racer8297

My Feedback: (13)

Thanks Tommy and Bruce. I think I'll go with 30% expo on aileron and elevator.

The weather is looking promising! I will post on Monday!

Jim

flyinfool1

My Feedback: (2)

I have the stock recomended throws and it flies like a trainer till you jam the sticks to the ends.
There is no problem with doing square loops with nice square corners and more elevator than what is needed for landing.
I am considering adding a touch more aileron throw to help with extreme low speed handling, like trying to back up in a 10-15mph bbreeze.

maxvertical

Thanks Bruce Sure is a comfort to know this ship will handle so much, and I'm not near as heavy as the example you quoted. LOL Yet! I bet those winglet's will really pop with that nice paint!

We are getting 250' more runway paved in the next couple of weeks. Hope you will consider coming over for a weekend and flying with us some time. That will bring the count to 550' paved with 150' in mat for a total of 700.

Molar mender

Chris

The field improvements sound like a real winner. How wide is the runway? A lot of us guys used to come to Oregon every year when they had the Central Oregon Jet Rally in Madras. It started in 1992 and went until 2003 which was the year of the AV8R's and the year Bruce flew his pre-production Reaction 54. It was held on the Memorial day weekend which was a little iffy weather wise. But I have a lot of good memories of Madras.

If your club would consider a rally for this year, the weekend of 20-22 June would be perfect. It would be in between Princeton, BC, Canada which is 29 May- 1 June; Idaho Jets is 6-8 June; and Montana is scheduled for 18-20 July. With the price of fuel going up, another local jet meet would be great.

Roy

ww2birds

My Feedback: (14)

Another R54 Maiden!

The first two flights of the "F9F Panther-like" Reaction went flawlessly at the DCRC field in Germantown, MD today.

She's powered by a Wren 54 SS, Futaba 14MZ 2.4 GHz, Hitec servos as recommended by BTE.

Thanks to all on this thread for so much help and insight, and thanks of course to Bruce for a wonderful airplane.

Dave McQ

Eddie P

My Feedback: (4)

NICE

I bet that SS pushed your R54 like crazy. Good fuel flow numbers too. [&:]

maxvertical

Actually Roy, we are talking about trying to get a Jet meet organized for Central Oregon. Madras was nice but I think the timing was poor. Memorial day wasn't the best time to try to hold an event. I'm not sure we will be doing an event in 2008 other than our big Firecracker three day in July for all airplanes, but 2009 will give us enough time to put together a very nice jet event. Have four more guys to get signed off in April, so the jet group in Oregon is growing.. Finally..
The Bend Aero Modelers runway will be 700'. That's 550' blacktop with 150' over-run that's in mat. Runway is 30' wide. Just for the record, Madras was repaved and is now 15' wide with a inch or two drop-off. Can be a little hard on airplanes. I know DK, the CD for Madras got burnout with it, and has moved on to IMAC stuff.


Congrats there Dave McQ ! They sure fly nice don't they! Can't say enough about Bruce's design but I hear all his airplanes fly this good.

rcguy!

My Feedback: (69)

Congrats on the maiden! GREAT looking airplane! You'll enjoy the heck out of it!

Dave Rigotti

BobH

My Feedback: (2)

Dave congrats on the maiden. Your plane looks great. BTE is out of Reactions for the time being and as I understand it won't have any kits for a couple of months.[]

Ron Stahl

My Feedback: (12)

If anyone is looking for a kit a freind of mine still has a kit with the retract package that he might sell since he is building a Zirioli turbinator right now. Just give me a day to contact him and I'll post his contact info if he has it for sale.

BruceTharpe

My Feedback: (1)

Congrats Dave McQ! Hope it brings you many smiles for years to come.

Props to your camera man (or woman) too - those are excellent flight shots!

Molar mender

Chris

Just sent you a PM

Roy

ww2birds

My Feedback: (14)

Thanks Bruce.

Inflight shots were by by Nir Schweitzer, the on-the-ground shot by Andy Kane. Shame on me for not properly referencing them!

Thanks all for the compliments .. two more flights today, and still can't wipe the smile off...

Dave

Ron Stahl

My Feedback: (12)

Dave great job on the R-54. I am sure we have met before but if not we will now that you are in the Md. turbine group. I hope you plan on going to the fentress fly-in this year we always have a great time there. Both Andy's, Nir, Tony M and myself are usually there on friday. Maybe now that DCRChas so many turbine guys they should have a flyin themselves.

racer8297

My Feedback: (13)

Update on my first flight. Went out to maiden today. It was in the mid 30's with 10mph winds. I set up the plane but found that one of the flaps was not working. So, I did not get to fly today. Chased the problem to a servo extension that had a broken wire in the connector. It worked at home earlier this week but showed it's defect luckily before takeoff.

Oh well, have to wait till Friday. Otherwise I'm busy next weekend so if I can't fly Friday afternoon then I'll have to wait another week [&o].

