maukaonyx

I am going to have to agree with phakur about the color mismatch between painted parts and the covering. BAD. I took the cowl out of the bag and placed it on the fuselage. It is MUCH darker than the covering. Pretty amazing how far off it is. Either the covering is too light, or the paint is too dark...it is almost black cherry red while the covering is medium red, not dark red. Well, I have to decide whether to get worked up enough to complain...I don't like getting that way.

I worked on the tail and the fuse just to see how bad the wrinkles are...they come out easily, so no worries there. I know some will say why should they even have to do that. Fact is these things come from far, sit long, change humidity and temperatures, so wrinkles can happen. I will say so far the quality is indeed less than that on my 50cc AW Ultimate. But a C? Hmm, I think B for me. Sorry to see the decline from A.

phakur

My Feedback: (13)

Just so you guys know, I have the aqua/blue plane I liked the red just have too many red planes and let my daughter pick this color. But same deal-the cowl is much darker than the covering. I just don't understand because it is not a standard color so you know they had to mix it-

Anyway just as explanation this is my first Aeroworks ARF. Bought on the recommendation of most folks in my club. Based on their planes and what I see, I give this an Aerowrks C grade. Now as ARFS go, Aeroworks starts out at an A++ so a C is still much better than your average ARF.


Time to go fly before it starts raining!!!


Larry-

pettit

My Feedback: (23)

For those of you wishing to get your feet wet (not literally) the new floats for the Bravata are available. They bolt onto the fuselage and the blind nuts are already there for you.

They weigh about 5 pounds but you have to subtract the weight of the fixed gear and wheels so it may be closer to 4 pounds additional

Here's a few pictures of my set of floats showing what comes in the box, the twin water rudders and the floats ready for the struts and braces to be bolted on.

grgfraz

The floats are huge. Can't wait to see this plane on water. If Anyone gets some float flying in let's get some video
[img][/img]

pettit

My Feedback: (23)

Floats are mounted on the Bravata and it took 10 ounces of lead (5 oz. per float tip) to balance the plane.

Total flying weight is 20.5 pounds without fuel.

Test flying in a week or so.

And yes, I will remember to install the wing struts!

grgfraz

Dick thanks for the info i was hoping the floats would not need any lead what did you use for lead i see it at the tips is there something to glue it to ? do you think it will fly fine at 20 pounds i guess we will find out

pettit

My Feedback: (23)

I drilled a couple of 1" diameter holes into each tip block (balsa) and filled them with lead shot. A few drops of thinned white glue keeps the shot from rattling and a small aluminum plate was screwed over each hole, They look like some sort of hatch cover that could have been "scale-like".

grgfraz

Ok thanks that's a great idea I am still finishing some details on mine maiden in a week or so. I went with a 38 cc Mintor

AkimRU

(Test flying in a week or so.)
Hi, pettit!
A month has past. Did you make the test flying of Bravata from water?
I'm very interesting.

AkimRU

Hi gays.

pettit

My Feedback: (23)

Test flying possibly this coming weekend. It's been too cold around here and when it wasn't cold, it was really windy.

I did fly the Bravata on the wheels this past weekend and the left banking has returned. I had twisted one wing panel to remove the warp and re-shrunk the covering, but it didn't hold.

Anyone else have the need for right aileron trim, and how did you fix it?

Planejaw

My Feedback: (53)

I've just finished the turquoise Bravata like yours Dick. With a Robart incidence meter attached to each outer wing panel, just outside the far end of the aileron, I found the left wing panel to have 2-degrees of negative washout compared to the right wing panel. That's pretty significant. I plan on stopping at the Aeroworks booth at Toledo and talk to Rocco about it. This is more than just a warp. There is a difference in the wing construction of both left and right panels. I also tried twisting and heating up the covering but my warp also returned.

pettit

My Feedback: (23)

I'm gonna do the same thing. Maybe a temporary trim tab on one of the ailerons???

