Hey Uncle Koolaid....

You know I can't say anything yet about the 110...

But uhhh...

I did get a little peak

Ok guys, chill with the koolaid. I'll stick with my monsters for now [8D]

3.2 huh? Not too bad. I'm taking mine out to fly tomorrow if I get the chance, to play around some more.

I have no intent of offering these an an "upgrade" any time in the near future. yeah I will be spreading a few around here and there, and if they all work well, then I'll have them for whoever wants them probably. but I have a few different things I want to play with, it's that time of year.

I am not talking about the 110. It doesn't exist....officially....yet.....

-Mike

hey wait a min....

how many nicknames does Larry actually have?.... I think I've lost count ....

Hey Arch...

on a somewhat more serious note.

Looking forward to you getting some flights on my new plane at D4 - and some trimming....

can't wait....

Dean, Im his Son and I dont even know the answer to that question.



Chris Odom
Team Black Magic
Team Dragon Fire
Team Koolade "dont drink the koolade"
Team Monster

Dean,

No problem..have to get mine retrimmed and learn how to fly first though

Arch

Finally finished : Total weight 10lb 8oz's.. All Paint.

Sweet.

Man Mikey,

You do one fantastic job with monokote. I don't see a wrinkle anywhere! You know I'm just teasing, you did a great job with the paint on that plane. And the weight that is just great to see it come out so lite. Can't wait to see it fly.

Lawrence

[sm=lol.gif][sm=lol.gif][sm=lol.gif][sm=lol.gif][sm=spinnyeyes.gif][sm=spinnyeyes.gif][sm=spinnyeyes.gif][sm=spinnyeyes.gif][sm=spinnyeyes.gif][sm=thumbs_up.gif][sm=thumbs_up.gif][sm=thumbs_up.gif][sm=thumbs_up.gif]


gary

Nice Mike!

Awesome [8D]

Now hurry up and get back in town so we can go fly it!

-Mike

Mike,

What do you mean fly it??? You can't leave the shop til at least next Thursday!!!

See you soon,

Arch

But Mike, the 110??????

Ken
Mesquite, nv

Please lets not get that started again! lol hahaha

Ok, I spose it is time for a quick update LOL

It's 6 feet from me right now. The prototype is built minus composites, I'm working on the plugs as time allows. Mike D is cutting me out a couple of beta kits to spread around to my guys and get some feedback. We're tweaking the wing roots and as far as the kit itself that's the last piece. The fit of this one exceeds even the VF3. The building techniques are similar, but the tedious process of building the front end has been eliminated....if it holds up to this YS.

So, as soon as the molds are completed, it flies. This process takes as long as the plane itself, because any minute defect is in every single part ever pulled from then on....so it is time consuming. Unfortunately it is still not my top priority as I have a couple of planes to paint, and the weather and my shop equipment haven't been cooperating very much. but now that I am fully in painting mode the plugs are in the mix on the forefront with 3 other planes.

And this is the busiest time of the year for me under normal circumstances. This year has been uh....interesting to say the least. And to top it off, I still haven't found the time to build myself a plane yet LOL

So to sum up, it is progressing very nicely, just not as fast as I would prefer. But it's getting there, and just ask the couple who have seen it, it's going to be worth the wait. I am doing up 2 versions, one glow and one electric. I am testing a particular electric system that seems better tuned to this particular plane than any other out there. It uses a 250kv outrunner and 8s packs....but can use 10s for obscene power. Target weight for the electric is around the 8 lb range. This plane is pretty large for it's size category, so I doubt a 90 sized 2 stroke would be enough, but we'll see. It's a little more like a 120 sized plane, but not as large as say, the Aquila....but a bit larger than the Focus sport. I have aplied everything I have learned from the 2 meter Black Magics so this one should be unique among it's peers. My goal is a plane capable of winning masters and FAI, but smaller, more affordable, easy to build and maintain....the perfect practice plane. I wanted a plane that I could go practice FAI unknowns with and not worry if I dirt napped it on the back of a 3 roll reversed rolling circle. But capable of doing it as easily as my 2 meter. I think I have one heck of a head start down that path.

