Loubud

Hi All,
(excluding you know who)
Put all new electronics in a new fuse. Ooops. Still have the stock servos. Went out for a test flight just a while ago. Holy cow! Poly wings are great but I suck. If you want to fly a new plane just get rid of the AM TX and put a good FM TX and receiver in it. It isn't like the ole Badius I was used to. First flight was like I had never heard of RC planes before. Up ten feet, down 11 feet. Geez. I coulda swore I checked the controls. Next flight. New prop and a little servo reversing and I give ole Badius a toss. Now didn't I just check the controls? Yep and I suck. Can't get her to turn right. Doesn't much matter as I lose control and down we go. So it's back to the building bench for me.
Happy flying,
Lou

RayRay

Agcats,

Your last post was pretty funny - good one!

IFly - remember that fable about tree magnets? Its true.

Take care guys and,

"Keep your nose up"

Ray Ray

RayRay

Hi Terry,

Thank you for the info on the battery chargers but I think I'm going to try the peak charger that comes with the F-27. According to the manual it charges 8V 600mAh batts.

Grounded: Have you tried charging a Badius stock batt with the F-27 charger? Are the connectors the same?

Please let me know.

Take care,

Ray Ray

RayRay

Hi Lou, Captain, Pilot Ray, Everyone:

Captain, welcome back. Sounds like to you had a great time flying. I would have flown with the flat wing ailerons and tried some loops, barrel rolls and jack knives. Then again, I probably would have turned the plane into an accordion with so much cross wind.

Pilot Ray, thanks for the info on the batts. I know one day my batts will eventually never take another charge. My oldest batt is just over 2 months with ALOT of mileage. Anyone know the life expectency of these stock batts?

Lou - dont sweat your last flight, its proabably just something screwy with the controls on the new Tx???
Haven't heard anything more about that "jacuzzi babe" you ran into when you lost your badus on the roof. Ever see her again?
Could be time for a wireless cam

Well thats it for today.

Take care fellas,

Ray Ray

Loubud

Hi All,
I haven't seen the babe cept the one time. Maybe I could sorta crash land in their back yard. That might work. Tomorrow I'll try the flying again. I'll check everything out again and maybe put the micro servos from Hitec and see how they work.
Nice to have you back Randy. Glad you had a good time.
Ray Ray, one of my stock sets of bats bit the dust last week or so. Total melt down. I think the stock charger is very capable of melting them if not watched carefully.
Happy flying,
Lou

Pilot Ray

Hi Randy,
Its nice to see your back flying again. I was out flying my Accipiter Badius plane today too. I have not tried the modifications on the wings like you were saying. I think modifying them with tape to be more stream line under the wing will probably take away the slower speed air floating capability and just make your plane fly faster and handle the wind slightly better, like Iflyatcae mentioned in his above post. I have a couple new and different modifications for the wings (for more lift and float) that I want to try over the next two weeks or so, and if they help, I will post my findings.

Hi Lou,
If you’re having trouble with the plane climbing and are stalling your plane when using your larger battery (and you are trying to climb by flying with the circling method), try to make your climbing circles as large as possible when climbing, because the plane will not climb if the circles are too tight. The plane without thermals likes climbing with 200 foot wide or larger circling. I have found that the best climb rate without a thermal is achieved when flying straight one way for a minimum of 300 hundred feet and then back the other way. Also Lou, if you are using the stock transmitter, the plane will respond better by having the whole length of the side of the antenna always facing the plane (NCQ3 explained that to me on an earlier post). The one and only scary time my plane didn’t respond immediately to the transmitter was because I had the antenna end pointing to the plane. I kept catching myself pointing the antenna end at the plane, especially during the takeoffs, but now I learned to watch out for that and have had no problems since then. I also think I might have a little advantage over everyone else when flying with an am transmitter since I do fly my plane out in the country setting.

Hey Grounded in Japan,
Keep up the good work on all that motor testing you are doing.

