guver

My Feedback: (325)

Haha, your too kind. I figured it was mostly the plane. I am starting to get a bit aggressive too so that's cool. I suppose it's like anything new , you tend to be careful at first. The plane looked fragile, but probably isn't.

This can indeed stay in one spot for many minutes. This morning I had the oportunity to fly in a nice slow constant breeze. Very predictable and easy to keep it in one spot. I had some nice long hi-power climbs as well as some very nice off-power glides (I guess that's what they're called)

I hope I can get the skyfly in the air today. Thanks for the help so far guys. Gotta go see why my trim keeps moving left and re-charge.

guver

My Feedback: (325)

Flew the skyfly once with 3s pack and it is too fast for me really. It is quite a different animal than the slow flylite.

2 questions are coming up as I put a few more planes on.

How to range check 2.4 ? there's no button or reduced power and the antenna just goes forward or up. It is a Tactic (maybe futaba made)?
How to set up esc w/ radio (like endpoints)? With cars we always set up the esc once with the TX and it sets the endpoints and such.

Am I doing this every time I go WOT and then idle before every flight?

guver

My Feedback: (325)

After flying the flylite for hours:

1 neck strap nearly eliminates this.
2 I still seem to "like" going left rather than right even though the plane behaves symetrical.
3 neck strap eliminated this.
4 habit is gone if I pay attention and keep the plane a bit closer.
5 still a bad habit , darn misquitoes are the worse thing about flying right now.


I did crash the skyfly2 and will soon put the blue HK plane up for it's maiden flight.

guver

My Feedback: (325)

I appreciate you guys talking to me about habits and set-up. I'm real happy and comfortable with the flylite , not the red skyfly2.

The third plane is the blue HK J-3 http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...dProduct=16824

It is all stock servos, motor,prop and I had no trouble getting it assembled. I did have trouble getting it to balance so I cut the batt compartment out in the front and balanced it exactly like everyone else had to by pushing the batt into the front compartment. Some of the posts gave a dimension from leading edge and I used that figure since there's no instructions for balancing. I'm sure it is as close as I can get it.

I flew it only once on a very calm day and honestly think it is crazy. I blame it on set-up since I kinda know what I'm doing now with 3 channel planes ok.


Here's what it does , maybe someone can suggest a fix:   I got it trimmed fairly well.

It kinda acts like the servos are weak, slow and have little power/speed because unlike my flylite I apply some stick and have to wait and watch for a long time for the plane to do anything (mostly talking about rudder here) I can use full stick a lot and it seems to do almost nothing for a second , then does what it's supposed to but very slowly and very little. I'm surprised I even got it landed. It seems to have enough power and fly ok at level flight. It also climbs very well with only using increased throttle.

When viewing it on the bench the servos respond very quickly , but might not seem strong enough to move the surfaces all the way. The control rods also flex a little bit when pushed. The control surfaces appear to move enough and I chose a hole that gave me the most power/travel.

Here's what I THINK is wrong. The rudder servo is bad/weak/too small OR the hinges are just too tight and move too hard. I did flex them a lot before hooking horns up and the servos were pre-installed with servo horns on at as close to 90 degrees as possible.

Any suggestions or ideas for me? The flylite is super responsive and needs very tiny and smooth stick movements to move the huge lightweight control surfaces and makes me look like a pro , but this blue HK with it's small heavy duty control surfaces makes me look like an idiot flying. [X(]

guver

My Feedback: (325)

Pics. The planes balances at 40mm back. The servos are PLENTY strong and fast on the bench. These pics are at full throw. After contemplation I really think there's not enough throw, right?

guver

My Feedback: (325)

After taking pics and comparing the movements again (also checked it at WOT) I moved the rudder horn to 2nd closer hole and the stab 1 closer hole. The servos still seem plenty strong and fast with a bit more movement now.

Another good thing is I'm comfortable to about 8 mph winds now and even flew in front of my first "student"

I'll fly the blue plane as soon as it's calm if I don't hear any feedback from others.

guver

My Feedback: (325)

I flew the blue plane again and it is success. Gaining control surface travel helped out tremendously. I have to use full stick a lot (not used to that) especially on left rudder. And it still seems very slow responding , but at least it doesn't look all crazy in flight now. I think I'll actually be able to enjoy this plane if I get it set up properly. I notice the elevator is fine as is , but the rudder needs even more travel and speed.

I'll move a servo arm and hole on control horn to give me the same or more travel to left than right. I think this will do wonders and make the stick action a lot less. Right now it moves to the right more than the left. At neutral (trimmed in flight) the rudder is also pointed left and not centered.

Hey, at least I can blame this one on "set-up" and not habits. hehe. Another plus is that my batery pack position and COG is probably about right. I also like the pack capacity that I specc'ed out too. 3sx1700 will give me maybe 15 minutes.

