Sandmann_AU

Heya Greg

I'm just down the road from (globally speaking) out towards Ipswich, and I fly at Tingalpa. If you wanted to see the Spacewalkerin action I'd be happy to meet you at the field so can see it in the air. I'm using an FT160 twin in mine but to be honest, for a low wing aircraft it's not that aerobatic. great for a lazy relaxing afternoon though. if you can master your boomerang you can probably handle the walker just fine. If you want to see it in action just shoot me an email.

Matt

Planejaw

My Feedback: (53)

Greg,

It does sound like you have a little more temperate climate than we have here in Michigan. We'll have snow beginning in late October/early November, through March. We've got about six-months of flying, save for the wind and rain.

Here are some photos, hope they help.

MercerAUST

I've been reading this thread. Nice looking plane. My first 120 size was the Seagull Percival Mew Gull with a 120 4-stroke ASP which I built a few months ago.  I found the quality of the kit to be outstanding and easy to put together for my first plane of this size. The Mew Gull (in my view) is an outstanding looker, but has a much lighter wing loading and demands precise landings. The undercarraige and spats are not particularly strong and bend with bouncy landings or tear into the Spats. Take offs are easy and flying is a thing of beauty.

I drilled mine into the ground from 20 feet up when I accidently reversed the aerollins, but have since fixed it and taken into the air again. The plane was wrecked from the firewall to the cockpit and it was my first major rebuild. I think I only tried because the cowling was surprisingly undamaged and is so huge it covers most of my clumsy rebuild. When finished, it was about 150gm lighter in the nose than the original, meaning I had to move the battery from the back to the firewall for correct CoG. I have since had it up a dozen times and it flies as well as the original.

Anyway, good luck with the Spacewalker. I'm tempted...I average about 3 landings on the Mew Gull before the undercarraige wires need to be taken out of the wings and bent forward again...The last time, one of the oleos split from the undercarraige wire and needed some washers to hold back in place. Luckily, the ASP 120 4-stroke has been reliable from the very start and I can get plenty of air time.

BlackPhantomDragon

Thanks John
Much appreciated. Tank looks like it was made to be there.
Same rear servos. Would not have thought they were not there from factory.
Did you have to move the servos back because of the fuel tank position. Or can they go where they normally sit.
Was thinking doing a pull/Pull on the rudder.

Thanks again.
Greg

BlackPhantomDragon

Hi Matt
I have been to Tingalpa a few times to have a look. I fly at LARCS and most of my time is spent on getting stick time in when I can.
I would like to see your Spacewalker fly. I have only ever seen the 46 size in real life and it looked really good so i think the larger version would just be better.
I was told they were fairly good at aerobatics and would do every thing required to get Gold Wings latter.
Originally i was thinking of a Extra 260 or MX2 but thought the spacewalker would be something different and I like the older style and has more room to do some scale type touches.

Soon as I can solo and don't need to spend so much time learning I will drop you a line and see if we can organize a time to meet as well as see you fly her.
I am hopping to do landing practice this weekend so if that all goes well may be sooner than latter.

Thanks for the offer as much appreciated.
Greg

BlackPhantomDragon

Hi MercerAUST
Where are you located in Oz.
I like the look of the Seagull Percival Mew Gull but the land gear sounds like a bit of a pain.
Does it come with a sprung oleos as I thought I had read a thread somewhere someone was building and I was sure they had a sprung oleos in the wheel fairing.
Is it they just are not strong enough?
I have a ASP91FS for my next plane which will be the Phoenix Tiger60. I got the engine on ebay cheap but the bearins were shot so i have overhauled the whole deal and made new gaskets and replaced the bearings. Runs very nice now.

regards Greg

Sandmann_AU

Hey again Greg

Perhaps I should clarify... the 'Walker is no 3D machine like the Extra but it shouldn't be a problem using it for gold wings though. You'll need to work on the rolls as I think there's a fair bit if yaw coupling in this plane (ie: rolling on the ailerons also causes it to yaw, giving you a sort of corkscrew shaped roll). I've not tried putting this (or any, really) plane into a spin so I don't know how it'll handle that. The gold wings test isn't a 3D judging comp so I guess as long as you can competently do three reasonable rolls in a row you should be fine, and the plane'll handle that.