Hi Everyone,
I just wanted to put in a couple of thoughts on what SM55 was explaining about on the batteries. When I did some research a while back on the internet on battery charging, I saw a few R&D articles that claim continuous deep discharging of muti-cell batteries can be life shorting. They claim that during deep discharging that there is a risk of one or more cells going to a negative charging state (kind of like reverse charging) of which these cells then are always pulling down the good cells. They claim that once a cell falls below a certain very low voltage, it may never charge right again, if at all. I also have read on a few websites that say only one controlled deep discharge should be done to maximize battery charge holding capability. In my personal case, I tried the uncontrolled type of deep discharge method on one of my batteries and it did temporary gain power, but then it also ended up having the shortest life span. It would be interesting to see what the battery manufacture (who ever they are) of the Accipiter Badius planes battery knows about this and what they recommend for the very best way to charge and use the NI-MH batteries.

Thanks Pilot Ray

Airbourne in Japan

My Feedback: (3)

well i took my f27 480 engined badius iut and it ran to full throttle when i tested it at the glider club, which was a good start. i used a 7.4 1200mah lipo for power. after a few false starts, i got it to about 30 feet and flew it around for a few minutes, but i got better results with the stock motor and battery. battery didn't last for long and was really hot after. but i wanted to see how it flew as the f27 really motors. yesterday i tried the f27 8 cell 9.6v battery and the motor ran much better. i think its really down to the batteries, but the badius doesn't have much room. i'm going to take it out again tomorrow as i've got it set up, but i think if i don't want the stock motor in this badius, i'll just have to go for Afineman's brushless setup.

flew the f27 a couple of times without crashing it, but you'll have to look in the f27 stryker thread to read about that.

Rayray, the f27 peak charger has different connectors to the badius battery so you'll have to change them if you want to use it. pretty fast charging, but leaves the batteries hot when finished.

CaptainRandy

Hi Guys,

Yes it is amazing how a couple of 12-15 minute flights can brighten your day after living through those two nasty hurricanes.

When I was flying in the wind the other day, I was amazed at how far back those poly wings will bend backward... Scared the pp out of me.
It did this about 20 ft up and I thought for sure she was going in. I can't tell you exactly waht I did except for a very quick praying, it recovered at the last second and did a kind of sloppy lawn dart. No damage of course, but I hadn't done that it quite a while. It is fun to be daring on a windy day, just to see what she can do.

I think as I have two of the poly wings, I will use the old one as a test wing and monocote the bottom side black and see what a difference it makes in flight. As I have another brand new one, I can compare on the same day with same conditions.

Here is my thought on batteries & chargers: I only used the stock charger a couple of times and I did notice that the batteries got pretty hot the first time around, and then I would watch them more carfully after that. The problem is, you never really know where you are at with the state of the charge.

This plane and it's equipment were only to get us hooked or hooked again on this hobby and I can tell that it has done its job very well.

We are all very addicted to flying and there is no known cure, sorry.
There are some therapy groups around, but I don't think they work either.
Matbe there is a patch. No not a club patch.

Now that you have accepted the fact that you are staying in this hobby, you need to bite the bullet and upgrade to a better charger.
I went for the Great Planes Triton as you have probably heard over and over, but I can tell you that it was a great investment $125.
It will do everthing for you including conditioning of new batteries, dis-charge/charge or charge/dis-charge. Once you read the book and get the hang of it, it is very user friendly.

There are probably many chargers out there but I picked the Great Planes Triton after seeing some really top gun electric guys using them.

The next best, actually the first thing all should try and do is get a real radio set-up in their planes. It won't be wasted money, I guarantee that.

Well, that's my two cents... Great to be back flying!

RayRay

Hi Grounded, Captain, Everyone:

Shoot! I thought I could use the peak charger that comes with the F-27 Stryker for the Badius as well but obviously can’t since the connectors are different. [:@] Looks like I’m going to have to get a real charger and stop being such an amateur like the Captain recommends.

By the way, I ordered the F-27 two days ago from for $170 that includes free shipping and a free extra batt from Hobby Warehouse. They upgraded the extra batt to an 8 cell 1100mAh for only $5. I should be getting it in 5-7 days (can’t wait).

Well my batts are charged, the wind is 0 (5mph gusts) and I’m off to the park with the old Badius.

