Dave Wilshere

Few more of Paul's Yellow/Blue today

robtv

Hello guys i have stock landing gear and the joiner pin on the mains keeps coming out and today i finally lost one whats the best way to take care of my problem.

thanks
rob

Fly Mower

Put a small Flat on the pin, use a new (sharp) grub screw and thread-lock it.

Dave Wilshere

Quite a few people missed the fact that there is a set screw holding in the pin, it does not need a flat...generally it just needs the set screw tightening! None of the screws are fully tightened or loctited from the factory, the whole retract assembly needs doing before installation. Screws on the wheels need tightening also or the tyres will come off.

JP-1

The new sport scheme does look good.

robtv

thanks for the quick reply i thought i missed something but i dont see a set screw on this pin here's a image of the missing pin

Dave Wilshere

Mmm sure I can see the hole on the poorly angled picture!

Like here?

Dave

robtv

Dave
thanks for the info on my plane is just full of dirt completely miss that what a great flying plane

thanks

stevew76

sorry to ask a silly question but as im new to turbines (not new to rc models) when im going to take off is it better to leave the brakes off and throttle up/accelerate to take off or put the brakes on go to full throttle and then come off the brakes ?
i will be taking off from a grass strip that has long grass at the end so trying to gage what is the best option to get up to get off the ground quickly.

cheers all

Vettster

On short grass fields....I will hold the break till it starts to move, then let her rip!

stevew76

I dont think farting will help her take off quicker lol.

joke aside thank you for the advise Vettster

Quandry

I recommend spooling the turbine with brakes on but depending on the length of the run way you may not need to do this- The Xcalibur takes off pretty quick at half flap and even quicker at full. While you are still getting used to the model put it at the very back of the runway to give yourself as much opportunity as possible and flying on a day with a little headwind will also help. You will love the xcalibur it's a good choice for someone who is just moving in to jets.

stevew76

Many thanks Geoff as strip is long but always like to make sure she gets off in good time, i will deff try the flap at half for first take off as i know this helps with many of my other models and used to getting lift quickly and keeping a level flight till the air speed is picked up, really looking forward to flying this jet, almost finished but double checking everything is correct and set right before her maiden

Dave Wilshere

Never spool with brakes on! On grass it won't roll until the turbine has got on its step, but I have seen nasty accidents where held on brakes one wheel raveled the brake rubber, jammed one wheel, released the model rotated 90 degrees and fired into the crowd line...

We fly on a 120 (90 is the main part) x 80 strip and on a calm day and a P-100 I don't rotate at full power!

stevew76

cheers Dave good think to keep in mind thanks

Si_B

I flew my Xcalibur of a short grass strip. Was off in less that 40m with take off flap. If I caught a bump it could be airborne sooner! You will have no problems.

Simon

stevew76

Cheers Simon that's good to hear

rcmigpilot

My Feedback: (26)

I fly almost exclusively from grass and have tried it both ways and too be honest I can't tell the difference. Remember, your wheels will start sliding on grass a lot sooner than on a hard surface runway. If you're running an older engine with a slow spool up you might see some improvement in take off roll, but the current crop of engines accelerate so fast you probably won't gain anything. I also agree with Dave, if there's an issue with one of the brakes it could cause control issues at brake release.

Vettster

If you don't know that there is a problem with your wheels or breaks... maybe jet flying isn't for you.

Flaps2012

Hey all. I'm finally getting around to building Xcalibur #2. As I am dry fitting the elevator to the horizontal stabilizer, I notice that the outer two hinge pin holes in the horizontal stab are not centered. As suspected, the elevator is about 2mm high on the left side, and about 1mm low on the right. It wasn't an issue on my first Xcalibur.

I know there was a post earlier in this thread concerning this issue, and it was deemed that it would not affect flight performance. Even if it doesn't, it looks like hell. Also, if there is any chance there could be flutter at 150 mph, I want to minimize that chance as much as possible. My thought is to plug the outer two holes on the horizontal stab, and then drill new holes in the proper location. My question is what material would work best to plug the holes with that would not be a pain to drill through yet keep everything structurally sound. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Dave Wilshere

If you are using Hysol you can just move the holes and fill the space with Hysol. If not a hard balsa plug epoxied in will replace the wood.
You are right to get it level, the factory are being chased on improving this, the last kits have all been OK so far

Dave

Flaps2012

I don't use Hysol, so I think balsa plugs will be the route I go. Thanks for the reply Dave!

Turbiner

Having built and flown the Boomerang Intro and Elan I am now building the Xcaliber, all is going well, just one thing - the turbine mounting plates are angled down at the back, haven't noticed that in my previous jets, it does seem a lot of angle, is this correct?

Dave Wilshere

Both would have had some, depends on tail height, it's needed to keep the high speed efflux from sucking the tail down and nose up.

Turbiner

That makes sense - thanks Dave