tIANci - just curious, how old are you? you must make a bundle to keep up all those planes (i guess i'm not to bad myself:-) or is your dad like a millionaire!

btw - sorry about the loss of your BH stick... hate hate hate to hear when it happens.

forestroke - I got Sugar Mummy ... hahahaaaa ... look carefully, all my stuff are not the expensive ones! Gagak is dying to have my YS110, got it at a steal!!! Anyways, I am 36 ... ex lawyer now a concert promoter. I am single so it helps ... helps me to keep a Sugay Mummy!!!

I see tIANci - ex-lawyer = money and concert promoter = time! you've got it all!!! You know... I'm considering buying the VQ p-38 but my CAR!!! It's way too small... What do you think a P-38 would look like on top of a Mini... tied down and going 60?!!? hehe

Anyway, because my feet are hurting for no apparent reason, I've not had any energy to work on the Matrix. I'll keep you posted, tho!

Ciao!

forestroke ... come join us in the MalaysianHangar in CLUBHOUSE we can talk more there!!! Let's not hijack this thread.

This thread was mine to be hijacked anyway :-) Anyway, I have finished (except still trying to free up a RX) my Matrix... Here she is! She is way tail heavy. I figured she would be with those 2 elevator servos mounted on the tail. Anyway, I will have to put a large battery pack next to the tank to balance her maybe at 115cm, which is 5mm out of the recommended range... what do you guys think?

She is running a
Tower Hobbies .75 with Bisson pitts muffler
Futaba 3001 (x5) with JR mini servo for throttle
Hitech Eclipse QPCM
Polkshobby RX (now in another plane)
Sanyo 6V pack

I am excited to get back to Nitro after almost 6 months on electric!

The Matrix looks very nice indeed! I can't wait to get my Extra out of the box and into the air! Post more pictures if you can and good luck with the maiden flight!

Forestroke DO NOT ever set the CG for a BH model at the rear most! Its usually wrong!!! Start at 105 mm and even then with the nose about 5 degrees down for the maiden flight. In case the plane is twitchy it will tame her a bit. All my BH planes were set up that way for the maiden and I have never had problems on my maiden flight, it will not be too nose heavy either.

Smartmove - the Extra 300 (60) will balance perfect, you only need to shift the battery to balance her! Its a much nicer plane (my humble opinion).

Thanks smartmove!

There you go again, tIANci, with the "it's a nicer plane" bit... you know... I personally love the way the Matrix looks OVER the Extra. In fact the hobby owner tried to sell the Extra first and I wasn't taking it. The Matrix on the other hand, I thought was fabulous from first glance. He had 8 kits on hand, 4 of each, which sold out within two days. So at the end of the day, both seem to be pretty hot in Taiwan! Anyway, thanks for the tip on CG!

I don't see how you could have the 300 balance perfectly! I mean it is 2" longer than the Matrix. What engine are you using? I will have put the battery pack in the nose to get it to balance at even 110! Maybe I should've used some smaller, lighter servos in the back! We'll see.

And... it requires at least 6 channels, 7 if you don't want to use the y leads with the ailerons... You can get away with 4 only if you use two Y leads and a servo reverser for one of the two elevator servos.

Forestroke ... see its a nicer plane so you need not worry about locating the RX battery all the way to the front! Hahahaaaa ... seriously ... the BH Extra 300 (60) is much lighter. I ran mine with a TT61 only and NO cowling yet. Servos are your mere standard servos, no mods done at all. I can change the CG from slight nose heavy to middle range balance by merely moving the RX battery from just behind the tank to just infront of the servos. Good huh?

Not bad tIANci... not bad at all... I'll see when I can maiden her. I'm busy this weekend so looks like it will be at least 2 weeks :-( I'll let you know how she flies!

She flies fine ... just a little slow on rolls thats all ... that is a relative comparison only.

Relative to what? I would think that as long as you dial up the aileron throws, she should roll wicked fast! I mean the Extra should rock on all but 3D acrobatics!!!

The Matrix has maidened... not so successfully...

It was a terribly windy day, gusting and at about 60 degrees from the runway... I arrived at 2:30 and waited until 4:30 before I finally decided that I would give it a go. I wasn't afraid of flying in the wind... I was much more afraid of the engine dying on me and the ability of the plane to make it back to the runway. It was getting dark and I didn't want to wait another 2 weeks before I could fly (my original engagement was postponed until next weekend).

So up she went... the plane got off the air in 10 feet because there was so much wind! I had to give her throttle just so she wouldn't go backward on the ground. Anyway, she needed a tremendous amount of down elevator and few clicks of right ailerons to maintain a steady (if you can call it that give the wind was pretty much throwing her around!)... after 4 minutes flying, engine quit on the down wind leg. I got her above the runway at a good altitude but was unable to prevent her from getting blown into the rough where I tore a wheel pant completely off and twisted the axle...

needless to say... with no guarantee the engine would stay running and with the wind, I quickly called it a say :-( On the other hand I flew my Clipped Wing Cub with my newly installed brushless and it flew great (once again... all of the place... nearly crashed 3 times because of the gusts. but that is to be expected on a windy and gusty day on a 30 oz. plane!).

