SALMONBUG

My Feedback: (1)

whiplash and diamond dust are two aircraft able to reach 200 MPH with hig perfo engines.....
but my calculation and measurement (made seriously) showed me i was close from the 200 mph, but not !
about vortex wingtips, look at my avatar pic, it's a bruce tharpe engineering delta vortex and retracts
greay flyer

KC36330

it takes allot of modification to get a DD to maybe get it to 200. i get a bit over 160 out of mine w/ Jett FIRE 60LX w/ Jett pipe turning a 8.8x9 APC Pylon prop at 21K static. i honestly don't think a cowl to 'Clean It Up' is going to net 40 more out of it. I've heard allot of stories about 200+ DDs but when they flew the trap they magically loose 30-40 mph

kc

Speedie500

Hi guys,
I recently started building my 1st Wonder. The wing sheeting is complete making it a bit difficult to incorperate any mods to the LE or dowel attachment. The fuselage mod's are interesting and make a whole lot of sence. I didn't think that the horiz' stab attatchment was a problem but I think that I will beef it up or do the bolt on mod' and the vert' stab's will deffinately get reinforced. The rudder mod' looks like a really good idea. I'm using an old Supertigre .25 on the front and the 3" from the fire wall to the spinner is a tight fit, but it does fit.

Salmonbug
1) I will be able to keep the standard nose moment even with the .25, do you still recomend the 1/2" shortening of the nose?
2) What sort of flight time do you get from a .25 with a 4oz tank and will a 6oz tank fit? ( I have a 4oz DuBro tank which I'm planning on installing).

Crazy4flight
1) The tri' stock at F2, do you put it vertically in the corners forward of F2 or for' and aft' of F2?
2) Is the triangle stock under the wing mounting blocks really necessary?
As I have already completed the wing sheeting the spruce aileron servo rails will have to be inserted thruogh the servo opening in the wing.

JStafford

Good to find some fellow Wonder pilots! I have recently completed my third Wonder.
Each time I build one, it's an evolution and improvement on the previous model.

The first Wonder was built stock from the plans, with some exceptions.
No stock wing tips - seemed like too much carving and the thin taper seemed weak.
No canopy/dorsal fin. Standard shape vertical stabs and elevator.
Used an .09 two stroke with it's stock muffler; exhaust pointed down through a hole
in the engine cowl.
http://www.hobbypeople.net/gallery/211300.asp
After a few years of flights, the aileron servo failed and it augered in on the tarmac.

Second wonder built used a similar AP engine as the first Wonder, but with a larger
.15 displacement (I suspect that the .15 has been discontinued?)
Standard shape v-stabs and elevator. Used the 'Russian' aileron shape.
No engine cowl. Header pipe exhaust. Painted the ventral landing skid.
Barely any rounding of the edges - this one was pretty boxy in form.
It flew for well over 5 years. Crash landed into a barbed wire fence. Rx battery DOA.
I glued all the pieces back together and flew it for a couple more years until a recent
cartwheel landing destroyed the wing saddle and I had no will to repair it again.

Finally, my third Wonder was completed a couple weeks ago.
I've replaced the bulky wooden block wing tips with a thin balsa aileron stock.
Rounded off the fuselage corners on the bottom. My own design for aileron shape.
Transplanting the radio, etc from the 2nd fuselage into the 3rd fuselage was easy.
Contrasting colors on the top and bottom of the wing as always. Wearing solid
white on the bottom of the wing. This one flies better than the previous two.
Balanced perfectly with no weight added, and did not have to trim the radio in flight.

-Jack


[img][/img]

Strykaas

Jack, nice one too . Had also a dead servo on mine but luckily pulled through with a broken prop only.
What is your cg setting ? No lead on mine either, the original builder got it right.

JStafford

Strykaas - The CG position is at the position stated on the Wonder plans.

With an empty fuel tank it balances just right. I thought this would be a
good starting point. I have only three flights on this new Wonder. Each
flight is between 12 and 20 minutes using a 4oz. Sullivan slant fuel tank,
depending on the throttle position of course.

Nice looking green Wonder you have there! I stopped using green covering
because I searched for my green 2 meter sailplane (The Wanderer) when it
was crash landed in bushes. It camouflaged itself and hid for a half-hour
before I found it. ;-)

-Jack

bob27s

My Feedback: (19)

That looks nice Jack.... I like the Ferrari look

JStafford

I've found the balance point on my Wonder is 2 3/8" aft of the wing leading edge.
The same vicinity as what is shown on the Wonder plans. Works pretty good.

