thebest_102

My Feedback: (6)

My suggestion is to not set flaps up like that. As a general rule I advise against flaperons. I have used them and advised for them in very limited circumstances. For example using them to assist in grass take offs on a few planes and then it is a very slight mix like 3-5%. That will just lower the ailerons slight to help the aircraft get up off the grass a bit sooner and smoother. Droping them hard like you are saying could be bad as it will cause the desired drag but will also give you lift which puts you in a bad place low and slow and could set you up for a nasty tip stall.

sierra_bravo

I was afraid that something like that could happen. One thing I did the yesterday to slow down the plane was after I landed I pulled full up elevator(I let the plane slow it's self down first before doing that so it wouldn't take off again) and that seemed to work out great.

I finished installing the spinner and it looks great on the plane. Thanks to the extra weight of the spinner I can remove all of the nose weight and the plane would still balance out great.

Here are some photos


-Sam

thebest_102

My Feedback: (6)

The spinner looks good.

Kevin Duncan

My Feedback: (2)

Sam, that's a sharp looking spinner!

Just curious. After balancing on your CG point, did you plane require down elevator trim to hold level? The reason I ask is because it looks like you have quite a bit of "up" thrust on your motor.

sierra_bravo

actually the plane needed some up trim but that was before the aluminum spinner and it was kinda nose heavy. I still have to re-balance it with the new spinner. The plane does have some up-thrust though.
-Sam

castlebravo

I'm just putting mine together (with a EFlite Power 50) and I noticed that it appears that there is a small amount of up thrust built in....dont know how that will affect flight....guess I'll have to wait and see...

CB

sierra_bravo

Double post

sierra_bravo

I'll try to keep this funny and lightearted.

For the past week I had a feeling that I would have to fly my durafly das ugly stick for the competition and today that feeling became a reality.

Also if you didnt work it out yet the typhoon is... well lets just say it's "not in a flyable condition" basically it crashed but it wasn't piloting error so I don't have to feel to bad.

So how did it crash? well after doing a nice takeoff and some good straight lines/rolls/loops I banked left to line up the plane with the runway all of a sudden the plane went into a nose first spin. It was a nice nose first spin but it still crashed into about 4' of soy beans(which acted like a big pillow). I was flying with someone else who also saw the crash so I had a good estimate of where it "landed". So I walked through about 100' in of really thick beans while having the other person guide me to the crash. After destroying about $150 in crops I found the plane. It was just sitting on top of the beans but the entire nose section was smashed up. I then un-tangled it and started looking for small parts.

So after picking up most of the pieces(most of the small parts were lost in the beans) I did a damage report and decided that the plane cant be repaired and i would have to buy a whole new airframe. I didnt take any photos while at the field but the the engine was covered in dirt. Im not kiding when I say the the carb was full of dirt(luckily it was closed and no dirt got in it) and the cowling had enough dirt in it to plant a flower. I was able to take apart the engine and rinse it with nitro fuel and there's no damage on it so it'll most likely run. All the servos were fine and work but i'll do a thorough test before using them again. Most of the other thing like landing gears and the receiver surived and are usable. The battery had some holes in it but no some came out of it. Ill buy a new flat battery though.

Why did it crash?
The leading theory is that the battery got disconected which caused the engine to be lowered to idle. Also when the reciever lost power it made the ailerons spin the plane right and the elevator push the plane into a spinning nose dive.

Am i angry.
No not at all. These things happen to the best of us. I am frustrated since i put alot of work into the plane and just when I had it set up nicely it crashes but I've seen wrost thi ngs happen to better planes.

I'll have to fly my ugly stick in the competion so I have to get it setup better. Hopefully it doesnt crash the day before the event

Good luck with yours castlebravo

-sam

Kevin Duncan

My Feedback: (2)

Sam, I am more impressed with your attitude than I am sad for your loss. Make sure you learn something from this, as every incident has a cause, either pilot error or mechanical. You learned a lot of flying skills from that plane that will definitely improve your abilities with your next plane. I wish I still had my first pattern plane, but it ended up stuck in the very top of an oak tree! These things happen. Your Ugly Stick is more than capable of flying the pattern.