You'll probably find the 46 sized walker would be more agile than the 120 sized one, simply because of greater mass & wing surface area making it slower to react to control surfaces. I have a 46 sized Harmon Rocket 3 (with a 2-stroke 60) that is much more reactive to the controls than the walker, but that's fairly normal.

I actually learned on a Boomerang 60 myself too, got my bronze wings 2 1/2 years ago, so I know where you are right now. If I can give you any advice it would be to not be in a hurry to trade up from the trainer... make sure you can do every manoeuvre it's capable of, easily and comfortably before moving onto a low wing (especially landing!). There's a lot of fun to be had in that trainer, even more so with a few minor modifications (I ended up removing the single aileron servo and fitting separate servos for each aileron to help dampen flutter at higher speeds than it was designed for and give improved response.

As for getting the skills right... practice, practice, practice. See if you can get a sim (I use realflight, but there's others including a free one) and when you're not actually flying you can be doing it at home. It doesn't replace real flying but it does help consolidate what you learn on the field. I also got a lot from watching videos of real & model aircraft on youtube and trying to emulate them on the sim.

Look forward to meeting you at TMAC sometime... if I'm finished with it I'll bring my dehavilland mosquito and you can have a look at that too.

BlackPhantomDragon

Thanks Matt
I did a stack of takeoffs today so seem to have that fairly Ok now.
Hopefully will try landings next.
My son is going to start learning on the plane as well, so i am going to buy a the Tiger 60 and put the ASP 90FS in.
Apparently it is a good low ring trainer as well.
Not real interested in 3D more IMAC stuff. which is why I was also looking at the 260 and MX2 but thought I would get a stack of hours under my belt before I looked at them which is why I was looking at the Spacewalker. Long as I can get the experience doing the type of maneuvers required then I will be happy for a while.

I have already modified my Boom60 with twin Aileron servos a bolt on wing and larger wheels. I am using DS821 digital servos and have differential programmed in on the Aileron's.
I was thinking once we don't need the Boom as a trainer any more I would convert it to a tail drager and built a symmetrical wing for it with less dihedral just to make it a new plane to fly as I do like the boomerang.

I have a RF G4.5 which I practice on quite a bit to get the thumbs and brain connected.

The Mosquito is a fantastic looking plane what engines are you using.
Will let you know when I can get to TMAC. I am working next weekend. Hopefully next couple on months but will email you see if we can arrange a time.
Always good to meet people with the same interest.

regards Greg

Planejaw

My Feedback: (53)

Greg,

I moved the servos to the rear more for just having a shorter actuating rod than would have been had the servos been mounted in the cabin area. Really six of one, half-a-dozen of another. Yes, the servos would still fit in the cabin with no problem. With both the Saito 150 and later the DLE-30, she needed no extra weight in the nose, even with the three servos in the empennage. Mine balanced just aft of the forward-most CG location.

A pull-pull on the rudder would probably work just fine on this ship.

There is only one minor problem with moving the fuel tank back into the cabin where my photos show. You have a more difficult time in screwing in the forward 1/4-20 wing bolts. I'm not a dainty kinda' guy, so it takes a few extra minutes to get my fingers down to those forward bolts and tighten them up. Still works OK, though.

MercerAUST

Hi Greg. The Percival has sprung oleos and they look very robust. However, in practice, they don't work as effective as they could and the undercarraige wire tends to bend back so the wheel hits the spats. Too far, and the plane nose pitches on take-off. It is about a 30 minute job to remove the spats, oleos and undercarraige from the wings, bend the wires back in a vice and reinstall. I have just ended up cutting away the spat to minimise interactions with the wheel.

