
While I am at it: hobbyking says Lipos must be sent back to Hong Kong: that seems like it may cost me more to send it than replace it: has any of you had that experience before with Hobbyking?

thanks

Bruthal

Miamiheat wrote: »

The battery shows same voltages on all cells: it is charging now so i will keep on checking. However in the batch i got one of the batteries charged 2 cells @ 4.20 volts and one @ 4.13-4.14 --> is there anyway to recover that one or should i return it?
While I am at it: hobbyking says Lipos must be sent back to Hong Kong: that seems like it may cost me more to send it than replace it: has any of you had that experience before with Hobbyking?

thanks

The battery with 2 cells at 4.2 amd one at 4.13 will probably be ok. Just fly that for 20 minutes in the radian and test again during charging.

Cells being out of balance is not a problem in iteself. The problem is when the battery is in a plane etc, and one cell is well below the others, and so this cell is over discharged because the low voltage cutoff uses the battery voltage to sense its discharged, the one cell thats low can go below the minimum level.

Or vice versa when charging, a fully charged 3 cell battery should be no more than 12.6v, but if one cell is at 4.0 and the other 2 are 4.2, then the charger see`s a battery at 12.4, and so can over charge the 4.2v cell(s). Over charging is worse than over discharging by the same level. i have seen this in practice myself.

Bruthal

Miamiheat wrote: »

hobbyking says Lipos must be sent back to Hong Kong: that seems like it may cost me more to send it than replace it: has any of you had that experience before with Hobbyking?

thanks

I have had one bad battery from them, it was for the t-rex 600, one cell was way out from the other 5. I always check any battery i buy from anywhere for cell balance when new.

But i manually charged the one low cell (that was at a very bad 2.5v) on its own up to the level of the other cells. I got a fair bit of use from this battery, although that one bad cell used to self discharge over a few weeks, so i used to regularly maintain the battery. It was an unusual one.

Miamiheat

Today tried the WOT 4 and crashed it on take off. It was a bit windy and I believe i hesitated going full throttle and it barely got up, banked and crashed. Broke the prop.
Fixed the front end tonite and hoping to find a prop quickly.

Flew the radian in some good wind and although shaken a bit it did do well.

Bruthal

Miamiheat wrote: »

Today tried the WOT 4 and crashed it on take off. It was a bit windy and I believe i hesitated going full throttle and it barely got up, banked and crashed. Broke the prop.
Fixed the front end tonite and hoping to find a prop quickly.

Full throttle needed on planes taking off the ground for good airspeed and control. Otherwise a stall is more likely.

Flew the radian in some good wind and although shaken a bit it did do well.

Yea the radian will handle good winds.

Miamiheat

WOT 4 is dead.
Crashed immeddiately after take off. Completely banked and went belly up and crashed immediately.
seemed to lack power.
I had all controls checked and rechecked so will never know what happened.

Bruthal

Miamiheat wrote: »

WOT 4 is dead.
Crashed immeddiately after take off. Completely banked and went belly up and crashed immediately.
seemed to lack power.
I had all controls checked and rechecked so will never know what happened.

They are just a lot faster and more responsive than the radian. A lot more experience is needed to fly them than a radian. But thats not to say there was not some other problem.

Did you check centre of gravity? Vital that its not too tail heavy, as no one can fly it then.

Bruthal

Miamiheat wrote: »

I had all controls checked and rechecked so will never know what happened.

Are you certain the ailerons were in the right direction?
For left banking, the left one goes up and the right one goes down and vice versa.

Miamiheat

robbie7730 wrote: »

Are you certain the ailerons were in the right direction?
For left banking, the left one goes up and the right one goes down and vice versa.

Robbie at this stage i cant remember but i think they were OK, also I had out 50% expo and 50% rate on them to reduce their incidence: didnt touch anything plane went straight in a non agressive climb and flipped belly up and straight down (from 5 meter high)

But what you said about the CG is making me doubt (i had checked it a few days before bit not after the repairs).

The next one gets her maiden flight in NAVAN

Bruthal

Miamiheat wrote: »

Robbie at this stage i cant remember but i think they were OK, also I had out 50% expo and 50% rate on them to reduce their incidence: didnt touch anything plane went straight in a non agressive climb and flipped belly up and straight down (from 5 meter high)

But what you said about the CG is making me doubt (i had checked it a few days before bit not after the repairs).

The next one gets her maiden flight in NAVAN

The maiden flights are the one where unpredictable things can happen. Its also the one where basic checks can be overlooked in all the excitement.

The centre of gravity is one that can make a plane unflyable. But it would be hard to say anything was wrong. A plane like that can be a handful, especially on the maiden flight when its not trimmed out etc.

Bring your next one down anyway, and we can see what happens.

Kashkai

Small steps are the secret to successful progression. You've only flown the Rad a few times. You should have left the Wot 4 in its box for at least a couple of months. I'm speaking from experience here. I was flying my Rad for about five weeks, thought I knew it all, when I pile drove it into the ground.

