RE: JMGlasscraft Penetrator
 

Nice planes Dave.
The micro Estrelita is 4.5 ozs wet
maybe it was a 250 pack I had to get against the firewall:eek:
dymond 4.7 servos
berg 4

the little ones are just cute

very nice graphics on your penetrator[8D]

RE: JMGlasscraft Penetrator
 

Wow, you should be proud of 4.5 oz.... That's pretty darn good!

(graphics came from a British Motorcycle magazine.... [8D])

RE: JMGlasscraft Penetrator
 

not to be overshadowed by the Micro Estrelita maiden, I got the Penetrator out with a new 6x5 prop.
Now we're getting down to business.
Put pizza cutter wheels on short wing brackets, I can land without tearing up my airfoil;)

RE: JMGlasscraft Penetrator
 

Sorry I missed seeing that go....

RE: JMGlasscraft Penetrator
 

Howdie gents, I was looking at the pics and though I'd throw this out there. If you bring the push rod closer to the servo (move it in on the horn) untell the servo is at full throw when the control serfase is at its high rate. Then cut off all th arms that are not being used, this is weight thats behind the c.g. The lower power the servo will need to do the same job will extend the battry time. and it should help to take out some of the over rotating. Nice little pane.:D

RE: JMGlasscraft Penetrator
 

Good call, not like I need the throw either[:-]
I only fly on low rates even today in the wind - lets just say there were whitecaps on the bay driving home, crossing the bridge back into the city.

3 more flights to the micro estrelita for a total of 6
another penetrator 6x5 flight - one flight a day is enough right now
both had screaming down wind legs:D the .010 really unwinding

need to start whitteling down a 7x6 for the penetrator and bumping up the nitro on the littlest cox ;)

RE: JMGlasscraft Penetrator
 

Rob,
Both the Estralita and Penetrator were a big hit at the field yesterday. I have to get one! I am thinking Penetrator on electric power because I have some power systems which should work well. What is the wing span? and AUW with the wheels?
Thanks,
Todd

RE: JMGlasscraft Penetrator
 

I'm glad I got you that engine. It is going to great use!! I really hope to see that thing fly when I can get some time........

RE: JMGlasscraft Penetrator
 

Todd,
carbon Hacker B40 (see first post;))

or a lehner 1530 swinging a 5.2x5.2

the micro is 4.5ozs (flying weight) without landing gear

Chevy,
I'm liable to wear it out before I get to fly with you - next weekend after the Meca Collecto[8D]

RE: JMGlasscraft Penetrator
 

Todd,
What about a pee wee Penetrator with a razor rz350-400-microheli v2 on 3s?

Hey Dave, back from Toledo, can you make time to maiden your pee wee penetrator?

RE: JMGlasscraft Penetrator
 

Was supposed to fly on Sunday, but John had Greek Easter to do with Family. If I don't go up north to my property next weekend, I'll git 'er done then. Really wanted to fly this weekend.... Of course 200 miles worth of riding after a long winter wasn't too bad either! It was perfect flying weather this weekend!

RE: JMGlasscraft Penetrator
 

Rob, I spoke w Jim yesterday. I would like one of each! Its easier to make a good decision that way! I was thinking Penetrator. Now I am thinking maybe a micro Estralita. I have a park 2 blocks away with a large grass field. Now I'll be more motivated to take the dog for a walk over there after work....Multitasking!!! The Medusa 12mm motor has a 1.5 mm shaft. I need to find a lightweight spinner for it. What is the dia. of the fire wall? I already researched and found the servos you recommended. Todd

RE: JMGlasscraft Penetrator
 

You are pretty much on your own for the spinner.. It's a DIY proposition because of the size of the airplane. Back when we first converted these little guys we were using Hobbico FlyZone props that came with a spinner. We ran these on GWS fan motors on 6 cells but they had to be cut down from a 5-3 to a 3" toothpick. With the Medusa you are pretty much stick with making your own. If I ever get dug out of projects, I'll whip up a compression mold and make a few extras.

FYI, the Straight Dope on the Medusa motor is 2S LiPoly with a GWS 3-3 prop cut down to 2.75 and swept back from root to tip and put a new LE on it. It's easy to do evenly with a set of calipers-you use them to scribe/scratch stations from the shaft hole to the blades, then make one blade the the profile you like, then sand the other side so that the stations are the same. Sand, and Voila! Instant custom prop!

RE: JMGlasscraft Penetrator
 

Dave,

I ordered 2 of them. I talked my friend into one too. Mini pylon racing @ the park! They will have the new wing. Jim called it a Yellow Jacket. He mentioned painting his yellow/black. Thanks for the low down on the prop. I suppose the Medusa will draw too much current at 3". I picked up the motor, props, and servos today. My local shop had JR's w/11oz. torq. @ 6 grams. I thought this would work well.
A press on spinner would add to the scale look! Its time to play the waiting game now. Todd

RE: JMGlasscraft Penetrator
 

The stock 3-3 will pull 7 amps, which is a max for both the motor and most 500ish MAH LiPoly packs. It moves out pretty well with the stock 3-3, but it's noticeably faster after you hack on the prop. We're talking in the 100+ MPH range and they look twice that fast because they are so small.

Don't bother with the Graupner CAM 3-3. They really outscienced themselves on that one... The GWS prop looks like it came off of a novelty toy and is 15mph faster by the looks of it. Even when you modify the CAM prop it sounds good but won't pull the skim off warm milk. It's a real head-scratcher because the rest of the CAM family are pretty darn good props! Maybe the modelling programs they use don't work well when scaling down that small?