I do question your theory as to what happened. It sounds like you're trying to describe losing signal and your plane going into Fail-Safe, however, if your battery disconnected, then your receiver couldn't have powered the servos to make such movements. I won't try and offer any possible causes, as only those there can offer such suggestions.

I wish you all the best with with getting the Stick up and running. I know that it is easy to write a plane off as a total loss, but that is usually NOT the case. Just don't rush to make a decision. Don't rush to throw ANYTHING out, as even a totaled plane can be re-built. I would remove all the gear and ensure that all is cleaned out (sounds like you already did that) and set the plane aside till you have the time and desire to fix it up. For now, I would suggest you focus on getting the Stick trimmed out and flying well for you.

Good luck and let us know how the Stick performs for you.
Kevin

castlebravo

Oh Man...that sux! I can certainly feel for you....I almost lost my GP Ultimate on its maiden because I had "Flyititis" and did not double check the rates and expos....that was an exciting first flight! Good luck with your fugly stick....you shoud do fine....besides....its always better to compete at your first contest with an airframe that you're used to flying. Your nerves are going to be "outta control" and dealing with an unknown airframe just compounds it. My first pattern contest (and only so far), I flew my 43% PAU Edge! It was a blast.....you're going to have a great time!


CB

sierra_bravo

Well I got all of the hardware removed from the typhoon and now I have a ziplock bag full of control horns, fastlinks, and some other things. Not to sure what I'm going to do with the actual airframe but I'm not going to throw it away.
Looks like it going to be windy and rainy for the rest of September which really sucks. I'm hoping that the day of the competition is going to be nice. The stick handles fine in light wind(under 6mph) but the other day when I flew in windy(10mph) conditions it got really squirrel and it was almost impossible to do straight lines but the wind was blowing across the runway which never helps.

One thing I was surprised about is how well priced used pattern planes are. For example this Sebart windS 50E that had everything installed except the receiver(or at least a tactic receiver) and battery cost $500. Considering that the airframe alone cost $400 and the motor is around $150 that's a pretty good price. I wonder if there are going to be any used pattern planes for sell at the event.

Any ways there are only a couple of days left and I'm not very well prepared

-Sam

thebest_102

My Feedback: (6)

Sorry to hear about the typhoon. Your stick should do good in the contest. I flew a pulse 60 in several contests. Sportsman more than any other class is about the pilot more than anything. The wind 50 is a good frame or take a look around at the contest as we move up pattern pilots are always giving deals on used planes.

sierra_bravo

I wonder how well the FMS sbach i have would work for the competion. Its more acrobatic then the stick but that doesnt really matter. If its more stable then the stick then i'll use it. The only thing is that the battery only last 7 minutes, usally the sequence takes me 5 minutes though so most likley ill be fine.
It looks like it wont rain tomorrow but it will be kinda windy. Then again any practice is good practice.

I really hope the weekend of the event is going to be nice. The last thing anyone wants is a washout.

-sam

thebest_102

My Feedback: (6)

Next chance you get take both out and fly them. It would help to have a second set of eyes to watch the tracking. Then after flying both back to back you can figure out which is for you. At the end of the day though I am sure either will get you through the contest and really just doing the first one will be a whirlwind of experience and lessons no matter the plane.

kenh3497

Sam, Sorry to hear about the crash. On the other hand if you decide to build a second Typhoon you will have a chance to make any minor changes to the airframe that "bugged" you the first time around. I agree used airframes/planes can be a good value. In my area there are RC auctions during the winter months. Some GREAT buys on airplanes can be found. I don't recall any pattern planes at the moment though.

BEST of luck at the contest!

Ken

sierra_bravo

Well today was another cloudy, windy, rainy day and tomorrow is going to be the same. But then again this is NC where one day it's 90 and sunny and the next its 70 with clouds(there were several weeks in summer that were like that). Mondays is looking nice and i'm hoping that i'll be able to make it out to the field.

only 4 days left so the field will soon be prepped for the event.

