Electrifly Rifle
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Electrifly Rifle
Great Planes has been selling their high-quality, competitively-priced Electrifly Ammo inrunner motors for years. But, what good is ammo without something to fire it?
Well, here's a firearm that you don't need to belong to a gun club to shoot. The Great Planes Rifle is an all-fiberglass mini-hotliner that promises 90MPH right out of the box.
Wingspan: 31 in (785 mm)
Wing Area: 112 in² (7.2 dm²)
Weight: 17-18 oz (480-510 g)
Wing Loading: 21.9-23.1 oz/ft² (67-70 g/dm²)
Length: 24.5 in (620 mm)
Well, here's a firearm that you don't need to belong to a gun club to shoot. The Great Planes Rifle is an all-fiberglass mini-hotliner that promises 90MPH right out of the box.
Wingspan: 31 in (785 mm)
Wing Area: 112 in² (7.2 dm²)
Weight: 17-18 oz (480-510 g)
Wing Loading: 21.9-23.1 oz/ft² (67-70 g/dm²)
Length: 24.5 in (620 mm)
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RE: Electrifly Rifle
What you see in the pictures is all that's required to get the plane into the air. All the wing-joining is done, all the control surfaces are hinged, and the solitary pushrod tube is already installed, so this is going to be a quick build.
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RE: Electrifly Rifle
Assembly begins with the elevator servo and pushrod. While the instructions warn that it may be necessary to trim some of the mounting block to clear the servo lead, the Rifle is designed from the get-go for the Futaba S3107 servo. The '3107 case has a chamfered edge where the lead exits, allowing it to be directed straight down, straight ahead, or any angle in between. By directing the lead in the down direction, the servo popped right in.
The instructions were a little sketchy on whether or not to use the rubber isolation mounts, or "rubber baby buggy bumpers" as I call them, to mount the servos. After trying the servo fit both ways, I decided to use the isolation mounts, as they clearly held the servo more securely than bare screws.
A not-so-well-known fact about Futaba servos is, they have an odd number of splines on the output shaft. This means that the servo arm will mount at a perfect 90 degree angle one way, and slightly off-kilter the other way. If you discover that the servo arm isn't perfectly perpendicular to the case, take the arm off, rotate 180 degrees, and reinstall. Odds are the arm will be perfectly square to the case.
This is the technique I used to determine which arms to cut off the stock 4-way servo arm. There was a 50/50 chance of getting it right the first time... Guess how I fared. At least it's not a complicated assembly.
A fluorescent green addendum to the instructions greeted me when I first opened the box, instructing me to discard the stock black 1mm elevator pushrod, and use the heavier silver pushrod packed on top of the instructions. There was no black pushrod in the kit; evidently Great Planes is removing the lighter pushrod prior to shipping the kits.
While the instructions clearly show the elevator pushrod installed with the z-bend pushed through the servo arm from the underside, I found that this created binding in the pushrod tube. By installing the pushrod with the z-bend inserted through the top of the servo arm, the binding was eliminated.
The instructions were a little sketchy on whether or not to use the rubber isolation mounts, or "rubber baby buggy bumpers" as I call them, to mount the servos. After trying the servo fit both ways, I decided to use the isolation mounts, as they clearly held the servo more securely than bare screws.
A not-so-well-known fact about Futaba servos is, they have an odd number of splines on the output shaft. This means that the servo arm will mount at a perfect 90 degree angle one way, and slightly off-kilter the other way. If you discover that the servo arm isn't perfectly perpendicular to the case, take the arm off, rotate 180 degrees, and reinstall. Odds are the arm will be perfectly square to the case.
This is the technique I used to determine which arms to cut off the stock 4-way servo arm. There was a 50/50 chance of getting it right the first time... Guess how I fared. At least it's not a complicated assembly.
A fluorescent green addendum to the instructions greeted me when I first opened the box, instructing me to discard the stock black 1mm elevator pushrod, and use the heavier silver pushrod packed on top of the instructions. There was no black pushrod in the kit; evidently Great Planes is removing the lighter pushrod prior to shipping the kits.
While the instructions clearly show the elevator pushrod installed with the z-bend pushed through the servo arm from the underside, I found that this created binding in the pushrod tube. By installing the pushrod with the z-bend inserted through the top of the servo arm, the binding was eliminated.
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RE: Electrifly Rifle
This is going together quick. I'm already up to mounting the horizontal stabilizer.
