RE: Dynaflight Butterfly
 

Broke the fin off mine trying to takeoff in a 7mh crosswind.

RE: Dynaflight Butterfly
 

WOW
I hear allot of ppl saying they
folded the wing.

RE: Dynaflight Butterfly
 

I would think this plane's take-off roll to be so short, there would never be a need to take off cross-wind!

From what has been stated here, the wing failure appears to occure at the polyhedral break. I have built a 1/8th inch thick plywood diehedral sheer brace which runs through the polyhedral break in the spars. This plywood sheer brace runs between the last rib bay on the center section and the first rib bay on the outer section. I am going to continue balsa sheer webbing out to W-8 or W-9 on the outer panel, also.

RE: Dynaflight Butterfly
 

I also replaced the balsa sheer webbing at the wing root with two plywood sheer webs per side. Since the carbon tubes for the wing rod get epoxied to these two sheer webs, I just felt these should be stronger then balsa. I toyed for a long time with making deeper modifications to this area of the construction of the wing; but, in the end thought Dynaflite has been successful with the Butterfly as designed, so go with as designed but in favor of changing these sheerwebs to plywood in this location.

I don't care for a few things about this kit. I don't think the design is as well thought out as it should be. The wood is great, the instructions are fairly good, other then as previously mentioned. It doesn't compare to their SE5a which I am also building at the same time.

RE: Dynaflight Butterfly
 

Just to bring this thread forward.

I have epoxied the wing tubes in place and am ready to do the polyhedral joints. All is going well.

RE: Dynaflight Butterfly
 

Hey got the plane yesterday, but i don't any fuel. lol
so i have to wait til next tuesday to fly it.
i also think i need to get a starter.
its horrible, i have this beutiful plane in the
garage, and can't even fly it, the weather is perfect
but not for long, its supposed to rain this weekend.

RE: Dynaflight Butterfly
 

I have kept a Butterfly in the air for three years of flying under many kinds of conditions. I often turn to it as a change of pace. An OS .15 pulls it easily from a hand launch. Tends to ground loop if takeoffs are attempted. I love this simple plane. Any spectator can take the transmitter, once it is high enough, and keep it under control. A few sensible mods make it highly durable.

RE: Dynaflight Butterfly
 

Nice pics, Slowflight.

A new club member built one with lots of epoxy and then double covered it--two layers of Monocote, thinking it would be stronger that way. He had a .15 LA on it. I managed to coax it off our grass field and up to a reasonable height after awhile. I actually enjoy the challenge of flying very low powered airplanes, but this was ridiculous. However, if built lighter I can see that a .15 would be very nice for that plane, and I would think it would be a very good trainer in calm conditions. Jim

RE: Dynaflight Butterfly
 

Very nice pics, i still haven't gottn mine up, i am
looking for some flight clubs in ELk Grove.
Plus i'm still a lil bit nervous about taking this thing up bymyself.

RE: Dynaflight Butterfly
 

Two interesting Butterfly stories:

When I flew it as a demonstration for some elementary school students I nearly lost it. The school's flying field was an agricultural area across the road, lined by forest. I knew the wind was picking up after a cold front passage, but it still felt calm enough at ground level behind the trees. As soon as it was about 75 feet high, the thing was swept away by a howling wind. It was all I could do to turn it around and pull it back with full throttle, fighting a strong tendency to climb into the headwind. I barely got it back to us and safely on the ground. The kids thought it was all a part of the show.

I also tested to see when a plane this size "specks out" by putting a wrist altimeter inside. For my eyes, it was 1410 feet. And yes, we were far, far away from any traffic. (I don't know what that $40 garbage is. When I try to edit, it does not show on my screen.)

RE: Dynaflight Butterfly
 

Hey got everything today, I plan to go fly it this weekend.
any pointers
Thanks

RE: Dynaflight Butterfly
 

I live next to a park, mostly grass there,
I have the stock wheels on my Butterfly
would these do for grass takeoff?
if not, what kind?