-Sam

sierra_bravo

I looked at the forecast/weather radar and judging from those two things it look like it going to rain every day of the week including Saturday and maybe even Sunday. It might just be cloudy but if it does end up raining the event might be pushed to another weekend since I don't think anyone wants to fly in the rain. The problem is that the weekend after this one the field is having a fall fly-in so if they do push the competition to a different weekend it would have to the the 17-18

-Sam


EDIT
i love the weather here. For the past week its been cloudy, windy, and rainy but now all of a sudden its beautiful. The rain clouds are almoast all gone and there are some very light clouds. Also its not very windy probably around 4mph. Im hoping(and praying) thats it stays like this

sierra_bravo

So I talked with the CD for this weekends competition and he is not sure about the event. Basically with the hurricane joaquin closing in on the east coast no one knows yet what the weather for this weekend is going to be like it may rain but it also might be sunny with no wind(or rain) like today. There is going to be an official announcement tomorrow afternoon from the CD concerning the status of the event and whether is will still be hosted or if it is going to be canceled due to the weather. You can check the status of the event on this page that I found on the NSCRA website

Any ways I was able to get another flight in with the ugly stick and it's fly's ok. Not perfect but ok for a 42" foam plane.

I really hope we get spared and the hurricane breaks up or goes some where else 'cause it would be a shame if the contest is canceled.

-Sam

Kevin Duncan

My Feedback: (2)

Sam, I saw you're signed up for this weekend's contest at Green Sea. Good luck to you and let us know how your first contest experience goes.

sierra_bravo

So I got back from the contest and I have to say it's one of the most exciting things i've ever done. First I have to mention how helpful everyone else was, I never had a problem finding someone to call for me and when I needed a screw driver that I didn't have someone would always let me borrow theirs. The general atmosphere was very friendly and helpful. As for competing it was the the funnest part of the day. I wasn't to nervous and in the end I feel that I got some pretty good scores.

So would I go to another contest. Yes definitely.
-Sam

rcpattern

My Feedback: (45)

Great meeting you this weekend Sam. Glad you enjoyed yourself. As well as you flew your ugly stik, I am certain you will be a force next year with the Snapdragon. Don't hesitate to PM if you have any questions.

Arch

sierra_bravo

It was nice meeting you to, that jet demo was amazing. I'm waiting for my new receiver to arrive and then I'll maiden the plane, as long as the weather is nice this Friday.

-Sam

thebest_102

My Feedback: (6)

It was good meeting you and getting a chance to fly with you. You handled that stick very well. The snapdragon will serve you well. I am looking forward to seeing you compete next year.

hook57

My Feedback: (21)

Sam,
Congrats on your first contest! Been a pleasure to read your thread young sir. Keep us posted on your progress with the Snapdragon too.
hook

sierra_bravo

So I was able to maiden the snapdragon today and wow does it fly nicely, to be honest nice is an understatement. It's the smoothest, easiest plane i've ever flown. I haven't flown a lot of pattern planes so I cant really compare it to something like a sebart windS but compared to the other sport planes i've flown its a night and day difference. Take off was smooth and uneventful the first turn was nice and easy but when I did a straight line I realized how well it flies. The plane did need up trim but after I gave it some if flew hands off. At one point I put it into the wind with about 1/2 throttle let go of the controls and it was locked in. Didn't change it's heading, or altitude at all. It kept doing a straight line. It also flew at a very nice steady slow speed. Not where you're worried about a stall but where you could think about the next maneuver with out have to worry about the plane leaving the box to quickly. I didnt do alot of turn around or center maneuvers but I did do a couple of rolls and it felt so nice and smooth. It really takes a lot of load off of the pilot. Landing was nice and easy ,very uneventful, I was about 30 feet off center since i carried a bit to much speed but it stuck the the ground nicley. Sadly I coudld only fly it once today because it had a problem with the spinner causing vibrations but It'll be ready to fly by next Wednesday (or when ever my new spinner arrives) and I cant wait.

-sam