New Cyclone 2m - first flight
 

Well, I survived.

New 2m model, Cyclone, designed by John Payne, fuselage by Carl Herrod, install and covering/paint job by me.

Powered by 1.40Rx, with OS header and Hatori pipe. 17x12, 20% nitro with 15% cool power.

First flight was great, plane is very sweet to fly. High idle meant that I couldn't put the bird down and couldn't kill the power. Overrun into long grass (plus an abrupt right turn) meant plane sustained a little cowl damage. Need to run larger wheels for my strip, will go up to 2.75". Plane does float on, idle was at 2200 and that baby was never going to land!!

Looking forward to getting this one tuned up.

Steve

RE: New Cyclone 2m - first flight
 

Two thumbs up for that save Steve.:D

RE: New Cyclone 2m - first flight
 

That is one beautiful plane Steve. Awesome work. Well done.

Sorry to read about the damage but at least its minor. Unlike mine. [:o]

Any problems with your engine ?

RE: New Cyclone 2m - first flight
 

No problems with the engine. Straight out of the box, no shims, 20% nitro 15% cool power, 17x12. Transition is slightly slow, will trim 5mm off the pipe.

The landing problem actually happened cause I upped the idle, anticipating the kind of problems you and dallas had. So, couldn't kill the engine and couldn't land with the high idle.

Ran as sweet as a clock. Plane was just beautiful to fly, one click of trim on elevator had it tracking dead straight.

Repair is pretty straightforward, should be flying next weekend.

RE: New Cyclone 2m - first flight
 

Steve,

Awesome looking plane -- looks superb. Well done.

On the 140, before you trim the pipe/header just check the idle mixture -- they tend to come set slightly rich, and that may account for your transition.

David

RE: New Cyclone 2m - first flight
 

Thanks David.

Whats the best way to know how much to lean the bottom end. Just look for a smooth transition? I was about to take 5mm off my header, but I'll try this first. The engine was good straight out of the box, so I want to mess with it as little as possible. Ran about 7700 rpm on the ground, which local wisdom say's is about perfect.

Model is repaired, so although my pride is slightly dented bending it on the first flight, at least now I wont sweat it so much. I love it when you bend a "pretty" model, then you don't have to treat it with kid gloves anymore!

Steve

RE: New Cyclone 2m - first flight
 

Steve,

Looks great!

I've also found that they need very little trimming. Great to see some more NSW guys getting involved - hope to see you at some comps soon.

RE: New Cyclone 2m - first flight
 

that looks awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!! well i just invested in a 1.40RX to replace my DZ[:'(] so now i might have to save up for a cyclone to go with it!!!
once again that looks awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

RE: New Cyclone 2m - first flight
 

Steve,

I was reflecting with a fellow pattern flyer on the weekend that all planes that sustain minor damage in those early flights fly better in the long run! I have done the same myself on more than one occasion . . .

On the 140, I would try a couple of things on the transition -- one is to lean the low end a touch, a tenth of a turn max and see if it improves. There is no recipe, just try it and see if it gets better. It won't take much. The other is to decompress with a second head gasket. I am less sure on the later of these -- I did it to both of mine, but they are a couple of years old and I heard someone suggest it was no longer necessary (but since then I have contradictory advice). Any recent view out there? Most of the guys I fly with are flying 15% nitro and 17-20% oil (so if you are flying with 20% nitro you may want to lower it a fraction and see if that helps -- you will still have ample power unless you have a 6kg plus Cyclone!). 7,700 is in the sweet spot -- one of mine runs less than that, one slightly over, and I haven't worked out why!

And unless there is something very wrong, trust that idle!! They tick over at slow revs superbly, albeit a little roughly on a soft mount.

David

RE: New Cyclone 2m - first flight
 

I would add that the Mintor 140 twin plug head is a good addition for the OS140. It smooths out the mid range considerably.

RE: New Cyclone 2m - first flight
 

Thanks for all the comments, much appreciated.

Finishing off a modern 2m is a LOT of work, but I'm glad I've done it. The Cyclone came in at 4.8kg total. I was a bit heavy with the paint, John Payne advised me that most finish up at 4.7kg, but I did want that glossy finish.

I reckon that the cyclone fuz needs a little more reinforcement for ham-fisted pilots like myself. The cowl is very thin, so any nose-over will smash the cowl (easily repaired thought). Also the wing mount, incidence adjust area needs a second layer of glass to spread the crush loads from any tip loading. Remember, the cyclone fuz is only .75 glass / 1/16th balsa vac moulded and .75 glass, so its a very light, but pretty delicate layup.

Overall, I'm really pleased with the plane, it flys much much better than I can!!, so the transition from 1.10 size models has been worth it. (As they say, nothing flies quite like a 2m).

Steve

RE: New Cyclone 2m - first flight
 

Very nice, particularly the color scheme! vbg

RE: New Cyclone 2m - first flight
 

Steve The pipe floor takes all the crush loads the wings apply to the fuz any reinforcement of the area around the tube mount and incidence adjust mounts will just add weight not strength any hits on wing tip on landing etc the fuz will break behind the wings the moulded fuz is stronger than the wood prototype I can not make the fuz any stronger and keep them under 5kg the fuz is made up of 2oz glass 1/16 balsa and 3/4ozglass inside glad to here that you are happy with the way the cyclone flies John

RE: New Cyclone 2m - first flight
 

I like the lines on this one and from what has been written about the flying of this bird I’m intrigued. How may I receive more information on this model?

RE: New Cyclone 2m - first flight
 

Hi John,

What happened from a fairly minor wing tip "brush" was that the fuz tore open behind the rear incidence peg, pulling the peg out. I wondered if a patch of kevlar larger than the wing root area would spread the load across the skin better? It was just a thought. The fuselarge is just amazing in its weight, but I'm not the best of pilots!! The cowl smashed pretty convincingly, but my wheels were too small (as you told me!). A second layer of cloth firmed up the chin a lot (but probably added a lot of weigh up forward).

Oh well, my next one will be perfect! Its a fabulous airplane.

Steve

RE: New Cyclone 2m - first flight
 

Sorry for bringing up old memories Steve.:)
You going to try again on sunday?

RE: New Cyclone 2m - first flight
 

Dear Steve.

I have a question. IF you cut 5 mm in the inlet side of the pipe, did you Keep the recomended distance betwen the header and the pipe about 5 mm?
Please help me, I am trying to increase the RPM with the APC 17x12.
Nowadays I an running with 10% nitro, 18% sintetic oil and turning 16.5 x12 W @ 7700-7800 rpm at 950 meters over the sea level, but I would like to turn 17x12 @ 7600 rpm at least.

Thanks

Jorge Lozano

RE: New Cyclone 2m - first flight
 

Jorgele,

More nitro!!!

RE: New Cyclone 2m - first flight
 

Hi Jorgele,

I agree with the more nitro. I'm running 20%, and our current local pattern champion reckons that 20% fixes the midrange richness. Others think that 15% is a minimum, but I'd guess 10% is too low. One of our pilots has tried running 10% and has had a lot of problems adjusting pipe length etc, to get a good transition.

Note, I didn't trim the pipe, only the header.

Steve