...a little slope soaring I've chosen to set up the Phoenix 2000 as a pure soaring glider without motor, running a 2200 3S battery located right at the firewall and some small-change ballast installed in the nose cone. I have configured the Phoenix with crow brakes, as I discovered that having some sort of brake/lift dump is essential, whether that be fence-type brakes or, in this case, flaps and ailerons configured to generate drag and reflex the airfoil respectively
There are, unfortunately, no good slope soaring sites nearby, however I decided to try the hill at the far end of the paddocks where I fly; not particularly high or steep but enough to generate a little lift. The wind was a strong north-wester, a little gusty too, and I launched the Phoenix with as lusty a hurl as I could summons. The Phoenix flies well enough, catching what little and sporadic lift was available here. I tried the Phoenix with and without flaperons active but, given the very turbulent conditions, I couldn't asses the effect they have. Similarly, I didn't get the opportunity to really test the crow brakes, however they were effective in slowing the glider down and didn't cause it to climb when deployed which is good. However, as a first try, the Phoenix is encouraging, so I'll be trying to get it flying in some better lift...
...back to the future The Phoenix 2000 was the very first RC plane I purchased, and so this is very much a back-to-the-future episode for me. The Phoenix 2000 is, as it was back then, a very well build and affordable RC plane. It has a sturdy plastic moulded fuselage, which it shares with its sibling the Phoenix 1600, which comes complete with plywood battery tray and rear servo deck. The fuselage comes with the rear control rods pre-installed and, on PNF versions, the servos installed and connected.
The wings are good-quality EPO with moulded-in reinforcements, and a carbon joiner rod is supplied as well. There's also a sleek moulded plastic canopy which clips onto the fuselage. The wings have substantial ailerons, with servos installed on the PNF package, although control rods have to be fitted yourself. There's provision for flaps including moulded recess for servo and linkages included - you just need to cut the flap free where they're moulded to the wing. The kit comes with a folding prop and spinner with collet adapter, and there's a fixed nosecone in case you just want this as a pure glider. So the Phoenix 2000 comes highly recommended as a high-quality entry-level glider, sturdily constructed yet elegant and capable in the air...
Today was warm but, despite these sort of conditions usually ending up windy and gusty, it was still quite calm after lunch, so I decided to take the Phoenix to the local field to see if any thermalling was to be had. Being around thirty degrees, I launched the Phoenix with flaps and climbed it quickly a few hundred feet before leveling it off to check if any lift was around. I set the Phoenix in a turn to try and settle it when it suddenly started to turn left sharply and start to dive. I have had some issues with this due to the foam wings warping in the warm weather, I think particularly when sitting in the car, so I suspected this to be the case.
I put opposite aileron but, to my surprise, the Phoenix continued to spiral downwards, even when I moved to full opposite aileron, something which would usually have the Phoenix wheeling around, especially at the speed it was going. Suddenly knowing it was out of control, I could only watch as the Phoenix spiralled the last dozen metres down before smashing into the field, shedding foam and parts generously. Picking up the bits and heading to the car I was puzzled, I'd suspected the wing warping being the problem, yet the Phoenix had launched straight and climbed without hint of issue. Then I started wondering; was the Phoenix's lack of response because it wasn't actually doing anything. Had I somehow lost contact? This scenario seemed highly unlikely; since first suffering this issues many moons ago, I run most of my planes with a satellite receiver as well. And, in the case of a few of them including the Phoenix, I have the receiver antenna poking out of a hole in the bottom of the fuselage. Additionally, I have the radio on the higher-power US setting just to make sure. And yet...
...my first soaring flight! This morning I had, rather unexpectedly, my first soaring flight with the Phoenix 1600 glider. Rather unexpected is as much as I had no expectation of there being lift about at that time, a leisurely nine o'clock departure due to sleepy disposition precluding getting out any earlier.
It was a lovely sunny morning following a clear cool night, although the breeze was already beginning to pick up from the East. I launched the Phoenix but saw immediately that it was turning to the left, an affliction which I have annoyingly been unable to eliminate satisfactorily, although twisting the left wing a little is a topical remedy.
Whilst bringing the Phoenix down for repairs, it was accosted by a very annoyed magpie flying down from its nest, the episode spurring me to mount the camera on the Phoenix to capture the antics. So it was, with the wing corrected and the camera running, that the glider powered up again into the blue morning sky.
Having previously tried to get the Phoenix in lift with only very moderate success, I was amazed to find that, once up a few hundred feet, that the glider didn't seem to be coming down in a hurry. Without having a variometer it was of course difficult to determine where the lift was, but flying over the road seemed to work well. The first run lasted a good few minutes before the Phoenix fell foul on sink and headed towards the field. The next run was more successful, the glider staying up ten minutes, having to turn it back at one point as it climbed and drifted into the distance. Finally the breeze grew too strong, pushing the lift too far away...
...airborne meditation Following my efforts to get the Canadair airborne, and considering I only get two goes a week due to lake access, I've been chilling out flying the Phoenix, interspersed with a bit of high-speed fun flying the Radjet(aka buzzy jet )and Rarebear (aka little buzzy) around the paddock.
Having suffered reconstruction nerves, which saw the Rarebear nosediving on launch and the Radjet almost knife-edging into the lake, I've now got both of them launching most enjoyably.
