bedowinn

Derek,
Who carries the Jet Legend brand?
Are they available on the West coast?

Thanks

Mike

Derek.Koopowitz

Mike,

I'm not sure... if you scan this thread you'll see a link to their US agents website for their Jets. I'm the agent for the Neptuno EP and GP planes.

underdw

My Feedback: (2)

I've had my E-Neptuno flying for a couple of months now, but wanted to get some things worked out before posting.
A little background on myself in order to take my comments in context: I've been flying IMAC for about 6 years now, but just got re-started in pattern 2 years ago after discovering how well the planes fly, how cool e-power is, and how fun sequences can be without zillions of snaps. The Neptuno is my second 2m e-plane; I flew a Delro E-Motion last year in Masters and FAI. I'm competent, but no threat to win a decent sized contest. Still learning about pattern trimming and setup.

First, the model: For $2050 shipping it's hard to imagine a better fit and finish on a 2m model. Paint is immaculate, level of assembly is incredible, hardware included, and quality is top-notch. There were really no quality issues or flaws (other than a missing clevis) of significance. Derek's service is also top notch.

I first built the plane with a Himax. It was a couple oz over 5lb and felt it was underpowered compared to the Plettenberg I was used to, so a swap to a Plettenberg 30-09 and CF prop solved both issues.

I started with CG at 170mm from the wing root leading edge. The first few days of flying left me wondering if I had made a mistake. I was struggling with getting the rolls axial, it wouldn't snap without a ton of elevator and aileron throw, and didn't feel groovy through corners. I gradually moved the CG back and WOW: at 190mm it came ALIVE! I ended up at 192mm and didn't need the added battery tray Derek suggests.
It now rolls like it's on a string, snaps crisply and stops on a dime, and carves through the corners. So, maybe I'm giving up something with my preference for aft CGs, but that's what works for me on this plane.

Hammers are sweet and kick over at moderate throws so that I won't need to be flipping switches during a sequence.
Snaps like to be started with hard elevator before beginning rotation in order not to loose altitude, but finish crisply.
Point rolls require just a breath of rudder/elevator to maintain line.
The plane flies steadily in the wind, but does not "self correct" (yaw/pitch into the wind to automatically correct the line) as well as the EMotion does.
Incidences were set well at the factory and I think required mixing will be minimal.

I had a landing gear mount failure today during a good landing (on a moderately rough runway). The LG plate seperated from the forward former - looks like there wasn't much glue in the joint. So, think about reinforcing the mount.

So, I've started the trimming and "bonding" processes with the plane and give it a big thumbs up!

Dan

jayjayneri

Anyone with pics of their motor, esc and battery mounting? I am just finishing my E-Neptuno now. Since this is my first electric pattern plane, I would appreciate some pics to guide me. I will be using a 14xl and a spin99. Thanks in advance....

crazyf3a

Hi Derek
I fly a C-Arf Integral. Is the Neptuno EP bigger then the Integral. I saw it is very small. What is the different between this two planes.
sr
andreas

Derek.Koopowitz

Hi Andreas,

The Neptuno EP is larger than the Integral... the fuselage is very deep. I will try to get a picture of the two planes together at our contest at the end of April.

roalddogge

Hi Jayjay,

How is life ? Maybe it is late, but here some pics of my installation. I am using a Scorpion and Schulze 32.55 ESC. I made a new battery tray which was lighter, stiffer and larger so it enables me to move the batteries a bit more as I am planning to try some different motors.

Cheers

Ro

DAMBUSTER

Hi Guys,I have just bought an E Neptuno,could I get some idea of the CG location.The only actual numbers in this thread are 170mm and 192mm,yet I have been told that 210 i.e. behind the wing tube is the way to go. What are your thoughts?
Cheers Dambuster.

roalddogge

Hi,

I would start with a CG at 180mm and try later 190mm. The E-Nep is not so sensitive where the CG is, but 210 seems to be VERY tail heavy and not necessary. Mine is at 180mm but others had good success with 190mm.

This will give you still a stable plane, but a more powerfull tail. Especially needed for the loops with integrated rolls.

If you fly more simpler manouvers then 170mm will give some additional stability and nicer snaps.

Some additional tips:

- Shorten the horns on the rudder to maximum 15mm long on each side. This will increase the throw, which is needed for stall turns. The rudder is a bit small and needs all deflection possible. Set the end points in the transmitter at 130% with 60% expo.

- Reinforce the landing gear plate in the fuse. The plate where the landing gear is screwed to is just glued to some formers and cannot take much. Just add some triangle wood on the inside and a thin plywood plate on the front/back will improve it a lot.

- Check the wing incidence. Should be around +0.7 - +1 .0 degrees.

I hope that this will help.


Roald

DAMBUSTER

Roald Hi,Thank you for your input,much appreciated. I suspected a CG so far back would make the plane "twitchy",something I don't need !! I have already set the incidence at + 1 deg and strengthened the u/cart mount.Also I do fly simpler manouvers,I just like good models to fly them with so that I know its my mistake not the model !!!
Thank you again.
Dambuster.

Derek.Koopowitz

I flew mine at 170mm from the leading edge - little to no mix and it flew VERY well.

