gi8u2racing

My Feedback: (11)

I am interested in buying either a Neme-Q or a Bird of Prey because i can get them painted and almost ready to fly. I was looking for some opinions/comparisons on the two airplanes. How does it take-off, land, fly, strength, weight, overall speed, etc? Thanks in advance
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Go fast, Turn Left!
- Jonathan Baker

js3

My Feedback: (3)

Jonathan,

You really can't go wrong with either plane. I have one of each

I've raced the Neme-Q and my caller tells me that it's really rippin' fast. I just have to get better at keeping it on the course. I haven't yet flown the Bird of Prey because I ordered the standard plane and I still have to paint it and time is at a premium for me these days.

This is a good opportunity to for me to relate what a great experience I've had with Fly Fast Composites (maker of the Neme-Q). After my last race (Mid May), I noticed a problem with the wing. I contacted Terence Palaschuk about the problem and he built me a replacement wing. I received an email from him today stating that the replacement has been shipped and it should be delivered on Tuesday. I thanked him and also said that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to anyone that they purchase a Neme-Q. He really took care of me and I appreciate that.

This is, in no way, intended as a knock on Lyle Larson; I'm sure he takes care of his customers as well. It's just that I've had this recent experience with Terence that I can relate.

The bottom line is, you can't go wrong with either one. They are both very competitive planes. Just remember that it always comes down to pilot skill anyway. That's why I don't win more

gi8u2racing

My Feedback: (11)

I watched Darrol Cady himself stuff a Neme-Q because of wing failure. This appears to be a common problem among these Neme-Q's. That doesn't sound good. Maybe could Terrence or Darrol comment on this please? Do you have to buy the Neme-Q from Terrence to get the service, or will he support Neme-Q's sold by Darrol as well? thanks
_________________
Go fast, Turn Left!
- Jonathan Baker

js3

My Feedback: (3)

Terence will provide service for planes purchase through Cady. I know this because I bought my Neme-Q from Darrol.

Regarding how the Neme-Q flies, with the motor on, (ie during the heat) it grooves well and seems to be limited only by my ability. Perhaps once I get it in the air I'll like the Bird of Prey better but to be honest, I doubt if I would be able to tell the difference. With the motor off, (landing) I've had a hard time getting used to the steeper glide slope of the laminar airfoil. I used to fly a V-Vector and was very confident with it and my ability to spot land it. I just need to fly the Neme-Q more to get more familiar with it and not try to stretch the glide like I could with the V-Vector (turbulent airfoil).

PylonWorld

I haven't flown a NACA 66 based airfoil yet ... is this a common characteristic of the airfoil? I've flown an unmodified MH-18B airfoil, and soon will fly a modified MH-18B, and the unmodified MH-18B airfoil was very forgiving on landing.

RB, BV, DN, others ... comments, please

Anybody using dual servos on a NACA 66 to change the flight or landing characteristics?

Here's something interesting I just realized ... I've seen a spec that showed the Neme-Q has a chord of 9.625 ... with the maximum wingspan of 52", that yields 500.5 square inches. There would be no room for rounding the tips at all. Can someone measure their Neme-Q chord and reply?

R.Bridge

Okay I'll jump in here on this:

1. I haven't seen any NEMEQ wings fold. I know Darol folded one wing early, but I believe that plane was built more for 424, and not able to accommodate the 428 motor. Problem has been solved.

2. I think both planes are very good in there own right. Lyle's wing is the most similar to our wing on the Vortex. Fred cut both those molds, they are not exact, but very close.

3. Weight? Travis and I both broke the record with quickies over 3lbs. 10oz's.... Personally I think a Q500 that is 3.5 lbs flies horrible, the little extra weight makes them not so jumpy..but that's just me.

Somebody said it comes down to pilot skill, that is and will always be the case. I think all the composite quickies are good, VMAX, NEMEQ, BIRD of PREY, or the VORTEX.... just set them up so they fly good for you and go get em'.......


Randy Bridge
TeamJR

Fly Fast

Thanks to everyone for the feedback on the Neme-Q, as the designer and builder of the plane, it is fascinating to read.

