Radian binding problem

Prosperous Dave wrote: »

That tiny black screw in picture two is the cause of you losing the prop and spinner. That is the grub screw which holds the prop and spinner assembley onto the motor shaft.

I doesnt look like that was the cause here, the front nut came off the hex spinner holder by the look of it in his photo. The hex bit thats held with the grub screw is still on the shaft. Superglue any screws in is the way alright.

i usually use bits of insulating tape folded around the prop leading edges to perfectly balance the blades also, which reduces vibration, which improves performance and reduces the chance of parts working loose.

The improvement can be felt by running full throttle with the plane in hand, and trial and error fitting of small squares of tape around the prop leading edge and re testing.

The original blades on the early radians used to snap in flight, due to a flaw in them, so the sons radian has an aeronaut prop and spinner setup on it. The collet clamp for fitting to the shaft is far better than the grub screw setup of the stock one.

Prosperous Dave wrote: »

Where did you buy the aeronaut prop? My Rad's prop is looking a little ragged round the edges. Its one of the original Parkzone props - the ones that are known to snap off :eek: - and I should replace it before something nasty happens.

here are the actual parts i used. Radian has great climbing performance with this, as the prop is a bit bigger.

prop blades
http://www.gliders.uk.com/prodinfo.asp?number=AERO7234%2E31

hub yoke
http://www.gliders.uk.com/prodinfo.asp?number=AERO7242%2E24

spinner (white)
http://www.gliders.uk.com/prodinfo.asp?number=AERO7251%2E50

collet adaptor (motor shaft clamp 4mm)
http://www.gliders.uk.com/prodinfo.asp?number=AERO7124%2E04


The above is far better than the stock setup, and are the actual parts suitable for the radian. I had 3 prop breakages in flight on the original props. It is more serious than the loss of the complete prop, as it will quickly wreck the front of the radian with one blade missing if it was high enough that you dont hear the problem.

The radian props now are fine, but the above aeronaut system is better, eliminating that grub screw setup with the far better collet setup.

Ilyushin76 wrote: »

Thanks Dave I ordered them from rcpitstop.Will put glue on the screws when I put it together.I was actually looking at the sukhoi on ebay but decided not to get it.How does it fly compared to the micro trojan?

I'm lucky I have the trojan alright,it hasn't caused me any problems and has survived a few bad landing attempts with the landing gear on .I got the velcro for the batteries today from hobbyking but it doesn't have tape on the back.I used super glue to stick it to the batteries but it wasn't very strong.I used gorilla glue now which I hope will be better.

I'm surprised though that the nut came lose as this was only my second real flight with it.Is it a complicated job to transfer the parts over to another fuselage?

There is not too many places to fly in west Clare that I know of.I just go to a field near my house to fly.

Hi Eoghan

The Sukhoi is a mental little plane that has made me look quite foolish trying to master it:o. Good job there was no one around to see me fighting to get control of it:D. She is definitely the hardest plane I have to fly so perhaps you should leave it a while longer before you get one;). I'd leave the landing gear off the Trojan. It'll not only save weight and thus extend flight time, but she looks better and you'll land better with a gentle belly flop.

The velcro I ordered from Hobbyking comes with backing paper that you peel off and then you stick the velcro to the plane/battery. This is the one I bought:http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=9374. Its super strong and doesn't budge when peeling the battery out of the plane.

Its very easy to transfer parts over to a new fuselage. I can talk you through it via pm if you get a new fuse. I had to do it last year after I crashed my Radian following a silly attempt at a loop too close to the ground. It only took about 20 minutes from start to finish to get the new fuse kitted out.

How are you getting on with the flying? Hope the little mishaps aren't putting you off. Remember, there are two types of rc flyers, those who have suffered mishaps and those who soon will:D

Ilyushin76 wrote: »

Thanks for the help Dave.Unfortunately I ordered the wrong velcro which has no sticky side.I used gorilla glue and it worked perfectly.

I am going to order the radian fuselage from the US tomorrow and will sent you a pm when I get it for help putting it together.Do I need to order any other parts or can I get the rest of the parts from my original radian?

I am getting on good now flying the trojan with no crashes when flying without the gear.I put on the gear and done a few takeoffs and landings on my driveway .It was quiet hard landing it has there is trees at one end and telephone lines on the other.I aborted some of the landings and had a few crashes into trees but no damage done to the trojan.I think I will stick to belly landings in the field anymore:D.

It was only my second real flight with the radian when the propeller fell off.I was doing well flying it but had as I was saying previously I had problems with the rudder controls.I was amazed at how slow it could fly and it must have took me over ten attempts before I managed to land it as it kept gliding.:D

You'll just need the fuse Eoghan. The new fuse should come with the control rods for the elevator and rudder pre-installed. Then its just a case of fitting the horizontal stab (or elevator if you want to call it that) to the tail and taping in place. I'd also invest in some blenderm 3M surgical tape to reinforce the rudder and elevator control surfaces as the rudder on my new Radian fuse was almost detached when I bought it. The blenderm tape is designed to hold fast to human skin even when its moving and flexing and so won't come loose from the Radian foam. My tape is still in place 16 months later. Here it is http://www.brchobbies.com/?page=search&sort=priceDesc&resultPage=0&search=blenderm

Remove the servos from the old fuse and stick them in the new fuse by using some silicone (the stuff you'd use to seal round sinks, showers etc). This is better than gluing the servos in because if you need to replace a servo in the future, it'll be easier to remove than if it was glued in place. Connect up the control rods to the correct servo. You might find it easier to unscrew the servo arm to fit it on the control rod 'z' bend.

Remove the rx from the old fuse and use velcro to stick into the new fuse. Run the antennae lead up into the cockpit and stick in place with some tape. Insert the esc in its bay using some velcro but not too much as it needs to have airflow over it to keep it cool. Too much velcro and it will overheat, the rx will lose power and shut down and bye bye plane:(.

Then put the motor in, connect up the prop and spinner and route all your leads to the rx and insert therein.

Once this is done, connect up the battery to let the servos centre themselves (make sure you've reset the trim tabs on your DX5e to neutral) and then connect the control rods at the tail.

Then check to see if the control surfaces are operating correctly and do a test run on the motor.

Job done. Simples;):D

The Rad does fly slowly but she can glide for what seems an age and she can be hard to get down to the ground sometimes. I've had to abort lots of landings where I was quickly running out of room to land.

The micro Trojans wheels are really designed for smooth surfaces like an indoor sports hall. Any kind of rough surface will trip it up. Thats why I hand launched her and belly landed her. She's so light though that she can flop down without damage. My new Sukhoi XP is the same which is a good job as some of my "landings" were actually controlled crashes where I knew I was losing her so I just chopped the throttle and let her land in long grass which cushioned the fall. If I can master her, I'll have earned my wings:D

You can catch the radian out of the air to shorten landings. I nearly always catch them. Not the cularis though.

robbie7730 wrote: »

I think it might be back, someone i fly with emailed horizon hobby, and they said it will be back within 2 months. Hopefully it will. It was a great aircraft.

Would that be a guy called Sean from Cork by any chance? He emailed Horizon Hobby and was given a spiel about supply problems. However several suppliers told me that the Radian has been discontinued and they won't be receiving any more stock. It wouldn't be the first time HH have suddenly stopped making a model and parts and left rc flyers high and dry, eg Focke Wulf 190, Spitfire.

I'm down in Clare on my hols but not much chance to fly as it's raining non stop.