fly-n-duck

My Feedback: (8)

I bought 2 of of them and while building it i found out this i put a os 91 4stroke on it and the batt all the way up front to get the ballance right i turned the plane over ballance was good but when you put the plan back on the wheels the tail hit the table i think nitro put the landing gear block in the wrong place. The 4stroke motor is even heaver then the 60 it called for to get the plane to ballance right i had to ad 8 oz of lead tothe nose. I called nitro and told them about this they never called me back. I have been building planes for 40 years i know how to buld them and ballance them .( These planes have a big problem the landing gear blocks are in the wrong place)
To fix this problem i put a os120 on it and made a tail dragger out of it thank god i know how to fix them i was not going to pay for shipping them back and be out for shipping them 2 tines.[:@]

blvdbuzzard

All I did was to bend the main gear backwards a little. They sit well that way. I do agree, the blocks should be located behind the main spar. I balanced mine right on the main spar with a ASP 61 in the nose, (5) cell 3300 battery. She flies so slow it looks like a balloon.

I have ended up making the main gear from piano wire. After a bunch of landings, the soft metal wire the stock gear is made from just started to bend on its own. It is a heck of a deal and she does fly VERY well. I have my second one now. I put (2) servos for the ailerons and that has he;ped a lot. I now have tons of throw and she will roll very well. I have also increased the throw the rudder and elevator give too.


Dru.

hawkerone

My Feedback: (11)

I have a ASP 61 in mine also and had the same problem with even though having the CG exactly right it falls on its tail sitting on the gear.  I bent the main gear struts backward which solved that particular problem, but now the nose sits too high.  I changed the main gear tires to a much larger size which brought it back to level, but it does look a little over-tired now.  It was a very nice kit to put together and this was the only complaint I'd have about it so far.

blvdbuzzard

When I made new LG legs, I made them 2 inches longer then stock. That way with them bent back, they are long enough to sit level and look good doing it.


Dru.

hawkerone

My Feedback: (11)

Ahhh!   New gear made longer.  Good idea.  The giant wheels I put on mine to make it sit level look a little,,,,   large.  Does NitroPlanes pay any attention to this and will they suppy a mod to fix it?     Guess we find out about a good support program and none. 

hawkerone

My Feedback: (11)

Bad news. On third flight had wire control horn for the right aileron break internally at the first bend it makes going from below the servo rod attach yoke to parallel the trailing edge of the wind.  Aileron immediate went into flutter and and separated from wing. Cleanly ripped hinges right out the wing at the pivot points.  They didn't pull out, they just ripped right in the middle.   Fuselage destroyed in crash.  I will rebuild the wing but use plastic hinges (Robarts type) and dual aileron servos.  I think the little wire horns are too flimsy to be working an aileron that goes out almost three feet. 

It flew very nicely right up to the failure of the aileron. 

blvdbuzzard

My first one died due to a bad battery. Wing is in great shape, yet fuse is a total write off.

I went a head an used 2 servos for the ailerons. On mine the torque rod setup was very sloppy. The wire did not run thought a tube or other support. They were just in the slot flopping around.

On my brothers we cut the trailing edge off and make new torque rods and then re-installed the trailing edge.


Dru.

hawkerone

My Feedback: (11)

BLVDBIZZARD:

Thanks for the info.  That would explain what happened.  I did notice they seemed awful sloppy, but didn't think they'd be completely unsupported in there.  That's almost an impossible situation to expect that to work.  Doomed from the start.  Guess I'll do the same on the repair and use dual servos and better quality hinges.  Wing is in surprisingly good shape from crash.  Hit straight down so front of fuselage is destroyed.  I hit the throttle cut coming down so engine didn't sustain any damage (brand new ASP 61).  I think this could be a good plane but they've got to fix some of these problems like the main gear being too far forward  (must have ment to be a taildragger is all I can figure).  Poor quality hardware and this aileron disaster. 

jw0847

I just received this [link=http://www.nitroplanes.com/nilosuaetr60.html]Low-Wing Aerobatic Trainer 60[/link] and am in the middle of putting it together. So far everything looks good but I will check it over and add additional glue where I can. I am concerned about the landing gear and the CG but haven't gotten to that point yet.

