The smiley expresses my joy. I had a couple of hours this morning before the wind picked up. After all my pre-flight check I decided to do a hand launch.
The Bee took off with no problems and had a beautiful climb rate. I got the Bee up to about 400ft and circled the field to trim the plane. I noticed that it was slightly nose heavy. Left and right turns were great. I used the rudder for smooth turns. It is nice to see how the plane reverts back to a neutral attitude. Ailerons are great for very tight turns and rolls. [X(]
I cut the engine and the Bee had no problems gliding. I even was able to catch a couple of thermals and maintain a powerless flight. I brought the Bee down and maintained a very slow flight on my approach and made a beautiful landing. [8D]
Before installing my last battery pack, I adjusted the control horn on the elevator to give it just a little up elevator. I connected the battery, and went for a ground take-off. I located a freshly cut area in the field and faced the Bee into the wind. I gave it full throttle and brought the plane into motion. After about 15 ft the Bee was airborne.
The adjustment made to the elevator worked out grade. Once again I circled the field several times and trimmed the plane. With the throttle at about ΒΌ, the Bee remained very steady which will be great for aerial video. I added power and climbed to about 500ft with no problem.
Winds were picking up a little. I cut the engine and spend a good 4-5 minutes gliding. Now it was time to stretch the envelope a little and try some mild aerobatics. I started of with a loop. I add full power, went into a little dive and pulled the stick back. The Bee did a very nice loop. Tomorrow I will spend more time testing the plane with more aggressive maneuvers. Once again I brought the plane in for a landing and touched down and stopped the Bee about 3 ft away from me.
In all, the changes made were great and really made a major impact. The Bee flies great now and I am very pleased. The only other improvement I will make is to strengthen the area where the control horns are connected to the ailerons. It is currently a weak area and some fiberglass and/or plywood will help.
I look forward to mounting my 5-in-1 eDVRs and get some aerial videos tomorrow.