RE: VectorFlight 300s, anygood?
 

Today I had to roder a new one!

RE: VectorFlight 300s, anygood?
 

DOH DOH DOH DOH !!!!

Ouch that looked like it hurt !!!

What the heck happened ???

Sam

RE: VectorFlight 300s, anygood?
 

Trying to learn how to knife edge.
Did it good for the length of the field till I turned and panicked. Full elevator up, stall.... snap....TREE.... BANG... DUH!
Thankfully, I had a $14.00 plane locator installed on the plane. I found it in the woods, on top of a tree, right away. Too bad the way I tested how good this is.
Engine and electronics are good. I'll use the left over for spare parts, or I'll give it for free to someone willing to spend some time to repair it. Not easy for me, but someone with more patience can put it back together. (I think, because it's really not in a good shape. The ribs on the fuse are still good, though).
Anyway, I ordered a new one few minutes ago.
My model had a strong tendency to snap, when I was giving full up elevator. I even reduced the throws to 50%, but still..
DUH[sm=tongue.gif]

RE: VectorFlight 300s, anygood?
 

Argh!

Bad luck!

Still, you chose a good time to do it. Its replacement is only $149 at the moment isn't it?

-David C.

RE: VectorFlight 300s, anygood?
 

Gyanni where do you fly? Im from the neighborhood as well :)

RE: VectorFlight 300s, anygood?
 

I fly at NVRC, I guess you do the same?

RE: VectorFlight 300s, anygood?
 

I have a Saito FA-100 4 stroke in my VF Extra 300S 66". I have unlimited vertical.

I love this plane!

RE: VectorFlight 300s, anygood?
 

I actually fly with the Prince William county fliers. Its a very nice field! Worth the trek out to it on rt 66 :)

RE: VectorFlight 300s, anygood?
 

I am getting ready to fly my edge this weekend, this is a dumb question I'm sure, but what what exactly does it mean when he said it snaps when he gave it full up elevator. I've heard the term snap quite a bit but never really understood it.
Thanks

RE: VectorFlight 300s, anygood?
 

mine does not, it sticks out about 1 inch from the cowl, I have a Saito 91 in it. Hpe this helps.



jmc012

to answer your question in simple terms, a snap happens when the airplane is moving too slow and there is not enough air moving over the control surface, aminly the elevator, and the plane stalls. This usually causes the plane to lose altitude and can cause a crash becuase it takes time to recover airspeed. I have done this myself and have seen it many times by other pilots. Just be careful to have the CG correct and to maintain some airspeed on landings. Many new pilots try to land it like their trainer and float it in, bad idea!

hope this helps

good luck

matt

RE: VectorFlight 300s, anygood?
 

Been there done that! My first low-wing aerobat took a pounding untill I clued in to the fact that it had to be flown right down to the runway..no more flaring 8 feet up! I even got bit by that when test-flighting my VF Extra without the cowl. With the added aerodynamic drag, the point at where the engine thrust was inadequate to sustain forward movement came up rather suddenly! My first landing in theis configuration was very interesting, it was like the plane hit an invisible force-field and dropped out of the air from about 6 feet up!

RE: VectorFlight 300s, anygood?
 

Diablokid got it right, but forgot to tell you something important!

A snap is actually not just a simple stall. That would be fairly easy to get out of! It's when one wing stalls before the other, and it rolls as well as pitches as a result.

For example, when looping, instead of just going 'over the top' it also rolls sideways and starts a spin. In fact, a low speed snap is a good way to get into a spin.

It's the sideways or rolling motion that's difficult to handle, as the thing that caused it, the partially stalled wing, doesn't allow you to use ailerons to recover. You have two real choices to get out of it. Either you get some speed up to stop the wing stalling, or you use the rudder, which isn't at all easy in the time allowed!

One further point . It's also possible to get into a high speed snap, as, given the right conditions, a wing will sometimes stall at high speed due to the turbulence caused by the speed.

So three things must be in the back of your mind - Don't go too fast, don't go too slow, and, most of all, don't over control the elevator.

Hope that helps!

-David C.

RE: VectorFlight 300s, anygood?
 

Thanks for the info guys !! I've been flying a trainer so this should be a big change. I'm use to just killing the power and letting it come down. What kind of power should I land with, like 25% or so ? I do have an expert who's going to take me up on a buddy box so hopefully things will go smoothly.
Thanks again
Jim

RE: VectorFlight 300s, anygood?
 