maukaonyx

I have to agree with planejaw. To me the wing has substantial leading edge and tip sheeting combined with the ribs that make a stiff structure that would not warp due to covering application. I think the jig is up, pun intended! One wing is not built as flat as the other, leading to the difference in incidence outboard on the wings. I have tried like heck to get the "warp" out with the heat gun, but the structure is too stiff to overcome the warp. Like pettit said, maybe a trim tab on the aileron will help. I thought of that too, and might try it. The Bravata is my next project after finishing my H9 RV-8. Still looking forward to getting that big red and cream bird up! Jon

Planejaw

My Feedback: (53)

I sent an email to Aero-Works this morning, advising them of the issue we have encountered and asking them to resolve this for Bravata owners. I would have to believe they have been contacted already on this issue, but I didn't want to make any assumptions. We should not have to expect "World Class" aircraft to have this kind of an issue, or have to come up with trim-tabs or significant aileron trim just to maintain level flight. We paid premium dollars for this airplane. We could have spent less and bought a Sig Rascal 110 (which is a very nice aircraft as it is...my son has one and it flies great). Instead, we decided to spend the additional dollars and purchase the Bravata from Aero-Works, based on their reputation and our experience with their models. I have two S-2 Cubs and a Cessna 195 and they were all constructed in an excellent manner.

I am looking forward to their reply and I'll advise of their response. As I said before, I'll be at Toledo in just over three weeks and if needed, I'll stop and talk with Rocco further on this. I think Aero-Works is an excellent company to deal with and I'm anticipating they will respond positively to our inquirey.

phakur

My Feedback: (13)

Well-here is my view on all of this. I bought the Bravata with some "extra" money I came in to, as I mainly fly less costly stiks and the like -20 to 30 cc. It is expensive and the only reason I went that way with this spare money was because the guys at the field said if you want the best ARF in the business, go to Aero-Works.

I will say this. The plane is rugged and well constructed. It was easy to put together, but I also had some disappointments.

First, the dimensions for mounting the DLE 30 are off. Using the manual dimensions ends up with the edge of the prop inside the cowl. I had to add 3/16 spacers AFTER I had the entire throttle set up. Just made me angry. Second, I cannot believe that Aero-works couldn't do a better job of matching the cowl/spinner color to the covering. It is several shades off. I looked at other Aero-works planes and the colors are dead on. To me it looks funny in the sun and almost like a patch job. It's not like these are standard colors or anything, it should have been a slam dunk to get the match right.

Last is this wing issue. Surte I can fly a plane with it trimmed out like it needs, but I would expect that on a $200 off brand arf, not this.

I betcha that the answer is going to be if you "*****" enough, you might get a new wing, maybe if you pay the freight or something. It looks to me like Aero-works just isn't interested in fixing this if it is going to cost them money.

I took a look at the H9 Taylorcraft with a similar price-construction looks great, covering great etc etc.

If I ever am able to spend this much on a plane again, Aero-works will be on the list, but they certainly won't be number one.

Good luck in Toledo.


Larry

AkimRU

Hi, guys!
I bought the Bravata one month ago, the red one. I have bought the DLE-35RA too.Trust me it was difficult to get such plane here, in Russia. I have not started to build it yet. Because of, this is my first plane such kind. I want to collect as much information as possible to make a bit of fewer mistakes during the process.
I noticed the color inconsistency between painted parts and covering. Now I am waiting for the floats and custom spinner. Do you want to say what the spinnerof $35 will not be comply with color of plane? Great!
From you, I have known about left bank during flying. I will solve this problem in the future. I think the take off from water will be very complex.
Any way, I love this plane, and thank you for information helps me in my hobby.
Vitaly.

Planejaw

My Feedback: (53)

Vitaly,

Great to hear you're joining our group of Bravata owners.

Yes, color-matching seems to be a problem with Aero-works aircraft. I have the red Cessna 195 that has a perfectly matched cowl, as does my red S-2 Cub. But my yellow S-2 Cub and the Bravata have a very striking mis-match in color between the painted cowl and the covering film. It is hard to distinguish the color mis-match in photos, but in person, it stands out quite markedly.