It's a tight squeeze under the elevator, but if you follow the instructions to the letter, it all fits together nicely. After making the prescribed bend in the pushrod, it will guide the stab assembly into place as it slides into the EZ connector. Some old-schoolers may prefer a Z-bend but it's just not an option here due to the close quarters.
One thing I would recommend is to pre-thread and CA-harden the holes in the fin BEFORE putting the stab in place. The screwdriver is a lot less likely to cause damage when it slips.
It's a tight squeeze under the elevator, but if you follow the instructions to the letter, it all fits together nicely. After making the prescribed bend in the pushrod, it will guide the stab assembly into place as it slides into the EZ connector. Some old-schoolers may prefer a Z-bend but it's just not an option here due to the close quarters.
One thing I would recommend is to pre-thread and CA-harden the holes in the fin BEFORE putting the stab in place. The screwdriver is a lot less likely to cause damage when it slips.
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RE: Electrifly Rifle
Motor installation is the trickiest part of assembling the Rifle. That long narrow nose is just slightly larger on the inside than the motor is on the outside, and there's just enough space for the electronics. Even though the instructions state that shortening the motor leads is an optional step, I highly recommend it. When you shorten the leads to 1" as directed, the ESC tucks nicely up in the "roof" of the nose area with no excess wire to deal with. If you've ever had to figure out how to deal with trying to coil up uncooperative wires in tight locations, you'll appreciate the foresight that Great Planes's designers put into this airframe.
It turned out much easier than I'd been told by others who have put this plane together. Maybe I just have nimble fingers, but my reputation as a ham-fist doesn't give that theory any credence. Actually, it's the generous cooling holes that give access for easy positioning of the motor.
Don't forget to follow the wisdom of the instructions, and check the rotation of the motor before you install it. Everything has to come back out to swap leads if the rotation turns out to be backwards. If you roll the dice on a 50/50 shot, guess what'll happen... I'm glad I checked mine.
It turned out much easier than I'd been told by others who have put this plane together. Maybe I just have nimble fingers, but my reputation as a ham-fist doesn't give that theory any credence. Actually, it's the generous cooling holes that give access for easy positioning of the motor.
Don't forget to follow the wisdom of the instructions, and check the rotation of the motor before you install it. Everything has to come back out to swap leads if the rotation turns out to be backwards. If you roll the dice on a 50/50 shot, guess what'll happen... I'm glad I checked mine.
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RE: Electrifly Rifle
I think the wing preparation took a whopping 6 minutes, 14 seconds... The most time-consuming part was waiting for the thin CA to flash over after hardening the holes. Using the equipment that the plane is designed around cuts build time by orders of magnitude. It's obvious that the plane was designed around Futaba S3107 servos, for example, because the servos slip perfectly into the trays and the screw holes are already marked in the servo tray on the wing.
Definitely exercise the hinges before hooking up the pushrods. I found the ailerons to be a bit stiff at first.
Definitely exercise the hinges before hooking up the pushrods. I found the ailerons to be a bit stiff at first.
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RE: Electrifly Rifle
So close to done, so very very close to done...
Small planes like this make me appreciate 2.4GHz technology even more. With the old 72MHz, 36"-ish antennas, not only would you have to figure out how to thread it through the tight fuselage, but you'd also have an unsightly white wire dangling out the rear of the plane that's longer than the plane itself!. As fast as the Rifle promises to be, it wouldn't be a good idea to do anything to reduce the range of the radio system, so it's almost mandatory to have the antenna dangling.
The antennas on the R617FS FASST receiver from Futaba are only about 6" long, and tuck conveniently inside the Rifle's fuselage. Great Planes was even thoughtful enough to provide an antenna routing recommendation for the FASST receivers. Using short pieces of the included tubing CA'd to the side of the fuselage turned out to be a clever and convenient way to hold the antennas out of the way in the limited space.
From a structural perspective the final step in assembly is to add the landing skids. These three fiberglass skegs are bonded to the wingtips and tail of the plane with thin CA after carefully locating the skid and scuffing the area where bonding is to take place. Two drops of thin CA and 15 seconds of breath-holding is all it takes to secure the skids firmly in place.
Amazingly enough, the battery slides right into the nose of the Rifle with no interference at all. It's almost as if the plane was designed around this set of components (and if I were a betting man, I'd put money on that being a fact).
Small planes like this make me appreciate 2.4GHz technology even more. With the old 72MHz, 36"-ish antennas, not only would you have to figure out how to thread it through the tight fuselage, but you'd also have an unsightly white wire dangling out the rear of the plane that's longer than the plane itself!. As fast as the Rifle promises to be, it wouldn't be a good idea to do anything to reduce the range of the radio system, so it's almost mandatory to have the antenna dangling.