You'll find out that you'll need to keep the speed on base and final much higher than a trainer. Also, turns must be very smooth and coordinated in order to avoid snaps. This is more important than speed.
It's a wonderful way to cut the umbilical cord with the trainer.
Yes, it's a lot of sweating..:eek:

RE: VectorFlight 300s, anygood?
 

By the time you make your turn to final, you should only have a few clicks of throttle in. Chop the throttle to idle as it crosses the runway threshold.

Also, practice rudder turns, keeping the airplane as flat as possible in the air. If your engine flames out and you roll the airplane to turn towards the runway at low speed it will try to fall out of the air, this airplane is not a glider!

RE: VectorFlight 300s, anygood?
 

Well, I don't know about all this talk about snaps, etc. I've done dead stick landings with both my 58" Extra, and with my bigger Edge 540, just because I enjoy flying them so much I loose track of time, and run out of fuel! They both handle well, and I've not had to make any repairs. It just takes time and practice to know how much room you need. Sometimes you gotta land the way it's headed, and take a little walk. Sometimes you have room to do a quick turn and bring her in right in front of you. Just remember, they only fly when they are moving forward. Stalls in any kind of a plane are a no no if you're too close to the terra firma.:)

RE: VectorFlight 300s, anygood?
 

I guess I was thinking it wouldn't be that much different than the Alpha trainer, I can already feel my hands shaking holding the sticks. :-) Now that I know what a snap is, I think I've experienced it many times with my zagi razor, when you slow it down too much in a turn it will turn over and start spinning towards the ground. I did this quite a few times when I was teaching myself to fly, glad it was just a piece of foam when it hit the ground !! Since then I've learned how to correct for it, not sure if this will help me, this is no Zagi for sure !! Guess I will find out this weekend. It sure is a pretty plane for 150 bucks ! Hope it stays pretty.
Thanks again for all the advice.
Jim

RE: VectorFlight 300s, anygood?
 

Diablokid, thanks for your reply, I didn't think a four-stroke would fit under the hood. Has anyone mounted a 2-stroke either inverted or horizontally without having to carve out that beautiful cowl on either the 58 or 66 inch Extra 300? Thanks

RE: VectorFlight 300s, anygood?
 

well Joe my engine is mounted sideways, that might make a difference. If its upside down it might fit I think :)


good luck

matt

RE: VectorFlight 300s, anygood?
 

I have a fairly large cutout in my cowling for my side mounted Saito 100. I'd rather have the hole in the cowling to accomidate my Saito 100. Although, this is my first 4 stroke, the sound and power from this engine is awesome.

Hope this helps.

RE: VectorFlight 300s, anygood?
 

Got everything working great guys...and will be flying as much as possible this weekend...

If anyone has a flight report I'd love to read it...

Have a good one...

Sam

RE: VectorFlight 300s, anygood?
 

I too hope to do a lot of flying this weekend with my 58" Extra and Edge 540, and I also hope to get some video to post on my homepage!:D

RE: VectorFlight 300s, anygood?
 

No one putting 2-strokes in the extra 300's? Am still trying to find out if a 2-stroke will fit inside the cowling without cutting out for the head. Also, a few other questions to anyone regarding the Vectorflight ARF's :

- Is the bonded wing skin repairable: can it be patched with something like Oracover in
the event of dings, hanger rash etc, or do they have to be patched and painted?

- Are replacement parts such as wings, cowls, canopies available?

- How does the weight of these ARF's compare to a built up wing type? Does the 58 inch
Extra- 300 with a ST-90 actually have a dry weight of 7 pounds as stated in the review
posted on the VF website?

Thanks in advance for any info, Joe

RE: VectorFlight 300s, anygood?
 

I have a OS FX .91 in my 66 Extra...

and I had to cut the cowl.....cutting the cowl is a GOOD THING ANYWAY...

YOUR ENGINE NEEDS AIR TO BREATH AND FOR COOLING !!!!

My head sticks out about 1/16" so it's not too much...

but I think the cooling issue is important...

Sam

RE: VectorFlight 300s, anygood?
 

Sam, thanks for the input. Is your OS 91 mounted inverted or horizontally? I agree that cooling is essential. Was thinking of mounting a Tower 75 or ST 75 which have a smaller head, in the horizontal position, and was thinking that the air thru the front opening would flow around the head and cylinder and out thru a 2x larger opening in the bottom of the cowl. Think
this would work? Thanks, Joe