My largest hindrance is the size of my shop. CAA is a 2 car converted garage....5 work tables, 4 of which are constantly in use for making the kits. So it has spread into my camper, my upstairs of my house, my basement, and in some cases the driveway! My wife has drawn the line at storing cores in the bedroom though. LOL

If things keep going smoothly next year we are planning on moving into a new place, with a HUGE shop and a little land. If I had that kind of room the 110 would have been done a year ago. Upon the lauch of this 110, if it goes anything like it looks from here, I may have to get some small warehouse space. But I'm just "typing out loud" here [8D]

I am still in a search mode for landing gear. I decided to do full kits, so sourcing that landing gear has become a PITA. The most likely solution is an aluminum gear, etched with some nice engraving. Costs about half as much as a carbon gear, but the weight is pretty close. And boy you should see how these things polish up, they look like chrome! With an engraved dragon running down the legs....it's pretty cool. But I still have my eyes open for a reliable inexpensive carbon solution.

So that's where that is....this weekend and next I am out of town for contests, so I'll see you guys out there in Huntsville and next weekend at the D4 champs!

Make some dust, burn some fuel, and have some fun!
-Mike

Due to a family vacation and a slight learning curve with the YS 160 I have not been able to get anything more than three very short dead stick landed flights on my BM V.3. After a little needle tweaking and some adjustments I was able to get two full flights on it this evening.

All I can say is HOLY *****!!!!!!!

About halfway through the first flight my face started feeling funny,I thought maybe the breeze blowing straight in caused a nerve or something to tense up. It took another minute before I realized I was cheesing so hard it was hurting my face Mind you, after the terrible pattern year I have had I was rusty as hell so nothing looked polished, but it felt so good to be flying a plane that grooves I couldn't believe it.

The Black Magic is one hell of an airplane and if I can get a few more flights on it before the D4 championships (very big if) I might be able to avoid making a fool of myself. Even if my third flight with it is round one of the contest I will still have a huge smile tattooed to my ugly mug!!!

Thanks again to everyone that helped, especially Mark Atwood.

Anthony

Pretty easy to set up and trim huh??? I've had that same expression everytime I've flown a v3 for the first time...EXCEPT once...my first flight with the prototype...totally different experience, but not the planes fault....that was an interesting day, eh Mike???

Mike Wingo - nice looking paint!!!!! That is a lot of hard work for sure!

Jim

hey Arch, I've had that same experience about 6 different times with this plane LOL And ONLY this plane. Dialing the incidence on the wing changes this things personality dramatically. Can't say one is particularly better than the other, only that I know what I like, and know when I hit it...and so far, I have always been able to hit it no matter what. So far....and when I put the anhedrals on there, I had to start over yet again. But I'm really liking the feel of this thing right now...

Anthony that's fantastic! Give that DZ some more time and TLC, it'll be your friend for a long long time. But they can be a real evil vicious sucker the first few runs until you get it tuned and get some fuel through it. After that, just follow one simple rule: don't touch it

Welp I'm about to head out the door to go meet the Florida contingent and do some flying and trimming, then off to Huntsville. I'll be back Monday for 3 days then off again to Cincinatti. Imagine that, flying for a change! Woohoo!!

Cyaz out there...
-Mike

Mike, Team Black Magic Members, The Black Magic Posse'


Have you ever put together an "all in" price or cost estimate for a BM V3 or BM V2? I would be interested in estimated costs including your very fine parts, wood, foam, paint preparation materials, specialized mechanical accesories like wing/stab adjusters and finish paint/film.

Additionally, if you have compliled a time to complete for the typical experienced builder/painter would be helpful also.

I am working on a series of articles for my local club newsletter and want to accurately reflect various popular options available for the precision minded modelers.

Rusty Dose
Team Futaba
Team YS Parts and Service

Ok Rusty, that's a very good question so I'll do my best.

We'll use a basic kit and a YS set up for comparison. It can be done cheaper and quicker, but this is standard so as to compare apples to apples.