The plane is easy on take off and fantastic in the air. However, there is only medium wing area and the plane needs to come in with a bit of speed for a soft landing. Too slow, or last minute elevator, will result in it falling heavily and taking a toll on the undercarraige. I would have to say that the plane is for intermediate to expert flyers.

Apart from the undercarraige, I have found the plane to be pretty robust. I have a 120 size ASP 4-stroke and it has a beautiful growl especially on low, fast, passes. It is a beautiful looking plane and certainly the most exotic looking plane I have owned.

I just maidened a VQ 120+ size Pilatus Porter (14 pound) which is a real ***** cat compared to the Percival.

BlackPhantomDragon

Thanks John
I noticed the bolts beside the tank.
Info is much appreciated.

Regards Greg

BlackPhantomDragon

Thanks for the info MercerAUST
I like the look of the Percival but probably a better plane for latter than sooner.
THANKS FOR THE INFO

codedlanguage

I received mine couple of weeks ago. My hearth tells me to use the ASP FT 1.60 (twin) on it, but my mind (and pocket) will rather go for a gasser of 26 or 30 cc.
My question is what servos do you recommend ? You think the Hitec HS-645MG will be up to the job ?


George

stangevil29

My Feedback: (1)

625MG's are what I put in mine. They are more than enough. Remember this plane isnt going to be doing a whole lot other than basic manuevers, even if you wanted it too. It does look good in the air and is pretty relaxing to fly. I have a 26cc in mine and didnt have to add any weight anywhere. It did come out just over 11lbs. I built a tank holder on a hinge in order to get at the wing mounting bolts easier. I did get a lot of comments on how good it looks in the air and on the ground. After about 10 flights, I however decided it just wasnt my cup of tea. It has sat collecting dust in the hangar for 6 months now.
Stangevil29

Sandmann_AU

For servos I used Spektrum DS821's all round, except for the throttle. Works just fine. As for the engine, I used an OS FT1.60 Gemini on mine. The cowl was tricky to fit till I worked out how - you need to cut the "chin" out of the cowl, mount the top half, then mount the bottom forward half. The joint has ply tabs epoxied in behind it and is held together with machine screws. It's no speed demon, but it IS a very nice flyer and suits the twins well. It also means you don't have to use the dodgy-looking fake engine heads, as you'll have real functional heads exposed. I'll include a couple of pics so you can see how I mounted it, sorted out the cowl etc.

codedlanguage

I've seen your engine set up Sandmann_AU and I like it a lot. I thing I will use the same engine mounts. I will try keeping the cowl simple for the beginning.
Thanks all for answers.


George

jjonesemt

I justed ordered my spacewalker 120. I have an OS 120fs, will this do ok or should i get something bigger. 

Woody218

My Feedback: (24)

I have a CRRC Pro 26cc on mine, and it's a perfect size engine. A 120 would fly it, but more power is always more fun!

witooa

Hi all. Is the spacewalker kit's hinges pre glued & pined,I have not receaved mine yet.( next week I hope ) I think I read the 40 size was, if they are pre hinged that would make life easy. Cheers Allan.

dan4466

My Feedback: (68)

No. Just the standard slots cut for a ca hinge.

bgee

How would a DLE 20 go in this plane? Is this enough power?

dan4466

My Feedback: (68)

I'm gonna try one in mine. I've seen 14-15lbs of thrust depending on what prop. That ought to fly it fine.

Phoenix Flyer

Hi anyone.
I have a 120 Space walker on the way & the only motor that I have to fit it is a 120 Magnum 4st. Has anyone used this combination before ?& any idea on performance?

Sandmann_AU

Should be fine. I've got an ASP 1.20 4stroke (ASP is a clone of Magnum) which I've run in a few planes. It's a pretty strong motor which should fly the spacewalker nicely. It's not going to be a speed demon or a 3D plane, but it's not supposed to be.

autoguns

Very nice job, looks great!