aspeed

1mm is pretty heavy. We used a skin of .010" litho sheet wrapped around a spar for our speed planes that were somewhat smaller. The .04" would not take much of a ground strike IMHO either. The 2mm coroplast is fairly light and takes a bit of a crash.

Horn Dude

Ok this is what im talking about... Trying to do a simple throttle hook up. The wire in picture is pretty bent up since ive been trying different things. Here are a few shapes I have thought of doing while I was at work today. Kinda hard to see so lower pic is the way its setup right now and I do not like it. Top part I just did little edit in paint shop for ideas.

Pylonracr

I would try one of 2 things.
1) Raise the throttle servo up and reverse the horn so you can use a fairly straight pushrod.
2) if you can't do that, use a flexible pushrod in a tube. Install a couple of supports at the front and back of the fuel tank to hold the tube. Sullivan makes a very thin flexible pushrod system that works well for throttles. I use them a lot to get around fuel tanks in conventiional fuselage planes.

Scott

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

Don't use a throttle, just use that servo to pinch off the feed line.

Horn Dude

Thanks for input. I will look up sullivan and see what I can find. Still want throttle control. This seems like it may be a better route. Really do not want to raise servo to clear elevon horn movement and have the servo up in air.

Hmm. Maybe I can turn servo 90 degrees where horn is next to elevon servo. That would give me more of a linear linkage. But prolly go sullivan route.

GREG DOE

Dude, Mount a straight bellcrank behind the fuel tank. If you don't already have one, you will have to make a "hard point" to mount it on. If you can't find a commercial one, you could make it out of phenolic, or some similar material. Formica, or even aluminun would work. You can probably use nylon quick links, or ball links. There is probably helicopter hardware that could be used for the bellcrank. Even an old 2" controline bellcrank would work. Let us know how you end up fixing it? Greg

flyingmachine

My Feedback: (9)

Horn, I would go with Pylon's #2 response

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

How about using that servo to release a Drag Chute...?

Pond Skipper

Thin piano wire in a plastic tube with a hold down tab and screw near the apex of the curve around the tank.

Horn Dude

Well I just used a 4-40 piece of music wire with a slight bend at carb, and two 90 degrees behind the fuel tank. Works like a charm. First try was 2-56. I did pick up a sullivan flex line kit from my LHS, but not needed now. Just got back from the flying field. Maiden flight was great! Got about a 4min flight. The orange and black really stands out in the sky. It was fast. Maybe like 300mph. Just kidding. Over 100 im sure. Still on rich side too.


Now I just have to make an exhaust oil reflector around elevon/throttle servo. I know they have those exhaust deflectors... but dont think it will help much. What I would really love to do is run tube through covering to bottom side. But a potential rip point in covering on a flight.

Now I need to make a one person launcher. Something I can step on with foot and release dust with a little push. Think I have seen on some youtube vids.

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

Congratulations...!
The exhaust oil is a pain to deal with like that.
On your next delta, think about mounting the servos more outboard in each wing panel. A real slick way of doing it is to mount the servos laying on their sides to a piece of 1/16" plywood. The 1/16" plywood is also the servo hatch lid. All you see on the top side is a servo arm sticking through a narrow slit in the plywood. Of course, the plywood hatch cover needs to be securely fasten to structure you build into the wing's frame work. So, there is some carpentry involved.

Horn Dude

Kinda like my h9 p-51 mustang. I get what you are saying. Moving the servo to the # 2 ribs more center on the elevon.

Before I put on ultracoat, it was covered with stix-it to protect wood.. but still dont want the oil to collect.

Well already have plans to start another. I too have ideas. Like adding a small wheel on each corner and one in center. But just nuff to clear covering. Still hand launch, but not skidding on coating on runway or rough grass area. Take some of the drag on center area. Just a thought. Ive also seen tail fins moved outward... but never a problem for me where they are now.

aspeed

I have a somewhat distantly similar corro delta with small tip plates that are mostly underneath, that act as skids, and then a single nose wheel. I doesn't steer, but keeps the motor out of the dirt. It would save the drag and complexity of the tip wheels, as well as extra stability while near a stall, compared to only the rudder.