Ray Ray

Airbourne in Japan

My Feedback: (3)

he RayRay, congratulations and don't forget to buy some epoxy and wide packing tape !!

AgCat1982

I know ya'll don't want to hear it, but, I still say all these manufactures of ESC's would not have set their cutoff points where they did if it would destroy batteries.

Say you could get a little more life out of your batteries. Great, you just have to put up with crappy, underpowered, slow flying, and MUCH shorter flight times. Forget Li-Po's, they have a different ESC cutoff voltage, again set by the makers of the batteries.

I believe there are a lot more knowledged people than sm55. My cells do just great! If you are using the stock charger and you have to guess when to stop charging, that's where you are harming your batteries.

RayRay

LOL grounded,

I make sure I get the epoxy.

Just got back from flying the Badius. I was practicing some aerobatics, did some loops and more loops until I got dizzy.
Now, I dont know for the life of me why I did this but I was feeling confident and want to try flying through the soccer field goal (there wasn't a net attached). First try, no good - too high. 2nd try, I was way off to the left. Last try, thought I had a bulleyes and did -- right into the post! [:@] Luckily only the wing hit and not the prop / motor
Thank God for packing tape, just another crease in the wing, no biggie.

"Keep your nose up"

Ray Ray

Loubud

Hi All. You gys are a riot.

Airbourne in Japan

My Feedback: (3)

hi Loubud, how's it going, done any aviating recently ?? you've been very quiet lately !! buy an f27 !!!

actually this thread has greatly helped me and i would just like to thank you all, because being in japan and not speaking much japanese, it's difficult to join the local rc club, if i ever do and between us all, we seem to have got the badius well sussed out and i love to chit chat about anything to do with flying !! and i don't know anyone here who's into flying except my son and he's just turned 3!!

just a quick word about SM55. don't get too annoyed by him guys, he's well meaning i'm sure. i've read other threads were people have ****ty arguements and their crap. yet other threads stick to the subject all the time and some of them are great i.e. the profile p38, which i'm going to build in a few years time - can't wait. actually SM55 reminds me of aircraft engineers (i worked in a hanger in Australia for a few months). some of them like to fly, but mostly they're into tinkering about with aircraft. it's a shame SM55's not near me as i think he's more into building and stuff and he could do all my artf stuff and build the profile p38 if he wanted to !! not looking forwards to building that or crashing it, but it will be really sweet to hear a gas twin humming away and best of all it's small enough to fit in my car.

about the badius (seeing as this is actually a badius thread !!) i love gliders real and r/c and i think i'll be flying my 2 for a long while - their very relaxing and they fit in the car without taking the wings off. i'm still deliberating about going brushless but i think it would be great to have a badius that will climb fast 4 or 5 times to height and glide down. with the stock battery, it's up, fly around for a bit and then down. ummmm !

Loubud

Hi All,
Hey Doug, I looked at the Stryker and I'm just not sure if that's what I want to do. I like the idea of cheap spares and it's apparent ruggedness. The Stryker thread seems to have decent guys in it too. I've read other threads and some of them get very petty and sour.
On to Badius. I spent all morning checking and rechecking and decided to change all the plugs to Deans and to reverse the rudder servo. Doh! The short flying time I had yesterday with the poly wings was great. I only got around 30 seconds of air time but the difference in the flat vs poly is dramatic. I also pulled the stock esc and put in a Wattage 30 amp. I have 2 stock ones and I'll sent one to RayRay and one to our college boy Calie. I'm going to try to fly this evening tho it will be a big challenge as the farm is freshly planted and they actually watered the plants. The nerve. Lots of mud out there now. I'll try to keep toward the dead weeds on landing.
Happy flying,
Lou

RayRay

Hi Lou,

The nerve of those people who watered the plants! Don't they know that farm is for flying
Sounds like you'll be up and flying in no time. Looking forward to hearing about another one of your flight "adventures".

Thanks for the ESC, your the man [8D]

Take care,

Ray Ray

Loubud

Hi RayRay,
Those darn farmers just don't get it. It's not like they're out of food at the market. Don't need to grow anything right now.
Tomorrow I'm up early and trying to learn how to fly all over again. I'll try till the next prop breaks.
Back tomorrow,
Lou

CaptainRandy

Hey Doug,

Do you know what the plane is in your Avatar? It looks neat.

