bdavison

My Feedback: (1)

Ive built tons of biplanes. Everything from Tensor4D, Nikitas Rebel, etc. Up till now, Ive not seen one single biplane kit that actually had the wings affixed well enough to keep them from wobbling, shifting, or twisting, popping off, or completely destroying the airframe in a hard landing.

Most of the biplane kits Ive built up to this point will absolutly explode unless your landing is very smooth. Problems exist from yanking the landing gear through the wing, to de-mounting the wings from the fuselage, etc. The other problem is that if you make repairs to most of the other biplanes, its very difficult to get them straight again, and normally they never fly the same again.

The guys at Great Planes have come up with a fantasticly simple, lightweight, and very strong and stable system of reinforcing the wings. Their are two carbon hollow tubes that cross through the fuselage and are joined to the wings. Now there are plenty of other planes out there that have a simular system of bracing, but the Reflection has something new. They have these angled tube braces that fit into the wings, and the fuselage. Once you get everything squared up you hit them with CA, and the whole thing is locked in.

And I do mean locked in. Its ROCK solid. Not only that but if you CA the angled tube braces to the carbon leading and trailing edges, it will keep it from yanking the landing gear through the wing on a rough landing. (I really hate that. I had a brand new Tensor that did that....**** me off)

Theres no carbon spider web like the tensor needs, theres no kevlar thread that you cant get tightened or its tightened to much and warps a wing. Just four simple carbon rods.

Compared to the other biplane kits, this thing is really well designed.

The fuselage is a little tricky to put together. There is a main center carbon tube that runs through the middle of the fuselage. You construct the fuselage around this carbon rod. Its kinda complicated to get everything squared up. They did add these little square mounts that help out in squaring up the fuselage, but you cant lay it flat on a table like you can most other planes because the square mounts and the servo trays stick down. I have a little jig that Ive used for a while now. It works on just about any shocky, Ill post some pics of it if you want, but it makes it much easier to square up just about any foamy.

The reflection also has some pitch gauges included for setting your control surface throws. A real nice addition.

The prop that comes in the kit is also a very rare and superb prop. With swept tips. Ive seen props like this on some of the nitro pattern planes, but I didnt even know they made them for electrics. Im hoping to see more of them showing up someplace. I would really like some 9x3.8 props like that. Ive seen some of the aerodynamics testing on these "swept" tip props, and they create a very super concentrated and stable propwash that make a really tight cone. It increases elevator and rudder response due to increased and stable airflow being forced over the tail surfaces. If anyone knows where I can find some of these in 9x3.8 or 8x4.5 I would GREATLY appreciate it.

Once the Reflection is all constructed, its a really solid airplane. Real solid. And the real kicker is even though is super reinforced, its still light enough to fly like it should. Its not shockflyer light, but it real close.

If you build it light and dont soak it down in CA or glue, you should be able to get it out around 7oz or so. I haven't weighed mine yet, but Im hoping to be around 7.5 -8oz or so. Which is light enough to fly indoors in my local gym.

billaltman

My Feedback: (7)

Hey Bryan , just got mine built also. It was very easy to build and pretty rigid. I installed an HS55 on the ailerons. Thats the only 55 I have so I might either wait or try the 371's or the cirrus 4.4's. I got plenty of throw using standard servo arms on my Flatana so I might use the cirrus servo's. Good luck and hope the storm keeps going west. Bill

bdavison

My Feedback: (1)

Yeah, It looks like New Orleans will be no more. That Cat 5 hurricane is going to wipe it off the map. Im glad we are just going to get the outer fringes of it. Its about time we caught a break.

I flew the red balsa plane. WOW what a plane. You'll see it fly sooner or later, it reminds me alot of a pylon racer...like the Harmon Rocket or something. Rolls super fast, and will pull 90 on elevator before you can blink.

I stripped a 371 in it on ailerons, so I'll have to get another servo for it before I can fly it again. I had it rolling, and it went behind a tree. I lost it. Luckily it crashed into a ficus tree and not the cement driveway where it was heading. I thought for sure it was going to be back in kit form. To my amazement and supreme gratefulness, it didnt do a thing to it. Honestly, it was a miracle. The tree saved its life.

