...a little heavy on the nose
The poor Radjet has had a very hard life, with numerous crashes in its short life. In fact I'd say the number of crashes to successful flights is about 50:50.
A not-unexpected result of this is that the front fuselage has slowly gained weight with layers of fibre tape and super glue to the point, when I flew it this morning, it was flying nose-down again and only barely neutral at full chat. Not a condition I enjoy, so unsurprisingly the landing wasn't the best. So the Radjet it will be subjected to some reconstructive surgery to restore it's flying balance.
On a more positive note, I've finally got a proper prop for the Walrus, the 10x6 carbon unit to replace the rather over-sized 11x6 blades I've been running with on reduced throttle setting. These new blades have a very nice contour to them and seem to run efficiently, so the Walrus was very happy...
Showing posts with label 10x6. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 10x6. Show all posts
Sunday, 15 December 2013
Tuesday, 10 September 2013
First Flight with 2200mAh Battery
...and the carbon prop
The weather this morning had calmed sufficiently to venture out with the Walrus for a flight. Not just any flight, the first flight with the 2200mAh battery installed in the nose.
The Walrus assembly instructions do not provide any particular clues regarding location of the battery. In an attempt to resolve the packaging issues, I had fabricated a battery tray directly behind the motor. This layout is similar to the Phoenix 2000 and worked well with the 1800mAh battery I'd been using.
Lifting the Walrus out of the car I could really feel the extra thirty grams of the larger battery, located well in front of the wings. However I held my resolve not to change-out the new battery for the smaller unit sitting in the car, and headed out. There was a moderate breeze blowing which would help the Walrus to get flying quicker, which was good.
All connected, I set the throttle generously and heaved the Walrus up. I was prepared for various scenarios, being prepared to hit the flaps if necessary to get a bit of emergency height, and perhaps having to nurse the gravid Walrus onto a high-power approach to prevent it from nose-diving.
My concerns, however, proved groundless as the Walrus soared into the air without a hint of imbalance or labouring under the heavier load. If anything, the heavier battery gives the plane a more planted feel in the air, and the higher output combined with the larger carbon prop transform the Walrus from an intermediate trainer to a sports tourer. It's performance is now much more three-dimensional capable of higher speeds and sustaining steep climbs.
With the good news of power and speed one would expect a nasty compromise on approach. However I am relieved to report that the Walrus floated into the breeze for landing absolutely happily, for a landing as easy as any...
The weather this morning had calmed sufficiently to venture out with the Walrus for a flight. Not just any flight, the first flight with the 2200mAh battery installed in the nose.
The Walrus assembly instructions do not provide any particular clues regarding location of the battery. In an attempt to resolve the packaging issues, I had fabricated a battery tray directly behind the motor. This layout is similar to the Phoenix 2000 and worked well with the 1800mAh battery I'd been using.
Lifting the Walrus out of the car I could really feel the extra thirty grams of the larger battery, located well in front of the wings. However I held my resolve not to change-out the new battery for the smaller unit sitting in the car, and headed out. There was a moderate breeze blowing which would help the Walrus to get flying quicker, which was good.
All connected, I set the throttle generously and heaved the Walrus up. I was prepared for various scenarios, being prepared to hit the flaps if necessary to get a bit of emergency height, and perhaps having to nurse the gravid Walrus onto a high-power approach to prevent it from nose-diving.
My concerns, however, proved groundless as the Walrus soared into the air without a hint of imbalance or labouring under the heavier load. If anything, the heavier battery gives the plane a more planted feel in the air, and the higher output combined with the larger carbon prop transform the Walrus from an intermediate trainer to a sports tourer. It's performance is now much more three-dimensional capable of higher speeds and sustaining steep climbs.
With the good news of power and speed one would expect a nasty compromise on approach. However I am relieved to report that the Walrus floated into the breeze for landing absolutely happily, for a landing as easy as any...
Friday, 6 September 2013
First Flight with Carbon Propellor
...and lots of angry magpies
We took the Walrus for a fly this morning at one of the local sports fields. It was a perfect morning, sunny with some high cloud and beautiful blue sky. There was also hardly any breeze, just the slightest suggestion of air movement.
