Kosh

WOW ... That weather just plain sucks. Sorry to see ALL those downed power lines and trees, We had the same thing 2 months back and lots were out of power for 10 days or more. Why just last week the Federal Government declared us a disaster area. We were saved from that long forgotten storm by some Washington paper pusher.

Don't worry, Unlike the Government "Utilities" have a real plan in place to deal with this by calling in out of state Line Crews to speed repairs.

Real help is on the way so take care and keep warm.

Flyer 1

Yep, that's definitely not happy weather.
I was in the Xenia, OH F-5 tornado in 1974. That's the largest, strongest tornado EVER recorded, with winds of (guesstimated, at least) nearly 450-500 mph. It HAD to be a guess because all the anemometers broke at the 300 mph area.
33 people died that day. I know lots of folks in the aftermarket of a tornado's wake say it looks like a nuclear blast, but this one really DID. It flattened the entire town - I mean, FLAT. Entire neighborhoods of brick houses were reduced to rubble a foot high. It threw debris all the way into central KY. And, almost every tree in Xenia over 50 feet high was uprooted and tossed several miles.
Every time we get bad weather nowadays, I just think back to that experience. Suddenly the current weather emergency doesn't seem so bad anymore!
Flyer

Flyer 1

Why did I get off-track? I'm losin' my mind.
I flew my yaller SS today and have a relatively strange experience. The maiden I did a few days ago, but it was a very short flight. Today the temps were in the forties, so I hauled it out for a more extensive wringing-out.
For SOME reason, it's extremely, EXTREMELY sluggish to control input. I didn't have a camera on, so it wasn't a weight issue. CG was spot-on.
It was so sluggish I had to use the extra power of the brushless to get me out of tight spots at least half a dozen times. Just point the nose up and hit the gas - instant recovery.
Still, I wonder what's causing this? At first, I considered the extreme rearward-mounting of the servos. Maybe this was causing a weight/leverage problem. BUT, together the servos don't even weigh one ounce including the mount, and that's barely more than the weight of the full-length control rods would weigh. So, that doesn't seem a likely culprit.
I'm going to have to get out again and really wring it out extensively. I broke the prop on a landing, and like an idiot I'd only brought one - so that was it for the day.
Any ideas - or do all of the newer SlowSticks behave this way? Extremely stable when trimmed, but seem to take at least 3 seconds to BEGIN a turn.
Flyer

tallflyer

Flyer1

THe Slowstick is a great plane! NOW the Butt comes in hehehehehe if you load up the plane witha camera and stuff and get you balance right she flys great remove the camera,change the size of the battery! I used to laugh and say use thicker rubberbands the slowstick can change it's flight patern. what I do is make my plane a little noise heavy anyways that way it seems to fly ok with most setups! when the Slow Stick is tail heavy it wont turn on a football field!

too much wind under the wings makes it out of control.

Flyer 1

Yeah, I'd almost forgotten what a SS flew like.
I'm beginning to think the extreme strengthening I did on the wing (fiberglassed the center 2 inches, strapping tape everywhere else) is having an effect on it's turning ability. It's possibly too STIFF! There's NO wing flexing during flight, and you'cn pick it up by the wingtips with no flex. I noticed this during one of my accidental, extreme dives (thankfully the elevator seems effective enough!).
SO - the little guy in the back of my head is starting to whisper "Ailerons! Ailerons!" But, I've read that ailerons aren't too effective on the SS. On the OTHER hand, OTHER SSs don't have a WING this rigid. Other folks LOVE ailerons on the 'stick.
Seems to me that if set up so they deflect upwards FAR more than downwards (and have a ton of travel), ailerons SHOULD be very effective here. I don't know if it's the weather here or what, but there was practically no wind today and my 'Stick was flying anything but slowly! It was zipping around that little baseball diamond almost as fast as my Fokker D-V11.
I'll let the little guy in my head talk to me some more... usually he's right.
Flyer

aviatordave

hey guys...Electric is back on!

Undercambered wings can use ailerons, but they are usually not very effective. To combat the stronger wings I incorporated a larger rudder. You might want to try that before modding the wings. Just a little food for thought. Of course, with any payload (camera) you would want a larger rudder to comphensate for the drag anyways.

Dave

aviatordave

Back
On
Topic (...lol )

I used 2 pieces of scrap plywood to make the control horns since the supplied control horns are of low quality and I have read of others not liking them.

