Troy Newman
Posts: 2429
Joined: 12/30/2001
From: Goodyear, AZ, USA
Status: offline
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Ok Zeque comments,
Its been a busy couple of weeks. My Mom came to visit the first part of the week and I'm still catching up from the PHX Pattern Festival we had the week before last.
First of all there has been a question on the proper location of the Beams in the engine compartment. While Sam has not gotten a response from OXAI china I can tell you from the experience of installing the engine in Rusty's Zeque this was done on purpose. The reason is if the beams were installed per my Astral XXc or the Adventure Bipe then any changes to the thrustline will not only mean the the angle of the spinner to the nose of the model will change but also the spinner will be higher or lower on that nose. This means the thrustline will shift up or down if you shim the mount. The next question comes from the fact the Zeque as built in Rusty Dose's model has a hair more down thrust in it. The spinner gap at the bottom is about 1/32" less than the gap at the top of the spinner. I shimmed both spacers 0.060". The prop shaft was then centered in the nose of the model but it had a hair more down thrust than the nose. I don't have a photo but I'm sure Rusty can take one if he has time.
Again if this down thrust was needed after the prototype was built then the only way to achieve the proper spinner location vertically in the fuse is to "lower" the beams and shim them up with the correct down thrust. The extra down thrust is correct, and you just shim the spacers to align the spinner. If Oxai had put the beams "up" in the fuse looking into the engine bay, there would be zero way to make corrections.
Again we don't have confirmation of this but when you bolt it all together you see what was done and why.
Test Flight was windy on Friday the 23rd.
model weight was 9lbs14-15oz, and this was Rusty adding a bunch of extra stuff that would not be in a model I built. A remote glow, I have no use for them. next Rusty coated the inside of the radio compartment with Epoxy, I assume to preserve it in case a fuel tank leaks. I just make sure my tank doesn't leak. My thinking is you could shave another oz to 2oz out of the model, But why? Its excellent the way it is.
Its just a simple straight forward model that does the right stuff when asked to do it.
CG who knows the radio gear is installed in the stock locations per Suzuki and Oxai photos. Rusty is using a THP lipo instead of a Nicad pack but this about 1.5-2oz difference. My Astral is using a JR 2300 4 cell Nimh and its 10lbs even, so this is a similar comparison.
YS 160DZ 17-12 APC, on the Yamada (YS) mount
Model took off, needed 2 clicks of up trim. No Aileron and No rudder.
Not sure on the actual surface deflections but they were a bit "Hot" nothing to be concerned about. The model is very much like the Astral XXc. It locks well in the wind and holds a good line. The control surfaces have a great balance to them and roll-pitch-yaw all feel smooth and consistent. No funny tendencies. Just like the Astral XXc.
Model locks on in roll Awesome. My Astral XX is great at this, but the Zeque could possibly be better in this area. Rudder is good, smooth and has power. I think, and Brett felt the Astral XXc had a more powerful rudder, the Zeque can do everything very well. Being light the model can fly slow well, and if the power is advanced its like a Prophecy in the wind.
Snaps, We had some difference of opinion on how to setup the model for snaps. Brett was doing them differently and had trouble in my setup. The Zeque performed the snaps very much like my Astral. real good pitch and tight crisp auto-rotation.
The plane in the air is big, and looks big. The fuse is not very wide but is tall. As a result it presents a big picture in the sky. It handles the wind well. For being a sub 10lb model I felt it would get kicked around it bit. Well it didn't. Even the cross wind components capability is good. I think probably the Astral might be a hair better in the crosswind but its not an issue. The model like the Astral handles the cross well and doesn't have a big tendency to weather vane into the wind. If the wind gets blowing pretty hard you can increase the momentum a little and it will fly very well and maintain track.
Overall I think it a great flying model. It was an honor for Rusty to let me test fly it. We all stood around and couldn't believe how well it handled the 20-25mph winds on the first flights.
I would like to spend some more time with the model and get some details tuned up like expos and rates to get it really dialed in well, but its very very close right off the boards.
This is why folks like me pay the money we pay for models like this. You just don't have to worry about design, they are solid and all the Oxai model I have flown have been. The trim work is nearly not there as the models come off the board basically so close its funny. Rusty Dose added 1.5turns positive on the wing of the Beryll, and it was right. The Zeque didn't need any changes.
Mixing values. There was no roll coupling which is very typical of the Oxai stuff, and only a slight amount of up elevator on knife. I think the mix values were in the 4% range but the surface is moving less than 1/64" with full rudder deflection.
Its a winner for sure and is a great looking model. Those that got the first 6 to hit the USA are lucky to have such a great model. The YS engine, and YS motor mount are the perfect combination, and I would not recommend anything other than best for this model. Its that good.
To compare it side by side with the XXc I would say its on the same level. It does some things maybe better and the Astral XXc does some other things a little better. Either one are truly world class models.
Troy Newman
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