I am converting this plane to electric using the [link=http://www.hobbypartz.com/mo604brmo.html] Monster Power 60 motor[/link] from HobbyPartz.com and I am using [link=http://www.hobbypartz.com/83p-5000mah-5s1p-185-25c.html] a 5S1P Lipo[/link] also from HobbyPartz.com - I am not sure where I will put the battery yet but assume it will be forward of the wing where the fuel tank would go - accessible with the wing off. I will know more when I get it together and start checking CG.

I don't know what prop to use yet - I don't know how much ground clearance I will have yet.

I would appreciate any tips about this conversion as it is the first I have done and this is only the second ARF I have put together.

John

blvdbuzzard

I am looking at the same motor but going to run the 5000mah 6s pack.

You will need to make new landing gear. It will need to be about 1.5 inches taller to handle the 15 plus inch prop. I made my gear out of 5/32 piano wire. I just bent it in a vice. i was going to use the Dubro front gear and mount and use an axle I had on hand.

Here is a list of things I am changing.

Dual aileron servos, I am not using the included EZ type of connectors, new landing gear, change the wing bolts and blind nuts to 1/4-20 with nylon bolts. The metal push rods have worked well so I am keeping them.

I am using the SG 5010 servo's from Hobby partz. I have not ordered the E power system yet. If I go with glo power I will be using a 5 cell battery to help balance the plane on the spar.

Dru.

jw0847

I have the same problem with the landing gear - the plane sits on the tail not up on all three wheels. I even put two of the 5S1P Lipos up front just behind the firewall and it still sits on the tail. The landing gear definitely designed poorly. I will try the fix mentioned here making the main gear 2 inches longer and bending them back.

I do have a question though about balancing - with this low wing plane - do I check CG with the plane upside down or right side up? Does it make a difference?

The CG with the 2 lipos is exactly in line where the landing gear is fastened to the wing spar. With 1 lipo it is back to the edge of the spar beam the gear is fastened to. It seems to be the about the same trying it upside down.

The CG info in the manual calls for 82-90mm(3.23" to 3.54" ) from the leading edge of the wing. With 1 Lipo - which is what I planned on starting out with - the CG is at 3 1/2" from the leading edge. The only difference I see from balancing upside down v.s. right side up is - upside down on the Great Planes CG balancer - it balances very steady at 3 1/2" - right side up it balances but is very tipsy - it will tip back or forth easy.

I just don't have a lot of experience and would appreciate feedback.

Thanks

John

jw0847

I think I will move up to the 6S1P Lipo then - I also will be building a Dual Ace Twin using 2 of the Monster Power 46 with 5S2P lipos and thought it would be nice to be able to use the batteries in both planes but I am reading the recommendation of the 6S pack for this Low wing trainer 60 by several people. I will be at the Toledo Show this week end so will see if I can pick up a couple 6S batteries.

I need to make new landing gear so that i know how tall my nose landing gear will have to be and maybe I can pick that up at the show too.

I am using the SG 5010 servos too and they seem ok at this point. My real purpose of building this plane is to gain experience to do a better job with the twin as that is a conversion to electric too.

I have to get the prop figured out though - maybe I can pick up a selection at the show for trial and error.

Appreciate any feedback on this plane.

John

blvdbuzzard

John, I found the CG should be right on the spar, I tossed this: "The CG info in the manual calls for 82-90mm(3.23" to 3.54" ) from the leading edge of the wing" I never even looked at the CG listing in the manual. I went with what I know works. My brother in laws was balanced per manual and it would not slow down on approach. Balanced on spar and it slows down really well.

What I did to get an idea of how long to make the gear, I got a paint stir stick, measured 15 inches. Drilled a hole at the mid point. Mounted that on the engine and used blocks under the fuse to hold the plane up so I have about 1 3/4 to 2 inches of clearance for the prop to ground. Then I started to bend the wire.