You can read the notes on the pics -

Dave

aviatordave

Hey Flyer -

I'd say you have been thru hell. I watched a documentary on that same tornado and saw some incredible footage. If you were a cat I'd say you used up a few of your lives. But your still walking...and prob thankful for that!

Dave

aviatordave

Xray -

Whats up old buddy? Havent heard from you in awhile!

I edited the landing gear post to include these photos. I must of been in a hurry, sorry for missing the info.

Dave

aviatordave

Some find that using the control wire supplied with the kit is just fine. Actually it is just fine, but I find it more robust to use a 1/8 " dowel to avoid flex or slop.

Either way is fine, this is just what I do

As usual, click on the picture to read the notes -

Dave

Flyer 1

Yep, I definitely used a couple lives that day.
Ironically, I was at the same spot I spend most of my time these days while my mother's sick, at Greene Memorial Hospital. In fact I often fly a plane in their back lot - I thought they'd kick me out the first time, but turns out the patients like watching! Some come to their windows and I buzz as closely as possible - tickles 'em to death.
Anyhow - one of the most famous photos of the Xenia tornado was the photo taken from the hospital that day! You've probably seen it. I was there waiting for my brother to have his appendix removed. He wasn't IN surgery yet, but was being prepped. The intercom came on with orders to evacuate all patients to the lower floors, and things got very busy. Then came that awful sound - not really a train or jet, but something between. Something bigger. As I was running towards the window I saw the guy taking the now-famous photo on the stairway landing. I hadn't seen the tornado yet, but the look on the guys face - and he was a BIG guy - scared the crap outta me. Heck, I was only 14.
That gigantic funnel came directly at the hospital, and there were cars, rooftops, a schoolbus, and everything else actually rotating inside the funnel hundreds of feet high, around and around. After a few seconds they'd be flung outwards.
It came to within one block of the hospital, and then it actually veered away to the east. At that point it left our sight, but according to witnesses, after the hospital was clear it resumed it's original path (and took what was left of the town).
If it'd happened an hour earlier, it would have been horrendous. All but one of our public Middle and High Schools were flattened. The death toll would have been in the hundreds had school not let out 45 minutes earlier.
Sorry, rambling. Ahem.
I'm going to go ahead and cut out the ailerons, hinge them, then tape them into neutral. Won't do any damage that I can see, and if I do decide to make them operational later most of the work will be done.
Another thing: this fiberglass fuselage is BIG - time rigid compared to the other SlowSticks. For those who haven't used/seen one yet, it's very very stiff. In other words, no twisting/bending of the fuse before the wing turns as happens with my Merlin and other SS planes.
I have a sneaking suspicion that the wing was actually shifting a bit in it's mounts as I was applying rudder, slowing the response. An extra six or so rubber bands next outing will tell for sure.
Flyer

xray328

Been doing fine Dave, thanks.

You're doing a excellent job here and a real service to the AP community with this thread! This is by far the best thread I've seen on this subject.

I'm waiting to see how you're gonna trigger the shutter. Thats always been a difficult part for me. Nothing worse than thinking you're getting great shots and only to find out that the servo arm wasn't aligned properly.

One thing I'd like to add in regards to the servo setup...

The wooden dowel setup has always worked great for me, but if you cut a little valley for the rod to rest in along the length of the dowel, it makes everything feel a bit more secure.

BTW, where'd you get the CF landing gear?

Thanks again for the excellent thread!

aviatordave

Good idea on the dowels, I'll keep that in mind on the next one I do.

I am using the 8" landing gear available at Hobby lobby for 18 bucks. They are backordered till 3/16/07 right now. A little pricey but it offers the best protection for your camera.


[Edit - Hobby Lobby does not carry CF gear anymore.]

I'm using Pentax Optio cameras, the reason being is that I too suffer from bad servo set ups. The Optio line can use a small circuit board called a 'Prism' that sends a IR signal (like the remote on your tv). No moving parts and no current drain on the ESC.

