Great Planes Super Chipmunk EP arf
So I am curious to what people think of it, let me know.
If now, stay tuned, perhaps I will do a thread on the assembly and maiden.
I am using a SuperTigre ST400 Outrunner Motor, and matching SuperTigre 30A ESC. I went with these becaue I got a smoking deal on them from the LHS. For servos I went with the recondmended Futaba S3114 Micro High Torque servos. I will upload the pics I have so far and give a bit more of my progress.
Stay tuned.
Okay, sorry for the delay, life caught up with me and so did xmas. On the plus side, I was able to finish the assembly and maiden flight on the chippy.
As I stated before, I used a Super Tigre ST400 motor and 30A ESC instead of the Great Planes versions. Only difference I can see is perhaps you would get more power from the RimFire motor.
First of all, the chippy comes well packed and in it’s own separate sealed packages. Typical Great Planes arf, well made, no crap materials used as far as I could see. I did have to do the normal “arf” duties like tighten up the covering in some places and prep the parts for assembly.
I did apply thin beads of Deluxe materials Super Phatic glue on some of the more critical glue joints for that extra bit of strength.
For the servos, I used the recommended Futaba S3114 micro servos and they all fit perfectly into the trays and bays. Now the manual says to use a pair of six inch servo extension leads on the aileron servos. * love that this plane has separate wing servos*, if you feel up to a bit of soldering, make up four 3inch extensions, because the extra three inches will be a bit of a pain. I ended up tucking most of it back into the wings.
Another nice touch is the fact all the drilling is done for you, including the leading edge wing dowels. However care should be taken when trying to find the holes through the covering. Now for the aileron push rods. I personally found them to be… strange and perhaps a weak point. However I used them to find out if my suspicions will be true. They are a length of wire with a V bend about 2/3 of the way up the pushrod. This is to be used to “adjust” the trim of the ailerons. I think that the v bend my start to weaken and allow the ailerons to flex. Use your own best judgment here.
Everything went together well, no real issues. However do be very careful of the cowl. Unlike the beautiful fiberglass wheel pants, the cowl is made of a very thin lexan/plastic. Now it’s beautiful looking but it’s very delicate. I squeezed mine a bit too tight when it slipped in my hands and broke along the top left corner. I patched it up with a bit of thin CA, and covered the “damaged” area with some extra decals I had sitting around.
If you follow the manual, you should not have any problems at all. Including the part about adding extra weight. I ended up adding about the same amount as stated in the manual, approx 1/2oz. Now if you went with a slightly heavier battery, you may not have to add any extra weight at all.
DO NOT USE a Great Planes C.G machine like the say to in the manual, the plane is too light to give you an accurate balance. Use your fingertips.
Model ready to go for maiden,
Super Tigre ST 400-outrunner motor
Super Tigre 30A brushless ESC
4x Futaba S3114 micro servos
Futaba R617FS receiver
KyPom 1300mAh 3S 35C lipo
Great Planes 8x6SF electric prop.
Maiden flight came one winter day, partly cloudy skies, about –4C with a wind approx 8-10kmh from the north/northwest. We went out to test fly our “winter” fishing/flying planes on the ice road so smooth runways and lots and lots of room to play.
I decided to go with a simple 5 min flight to start with and check the amount of battery life left after a charge, as it turns out I could bump it up to 7-8 min flights no problem.
The lil engine puts out a fair amount of torque and you have to be quick on the right rudder or your going to take an abrupt left hand turn. Once she got into the air, a couple clicks of right aileron, a couple down and she was flying straight and true.
I found the Super Tigre to be lots of power, the vertical was not unlimited, but it was more then enough to do any aerobatic this plane should be able to make. It’s not going to 3D for you, so don’t try. You may get more power with using the Great Planes Rimfire 400, but it’s not needed.
Flying is a joy, the chippy flies just like her big brother. Straight, true and very stable. The classic covering scheme shows up quite well and you can actually fly this lil bird a fair distance away with out loosing which way is which. Landings, which we thought would be a bit of a bear, was in fact so easy it was crazy.
Line her up into the wind, reducing the power as you come in, chop it about a foot off the ground and she will come in a sweet as you please. It’s quite nice having a steerable tail wheel with this beauty, and she moves around nice for her size.
When you adjust your throws, make your low rates the same as the manual says for high rates and then make your high rates another 10-20% higher. The low rates in the book are way too low. However that is my own opinion, so please use your own judgment
All in all, this is a sweet plane that will be as gentle as you want it to be, but open her up and she will do just about anything you can ask it to do.
Did you happen to take any watt-meter readings?
I'm using the same motor , but will try the 15 amp cheap HK esc and cheap HK servos. I'll bet my plane is less than $140 AU$
Thanks for the tips about the servo extensions and the throws.
Don't know if you mentioned it prior, is the wing flat bottomed or semi-symmetrical?
It's Semi-Symmetrical,
Took her out for a couple more flights yesterday, minus 4C and about a 15kmh wind, she handled it with no problem, this is fast becoming my favorate plane and is so convenent. I just tuck it into the cap of the truck with the helis and away we go.
I should get my Chipmunk next week and will use recommended power system and servos. This is my first model in 35 years and can't wait to set it up for flaperons with Futaba 6J transmitter! These new high-tech radios do scare me a little. Flying two planes on the same frequencydon't seem right even with all this frequency hopping spread spectrum stuff. Just got tired of the noisy engines and the fuel mess long ago. I started looking at electrics recently out of curiosity and got the bug again, don't even belong to a club or know where to fly yet. Been reading quite about about Lipos, chargers and all the caveats so I think I'm on the right track. My previous nitro planes were sport flyers similar to the Chipmunk so Ican ride this bull. Will probably learn from mistakes but that's part of the fun. Anyway pass along more experiences with your bird and I will update later. Did you mention flight times you are getting with the Chipmunk?
I'll be getting my chipmunk by the end of this week and will be using the suggested power system. This will be my first electric and first park flier.
IronButterfly: In the write up in Model Aviation they noted a flight time of 8-10 minutes using a 3S 11.1V 1200 mAh lipo with an 8x6 slo-flyer prop..I ordered a 1300 mAh lipo so should expect no less then 10 minute flights.
I still have many glow planes which I will still fly but I'll enjoy the ease of electric. The park flier will be ideal for flights after work during the short days where dragging out the nitro planes take too much time to enjoy flying.
Fair skies and light winds.
Tom
Hello Aeronut,
Anyway pass along more experiences with your bird and I will update later. Did you mention flight times you are getting with the Chipmunk?
Also there is a third pushrod tube in the fuselage. It starts below the servo tray and comes out on the bottom of the fuselage about even with the leading edge of the horizontal stab. What's up?
As for the third tube, that is for the antena for a 72 meg radio system. Also states that in the manual
Nice job. Just finished mine too! Weather looks good down South here tomorrow so might give it a try. I haven't flown in 30 years and no electrics back then. Met guys at the local club for the first time today and they seem nice enough and willing to help. Had one problem though with the firewall. After testing the motor I took off the cowl and noticed that the firewall glue was not holding soI reinforced it with epoxy. I had problembalancing the prop and I think the vibration got to it. Let me know how yours flies.