New Spark EVO II on the market....
 

A mate pointed me to this today: http://www.krill-model.com/katalog/m...o-ii-2014.html

They have a Contra Drive version too.

Don't like that thing on top!

Cheers,
Jason.

I like the lines of the newer version, including the thing on top.
Nice new paint schemes as well. the first one shown reminds me of the Martini Racing livery.

Williams Martini F1 2014 Team.

Had the same thoughts on the first colour scheme. Brings back memories of the old Martini Lancia rally team.

The thing on top will cause more issues than it's worth. One would think you could buy it with the EVO I canopy though....

I don't understand why people want an ultra sensitive rudder. It make no sense in F3A.

Cheers,
Jason.

I like it...anyone know who (which pilot) is developing this plane with Krill?

I did a quick search and didnt find any other details or reports.

Colin.

Hi Colin,

Probably the same group of pilots who developed the EVO I which is listed on the Krill website.

Cheers,
Jason.

'I don't understand why people want an ultra sensitive rudder. It make no sense in F3A.'

Hi Jason,
I will try to explain this, to some extent anyway - Note; I'm not trained in aero-dynamics.
Anyway;
When your plane is in a steady state, say flying straight and level upright,your control surfaces are generally at a neutral position - in 'trim'.
However the wings, thus the ailerons, are under load (the weight of the model ) - say 0.6deg positive.
The tail, thus the elevators, is also under load - just enough to prevent the wing from climbing at it's +ve setting - say -ve .6 deg relative to the wing.
Now because these control surfaces are pre-loaded, even in a steady trim state, the plane will respond to any change in setting of these surfaces - even close to 'centre'.
This is because they are not actually centred - they are loaded by the AOA.
In yaw the desired trim state is with the fin/rudder actually centred - no 'pre-load'. (The trim state is a compromise of other forces, thrust angle; V ; ??? ) If there is any 'pre-load' on the fin rudder it will not trim straight.
This results in a mushy response to small movements in the rudder around centre - not what is desired for the precise control required in F3A.
Hope I'm making some sense of this :)

Brian

PS; The tail load is relatively small - none the less it is loaded some. However this small load may be reason enough to suggest that to improve response around centre may be desired on elevators also - though I'm not so good that I'm clearly noticing the need, except perhaps in some looping segments, downwind pulls etc. I can say that I ,on occasion, notice a dead response and thus input more elevator ??

Is it available in GP?

Hi, i already ordered a evo 2. for me the decision to evo 2 was that i will get the "modern" plane what is for the next 2-3 Year State of the art.

Hope Krill can deliver asap.

Br Gerhard

Just to say, .... fantastic.
This time, from Krill models , have been successful in all aspects of design.
Only 8 flights have been enough to basically set the balance flight.
CG approximately between 230 and 240 mm from the leading edge.
in slow tonels do not need to compensate with rudder.
knife-edge flight with little rudder is compensated.
Rudder performance is huge, but the performance in the stall turn is very poor, therefore, should greatly increase the deflection.
Care must be taken with the final weight. ..with batteries of 930 gram, finally weight 4830.....http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2048154http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2048144http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2048145http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2048147http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2048155http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2048156http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2048157http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2048158http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2048159http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2048148http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2048149http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2048150http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2048151http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2048160http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2048161http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2048143

Video promo.

https://youtu.be/NnVl22uNKS4?list=UUokOiDy4LRGSQNLWuOUXAUA

Andres or anyone else having a Spark EVO or EVO II, I'd love to see more detail images of your planes. Especially motor mounting and servo installations. It looks like the Krill building manual covers just part of the process and is pictures only. Are there any special tips or tricks to build this plane?

I have one arriving in a couple of days and my goal is to maiden it in June or maybe even earlier. I have most if not all of the electronics ready here too.

***Risto***

Spark Evo II GT7
 

My kit arrived a week ago. I'm very happy with the build quality and workmanship. It leaves very little room to complain. The only problem I have found so far are the main wheels that are approximately the correct size but have very flimsy and light center hub. I bet they wouldn't last a single landing in crosswind... Well, fortunately wheels are relatively cheap.

Here are the weights of most of the parts. Note that small parts like screws and control horns and the main wheels are missing.

• Wing tube 55 g
  
• Left elevator 134 g
  
• Right elevator 132 g
  
• Canopy 159 g
  
• Cowl 67 g
  
• T-canalyzer 99 g
  
• Rudder 57 g
  
• Fuselage 830 g
  
• Landing gear legs 138 g
  
• Wheel pants 36 g
  
• Tail wheel 11 g
  
• Elevator tube 16 g
  
• Left wing 453 g
  
• Right wing 436 g
  

The total of these is 2623 g. I don't think that is too bad although the wings are heavier than traditional balsa structure.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2090421

Actually, the kit supplied wheels are very good. The only thing you should do with them is glue the foam tyre on with some contact adhesive so it doesn't roll off the rim.

Cheers,
Jason.

Hmmm, I guess I must have gotten different wheels then with my kit. This is so far the only complaint I have and really just a minor problem. I did send an inquiry about the matter to my distributor though - let's see what they think.

