NotAnAceYet

My Feedback: (9)

I have a new stock SSP II - I've read pages and pages of posts re: mods to the SSP. If I'm planning on flying it initially with the stock motor and gear box, do I need to do any mods before the maiden flight?

Larry

RickAvery

NAAY,
SS pro IIs fly very good right out of the box. Put a slight up trim on the elevator, and some right trim on the ailerons. This will get your trims close for the first toss. When you give it a toss, use full throttle and give her a good healthy throw. Don't throw her flat, throw at a slight up angle. They usually like to roll to the left and the nose likes to drop some until she gets some speed so be prepared to react. If the nose does drop be easy with the up elevator, at this point with the slow speed, she will stall quickly and become a lawn dart. Pull back just enough to maintain level flight. Once in the air, let her fly away from you in a gentle climb, get some air under your wings, trim her out and have a blast! Good luck.
Rick

U2Steve

One quick mod to consider is the cooling scoop for the motor. Cheap, quick, but it really extends the motor life.

RickAvery

Excellent point and absolutely right!!
Rick

NotAnAceYet

My Feedback: (9)

Rick & U2
Thanks for the replies - I'll add the cooling scoop and the trims that Rick suggested.

Larry

hangerrash

Way back when I bought the pro and at the time it came direct drive. All the hop ups I read said to get the gear box from the two ch.
version and use an APC slo-fli prop. I have had more fun with this set up. Cheap, easily repairable. I've flow it fast and then thermaled with hawks. This is an awsome plane out of the box.

foreverNight

You might want to pick up some radio shack batterries. The 9.6v 1600 mah NI-mh ones. They work great and last more than twice as long as the stock battery.

hangerrash

Thanks,
I've thought about those. Last check I think they were only $14. Cheap battery packs.com has some for around $12
if im not mistaken but I forget the capacity of hand. My brother in law had the same set up and we fly them together (he changed the channel on his) what a riot. He flew into two trees yesterday with minimal damage. I've routed out the battery area to allow me to slide the pack back a bit. I alway felt I needed too much up trim to fly level. It helps some. I may change the speed control in the future. It's not very proportional but Im having too much fun with it now to let that bother me. Has anyone flown the new scooter by
mulitiplex?

RickAvery

Hangerrash,
I'm currently building up a space scooter. I was lucky enough to be at the LHS when one and only one came in. It was just the kit version, (foam & motor only). I'm putting in a mega 16-15-6 brushless direct drive with an 8040 APC prop & the electronics from one of my old sky scooters, no rudder at this time. I'll let you know how she goes when finished.
Rick

Hepdog

Hey Rick. BL in a Scooter is alot like cheating ain't it? Heck anything will fly with enough power - just look at them flat plate 3D thingys. What motor is it supposed to have and will you try that since you are the only guy who seems to be lucky enough to actually get to try one of those planes. Very curious....

RickAvery

Hi hepdog,
The space scooter uses the exact same motor and gear box as the sky scooter. I'm not using the stock set up and going directly for the BL set up. I was using the mega motor in the old sky scooter and did it ever perform!! I'm having to modify the motor compartment a bit to accept the BL motor and ESC. Hope to put her in the air this weekend, so I'll let you know how she does next week. As far as the cheating goes, the way I heard it is 'Anything will fly with a big enough motor'. And yes, the old sky scooter fuse was full of hot glue and would probably have flown poorly with the stock motor. So, cheating it is!! LOL
Rick

Kamikazi

My Feedback: (4)

Rick,

I'll be waiting for your flight report. I just order a Space Scooter kit too (Tower notified they are in stock). I'll be gutting my first Sky Scooter for parts - it was ready for retirement anyway

-Greg

Kamikazi

My Feedback: (4)

