RE: GREAT PLANES FLATOUTS  
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RE: GREAT PLANES FLATOUTS - 11/5/2005 3:28:05 AM   
bhole74



Posts: 1072
Joined: 12/16/2003
From: Anderson, MO, USA
Status: offline 		I just finished building a Red Bull Edge yesterday and my impression of it wasn't much. Mainly on the bilding technique. No interlocking fuse parts, completely built around a tube, lots of messy glue. That hinging system is way over-engineered, tape hinges would be much simpler. The plastic z-bends and hinge clips break if you look at them wrong, good thing they sent extras. I have never glued my fingers together as many times as I did building this thing, not even building the little machine gun parts for my S.E. 5a's. I hope it flies better than it builds, 9 oz., but if not, I have some shockys on the way (just in case).

_____________________________

Had I known that flight was going to cost me $100 per second, I wouldn't have flown 30 seconds!

(in reply to mblue2050)
       Post #: 26

RE: GREAT PLANES FLATOUTS - 11/7/2005 6:48:10 AM   
punish3r


 

Posts: 3
Joined: 9/30/2005
From: Pretoria, SOUTH AFRICA
Status: offline 		Ditto on the Edge.Finished mine at 9pm last night. Seems a tad flimsy. Looks the business though.(Nice from far...far from nice I have an E-Flight Park 370 outrunner bl,20Amp E-Flight Brushless ESC and 2Cell 1400mAh Lipo. Do you think the standard prop would be okay for this setup?

(in reply to bhole74)
       Post #: 27

RE: GREAT PLANES FLATOUTS - 11/7/2005 9:50:06 AM   
mblue2050


 

Posts: 161
Joined: 11/23/2003
From: Calera, AL, USA
Status: offline 		e-flight 370 1080 on my Flatana (I assume about the same weight) TP 3 cell 730 with the stock 10 x 3.8.
less than 1/2 throttle hover, instant pullout.
Pleased with the power of this setup.

If you have the higher KV..1360 or higher It will easily yank it around or you could go for even more torque with a larger dia. prop.
Less flight time...

After breaking two of the e-flight shafts with the e-flight supplied prop adapter. My thumbs...to low...whatever.
I drilled out the prop saver included with the GP stock motor. Solved that problem.

Cheers
Michael

(in reply to punish3r)
       Post #: 28

RE: GREAT PLANES FLATOUTS - 11/7/2005 12:18:11 PM   
punish3r


 

Posts: 3
Joined: 9/30/2005
From: Pretoria, SOUTH AFRICA
Status: offline 		Precisely what I was thinking 'bout the GP propsaver. The E-Flite adapter looks cool though, but prolly won't survive long.

I have an 11x8 prop as well,reckon I'll take it with to the field to do some sperimenting

(in reply to mblue2050)
       Post #: 29

RE: GREAT PLANES FLATOUTS - 11/8/2005 2:01:46 PM   
bhole74



Posts: 1072
Joined: 12/16/2003
From: Anderson, MO, USA
Status: offline 		Well I have a bad GP battery pack and either a bad Rimfire or BL-8 esc, or both. Have to send the whole mess back to GP, what a mistake buying this crap. May as well have just flushed my money down the toilet.

_____________________________

Had I known that flight was going to cost me $100 per second, I wouldn't have flown 30 seconds!

(in reply to punish3r)
       Post #: 30

RE: GREAT PLANES FLATOUTS - 11/9/2005 5:57:50 AM   
Iturnright



Posts: 258
Joined: 1/22/2005
From: Scottsdale, AZ, USA
Status: offline 		I have a Reflection Flatout, and i found it to be a good, but complicated build. The instructions manual could have been a little clearer, but it was adequate. As for the build itself, it took a long time. It seems like all the steps are simple and short, but there are quite a few of them. Additionally, I agree that the leading edge and trailing edge support tubes hardly contact the foam enough, but it is surely stronger than it is without them. One of the most time consuming things was the control rod linkages. As anyone else using these knows it took forever to jam those things that don't look like they fit at all into the very small control horn hole. I'm sure they'll never come out, of course I can't eithier. The landing gear are weak, a reinforcing bar would have done wonders, however, if you are flying anywhere without a smooth surface that doesn't matter too much, since the result is typically the same. All in all, good plane, long build for a foamy.

_____________________________

Kit capable, not trained.

(in reply to bhole74)
       Post #: 31

RE: GREAT PLANES FLATOUTS - 11/9/2005 12:34:42 PM   
50%plane



Posts: 3759
Joined: 3/8/2005
From: x, , USA
Status: offline 		Okay all you Flatout haters.
THIS IS NOT A SHOCKY!!!

Repeat,
THIS IS NOT A SHOCKY!!!
This is a far superior design to a shocky and takes a longer time to build. This is not meant to be flown at full power during normal flight with a brushless 3cell combo. Instead of depron, these planes are made out of a composite/foam material. You cannot build one well unless you read the dirrections before hand as these planes have a different type of build. The carbon reinforced foam is a really strong combo and will create good flight characteristics if you prep the LE. Also you won't have any problems if with the foam breaking if you fly it the correct way(not full throttle dive as the dirrections clearly say not to do).


Woops

_____________________________

Model Airplanes don't kill people. Chuck Norris kills people.
Christopher A. Todd AMA# 637636

(in reply to Iturnright)
       Post #: 32

RE: GREAT PLANES FLATOUTS - 11/9/2005 12:39:34 PM   
mblue2050


 

Posts: 161
Joined: 11/23/2003
From: Calera, AL, USA
Status: offline 		I posted this somewhere.

