ORIGINAL: Guillermo Ibanez
ORIGINAL: ww2birds
Pete,
Funny you say that (as others have commented!) ...
I often make the best landing on a maiden flight, as observed above probably due to total focus. The it goes downhill for a while then seems to come back. My son spent some time as a CFI and CFII and his primary training students have the same pattern in full scale Cessnas and Pipers .. best landing during training are at/just after solo .. imagine that. Wonder if some of the military-trained guys had the same experience.
Given the description, I'd wonder about the GC location and elevator travel .. if we were talking heavy prop warbirds with the same story, I'd say too far back on the CG and/or too much elevator travel (which of course are related...).
Also, if you have many planes and switch back + forth, it takes longer to be ''in the zone'' with more than one plane at a time .. jets or otherwise.
I'll still learning too, about 2 yrs jet experience (after many many years of heavy warbird experience), and I sure know what you mean :-)
Dave
Hey Pete:
According to Dave's comment, I remember a thread where C.G of the F-16 1/8 were discussed an Craigs's said that in a center turbine with exhaust duct set up, people that has the C.G. as factory specified, fly the Jet hanged in the elevators. In other words, a nose heavy model and even worst if you have a header tank. The result of this set up is as Dave said. Nose heavy model, fast approach with nose down attitude and the result is a very hard elevator control. (A little elevator input, and the nose barely comes up and a little more elevator input, and the nose comes up too much, so the approach pattern is not smooth and is as you sey worst every time).
It is not true that when fuel is burnt, the model becomes tail heavy because the balance is donde with fuel tanks empty, gear down and UAT full. Maybe the problem is that with tanks full, elevators trim are up (you said me that your elevators when you landed are 1/4 above neutral) and with fuel tanks empty, elevator trim should be reduced or the model will fly like tail heavy unless you land in a nose up attitude.
If you don't fly with nose up attitide as I have see in your videos, the approach and the final flare, are going to be the way you are describing.
So, try two steps or wait until my maiden and my experience with my new C.G. set up at 175 mm:
1- Try to fly your downwind , base leg and final at the slowest speed your model can fly in a nose up attitude. Don't try short final leg.
2- Try to set yor C.G. back until you can fly your jet almost with neutral elevator. When fuel are gone and you start your landing pattern, you are going to be in a nose up attitude.
My problem to get 175mm as Craig's said in his experience is that with my set up, I need to add lead strips in the tail and this is going to make my Jet heavier.
Watch this video of my first F-16 on Aug. 3, 2.008.
http://www.rcuvideos.com/video/Skyma...18-Flight-No-2
And this is the thread about C.G.
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_83...tm.htm#8375613
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_77...tm.htm#8280992
Guillermo