Doug Cronkhite

My Feedback: (34)

Consider me crazy jealous!

shannah

My Feedback: (5)

B.J. flew his at 4690g. That was with a Neu F3A-1 motor, Futaba/OS ESC, 4500mah batts, two aileron servos. I did notice that the built up surfaces (wings, stabs, rudder) seem incredibly light.

B.J. said that he used very high grade light balsa on the built up surfaces. I think these are much lighter than even the Episode surfaces. I will post more pics and the weights shortly.

danamania

Perhaps our F3AU friends might post some impressions from Muncie before the RCU system goes read-only on Friday?  Just a nice thought!

rm

My Feedback: (27)

Looks big in the air. Whistles. Chris said 4800g with 4500's. I'm sure it flies fine, but he had little time on it and conditions at muncy were pretty tough for flying a plane your not used to.

Ryan Smith

My Feedback: (25)

Despite Chris' final placement (from what I understand, the six flights he's flown the sequence this year were at this contest), the airplane presented and flew phenomenally. Also, despite some of the comments lamenting the choice of silver as a primary color for the scheme, the airplane is quite visible in the air in all different sky conditions. I think it going to be a winner.

danamania

Thanks for the  impressions. I understand that this new model was at the Nats for demo fllights as just arrived in the states for sale.  Kudos to Chris for getting the company demo in the air in just days. Would not expect more info than demo flights would provide at this time.  Safe home all.

AmericanSpectre505

Sounds great! I can't wait wait to see one fly.

BH

NeilRivera

I had the opportunity to get some stick time on the Biside at the Nats and all I can say is : WOW ! I was speechless... I specially loved the constant speed on the downlines , it was incredible ! Everyone that I know that flew it loved it ! This one is already on top of my Christmas list ! Thank you Chris Moon for allowing us to fly it !

shannah

My Feedback: (5)

I had a chance to weigh the items and take some more pictures. Here are the weights:

Fuse: 995g
Top Wing: 370g
Bottom Wing: 380g
Horiz Stab R: 75g
Horiz Stab L: 75g
Landing Gear L&R, Wheel pants L&R, wheels L&R, axle hardware L&R: 165g
Rudder: 55g
Horiz Stab tubes: 20g

shannah

My Feedback: (5)

Here are some more pictures and some notes/observations:

- The Fuse is much lighter than the Episode. This is due to a different layup. He used a thinner balsa laminate and wrapped it further up the sides than on the previous models.
- The hatch fits very tightly, just like the previous models and uses a latch similar to the Nuance
- The wings are extremely light. It seems that they are lighter than even the Episode panels. Yet, they feel very rigid.
- The wing planform is very different than the original prototype. They have a slight forward sweep on the TE. The shape seems to be basically the same for the top and bottom. The Wingspan of each is 67.5"

shannah

My Feedback: (5)

Here are some interior pics. The layup work is very nice, as usual.

Niall

Just looking at the website and was wondering if there has been a change in the wing mounting ? see pics, is this an incidence change aswell?? looks like hes adding additional support and incidence??

Niall

pics

shannah

My Feedback: (5)

Hi Niall,

Actually, I contacted B.J. regarding the top wing mount and incidence. He posted the additional pics yesterday to show the incidence change and the mounting method. He has included a shim spacer in the kit and it mounts as he shows. I find it interesting that he is adding the additional TE support mount. At first I thought it looked a bit odd, but after thinking about this I realize it is a very good idea. This will help to eliminate twisting of the wing at the root. I suppose he will eventually update the molds, but this approach should do fine.

I will install the shim and rear mount on my build.

mups53

My Feedback: (41)

Based on Chris's that's flying. This was sorely needed. Mike

serious power

Hi Mike/Steve
I think top wings on these bipes (F3A ones) need 2 mount screws (points) set as far apart as possible to set and maintain wing alignment, triangulation etc .
I don't think that this mod does that at all well enough. It is a small improvement on a very questionable mounting arrangement. If the wing pivots (tips to and fro) this movement will transition into twisting at the struts causing the tips to twist out of true.
The centre mounting should also set and hold the incidence at the root.
This mod will help with incidence setting but won't do a lot to stop tip 'to and fro' pivoting.

If this mod is only to change the wing incidence it has to ask questions about the quality of the testing.- the kits have hardly landed.

Don't mean to be too harsh but this needs more attention than this mod - frankly a new molding that has a seat to suit the section and two well spaced mount points is the way to go.

Brian

shannah

My Feedback: (5)

Hi Brian,

All good points. Perhaps the wing pivot issue is what he intended the rear support for.

I plan on installing things as he shows. That is what I've always done and his methods have worked out well. I will probably reinforce the canopy area where the rear support is installed, but I'll do the rest by the book.

As for the testing, I know that he has spent a lot of time with the Bi Side design. He went through several iterations and the current design represents his cumulative progress (and is nothing like the airframe he was flying even 3 months ago). He didn't have a lot of time between finishing all the mods and the first limited shipment so he probably made the incidence adjustment after follow-on flight testing. Knowing B.J., he will probably find other enhancements over time and incorporate those as well. This design is a major step, unlike the evolutionary design of the Nuance, Prolog and Episode. One thing of note is that he included the CNC cut shims in the kit (they aren't just wedges of wood, rather they are contoured to the airfoil) so he probably zeroed in on an incidence setting that he liked and made his first shipment with a design fix rather than just ship it and let the builder figure it out.

I'll give it a go and let you guys know how it turns out.

Silent-AV8R

Looking forward to seeing this one fly!!

serious power

Hi Steve,
The problem ,as I see it, with that rear support is that it can swing.
So as the tips move to and fro it will swing side to side.
I'm sure it will help some in restricting or perhaps I should say limiting this movement.
However a small amount of 'pivot' here will be a lot of twist at the struts and/or especially at the tips.

Perhaps two carbon (or something) pins, one front and one aft set in the wing that would locate in the wing seat might help some more.

Brian

Andy P.

Having put two BJ Craft kits together now myself, namely Nuance 170 and Nuance 120, I've ended up doing some aspects of the assembly my own way as opposed to following the build sheets verbatim. Those minor deviations were a choice thing. This top wing mounting issue is nothing more than a 'follow your instincts' situation and apply your own method accordingly. BJ has obviously tested the specified application and feels happy enough to release the kits as they are so your choices are go with it or change it. Don't get me wrong here, I'm not saying that such a small issue as this should be prevalent at such an early stage of kit release but we are all at the higher end of the aero modellers ability spectrum when it comes to putting these things together are we not?

I'm quite looking forward to putting the 'Team Bondaero' demo model together!

serious power

Hi Andy,
This is no 'small' issue.
It is fundamental to flight performance.
It will need a better fix than this one.

Brian

Andy P.

Hi Brian,

Points taken, so I'll post up some details on how I end up doing it when I've done it..............

Great to see you guy's again at the World Cup event by the way and looking forward to maybe catching up with you all at the Triple Crown 2014.

Regards,

Andy.

serious power

Andy,
Looking forward to it already.

Brian

shannah

My Feedback: (5)

Hi Brian,

It looks like I was overthinking the modification which B.J. made. He sent a note saying that the purpose of the rear support is really just to add a brace for when you carry the plane by the top wing. He hasn't had any problems with wing pivot during testing. In fact, he had no rear support at all until just recently and he had over 500 flights on the prototype. So, I will just build mine per spec and fly it. He really feels confident about the flight performance of the Bi Side and likes the outcome.

I'll post more build info shortly.

Steve

CW

How much does the modification change the upper wing incidence?- it looks a lot. Does anyone know the incidence on the lower and upper wings?
CW