I had spooled the plane up and taxied around in my yard earlier this week. I was all psyched. Now I'm psyced out!

Jim

Eddie P

My Feedback: (4)

Good catch [:@]

I'd rather be lucky than good any day. After all the work and thought that goes into a jet project, it's a good thing to not get rushed at the last minute when it's time to play for keeps.

Now I won't go into the Visa commercial thing and all, but I will steal a modified punch line;

Finding a servo or servo harness fault before a maiden flight takeoff - priceless

racer8297

My Feedback: (13)

Thanks Eddie P. Yes, your are right. It was priceless. After all winter building and glassing and painting it would have been a real bummer to have had it go in. And due to a defective 18" servo extension. It was a brand new heavy duty extension. The yellow wire was cut INSIDE the male connector and was making intermittent contact. I guess that the mfg. crimped it to tight. That was a first for me.

Jim

Woketman

My Feedback: (6)

What brand of extension was it? Thanks.

racer8297

My Feedback: (13)

Woketman,

I sent you a PM.

Jim

racer8297

My Feedback: (13)

Hi all,

Yah!!!! Did the maiden today! Got 2 good flights in. First flight had light winds. The Reaction took off in less than 100 feet (P70). I needed 3 clicks of right aileron and 2 clicks of up elevator. So, I guess it was built pretty straight . I flew around for 4 minutes, then tried the low speed handling and then full flaps. This plane just floats. It's awesome! Couple of minor bumps on touchdown but not bad for a first turbine flight.

After eating lunch I refueled. The wind was starting to pick up. The wind sock was almost straight out. Maybe 15 mile an hour wind. The runway runs east - west. The wind was blowing from the south south west. This time the Reaction took off really quick. At this point I was really comfortable and started with the split "S" and high speed downwind pass. We estimated that it was moving at around 160-170. Not to shabby for such a large wing. Tried some rolls and a loop. No problem. It was just as easy as my first 60 size trainer from when I started in this great hobby! 5 minutes later, popped the gear, blew the flaps and came in east to west with the semi-crosswind blowing pretty good. The Reaction handled it just perfect. This landing was better than the first. Really smooth except for a minor hop on roll out due to a divot in the runway (grass field).

So, a big thanks to Erik R for his help and his encouragement. I would not be writing this if not for you bud. And also a big thank you to Bruce for designing such a great model. And to all of you on this thread for your help with questions, allot of which are answered by reading through this thread.

This is going to be an awesome flying season!!!!!

Take care,
Jim

TommyWatson

My Feedback: (1)

Great Work Jim,

I know how you feel!!.


Regards

Square Nozzle

My Feedback: (1)

Good job Jim. Thanks for the encouraging report. My R54 is sitting in my shop waiting for our testing day and my first turbine flight. With all the encouraging news you guys provide regarding your first flight experience, I'm feeling more confident that I will find the same. Are the landings really that slow and short? We have a 400' grass runway and that has always been a concern of mine that I can make it back home without an overrun into the pucker bushes. Takeoffs with the P70 I am not concerned about.

racer8297

My Feedback: (13)

John,

You are going to love the Reaction. Mine has a Jetcat P70 on it and 1.25 pounds of lead in the nose. It is glassed and painted and weighs about 24 pounds with fuel. I have the 70 ounce tank from Dreamworks installed.

This configuration can fly really slow and is a floater on landing. I had 60 degrees of flap. The control surfaces are per Bruce's instructions and are perfect. I did dial in 40% expo on aileron and 30% on elevator. Next time, I will go with 20% on aileron and leave the elevator as is.

With the P70, this model has seemingly unlimited vertical.

We have an 1800 foot runway. If I said it used 200 feet for take off I would be exaggerating. On landing, with roll out and no brake, on grass, it may have needed 300 feet max. If you have allot of clear area (I mean no trees) on your approach and you move toward the threshold of the runway so you can hit your touchdown more precisely, you should have no problem with a 400 foot runway.

Good luck and keep us posted. You are going to love this plane.

Jim

BruceTharpe

My Feedback: (1)

Congratulations Jim. Like Tommy said, I know how it feels! Building your own jet model and making your first turbine flight is a real, honest, true accomplishment. You should be proud. Hope you have a great flying season!

Okay John, you're up to bat Best wishes for your maiden flight. This is a fun time of year - lots of new R54s seem to debut in the Spring. I love it!

Molar mender

John

Maiden flights are always nerve wracking, but with the Reaction, no problems. If it is set up per Bruce's recommendations, piece of cake. Here is a 400 ft grass field that Bob and I flew at last year. The 60-80 ft trees are located south of the grass field about 500 ft and you set up your landing over the notch in the trees. Gear down and landing flaps on the downwind, carry some power to base, clear the trees and adjust the power on final and it will land on the field. Because of the trees and the increase in speed as you drop down over the trees the Reaction used about 250 ft of the grass runway. If you have a clear field with no trees, not a problem.

Roy