I guess this thread is prety much dead. It looks like everyone has left but a few.

Randy

Airbourne in Japan

My Feedback: (3)

hi Captain Randy, don't know what the type of glider is exactly, but i would love to fly it !!! when i get my badiuses re-engined i'll have plenty to say...if only to you !!!!

Loubud

Hi Doug,
I'm still here. I just don't say much. I'm having a great deal of trouble learning to use my FM tx. I need to break old habbits. Not easy for an old guy like me.
Lou

Pilot Ray

Hi Randy,
I’m still here too. I try to check in on the site every 1 or 2 days. I wanted to let you and everyone know that I have experimented a little with the overall wing angle on my Accipiter Badius plane. It seems that if the leading edge is raised just a little, the plane will climb easier and faster, even with a heavier 1100 mah battery. I simply shimmed up the front of the wing about 1/4 inch higher just under the front holding screw area of the wing mount just under the wing. I was able to do this without the top edge of the top wing mount causing drag because my polyhedral wing does not have a bottom plastic support/mount and the fuselage is extra tall in that area. It seems that by shimming the front of the wing up, the wing grabs more air and helps the plane climb better. I am still testing it and I will have to fly my plane a few more times yet to really verify how well it is works.

Hey Lou,
Watch out for all that field mud. I should warn you that field mud strongly attracts Accipiter Badius planes like a rare earth magnet.

Thanks Pilot Ray

Diggidy

Hey Loubud,

I just went over to FM myself and i'm having trouble too.
For the time being instead of having the rudder on the left stick i put it on the right stick in place of ailerons. This at least got me off the ground but i'm still not comfortable with it.

Hope this helps....good luck

Loubud

Hi Diggidy. You're going through the same stuff. I considered doing what you did but didn't want to have to learn it all over again when I went to a different plane. I'll struggle with it and get it sooner of later.
Pilot Ray, I heard about the mud magnet. I can feel it pulling me toward it.
Lou

calieguy

hey all,
tried to rebuild the battery pack, but no avail. the solder just didnt want to hold. ohh well, it was worth a shot

still got one battery left, that still means airtime...even if it is just for 10 min! (i need to get off my butt and call radintech to get a new one sent out, lol)

im still lookin to upgrade the ol' girl from stock, just need 2 more paychecks and i should have enough to start somthin cool (whoohoo!!). my goal is to get it to about afineman's specs...his last video showed just what kind of abilitys that i want to ultimitaly have out of her. plus, like brent said somewhere before to me, once i upgrade i can save tons of money...just have to get a new frame, and use all the souped up stuff from the AB!

well, back to work....i tryed everything with my motor, still screwy, i think it might be my Rx...it got knocked around really hard on my last crash...it might be the source of all my headaches.

have fun flyin guys, ill be back up as soon as i can!

-jesse

Airbourne in Japan

My Feedback: (3)

hi guys, well the latest typhoon was a non-event here but the wind was gusting to 17mph, so i decided this was the test for the windy badius with the poly wings. i'm really impressed with how strong those poly wings are compared to the straight wings. i had a great time with the little flying i did. this plane has the f27 480 motor and a 1200mah lipo, but it's not a good setup. the f27 motor is great with 8.4v batteries but my lipo is just a 2 cell 7.4v. it doesn't last as long as the f27 8.4v 7 cell 900mah batteries, which are pretty big, and it doesn't develop full power. also the lipo showed some signs of stress from the couple of lawn dartings i did, as there's no velcro on it and nothing to stop it hitting the slightly longer f27 motor. so i'm going to put stock motors in both my badiuses and have done with it. i'll order a different make of s400, like matsibuchi, but i believe there all made by matsibuchi anywas, but i hope to get a bit more performance after the dissapointing showing of the graupner s400 i got and the f27 motor. i think the f27 would have been ok flying in this wind, but i didn't want to risk losing it (no alarm) or breaking it, so i'll fly that in the morning.

flying in wind with the poly wings is sooo much fun. just need a half decent motor !!