The Matrix is in repairs now. I am considering switching the TowerHobbies 75 which has given me nothing but troubles. Also, the plane comes out so tail heavy that I have two battery packs next to the fuel tank just to make sure she balances correctly. I'm going to move the throttle in front of the firewall and maybe a battery too. Also seeing if I can move the two elevator servos forward. One thing is the weight. The other is the Hitec Eclipse I'm using doesn't deal with it well. It's on channel seven and a potentiometer controls it. I may have dialed in something other than neutral attributing to all that trouble!!!

Pretty but definitely not perfect!

Oh man ... that really sucks. That is why I usually maiden my planes at about 7:30 am. The air is always very still then. You are really having CG problems. I did not realise the plane was that tail heavy. Try the Extra 300 next time!!! Hehehee ...

I maiden my GWS Formosa yesterday, on stock motor and 2C li-poly, it flies do darn nice but needs more juice. I then borrowed a friends 3C and I burnt the motor. So I went to my RC car shop at a shopping mall to re-wire my new motor. They play cars at the top of the car park, about 250' x 100'. All my pals were there and I did the most absurd thing ... I took off. It was windy so after a couple of rolls I decided to land her. I was coming in nice then I misjudged the lamp posts!!! Hehehe ... oh well ... lucky I only need to slap on some glue to repair her. Hehehe ...

So I guess that is two not-so-nice maidens!!! But I'm okay... very little damage. It pisses me off that the CG is so far off though. I have a 5 cell c-size pack up against the firewall and another battery laying flat next to the tank to get a 103mm CG.

Keep you guys posted! Also, building my Newport now. It is a dimunitive 30" wingspan bipe that I will be putting in the 30 4-stroke. I really hope it flies. The tank is like 3 oz, though, which really worries me. By the time I do the vert test, she might already be empty!!!

Also, traded in my Christen Eagle ARF (NIB) with a KMP Hurricane!!! Will be building that much much later. Next on the list is the Kyosho Corsair.

The Kyosho Cosair is the best I have seen for a 40 sized ARF, its also really nice to see decently scaled wheels! Forestroke ... wait till you see my Capiche 15, scratch built. Will post some pics for u soon.

I checked the fuel tank... it's only 2oz. How long do you think I can fly on 2 oz tank with a 30-4-stroke? 3 minutes? 5 minutes?

My pal's Magnum 60 does about 8-10 mins on 4 oz (he las a 6 oz tank). No kidding and its a scratch built 40 sized P51

So by that calculation, I should be able to get 2-3 minutes? 8min/6oz * 2oz = 1.333 min/oz* 2oz = 2.666 min. Not too bright... I'll be like "taking off" going straight into the landing pattern and calling "landing" hehe... maybe I should upgrade to 4oz tank.

The Matrix is on the verge of revival. Last night I took out the two servos in the back and put in it's place a bell crank I got from an old Veko F3A (I forgot to list that in my crashed planes) supported by two 2mm plywood inserts CA'd into the original servo slots. I'm not sure it will work since the originaly bellcrank width was too short and I had to CA a carbon fiber rod to extend it. Also, I'm new to using CA for structural parts so I'm hoping it will stay together.

Anyway, this has transformed the weight of the plane. As many people have referred to in many posts, servos in the tail have enormous "moment" that needs to be countered by a very heavy nose. By replacing the two servos, I no longer have to put 2 5 cell (c-type) batteries next to the firewall to balance it. In fact, the battery now can be located at the CG. I've also been able to move the tank closer to the CG. I can also use a smaller battery back as well, to reduce the weight. Imagine that, all from moving those two servos.

Now to change to prop to 12 x 7, install the push rods from the bellcrank to the elevator (original ones are now too short) and fly!!! (next weekend unfortunately)

Okay... here are the pictures of the mod that has transformed the plane!!!

First is the old way that made the plane very very tail heavy.

Second and third are the new way, which, after balancing it yesterday allowed me to do the following:

1. Reduce one elevator servo (important because my Eclipse radio is not equipped to handle two)
2. Eliminate one battery back originally used as dead weight
3. Move the fuel tank one inch toward CG
4. Remove the spinner nut I had beneath the plastic spinner!
5. Reposition the battery pack and Rx just ahead of the CG and not next to the firewall where both are inaccessible.

Now... if it doesn't fly better, I will not be happy!

forestroke - nice job on the bell crank. I am about to have my BH SU31 ready, its got a TT61 mounted and I hope to see some great vertical performance! Might get some pics in here for you soon.

thanks tIANci.

The maiden of the improved Matrix started extremely well. It only took a few click of aileron and elevator to have her flying straight and true. The handling was excellent. Inverted flight only took a little reverse elevator. Rolls were crip.

Unfortunately, three minutes into the flight, the engine died. She was very close to the start of the runway against the wind. I brought her quickly down but just barely ran out of runway (about a foot more and I was golden). No damage.

Anyway, my TH.75 is a dog!

Forestroke - my TT61 with a 12x8 was brilliant on the Extra 300 ... hahahaaa

Well I think I'm going to take it apart and see what's up. Otherwise, I'm going to plunk down $99 for a GMS 76. That has 2.5hp!!! The Matrix is still beautiful! A lot of looks... but just not much flying :-(