astro hog bipe?
 

Hi guys I'm building an astro bipe for my fourth plane and first biplane,What can I expect in flight?any bad habits to look out for?
Thanks

RE: astro hog bipe?
 

Build the landing gear in further front a 1/2" or so.....or it will tend to nose over on take offs and landings!!!! Making takeoffs unpredictable and landings kinda hairy.

And you might want to replace that flimsy stock landing gear right off the bat with a good one like dubros flexible ones.....glad I did.

RE: astro hog bipe?
 

Can I go with any more then a 1/2"?(I don't like hairy landings :D)I am going to replace the tail dragger set up with a sulivan,good tip on the landing gear.
Thanks

RE: astro hog bipe?
 

The further forward you move the gear the harder it will be to get it to track on take off.

You want it just far enough to avoid nosing over.

Other than that it is a lovely flying model but watch out for crosswinds on the ground.

RE: astro hog bipe?
 

Check these threads, lots of good info and a fun read.
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_6783496/tm.htm
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_2560569/tm.htm

RE: astro hog bipe?
 

Is the dubro landing gear metal or fiberglass?this might be what I need for my 4 star,it's always getting bent.

RE: astro hog bipe?
 

they have a nylon one for 40-60 sized planes and I think a larger one as well...

RE: astro hog bipe?
 

I think I am going to pick 1 up for my four* to,it's always getting bent outta wack.

RE: astro hog bipe?
 

Moving the landing gear forward increases the weight behind the landing gear, which will increase the chance of the tail wanting to overtake the nose when landing. With all taildraggers it's a juggling act between nose-overs and ground spins.

Other than that, bipes have much more drag and much more lift. In practice this means you'll lift off the ground at a lower speed, but have a lower maximum speed. It'll also slow down a lot faster than you're probably used to, which can lead to sudden stalls, albeit at a lower speed. You also have twice as many wing tips to have tip stalls on so they can get a little frisky at low speeds. Unless you're coming in to land fairly hot you'll want to keep the engine speed up slightly more than normal. You can't just drop to idle and float these things in - it's more like flying them onto the ground. If you have a simulator, practice setting your approach angle with the elevator, holding it steady, and using the throttle to control rate of descent.

Normal tail-dragger principles apply of course, keep the elevator up when taxi-ing around, in fact I use high rates on my Skybolt when taxi-ing to keep the tail wheel on the ground and get the most out of the elevator at low speeds. Switch to low rates before take off though. When building up speed for take off you need to "fly the tail" before you get the wheels off the ground.

Biplanes are somewhat shorter in the fuselage than monoplanes (compared to the overall amount of wing length & surface) and turn slightly differently. The rudder becomes more important on these planes - you might want to mix a little rudder into the ailerons if you have a computer radio to avoid adverse yaw (the tendency for the plane to yaw right when the ailerons make it bank left). You'll find that bipes are more eager to climb and dive because of the shorter fuse too - it's nothing major but can take you by surprise at first.

I've been flying my first bipe for about 2 months now, and it's very quickly become my favourite plane. I'm sure you'll enjoy it's subtle differences, as well as the attention from those around you when you fly it. (Apart from anything else - when you've done a sharp descending turn in from the base leg to overfly the runway and the plane goes into silhouette, the subconscious expectation to see a mad German in a red triplane tracking yours is enough to make it worth while. :D )

http://bp2.blogger.com/_M58qhklgUDU/...heRedBaron.jpg

RE: astro hog bipe?
 

Thanks for all that great info,I fly the heck outta my 4 star, it became second nature taking it off and landing but it was a big change going from a trainer to a low wing.I have built a astro hog,it's about 95% done just needs servos and receiver, but I will work on flying that plane this year and save the bipe for the next year if I feel I masterd the low wing astro.I like to take things in small steps to avoid frustraition.My father in law is the opposite,he goes from a trainer to a T-34 and has not masterd landings yet on the trainer.I do think he is ready for the next step in planes,I sugested a 4* or a tiger but he hates the way they look.Oh well mabe some day he will come to understand the differnt natures that planes have.He is working on a aero master bipe this winter,he got it as a lazer kit and planes from AMA.I heard good things about this plane like no bad habbits but I still don't think he is gonna be ready for this one either.Oh ya he is powering it with a .46 eflight electric motor.(think thats enough motor?)

RE: astro hog bipe?
 

Heya...

I wouldn't have a clue if that's enough motor for your father's plane - never had anything to do with electrics. Airplanes that buzz and don't smoke just don't seem right to me. ;)

I have to admit, I'm in the same school as your father where it comes to progression. I've been flying about 1.5 years and after only 2 months with a high wing trainer I'd bought a Spitfire! That never actually got crashed (though I did rip the retracts out of it), instead it got retired and hung from a 5 year old's bedroom ceiling as the thing never flew straight. I then went on to a Messerschmidt BF109 which I got about half a dozen flights (and probably about 3 good landings) out of before I plowed it into the ground cockpit first. At that point I swallowed my pride, went back to my trainer, put in a LOT of time on the sim, and hammered my landings into some semblance of decency before getting a low wing sports plane to advance with at a more reasonable rate.

These days I still fly that sports flyer (it's a Harmon Rocket III), as well as a Dual Ace twin engine plane, and most recently the Super Skybolt. Plans for future planes include a Sopwith Snipe and a De Havilland Mosquito but I've been forced (by my budget mostly) to learn a little wisdom and patience.