I found using the little du-bro mini ez connectors is the trick on my Flatana.
They weigh in at .0088 ounces each.

I use them on the servo arm end. Little horns are not sturdy enough for extra loading
Insert the linkage rod into the supplied platic z-bend thing first. Yes its a pain to get fully seated.
Drill out the horn for a nice fit. I never could ream with an exacto nearly as nice as a small drill.
I spin that around to insure a nice fit and free movement.
Snap the z-bend thing into the platic horn and check rod length (not attched to the foam yet). I found the right angle and needle nose the ticket, just be careful not to distrort or break.
Cut to length and insert the rod/zbend into the dubro connector
Clip horn on the rod and glue in the slot.
Leave the horn clipping and gluing for last

Now I can plug in the servos the RX. Swtch on the TX and plug in battery. 0 trims, set trim mechanically with the dubro connector screw.
Careful not to get the screw to tight. The screw will break the rod if to tight, done it!

I am a slimer making the switch slowly....Expesive to make a 40 or 60 electric. I am used to long builds. Kits on the board for months or a year.

Just what I did that I like. Quicker and only one of thos z-bend things per surface. Biggest thing adjustable linkage. Never had one come loose...so far anyhow. Probably better than 50 flights, I fly this thing daily in my yard and it travels with me.

My 2 cents again.
Michael

(in reply to Iturnright)
       Post #: 33

RE: GREAT PLANES FLATOUTS - 11/9/2005 2:51:21 PM   
bhole74



Posts: 1072
Joined: 12/16/2003
From: Anderson, MO, USA
Status: offline 		Woops, I think a lot of the problem people have with the building is the fact GP makes it sound like they are the easiest foamys to build. They did a wonderful engineering job thinking up the hinges and all, but I think it's overboard myself. I just put a Yak 55 from HL toghether yesterday in less than 45 min. and it looks much nicer without all that glue all over. I would much rather build another Yak. My biggest gripe is all the defective GP electronics which they stress so much for the Flatouts. Bad Rimfire, Lipo pack and possibly esc. For a first time experience with electrics, I must say, I'm not impressed yet. Thanks GP.

_____________________________

Had I known that flight was going to cost me $100 per second, I wouldn't have flown 30 seconds!

(in reply to 50%plane)
       Post #: 34

RE: GREAT PLANES FLATOUTS - 11/9/2005 8:38:32 PM   
Ratchet



Posts: 128
Joined: 10/29/2002
From: Ottawa, ON, CANADA
Status: offline 		I built a Cap and my buddy built the Red Bull Edge .... both are CRAP.

My Cap lasted 1 flight - totally shattered on it's first landing. The foam is too brittle and can't take even the smallest of punishment (and no, it wasn't a hard landing). The landing gear ripped right out of the fuse literally destroying everything.

My buddy's Red Bull faired no better.

I sent an Email to Greap Planes, and their response was .... Thanks for the feedback, hope you found this information usefull.

Nonesense.

CRAP .... total CRAP.

(in reply to bhole74)
       Post #: 35

RE: GREAT PLANES FLATOUTS - 11/10/2005 1:14:41 AM   
planemann2000


 

Posts: 16
Joined: 6/4/2002
From: Atkins, AR, USA
Status: offline 		I had the same problem with the ailerons on my Reflection. The servo would not center in one direction. I elevated the problem by moving the linkage on the servo arm to the inside hole. Now it all works great. I had plenty of travel too and only running 80% servo travel.

(in reply to CByrne1)
       Post #: 36

RE: GREAT PLANES FLATOUTS - 11/10/2005 4:12:24 PM   
CByrne1


 

Posts: 4
Joined: 10/31/2005
From: East Norwich, NY, USA
Status: offline 		I considered moving the z bends to the inner hole, but instead I wound up drilling out all of the linkages with a #38 drill bit (the stock holes were slightly larger than a size #40) and now everything moves nicely with very little resistance and no slack in the joints. The only joint I couldn't get to was the one on the elevator control horn, because the elevator can't be removed from the tail section. One thing I did find when disassembling all the linkages was that the guides that I had installed in the fuselage for the carbon fiber pushrods had "leaned" toward each other while the CA was drying and were binding on the pushrods causing additional friction and drag on the servos. Had I not gone through this process I would never have noticed it and this condition would probably have resulted in servo failure and a crash. All this being said, I plan to build a Flatana with the knowledge, experience and endless frustration I have accumulated while building my Reflection.
Thank you all for your suggestions and comments. One thing I will add is that while a number of you have said that CA accelerator or "kicker" will help to speed up the assembly of these models, my manual for the Reflection specificaly said not to use it when joining the carbon fiber tubes to the leading and trailing edges of the control surfaces. I assumed that this had something to do with accelerator weakening the bond. When I build my Flatana I plan on using all the "kicker" I can afford.

(in reply to planemann2000)
       Post #: 37

RE: GREAT PLANES FLATOUTS - 11/11/2005 3:08:37 AM   
nitro125


 

Posts: 142
Joined: 8/7/2005
From: huntsville, AL, USA
Status: offline 		how long does it take to charge a 650 mah 11.1v 3 cell pack?????????

i am building a flatana and would like to know what the first charge on the battery is gonna be like as far as the time it takes to charge it

(in reply to CByrne1)
       Post #: 38

RE: GREAT PLANES FLATOUTS - 11/11/2005 4:16:49 AM