Level flight problems
 

Hi, I am having problems trimming my Fliton Extra 330 FreeStyle for level flight.

Hands off, the plane wants to roll, some times left other time right.
What should I look for to correct this ?

RE: Level flight problems
 

Check lateral balance,and make sure the tail section was installed exactly true to the wing alignment.Check and replace servos,you may have a lazy wanderer,that appears to work OK on the ground,but can shift in the air and not recenter.

RE: Level flight problems
 

That sounds like your ailerons are not centering properly. That can be caused by hinges that are too stiff, ATV/EPA that is dialed down too far and/or control horns that are too short. Disconnect the pushrods and exercise the hinges for a few minutes and see if they loosen up. Make sure that your linkage setup uses the outer hole in the control horn and allows the ATV/EPA to be set at 100% and you should see a great improvement.

Jim

RE: Level flight problems
 

Thanks for the replies,
The ailerons are a little stiff, they don't fall on their own weight, I have give then a good wiggle but I'm not sure it has freed them up much.
I noticed one aileron id not centered on the back of the wing, it sits lower at the outer end. Also when I do move the ailerons it twists them, the covering goes slack and distorted in areas, this happens on both. I did notice the pre cut hing slots were out a bit when assembling, I should have fixed it at the time.
I have also used tape to seal the hing line on both top and bottom, this may be stiffening the joint some also.

Would it be worth cutting the hings and re doing them ?
if so, do I just cut new slots in the same places as the old CA hinges but in a straight line ? or do I need to cut into a new area ?
or am I better using a different hinge system than CA for the replacements.
I have tried to find a new wing, but haven't been able to buy them as a separate item. This would be my preferred solution.

Some thing else I would like to mention, the engine has been mounted off line a little, the back of the prop is off to the right a little from the center line of the fuse, from what I have read this should not cause problems, but I thought I would mention it in case there is some problem I am not aware off.

Another question, could slack in the rudder cause similar problems ?

Regards
Damian

RE: Level flight problems
 

Damian:

You do need to cut the ailerons off and start over.

CA hinges should be fine, but they do need to line up with each other down the length of the aileron. Cut the new hinge slots wherever you can make them line up properly. When you seal the hinge gaps, you only need to do one side. Most people do the bottom. Use the thinest tape you can or use clear Ultracoat.

The front of the engine should point off a little to the right (looking from the back of the airplane) to compensate for torque, P-factor and spiral propwash. This is a good thing. If it points off to the right when looking from the front of the airplane, you need to fix it.

Rudder slack? No, that won't cause your problem. Rudder stiffness (like the ailerons) could.

Jim

RE: Level flight problems
 

Damian:
You did deflect the aileron fully when you sealed the hinge line didn't you?
Just a thought since you mentioned the wing twists when you delflect the ailerons.

Happy Flying


Tom

RE: Level flight problems
 

Probably got the hinges misaligned and put a warp in the aileron .It happens,hope it clears up ;)

RE: Level flight problems
 

I spent a bit of time removing the tape, picking out some buid up of CA on the hinges and re sealing them with profilm.
They do seem a bit better particularly around center travel. While I was doing this I could see some hinges were actualt twisted between surfaces due to the poor allign ment of the hinge slots.
I would prefer not to cut them and re do them so I will see how it flies as is on the weekend, if I'm still not happy I will cut redo them.
I have ordered some CA hinges to have on hand incase I need them.

Thanks again for the advice guys, you have pointed me in the right direction, I was other wise lost for ideas :)

RE: Level flight problems
 

Warning to the wise, misaligned hinges will stress and eventually break. I had it happen to the rudder on my chapman .46 cap. I came in for a landing with the rudder dangling by the control rod on the 3rd flight. If you do end up redoing your hinges, I recommend going for some robart hinge points. They are slick, smooth and strong.