I cant wait to fly this Reflection. Mine's pretty light. Should do really well indoors. And its dead on accurate and balanced. I balanced it like they said above with a plumbline. So I should get max performance out of it.

mightychuck

billaltman & bdavison,

Where do you guys fly down there? A buddy of mine lives in Gulf Breeze and he's wanting to try out flying. He's up here this weekend (birmingham) and we were going to go out and get him on the buddy box, but he had some other things come up and we didn't get a chance. I come down there a good bit to go fishing, and was thinking maybe we could find a local field next time i'm down there.

Glad you're out of the path of this one too.

-Alan

bdavison

My Feedback: (1)

We are in Pensacola. We usually can be found every Tuesday and Wednesday night starting at 7pm at Pine Forest High School. We fly both inside the gym, and outside infront of the high school(if basketball team is practicing). Usually there are at least 5 people and sometimes we get close to 15-20 on the really busy nights. Helicopters are welcome. Come join us, we have a blast.

Its about 5am here, the hurricane Katrina is just winding up. So far its been kinda weak over here. Just windy gusts shaking the windows. I feel sorry for New Orleans though, that city wont be the same for a LONG time. Its gonna take weeks to pump all the water out of the city. Ill bet that Lake Ponchartrain is flowing over the levys right now. Bourbon St is going to be underwater. I was here when Ivan hit, and that was a Cat 3....Katrina is a monster...wait till you see the aftermath pics on the weather channel from this one. Its gonna be insane. I wonder if the news media will cover up all deaths like they did with Ivan. This ones going to be WAY worse than Hugo or Andrew. What doesnt get demolished by the wind will get washed away by the water.

Well, Im going back to bed. Looks like no work tommorrow. Yay a free day off...too bad it will be spent sitting in the house watching the weather channel, instead of outside flying.

mightychuck

Thanks for the info. I'm hoping to be down in a couple of weeks or so. (Even though the fishing will be all out of whack now.) So maybe we can drop by. Stay safe.

Sorry for the off topic guys.

This may be my next foamie. I've been looking for something to replace the Tensor. I believe i have flown it's remaining structural integrity out of it.
What are you guys getting as far as AUW? I would like to use the 370 outrunner, phoenix 10 & hs-55's from the tensor.

3DNobody

Well,

I picked up mine at lunch today from the LHS. Mine had several in stock...he was actually going to send some back b/c he had too many and figured he would not sell them all. Maybe they will make it to some folks that want them. Anyway, the power system will be in later in the week. Hopefully I will have it in the air by the weekend. Brought the instruction manual in for a lookover this afternoon. It looks to be pretty straightforward. Although, if the manual is correct, it looks like GP put some thrust angles into the thing. I'll know better once I dig it out of the box tonight.

billaltman

My Feedback: (7)

Hey guys, just test flew the reflection yesterday in my backyard The wind was a little swirly around 5-7 mph. Couldn't fly long 2 flights one with 480 3c Tp and one flight with 640 3c e-flight . It flew good, tons of power and need to play with the cg and move it back, wouldn't do rolling circles without loosing altitude. I set throws 60 deg which seems perfect. Oh, using rimfire motor used 9.47 and 10.38 prop with 8 amp esc, HS 55 and 56's, gws receiver all up weight with 480 pack is 10 oz's. I haven't plummed it yet . We're use to flying indoor planes under 6 oz's so need to get use to flying heavier ones like this. The wing loading does seem heavier. Maybe somebody could tell me exactly where the cg should be for all out 3d. Thanks , Bill

eddyimac

Hi!
Any build picts...video...
Thanks!

matt flyer

My Feedback: (1)

what dose it hover at with the rimfire setup and 640 3 cell and will a tp900 3 cell work too.

Jim Flannigan

I am working on build pics right now.
Work has been getting in the way the last week or so, but I should have everything done by this weekend.
I did make one modification and set the motor (axi 2208/34) back. I made a cutout and set the firewall back almost an inch. I did this because I really like a rearward CG and this helps achieve this easily. I hope to get pics of this up tomorrow, as I did not just cut off the nose but recessed the firewall into the fuselage.