Dave

SAVS

I ordered these instead because they looked like they would work well;

http://h1072854.hobbyshopnow.com/pro...p?prod=EFL2255

For the S6 shutter I use the GentLED as it is small and simple;

http://www.kapshop.com/product_info....products_id=88

I also purchase the GentLED DUO but need to figure out how to hook it up so I can trigger the shutter from my TX. The DUO would work great with this http://rangevideo.com/digilive.html...Denny

tallflyer

aviatordave

I have ez-connectors that hold larger dia wire I used them on my new GWS Slow Stick that has the larger wire they did the trick just fine.

aviatordave

Yes EZ connectors with larger wire works well too. Prob alot easier to set up to boot. I lost an airplane due to EZ connectors many moons ago, it was prob my fault for not checking the tightness as I sometimes get complacent with the airplanes after they perform so well. I just force myself to use the 'Z' bends to eliminate that from happening again, although many people use EZ's and never had a problem such as yourself.

how have those GWS servos been performing for you? You seem to fly alot.....are they a good bargain for performance?

Dave

Flyer 1

For ME, GWS servos are kinda weird.
The work EXTREMELY well for a month or two. Then, they begin "buzzing" - due, I believe, to a gear "pre-strip". Finally the gears let go.
You'cd put new gears in, but since the servos are so low-priced to begin with why bother?
I like them for dedicated use, when I KNOW I'm not going to remove them for use on a different plane. Just fix 'em in place and forget 'em. When one burns up (and they ALWAYS give fair warning), stick in another.
All in all, much better servos than you'd think they'd be and certainly better than other, "bargain" brands.
Flyer

tallflyer

Well cross my fingers dont want to jinx myself wait knock on wood! I think dollar for dollar as long as you dont stress the servo (I have a computer radio) I fly with most of the time and I have the throws set very small and at full they are only about 75% full so I dont push them too hard! I think a standard radio with full throws all the time hurts the cheaper servos as you pushing them all the time.

So far I use both Hitec55's and GWS they both perform well for what I use them for!

The hitec 55 servo arm fits the ez-connector with no modifaction, I have to use my x-acto knife to hole out the servo arm a little on the GWS.

The Ez-conectors used in the photo use a threaded hex nut not the little screw type they dont seem to give at all.

I saw a neat little trick done the other day see if I can explain it!

slide a 1" piece of heat shrink tubing onto the control rod, push the control rod threw the ez-connector make sure you also leave about 1/2 inch of control rod on the other side of the ez-connector slide another piece of heat shrink tubing on the out side wire, once you adjust the connector push the tubing up as close as you can to the connector on both sides (shrink the tubing) now if the screw comes lose well the wire wont pull thru and you wont crash the plane.

aviatordave

I got some inquiries for tail dimensions, so I drew them up and are available for download.

Horizontal stab

Vertical Stab

Rudder / Elevator

(click on highlighted text and a PDF drawing will appear)

The drawings are 1:1, so you can trace them off on a 6mm depron sheet, or change them to your liking

Dave

tallflyer

Thanks for taking the time to share

SAVS

I thought you forgot about me! No problem as the supplies have not arrived yet. I could only order 3mm or 8mm so I got twice as much 3mm to make 6mm by sticking two sheets together. Thanks again

SAVS

I went with the cool looking Green SS. That way it will be more hidden when I land it in a tree. Of course it will have to be when the trees get green...

aviatordave

Here is the motor running, its cold and windy outside...so this is all I can do

The motor is a 2825-09 purchased from Jeff @ Heads UP RC
Behind that I have a generic 18 amp ESC with a APEX 2200 3 cell lipo (12C). Feels quite strong and shall get this SS up in a hurry...

Here is the 1mb video ------> Motor Run

Below are some pictures, its all ready to go! I'll add some more pics with it on the scale tomorrow as well as the dimentions of where I put things for optimum balance.

Dave

Sparky Paul

With a lot of undercamber, there's no need to have any down aileron motion at all.
It just adds drag on the wrong side of the turn.
100% differential works fine..
No down, just up.
This is a Senior Kadet modified to "lifter" configuration with 100% differential.
As the only manuvers needed are a takeoff, a couple of 180s and and landing, (Society of Automotive Engineers competition), which is typical of an AP flight, it performed well.
Did the same thing on a more exotic plane, which also worked well.
Coupling the rudder to the aileron stick helps.

Flyer 1

That's one reason I've got a new RX coming for my SS - now that I've decided to add ailerons, I figured why not make them serve dual-duty as flaperons. So, a new Castle Creations Berg 7 will handle that, along with the rudder mixing.
Flyer