cccdad

Orientation sucks with this plane. I have not taken the time to stripe mine but I probably better before I plant it. Thanks for tips on the spin. I have a student this afternoon but I'm going to take the twist with me today.

tIANci

Hmmmm ... I have been flying my H90 for months now and I have no real issue with orientation. There is the one off occassion when you get lost with this plane but most of the times even when I am doing flat spins its ok, what I do is to just look at the orientation/direction of flight and also what was the last input. Been flying a few of these 'see though' planes and I guess practise makes perfect!

smartmove

I've not had any major issues with orientation either. I have some big white stripes on the underneath of the wings (about 2 inches wide each one for each rib).

Barry Cazier

My Feedback: (17)

tIANci & smartmove...My Harrier is much easier to see with the stripes on it. Also, flying it on a sunny day helped a lot.

But everybody knows it easier to see airplanes on the other side of the POND. Your side.

But I still think this plane is hard to see. If you compare it to a UCD, a Yak, a Mayhem it's much harder to see. It goes "black" if you are any distance away and is almost impossible to tell if you are up, down, crosswise etc. I've flown a few transparent covering planes, Ultra Stick60, Funtana (bottom only), Ultra Stick120. I think the manufacturers do us a disservice by using this style of covering. I wish they would use solid/bright/contrasting colors. It wouldn't cost a nickle more and what's the harm in letting us see the planes?

Thanks
Barry

tIANci

Barry we cannot disagree that the plane will be easier to see with BROAD stripes, it helps a lot of course, heck of a lot. So anymore funny remarks? Hehehehe ... make my day?

Barry Cazier

My Feedback: (17)

Man what great weather we are having this week. I took off again at lunch, make it a 2 1/2 hour lunch, and flew the Harrier 4 more flights. YS ran absolutely perfect. Left a big smoke trail that made the plane easy to follow. My additional stripes are helping a lot and the bright day and cool temps are a joy to fly in.

I think I waterfalled this plane more than anything I've ever owned. I just couldn't stop doing it and I couldn't stop grinning. My jaws hurt from the smiles. I got where I was doing kinda a lazy flip to inverted and then elevator to the ground, pop the throttle and do several "whip it" waterfalls, 15 feet off the ground and stop in a hover. Hit the hammer and fly straight up to high altitude and do a wonderful blender right to the ground and do it all over again. What fun.

When it comes to just having fun and not worrying about your next move or whether or not your gonna be able to land, this plane is right there with the fun plane of the world, the UCD. Man I'm having a good time with this plane. It's just fun to fly. I just forgot about trying to do things with it that it doesn't do well, (KE or Precision) and just let it all hang out. I got some very good flat spins today as well. A lot better than I thought I'd be able to do with it.

I was doing some harriers with it but couldn't get it to "lock in" like I wanted. I'm still expermenting on that. So far it either blows over backwards or the nose falls and it spins out. But I'm working on them.

Today was the kinda day that makes you glad you're part of this hobby. I really enjoyed myself.

Thanks
Barry

cccdad

Barry to get the harrier rock solid on this plane I use flaperons and program to go both negative (reflexed) and positive (flaps). Reflex the alierons about 10 degrees. and the harrier locks right on. Flaperons will tighten the waterfall into a ball around the canopy. I m using a 9CHS that has a VR slider on the side an an audible beep for center that makes it real easy to adjust in flight, but a 3 position switch would work ie( up= reflexed center= normal and down= flaps)

Knife edge looks good with mixing to cut down the work load. but my spins still stink with this plane. I know its just a matter of time until I can finess it into the spin I want.

As far as orientation I fly in pretty close so It is not usally a problem. But when starting a spin up high if it flops over I need to feel my way back out.

I am also flying with a Satio 91. I had a 100 on it but the 100 found a home a Showtime.

Barry Cazier

My Feedback: (17)

cccdad...I fly with a 9CAPS also. I didn't know you could program a "beep" for centering. I have my flaps/spoilers on the VR knob. It's a pain to find the center. How do you program the beep? Have I got to get the manual out again?

I've been experminting with spoilerons with harrier but still don't have it right. I was using a mix to add spoilers when I add up elevator. So far I'm unsuccessful.

My flatspins today were pretty good. I actually got a slight rise out of one of them and several where it just stopped and hovered (pinwheel) for 10 seconds or so. Pretty neat. I love that maneuver. It's my favorite.

Anyways, I've only flown the Harrier a few times. I'll keep working on the harriers.