RE: JMGlasscraft Penetrator
 

Oh-one more thing:

Do not use servos in a plane like this unless you trust their centering ability. The race to build smaller, lighter servos has meant that quality suffers. Hitec makes good servos-I'm partial to the HS 50 and 55-but always test them before installing. You have to keep in mind that they are designed to get servo taped into a foam airplane that can fly straight with 1/4" of rudder gap and offset. Something as small as a Estrellita/Penetrator/YellowJacket will have no air gap and a total of 3/32 throw to really yank the airplane around when trimmed and balanced right. I used to tell my customers to always use the closest hole on the output arm and vary the throw at the control surface to keep servo resolution and leverage high. It helps minimize the amount of "dead band" inherent to most servos.

RE: JMGlasscraft Penetrator
 

So what is the yellow jacket?
Is it the micro shark? The micro estreleta sized (.010) reno mustang?
like the yellow/black one in the photo on page 1 of this thread?
[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7124564]Yellow Jacket?[/link]

RE: JMGlasscraft Penetrator
 

Ok, spoke with John today and he straightened me out.
Yes the plane in the above link is the Yellow Jacket.
It is basically the Micro Estreleta with the squared off foam wings instead of the built up eliptical wings.
The Yellow jacket also has a matching squared off vertical stab unlike mine which has the rounded tail to match the intended eliptical wing. Thus Mine is a bit of a hybrid with the squared off wing and horiz stab and the rounded vertical stab.

Clear as mud?

And Todd, John wanted me to confirm to you that he received your message to order two!
Take two they're small;)

RE: JMGlasscraft Penetrator
 

Yep, Mine is a YellowJacket. Like the way it flies MUCH better than the built up elliptical wing. That said, my wing is a true RG14, John's airfoil (the same one he uses on all his planes) is a match for the RG14 on top and a little fatter on the bottom. I haven't flow both back to back with like power systems/weight, but they are both a real improvement on the old girl. I say "Old" because the MicroShark has been around for like 17 years.... Who was it that said "Everything that's old is new again"?

The MicroShark grew 2" in span and became the Micro Estrellita, which then sported the foam wing and was ingloriously called the Yellow Jacket. You can keep the square fin or round it off to your taste, they fly the same.

RE: JMGlasscraft Penetrator
 

Thanks for the update Rob.
Dave, I will use as much resolution as possible to achieve the correct throws. I figured the JR servos would center well. I will test. If not they will come out and Hitec or dymond will go in. As far as prop mod goes. I understand marking and trimming using calipers/knife. Are you telling me to shape the leading edge or trailing? It sounds like you want me to remove a little width and dia. to pike up pitch speed?

Todd

RE: JMGlasscraft Penetrator
 

Yep, it''s much easier to put a new LE on than to sand a new TE sharp and symmetrical. You''ll end up in the 5-6A range which is about right.

RE: JMGlasscraft Penetrator
 

Thanks Dave!!! I''ll take a couple pics. when I get her done.
Rob. I''ll be at the field Sunday this week. I''d like to see both of your JM planes fly again!
Todd

RE: JMGlasscraft Penetrator
 

Got two flights on my G-Mark .03 powered PeeWee Penetrator today. I was really amped up for it and it turned out to be a bit of a snore compared to what we've been flying lately.... Flies great, but is underpowered with the G-Mark. The motor's putting out reasonably well conisdering I was running 25% Byron dog wizz thru it, but it wasn't very fast-the .010 microshark makes it look pretty slow. Wish I had put a TD on it now-the muffler's definitely coming off the G-Mark, neighbors be damned!

The PWP's lack of speed was magnified because John brought out his Rivets to show me and let me fly. It's similar in size to his other .010 planes. He hadn't flown the prototype since it had a snaproll problem with the lowly GWS fan motor we started out using and too much throw. Now it has a 5300KV medusa 12mm motor in it on Lipos. It is BY FAR the hottest thing of his I have ever flown. He handed it to me after two laps of the field I didn't want to fly it. Speed was in the 110mph range at a guesstimate, I could barely see the colors against the overcast, and it was windy as hell. He built it close to scale on the T-Tail height and it has a tendency to tuck in a tight turn, which can be exciting when trying to fly a course. The thing is an animal. Looks cool too. If we can't get the tucking problem sorted it's going to be developed as the Thunder Chicken, which has more wing and a conventional tail. He's already flown that version and I'll try it next weekend. She's got a little more wing area, so I won't need a stiff drink beforehand. I hope.

You'd never think a 4.5 ounce toy could make you shake so bad!

Rob: I'm thinking the VA powered PWP will be Juuuuuust Right!

RE: JMGlasscraft Penetrator
 

Turbotodd: I saw your wings all done up and sprinkled magic dust on them to make them go faster...[8D]:D

RE: JMGlasscraft Penetrator
 

Thanks for the magic dust! I figured my planes would arrive by Friday. I can't wait to have my knees shake over a 4.5 oz. TOY. If you can find the time I would like to see some pictures of the other models with wing span attached so I can start dreaming up future planes and power systems? The Penetrator w/Q40 style wheels and a rudder is next. I'm thinking about a Neu motor on 5-6s. 700w-1000w should get it done! Todd. Let me know if you have any ideas that shouldn't be done. I might just have to try one or two....