RE: Dynaflight Butterfly
 

I don't know what the stock size is. I flew one off of a grass field, but we keep it pretty short. Any trouble, just get larger wheels--any light foam wheels will do. Two inch would be just barely adequate if the grass is short and the ground is smooth; if it were me I'd start with at least 2 1/4; on a bumpy field or longish grass go to 2 1/2 or even 2 3/4. As long as you make sure you are getting a lightweight type there is no reason to skimp on the wheel size. It's nice not having to worry about getting snagged on a bump. Jim

RE: Dynaflight Butterfly
 

The best advice I can give, based on experience, is hand launch. Give it full throttle and let someone give it a toss straight ahead. Sometimes I launch it myself while holding the transmitter in my left hand. Be ready to throttle back if you have a strong engine. I never attempt to take this plane off anymore. The wheels are there for landing. Here it is seconds after a personal hand launch.

RE: Dynaflight Butterfly
 

OK, thanks for everything
I'll be flying it alone, so I won't have anyone
to help me hand launch it.
I hope the Park is addequate

RE: Dynaflight Butterfly
 

Regarding flying space, keep in mind this is a big plane. You'll want some sky. I have landed it with no problem on a small soccer field that was surrounded by open area. You're gonna love the Butterfly. Just don't expect fancy aerobatics.

RE: Dynaflight Butterfly
 

I just finished my Butterfly last night it is an electric conversion. First flight was this morning and the plane flew great. I was able to takeoff from the smooth groung and most of the flight was at lees than half throttle. Only changes I made from the plans was: Convert to electric and I added 4" tires so I could go off roading. Of all the aircraft I fly I really like the simplicity of basic trainers and this airplane will soon be one of my favorites.

RE: Dynaflight Butterfly
 

Congratulations! Big wheels on smooth surface probably made an elegant takeoff. My attempts at ROG with standard wheels on grass were all nearly disastrous. Enjoy your Butterfly. Mine is in its third season and remains a lot of pleasure.

RE: Dynaflight Butterfly
 

i put the recommended wheels on first but I feltlike they would be a problem in any grass (other than a putting green). So I opted for the large tires. The weight penalty was 4 oz, but with an aircraft this large it did not know the difference.

RE: Dynaflight Butterfly
 

Just finished up a 25 minute flight on the butterfly this morning. All I need now is a lawn chair and the help of some thermals and I will be able to stay up all day. This was the first flight on a new battery pack (2600 mAh NiMH). As the pack goes through a few cycles I think I can get a least 30 minute flights. My flights are at less than half throttle and with this new battery pack I have a lot more power than my old LiPo setup. My Butterfly is very heavy it weighs in at 70 oz and is a beast when I try to hand launch it, but with the new battery I have more than enough power to get this bird airborne from the ground. The reason my plane is so heavy is because the brushless motor I have up front is so light (2.2 oz) and to get the plane to balance I was putting 18 oz of weight up front. So I dumped the LiPo battery (7.4V 3000mAh) and 10 oz of weight and had an 18 oz 8 cell NiMH made to use as my power source. That is where some of my overweight issue comes from. I also put on some 4" tires which are 4.3 oz more than my original wheel choice. All in all I am happy with my results, and look forward to many more relaxed flights.

RE: Dynaflight Butterfly
 

Due to having taken a job and working 50 hours a week, in May or June I gave the in-completed plane back to it's owner to complete. I had the wings and tail feathers covered. The owner completed the rest. He test flew it recently. In a dive, he noted the wings to flutter and pulled out before incidence. Last night (at the beginnings of our annual FUN-FLY) he took it up and allowed me to take the controls. Being a Mode 1 flier, I was just fine flying this slow-docile airplane which was set-up in Mode 2. After flying for 5 minutes or so, I gave the Tx back to the owner. Not 5 minutes later, he dove again and tore the right wing tip off at the polyhedral joint.

In my opinion, the warnings about folded wings have merritt, heed them!