phoneman

wings19--power is not going to be a problem with a DA 50---actually overpowered is the word but that can be controlled with your left stick--I'm having a blast with mine--good luck

wings19

Thanks guys, I like overpowered... I run a Saito 150 in my showtime! It sure is fun to 3D with!

mudpuppy

OK... here's one for you guys.

My 27% H9 Extra 260 is setup with a DA-50, Futaba CAPS Tx (synthesized), Futaba R319DPS Synthesized PCM Rx, JR 8611a rudder, 821 throttle, Hitec 5925 aileron/elevator servos (all digital), Smartfly switches/voltage regulators, Fromeco Relion 7.4v 2400 mah (ignition) and 4800 mah (Rx) LiIon batteries. This is all new equipment.

Load tests and range checks great, flies great! However, in the air the throttle moves to idle at random (like the Rx detected low voltage). Simply pull back on the throttle stick and control of the throttle is regained. Control of the plane (control surfaces) is never lost. Even on the bench without the engine running and the servos at rest, the throttle servo moves to idle position (sometimes). Pull back on the throttle stick and control is regained for exactly 30 seconds and then it repeats!

We have tried different frequencies, different Tx (Futaba 14MZ), a different PCM Rx, different Rx battery (4.8v 1500mah Nimh - eliminating the voltage regulator), different servos (all 6), separated the ignition electronics from the Rx electronics, unplugged all the servos except the throttle, crossed our fingers, prayed, and even threw Holy Water on the plane (j/k) but the problem persists.

Help! Any ideas how to correct this problem??????

Thanks in advance for your input.

shag555

Whatever H-9 did to rectify the problem of the landing gear seems to be fixed now. I haven't flown my new one yet, but in putting it together it was worth noting that the landing gear is actually stiffer than Graphtecs gear (yes I have a set of those as well). I must admit, the Graphtec gear went through the crash on the 1st 260, so they're probably loosened up a bit (delam). None the less, I seriously doubt that I'll have trouble with this set. They're not as pretty as the Graphtec set though.

My plan as I said before is to lighten the new plane up by 1 lb than the original. It's coming along nicely! The airframe (fuse only) lost close to 7 oz already with lightening. You can lighten it up by a good 3 oz by pulling that aluminum from the firewall and landing gear. Replace with 3/32 ply (5 ply) and 3/4 inch tri-stock, and epoxy in place. The tri-stock went on both sides of the landing gear plate to sandwitch the engine box brackets. I've picked it up and torqued it by the gear and it will be just fine in durability.

Another area that I wacked some weight out of (1 - 2 oz) was in the tail. There's a 3/8 piece of 5 ply back there that can be swiss cheezed. I just cut a hole in the bottom of the plate (and left enough covering to re-cover), then ground out the ply with my dremel. The servo reinforcements also went out of the tail. There's 3 total. My set-up will utilize CF Y set-up on the elevators with one servo (5955). Dick Hansen used what appears to be the Dave Brown Y Set-up only he replaced the tubes with Carbon Fiber??? I found another set-up that uses CF rod (Hobby Central) along most of the length of the run, then 3-5 inches from the servo, they tie together to form the Y. Looks like a good set-up, as it's supported along the length of the rods (no possibility of flutter from slop). This setup comes out of the pattern ship area.


Another area for wacking weight is to not only cut the floor out of the hatch, but also take off the back plate and replace it with 3/32 ply. Cut the center out as well. The aluminum brackets were also replaced with ply. Lastly, those thick 3/4 X 1/2 inch (something like that) balsa runners that connect the back plate to the main part of the hatch can be split down the length for form a V shape. All in all, I started with a hatch that weighed 5.7 oz... It now weighs 2.6 oz (doesn't include canopy).

