I have just finished the Bullet 2 glider from J Perkins and today it was the first time out and I was trying to trim it up.
I was launching on a bungee and now and again it was drifting to one side so I gave the ailerons a nudge to correct it. Sometimes it worked but other times it would just spiral down to the ground and then continue to be dragged by the bungee and I couldn't correct it by pushing the stick in the opposite direction.

I have since been back home and re-balanced the model which was quite a way off and tried to level out the control surfaces.

Is the spiralling due to something not being trimmed up or just my kak flying skills as I'm still trying to get to grips with ailerons ?

Cheers

Rich

Hi Rich.

They ain't the easiest models to fly at the best of times......

It sounds like either the towhook is in the wrong place, compared to where you've set the C/G.

As for it wanting to turn one way...........either the wing is heavier on one side, or you've built a warp into the wing whilst building it.

I hope this helps ?.

Cheers,

Steve.

I've not yet had the experience of launching an aileron ship, but what I've heard is that during the launch phase you don't touch the ailerons. Any adjustment for direction should only be done by the rudder. It could be something to do with the angle of attack (steep) and the aileron going down causing a tip stall. On the other hand, I may be talking a load of donkey bo**ocks.

Thing is with that the only controls are elevator and ailerons. Would it be worth while slapping on the two corex wing tips or would that be a waste of time ?

Hi Rich.

is this your first model ?.

Put on the b....y wing tips. They're there for stability. A hi-start with a wing is hard - find a hill and chuck it off upwind and fly it. The Bullet was my first EPP, not the best but perfectly flyable from a slope, it never occured to me to try it on a flat field!
David.

Its not my first no .... I have several its my first EPP and aileron model though. I just wanted something that I could fly without worrying about ending in a million pieces as I was looking into sloping I'm currently on the hunt for a decent slope but I was just eager to see how it flew seeing as it said in the manual they managed to launch off a bungee OK. Probably a trip to the Peak District is in order.

The spiraling down sounds like a tip stall. How much string do you have attatched to the bungee?

Its about 30m I think its one of them Radio Active launch sets [link=http://www.sussex-model-centre.co.uk/shopexd.asp?id=2096]Bungee launch[/link]

Move the tow hook forward.

With slopers youre better off using a "zip-launch" technique, where the tow-hook is under the nose. The plane flies level away from you, over the stake, drops the line, and then you climb at about a 45-60 degree angle. A monster bungee can get a sloper up to some astonishing speeds.

A "High-Start" usually requires some rudder to rotate the plane around the yaw axis if you start rotating off to one side.

My fiiends and I have made towhhoks from coathangers and taped them to the sloper with filament tape, so if you bring your bungee up to the hill on a windless day, everybody can have a little fun.

OK thanks for that Ill give it a bash.

Ok so today I finally figured out what was happening. It had nothing to do with the actual model but the bungee launch. Somehow the drogue was either opening too early or something and causing it to spin out. I put a rubber band around it to keep it closed and it worked great.

Thanks for all your input.

Rich

I have nearly finished my Perkins Bullet. I curently fly Easystar and Graupner Tipsy which are great trainers. I now want to have a go at ailerons. I'm in a flat area so slopes are out of the question. Does anyone know where I can attach the hook for the bungee? I've lost my instructions! I'm also thinking of an EDF conversion for the Bullet- any ideas?
Cheers,
Llewellyn

eek, was the person at the shop also a specialist in selling snow to eskimos!

Maybe use the gear in another plane.... Well sorry to be negative, but these planes have a bad reputation. it was one of the 1st EPP planes and has been superceded since it was launched. If you like epp and want to fly from the flat, have a look at the eppi -soar from phoenix model products.......... To my mind this a sloper and not really suitable for thermal soaring from a bungee.

Is it really worth converting ?. In my opinion, the Bullet could do with a little ballast, to overcome the drag..........as a glider.

If you don't mind me asking, where are you in the UK ?.

I wouldn't recommend the Epi-soar. In seven years of slope flying, I've only ever seen two of them...........and both folded their wings in mid-air !. The both flew sluggishly, and struggled to turn. The more modern Multiplex Easy-glider is a far better model.

Satinet - Seeing that you are in Warwick, have you tried sloping of the Ivinghoe Beacon, near Dunstable (Beds) ?.

Hi,

I'm new to rc planes and i have been slope flying a bullet for about 35 hrs and i got to say it's great. Been out pretty much every day for the last fortnight in everything from 5 mph - flyable if it's a good slope - to 30 mph.

Very easy to fly with the tips on and when you take em off in a breeze it's a hoot!! Barrel rolls, inverted flight, loops and endless stalled rolls, turns and more. Virtually indestructible - i've had loads of crashes, some severe nose plants and very little damage at all You can tell it's quite draggy even though i've flown no other planes and I've yet to explore the ballast option. Any one who knows of a cunning way to ballast a bullet let us know. I'm thinkin 400g or so.

Anyway as far as i'm concerned bullets are 'kin top plane to learn to rc plane or slope.