Cost: Basic kit is about $450 to the door.
Sheeting and additional wood: $150-$200 depending. Don't settle for bricks.
Wing tubes, adjusters, gear etc to complete the airframe: About $170.
YS DZ170, hatori header/muffler, Hyde AR70 mount and nose ring: About $880, the largest expense.
Quality digital servos and Reciever: $550 total for radio gear.
Misc linkages and hardware: it varies, but let's call it an even $200 or so.

Finish: the sky is the limit. It also depends on whether or not you are currently set up to paint. Assuming you are and only adding the cost of materials and consumables, we'll call the glass/paint about $200. That's on the high end of things.

So, for a basic all in glassed painted VF3 with a DZ 170 for power and all digitals, you're looking at about $2650 starting from nothing to flying. bare airframe cost you're looking at about $1400 painted, minus the radio and engine, but including the mount.

Using a cheaper 2 stroke, monokote and not quite so top end servos you're about $800-$1000 less in the total package, for an all up at about $1600-$1800. Again this is from nothing. it can be built cheaper than that, but you need to shop around and get creative. I know of a couple that have been done for less than $1200 all up.

Time? Well that is the question of all questions. It depends on so many things that it's hard to say. If I am doing nothing else I can fully frame one from a kit in about 6-7 days, ready for finish. That's like 8 hours a day every day. The wings and sheeted parts are about 60% of the total work involved. if I am extremely motivated I can (and have) done the work in 4 days. But that's me, I spent no time guessing and all of the time doing.

For the average builder working on one Saturday and maybe one or 2 nights a week, it takes a month or 2. This is the framing/building work. NOT the finish.

The finish depends on the person doing it. I have finished one in monokote in 2 days (the prototype) by just painting the composites and then monokoting everything else.

A glassed finish will take longer....a lot longer. But what you end up with is a finish that will last a very long time. I can do a painted finish in about a week on a glow plane, but it's not a fun week. Ask Anthony how long it takes a normal builder......it's a good bit of work. It can take weeks or even months for a beautiful light weight painted finish, and that's just that I'm afraid. But to me, it's worth it because my plane will bear my own individuality.

So to sum up? This is not a plane for a pilot that's in a hurry and needs a plane yesterday. This is a plane for modelers, or people that want a plane that will last a very long time. But it takes more planning and more lead time than any ARF for certain. It flies with the best of them, and is argueably more durable than most. Just don't be in a hurry because it's not for everyone. Ask yourself an honest question about your time and work, and if you don't enjoy the building process, there are plenty of other planes that fill that category. This one is different, very old school. But the completion of one is a very rewarding experience, and can be done cheaper than the more top end planes. it's just different, I see it as just another option. And one that's admittedly more popular than I originally thought.

Taking a side track for a second, I don't recommend one of these as a first plane unless you have a good head start and understand fully what you're getting into. My advice for the new guy is usually get something else like a Focus first, and fly it while you take your time building this one. It makes an awesome second plane, one that's WELL suited for the tons of flights and abuse an intermediate/advanced pilot is going to put on it. And it will easily do masters and anything FAI can throw at it so it has no expiration date; it's been tested through f-11 and works well. So that's a good thing. it's very easy to build IMHO, so a straight legal plane is achievable by anyone, even if you've never glued 2 sticks together in your life. It CAN be done and has numerous times, just look around.

I hope that's what you were looking for. There's no standard answer for this particular plane because it's meant to suit individual tastes and needs. And that alone can vary the work and outcome price by a LOT.

Thanks for the question though, I hope that's what ya needed [8D]

-Mike


PS Edited in: In a few weeks let's find out. I'll frame a VF3 basic for Larry Odom, (may his V2 rest in pieces), ready for details and finish, and we'll see how long it really takes me. I want to know...I'll post pics when I first start, some along the way, and then when it's done. Because again, I want to know.

Hey Mike, will the BM 110 wing cores come already cored for the wing tube?

Yep....

-Mike

Geez Mike, why did you do that? Wow, I had no idea my plane cost that much! LOL I must be a glutton for punishment because as you know I'm building 2 more this season. Maybe I'll enter one in the Concourse at the NAT's again. This time, no more short cuts (Monokote on the wings). VBG

John Pavlick
Team Black Magic, Tech-Aero Designs