4th plane is gonna be my friends skyfly Max. We had lots of batery trouble with it and didn't get to fly it. After success with the blue plane I am pumped to try the MAx out cuz it is 4 channels.

guver

My Feedback: (325)

Good news , I was able to move the servo arm so that it travels more equal in both directions (or even more to the left which it needed) I'm not able to increase the throw any more without changing parts since the factory cut off the servo arm and I can't use the inner hole on the horn. I'm gonna try to get used to it for a number of flights to see how I like it.

More good news, I flew the Max as my first 4 channel plane and it wasn't real pretty , but at least I got it back in one piece with no damage. I flew about 8-10 minutes on an old batery I had. It sure is different to get used to 4 channels and how the plane behaves. The landing was not pretty either. It was fast and hard. I think the next habit I need to work on is "landing" cuz I'm not very good.

Oh, I forgot I ordered planes 5,6 and 7.

My new habit is to look around the garage to see which one is charged and ready to go. If I get ambitious I'm going to try plane 2 again (the skyfly2)

guver

My Feedback: (325)

Another good flight with the HK blue plane. The servo arm did seem to make the plane a lot more equal. I still think this plane is nuts though. I wish I had a "real" pilot here to fly it and see what he thinks. I'd describe it as: "It takes a lot of stick action" to make it do what you want especially the rudder. Maybe the small control surface and short low travel just does this by design?

2 things I notice are that I can hold the stick full left rudder for at least a second before anything happens. Then it happens. Right rudder isn't quite as bad. I also notice that when I put it into a turn (and release the stick) it will stay there and continue to spiral for at least two complete circles before it tends to level out, so after every turn you have to do the opposite way to level out. Again left is worse than right. Bliping the throttle will tend to make it level out faster.

Much more controlled flight though and much longer flight time , I'm gettin' at least 15 minutes and I notice that it loves to be flown aggressively. The faster you go the better it likes it. I don't know what that means and don't necessarily like it.

guver

My Feedback: (325)

A cool thing happened while I had the plane 3 and 4 charging. I decided to fly the flylite and while I was flying I noticed dark clouds coming over the woods. I was flying in them when I heard the rain coming from the woods , but not on me yet. I decided I would quit real quick and made the fastest steepest approach to landing I ever made, pretty good one too. When I got the plane it was already wet , but not me. By the time I got the TX , plane and 3 dogs in it was pouring. No more flying today.

Pics of the collection so far. The SkyFly Max is my friends , mine is still in the box.

guver

My Feedback: (325)

Ooh, the blue plane is gettin' fun. Fly it fast and aggressive with LOTS of stick action and it is quite predictable. It can do plenty of nice loops. I'm actually getting used to it. Some characteristics that I suppose are normal?

It has to come in landing fast and hard.

It still "sticks" where you put the stick last (the rudder) I was under the impression that high wing planes would level off and fly fairly straight when letting off the sticks. This one still continues to spiral in either direction after a turn. It makes for lots of servo action.

It won't hardly "turn on a dime" (in a small space) like my flylite.

It tends to act and look more like the aileron plane I tried than the rudder one I normally fly, in otherwords it banks a lot before turning.

Could I still have the COG way too far back?

guver

My Feedback: (325)

I'm really gettin' used to this one. I still say there's something not right with it though. It loves to do loops it seems and WOT wants to climb straight up. I even flew inverted for a few times, not very long cuz I don't know what to do after that, lol. Uh , back to the Sim.

Would a climbing while WOT indicate necessarily a plane that is nose heavy? I can't move the batt forward , but I can move it back a lot.

guver

My Feedback: (325)

Does flying with the batt door off create some nasty turbulence and drag or other anomoly? I also may consider having the batt/esc plugs on the side of the fuse. I don't imagine that would be too aerodynamic either?

For $50 this has been a decent fun plane so far, gettin' a little road rash.

guver

My Feedback: (325)

The blue plane has been doing very well. I can fly it pretty good slowly now too. The only crash has been when flying inverted I didn't realise I was that low and the only way I knew how to come out of inverted flight was UP elevator. It crashed hard into the beans [X(] No damage though. I got nervous and reacted too quick.

I now have a Sensei and love to fly it so far. Some new habits I've developed have been to fly downwind a lot because of the sun. I enjoy flying toward me more than away from me anyways. All the manuals say to stay upwind , but many times I fly 360 deg around me and if the sun is in my eyes I stay downwind. I also tend to land downwind because of the landing area and the tall woods beside me. I like to land going toward the woods rather than away.

guver

My Feedback: (325)

What is it w/ pusher props planes? I find it more difficult to fly them. Both the skyfly 2 and the skyfly Max makes me nervous, so nervous that I shake when starting out. I think once I get very used to 4 channels then I can be better with the skyfly planes too (even though 1 is a 3 channel)

I'm having some radio issues too. Way too many TXs to keep track of.
I'm having some space/storage issues too.

levram1

My Feedback: (1)

Congratulations!!!!  You've taken the whole page up!

guver

My Feedback: (325)

An update. I've been doing pretty well on 4 channel planes. I learned how to roll with 3 channel and 4 channel. I also learned to roll out of inverted flight in a pinch rather than loop out. I had to retire the HK blue plane cuz the wing was getting warped and 2 repairs I did din't work out for more than 4 flights. The last crash busted the fuse so I will replace it soon enough using the electronics. (I needed a wing anyways and am not upset about the crash.

