Caelus - build and test flights
 

Today I go and pick up a big box from YT International, motor already ordered, I have gone for the Dualsky 6360-12T from Kingslyn Model Shop, no way was I going to pay £500 for a Hacker or £330 for the Plettenberg 3010. The Dualsky has had good reviews from the F3A guys with a comparable spec to the Hacker C50 13XL. Speed controller and Lipos, I will use what I have for now, 2 off 5S x5000mah run in series and a Zoar 22x12.


I will post my first impressions and photos a bit later.

Bad news, could not get the box in the car despite having a massive boot the Mazda 6 was not having it. So the box got left behind.
The packaging is superb this should defeat just about any deliveryman.

Just about finished with mine. I went with the Himax 6330-210 motor and 5300 mAh lipos. I'm running a 20X12.5 Falcon 3 blade prop and spinner.

If you feel the need for more power: http://www.dualsky.com/motor/Xmotor_DA3.shtml

This is a good thread for those looking for hints and tips motor mounting, props etc and some of the problems experienced.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/elec...12t-props.html

It is difficult to get the photos to do the model justice, the quality is superb. 99% of the work is already done for you, the holes for the pin hinges are pre-drilled. It just a matter of checking the fit and gluing the hinges horns etc in place and absolute doddle.
The motor arrived today from Kingslyn Models, decided to order the matching speed controller, that will be here tomorrow, spinner ordered from Dumfries Model Flying.

I have to agree with you, the pics do not do this plane justice. Did you buy the motor mount from F3AUnlimited or are you going to make your own? Here are a few things I ran into during my build. About (3) of the pre-cut slots for the control horns were not in the correct place, the right landing gear had the (2) holds pre-drilled in the wrong place, a lot of the screws in the bag I replaced as the threads were not very good, some of the needed hardware was missing, Mike M. sent me an allen wrench to fit the very small screws for the tailwheel assembly. You will have to cut the cooling vents in the front and bottom of the fuse, the slots for the servo arms to pass through the bottom of both stabs, and the slots for the pull pull rudder cable to pass through both sides of the fuse. None of this was a major problem but to some it may be.

I could not find an allen wrench (and I have a lot of allen wrenches) to fit my tail wheel assembly so I ended up making a new assembly. The Carbon mount that comes with the kit fits my motor, I am going to fit a rear support to the motor though there is a lot of weight and torque hanging on that bit of carbon. So far I have not come across any major issues. Any issues I will feed back to my supplier YT International.
Decided to match the speed controller to the motor and ordered the Dualsky XC10036HV.
My next major job is wing and fuselage covers.
I did struggle to find a sensibly priced light weight spinner found one at http://www.dumfries-model-flying.com/
Did you feed back your issues to Mike?

Keen to know what version of this model you are building. Is it the first batch produced or the latest "light" V2 version. Not seen one fly yet but they do look to be very good value for money.

Mine is the V2 latest and lightest version.

I have the Caelus V2 Lite.

Anyone know where I can get one of these mounts in the UK for the Dualsky XM6360EA motor?

Found the Dualsky motor mount in Austria at Lindinger

https://www.lindinger.at/en/airplane...mount-xm6355da

That looks horribly heavy and over done. It will come out much better to build your own firewall and glue it in to fit your motor. Check the other thread has good information. Post 121 and 194

I wont be using the stand off's it was more the bearing support I was interested in. The advantage with that mount is will keep everything concentric, as soon as it arrives I will see how much weight it will add.

The rear support is pretty easy to do as well. Found a flange bearing at Mcmaster Carr that was a good fit. Tabs were a little small and I did a poor job cleaning and prepping the glass but I think this will give you an idea.
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2154151

That is very similar to what I had in mind, then I came across the Dualsky and for the money it is worth a try. I will extend the rear frame (in carbon) work to the sides of the fus, not happy about hanging everything off a very thin firewall.

The mount has arrived and installed will post some pic's asap. The advantage as I see it with the Dualsky mount with its rear bearing it keeps everything aligned and my rear mount attached the motor to fuselage sides just bolts on to the ali frame.

I'm building one for a friend. Agreed about the great structural and paint quality!http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2159766

The left gear leg looks twisted to me. It bolted in OK, but the L wheel is toe'd out badly.

Having trouble getting it to balance at the specified 190mm from LE. Using Himax motor, APC prob, and light elevator servos.

Thoughts?
Thanks, Dan

My Caelus balances out nicely at 9.5 inches (240 mm) from the leading edge. I think the 195 mm number is way too far forward.

I have my batterys slightly over the back of the battery tray. Both my gear had sever toe in. I slotted the holes in the CFgear. It's better but not as good as I would like.

The model will fly at the aft CG. Pattern models have large stabs which enable the aft CG. As you begin the trimming, you will possibly find the model will need less pitch mixing for knife flight at the forward CG. You may also find the model to groove better at the forward CG.

Twin elevator servos are about 80 grams too heavy in the tail compared to a pull pull setup. That much extra tail weight needs a corresponding amount of nose weight to balance right, or about 8 ounces. If you have about that much live nose weight you can play with, consider yourself lucky. But don't just add dead weight unless it's a last resort.

the left gear leg looks like it has mounting holes drilled incorrectly. It shouldn't be that hard a fix.

Thanks guys,
I found the answers on the other Caelus thread:
Some gear legs do have twist in them: they can be fixed by heating in an oven and untwisting them.
Nobody was running their CG as specified in the instructions. I conclude the instructions are wrong.

Dan