My Bravata also had a few mis-drilled holes, most notably for the elevator control-horn. I had to fill the factory-drilled holes and drill new ones to get a good line-up. I also had to add some extra spacer washers so that my DLE-30 drive-washer would extend out of the cowl far enough to get at least a little gap between the spinner backplate and the cowl. I haven't measured, but I probably have 3/32" to 1/8" gap, which looks just right. I also fabricate aluminum or brass brackets to span betwen the two front engine-mount bolts on the left side of the engine, then drill a hole in the bracket to allow the choke-rod to run through with an "L" bend near the air-inlet opening on the left side of the cowl next to the spinner. It makes for a nice and neat appearance. I've got a couple photos that I'll have to attach later...the server I'm on won't let me upload the photos right now.

Vitaly, as for the spinner, the relatively small size of the painted surface does not seem to be a problem. It seems to match the painted cowl fine, which automatically means it's not that great of a match to the covering material.

Keep us posted on your build.

maukaonyx

Planejaw, thanks for bringing the wing warp issue to AW. Hope they respond favorably. The best we might hope for is a new wing panel, not both. And that would be after we each individually take up the issue with AW. Not fun. I agree that phakur has valid additional issues about the paint mismatch to the covering...too easy to get right, but they got it wrong on the red. I have not seen the turqoise but take your guys's word for it. I also agree that AW has fallen off the top of my short list for big planes. Still on it someplace but not on top. Jon

Planejaw

My Feedback: (53)

No response to my email from Aero-Works that I sent on March 13. I assume they post their email address in their "Contact Us" portion of their website to communicate with their customers and help resolve their concerns. Even if they did not have a resolution, it would be courteous to receive a response acknowledging my email and reply saying they are evaluating this situation and will respond further later. I'll give them until March 20, which will be one week, then re-send my first email and advise them it is the second I've sent. I may even call and ask why no response yet. For a company that sells "World Class Aircraft" and prides themselves on "Quality and Commitment," I'm a little disappointed.

grgfraz

having engine problems so i have not maidened mine yet how much aliron are we talking 1/8 1/4 ?

pettit

My Feedback: (23)

I don't have the plane in front of me right now but to the best of my recollection the trim required was about 1/4" up on the right side and 1/4" down on the left for straight and level flight.

Mark Dennis

My Feedback: (4)

John,

Thank you for your email, we apologize for the delayed reply but we have spent the last few days looking at the Bravata and trying to find a solution.

From what we have seen the right wing has 1.5-2 degrees less washout than the left. Unfortunately there is no way to correct the wing using the covering due to the wing structure being considerably stronger than the holding power of the covering.

We have found that this amount of washout will cause the airplane to carry roughly 1/8" of aileron trim, while this may be an issue on an Aerobatic airplane it will not be a problem for a sport airplane like the bravata. This trim can be reduced be adding 1 degree of right thrust to the motor as well. This is a very easy fix and will not affect the way the airplane fly's once trimmed.

Currently we are trying to get the incidence tolerances closer during the manufacturing process but this has proven to be a very difficult task due to the wings design.

As for the cowl color verses the fuse color, we are trying to get a better color match on the next production of Bravata's. The deep red covering is a difficult color to match perfectly when dealing with two different surface materials, in this case one is wood and the other fiberglass. This is something that our factory is aware of and we will try and get it better on the next production run.

Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Thank You,
Mark Dennis
Aeroworks, Inc.
4903 Nome Street
Denver, CO 80239
303-371-4222

r_adical

My Feedback: (19)

Bravo Zulu Mark


i am glad to hear you guys are working it out

pettit

My Feedback: (23)

"This trim can be reduced be adding 1 degree of right thrust to the motor as well. This is a very easy fix and will not affect the way the airplane fly's once trimmed."

Easy fix? If you consider re-mounting the cowl and re-drilling holes in it an easy fix.....