A Beginners Tale...UM Spitfire
 

If you have read my previous posts, you know that I'm a self-taught RC pilot. I started off with an E-Flite Apprentice 15e and the intention to work with an instructor. The instructor and I could never seem to make our schedules match. I had also purchased a flight simulator, the Phoenix 4. This is an excellent sim. I was able to use the Spectrum DX6i that I upgraded to and this gave me one transmitter with one "feel" to use with multiple planes and the sim. Being grounded by lack of an instructor, I spent a lot of time on the sim. I approached it in steps. I flew the video Apprentice and kept making things more difficult in terms of wind, gusts, crosswinds, etc. I tried to fly warbirds and crashed often enough to convince me that I needed to stick with the Apprentice when and if I ever got to fly it. The day finally came when I decided to go fly the plane. I couldn't wait forever for an instructor. I chose a calm Sunday evening when the local field was not in use. My wife was my only companion. I didn't have to worry about a mid-air with another plane. I took off and flew. It was an interesting experience. The real Apprentice behaved very much like its virtual sister on the sim. I had planned a simple take off, fly the pattern, and land. That way I'd have plenty of time to abort the landing(s) and try again before the battery ran down and there wasn't any other choice. I won't claim my landing was perfect or exactly where I wanted the touch down to be but the plane was down and in one piece.

That's where it began. I flew the Apprentice extensively. Had to replace a motor mount and a wing eventually. I'm retired and can fly pretty much whenever the weather permits. Then I added an ultra micro J-3 Cub. Only three channels but I loved it. I added a UM Aeronca Champ mainly because I owned and flew a full scale Aeronca Chief in the 1980's. Great flying model of a great flying plane. Then I saw the UMX Carbon Cub with AS3X. Had to have it. It has become my favorite plane. Then I discovered that Park Zone has added a Spitfire to the ultra micro line and it too has the AS3X stabilization system. A warbird, and one of the planes of my dreams, with the AS3X system. I've always considered the Spit to be the most elegant plane in WW-II. I ordered one from my LHS.

The plane arrived today and I was impressed by its good looks. How would it fly? Could I fly it considering my relative lack of experience? I took it home and charged the battery. Then I did the bind thing with my TX. I centered the trims on the radio and then tweaked the control rods to match. PZ is very specific about this. Center the trims and then bend the rods to center the control surfaces. Fly the plane, trim it, and then tweak the rods again so the TX trims can be centered. This is apparently important for the AS3X system to work properly. Then I waited for the evening and the drop in wind speed. I took the Spit, the Carbon Cub, and the Champ out to the field. For the first time ever, the Champ didn't make it into the air. I flew the Spit first, hand launching it into the gentle wind. I have really mixed feelings about the plane. I flew it through two batteries because one didn't seem to last long enough. The plane looks great in the air. My dreams of being a RAF ace come almost true. Low speed passes were impressive. The problem was that the plane seemed to demand at least 3/4 throttle. Throttle back to 1/2 and I was fighting the edge of a stall in turns. Even at full throttle I never managed to complete a full loop. I didn't time the flights but they were relatively short thanks to the throttle demands. So I could fly my warbird but it wasn't exactly what I expected a warbird to be. On the positive side, I didn't crash it.

I flew the Carbon Cub right at sunset so I could see the LED navigation and landing lights. Those lights buy me a few extra minutes of flying when most planes would be hard to see. The CC is a little larger and heavier than the Spit. It also uses a larger battery and has a more powerful motor. The difference in performance is remarkable. I hate to say this but the CC flies more like a warbird than the warbird. The CC will easily power itself through a large loop. It will barrel roll. It will scream by in a low level pass or float into the wind. It can tow a sailplane. When it's time to land you drop the flaps and can often elevator in for a landing if there is any wind.

I'll continue to fly the Spit. It is, for now, my warbird. The CC is still my favorite plane to fly. That little plane is making me into a pilot again. I have its bigger brother, the Carbon Z, on order. The adventure continues.

Storm

I took the Spit out again this morning. This time I removed the landing gear. It's easy to do. They slide right out of the mounts. It made for a big increase in performance. The lack of drag at first caused a tendency to climb but three clicks of down elevator trim compensated for that. I was able to perform loops although not the gentle open ones the Carbon Cub will do. Rolls are fast and linear. I should probably mention that I was flying in winds with gust to around 10 mph. The plane would scream downwind and then slow on an upwind pass but would still bore ahead quite well. It still demanded 3/4 throttle most of the time so flight times were still limited but at least it flew like a warbird. I'm liking it better and better.

Storm

I was flying the Spit this morning and about two minutes into the third battery in a row the plane seemed to throttle down as though the battery was depleted. I was able to belly land the plane without damage but the why of the problem was a mystery. I changed out for another battery and the plane wouldn't remain in the air when hand launched. I put it back in the truck and took it to the Guru of things RC at Big Dog Hobbies. I was told that flying repeatedly wasn't a good idea because the air flow across the motor was not good in that particular model and it could over heat. A few dollars later I'm back to being a Spitfire pilot. It's worth noting. This particular model needs a cool-down break between flights. Too bad because it's a really addictive plane.

Storm

All electric powered aircraft will require some degree of cool down between flights for motors and speed controls.

John

Thanks, John. Every education costs something. Mine cost me a new motor yesterday. Temps at the field were around 90 and I flew three batteries in a row. It's a mistake I won't repeat.

Storm