Tee Bee

I got a package in the mail yesterday from RCSkydiving.com. Everything looks great. I received the order only 2 weeks after placing it, and that's with all custom color schemes on the parachute, drogue chute, and jumpsuit. I can't wait to assemble this little guy and drop him from a plane. The winds have been blowing 25-35 here lately so I guess it'll be a while before he gets his maiden jump. Thanks, Dave.

RLR

Hope you enjoy every moment.

What is the height of the micro diver and when assembled the weight.

Riaan

skydive4ever

Mmmm, seems like not too long ago i received a similar package, lol, you'll have no problem putting him together TB, mine is all ready to go, I just ordered a Multiplex Magister for a drop plane, my Hobbico Nexstar Select is for sale, fuel would dirty my little guy too much, lol.

Tee Bee

I've completed most of the assembly. He is 9 inches tall and 5.25 inches wide when measured from outside the elbows with his arms up. I'll weigh him on some accurate scales when I return to work in a couple of days. Tonight, I plan to solder the battery wires and rig the steering lines. I'm still a little confused about the process. When the instructions refer to clamping the wood to the 2nd inboard rib, am I right to assume that this is where the seam is sewn between the outer cells 1 and 2?

edge_pilot

My Feedback: (73)

yes, clamp it to where the seems is, or were the lines hook to the chute.

Tee Bee

muchas thankyas!

Tee Bee

Introducing Willie G. Dropdown. He weighs 9.9oz ready to skydive. I'm gradually getting better at packing the chute after lots of practice. I need to cycle the NiMH battery pack some more in hopes of improving it's capacity. It seems to run down very quickly during my tests. At this rate, I'd have to recharge after every jump. One of the servos is buzzing a bit so maybe it's putting an excessive load on it. When the bugs are worked out I'll still have to wait for calmer weather. It's been blowing 20 to 30mph every day for some time and putting a damper on my RC flying plans. Can't wait to see this little guy in action.

edge_pilot

My Feedback: (73)

Charge and discharge the batteries very slowly, they are only 2/3 AAA cells. Almost everyone I have had that people have problems with are because of there attempted charge or discharge rate. That battery will last 3 to 5 flights before needing recharged.

skydive4ever

Yah, i had the same issue, charged it on a low setting and it's working great now too :-)

R/C Skyjumper

Charge rate is about .5 or 1/2 amp and should do the job. That is what I use on all receiver packs and 3 to 4 amp on large sub c packs
Good luck on the diver
Don

Tee Bee

Today was a good day. The winds finally calmed enough and I got a day off so I prepped the Micro Diver and a couple of planesand headed to the rc field. I've got 3RC skydives under my belt now. The 1st dive worked flawlessly. On the 2nd dive the chute pack appeared to be wedged too tightly in the drop box and didn't drop when the switch was thrown. I had to pull the ripcord to assist getting him free of the plane which was very high. The wind was strongerup therehigh causing him to move backward. This caused him to drift beyond our club's fenced area and required a bit of effort to retrieve him. On the 3rd attempt the release worked properly and I was able to land him right in front of us next to the runway. My Sig Kadet Seniorjump plane only has an OS 40 for power so the climbout was a bit slower than usual but itworked great overall. I think a larger engine would be needed for carrying a heavier diver. I believe I'm the 1st modeler to try this at our club field. It's a blast and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking to try something different. The RCSkydiving.com Micro Diver gets a big thumbs up from me.

Next time I plan to try an Old Glory flag jump.

As you can see, Dave made my diver's suit and canopy in custom colors to match my Harley-themed Kadet Senior.

Tee Bee

Went back out this evening for a couple more skydive attempts. The 1st jump went flawlessly with a nice long freefall, a good opening, and a soft landing in the grass. The 2nd attempt failed when the Micro Diver refused to leave the dropbox. I finally pulled the ripcord to try to help free it but nothing happened for a while. Then the canopy opened with the diver still wedged in the dropbox. Landed the Senior uneventfully and when it rolled to a stop the diver fell free onto the runway!! The only damage was some scraped up toes from the landing rollout and castor oil goo on the canopy since it was flailing behind the exhaust tip.

Has anyone tried using rubber bandsor springs inthe dropbox to help assist pushing the diver out? It seems that the engine vibration on the climbout is causing the pack to expand in width a little and make it fit too tight to release. Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks.

edge_pilot

My Feedback: (73)

Hey, this problem does happen to us once in a while. Alls you have to do is give the elevator a quick pull up blip. This is anough of negative G's he will pop right out. I don't recommend pulling the rip cord while he's still in the plane, this could cause the chute to get wrapped around the tail of the plane, and then you will have problems!

Tee Bee

Thanks for the reply, Dave. We tried pushing and pulling on the stick to wiggle him loose but it didn't work. I guess the side flaps of the packcan workloose a bit on the climbout. I agree about the ripcord. I won't try that again. My son was more than glad to let me take over the plane and bring it back down when it got ugly.

skydive4ever

Hey, if you haven't see them yet, check out my first and second drop of my micro diver, he's a hit with my skydiving buddies, we have three of our jumpers who are on the Skyhawks team, it's the canadian version of the Golden Knights, but better ;-) and they just loved it, they also gave me an idea, gotta try to get some more together and start doing some crew. (Dave, doing crew may be a good idea at your next gathering, lol. Any headway on a wingsuit version?)
Mario aka Skydive4ever

First - [link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl_o-J0s3sM[/link]

Second - [link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4PR8DNckmw[/link]