The field area is quite big however I'm still nervous about flying the plane over anything that could get damaged, like houses cars or people. The risk now is much lower, having tested that the transmitter and receiver work at the limits of my vision. Still, I don't want to have to explain to people why a plane flew through their lounge window...
Having "bench-tested" the carbon propellor yesterday after having fitted it, I was quite confident that there wouldn't be any issues. So I lobbed the Walrus into the air and it took off as happily as you could like.
The carbon blades appear to be quieter and require less throttle input for equivalent performance. I didn't really try it much at full power, but what I did seemed to point to better performance. So, all in all, an awesome upgrade!
Being spring, even only just, the Walrus was visited by several local avian residents, all of shared a similar agenda of scaring the invader out of their territory. They're obviously not familiar with EPO foam...
In a Zen Flying-first, I've actually got footage on the wing-cam of magpies accosting the plane and, in another video, the magpie actually contacted the plane, although only barely. Nevertheless, this display of aerial combat provided hearty amusement for one of the ground-staff who arrived to prepare the fields for the morning's soccer games.
After we'd finished flying a hot air balloon drifted over and headed for the far field to land. Appearing serene and elegant, these perceptions were quickly dispelled by its hazardous approach for landing, with it skimming over treetops and narrowly clearing a floodlight tower. The touchdown was surprisingly good, but then the gondola proceeded to tip half-over along with the occupants as it got dragged by the balloon in the breeze.
I think I'll stick to flying the Walrus...
We took the Walrus for a fly this morning at one of the local sports fields. It was a perfect morning, sunny with some high cloud and beautiful blue sky. There was also hardly any breeze, just the slightest suggestion of air movement.
The field area is quite big however I'm still nervous about flying the plane over anything that could get damaged, like houses cars or people. The risk now is much lower, having tested that the transmitter and receiver work at the limits of my vision. Still, I don't want to have to explain to people why a plane flew through their lounge window...
Having "bench-tested" the carbon propellor yesterday after having fitted it, I was quite confident that there wouldn't be any issues. So I lobbed the Walrus into the air and it took off as happily as you could like.
The carbon blades appear to be quieter and require less throttle input for equivalent performance. I didn't really try it much at full power, but what I did seemed to point to better performance. So, all in all, an awesome upgrade!
Being spring, even only just, the Walrus was visited by several local avian residents, all of shared a similar agenda of scaring the invader out of their territory. They're obviously not familiar with EPO foam...
In a Zen Flying-first, I've actually got footage on the wing-cam of magpies accosting the plane and, in another video, the magpie actually contacted the plane, although only barely. Nevertheless, this display of aerial combat provided hearty amusement for one of the ground-staff who arrived to prepare the fields for the morning's soccer games.
After we'd finished flying a hot air balloon drifted over and headed for the far field to land. Appearing serene and elegant, these perceptions were quickly dispelled by its hazardous approach for landing, with it skimming over treetops and narrowly clearing a floodlight tower. The touchdown was surprisingly good, but then the gondola proceeded to tip half-over along with the occupants as it got dragged by the balloon in the breeze.
I think I'll stick to flying the Walrus...
Carbon Fibre Propellor on the Walrus
...and it looks groovy
With the parcel safely retrieved from the post office, I fitted the 10x6 carbon fibre prop to the Walrus last night. It was really easy to change the blades, just two screws to be removed and taking only a couple of minutes.
The blades fit perfectly and look brilliant. They are quite a bit bigger than the standard Walrus blades but I tried running the motor and it handles the extra load quite happily.
The finish of the blade is much better than the plastic original which, to be quite honest, is quite crappy. And, of course, the carbon weave looks good...
With the parcel safely retrieved from the post office, I fitted the 10x6 carbon fibre prop to the Walrus last night. It was really easy to change the blades, just two screws to be removed and taking only a couple of minutes.
The blades fit perfectly and look brilliant. They are quite a bit bigger than the standard Walrus blades but I tried running the motor and it handles the extra load quite happily.
The finish of the blade is much better than the plastic original which, to be quite honest, is quite crappy. And, of course, the carbon weave looks good...
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