Maidened the new Space Scooter today. It's chunkier than the Sky Scooter with thicker foam in both the wing and fuselage. I estimate it weights about 60+ grams more. It is more aerodynamic and flies smoother and a bit faster. The stock power system (same as Sky Scooter) works better than I expected. You barely notice the extra weight on climbout. It is just at tame at slower speeds and seems more resistant to spins when you enter a stall under power.
It has some nice new features - and some things I wish they would not have changed. No more landing skid (not a biggie). No more pinned hinges on the wings - I'm not sure I like the creased foam hinge approach... they are very stiff.
The molded compartment in the nose to hold the stock motor and gearbox is slick, but if you want to upgrade to a different gearbox or direct drive motor you will have to hack and cut the foam to make it fit.
Although it's sleeker than a Sky Scooter, it's far from a pylon racer. It's still a medium speed trainer. A good brushless system prop'ed for power rather than extreme speed would make it a lot more fun.

-Greg

RickAvery

Greg,
I also threw up the space scooter this weekend for the first time and think all of the things you said to be true. The aileron and elevator hinges are VERY stiff. (I'm only running 3 ch.) I found myself bending them back & forth to loosen them up a bit. They work, but are still stiff. This may shorten servo life as they have to really work to move the control surfaces. I did as you described, hacked the foam around the nose to install a mega 16-15-6 direct drive brushless. It flies very similar to the sky scooter but flies inverted much eaisier with the flat bottomed wing. I had taped the bottom of my old sky scooter wing so it flies almost the same. It is faster and sleeker, (more aerodynamic), I taped a piece of coroplast to the bottom at front and rear as I have to land on a smooth hard-pack dirt runway. I took her apart after 2 packs so I could give her a proper decorating job. She's back together now, but of all things here in So. Cal. It's raining!!! We need it though so I'll be patient. I'll get more flight time as soon as it dries out a bit. Happy flying.
Rick

Kamikazi

My Feedback: (4)

Hi Rick,

I'm thinking about a paint job also. Need something more visible. The stiffness of the so-called 'hinges' bothers me too. I am using the old HS-55's from my first Sky Scooter and am concerned they won't hold up.
I need more deflection on my ailerons - not enough authority at slow speeds - but didn't have any longer X style (four armed) servo arms lying around. The manual calls for using them (hooked up in a V configuration), but doesn't explain the reason. I wonder how many people will buy the kit and use a straight servo arm (which will cause adverse yaw)? Interestingly, the Sky Scooter has the proper aileron differential when using a straight servo arm...

Here are some pix of the cut-outs I made in my hinges which helps to make them a little looser. (but still to stiff for my liking...) Also a few pix of the new aileron control setup for anyone who is interested.

-Greg

RickAvery

Greg,
I almost forgot until you mentioned it. I scrapped the X servo horn and went with the long straight one. It seems to work just fine and gives considerably more travel. Only time will tell on the servo life issue. I'm also using HS-55s. I flexed the ailerons and elevator flaps back and forth to the stops for several minutes each before connecting them to the control rods. They did loosen up some. If they don't loosen up some during use, or cause servo failure I'll cut them off and make tape hinges. Also, be careful of the chinsy 'O' ring holding the motor compartment together. The groove is not deep enough and it will come off. I don't have to worry with the brushless set up as I used a few dabs of hot glue to hold the fire wall and hatch together. That would be a sight to have that hatch open up and spit the motor/gearbox out at 100 ft. I think it would start flying really bad really fast. LOL!!!
Rick

Kamikazi

My Feedback: (4)

Rick,

I think the idea of the X servo arms is to give more up aileron than down - which pulls the nose into a turn instead the opposite way. It supposedly makes rolls more axial too. Some models seem to benefit more than others - it may not be that important on the Space Scooter.
I'm going to look for some longer X arms, but if I can't find any to fit the HS-55's, I'll put on some long straight arms since they seem to work fine for you...

I don't trust that rubber o-ring thingy either - I put tape on both the top and bottom of the nose Also put clear tape the whole way along the bottom to reduce landing rash.

Have fun!

-Greg