DAMBUSTER

Derek,Thank you for your input,I am trying to get the batts as far forward as possible and still may not make 170mm.The model is pushing weight wise so I will see where the CG comes out and if around 170 to 185 I will see how it flies.
Cheers Dambuster.

patternflyer1

My Feedback: (11)

I have flown it at 170 (my first Neptuno), and it took 2 percent to down ele with throttle for downlines. A few percent of rudder to aileron, and no rudder to elevator. My current Neptuno is further back than that. Not sure exactly.

My current Neptuno is further back than that as it fly's tailheavy to me. It needs 4 percent rudder to aileron, and 3 percent down ele to throttle. However it is 51 grams overweight with the Q80. The first plane was lighter and flew a bit better IMO.

Just checked my landing gear mount and, well, it's broken.. Pretty severely. Glad you mentioned it Roald. I wouldn't have checked it otherwise.

Chris

DAMBUSTER

Chris,Again, thank you for your input. Seems 170mm is the magic number...provided the model is not too heavy !!
Cheers Dambuster.

jayjayneri

180mm works fine for my E-Neptuno.

roalddogge

Hi Chris,

If you want to reduce some weight then maybe you should removed that boat achor of a Q80 and use it for it's intended purpose....;-)

I got one to install but never did when I found out that the actual weight was more than 670 grams, even without the rear support. Little bit more than the advertised 630 grams (or the 610 grams advertised at that time). I never found such a big deviation with other manufacturers. Also the later 20 poles version was much heavier than advertised :-(



Roald

patternflyer1

My Feedback: (11)

haha Roald! You are funny! Boat anchor... Funny!!!

Yeah, yours seems quite heavy for some reason. I haven't tried the newer version. Mine is closer to the advertised weight if memory serves me correctly. I could save maybe 50 grams by switching to a Pletty, Neu, or C50. That'd put me at 5000 grams. Good enough I reckon. I was not worried about it in the least because I new I could save the weight if I tried a little bit. I only have like maybe 20 flights on this one so I haven't been concerned about it yet.

On CG, yeah, I would say between 170-180 would be fine...... Small mixing/throw differences is what I noticed, but still fly's pretty much the same. My current Neptuno fly's like it's a lot further back than that. I didn't ever cg it though. I can say that with it further back where mine is, if you are flying down wind in a decent wind, pull a 45, the tail really gets pushed down and I didn't like that. When I flew it more nose heavy, that issue wasn't there. I figured this one would be nose heavy with the *boat anchor* in it, but seems to fly the opposite.

Chris

shannah

My Feedback: (5)

Just curious, and not trying to be a thread troll in any way, but what's the latest on this airplane? There were several flying in D7 last year, but I haven't seen one in a while. Everyone seemed to like it. But its been radio silent on this thread and I haven't seen one at the field this year. It looks like it might be a nice Contra Drive platform. Thin fuse and lots of side area. Is it still being made? Did the quality go down the tubes as production ramped up?

Derek.Koopowitz

Steve,

I still fly mine and I know several others that are still flying. I think some people got legitimately concerned about the quality of the wings when we had a couple of wing problems which the factory has tried to address. I loved mine until I dumb-thumbed it into the ground... and my replacement is even lighter than the original and I'm still trimming it. The reduced the nose weight just enough so that balancing it at 170mm is now a stretch for me and I am now flying it at 180mm - which is fine but I prefer it a little more nose heavy. I may end up having to add nose weight to get it to balance at 170mm.

underdw

My Feedback: (2)

I sold mine to a friend - not because I didn't like it, but because he wanted it so badly. Best flying plane I've had to date.

I planned to put together a new plane this winter with a Contra. In retrospect I should have hogged out the firewall and put it in the Neptuno. If you do decide to put a Contra in one, be sure to check the length and prop clearance. Might be a struggle to meet weight with a Contra - I had 50gm to spare with my Pletty setup.

My only complaint was a slightly mushy snap - but I'm learning now to just crank up the aileron throw for snaps.

Dan

jayjayneri

My E-Neptuno still has about 50 flights on it and am still trimming it. Can anyone tell be how to zero the fuselage so I can set the wing incidence? Thanks a lot!

underdw

My Feedback: (2)

I just flew mine out of the box with incidences set by the factory. Only tweaked one wing to take out some aileron trim.

Derek.Koopowitz

The front nose former is 1.5 degrees down - put a level on the nose pointing up/down and set the front of the nose level by moving the tail up/down. Set your wings to 0 degrees in this position. This is the thrust line location for level. I would start there and then adjust the wings as needed. Bear in mind that one wing needs to be about .5 degree more in incidence than the other one. If you set both to 0 and fly it you will have a fairly good roll to one side. Adjusting the incidence on the right wing will fix this.

patternflyer1

My Feedback: (11)

jayjay

When I set mine up, I put the prop straight up and down. Then I put a laser on it and blocked the tail up until the prop was perfect with the laser. Then I referenced everything from there. I set the stab at +1 and wing at +1.5 if I remember correctly (I could be wrong, it's been a while). Then I made adjustments after I flew it. I think 175mm - 180mm was better for me but it's been a while since I flew mine so I can't really remember what my settings ended up.

Chris

jayjayneri

Thanks for the advice guys. Will adjust as you guys suggest and see how it goes.

Jayjay