The Phoenix 2000 had been resting nose-down against the wall ever since completion of repairs following its disastrous last flight. Walking into the study its presence served as a poignant reminder of the damage I'd inflicted. However its sleek graceful shape also provided aspiration that I might eventually develop skill enough to do it justice in the air.
That evening, its long-held position against the study wall was replaced by the terminally battered form of the Floater Jet.
The Phoenix took up the station on the desk, ready for final flight preparations. Deep breath, very excited...Working again with the Phoenix the great layout of its fuselage compared to the Floater became immediately obvious.
The moulded fuselage, while not outwardly much wider than the Flyer has much more space due to its thin-walled nature. It also has a battery tray, meaning that the ESC and the battery can occupy the same zone. The tail servos are also well clear of the “busy” zone as the Phoenix has removable wings with these located directly under. Consequently there’s lots of room left to locate the receivers.
I attached the receiver itself to the sidewall with velcro and taped the antenna running forwards. It certainly looks very neat and is wonderfully accessible. The small satellite receiver I velcroed to the top of the fuselage just aft of the canopy, orientated across the plane.
This layout fulfils what I understand to be the requirements for robust signal reception - receivers not blocked, with motors and batteries being the main culprits. Secondly the two antennas (single receiver antenna and satellite in this case) are orientated at 90 degrees to inhabit different radio environments, or something along those lines.
So everything's fitted, and the Phoenix's ready to fly, once again...
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