The Sled
08-07-2008, 02:36 PM
#1
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: NorthEast,
NJ
Posts: 76
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
The Sled
http://www.mmrca.org/lance/sledframe.html
For those who don't follow this every day anticipating the next update.
Hats off to you Lance!
For those who don't follow this every day anticipating the next update.
Hats off to you Lance!
08-07-2008, 03:28 PM
#4
My Feedback: (35)
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Springfield, IL
Posts: 1,616
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: The Sled
WOW just absolutely WOW! ! ! I have been following and discussing it with Lance & Jerry for the last several years.
Congrats Guys...gotta be a hugh sense of satisfaction.........Roger
http://www.route66jets.com/
Congrats Guys...gotta be a hugh sense of satisfaction.........Roger
http://www.route66jets.com/
08-07-2008, 06:02 PM
#5
My Feedback: (10)
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Las Vegas,
NV
Posts: 1,944
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: The Sled
That is off the hook! How brilliant was the water transfer to ajust CG idea. Thats how they do it full scale, great adaptation of that method. Beyond brilliant actually! Truly a work of art!
08-07-2008, 06:16 PM
#6
My Feedback: (12)
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Scottsdale, AZ
Posts: 4,462
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: The Sled
I have been watching that project for a long time and its great to see it fly. With turbines, that plane will be off the hook!!!
Now if we can just get Harold Huf to fly his SU 27 we would be all good.
Now if we can just get Harold Huf to fly his SU 27 we would be all good.
08-07-2008, 09:33 PM
#9
RE: The Sled
Best of luck to you Lance with your project! I'd been impressed with that massive mold work you've been doing. [8D] Clever ideas for tweaking your CG on first flight! I'm glad you didn't really need them.
It will really be impressive when running under turbine power! I remember when the Yellow DF kits would show up at Superman every year (I think yours, and Roy from St.Louis) - they looked like a handful, especially watching the attitude during turns. For some reason, they always looked to me like flying guitars!
I even remember when Frankie T drove over one in a golf cart! 
I'll always remember that!
It will really be impressive when running under turbine power! I remember when the Yellow DF kits would show up at Superman every year (I think yours, and Roy from St.Louis) - they looked like a handful, especially watching the attitude during turns. For some reason, they always looked to me like flying guitars!
I even remember when Frankie T drove over one in a golf cart! I'll always remember that!
08-08-2008, 10:40 AM
#13
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Mesa, AZ
Posts: 1,456
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: The Sled
I love your plud work and the laser idea is great for large complicated shape where straight edges can't go. The finish and detailing on the plug must have taken months. WONDERFUL WORK> I assume there are turbine in it's life some time?
Charlie
Charlie
08-11-2008, 10:29 AM
#14
RE: The Sled
Thanks for the kind thoughts everyone. I was very much to the point of punching the throttle and seeing what the heck would happen. I was so ready for it to be difficult to fly with potential balance being way off or who knows what else would be wrong, I was completely floored, when it was so easy to fly.
Other than having to be so gentle with it, rate of climb wise, it easily went exactly where I told it. With it being so well behaved, I'm now really excited about flying it under turbine power now.
Under the heading, "pay me now or pay me later", the shortcuts that I took to fly it under props are now coming due. Now I'm making plugs for the molds for making Kevlar fuel tanks, and I've got the tail pipe installations to work out along with all the other parts to prepare for turbine installations. It seemed silly to make Kevlar tanks, bypass ductwork and inlet spikes if it was going to be unflyable, but now, itching to see it fly as it was intended, is an exercise in patience.
My goal is turbine flight on the fixed gear by then end of the flying season...time will tell.
Other than having to be so gentle with it, rate of climb wise, it easily went exactly where I told it. With it being so well behaved, I'm now really excited about flying it under turbine power now.
Under the heading, "pay me now or pay me later", the shortcuts that I took to fly it under props are now coming due. Now I'm making plugs for the molds for making Kevlar fuel tanks, and I've got the tail pipe installations to work out along with all the other parts to prepare for turbine installations. It seemed silly to make Kevlar tanks, bypass ductwork and inlet spikes if it was going to be unflyable, but now, itching to see it fly as it was intended, is an exercise in patience.
My goal is turbine flight on the fixed gear by then end of the flying season...time will tell.
11-11-2008, 05:52 PM
#16
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: NorthEast,
NJ
Posts: 76
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: The Sled
11-11-2008, 06:16 PM
#19
RE: The Sled
Well done Lance! Makes good sense going with the fixed gear to keep things simple and work out the prototype. The plane looked very stable in all axis, suprisingly in roll. Did you use a gyro on roll?
That landing was BUTTER! Best of Luck with the project.
Joe
That landing was BUTTER! Best of Luck with the project.
Joe
11-11-2008, 06:16 PM
#21
My Feedback: (164)
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Davis,
CA
Posts: 4,243
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: The Sled
Awesome Lance, I have been following this for some time and I am so glad to see her fly
KIT KIT KIT KIT,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, HOPE HOPE HOPE,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, SOON SOON SOON
BRG,,,, Dave
KIT KIT KIT KIT,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, HOPE HOPE HOPE,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, SOON SOON SOON
BRG,,,, Dave
11-13-2008, 09:20 AM
#25
RE: The Sled
Thanks everyone. Yea, I'm quite the happy camper on how stuff is turning out. So far, I've found no bad characteristics on how it flies. As a matter of fact, it's turning out to be a big pusycat, and quite easy to fly. That's quite a welcome relief after flying the little one, years ago. The little one that I flew 12-13 years ago, did ok, but I could never relax with it.
By the end of the second flight (the one you see in the video), Jerry commented that he could see I was starting to get more comfortable with it, and he's right. The little one always had this little 'tail wiggle'. Most of the ones I saw did it. This one doesn't do that at all. It just tracks straight ahead, nice and solid. It really feels like flying a traditional, centrally mounted single engine airplane. To answer one of the above questions, nope, no gyros on anything. I had thought I might have to do that, but it's turning out that it's not needed at all.
One reason might be, is that my outboard elevators are scale, unlike the smaller ones, on my older one. These scale ones are huge, and seem to do a better job with authority on the roll control.
As I go into the winter building season, the couple of good flights have been a welcome shot in the arm. This winter I hope to get retracts in it, and the engine bypass's done, including the inlet spikes. Next year will continue the test flights to further explore if there are any problems, but so far so good....
Lance
By the end of the second flight (the one you see in the video), Jerry commented that he could see I was starting to get more comfortable with it, and he's right. The little one always had this little 'tail wiggle'. Most of the ones I saw did it. This one doesn't do that at all. It just tracks straight ahead, nice and solid. It really feels like flying a traditional, centrally mounted single engine airplane. To answer one of the above questions, nope, no gyros on anything. I had thought I might have to do that, but it's turning out that it's not needed at all.
One reason might be, is that my outboard elevators are scale, unlike the smaller ones, on my older one. These scale ones are huge, and seem to do a better job with authority on the roll control.
As I go into the winter building season, the couple of good flights have been a welcome shot in the arm. This winter I hope to get retracts in it, and the engine bypass's done, including the inlet spikes. Next year will continue the test flights to further explore if there are any problems, but so far so good....
Lance