Jim

proptop

My Feedback: (8)

Hey Jim, I like a rearward C.G. too...
Are you balancing yours aft of the recommended point on the plans? I haven't had a whole lot of time to work on mine lately, and was just at the point of gluing the firewall on when I read your last post.

I'm gonna use an Esskay 400XT that weighs 1.5 oz. or an even 2 oz. w/ the supplied G.P. prop and hard (maxx) adapter.

I'm thinking of trimming the front of the fuse about 3/4"... what do you think?

ryans1000

Couple questions for you guys.

I thought I heard foamy biplanes don't like the wind, how does the reflection do in 10mph winds?

What are some conservative build times from start to end?

GWinOKC

The structure is more than adequate for any wind you feel comfortable flying in... however you are talking about a plane with 400 square inches of area and weighing only 9.5 ounces... it's gonna get tossed around. You won't break it in the air but if it gets blown over or around on the ground it could get hurt. Flying in the wind can be fun and challenging and if you are accustomed to flying inside and getting flight times of 8 to 10 minutes you can expect to cut those times down by as much as 30 percent due to additional throttle needed to penetrate into the wind. As for the second question, i have only built the designer series for Sean and others... from start to finish they take me 17 hours each. The first kit should take no more than six hours and any following kits should be able to be completed in much less time. While at Great Planes during developement of this kit, I know that many were built between the finish of morning meetings and lunch time by staff modelers. I will be building my first production kits this weekend and will have other info available by monday. Jim F. should have his done and could answer questions by now.

bdavison

My Feedback: (1)

Well, mines almost finished. I installed Futaba S3108 micro servos on all surfaces. These little micro's have lots of torque and center extremely well. All I have to do now is connect all the linkages and it will be up and flying.

Bill finished his, and I got a chance to see his fly. Its a wild machine. The plane will flip end over end in a waterfall very quickly. Awesome plane.

billaltman

My Feedback: (7)

Been experimenting with the cg and found moving it back approx 1.5 -2 inches from recommended cg the plane is flying better and holding rolling circles without loosing altitude. It's starting to fly similar to my scratch built mini reflection. When you roll 90 deg. and give only elevator input the nose goes up and plane doesn't turn and has adverse yaw. So you have got to get use to using rudder cordinated turns. Anyway, the plane is starting to fly great. I'll try and be back in town wednesday . I'm getting the revolution 2 ready this weekend. Hope to see yall next week. Bill

Dr.Watson

My Feedback: (10)

Would an 8.4V 720mAH Li-po battery be enough to carry the reflection around with the stock motor?

bdavison

My Feedback: (1)

8.4V?

There are no 8.4V lipos, but I think your referring to a 7.4V 2 cell lipo. In which case, I would move up to a 3 cell with the Reflection. It really needs the extra voltage. Its a tad on the heavy side, so you need the extra umph of a 3 cell (11.1V) lipo to get it to perform correctly.

Bill, I flew my reflection today. Not a bad little airplane. Ive got some trimming to do, the rolling circles arent quite dialed in yet, but its really close.
I dont like that "no aileron/elevator" turn thing. Reminds me of a tensor. Rudder is SUPER sensitive, Ill dial more expo in it. KE loops are amazing. It will KE loop in a real tight space. There is some rudder/aileron coupling that I have to work out of it.
I figured I would have to really tune everything to get it to fly right, and get everything dialed in.

This is definatly a plane where you have to adjust things to get it to fly right. Darn shame they made all the linkages where you CA them in place. Now you cant adjust them. I swapped my aileron linkages out for IKARUS shocky style links. This way I can adjust the linkages on the ailerons.

Plane flys pretty good, it just needs alot of tweaking.

Dr.Watson

My Feedback: (10)

bdavidson,
yes 8.4V. it came with a heli i got off of ebay. would it work with something like the turmoil or the flatana?

bdavison

My Feedback: (1)

It has to be a typo. There are NO 8.4V lipos.

Lipoly cells only come in 3.7V cells. So all voltages are multiples of that.