Here are the answers to some of your questions:

1. Regarding the wing area. The span is 52 inches. The chord is 9.65 inches. There is a one inch radius on the front corners, which calculates to 501.37 sq. inches. Rounding the rear tips a little would not hurt as there is 1.37 sq. inches to be lost.

2. In regards to wing failures, I have had one structural failure, out of the 105 kits that I have built and distributed. This failure was due to bad wood in the spar on the left side of center. This particular wing folded up on the test flight. After an inspection, it was found that there was rotten wood in that portion of the spar.

In the case of a structural failure, it would be covered by warranty, no questions asked, regardless if it was purchased from Darrol or myself.

I have exchanged a few parts due to cosmetics.

The racing community is small, and negative feedback where the manufacturer fails to ensure his customers are happy, creates long term problems. For that reason, I do go out of my way to ensure customers are happy with the Neme-Q.

3. As far as Darrol's failure, the wing did have problems, but it was not related to the structure of the wing. It was related to me cutting through the front aileron separator, during construction. Darrol discovered the error after flying the plane, and glued it back together. He flew it for some time like this. Unfortunately, the repair came apart causing the aileron to flutter, thus tearing the gears out of the servo resulting in a loss of control and hence a sudden impact with the ground.

Once Darrol advised me of the problem, I moved the separators further away from the hinge line and strengthened them, which has resolved that potential problem.

4. Regarding the pitching up on landing, the ideal angle of attack for the wing to generate maximum velocity at full power is +.22 degrees.

Unfortunately, when you are landing, power is off and the wing is at 22 degrees, so the plane wants to climb. I could have designed it to be a nicer landing airplane, but I chose to design it to be fast while racing.

Finally, I do agree with Randy, that all of the composite kits he mentioned are very good kits and comparable in performance, but at this point in time, I would have to say that the Vortex edges out the rest..... validated by Randy and Travis's new records.

If we assume all planes are equal, then we have to give credit to the thumbs of these gentlemen.

If you have further questions about the Neme-Q kit, please feel free to contact me via the thread, directly through e-mail or you can phone me. My phone number is listed on my web site www.flyfastcomposites.com.

Hope this helps clarify some of the concerns.

PylonWorld

Terence,

Thanks for joining us ... It is nice to hear a manufacturer's direct response to the questions and concerns.

It's also nice to know about the actions taken to solve problems.

In terms of the wing area thing I mentioned, I apparently got bad info ... I was told it was a 9 5/8" chord. Thanks for clarifying.

BTW, do you know if anybody has set one up with dual aileron servos, and what techniques they are using?

Fly Fast

Don,

Just to clarify.... the information you received about the chord is right. The chord is 9 5/8 which is 9.625. I typed it in wrong at 9.65.

However, the end calculation is the same.... 501.37 square inches. That is as per my AutoCad drawing, which was used by the CNC machine to cut the wing mold.

Regarding dual aileron servos, there is one racer (my caller, Steve) here in Regina who runs a Neme-Q with dual servos. I can't tell you how much it helps or not, as the first airplane flew 1 1/2 race meets before being cut in half in a mid air and the second plane has survived our first race meet of the year. What I can tell you is that with too much down flaperons and the plane turns slower. We really haven't experimented enough to determine whether or not flaperons help.

Terence

PylonWorld

Terence,

Something is wrong somewhere, but my intuition about rounding the tips was wrong, too. Where was that pi when I needed it?

If your wing has a 9.625" (== 9 5/8") chord with a 1" radius on the front of the tips, it has 500.07 square inches.

If your wing has a 9.65 (> 9 5/8") chord with a 1" radius on the front of the the tips, it has 501.37 square inches.

Either way it's still legal.

But if it has a 9.625" chord, don't round the tips any more.

Thanks for the info about the dual servos. I'm using dual servos in anything I build because I've gotten used to having them available. And I play with the possibilities a lot. You can really change the turning and landing characteristics of a plane. But I haven't done it with a NACA 66 variant, so I'm not sure of the implications.

