Hot Rod Todd

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Still waiting for the Y-pipe. Once I get it I'll be ready to go soon. Here's a couple photos in the basement.

Signofinfinity

Divine!

She is a masterpiece!

Keep us posted!

gunradd

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Looks fantastic!

Signofinfinity

Any updates?

Hot Rod Todd

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Still waiting for the Y-pipe. I was told it may have been shipped, but I haven't seen a tracking number yet. I'll provide a post with details and a video of the maiden when it happens.

Hot Rod Todd

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I got the new Y-pipe in the mail and installed it. The quality looked better than the original. The fit was not perfect, but I got it in and it seems to work Ok. I took it to the field to do some testing. The Jet Central Cheetah 160SE started up fine and runs great. I did some taxi testing. The brakes seem a bit weaker than I'd like, but other than that it handles fine. Like any narrow gear jet, you have to be careful not to turn too sharp when it's got any speed. I tipped it onto the wing once, but now that I know the limits I should be fine. I didn't want to fly it until I had a chance to look everything over after a couple of runs. The Y-pipe looks fine after the run test, and I didn't find any fuel leaks or other issues. Won't be long and I'll get a maiden flight done. Look for a report and hopefully a video. Here's a couple of photos at the field.

Signofinfinity

BEAUTIFUL!!!

Mine is still on hold! Seeing your makes me want to start immediately!

She is alive finally.... Look forward to see her in the air!

George

jetjockey

My Feedback: (8)

Todd, very, very impressive. Got your PP file, and it downloaded perfectly. Also very impressive. Great work and definition on the markings. My son came by on Sat and showed me what to do with it, so now, I'm very anxious to get going on mine.

Thanks again,

Les

mmflytie

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Nice job! Good luck on the maiden( please be careful driving to the field for the maiden....LOL. my memory still too vivid!!!)

Marc

mmflytie

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Looks like a Geotext runway...we have the same

Hot Rod Todd

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So I finally got the Typhoon out for the maiden flight. I have a few things to work on, but it went well. I will have a video to add later.

For the maiden I thought I'd help it out a bit by taking off a bit of weight. I pulled the pilot and seat out of the cockpit, and didn't have the tanks on the wings. I set up three rates on Elevators and Ailerons to give me some adjustment available. I took off on medium rate elevator, and low rate aileron. The Jet Central Cheetah started up fine and was running good, time set to 7 minutes. Wind was very light, and I think I even had a slight breeze on my tail at takeoff. I took it to the end of the runway and applied brakes so I could run up the turbine to help my takeoff role. Our runway is 500 ft long, but the petro-mat is quite a bit draggier than pavement. The plane picked up speed well, and I applied some up elevator as I got towards the end. It didn't take off right away, and I was at full up elevator and running out of runway. It pulled up in time to my relief. Not sure if it's because I hit a bump in the runway, or I finally had enough speed. Once I got the gear up and got up to speed I trimmed out the plane. It took no aileron trim, but required 10 or more clicks of up elevator to fly level. I also had to go to high rate, since the medium rate I had seemed soft on the pitch axis. This could explain why it didn't rotate well on takeoff. The elevator trim was down, and the rate was weak, both don't help. I'll also verify my CG the way I flew it to make sure I wasn't nose heavy. I may even give the canard a bit more throw to help with the take-off rotation.

Once trimmed out I started to get the feel of the plane. It felt a little sluggish, and I had to keep the power up fairly high to feel comfortable. I did a couple full throttle passes and it seemed to have decent speed. With the higher rate on the elevator it wasn't hard to burn off some speed if I cranked the turn a bit tight (typical for a delta). Roll rate felt good, and overall the plane was comfortable. I didn't do too much before I was ready to shoot a landing. I sure didn't want to push the fuel envelope on the first flight, and I was running a bit higher throttle than I would have expected. When I put the gear down it provided quite a bit of drag, so I had to keep some power up. I backed off and started my descent. As I got close I could tell I was moving too fast, so I went to full throttle to go around. The Cheetah responded well and I was able to climb back out without much trouble. On the second attempt I cut the throttle a bit earlier. As I was coming in I was still a bit hot, so I used the elevator to try to burn off some speed. It touched down smooth but a bit fast. I know the brakes were not too strong, so I went to full application right away. It was not slowing very well, so I angled off the left side of our runway to enter the grass to help it slow down. It come to a stop smoothly, but used up all the runway and some grass.

Some takeaways from the maiden.
I wasn't real happy with the power level. I think the Y-pipe is using up a lot of thrust. I may even decide to convert to a single pipe to get rid of the Y-pipe issues and add power.
I had plenty of fuel on board even with the go-around. One tank was more than half full. I landed at about 7 minutes.
I need to double check the CG and get the throws set right. Hopefully it will take off better after that (having the elevator trimmed will help too). Any head wind would help in the future. I may bump up the canard throws a bit.
I didn't take the wheels apart because they are locked tight, but I need to get the brakes working better. It's possible some different o-rings or grease could help.
I noticed in photos and video that the hatch on the front would open up when I was coming in to land. I would guess that the canard crates a low pressure area that sucks it open. I'll add a small latch to it to help keep it shut.
I want to fly it with the pilot, tanks and missiles. That will add some drag and weight.

