Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Sundowner Capt Faisal Test Flight



Test flight of Sundowner F1 with Moki engine by Capt Faisal at Suka Menanti flying site. This really one giant plane..huhu..total cost almost reaching 7-8k..sure this is out of my league..:D

Work in progress..EF Extra300 45' Updates!!

Review and build process for Extreme Flight Extra300 45'




I've decided..I going to start with Extreme Flight Extra300 45' first since it is my first balsa plane. Well actually its already the third day of my building process. There are a few new things during building balsa plane that I'm going to share. This is my build process for this plane.

1. On the first day I started with the wings section. It quite straight forward actually. The best servo for this plane is in 9g category. I fixed both aileron control with HXT900 servo. Although it is recommended to use high end servo such as hs56 but so far HXT servo never failed me. You need servo extension for sure. Also be sure to apply CA on all hinges although it pre-fix by the factory. Be sure to read the manual thoroughly. The manual however lack of pictures and a lot of words to read. Kinna misleading to me..need more pictures in color..not black and white and also quite blurry..



2. On the second day I started to fixed the motor mount. It kinna tricky for me since the mount is made from balsa and quite fragile if enough force is given and I might broken it. To put the motor mount into place require a lot of patient since I must insert it very2 slow, gently push it into the slot since it quite tight and make sure not to snap anything. Once everything in you can use CA to bind the mount into the firewall.


3. Day 3 I'm working on the rudder and elevator..it's a straight forward process. One remark the two pieces elevator section where I have to merge both elevator by using carbon rod and one long and flat carbon piece. This is where I make mistake but really I have no idea how to do it. At first I thought that I need assemble the two piece elevator first using the rod and let it dry. To my surprise after the two piece connected, I cannot insert this into elevator section. At the end I had to cut elevator section and open for easy but dirty insertion. (This is the best way I can think off). Rudder section is a straight forward process. The interesting part of rudder assembly is the pull-pull system which this plane employ. This is my first pull-pull system for me. At first I though of using direct servo-rudder mechanism since there is slot for both elevator and rudder servo at the back. But only one slot can be use since it will block the other one when servo has been inserted.



4. Day four..I have finished with all the elevator and rudder assembly. The next thing to do is to mount the motor (Turnigy 4240B 900kv), ESC (Turnigy 60A) and receiver (Assan 2.4Ghz 6ch). Turnigy motor fit nicely into the motor mount with no modification needed to mounting hole. I'm using 12x6 APC-style prop and 5mm of shaft adaptor to mount the prop to the motor. Perfect fit.
This is the final look of my EF extra300 with some decals. I think I'm going to color the plastic conopy with black to hide the internal system and make it looks cool.

Total AUW is 37oz arround 1.06kg..a little bit heavy than expected 34oz due to overweight motor but I think it's OK. The CG still tail heavy. I going to put her on static test late today and see the data from my e-logger.





Updates!!
Here's the result of static test
Max throttle:
Amp: 24A
Watt:240W

Plenty of power for this setup. I'll bet I can hover this in just under half throttle. The motor rated at 500W so it only half of its capability. Maybe this deepavali I'll try to maiden her.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Hari Raya Funfly





A few pictures during Hari Raya funfly at Peremba. Date 18 Oct 2008, Time 10.00-2.00pm.

Sapac Extra 330L Update

After changing to direct mount setup and new motor install, it fly much2 better. It easier to control and perform 3D. I have this video taken during hari raya funfly but quite short due to limited time and the field is dead wet from last night heavy shower.

I recommend not to use the stock motor and change it to direct mount. The following is my setup:
Motor: 1000kv Apex 450 BL motor
Prop: 11x6 --> I'm going to change to 12x6 later on
ESC: 30A SSEsc
Servo: 3 x Hxt900
Rx: Assan 6Ch 2.4G

The data:
Full throttle static test shows that only 170W of power require and 17 A withdrawn with 11x7. So
I recon I can use 12x6 prop for better 3D stability.

For the flight test I just perform some high altitude prop hang, and some basic flight test trimming and everything went well. It fly straight and stable. 3D is much more predictable. In conclusion I like this plane and this is my next step of flying full fuse 3D plane.

Next step would be Acromaster and EF Extra..my target would be 50cc Extra..huhu..

I have the video here.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Two new projects coming a head

I have two project coming; Acromaster and Extra300.

1. Multiplex Acromaster

I'm going to put the following setup
  • TR 42-40B 900kv Brushless Outrunner
  • 60A Turnigy ESC
  • 4 x HXT servo
  • Assan 6chn RX
  • Prop 11x6

2. Extreme Flight Extra300 45'

This is my first full balsa plane. For this plane I'm going to use:
  • TR 35-48-B 900kv Brushless Outrunner
  • 60A Turnigy ESC
  • 4 x HXT servo
  • Assan 6chn RX
  • Prop APC-E 12x6
But I'm still undecided which one to start first. This is going to be long project. I'm going to enjoy building each of this model and record every steps taken to complete each plane. Wohoo..I'm going crazy..

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Sapac Extra 330L




My new toy's arrived 2 days ago. Its extra 330L from sapac. This is my second attempt to fly full fuse 3D plane. The first one is carden extra330 but that was long time ago. I think I have the confidence to fly full fuse 3D. I'll start with this plane first. I have cheap bargain from rcsmart with only rm190 including 5200kv BL inrunner motor with gear. I must say the assembly for this plane is pretty quick. All you need is a simple servo setup and that's it. Rudder and elevator just by screwing in fuse. Add little glue gun for extra strength. Motor already mounted. Some modification I made to battery compartment to suit my 1550 3s1p lipo.

I had her test fly last day but very disappointed with her performance. I ask Ilham to maiden her (the best pilot we have) still this plane stall like stone. If no power given it will stall beyond recoverable. Hmm crashed her but no biggy since just a minor crash. Simple quick glue and every back to normal.

I think I will modified her with my own motor 1000kv with 11x6 prop with direct setup. The geared system was too week and maybe caused her to failure..dunno..Wait for my next modification to this plane. We'll see what happen.

Update!!
Just finished with DIY firewall from plywood for my new Apex motor. I'm going to install her with my Apex 1000kv motor and 11x6 prop. I'm going to test her this Friday with this new setup. Will report back then.

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Final updates on My Agusta A109 Medic

Video



Picture




Final word..love it..everything works..retract, paint job..nice..this surely a keeper..worth every cents.