The antennas on the R617FS FASST receiver from Futaba are only about 6" long, and tuck conveniently inside the Rifle's fuselage. Great Planes was even thoughtful enough to provide an antenna routing recommendation for the FASST receivers. Using short pieces of the included tubing CA'd to the side of the fuselage turned out to be a clever and convenient way to hold the antennas out of the way in the limited space.
From a structural perspective the final step in assembly is to add the landing skids. These three fiberglass skegs are bonded to the wingtips and tail of the plane with thin CA after carefully locating the skid and scuffing the area where bonding is to take place. Two drops of thin CA and 15 seconds of breath-holding is all it takes to secure the skids firmly in place.
Amazingly enough, the battery slides right into the nose of the Rifle with no interference at all. It's almost as if the plane was designed around this set of components (and if I were a betting man, I'd put money on that being a fact).
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RE: Electrifly Rifle
With all the wiring in place, it's time to close 'er up and get a look at the complete picture!
Astute observers will probably notice that the skids are missing from the assembled plane. Honestly, I was so excited about getting the plane assembled, I plum forgot to install them! So in reality, these pics were taken out of sequence. I'll fix that when I get out to the field for the real photo shoot.
When you get into planes this small and this quick, balance becomes absolutely CRUCIAL. GP includes a purpose-built balancing jig kit specifically for the Rifle. It's a simple matter of gluing together the die-cut aircraft ply pieces with good old fashioned medium CA. The balancing dowels need to be sharpened before they're glued in. Normally you'd spend a few minutes with a sanding block, or a rotary tool sanding drum, or even a benchtop belt sander. I used a pencil sharpener!
After slipping the battery into the bay with no particular attention to its exact position, I checked the preliminary balance. Right on the middle balance line that I marked earlier.
Astute observers will probably notice that the skids are missing from the assembled plane. Honestly, I was so excited about getting the plane assembled, I plum forgot to install them! So in reality, these pics were taken out of sequence. I'll fix that when I get out to the field for the real photo shoot.
When you get into planes this small and this quick, balance becomes absolutely CRUCIAL. GP includes a purpose-built balancing jig kit specifically for the Rifle. It's a simple matter of gluing together the die-cut aircraft ply pieces with good old fashioned medium CA. The balancing dowels need to be sharpened before they're glued in. Normally you'd spend a few minutes with a sanding block, or a rotary tool sanding drum, or even a benchtop belt sander. I used a pencil sharpener!
After slipping the battery into the bay with no particular attention to its exact position, I checked the preliminary balance. Right on the middle balance line that I marked earlier.
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RE: Electrifly Rifle
hi matt i got one of these guys coming (waiting on either towers or my LHS to get one in stock) i got the gear sitting here waiting for a home the only thing that worries me is i've been following a thread on RC groups and a couple of guys have had the wing fold on them even with the stock setup but you never know what kinda flying they were doing but i would like to think that something that is this fast could hold up to a full speed full elevator pull from level flight without folding the wings
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RE: Electrifly Rifle
The last two weeks have just been one long string of bad luck, and I haven't been able to get the Rifle into the air. When the camera crew is available, the weather sucks. When the weather is nice, the camera crew is nowhere to be found.
It's been sitting on my kitchen counter, mocking me.
We're having a club meeting tomorrow night, and everyone is supposed to be there, so hopefully I'll have a demo pilot, two cameras, and a successful flight.
That's interesting about the wing folding. It's a one-piece wing out of the box, so you wouldn't think that could/would happen. We shall see.
It's been sitting on my kitchen counter, mocking me.
We're having a club meeting tomorrow night, and everyone is supposed to be there, so hopefully I'll have a demo pilot, two cameras, and a successful flight.
That's interesting about the wing folding. It's a one-piece wing out of the box, so you wouldn't think that could/would happen. We shall see.
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RE: Electrifly Rifle
This little bugger is tough to photograph in the air, being a small target moving at nearly light speed, and all... Believe me, we TRIED to slow it down but it's so aerodynamically clean that even after half a lap of the field with the power off, you had to be quick on the camera to get anything at all.
The maiden took place under ideal conditions. My launcher, RCCR club president Bill Stauber, has his own Rifle, and test pilot Scott Miller flew Bill's Rifle. I was behind the video camera.
When you're running the video camera it's tough to get a feel for how the airplane is flying.
