I posted this question at the end of a different post, and I hope I'm not breaking etiquette by starting a new thread. I haven't gotten any help and am hoping that the new subject line will catch some attention. I'm looking for some clear pictures of how the radio gear is installed in the frame. If anyone has seen good pics or a manual online, I'd like to get the webpage. Or, if anyone is flying one of these and could snap a couple of pictures, that would be great too. As I understand it, these a a bear to fly even if they're setup right. I don't want to complicate things more having things setup poorly. Thanks.

Did you check with the guys at Airplane Factory? Do they still have manuals, etc.?
http://kombat40.com/gyro.html

I tried to send an email to the adress on the site, but I got an error saying the the email adress is no longer valid. I didn't try the phone numbers, but I don't think that I could get as much info over the phone as I could with a couple of pictures. I guess that'll be my next step if I can't find anything else.

Grav, I got a Kombat 60 today and will be assembling it tomorrow. I'll take a couple of pics. for you, everything goes in the same order on the Kopter except the aileron servo is the teeter servo. I'll get the CG, throws etc. for you too. Im pretty sure I still have the plans for my kopter.

Good deal! I really appreciate it.

I got the Kombat Kopter finished and tried to fly it. I didn't have much luck. I picked a day that had about 10MPH winds right down the runway. The only times that I got close to getting off the ground, the gyro rolled to the right and the rotors hit the ground. This finally broke a servo control arm, so I had to give up for the day. The rotors didn't seem to pick up enough speed on the ground. If I picked it up and held the fuse at about a 30 degree up attitude into the wind, the rotors would get up enough speed so I was actually holding the gyro down. I only did this without the engine running and I don't think it would work to spin the rotors up like this with the engine running becaue I wouldn't be able to set it back on the ground. One option that I was thinking about is hand launching. Has anyone tried this one a gyro this big? Is it advisable to do, since I've never flown it and don't know how badly it is out of trim? I don't have anyone at the club that I'd want to have launch it or be at the controls if I launched it, so I'd have to do it myself. I was also wondering what the main rotor should be at when the sticks are at neutral. The rotor only tilts side to side, and it uses elevator for up and down. I set the rudder and elevator at neutral like I'm used to and I set the rotor blade horizontal. Is this right? Should anything be set with some deflection built in? I'll probably try again tomorrow, so any advise would be great.

Which way does it turn CW or CCW?
Rollover like you describe is generally from not enough rotor speed.
Cures can be reducing the pitch of the blades, tilting the mast back,
or raising the angle that it sits on the ground (bigger wheels maybe).
If you have enough rotor speed in your hand you can generally hand
launch, drop the nose to just about level and add power and it should basically
fly out of your hand with a little shove. You will know that you didn't have enough
rotor speed/power by the quick roll to the ground.
mickey

It turns CW when you look at it from the top and yes the rotor speed was apparently too low. I took it out and hand launched, I almost crapped myself when it actually flew away! It seemed pretty unstable on the roll axis, but other than that it flew pretty well. Pretty well until I lost orientation of it. I made three laps around the field. When I went to turn back downwind, I couldn't really see what it was doing and I suddenly realized that it was pointing straight up. I gave it full down elevator, but by the time I got it leveled out, the rotor had stopped spinning. That was the best impersonation of a lawn dart I have ever seen. Luckily the ground was pretty soft and the expensive parts survived, but the gyro is done. Pretty much turned her into a horseshoe. The rotor blades and hub are still good so I have something to start with. I'd be alot more bummed, but at least I got a video.

If you have made 3 laps around the field then you have been bitten by the BUG.

Good luck,

Jim

Yep, I've been bitten. I've already started rebuilding.

I've torn apart the Kopter and salvaged what I could. The fuse is unsalvagable. I've had a couple of thoughts for the rebuild. 1) I could buy some square aluminium and rivet a new fuse together to replicate the original design. 2) I could use a 1X2 piece of pine for a fuse and attach the rotor and mast to that along with the engine tail feathers etc.. 3) I have a Super Sports 40S fuse and tail feathers that is wingless. I could attach the rotor and mast to that and get a frankenstienish creation. 4) I could ask for advice on RCU and go with someone else's suggestion. What is my best bet? The first would be good because I'd end up with the same thing as the origional which I know will fly, but bad because I don't know where I can get square aluminium in sections longer than three feet. The second would probably work and would be the easiest to do, but it would be even uglier that it was before. I don't really care what it looks like as long as it flys though. The third option would probably look the best, but there's alot of hurdles to cross on that: I don't know how/where I'd attach the square aluminum to the flimsy balsa, the fuse is shorter than the original, the tail feathers are smaller with less control surface...and alot that I haven't run into. Hopefully I can go with the fourth option where somone with more than a minute of gyro experience like me can tell me what to do that's cheap, easy, and flys well. So I leave it to the gyro masters. What should I do?



-edit for an addition:

I was also thinking of adding a stubby wing to it. Would this add to the stability on the roll axis or would it just add lift? On my one short flight, it seemed like I was constantly fighting to keep the rotor level side to side.

More info on the tube needed, what size, wall thickness, and length.

Not sure what you need it for, but... it's 1\2" square with 1/16" wall thickness, and the longest piece I need is 3' 6". I can get 3' lengths of this at the local F&F, but I don't know where I can get 3.5'.

one possible source for the aluminum tube http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalo...mtubing-sq.php

thanks for the link

It only took 7 months, but the kopter is nearly ready to fly again. I rebuilt the frame with square aluminum channel. All I have left to do is attach the rudder pushrod and control horn. I'm also going to add some fake coro "wings" to it to help keep track of which way it's pointing. This week is pretty full, but I might have a flight report this weekend. I'll post pics when she's ready to go.

Success at last! I flew the remodeled Kombat Kopter today. The first flight was pretty short. The engine cut out right after takeoff going downwind. I landed with minimal damage. Pretty much just a prop and bent landing gear. The second flight's crash was much more spectacular. Just like in the very first crash that happened a year ago, I lost orientation and found myself pointing straight up. This time, however, I pulled BACK on the elevator and did a loop. The rotors lost alot of speed, but started spinning up again down the backside of the loop. When it hit, the blades were almost up to speed so it didn't hit very hard. Once again, broken prop and bent gear was all the damage. On the third flight of the day, I got alittle smarter. I kept it close and low so I could see it better. I also learned how important it is to coordinate the turns. My figure 9 (crashing after a loop) happened because I just banked the copter with the rotors(no rudder) and pulled back on the elevator. This is what caused it to point straight up both times. But by using the rudder, I was able to make the turns much flatter and I actually landed it. I wasn't sure what to expect when I set up for the landing. I pointed it into the wind and pulled back a little on the throttle. The thing seemed like it almost stopped. Then using the elevator and throttle I was able to bring it down at about a 45 degree angle with the nose high. I couldn't beleive how gently it touched down. I flew it several more times after that. By the end of the day I was feeling pretty comfortable and was even able to do a few touch and goes. Man! am I happy Here some pics taken after the day of flying. She's still in one piece