Fly Fast

Bill,
The idea behind the parts being bolted on was to make it easier to replace parts.
If someone chews off your tail and the plane survives, then you order a new tail and bolt it on.
If you mid air, and pound the plane, in a lot of cases the tail is undamaged, then you only need to bolt on a fuse and wing to your tail.
If you like things more permanent, then gluing on the tail would not hurt. It just makes it harder to take off later.
Terence

PylonWorld

Bill,

One of the nice things about a bolt on tail is that you have access to the elevator linkage when you need it, without having any holes cut in the fuselage.

The Texas consortium has a plane with a bolt on tail, and they take the tails off some of the time, but anytime you take something like a stabilizer or wing off, and put it back on, there may be a need for trim changes. A few thousandths of an inch on the tail is enough to require a trim change.

You can use a little silicone rubber to get the best of both worlds. That way you can remove the tail if necessary, but you don't have to worry as much about trim changes if the tail gets bumped.

Fly Fast

Don,

The chord measurement issue was annoying me last night, so I did some further investigation.

The chord is 9.65 as originally noted (which was the figure I had in my memory). On my AutoCad drawings, the measurement was showing 9.625. What I discovered is that AutoCad is measuring and rounding to the nearest 1/16 of an inch, which is why the surface calculation still comes out to 501.37. AutoCad is using 9.65 to calculate the surface calculation, but is rounding and displaying 9 5/8 on the drawings.

So.... the chord measurement is 9.65.

I'll have to figure out how to change my AutoCad setting to stop rounding and display to the nearest 000'th of an inch.

Thanks for raising this issue, I would not have noticed the rounding issue in AutoCad otherwise.

(edited by PylonWorld to fix the greeting )

js3

My Feedback: (3)

Hi Everyone,

Well, I've had two successful flights on my Neme-Q (and no unsuccessful flights ) since receiving the new wing. I had hoped to be able to fly the plane at my last race (062202) but I became ill and did not attend.

I took the replacement of the wing as an opportunity to go over my setup with a fine toothed comb. I checked everything out and moved the CG back to 3.25". I had been flying it between 3" and 3.125" before. I have to say that this plane lands MUCH better now with the CG a bit further back. I don't feel like I run out of elevator throw on landing now. As you would expect, I did have to reduce my power-on elevator throw.

Dave, I'm now experiencing the pitch up you mentioned above when the power is off.

All in all, I highly recommend the Neme-Q to anyone for 428 racing!

Thanks for a great airplane Terence!

R.Bridge

Bill,

Just hold the wing up in a bright light to locate the spare (maybe a bright flash light). Just be sure NOT to cut the carbon on top of the spare...

RB

Q500

Here is the web site address for Fly Fast

http://www.flyfastcomposites.com/sit...SID=1ZQYQW0TC1

R.Bridge

Hey Bill.....

Just thought of something. Look at that Vortex wing you have, and that should give you an idea of how close to mount the servo to the torque rods. I always try to mount mine as close to the torque rods as possible... just a thought.

later man!
RB

See you this weekend in Medford.

Fly Fast

Hi Bill,

Randy made a good point, regarding cutting through the carbon spar cap.

In my private e-mail to you last night, I indicated the spar was located 5 1/8 inches from the trailing edge, but the carbon spar cap is about 5 inches from the trailing edge.

Because I use balsa skins, you cannot see the spar cap, even if you hold the wing up to a bright light.

If you keep the servo as close to the trailing edge as possible, you don't have to worry about the spar or spar caps.

I normally send plans with all my kits. I was not distributing all the kits to the end user. I am sorry if you did not receive your plans. If it would help, I can mail you out replacement plans. Just send me an e-mail with a mailing address if you would like them.

My apologies to whomever was trying to link to my web site. We are in the process of rebuilding the site and some specific page links from certain search engines will no longer work. The home page address is still the same and will take you to the site. My thanks to Don for updating the PylonWorld page, as that link is now correct as well.

I am going to be adding pages on how the Neme-Q is constructed, a page on setting up a Neme-Q, and a page that will profile some some of the planes with their owners.

Terence