With the CG on the spar, this plane floats like a balloon. It will fly so slow you would swear there is no way for the wing to create lift.


Dru.

jw0847

Good info - Thanks!
When you say you balanced right on the spar - is that about where the landing gear fasten to the wing? Measuring from the leading edge of the wing how far back is that balance point? Did you balance with the plane upside down?

Good idea on measuring the landing gear. - From your previous message I take it your main landing gear came out to 1 1/2" longer than the original - is that about right? I figure I will bend the gear back about 1" to solve the "sitting on it's tail" issue. I bent a new set of gear but made it 2 1/2" longer and bent it back 1" - I wish I would have followed your example of blocking up the plane to clear a 15" prop since this longer gear seems very springy.

What did you do about the nose gear? Did you install a longer one? If so what did you use?

I bought a new plane from NitroPlanes at the Toledo show yesterday - [link=http://www.nitroplanes.com/new20cmunatm.html]the T34 mentor with retracts[/link] This is a cool plane but I will store this build for a while until I get more experience building and flying! I don't know if I will try to convert this to electric or keep it nitro. With this printed covering you would never be able to repair it to original condition. I asked the guy if they had parts for this and he said yes but I see they have 2 parts on their web site and one of those is out of stock - more than I expected.

John

blvdbuzzard

Might have to go with 3/16 wire to get the spring out of it.

I used the 5/32 nose gear from Dubro. You could go with [link=http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXH129&P=ML]dual strut[/link] or this one [link=http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXH128&P=ML]large one[/link] This is the one I went with. It is a little soft and tends to wobble a bit. I was going to get a bender and bend up a 3/16 nose gear or use the dual one. [link=http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXD844&P=7]mine[/link]

I have the T-34 also. Is it the CMP one with the printed covering. The same one as they have on the nitroplanes web site? If so, the first thing you do is spray [link=http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXCZW5&P=ML]This[/link] over everything. Even before you start to handle them, clean them with alcohol and then clear them. That way it seals the edges and protects the finish.

I got the idea from Opjose, so I can not take the credit for it.


Dru.

terrymf

I have been looking at this plane also but I have a little problem with Nitro Planes. They never seem to get the wing area listed correctly on their website. I have bought several planes from them and the measurements have been way off every time. One example is the electric Funtana ep.

http://www.nitroplanes.com/fuep3dbraerc.html

The website (and the manual) shows the wing area to be 769 sq inches. When I got the plane and measured cord X wingspan I got 496 give or take a little. Big difference.
(if a wing is tapered...measure cord at wing tip then wing root...add together...divide by 2 to get average cord width....multiply average cord width by wing span to get wing area)
(if wing is rectangle..just multiply cord width by wing span)

I was wondering if anybody here who has one of these .60 low wing trainers would measure their wing area and let me know what they get? The website claims 900 square inches.
http://www.nitroplanes.com/nilosuaetr60.html

Thanks in advance!!!

jw0847

The wing isn't tapered - it is 13" wide and 71" long tip to tip - so 923 sq ins.

terrymf

Nice!!!

Thanks for the measurements!!!

hawkerone

My Feedback: (11)

Lots of successful flights on my model by now.  New main gear seems to work well with the 30 deg. (aprrox) bend and being about 1-1/2" longer and using 3-1/2" wheels all around.  Used Dubro nosegear kit which works fine and is adjustable for height.  My biggest problem now is the covering is starting to peel back at the seams in several places.  I did clearcoat it, but it just isn't holding up.  Will have to recover it before too many more months (if I don't crash it first).

I used dual servos for the ailerons so no flutter.  I set up flaperons which is easy on the Spektrum with the dual servo arrangement.  It really makes this easy lander into a super easy lander.  I see Nitroplanes is out of stock on these kits now, and that usally means forever with them.  I wish they'd do some upgrades (covering, gear, etc.) as I'd plan on keeping one in the stable for a long time.