I was intrigued by the Flat Bat Combat plane I saw on Spadtothebone.com website. I got some coroplast and flat bats (thanks to the links and referals on Spadtothebone) and started making some for fun. I built six, hoping that I could stimulate interest in combat at our airfield. Well, I test flew my Flatbat yesterday. I put a Webra 32 on mine. After the trim flight, hand launches were a breeze, though I am use to hand launching Fun Flys anyways. I was pleasantly please on how smooth it flew, ecspecially considering its fuse is a kid's trainer bat. Well, after test flight, the remaining Flat Bat ARFs I made up were GONE! I planned on taking them to Perry for the show in Feb./Mar. to sell. None of them will make it <LOL>.

Anyways, to my question. How do you normally run the antenna? I have mine currently coming out the side of the fuse, then I cut a small hole in the bottom of the V-Tail and ran it up thru the flute. Mine still trails out the back of the aircraft, which concerns me since I know in combat others will be trying to cut my streamer, and may get my antenna too! I was just looking for additional ideas. Share with me how you ran yours?
Thanks!
Kevin

I run it out the back hole (handle) and then bend it around 180 and back in. I don't like it stuck in the tail feathers cuz if you get hit back there it rips your wire off.

You mean that they will cut your tail feathers off too!!!
Didn't think of that, but now that you mention it - Thanks!

Sooner or later, they will cut Everything off. There is no safe place for the antenna, and the harder you work to hide it, the harder the props will work to find it.

Personally, I just run the antenna out of the fuse (or along it for profile planes), then out to the tip of the vertical stab, then down inside the coro stab and out the bottom to trail along after the plane. I ususally loosely tape it with a couple of tabs of packing tape. I figure that if a prop hits it, the antenna isn't attached very well to anything, and can be moved out of the way by the prop rather than torn from the receiver. I usually use some strain relief near the rx as well.

I have had a couple of antennas cut, but I don't sweat it. They were both FMA rxs, and if you check with the FMA website, they say you can cut the antenna fairly short. Just do a range check to make sure everything is working ok.

be careful doubling the antenae...can lead to interferance.

Kevin, dont forget that 99% of all planes dont live to be hung up for posterity.

I went and watched some SSC (15 powered) birds this morning and even though the wind was 20MPH+ they flew very good and with the five planes I saw a total of four midairs, two dumbthumb dirtnaps and five slaps while passing. In two of the midairs one each was able to keep flying and in all cases none were made to get different planes to continue. Some of them needed five minute repairs and that is not bad.

After seeing the Profile Brotherhood carnage here in Houston, the funflys are at greater risk of bird damage.

Jump on in the water is great and the adrenaline is rushing.

Take care and dodge me later. Jim

AMA 3893-CD
RCCA 291