SC - I read the thread in the giant scale area... Noticed the guy from RC Blimp throw out a trick about sanding the inside of the cowl to lighten. This cowl is over 8 oz without any cutting. This new one seemed heavier than my original, but none the less, it is possible to take out 1 oz of epoxy resin using the method he described. I didn't go as far as he said to go (completely smooth). I took off the high spots with a drum / dremel, then hand sanded the interior again to knock off the high spots.

Stock H-9 wheels weigh up at 4.2 oz for the pair. I bought the same sized Dave Brown wheels, and stock they weigh 2.2 oz for the pair. IF you cut out the moulded holes (in wheels only, not foam!) they'll come down to 2.0 oz.

All this is very petty, I admit, but they're all adding up to a significant amount (that 1 POUND figure)!
All in all I think I'll meet that goal of a full 1#!!!

Bobby Folsom

I'd swear that it's a low battery to the receiver and the fail safe is kicking in. I had this happen a couple of times when I didn't charge on a Saturday night after having flown four sequences on Saturday and Sunday the throttle went to idle halfway into my unknown. The 9C throttle will go into a fail safe sort of situation when the voltage to the receiver is less than approx. 3.5 volts (I'm not totally sure of the exact voltage but it's somewhere around there) the fail safe being the throttle goes to idle to let you know that the battery is low. When you bring the throttle stick back to idle it resets itself and allows you a few seconds to land safely and recharge your batteries.

Of course this is only one scenario. Another possibility is that the Hitec servos are causing interference. I have heard others on the SA list mention this but since I don't use Hitec servos I don't have first hand knowledge of this. But you could try switching them out and trying something else.

Good luck,

Bobby

mudpuppy

Thanks for the reply Bobby,

I filled the plane with JR 8611 servos and I think I eliminated the possiblity of low voltage by 1) fresh charge, 2) load check, 3) different battery setup.

The guys at my local airfield have been very, very helpful to me.

Thanks again for your suggestion Bobby, hopefully more will come.

LSP972

My Feedback: (13)

Does the 9C have an "automatic failsafe" mode? I agree, it sounds like a failsafe mode kicking in, but on every radio I know of you have to program it in first... besides, if you still have control of the other three axes (elevator, rudder, etc), that is NOT failsafe. Failsafe locks everything until the signal clears up. But again, you have to program it to do that.

Could be something in the tx itself. IIRC, you can assign channels/controls on the 9C; put the throttle servo on one of the aux channels and either assign the left stick up and down as the control, or a slider, etc. Then work the system, and if nothing bad happens, its a pretty sure bet the throttle channel (usually #3 on Futaba rx's) is the culprit.

Or, you could have some mixing enabled that is causing this, although I cannot immediately think of any sort of normal mixing that would do this. Does the 9C have a delay feature like the 9Z?

mudpuppy, you won't want to hear this, but among some Futaba-sponsored team guys the R319 synthesized receiver is known as the "dial-a-crash". These guys use the synthesized transmitter modules with no issues, but don't trust that receiver and use "regular" receivers and change rx crystals as needed.

Just FYI.....[&o]

bmoranx

CG CG, where are your CG points. Mine is at 5 1/4, (the recomended limit) and it dosen't feel or fly tail heavy. I am curious how far I can go before this thing gets squirly... How far back have you guys gone?

thanx/B

Tor

What do you hope to achieve by moving it furter back? The aft limit is very good for 3D.

bmoranx

If I moved it back further, I wondered if it would be more pitch poppy (quick) like a foamy?

Tor

I don't think that is in the nature of the design - wing profile etc. I have a Funtana 90 aswell and it is very unstabile (in the quick way) and foamylike (especially since I have tons of electric power in it). But look at the Funtana - thick wing profile and long body for it's wing span. The downside of the Funtana is that it doesn't track very well, lowers it's tail at slow speed and is very unstabile. The Extra however, tracks very well and precise and is very stabile but maybe a bit slower. I just don't think you will accomplish much by moving CG, because of the design, except screwing up alot of it's natural abilities.