A crash can be a good thing if you learn from it. The Rad can fool you into thinking flying is easy enough. As you've unfortunately found out, there is a world of difference between a large forgiving glider and a mildly aerobatic plane like the Wot4. Forget about the Wot 4 for now and get proficient on the Radian. Then buy a simple high wing trainer like a Supercub that flies similar to the Rad (rudder and elevator) but will let you practice taking off and landing on the ground. Then you will be ready to move onto an aileron plane. They are a lot more agile than the Rad which I think is what caught you out.

Quandry

Miamiheat wrote: »

Robbie at this stage i cant remember but i think they were OK, also I had out 50% expo and 50% rate on them to reduce their incidence: didnt touch anything plane went straight in a non agressive climb and flipped belly up and straight down (from 5 meter high)

But what you said about the CG is making me doubt (i had checked it a few days before bit not after the repairs).

The next one gets her maiden flight in NAVAN

I'm raging I didn't get a photo of your WOT because it looked really great with that colour scheme!

Miamiheat

@Dave: I did a fair bit of practice on the sim and i was flying confortably the faster and more acrobatic models.
Practiced a lot of take offs and landings as well. I know its different but honestly think there is something wrong in my setup of the plane. I got the replacement built and I do think it had to do with CG: i find it very uncomfortable to fit the 2000mah battery inside the compartment and last night i checked and placing my fingers about 6cm inside the wing like the manual says the plane was tilting strongly towards the front.
The last one was not even velcro'd inside as i had to force it in almost. but i didnt check the CG. As a general comment that plane has a veru poorly designed battery compartment, unles I am using the wrong battery.

@Quandry i'd be curious to see how your battery was fitted.
And I have pics of the plane BEFORE so I will post one for you!

cheers

Quandry

Miamiheat wrote: »

@Quandry i'd be curious to see how your battery was fitted.
And I have pics of the plane BEFORE so I will post one for you!

cheers

Cool, I think you saw the packs I was using in mine 2250mah 3S? With those packs the CG goes a little nose heavy (another reason why mine went in like a guided missile when inverted). Will have Wot4.2 up there in a couple of weeks anyway.

Hope to be at the patch on Monday about 3 if you want a hand with your own one.

Miamiheat

some pics

Quandry wrote: »

I'm raging I didn't get a photo of your WOT because it looked really great with that colour scheme!

Quandry

Looks great!

I can recall you saying your artist friend painted it. Was it a brand new model at that stage or had you bought it second hand or something?

also, would you permit me to post up your pictures in my Wot4 thread ?

Bruthal

Miamiheat wrote: »

@Dave: I did a fair bit of practice on the sim and i was flying confortably the faster and more acrobatic models.
Practiced a lot of take offs and landings as well. I know its different but honestly think there is something wrong in my setup of the plane. I got the replacement built and I do think it had to do with CG: i find it very uncomfortable to fit the 2000mah battery inside the compartment and last night i checked and placing my fingers about 6cm inside the wing like the manual says the plane was tilting strongly towards the front.
The last one was not even velcro'd inside as i had to force it in almost. but i didnt check the CG. As a general comment that plane has a veru poorly designed battery compartment, unles I am using the wrong battery.

If its nose heavy, it wont be unstable. Tail heavy is the realy bad one. That makes them very unstable even being a little tail heavy. Nitro planes as a matter of interest, become slightly more tail heavy as they use fuel too, if the fuel tank is in front of the CG.

But if your elctric plane was nose heavy, that just means it will be a little faster flying, but will be controllable no problem. I prefer aircraft a little nose heavy.

Miamiheat

what if it is VERY nose heavy?

Miamiheat

Quandry wrote: »

Looks great!

I can recall you saying your artist friend painted it. Was it a brand new model at that stage or had you bought it second hand or something?

also, would you permit me to post up your pictures in my Wot4 thread ?

It was a new one unfortunately.
My friend can paint or repair anything you like - he is an expert using any king of materials such as foam, fiberglass or wood for instance.

He is a painter and a sculptor so no project scares him.

cheers

Bruthal

Miamiheat wrote: »

what if it is VERY nose heavy?

If its very nose heavy, the air speed needed to fly would be a lot higher, as would be the landing and take off speeds. Once it took off from the ground though, it should fly even if nose heavy.

If it was so nose heavy that the CG was in front of the wing, a jet engine would be needed to get it flying:D. But they would never be that nose heavy.

Kashkai

I've flown a plane that was very tail heavy and it was almost impossible to control. I managed to get her down in one piece through a little skill and a lot of luck;).

A nose heavy plane is preferable and is what you should aim for (but not so much that she tips over on the take off run). The Wot 4 is an intermediate plane, ie a step up from a beginners plane and should have been left to one side for a few months. Simulators have their place but they are a world apart from flying for real. The Wot4 is a great plane though and I'd buy one if I had the space for another plane.

Reading your crash report about he she flipped over on her back, this looks like either she tip stalled on take off due to insufficient airspeed or you over controlled her on the ailerons and she went inverted on you and into the ground. There is a huge difference between the docility of the Radian's rudder/elevator control and the Wot4's rudder/elevator and aileron control.