Load of noooob Q's
 

Yeeeeeay, I can fly !!!! ……… for a while..... parts list at the bottom :
I've managed to stay up for 3 consecutive 20min filghts without crashing (<5km wind) then got cocky and took it out in 10km gusty and crashed a couple of times. Have loads of questions :
Power
Before I start I should say I'm pootleing around at 1/3-1/2 throttle at the moment...
Bangood left out a load of stuff including the prop so I initially got a 5050 bullnose (yellow one in photo) when I bought the battery and charger and that got me off the ground but then I read how inefficient they were. I bought 4 new sets :
QUANUM CARBON FIBER PROPELLER 6X4.5 (CW/CCW) (2PCS)
CARBON FIBER PROPELLERS 6040 (CW/CCW) (1PAIR)
GEMFAN COMPOSITE PROPELLER 6 X 4 GREY (CCW) (2PCS)
CARBON FIBER PROPELLERS 6040 SELF TIGHTENING (CW/CCW) (1PAIR)
only to find that I would have to reverse the motor to use the last set. The 6" Quanum ones clear the tail boom by about 1.5mm and there are marks in the boom (mud flying off from an upside down landing ?) The ESC was VERY hot at the end of the last flight. Is this likely to be the result of using too large a prop ? I couldn't find any regular 5050 props in the UK on the hobby king site. Would I be better off using the 6040 props than the 6x4.5 for the time being if I need to source another 5050 prop ? Or should I go back to the bullnose.

The motor is angled to the left (looking from the front of the plane) Does this mean I shouldn't reverse the motor and fit an anticlockwise prop ?

Can I and should I calibrate the unbranded ESC ?

I've been flying for about 20mins at the end of which, I get a cell voltage of 3.75V Is this what I should be aiming for ? I've ordered the Taranis battery telemetry module and want to set up alarms based of battery voltage rather than using flight time but I'm not sure how meaningful this is.

Should I recharge the batteries when I get in from the flight (less bother) or wait until just before ? They can sit around for a few days if the weather sucks.

I need a way to get the battery in and out fast - I tried Velcro but it's too difficult to position properly (I'm still fiddling with the CofG) and the loop shown in the photo doesn't hold it strait. What's the standard solution for this ?

General
So I had a few crashes and these immediately snapped the carbon wing rod I got (to replace the one that didn't turn up with the plane). I was unable to source another carbon rod in a hurry so got an aluminium one which works fine and bends when crashing (and can be straitened). Other than the weight issues, are there any reasons for not sticking with this for the time being ? Can carbon rods be bought cheaper in bulk ? I noticed the fibre in these rods is strait not helical and that there are helical ones available, what are the advantages/disadvantages of the different types. Pretty sure the rods fitted in the wings are strait and have split. Does this matter ? Can they be replaced ? Think they're 8mm.

Been going out in the morning, and getting loads of insect bites on the legs - solved by wearing long trousers but anyone got any other suggestions ?

The receiver aerials are really fragile, The ones I see in other peoples photos seem to have plastic cases on them. Any advice on protecting the/mounting them ? I'll want to use the receiver on other models.

Can anyone advise of the 'perfect' colour scheme to assist in determining orientation when flying - purely utilitarian, doesn't have to look cooool.

Any suggestions on the layout of components in the equipment bay would be helpful. (IGNORE - FORUM WONT LET ME POST PHOTOS YET)

Is the plane pictured just a knock off of the bixler 2 ? Can I use the available information on the bixler 2 and apply it to this plane ?

Weather
I've been out flying in the rain and got away with it, no fluid seemed to enter the equipment bay though a lot of rain landed on the transmitter. Is the QX7 waterproof, what steps should I take to protect it when flying in the rain ?

There's often a lot of dew that the model picks up. I then have to give a lot of elevator for quite a while to keep it up. Is this likely to be because of water on the bottom of the model ?

I'm flying pretty slow at the moment and I went out on a windy day and the plane was tossed all over the place. Can this be dealt with by flying faster ? Obviously as a noob I'm being timid to reduce the time and expense of potential repairs but want to gauge the value of this timidity. Should I wait for more skill to develop and focus on flying at speed or keep doing my figure of eights ?

Flying
I've set up three rates on the radio and some rudder mix. I'm not using the throttle or rudder at all at the moment. I'm practicing figure 8's trying to get progressively tighter turns and getting the aircraft to go where I want. Mostly at lower altitudes. Should I be using the rudder for lift in tight turns ? Should I be more ambitious with the throttle, the plane seems more controllable at higher speeds ?

Equipment list
Taranis Q X7, X8R
Battery 2200mAh,3S,Turnigy
SkySurfer X8 from bangood (not XUAV)
Motor: XXD 2212 2450KV motor
ESC: 30A
Servo: JX Servo 9g *4
Propeller: supposed to be 5050 but 6x4 fitted
Material: EPO
Wingspan: 1480mm,Length: 992mm,Flying Weight: 690g,Wing Area: Approx. 24dm²,Wing Load: Approx. 28.8g/dm²
CG: On the main wing carbon fiber rod,position is 30% of the wing

First, I love seeing a new hobbyist having a good time. It's easy for us who have been in it for a while to forget that new guy enthusiasm.
-Props- use what the factory/manual recommends. If you ESC is getting hot, that either means you are drawing too many amps or don't have good enough cooling. If you really are getting 20 minute flights, you aren't pulling too many amps. An ESC actually makes more heat at part throttle than full, so your problem is probably not enough cooling air.
-Don't fly in the rain. Nothing in RC airplanes is water proof.
-Yes, more speed helps with control in the wind. But the plane you are flying will never be good in the wind. That doesn't make it bad though. You just need to pick calmer days until you are really comfortable with making circuits and in control the whole time. Then you can move on to a plane that is more neutral handling and will penetrate the wind better. An Ugly Stick is the best possible choice.
-You should work on both rudder and throttle control. Rudder gives you so much more control than you can get from ailerons alone.
-Color- I've found that orange with black/white accents is the easiest to see. I do a black bottom most of the time so I have a very obvious difference between the top and bottom. Yellow can work well too, especially with a black stripe on the leading edge of the wing.
- wing tubes: aluminum is fine. Don't try to buy wing tubes in bulk. Try not to crash so you don't need them.
-Battery- velcro is pretty standard. On non-aerbatic models, I just Velcro the battery in. On planes I will fly harder, I add a Velcro strap to make sure it stays.