The prop is a 7x5 Master Airscrew. Three Hitec HS-81 miniture servos and a
700mAh Rx battery. I took it to the Post Office on Sunday and it weighed in
at 33oz. without fuel. I tried to mimic the stripe on a Ferrari 360 Stradale
but didn't get it just right. Doesn't matter much though, all I can see are two
white stripes on the wing when in flight. Just right to identify the top from the
bottom while in the sky. Here's a snapshot of the bottom side.
-Jack

Strykaas

Jack,
My cg is maybe one or two centimeters behind the advocated cg (actually around the main spar). This scared me first but I was told to go that route. Result is a very pitch responsive a/c. Corresponding elevator throws are really small.
Flying the Wonder as per cg recommendation is not what I would do now. You can check out my vid with those cg setting and small throws. Around 1:00, I do a very tight loop, tighter is possible though. Engine is rich, still breaking it in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYbw_isRmdk

Regarding the landing gear skid, I simply did not build any. I don't think it's really needed on a grass field. Ultrakote (Oracover) is very resistant and can be replaced at will. It was damaged once as I tried to cut the grass with my prop [sm=stupid.gif] (low low pass), resulting in a broken prop blade damaging the bottom.

SALMONBUG

My Feedback: (1)

try first to design the power speed curve on piece of paper

Speedie500

Hi Jack, here are 2 pics of my wonder. I moved the fire wall 2" back because of the longer and heavier engine but maintained the required 3" from fire wall to the back of the spinner. As you can see there is no skid of the fuse', with Oracover on grass it is not required. The cg is as recommended without any lead. If I had needed lead to balance it I don't know where I would have put it as there is very little space. I'm using a Bolly prop 9.5 x 5 on the old Supre Tiger .25. It runs at +- 11 000 RPM static, produces a fair turn of speed but I wouldn't say that it is extremely fast. Just fast enough to be interesting, fun and sharpen my reflexes. If I ditch it I will build another.
Cheers Speedie.

Strykaas

I was defintely under powered with an OS .15 LA [:-]

frenchie79

Need help Wonder boys! Mine tends to pitch up with elevator at dead level with stab. In order to fly level I had to trim it with down elev about a 3/32 to an 1/8 WOW. The CG is correct per manual and the down thrust is 4 deg. Tryed moving each aileron up-nope. What next?? Any one encounter this. I would think the elevator should be close to level with the stab.

SALMONBUG

My Feedback: (1)

there friend strykaas, i think the .15 La (brand new ) was the best engine to power this small bird, soorry if i made a mistake !
the . 25 version is more heavy, need some mods and don't give any best result................

your friend


salmonbug

SALMONBUG

My Feedback: (1)

frenchie, just tilt a bit the engine down with two small washers at the back of your engine mount, it's my opinion only


of course this suggestion mean your cg is good

frenchie79

I'll give ot a try but the thing has 1/2 a cowl on it and the spinner will get real close on the bottom edge.

SALMONBUG

My Feedback: (1)

you got a pm
frenchie

SALMONBUG

My Feedback: (1)

[email protected] suis sur msn

Strykaas

This engine / airframe combination suits me fine, I find it very responsive with the .15LA. It is poweful enough to be handlaunched with a slight toss, no running is necessary, even with no wind, and on 5% nitro with a 7x7 prop.
I have thought about using a tuned pipe. What do you think ?
Anyway, I am always lacking power

Erik van Schaik

Just started mine. This thread is missing pics!

Strykaas

cool !

What (electric obviously) power setup for this one ?

Erik van Schaik

I am planning an upgraded setup as on this vid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8Jux...1#post11241894

This motor has been propped with a 8.5x7, 16000rpm in my Jepe Spitfire (clipped wing 90cm WS) and I intend to start with this prop on the Wonder too. The new outrunner runs 17000rpm@9sA123. the 10x4 prop used on the Calmato has reached 79dB@7m on this outrunner. With the 10x4 prop I am in the 13C range and I can increase current to 42A (20C) which could end up with a 10x10 prop

I have a decent background in modelling to cope with this setup:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/member.php?u=25071

Best of all is I am able to use my charger on a frequent base!
http://airtoimedia.nl/web/upload/Emi...28sept2008.wmv
With adequate settings the recharge time will be in the 5-7 minute range.

grtz, Erik

Crazy4Flight

My Feedback: (540)

Eric,

Fully sheeted wing and shear webbing...OK what are you OVER-POWERING the little wonder with ????

On the last 2 builds I did I skipped the servo hatch in the bottom aft fuse and made the stab removable, with nylon screws.

Bob

Erik van Schaik

Hi Bob,

You have not mentioned the extra main spars
Technically, I can safely overprop this A123 setup from .35-.60 range without thermal issues. The prop I plan to use for maiden should be in the 800W range. This is a 8.5x7 prop. The outrunner has a calculated 17000rpm. Funny thing with e-power is that the motor always like to spin max rpm unless the batteries cannot provide the current. The cells can provide 1000W for 3.5minutes without thermal issues. Thrust figures is in the 2-2.5 kg range which can be reduced by using smaller props (and increase flight time) but this depends on the vertical performance [8D]
I think I am very restricted in openings and hatches. the motor barely fits on the firewall (using 5 layer ply instead of the stock 3 layer ply for strenght). I need to make the fuse as rigid as possible.

grtz, Erik

Erik van Schaik

Straightforward build!


I keep the end open for servo, rx and flightcaneonev2 mounting.

The skid on the bottom will be a bunghee hook also. This is to get ised to the power and to sort the downthrust angle out in a safe way.

grtz, Erik