CPomeroy

Okay, my first plane (PZ spitfire) crashed recently, due to signal loss:

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTPn_N9GG8Q[/media]

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCDZEE63VB4&feature=fvw[/media]

And I rebuilt it. And it crashed again, this time probably due to bad CG. and I rebuilt it AGAIN. Here's some photos, if you've got facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?ai...00000945632061

You can see photos of the original and the previous version in my facebook pictures.

Yeah, so does anyone have any pointers on how to finish the foam (insulation!) cowling? Primer, filler, undercoat, paint?

I forgot to mention, I added a tiny fan under the nose to circulate air when it's not flying; I frequently have overheat problems when i'm getting ready to fly. This fan is wired directly to an unused servo channel with 2 wires. I think it's wired to the positive and signal wires. IS THIS A GOOD IDEA? It doesen't seem to affect the plane a great deal, but when the motor runs, there is a slight jitter in the other servos, and when I stop it with my finger the jitter stops.

texasclouds

i'd be careful that the fan doesn't draw too much power than the bec can supply. if you have a wattmeter, check the amp draw with fan on and all servos waggling. i'd expect that number to increase with windload against to surfaces.

air holes are free, cheap and don't draw electricity. i'd find a way to make use of that instead of a fan.

your design is kinda backwoods redneck...i like that...but you may be nose heavy. looks bully.

MS_in_NY

Nothing should be overheating with the model just sitting there powered up. Something is seriously wrong. You must have a short or a stuck servo that's drawing more current than the bec can handle.

.......Mike

CPomeroy

I scrapped powering the fan with the reciever, because it was causing servo jitter, something I didn't want to try flying with. I have since solved the nose heavy problem (you're right, there was one) by installing a single AA battery in the tail, and using that to power the fan. It solved the CG and also kept the fan going. I also moved the fan to the interior because it was obviously going to snap off as soon as anything happened to the plane, such as landing.