1 cell - 3.7V
2 cell - 7.4V
3 cell - 11.1V
etc.

Are you sure its a Lithium Polymer(LiPo) or is it a NiMH battery?

Dr.Watson

My Feedback: (10)

im sure its 8.4V because it out performed his thunder power 7.4V 1500 mah li poly.

matt flyer

My Feedback: (1)

no it could have out preformed it cause it had a higher discharge

bdavison

My Feedback: (1)

Well, I finally got rid of that annoying (no aileron/elevator) turn thing.

Hang on to your plane, point the nose up, and rev it up to hovering rpms. Now trim it out to where it will stay put in one place. Then go fly it. Its a much better airplane. Move the CG to about 3 1/4" and start working back from there.

Rudder on this thing is SUPER sensitive. Just a little touch will do it. Use LOTS of expo on rudder.

Waterfalls are very impressive, and noisy. Blenders are interesting mainly due to the over sensitive rudder, it takes a little work to figure out how much and when to put in the controls. Rolling circles are pretty good, Im still trimming it out for the rolling circles. Ive got it now where it will go about 3/4 of the way around before it starts dropping out of altitude. The plane is really fun to fly. Hovers fairly well. Just that touchy rudder, will KE loop it if your not careful.

You can actually do KE waterfalls with the Reflection. Get some altitude, Pull the nose up into a hover, then JAM full rudder, and about 3/4 to full throttle. It will tumble KE. Really insane looking. Makes some gosh aweful racket though. You'll sware its going to come apart, but it doesnt. Sounds like a chainsaw cutting foam or something.

The reflection is a very durable plane. During all my trimming and test flights, Ive smacked mine in about 3 times. So far no structural damage. It hasnt even broken any of the foam yet. Couple slight stress wrinkles in the fuselage, but no failures. The only problem Ive had is that sometimes the rudder gets yanked off, and that pulls the control horn out of the rudder. Ive had to cut and replace a section of foam where the control horn glues into the rudder twice due to this. Bill Altman has also experienced this with his Reflection. Its kinda annoying, but not really that big a deal.
Ive had some success in correcting the problem. Once you CA the control horn and hinge clips into the rudder, take some 5min epoxy, and smear a little over both sides of the rudder on each one. Since I did this I havent had them pop out yet. The plane is already heavy, so the slightly added weight isnt going to make that much difference. Im guessing this thing is somewhere between 8.5-10oz loaded.

The hinging system is fantastic. Really smooth, and it takes alot of slop out of it.
I dont care much for the control horns and z-bend linkages. There's no way to adjust them once they are CA'd in place. Instead of CA'ing everything in place, they should put some screws into the z-bend pieces so you can just lock the carbon rod in place with a set screw instead of CA'ing it.

jatkiss

Hello Everyone,

I am VERY new to RC Flight and just got my first "Foamy" Reflection. Things have been going pretty good, but I am having problems figuring out the control configuration on the Main Aileron's.

If you look on page 10 of the build manual it calls for Stand Alone Control Horns (B1). Well B1 looks nothing like what is in that picture. So I went with the picture. Now unfortunately I am (1) short and I am not sure what to do next. Could anyone please take a picture of the bottom and top of the aileron control horns on the main wingspan. I don't want to put the wrong piece in. The Stand Alone Control Horn is really screwing me up right now.

By the way, for newbies, this is a VERY hard build. Some of the instructions aren't very clear and although I wouldn't expect color pictures for the manual, some of the illustrations have been less than adequate.

I have been doing a TON of practice with the REal Flight G3 simulator before I even fly my plane, Although it would be nice if someone had a reflection type model that we could throw in there for further practice. I have been working with the ultimate bi-plane and the 3DE plane for getting used to controls.

So don't slay the newb here guys, just need some advice and pictures would be even more helpful.

my email is [email protected] if you can assist me ASAP that would be great.

- Jeff

Jim Flannigan

Hello Jeff,
I am trying to get my reflection finished but work has been a pain in the rear end. I will get you some photo's in the next day or so to try to help you out.

Please hang in there, we will do our best to get you in the air.

Jim