Thanks
Barry

brown2172

I'm flying with a master airscrew 16X6 and a Saito 120, & plastic spinner. Going to switch to APC prop, truturn spinner. Would like to try different prop size but not really sure which one to try. Could anyone recommend what is working good for them.

seanychen

My Feedback: (4)

My friend has a Saito 120 swinging APC 16x4W @ 10000 rpm on 20/20 fuel. It pulled his 9-lb. Funtana 90 pretty well. The performance won't be much better than MA 16x6, perhaps just a little.

brown2172

Went to the field looking forward to nice weather, good friends, and what I think is a fantastic plane. Intake manifold came loose on the head and after 2+ hr trying to figure out what was wrong finally got it. Started getting tight for time and I told my friend that I was gonna take it up because !QUOT!It would probably be the only chance today cause we gotta leave!QUOT!. As the plane was leaving terra firma and everthing looking good I noticed one small oversight on my part. In my haste I forgot to raise the antenna. Panic is the first stage of disaster. I panicked and for an instant seemed incapable of rational thought. I let go of the controls to raise the antenna and what happened after that was spectacular. I am in the running now for the C.O.M.A award at the local club. First powered plane I've ever crashed, I have crashed 8 foamies, no big deal, ca or a cheap plane and your back in business. Nothing but the airframe seems lost and I managed to dig a hole big enough for a small potted plant so I guess it could have been worse.

Barry, Visibility no longer seems like such a big deal.

Barry Cazier

My Feedback: (17)

brown2172...Man sorry for your loss. I just lost my UCD60 doing the same thing, not extending my antenna. Stinks. But you know what...I'll bet I NEVER do that again. Made me feel bad. It was my 11 or 12 powered plane crash in two years. Didn't make it hurt any less.

I hope this doesn't discourage you much. I know I keep coming back, but I've had a couple of times where I thought I was gonna give it up. Hopefully you can shake it off and get right back into the swing of things. The guy that trained my said, "It's just part of the hobby" but he also said, "You can expect to lose about one plane a year." I've been thinking about sending him a bill.

Anyways, hope your future is brighter.

thanks
Barry

Not24

My Feedback: (1)

If you ask me, losing a plane is the absolute worst part of this hobby. I always feel so low after one goes in. It doesn't seem to matter what the reason was. I can equate it to losing a pet. There is an empty feeling for a while, but it usually goes away soon after the next new puppy or kitten is romping around the house. Same thing when you pick out a new model. The anticipation of flight with the new one overrides the sore feelings of the loss of the old one. It's a viscious cycle, but the benefits outweigh the cost. Thanks for sharing with us. Sorry it happened. What are you gonne get next?

brown2172

Called the shop and have another Harrier 90 on the way. Should have it Tuesday. This plane was only in the air a dozen times and what little I flew it, I thought it was great. I figure the next one will take half the time to build as I didn't loose any of the control linkages and I've already fumbled through the instructions. I'm getting over it but I don't think I've ever been as irritated at myself. The motor problem was a huge distraction, in the future when something like that happens, it will, I'm packin up and goin home. Or I'll fly the foamy. Briefly considered Mayhem 90 but I'm not done with the harrier, at least not done with the next harrier yet. thanks, guys

Barry Cazier

My Feedback: (17)

Flew flight # 16 on the Harrier today. On my last flight (why is it always the last flight) a clip come off of my throttle linkage and left the plane at full throttle only. I had 7 minutes of a 13 minute flight left. It flew for an additional 4 minutes after the 13 minute mark for a total of 17 minutes with the last 11 minutes of that at full throttle.

Nothing much happened. That surprised me. I keep hearing horror stories (not necessarily about the Harrier, but Funtana for instance) where flutter has caused the plane to fly apart. As I was flying around and around at full throttle, I'd go way up and then bring it down, nothing seemed to happen. The plane didn't fly apart. In fact I can see no damage what so ever. The engine got hot but I don't think it was damaged either. Cleaned the carbon out though. The thing was really screaming when I'd come downline from way up there.

Anyways, when the engine finally quit I just flew it in. Pretty uneventful really. Wouldn't want to do it again. And you can rest assured that I'll come up with a different throttle linkage set up.

Still very impressed with the plane. So far, the worst thing about it is the KE. It doesn't do knife edge well at all. And it's a tough plane. I'm not sure what other plane I have that I could fly full throttle for 11 minutes. Maybe all of them? Maybe none of them? But I do know the Harrier stood the test. And I found out a hot YS110 will still fly this plane vertical. Waaaaaaay vertical.