Horn Dude

Well got in another flight today. Only about half way through I lost all control of plane. Maybe like a sec off and on a few times I would regain and then loose control again. But I killed throttle and was able to land just fine way out behind runway. No damage. Walking out to dust I had full controls on sticks. So not really sure what happened. On yesterdays flight, dont believe I went that far out like I did today, but hard to really tell. Took trainer plane over in the same area and had no issues. Yesterday I was truly solo vs today, having quad chops and FPV guys racing, and I just happen to be on that end when I lost control off and on. Maybe and hopefully I just found a dead spot.

Try again next weekend. Maybe pull out the ar400 and put in my ar7000 with extra satellite. But going to do a range check in that area when there is less traffic flying overhead.

Pylonracr

That off and on sounds like a brown out. Check your battery voltage under a load.

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

I've had commercially built packs with faulty spot welded jumpers between the cells. I notice you use an ON / OFF switch. A lot of people do [obviously]...the JR switch had high ratings last time I checked. I'm happy to just plug the battery into the RX directly when playing with the deltas.
I also noticed that you are connected to the extreme ends of your elevon servo arms. I think you could make better use of those servo's power and precision by moving towards the inner holes on those arms. At the elevon end, it's also good to be connected to those arms 1 1/8" or higher. This allows the servo the best mechanical advantage and it'll give you the most surgical control feel.
I'd do like Pylonrcr says and monitor your pack's capacity under load.
Another check is to fire up your engine and go for a walk while a helper works the control sticks. Walk around your field out as far as you would normally fly it. If the plane glitches, hold it over your head to give it a better view of the TX and see if it clears it. Testing range with a running engine checks the integrity of the 1000 solder joints inside all your electronics better than any other way I know of.

Pylonracr

[QUOTE=combatpigg;12003780]I've had commercially built packs with faulty spot welded jumpers between the cells.

Good point. I almost lost a plane to this very thing a few weeks ago. The only thing that saved me is the radio started acting up as soon as I started the engine so I didn't fly it.

Horn Dude

hmm true. I could eliminate the on off switch. I plan to charge pack after every flight. Uses about 260mah per flight. Life pack is 900mah. Whats a good way to put a load on battery to test it? I dont have anything on hand to do this. Also I forgot to leave the dust on til I got back to see if the Rx was flashing which would be a brown out.

Horn Dude

Thanks for the advice combat. Ill have to get out to field early before everyone and do a complete range check with engine running.

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

I've got a Hobbico charger that has a disharge feature and it tells you what the pack's capacity is after a complete deep cycle. It is a good idea to look at the battery between flights, but popping the hatch cover is a pain. I've never tried a Volt Watch, but I have used a servo extension cable jack put in a handy location to plug my tester into.
High revving planes tend to loosen screws, so it's not a bad idea to plan pit stops after every flight to look everything over that's screwed down. Carry a tube of locktite and making field repairs of worn out screw holes can be done by pushing string or wire into the screw hole. My first "hot" delta had the hatch come off in flight and the battery pack flew outside of the plane and got wedged between a control rod and the elevon control horn. The model just seemed sluggish to respond when it happened. It was surprising to see how lucky I was.

Horn Dude

I too have a charger that I can discharge / charge pack and get readings. Tops off at 950mah. But im guessing you mean discharge at 0.5amp and see what readings I get on pack correct?
I pop hatch after every flight to check on everything. What kind of tester do you use? Before I go back up in air, I want to make sure electronics are good to go.. No guessing and then the worse happens.

