Iwas wondering if someone could help me find the source of some problems Iam having with my new plane... Ihave some experience flying prop trainers but the EDF is a totally different animal. Here is what happened... After assembly of the plane Ichecked the CG (tried to place forward of the spot in the manual but seemed to take a lot of weight to do so) and controls. Iadjusted the throw on the horns to increase movement of the ailerons/elevators because it seemed unresponsive on previous attempts to take off. Anyway, I pushed the throtle to max and after 300 ft the plane still was not wanting to lift off even though it had plenty of speed. (at least 40mph) At the end of the pavement Ipushed the elevators up and after a quick jump up it snap rolled left into a nose dive and crunched almost everything. Ispent a long time trying to get the trim right and it was spot on when Itook off and the only input into the control should have been elevator...

Any suggestions? Iwould like to repair the plane but if this is a common problem Iwill just try a different model with a nice straight wing!

O, Ilive at 10000 ft above sea level so the thin air may have had something to do with it.

It sounds like the plane did not have a positive angle of attack on the ground.

In other words the front of the wing angles down relative to the back.

This causes the nose of the plane to be forced down during run-up, keeping it on the runway.

You got the plane going more than fast enough, but when you pulled back it effectively stalled because of the abrupt angle change.

All of this is fairly indicative of the wrong AOA/Incidence.



FYI: The plane can take off and land at fairly slow speeds.

I've brought it in with the engine shut down ( purposely ) and it glides VERY nicely.

It's pretty docile an a good starter EDF, which is why I've recommended it to people getting into EDF's.



So try to adjust the landing gear so that the plane sits with the nose higher.

Also the neutral point of the elevons should have them both UP about 1/4".

That is with the stick centered you should have about 1/8" or more space at the elevon edge between the control surface and the wing edge with both elevons deflected UP.

Thanks for the valuable info...Iam postive I set the trim to neutral and not with up elevator. What control horn setting do you recomend? Iwill definately check on the Angle of attack once new parts become available on the nitro site and I get it all back together again.

Set the linkage so that it is in the middle hole at the elevon servo horns.

Set the other end so it is all the way OUT on the control surface horns.

This gives is decent deflection at max.

Note I use a computer controlled radio with two rates, if you use the provided radio you may want to move the linkage at the control surface horn in one hole.

Turn on the TX and hook up the plane.

Center the TX trims and the right stick.

With the plane ON adjust both elevons so that the top of the trailing edge of the control surface rises about 1/8" to 1/4" ABOVE the corresponding trailing edge of the wing.

Both elevons will be deflected UP by this amount at stick neutral.

This is how the plane will fly LEVEL at 75-85% power.

Make sure that both control surfaces are deflected up by exactly the same amount.

Also check to see that your wings look level and at right angles to the rudder.

That's it.

It's a pretty sweet flyer.

At takeoff, let the plane build up forward speed. It needs about 100' to take off in.

After 50' or so pull back SLIGHTLY on the right stick ( elevator ) and let the plane lift itself from the ground.

For landings, come in a bit faster than you may with a regular prop plane. Keep the plane under power.

Get it low and decrease the throttle while slightly pulling back.

The plane will settle into a slightly nose high attitude and settle on the rear wheels in a very Jet Like manner.

If you have a 4-8 MPH headwind, you can practically land it in a stall... I have accidentally!

Opjose,

That's some mighty-good intel there..... Expert Details are not spelled-out in any Instruction Manuals.
I wouldn't ever have guessed 'that much' positive compensation on the surfaces.

You may,,, or may not know an answer to this question, but here goes:
Would similar setup figures apply to a similar EDF,,,,,, like say the Rafale?

<br type="_moz" />

Yup, you need about as much or a bit more upward deflection for the Rafale.

I just test flew mine today, CG exactly where the manual stated.. I did not have to put any weight in the nose..

I am a real world corporate pilot and if you are living at 10,000 Above Sea Level you will have some SERIOUSLY reduced performance in both the power output of your ducted fan and the lift generated by the wing.. at that altitude 30-40% as a ball park...

One thing I have done is replace the nose wheel with a slightly larger one, so it sits slightly nose high on the ground now, but this allows it to take off nicely from grass..

Hope you got it all flying! It is a fun machine to fly