I took the Radjet to the field today for a test flight in its new sleek guise, a beautiful sunny afternoon with clear blue skies and a refreshing southerly breeze.
As well as the new nose, I had reset the Radjet's controls and checked servo throws as well as reducing the elevator trim I usually have as I reckoned the Airbus-like fuselage interface would generate lift in flight.
The first launch was a complete crash, with the Radjet nosing down as of old straight into the ground. I figured this was because of the lack of elevator trim, so dialled it back in again. The second attempt started well, with the Radjet climbing steeply into the sky as I craned my neck to keep track of it.
However, as I levelled the Radjet it suddenly went unstable and ended in a flat spin, the only thing I could do was put full aileron and full elevator which slows the descent of the plane still inescapably spinning.
Collecting the Radjet I reckoned I knew the cause; the plane was balancing on the fingertips but only in the centre of the grips; slide the fingers forward and the Radjet was tilting back. I had hoped this would be OK but proved this wasn't the case.
A solution to this was to re-orientate the receiver so that I could push it further forward in the nose, and shoved in a small stick, the only ballast I could find at hand. So, with the plane now balanced I went back for the third try.
Fortunately this time everything went to plan and the Radjet went careering into the sky. My guess about the new configuration generating lift was right, so I had to dial the elevator trim back to neutral. This levelled the flight, but means I'll have to figure out something for launch next time.
The Radjet seemed faster, and twitchier, the former certainly due to the sleek nose, while the latter I think is related and I've just increased the expo a few percent. So, the Radjet is back in the air at least, although not without some drama, and I'll have to do a little work figuring out the launch next time...
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