ProBroJoe

A buddy an I finally got our wings (Kombat Kids) to the field together for a little bit of impromptu combat, and we took it one step further and added glow power -vs- electric to the mix. (It woulda been a bit unfair to put my TD powered wing up against my buddy's SureStart powered one.)

Surprisingly, my e-powered wing was still much quicker and maneuverable, but the fun didn't last very long - about three minutes into the first round, I flew right down through my buddy's engine - Kapow! the fun was over in a flash as both wings fluttered to the ground.

I knew mine was going to be bad, but I didn't expect to see this....

ProBroJoe

What's amazing though, is how little damage my buddy's plane has.... he coulda quite literally glued the engine box back on and went up again.... BTW, he didn't neatly wrap the streamer around the wing like that - his "Streamer Storage System" kicked in as the wing tumbled to the ground... how cool is that?

All in all, it was a blast and we totally expected that one of us would lose a plane, but darn it, why'd it have to be me? [X(]

Toad

It cost you a plane, but it is worth the Memory of that day you and a friend played combat.
Looks like you had a great time!

Andrew

Aaaarrrrrrgggghhhh!!!! You should have had a warning message: Some scenes may contain content disturbing to the viewer.

Sounds like you had a good time for a few minutes. Too bad it ended so quickly.

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

Both planes got to be flying the same speed or else!!
It never fails how as soon as we would stray away from that basic rule that bad stuff will happen. Usually a full day's worth of combat can be flown until patience grows thin or one too many lagers goes down the hatch...

Well, looks like a 30 minute fix from here...go get 'em back!!

We also had the least carnage using AP .061s and 6x3s on 15% nitro, so the speeds were kept to a slow boil.

It's nice to see that in this great nation of over 300 million people that at least 2 guys got to do some 1/2A combat today!

jeffie8696

http://www.youtube.com/user/Historys...14/JmDYdfb02tc

longdan

That line of trees in the first shot looks like the "wall of death" for any plane.

Metalwave

Longadn, the line of trees are behind the flight line. Generally, the only time they are a problem are when pylon racers loose control - although sometimes "softer" trees cause less damage than the hard ground.

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

We've had literally hundreds of "combat minutes" around here provided by AP.061s and for the most part it hasn't been too much work to keep a few planes ready [24/7 state of readiness].
If I knew then what I know now about electric power, I most likely would have gone that route for 100watt combat.
I've had doubts about the electric motor's ability to survive crashes, and also whether a damaged lipo pack would ignite 80 acres of bone dry hay, surrounding businesses, homes, etc.

In about 25 years, I've seen a couple glow fires started by .35 size engines...but that was mostly due to over priming open exhaust set ups. We usually have enough liquid on hand to handle such an emergency, but it would be a tough call to pour out a nice 7% IPA...

jeffie8696

Ihave 1/2A engines that have survived several crashes while my electrics,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, not so much

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

I think for electric combat, a clever mount could be made to allow the motor to break / swing away. Like the way Cox rubberbanded the engine to the mount.

A quality, low wattage motor with a stout shaft and case would be worth seeking out if such a thing exists.

ProBroJoe

I would think 100 watts on a 1/2A sized combat airframe would be overkill, but then again, I guess you'd just size your airframe accordingly. (Duh!) FWIW, I was only flying about 60watts here, spinning an APC 5.7x3 to just under 16K static, and I was orbiting around my buddy's plane like he was standing still. (My AUW with battery is right at 12 oz.)

This wing was originally designed for the $10 Cox SureStart, but due to the inconsistent nature of the little devils, I'm really starting to believe a cheap electric set-up is the way to go. Either that, or we add a couple more ribs and up the span to like 36" for the TD/AP/Norvel class of engines.... bumping the chord to 9" probably wouldn't hurt either. Oh wait, I'm starting to get a little bit of deja vu here...

As much as I'd like to stick to a glow-power set-up, we all know that repairing an oil-covered airframe isn't much fun, especially when you're trying to quickly get back into the air - another plus for electrics. I have considered cutting a bunch of foam wings to mitigate crash damage, but I feel that balsa just flies better.

Oh, a prop-saver on an electric goes a long way towards protecting the motor's shaft - I'd say they are mandatory on any "belly lander", let alone a combat ship.... and a lot of times, the shaft is easily replaceable if you need to. Another week point of a lot of the cheap Chinese electrics is the motor leads - they're usually not very well supported and any time there's rough handling or if a motor comes loose from an airframe, the leads usually stay behind.

Ya know, electrics and LiPos crash all the time, sometimes spectacularly and sometimes not.... Has anybody taken the time to compare the number of LiPo [crash] fires to that of gassers, turbines, pulse jets, etc? I bet it's not as often as one thinks.

And CP, as far as extinguishing a fire with our beloved IPAs.... man if I ever caught wind of you doing that.... [:@]

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

Well, I'll always keep a case of Schmidt Lager on hand for killing fires, drowning slugs, camping shampoo, brushing teeth, washing out prop wounds, etc.

Figure out the minimum amount of power it takes to drag your streamer, [plus a streamer hanging off a wing tip]...this is the worst case 1/2A combat scenario. You can't launch with a streamer hanging off a wing tip, but it will happen soon enough during test matches.

Is there a way you can dial in your throttle settings and lock that setting in?

I think my wings are 36"x9"...they are a little too much for a Black Widow to fly with streamers.
Tha AP061 was just enough with a 6x3.
The Big Mig is almost too hot, then mid airs increase. There is a certain amount of reaction time you need to abort attacks that aren't lining up right.
Both planes need the controls cranked down to "boring" level. The elevator should not be cranked up enough to produce a stall when you yank on it.
Planes that are set up "herky-jerky" end up being party poopers sooner than later.

ProBroJoe

Lot's of good info there CP! Beleive it or not, it's sinking in, but I just gotta convince my cohort to heed the advice! With today's computer radios, agreeing on an RPM and limiting the throttle end point would be a piece of cake - especially now that we're going with electric on the other plane. We'll take a step back and go about it a little more methodically this time - hopefully will be able to make it through the first round.

I took some time this afternoon and re-built my wing, it's not pretty, but it's straight and flies the same as it always did... took a little longer than 30 minutes to fix though.

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

Looks SPLENDID [8D]!

I see you even wrap the servo cutouts with covering [on a combat plane, no less....]

More than anything, keeping the speed to just barely enough to allow the planes to go where you point them [without needing a gravity assist] is what is important.

Sometimes dumb luck, or dumb bad luck comes to call no matter what you do. If you're a follower of Murphy's Laws build a bunch of fully equipped backup planes and then you won't ever need them.

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

Sometimes dumb GOOD luck comes to call and you will get some close calls that cause the planes to bump but do no damage, or not enough damage to crash. Those are just too cool, always a good reason to make a toast to that round!
Maybe even break out the private reserve.......[8D]

ProBroJoe

Thanks dude! Yea, all things considered, I guess the repair doesn't look too bad. I thought about building a whole new starboard panel, but I ended up just scarfing in a new section (stealing two ribs from the other kit). Funny how it always looks more difficult to repair than it really is, but once you get started, it moves right along...

jeffie8696

Igots one for ya to repair Bubba.

Oh My Extra, my poor aching Extra!!! Actually just needs a fuse .