Trent3786

Summer has been kind in NZ this year so I've been doing plenty of flying. Here are a couple of pics from yesterday flying in a fairly strong crosswind. The roll-out from touchdown was only 5-10meters!





Moments before touchdown

BruceTharpe

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Great pics, Trent. Thanks for sharing. Hard to tell which way you are landing... left-to-right or right-to-left?

Trent3786

It was a 90deg crosswind so tried both My first approach was from the right but it didn't feel right so I changed and ended up landing from the left

lhatton

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So... It's been a while but am here to report on my mildly modified R54 that I maidened last week.

I posted the paint scheme awhile back and here it is in paint. This was taken before adding the control surfaces.

The mods are mild in some ways.

Intakes are old hat these days, the nose wheel is moved forward several inches.

Im running the Kevlar tank witht he header under the servo perch AND an additional 36 oz over the boattail. The cg moves forward .2 inches as the rear tank empties and back to original as the main tank empties.

The gear and brakes are electric. Robart/Prolink combo.

Power, a wren Jubilee 75.

Maiden was off a 430ft petromat runway. 0 flap takeoff and half flap landing using 3/4 for takeoff and 1/2 for landing.

VERY Nice flying aircraft. Cudos to Bruce for such a nice design and all the info on this thread as help is completing it.

Les

BruceTharpe

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Les, I don't use the word "wicked" very often, but that R54 of yours looks wicked! In a good way, of course. Absolutely gorgeous. The reflections in the paint show how smooth it is and the craftsmanship that went into this airframe. Thanks for sharing the pic and info about the first flight. More pics please, when you get a chance.

afterburner

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Very nice Less!

redtail

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Bruce is right about "wicked". What a beautiful paint job. My mods also include the Kevlar tank, intakes, but in addition, I added a 15 degree negative anhedral elevator. Why did you move the nose wheel forward. looks good in that position? Wish I had thought of it. Again, beautiful paint scheme. Chic

PaulD

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Very cool paint job - really works well with the lines of the Reaction. Nice job.

PaulD

redtail

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Hello Bruce and Fellow 54ers. Is the hole for my nose wheel tooooo big?

joeflyer

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Mine's about that size, so I added a gear door.

redtail

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Thanks Joeflyer, that was my thinking but as a rookie, not sure how to create it, wire it up, etc. A photo and a brief explanation of "HOW To Do" would be great. Again, thank you. Chic

BruceTharpe

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I don't know. Looks like a nice, neat hole to me. Wouldn't expect it to cause any problems in flight. Little draggy, maybe, but you weren't planning on having the fastest jet out there, right?

redtail

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Bruce - You are so right. however. However, I do think the nose gear door is a rather neat idea. Thanks guys. Smile. Chic

b.bixel

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Does anyone have full size templates or a cad file for those sexy intakes that their willing to share?

Bart

Trent3786

I made a cardboard template and I think they looked good but I just wanted to get it flying so never actually installed them. I could do a full scale scan of it when I'm back at work on Monday?

Johnny9390

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Question guys. I have a PST for the reaction but was thinking of getting rid if it and going tl the Wren 100dci. What are your thoughts. Those of you flying with the PST what do you think about the turbine? Hows the original ecu working out or have you upgraded to the xcoy ecu? Was it a simple plug and play or more involved ro switch over?

Thankss
Johnny

ira d

Just be aware as far as I know there is no USA service center for Wren turbines currently.

Johnny9390

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Covering almost done. Had to kinda copy someone. Liked their scheme

Johnny9390

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Help with Robart Electric Retracts. Tried setting up retracts on bench and could get them to work. Using DX 18 with AR 9020 rx. Sometimes when I first plunged in the battery one gear would cycle. But gear switch would not work. Looked in monitor and gear switch moves with switch. I have the box set to type B. And battery going through a on off switch. Battery is a lipo 2S 7.4V.

Any ideas??????

Johnny9390

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Trouble shot some more and it seems I can get my dx18 to bind to rx but plugged in a servo and it won't work. Tried a AR7000 rx and same thing. It binds fine but can't get servo to work on any channel. Tried changing from dsmx to dsm2 and also the frame rate. Any ideas now?

Johnny9390

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Do i need all satellites plugged in for the 9020 to work? I know the AR 7000 can work without any satellites tried that too and didn't work

joeflyer

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I believe you need at least one satellite plugged in for it to work. If you add a second satellite later, then you'll have to rebind.

Johnny9390

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Figured it out on the 9020 i need all 3 satelites and on the 7000 at least one

Johnny9390

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Next question i will be using a electrodymics A123 2500 pack to power the electronics. For more weight in the nose i wanna avoid using lipo for the ecu. The pst j600r turbine calls for either a 7.4v lipo or a 7.2 nicad battery. I cant seem to find any nicads in the range of 2500 to 3000 mah with a deans connector. Only nimh packs. Does it matter if its nicad or nimh? Where can i find a company that will build me a nicad pack with a long lead with a deans connector cause i need it to go from the nose to the upper hatch where my ecu will be mounted

joeflyer

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Nimh, Nicd, or Lipo will all work. When I moved from Nicd/Nimh to Lipo years ago for the ECU I found that the engine started a little easier due to the slightly higher voltage.

Electrodynamics can make you a custom pack in either Nicd or Nimh.