For what you didn't ask- practice with purpose. It's easy to get into just boring holes in the sky, but that doesn't build your skills. Practice perfect approaches for 2-3 flights where you come down at the same place every time and skim the runway at eye level for 4-5 seconds. You'd be suprised at the things there are to learn in that simple maneuver including rudder control. When you are drawing a straight line consistently, lower it to around 2 feet, and then landings won't be a problem for you anymore. Then work on loops that begin and end at the same place and are properly round, rolls that don't lose altitude, and figure out how to do a stall turn. You'll definitely be ready at that point for your second airplane and will probably be surprised at how much easier those maneuvers are with it.

Keep us posted on your progress. There are lots of very helpful guys on this forum.

Thanks, that's really useful. As far as the temp of the ESC is concerned, would this go down if I used a 2S battery ? As far as painting is concerned, is there an advantage to painting the top of the left and right wings different colours say fl pink on one and fl green the other, with black on the leading edge and all black underneath ?

Use the cell count as recommended by the manufacturer. Reducing the cell count will result in less power possibly even makng the airplane unable to fly. Address the heat problem as outlined by Jester above. Twenty minute flights are far to long and will kill your batterys in short order.

Using a different color on the right and left wings is a big mistake that will result in loss of orientation every time.. Using contrasting colors on topside/underside is a good plan however that I would recommend. Many different fancy colors and designs will fade to grey at a distance much closer than simple colors witout a lot of scroll work.

John

I have to agree with Jester and John. One thing you might consider is putting a chevron on the top and bottom of the wing, kind of like the US military did prior to WWII, to help identify the plane's direction

Hi!
White plane with broad day -glow orange stripe on the left upper wing! Never use black colored plane (gets hot in the summer).

In some light conditions, white by itself is hard to see. White with red or black stripes running fore and aft is better.

First thing to understand is, nothing is set in stone. I can say A, B and C and someone can point out a situation where this would be wrong. I could point out a situation. But for a beginner we need to take baby steps so to speak and keep it simple and basic. All of this is with regard to a traditional airplane with the motor up front and the propeller turning clockwise as viewed from the airplanes perspective. IOW as if you were sitting in the cabin looking forward out the windscreen.

A 5050 prop is 5 inches long with a 5 inch pitch. Typically such a prop will be labelled as a 5x5. The pitch number indicates the distance in inches the prop will travel with one complete rotation. That assumes everything is perfect and the prop is 100% efficient. They're not!

In your purchase you got both left and right handed props or Tractors and Pushers. Which, when in a package like that are typically for multi rotor drones as they use both. Typically fixed wing airplanes use tractor props and they're usually purchased individually. A few use pushers but the main clue to that is the prop/motor being on the tail end of the plane.

The prop loads the motor. The greater diameter and/or the pitch, the greater the load which, with electric, means more heat from both the motor and the ESC. You need to know what props, diameter AND pitch your motor will comfortably swing and stick with those sizes.

Also make sure your prop is on the right way. Flight performance can be negatively impacted by putting a prop on backwards. The prop blades should have one side that is curved like a wing and the other is flat. The curved is the front of the prop and should face the direction of travel and the flat is of course the back side of the prop and on a tractor configuration should face the airplane. A pusher would reverse this.

In theory you can replace a 5x5 with a 6x4. HOWEVER, with a 4 inch pitch the plane will fly more slowly. Maybe too slow to fly properly. Just one possibility you need to consider. Another possibility to consider is the shorter the prop, the less efficient it is. But like everything, there are limits. You can spend a lot of money on props if you allow them to hit the ground all the time.

The material the prop is made from is important too. Smaller inexpensive props are typically plastic. This plastic will vary in stiffness with some actually flattening out under power and thereby reducing effective pitch. The thinner plastic props can also deform from heat during shipment. Face it, they're cheap for a reason. A heavier plastic or carbon is a better choice for a small prop.

Regarding the battery, simply put voltage = rpm. The more volts the more rpm out of the motor and the faster/better the plane will fly. However, motors and ESCs are not designed to handle just any voltage you care to throw at them. You can have too much voltage/battery AND you can have too little. For now, stick with what the manufacturer calls for. As you learn, you will start to see what changes can be made, what effects they will have and how to do them safely and properly.

The angle you see on the motor is called offset thrust or right thrust. It's a method of improving some flight characteristics. You might see it point a little bit down too. If a model has it, keep it. If not, don't worry about it. I've never seen it make a significant difference except with serious aerobatic competition models. Not to say it can't help a sport model, I've just never seen it make that much difference. Just make sure it is always right and down if you have it. Never left and/or up. There are exceptions to that too but at this point you need to keep things simple.

FYI, a rule of thumb calls for all directions, i.e. left, right, up, down to be the airplanes left, right, up, down. So your left looking at the front of the plane is really the planes right.