Thanks
Barry

tIANci

Barry ... I find that the H90 will KE better than the F90

brown2172

Barry, glad everything came out ok. I used the stock linkage with my Harrier that crashed. While I was looking at the plane trying to find out what wasn't working, I too had a problem with the throttle linkage. It wasn't the actual problem (it was the intake manifold) but it had somehow come out of adjustment. I bought a cable linkage setup fo the new plane, not taking many chances with the new one.

peejay

Well, I've got a new harrier 90 in the box waiting to be built, and I'm having a real dilemma deciding on what engine to use. I like the Saito I have in another plane, but from looking through this thread I get the impression that the performance isn't startling with the 100. Looking at the specs, the 120 is nearly 14 oz heavier - and that's a _lot_ of weight. YS110 sounds perfect, but I've not had a YS before and I've seen lots of discussion about variable quality, lots of maintenance and lots of tweaking to keep them running right. The YS debate seems to be a love/hate religious kind of thing, and not one I want to start off again or get involved in. I think I might get the 110FZ for this plane - it looks to be such a perfect match - and find out for myself.

Phil

tIANci

PeeJay - get the YS110, its more versatile later on if you get another bird.

oldbloke

Have a YS63 in my Harrier 46. This is my first 4-stroke and i too agonised over purchasing a YS having followed the various debates. Provided you are methodical, change one setting at a time, and don't rush to get the thing airborne you should be fine. Don't be afraid to alter the regulator. If the engine sounds ' harsh ' when throttling up from tickover or won't pull through the mid range then you need to adjust [ richen ] the regulator. If you don't it'll throw a prop as quick as you like. Guess how i found that out. It took me half a gallon to understand and get running flawlessly. Running Model Technics Yamada 20% fuel, YS plug and turning a 13x4 wide it'll take off and immediately climb vertically outa sight whilst performing multiple rolls and will then stooge around at one third throttle or for extended periods on idle with a no hiccup instantaneous burst to flat chat. Gives you lots of confidence when you feel you'r never EVER gonna dead stick. Getting a solid 2000 idle and 11100 top end with instantaneous transition. Once set i have never had to tweak or do any maintenance to keep it running sweet. Just fill and go.Check out www.ysperformance.com for running tips. A 110 will be my next purchase. Buy the best...............YS power.

Barry Cazier

My Feedback: (17)

I sure like the 110 in mine. It's a great engine. I'm one of those guys that has had a terrible time getting the YS 110 to run right. I presently have six of the beasts. But at my elevation they are just simply the best power wise. 2 of my six ran perfect right out of the box and I never have had to touch them. The other 4 have been a nightmare, but eventually I have gotten them all to run good. I'm a lot more comfortable with them now and feel I can make any of them run "perfect". But it has been a very rocky road to get where I'm at now.

I think the 110 is the most finicky of all the YS engines. But when you finally get them right, provided you have any airplanes left, there is no better engine.

Thanks
Barry

peejay

Thanks for the comments on engines, guys. Sounds like the YS is definitely worth the effort - and you never know until you try these things!

I ordered 5 Hitec 5625 servos for my Harrier, as they look to be good value and I don't think my flying is good enough to tell the difference with anything more upmarket. They arrived in the post yesterday, and I've just hooked them all up to my new Rx and battery to check everything is working OK. Sure enough - one of them failed in the 1st 2 minutes. Started twitching around all over the place, then worked again for a minute. A bit more twitching and then it totally died. Not exactly confidence inspiring, a 20% failure rate after a few minutes of use.

I'll send it back and get a replacement, but it's got me worried now. There seems to be a lot of bad stories about the 5600 series on this forum, and if the servo had failed like that while I'd been flying, I probably would have lost the plane.

Anyone who has been using these servos care to share experience and reassure me a bit? (Or share horror stories so I can send 'em back and get something different!)

Phil

Barry Cazier

My Feedback: (17)

I have 5 airplanes. Everyone of them is set up with HS5625 on the elevators, HS5645 on the rudder and HS645 on the ailerons. I use them with 4.8v. I haven't had a single failure or noticed a glitch of any kind. I think most people are complaining about certering or twitches. Not actual failures. Most who have had twitches are using them on 6v systems.

Mine have been good. All of them. I'll continue to use them.

Thanks
Barry

cccdad

Brown

sorry about your loss. I lost my first H90 to a student pilot on a buddy box flying an Avistar. He plowed me from behind while 10 feet off the ground completing a harrier landing.

Barry

I did not ignore your response about the 9CAP , I was out of town, It is hunting season in Florida. I do not know if there is a difference but I have a 9CHP because I also fly Heli. The VR I am using is on the side and comes up as VR D or E I did not program the beep I just stumbled across the feature when I used that slider. I find it convenient to use a slider on the side as opposed to the knobs on the front. By programing the flaperons to move positive and negative It changes some stunts dramaticly.

I may be off again for a while until Wilma decides if she will leave us alone. At the very least the shutters will be going up on Friday.

MIXMASTER

My Feedback: (15)

Has anyone used carbon fiber tubes in the stab instead of the wires?