I got the chance to fly it yesterday. There's something about being at the sticks that makes it easier to track the plane in the air. I was hearing comments in the background, some of which I can't repeat here, but there was a lot of "Where'd it go?" and "I lost it!" Can't say that I had that problem while flying.
Landing is low and long. That's going to take a little more practice on my part. After several go-arounds, including one where I poured the coals to it and did a low, high-speed pass just because, I finally bled off enough speed to let the Rifle touch down. It slid quite a ways down the runway before coming to a stop.
The maiden took place under ideal conditions. My launcher, RCCR club president Bill Stauber, has his own Rifle, and test pilot Scott Miller flew Bill's Rifle. I was behind the video camera.
When you're running the video camera it's tough to get a feel for how the airplane is flying.
I got the chance to fly it yesterday. There's something about being at the sticks that makes it easier to track the plane in the air. I was hearing comments in the background, some of which I can't repeat here, but there was a lot of "Where'd it go?" and "I lost it!" Can't say that I had that problem while flying.
Landing is low and long. That's going to take a little more practice on my part. After several go-arounds, including one where I poured the coals to it and did a low, high-speed pass just because, I finally bled off enough speed to let the Rifle touch down. It slid quite a ways down the runway before coming to a stop.
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RE: Electrifly Rifle
Due to popular demand at my club's annual fun fly following last night's flight, I got out the Rifle and didn't spare the horses this time.
Young children and adults with weak constitutions should look away now because I can't even THINK what was going through my head while flying the Rifle. It's small size combined with near 100 MPH speed out of a slight dive makes it look incredibly fast. For comparison purposes, we had a 10ft B-17 bomber flying demos this afternoon with onboard telemetry. It topped out at a bit over 100 MPH, but looked like it was lumbering along. The Rifle traveling at roughly the same speed yet it seemed to shoot by like a... bullet.
Young children and adults with weak constitutions should look away now because I can't even THINK what was going through my head while flying the Rifle. It's small size combined with near 100 MPH speed out of a slight dive makes it look incredibly fast. For comparison purposes, we had a 10ft B-17 bomber flying demos this afternoon with onboard telemetry. It topped out at a bit over 100 MPH, but looked like it was lumbering along. The Rifle traveling at roughly the same speed yet it seemed to shoot by like a... bullet.
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RE: Electrifly Rifle
I've spent the last week looking for the patch cable for my video camera. This goofy thing has the USB cable under the battery, and a separate patch cable to connect it to the charger for video capture mode.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRvtPvF0Ylc[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRvtPvF0Ylc[/youtube]
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RE: Electrifly Rifle
Matt,
Nice maiden flight. I have a Rifle on backorder with Tower. I can't wait to get it! I am a member of the RC Pulsers of Western NY. Our field is in Akron, NY. A couple of my kids live in Rochester and I have a cottage at Conesus Lake, and I am looking for a club to join in the area. Does RCCR have any openings? Where is your field, etc?
thanks,
Bob
Nice maiden flight. I have a Rifle on backorder with Tower. I can't wait to get it! I am a member of the RC Pulsers of Western NY. Our field is in Akron, NY. A couple of my kids live in Rochester and I have a cottage at Conesus Lake, and I am looking for a club to join in the area. Does RCCR have any openings? Where is your field, etc?
thanks,
Bob
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RE: Electrifly Rifle
Bob,
The RCCR would welcome you to come to our fields, any time, and meet the Guys.
You can find some info on our site. http://www.rccr1957.com/ I look forward to meeting you.
The RCCR would welcome you to come to our fields, any time, and meet the Guys.
You can find some info on our site. http://www.rccr1957.com/ I look forward to meeting you.
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RE: Electrifly Rifle
the plane is fast but very small. running hi -po motor you would want to run a 2200 mah li-po. there ain't room. everything is tight and the wing servo is sticking down in the rx area leaving little room for a battery and esc unless shoved up front where you can't get to it. i had one and didn't like it. better off with a aeroworks stingray avail from aeroworks or tower hobbies. looks like a jet and flies 65 mph on a e-flight power 10 motor. unlimited vertical also much easier to see than the little rifle. also don't over power it or you'll have a time trimming it out. it ain't got much wing........good luck.......RON
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RE: Electrifly Rifle
Here's a video of one of my flights with my Rifle today. I have the 'fob' cam velcroed to the brim of my hat. Not great, not bad, but you get the idea. Check out the sweet speed pass at about 3:45.
Tim
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYA1FGhcbgI
Tim
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYA1FGhcbgI