RE: Proud Bird Construction Thread
 

I did not use a regulator for the transmitter battery.

I understand there is an issue with receiver batteries and more than 6 volts.

At this point there is no regulator for the transmitter.

RE: Proud Bird Construction Thread
 

The elevator pushrod, rudder pushrod, and receiver installation were completed tonight.

The receiver antennas were installed on opposite sides of the fuselage on sections that don't have any carbon fiber cloth.

RE: Proud Bird Construction Thread
 

Everyone,

I am just checking to see who is planning to make the February Q-40 race in Phoenix?

I'll probably install engines in my Proud Birds this weekend and should be ready to go. There is practicing on the Q-40 simulator flying thanks to AJ.

I'm planning to take some vacation and should be out to Phoenix on Wednesday before the weekend race. We could reduce some hotel costs by sharing a room. Just send me an email or call.

Scott Hartman



The was on the NMPRA web site:

Hi everybody. Wanted to give those who are considering coming to our QM race next month, a heads up that entries are coming in fast and it is likely that we will hit our 80 pilot limit. If you were planning on coming, get your entry in the mail right away. Entry priority is based on postmark so, PLEASE do not send your entry by methods that require signature on delivery. Just get it in the mail and get that postmark.

Thanks to everyone for continuing to make this such a great event. The club an I truly appreciate your support.

The entry form/flyer is at a link on the home page of this site.

Looking forward to seeing everyone. Sorry we couldn't stay aligned with the weekend of the NHRA drags as we have the last several years. I actually waited till their schedule came out before I set our dates, then, they changed their dates to the weekend before. Oh well. We'll try again next year.

Jim Allen

RE: Proud Bird Construction Thread
 

The landing gear and tail skid were installed tonight.

The plans show the wheels 7.25 in front of the wing trailing edge.

It appeared that I mounted the landing gear blocks too far forward so I compensated by locating the wheels further back on the gear.

The tail skid is a Goldberg wing tip skid. It is attached with Shoe Goo.

RE: Proud Bird Construction Thread
 

The tank was mounted about 1/2" above the wing. A piece of foam is placed in the canopy area to keep the tank from moving around.

RE: Proud Bird Construction Thread
 

The throttle servo pulls a piece of music wire to pinch the fuel tubing and kill the engine.

Metal geared servos are recommended for the throttle servo.

RE: Proud Bird Construction Thread
 

The weather has not been suitable for flying so I got some pictures instead.

RE: Proud Bird Construction Thread
 

The pack needs to be mounted back behind the wing to balance. I'm going to initially balance it at 4" back behind the wing. I may move it back further to the 4.25" point after testing.

This model weighed in at 68 ounces with a five cell 700 maH nimh pack. The other models will be lighter since their wings weigh less.

RE: Proud Bird Construction Thread
 

I finished the other two Proud Birds for a total of 3.

The lightest weighed 4 pounds and the heaviest was 4.25 pounds.

Contest wood and a 400 mAH five cell receiver pack was used on the lightest. It currently has a Jett Q-40 short stroke engine.

The 4.25 pound model was built with medium to hard wood, 700 mAH five cell receiver pack, and uses a Jett Q-40 long stroke engine.

RE: Proud Bird Construction Thread
 

Looks great and good luck at the race. Aways fun to build a fleet of planes for a big contest. I would warn you of the MAH packs running 2.4 ghz. I have had 2 planes go down because of this.

RE: Proud Bird Construction Thread
 

verticle_grimmace,
Are you using JR/Spektrum or Futaba 2.4ghz radios? I believe Scott's using Futaba, and I've never heard of a Futaba having an issue from using 4-cell NiMh's, and I've used them in Q500, Q40, and FAI racers.
GS

RE: Proud Bird Construction Thread
 

I'm using a Futaba FASST system with 5 cells. There doesn't seem to be an issue with the NIMH cells with the Futaba systems.

RE: Proud Bird Construction Thread
 

I had a Q-500 go down in my last heat of the day. My fault really but I was surprised the pack did not last for 5 races. It was a 600 mah Nimh. I was using Futaba and it was actually my first time out with the system. I should have topped it off during our lunch break but spaced it out. Funny thing is at first your controls get slow. It truly feels like a "brown out" Then you just lose it all together. I did not have much time to realize it either. Only like 30 seconds. I got it set up for an approach but it dived in on final.

RE: Proud Bird Construction Thread
 

I have one NIMH airborne battery pack - and probably won't ever buy any more. Just too much self discharge for my tastes. Others use a lot of them, so I guess it's a matter of personal preference.

I have heard that the AAA sized NIMH batteries aren't real highly recommended anyway, due to vibration sensitivity. Try to cram too much capacity in too small of a case, and the reliability under less than optimal conditions (vibration, etc) suffers.

I have a couple of small (610 mah, I think) 2S lipo packs and regulators that I'll be trying soon, but even better yet, I've seen where JR has some DS388HV servos that will run directly on 7.4V - no regulator needed. They're only two-screw servos, which is fine and acceptable per the AMA rules for halves of a v-tail or individual servos on ailerons, but not if you only have one servo on a conventional elevator, etc.

RE: Proud Bird Construction Thread
 

Personally, I would love to see all of the servos go high voltage. Being able to run an unregulated Lipo would be great. I am not sure if the regulators fail, but I suppose they could. I have never had a problem running a LiPo as a RX battery. I am beginning to rethink the NiMh, as I have lost a few planes because of them.

RE: Proud Bird Construction Thread
 

vertical,
What charger did you use on your NiMh pack, and at what rate were you charging it at? I never charge NiMh flight packs at over about .5C (they really aren't meant to be fast charged), and always use a charger that lets me know how much charge has been put into the battery. Most of the failures I've heard of have been with people charging at too high of a rate and not having a charger that lets them know how much charge has been put in. I don't trust chargers that just have a light come on or go out telling you the pack is charged, no matter what kind of battery I'm using.

I have recently switched over to Lipos just for the advantage of not having to charge as often. I've been traveling a ton for work (over 100 nights in hotels last year, and haven't been home since Jan 3rd this year), and it's just easier to have my Lipos with me, charge them the weekend before I go to a race, and just drop them in the plane and go fly. That being said, I never had a failure using NiMh's in several years of using them, mostly even with the dreaded AAA's that people say are so bad. They aren't as much of a no-brainer as NiCads were, but if well taken care of, they are very reliable in the right setting.

GS

RE: Proud Bird Construction Thread
 

Here are the final products.

Yesterday about 9 tanks of fuel were run through each of the two new Jett Q-40 LS engines.

The field was too muddy to fly but I will be arriving early for the Phoenix race.

RE: Proud Bird Construction Thread
 

A change in location for front wing hold down bolt was identified after the test flights.

With the bolts in the stock location the muffler must be removed when the wing is removed. I did this a couple times and then broke down and relocated the wing bolt. It is now located behind the engine muffler.

This modification makes the wing installation easier.