I have put about 3 other 4 channel planes on and getting used to them (not using rudder much yet) They include a 48" Piper Cub , the Sensei, I'm no longer afraid of the Skyfly Max either. It's cool AND LOUD. It's been very windy and I got 4 more planes ready to maiden.

A 36" Piper Cub (to replace the HK blue plane)
A 24" Piper Cub
A GP Falcon
A 35" Cessna 182

guver

My Feedback: (325)

My set-ups suck and I have to pay more attention to making them precise. Last 3 planes I maidened were not good.

The 24" piper went wild , was way overpowered and I had let glue get into the control rods making them un-smooth. This plane sets on the bench until I get them smoothed up. I did fly success after the initial crash.

The 36" piper went ok for first flight , then crashed on second flight as if one moved the servo all the sudden. The 3rd flight went squirly as well, same thing. I'm wondering if I get far away it starts to have radio trouble? because when I bring it back in it works fine on the bench. I think it will be nice when fixed, it replaced my blue HK plane that I liked.

The 35" cessna crashed into the beans right after take-off and is waiting on rudder to be repaired. I got another one for parts too. I will try out the cessna while the 36" piper get diagnosed cuz I can use the batt out of it.

guver

My Feedback: (325)

Now for the successful ones.

The 48" piper is doing very well and I am ready to move the CG back a bit and make the batt a bit more permanent. It'sa good flying plane and all it needs is a "E" prop instead of the SF prop I used. It was a good $100 investment and flies for over 20 minutes (kinda gettin' bored with it)

The Max I got permission to "fly it like I own it" and is a blast to burn up the sky. I'm having fun with it. Hit the trampoline with it once and had to glue the stick thing back in. Also I adjusted all servos, recentered everything and it flies very nicely for a beater. Uses a nano-tech 3sx2.2 pack which balances perfectly.

The Skyfly2 is back in the air and I can't see this flying well without some work. Most trouble was the CG back too far. It flew ok , but needs far more elevator travel and/or surface. This is my thoughts for it. Shorten the tail boom (that's what that stick thing is) a lot , maybe angle the stab 1-2 degrees, make it as light as possible with a single 2s pack. As it is I had to use 2 packs , and a bunch of front weight to get it to balance. I've had 4 of these and they were all the same.

Most of my planes have been a bit beat up and used , so I was waiting to maiden the Falcon and the nexstar mini. They are both new.

The Nexstar Mini is real nice , I took my time on set-up and it flies very nice. It is very responsive and after 2 good flights I'm ready to take the training wheels off of it. It may just be my new favorite plane and despite being very responsive it is very easy to fly. You tell it to do something and imediately it does it. I like it. It's a keeper , maybe even a trainer?

The falcon flew straight up and I lost control right away, but after a cushy crah into the beans , lost some elevator and didn't throttle as much. Threw it into the air and it went very well. It's a cool slow flying machine. Reminds me of the flylite a bit. It's noisy and may have a motor problem. I'm not a very goo lander , but this will go so slow it is easy to set down anywhere. Only trouble was a prop-o-ring broke before first flight. It is very fragile , but is so light it may survive some light crashes. I use a 2sx800 skylipo and will soon move the CG back a bit.

I look forward to practising more inverted flights with the falcon, the Max, and even the nexstar. It was worth the wait to maiden these 2 new planes.

Next planes to maiden is the switch , corvalis, and a small extra300 and some indoor minis. I gotta find an indoor place to fly. I rewarded myself by buying 2 3-D foamies to put together over winter.

t34pilot

ever considered putting $12 gyros on your plane, so that the wind won't play tricks on you with your plane's orientation? there's a good thread on it here:

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1035605


I've just ordered 6 gyros (http://www.hobbypartz.com/60p-dy-1017.html) for my two main planes so that I can fly on twice as many days during the year.....the wind won't be grounding me from flying much after I put them on. Of course, I won't need to use them when the wind is calm.

guver

My Feedback: (325)

I remember reading your posts. I can see both sides of it. It isn't something I had considered, but sure will do some research. Thanks for the reminder.

Jetdesign

My Feedback: (8)

Here's a bad habit - always rolling the same direction. Don't do it! I got stuck in this habbit, I just like to use right aileron. Now I'm trying to learn these fancier rolling maneuvers and it is taking way too long to make the right aileron and corresponding rudder inputs.

I tell myself every flying day: opposite rudder from level, same rudder from inverted. Sounds easy, right? My left thumb doesn't think so

2 slow rolls with integrated rudder and elevator inputs look like absolute junk when I fly them