I attached an image of the wheels for info. The diameter of these is 63 mm and center bore is 2 mm.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2090760

Those look a little bit like Dubro Micro Sport wheels ... not what I would expect on a 2m plane
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXTDS7
Lots of lightweight upgrade options available.
I really like the color scheme option you picked .. my favorite for the Spark II ... reminds me of Martini Racing livery, classic.

Yes they are very similar to Dubro Micro Sport wheels but have even less plastic in the hub. While they might work a little while, I bought a set of Dave Brown 2.5" wheels. They are not the lightest but seem very sturdy. They are a tight fit in the wheel pants but rotate freely.

I'm making slow but steady progress in the build. Elevators and landing gear are ready and I'm working on the chin cowl right now.

I agree that the color theme has lots of similarities to Martini racing themes. I reminds me of Markku "maximum attack" Alen and his Lancia days or Finland's rising F1 star Valtteri Bottas who is driving Williams. :)

I got the cowl finished during the weekend. The back has two pieces of carbon tube that fit in holes I drilled to the fuselage, front attaches with two M4 nylon screws to tee nuts glued into balsa blocks. I bought the optional air duct as well since I think the design is spot on for motor and ESC cooling. Fitting took some work but I'm happy with the result. Since taking the photos I have painted the white epoxy/micro balloons area black.

Very nice work.

Thanks, Ricardo.

There's some progress... I have finalized the rudder mount. I have not yet seen how others are keeping the rudder hinge secure but here's my solution: When installing the horns to exactly 20 mm from the bottom, I noticed that there's no hard point for the tail wheel steering pin. I decided to integrate the pin and the rudder hinge mount, see the pictures. To prevent the pin from eating the hole bigger in the rudder, I CAed a small piece made out of 1 mm carbon sheet there. This part also works as a spacer so that the tail wheel does not touch the steel wire too much.

Here's a couple of images of the ready painted air duct I finished earlier as well.

Now working on the canopy and canalyzer mounts. This will be different from what was shown here earlier - I will do the canopy as Krill suggests in their manual for EVO I. Then the canalyzer can be mounted without screws if I decide to do so. :)

Here are some pictures of my Krill Spark Evo 2 build.
Now had about a dozen flights.
Hope these help anyone else with their build.

Cheers
Colin
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096125http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096126http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096127http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096128http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096129http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096130http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096131http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096132http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096133http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096134http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096135http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096136http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096137http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096138http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096139http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096140http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096141http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096142http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096143http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096144http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096145http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096146http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096147http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096148http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096149http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096150http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096151http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096152http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096153http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096154http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096155http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096156http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096157http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096158http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096159http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096160http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096161http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096162http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096163http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096164http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096165http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096166http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096167http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096168http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096169http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096170http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096171http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096172http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096173http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096174

A few more images.

Colinhttp://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096175http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096176http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096177http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096178http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096179http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2096180

Thanks, Colin. These will definitely give some pointers.

First of all, the air exits under the fuselage. I have planned to do the same as you - open the back wall of the step where pressure will be the lowest when flying. I saw many pictures of the air exits being further in front instead but in my opinion they should not be quite as effective there. I just wonder if the air flow will be sufficient and plan to add some additional exits right behind the step.

I find your way to install the rudder servo in the tail pretty clever. But why did you decide to put it in there? CG reasons or do you just not like pull-pull systems? :) Finally, what is your all up weight and CG position?

FinnSpeed,
Here are the weights you asked for:Fuselage - complete with everything but minus the Battery = 2930g
Pletty Advanced, Jeti 99 opto, JR921 Receiver, JR HV servo, Falcon CF 3 Blade 19.5 x13, CF spinner.
Port Wing - Complete =495g
Starboard Wing - Complete = 490g
Both Wings with JR HV servos.
Total weight 3915g.
Add my Zippy compact Battery 10s 5000mA at 1106g total weight - 5021g.
I think I can loose a bit more weight from the fuselage fittings.
It is the composite wings which add the weight 490g each.
No special reason for the rear mounted Rudder servo just thought I'd try it.

Colin

Thanks again! I will certainly compare the weights when my plane is nearing completion.

I have made some (slow) progress. The canopy locking system is almost ready as is the T-can mounting. The canopy needs two additional securing hooks (don't know what to call them but hooks...) to the sides and the T-can requires one nylon screw in the middle - it would stay in place even without it when the canopy is locked on but I don't fully trust it due to the aerodynamic forces. I have a couple of pictures of the T-can when I started adding balsa/plywood reinforcements but more pictures are following later on.

I have also started installing the wing servos (finally). I cut square holes to the wing panels with a sharp knife and installed the servos through them. The servo arm I'm planning to use is a 25 mm carbon composite arm which I think should allow enough aileron throw. The geometry is not perfect since the aileron horn is so much longer but I bet this can be mitigated by using aileron differential or offsetting the servo arm a bit from the 90 deg position. The part that I cut out will be mounted back on a 0.6 mm plywood support frame that will be glued inside the wing panel. I will use just transparent tape like the F3B guys do.