I asked Mike McConville in his forum while building mine the same question, to which he replied that more tailheavy would only make hover more stable, while messing up the rest, including harriers.

Gus155

Thinking of getting one of these, and a Moki 210. Seems like a great plane from what ive read here, and a good combo with the moki.

bidrseed2

My Feedback: (2)

Well mine needs significant right trim to fly level.

The cause it turns out, is that the left wing has washout in it, the right does not.

Can someone tell me if they should both have washout in them, or is the left wing just warped?

wings19

Ok guys I have another question about this plane... My main concern and the only thing that would stop me from getting this is transportation... I drive a 300C and I would need it to fit in the trunk up through the back seats that fold down. My showtime fits but the only thing I worry about is height.

How tall is this extra from the ground with the CANOPY OFF both where the canopy would be near the front and also at the beginning of the turtle deck(the highest point with the canopy off. I know the length will be fine as long as it isn't too tall to fit through the seats.

So if someone would be so kind and measure at a few different spots for height along the fuse for me (even the tail although im pretty sure that should be fine) that would be a huge help!

Also, in the manual it shows a canister muffler setup and this is the way I wanted to do it... On DA's website they have this "DA-50-R Tuned Pipe: $195.00" is this the one they were using? There isn't much of an explanation of what it was but the manual said it was available from DA.

camss69

My Feedback: (46)

I'm getting 17 1/2" to the top of the turtle deck, and 19 1/4" to the top of the rudder.

No sure on the cannister question, but I think they are using the one from DA.

LSP972

My Feedback: (13)

If the ST fits, the Extra SHOULD fit. I have both; the Extra Rudder is only two inches or so taller.

wings19

yeah I dont think the rudder will be a problem, its more or less going to be the fuselage where it passes through where the back seats fold down. So when you have them side by side with the canopies off, is the extra taller than the showtime along the fuse?

How tall is the extra if you measured at the landing gear? The ST is just shy of 12" at the landing gear canopy off. It is about 14 1/2 at the turtle deck.

LSP972

My Feedback: (13)

Yes; by 2.5" at the rear edge of the canopy hatch, best I can tell.

As for the height at the gear, I have the TNT gear so cannot give you a valid measurement with the issue kit gear.

camss69

My Feedback: (46)

Here ya go... the one by the cowl is at the landing gear.



I see my new cheapie digital camera doesn't do red so good.. eh...

wings19

Wow, thanks a lot Camss69!! I really appreciate the help there and to you as well Steve!

mudpuppy

Hey guys,

I'm interested in flying this plane in the basic class of IMAC. Where should I set my throws initially?

CollectivelySpaced

My Feedback: (18)

I have mine set pretty much per the instruction manual, only I have the ailerons and rudder dialed up a little more (I like a slightly faster roll rate on low rates). One trick that I learned (after much protest from my buddies) was to use enough expo on the control surfaces so that you can make discreet corrections without the airplane looking twitchy. I started flying airplanes not so long ago but have been flying helicopters for years, so I had set my rates on the airplane like it was a heli! One curious thing is that in order to get it to spin I have to switch my rudder up to high rate (which has as much throw as I can manage).

Hope this helps...

[link=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2Yd6If_4Pk]My 260[/link]

mudpuppy

Thanks for the reply CollectivelySpaced. Nice picture & video.

ultra6a

My Feedback: (27)

I'm installing a Brison 3.2 on my Xtra 260. Need spinner suggestions. Size? Prop adaptor needed? Manufacturer?

Thanks

camss69

My Feedback: (46)

I'm really happy with my vortech dave brown spinner.

I think it's 3 1/4" I had them custom cut it for the NX prop and got the lightened backplate. It's a few $$ cheaper than the Tru Turn, and I think the backplate might be slightly heavier because it doesn't have holes in it like the Tru-Turn. I only needed a bolt that went into my prop bolt, not really an adapter.

Cant really comment on any others since I don't have them in this size.