1st thing I will do is bypass switch and plug batt directly into RX. Maybe the vibes are getting to switch contacts. Just something to eliminate. Then I will do a field test with engine running and see how it goes from there.
And im guessing with range check, your not cutting down the TX power like you would on new model range test correct?

Im leery on what batteries I buy and from where. I wont shop ebay or china for them. But few of you have no probs with hobby king packs. Will put this spektrum life pack on charger and see what numbers I get.

Horn Dude

That doesnt seem right. After sundays 1/2 flight, just now put battery on charger. I meant to do a discharge but set it for charge. Only 30mah til it peaked. Doing the discharge now. See what numbers I get.

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

I've got the Hobbico voltmeter that has a .5 amp dummy load switch.
My Hobbico charger has a readout to tell you how much was needed to top off the pack.
I just placed my first ever order to HK. Ordered some 700 mah LIFE packs, some of the "volt watch" units that you mount on the plane and some mini servos for the small stuff I fly.
Everything ordered is supposed to be in stock and shipped from their west USA warehouse.
we'll see..!I've got the Hobbico voltmeter that has a .5 amp dummy load switch.
My Hobbico charger has a readout to tell you how much was needed to top off the pack.
I just placed my first ever order to HK. Ordered some 700 mah LIFE packs, some of the "volt watch" units that you mount on the plane and some mini servos for the small stuff I fly.
Everything ordered is supposed to be in stock and shipped from their west USA warehouse.
we'll see..!
Yes, when I do a full range check I'm out there 600 feet or so from the TX. It helps to be talking to a helper while you check your controls. I think being so low and far away cuts down your range, so don't panic if you see glitches while you are carrying your model at a great distance from the TX.
Double check this method with a friend [who never crashes] to see how his system behaves during this type of a range check if you get questionable results with your's

rcguy59

My Feedback: (8)

Voltmeters and load testers are a waste of time and money on LiFe packs. The voltage drop over the discharge cycle is miniscule. When they "die", the voltage drops like a stone from a bridge. Reading voltage, even under load, is pointless and even dangerous as you simply can't tell the state of charge that way. Charge the pack and make a normal flight. Recharge the pack, taking note of the amount (mah) used to top it off. Now make two flights and recharge again, taking note of the amount required to top it off. This is how you acquire a baseline for your pack/airplane combo. Compare the amount used per flight versus the measured capacity of the pack and you know how many flights you can safely make. My rule for LiFe packs is "If in doubt, charge it". 4C charging is usually OK and there is never a memory problem. All of my LiFe packs (every airplane I own) came from HobbyKing beginning about 3 years ago. The only one I've ever had go bad was one that puffed-up at home, never having flown. It checked out OK, but I threw it away any way, as "puffing-up" is never a good sign. Another thing I like about LiFe packs is that the self-discharge rate is as close to nil as makes no difference. Hope this helps.

Horn Dude

Yes I am very knowledgeable on lipo packs. The life packs are new to me. All my planes have nimh cells in them. For the dust I went with a life pack. High volt and light weight.My first flight was 260mah used. I could do another flight, but since I open hatch and give everything a wiggle test, I charge the battery back up. Just so happens that on the 2nd flight the next day, battery fully charged, about half way into tank I have no elevon control. Soon as I saw I hand control, I put throttle to idle. Then locked out again. Then regained control and landed way out in corner of field.

So going to be a range check with engine running, along with bypass of on/off switch. Its not a genuine JR switch, but was not a 5.00 cheapy one either. Still even new stuff can be defective.
But battery and rx are wrapped in foam and secured in place. Just no room in there. RX is between servo and battery. I was thinking maybe radio noise, but had a flawless 1st flight. Always could possibly be a bad RX or new one going bad. But wont know til this weekend and do range check.

I charge at a steady pace at 1amp. No need to juice it up really quickly.

1056 mah 5.44V on discharge
934 mah 6.67V on charge

spektrum 900 mah.

I am just trying to cover all grounds so that this speeding dart does not become a lawn dart.