All things considered I'm happy and look forward to making some tweaks to get it dialed in. I'm still working on getting a video finished up, I'll post a link when it's available.

Signofinfinity

A BIG CONGRATULATIONS on your successful maiden flight!

I am sure that with the tweaks you will get a better flying machine.

Think the cheetah is a bit weak for the Y Pipe? A Rhino perhaps?

George

Hot Rod Todd

My Feedback: (1)

I don't think it'd like the weight of a Rhino. Once I get it sorted the Cheetah might be fine, I'm a bit challenged in runway length, but for most it could be Ok I'm sure.

I'm not sure that the Y-pipe I have is optimal for the engine (size and shape). A straight pipe solves all of the issues, but doesn't look as nice from behind.

mmflytie

My Feedback: (1)

Congrats on maiden Todd!! It isn't a speed demon kind of jet but has excellent stall qualities. I run a 180 in mine and thats just the right kind of power I like ( at 1/2-3/4 throttle). With power it will slide into turns nicely. I found mixing 10 degrees up canard when the wheels are down really helps( both take off and landing.

Enjoy your Eurofighter!

Marc

gunradd

My Feedback: (9)

Glad you got the first flight done. Congrats.

the prototype also flies with some up elevator and nose high in level flight. Looks scale in flight this way. With the k160 and y pipe she has more then enough power and can hover after some fuel is burnt off.

I should have her out in a few weeks to get her ready for KYjets. I'll try and have someone video.

Hot Rod Todd

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I'll try some up canard mixed in with the gear, it should help the lift off a bit.

I checked out the brakes. As usual, I should have been inspecting them ahead of time. They're not the typical o-ring setup. They have a seal that pushes out on a keyed disk that sandwiches a fiber disk. The main issue is that there appears to be a washer missing.

There is a shoulder on the axle that would provide a couple functions. It would allow the use of a washer that given the correct size will keep the fiber disk centered, as well as stop the keyed disk from pushing out too far. There was no washer in place in my gear, so I'll be finding something close and making it fit. Once that is done I think the brakes will work fine. I also will replace the Phillips head screw with an Allen head when I put it back together.

Check out the photos of the brakes and I think you'll see the issue.


Here's how it looks when I took it apart. Notice the fiber washer is off center.


Cleaned and added some grease to the seal, this part should be fine.



Arrow points to the shoulder where a washer would solve the issues.



You can see there needs to be a washer inside the fiber disk.

Signofinfinity

Todd,

Those brake discs are like my Excalibur (Stndrd)brakes. Same principle. And they do hold!

I will get you a couple of pictures of my spare set.

Maybe you can check diameter too, as they might also serve as an easy replacement to a wearable item...

Will post soon my set for details.

G

Signofinfinity

Signofinfinity

Signofinfinity

Hot Rod Todd

My Feedback: (1)

Thanks for the brake info. I may have to find some parts at some point. The fiber disks that come with the brakes are quite thin. Besides adding the washer I had to make a carbon fiber spacer to make sure the brake pads were thick enough. Hopefully they'll work now.

Here's the video of my Maiden flight. I cut out much of the boring stuff, trimming it out etc. I'll need to learn how to slow it up a bit more, and get those brakes dialed in.

Signofinfinity

Todd,

That is a beautiful flight!

Yes I think you need higher alpha on approach.

Congratulation on a lovely build and a gorgeous model. Thank you for sharing it.

Mine will start building after summer, as we are flying non stop at work at the moment! Not even time to enjoy the hobby!

Thanks and Congrats!!!

mmflytie

My Feedback: (1)

Plane looks awesome. I sure miss flying mine!! Nice job on the landing!!

Marc

Signofinfinity

Hi Todd,

Any flight setup progress?
Did you set up the canards for assistance on rotation?

I might consider making a logical switch baseod on speed to deploy the use of canards....activation below speed threshold.

George

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Hot Rod Todd

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I'm having some issues. The 2nd flight was difficult because I almost didn't get off the ground. Our runway is 500ft long Petromat, and when it's soft underneath there's a lot of drag. That combined with the brakes that might be dragging a bit, I can't build up enough speed. I'm also making sure I have the right amount of thrust. Could be an issue with the engine, pipe, or pipe spacing. I made a thrust gauge that should help me determine what I have. Until I get things resolved I won't be able to fly at our runway, not getting off the ground on takeoff would be ugly. I did give myself a bit more canard on takeoff, and it might have saved me.

I did get a couple photos from the first flight.