The last couple of outings I have also been enjoying a little meditation with the Phoenix, climbing it hard till just under the clouds and then letting it float down slowly, hanging almost motionless in the air with the flaps down. Today, with winds gathering up high, the Phoenix was actually drifting downwind, almost imperceptibly, despite there being barely a breath of wind on the ground...
...get the gliders soaring I have lately been searching for places to get the gliders soaring instead of just cruising around; more what they're supposed to do. However, unfortunately, good soaring sites aren't to be found in suburbia so I've had to do a bit of searching.
I took the Phoenix for a fly to a great slope soaring site, unfortunately having literally zero wind meant it was just a regular flying session, although with a spectacular panoramic view. Hopefully I'll get to return when the breezes are favourable...
...tail-heavy no more I took the Phoenix out for a fly this afternoon, not having flown it for a while, and took the opportunity to try the flap mix which was something I'd overlooked when I first got the transmitter. I'd set the Phoenix up for flaps when I'd first got it, but have never particularly liked flying with flaps as it makes the Phoenix fly tail-heavy, dampening what are generally immaculate flying manners.
This is because the wings are in a high-lift configuration but the tail is not, causing it to dip at low speeds associated with flaps. The other day, flipping through the menu's when setting up the Stinger, I came across the flap mix menu and suddenly it made sense.
The mix is very simple, allowing you to dial in a dose of elevator with the flaps. Now the trick is, to cure tail-heaviness as in the case of the Phoenix, you don't want positive elevator, as this would just push the tail down more and increase the angle of incidence of the wings.
What resolves the issue remarkable well is negative elevator, effectively working as a flap for the tail. On the Phoenix I set negative elevator at 20 for a flap setting of 10, which I tried out this afternoon and which works brilliantly well. Highly recommended on the Phoenix...
This morning, as I've done regularly for the past while, I packed the Trainstar and Radjet for my regular morning fly. The latter has become a regular, now that I can launch it almost faultlessly, and the former because it's such an engaging plane with a lot of personality. Also, having undercarriage large enough to enable grass field takeoffs and landings is another endearing feature. Being a Cessna-type craft, however, does mean the Trainstarhas a lot of drag. In fact, considering the size of the motor, and using the same battery, the Phoenix would literally fly circles around it's vintage-styled cousin, despite it having a bigger wingspan. The appalling aerodynamic efficiency of the Cessna design (even without the wing braces in this case) is audible - cut the power and you can immediately hear the amount of noise it makes trying to push all that air out of the way! Nevertheless, as I said before, it is a very endearing model and has a lot of character, and certainly wasn't chosen as a high-performance upstart!
Returning to this morning, the flying was somewhat unremarkable as it is some days, probably much to do with the pilot's frame of mind, but still pleasant enough. It was a misty morning and, as happens quite often, the mist thickened as the day dawned. I wasn't concerned, however, as I was flying in a clear pocket sheltered by the trees, Flying the Trainstar over the dividing fence, I turned the plane for a run back before it strayed too far. For those familiar, the Trainstar drops like a brick in turns so, as it turned, it sank into the thick mist settled on the field, and completely disappeared. Now trying to fly a plane you can't see is tricky. If fact near-impossible; I didn't know whether to put on power to get it climbing out so I could see it, or whether just to leave it and let it's naturally stable nature take care of things. I decided on the latter, and kept staring into the mist where I thought it should appear and, lo and behold, a second or two later, the Trainstar came sweeping into view, its ample dihedral having dampened any wayward behaviour. Overjoyed at it's reappearance, I floated it down for a lovely smooth landing before packing it in. I certainly wasn't going to be trying my luck twice in the same morning...
...but a relaxed mornings flying This morning was most enjoyable, not because the morning was spectacular or because the flying was particularly good, but rather because it was just lovely being there. It was a heavily overcast morning with dull smudged clouds covering the southern skies, but a hint of blue to the north brighten things a little. The field was scattered with birds; a flock of black ibis dozens of small parrots feeding off the grass. A few kangaroos were also grazing on the banks adjacent to the fence. I had the Phoenix, recently put together after it flew into a tree, out for a test flight which proved particularly challenging with it initially suffering from a heavy left turn, necessitating an emergency landing to get it realigned. Then the prop pulled off while climbing during the second flight, but was fortunately easily recovered as it jettisoned over the field. The Rarebear also had an outing; my main aim to try and get a better feel for it's flying as I end up doing big circuits as I don't want to turn too quickly for fear it will nose-in. Visibility on dull mornings doesn't help either, making the little pocket-rocket difficult to follow...
...flocking together This morning the field was host to the largest variety of birds I've seen yet; the resident ravens and magpies, larks waltzing politely around the field, a wing of corellas flying past and a raucous flock of gregarious cockatoos, yellow crests displayed vividly as they strode around. By comparison the conditions were rather disappointing - a heavy sky complemented by a strong breeze made for unpleasant flying conditions, the Phoenix unsettled by the gusts which precluded low flight and slow fly-bys. The morning ended with a loud buzzing from the Phoenix as it climbed under full power - the prop adapter had started to strip and this was an audible warning that things had deteriorated. So I glided the Phoenix round into land, taking the opportunity to enjoy slowly navigating the plane in through the breeze for a nice smooth touchdown...
...along with the kangaroos This morning dawned perfectly cloudless, but clear skies had cooled things down sufficiently overnight that the paddocks were blanketed in an expansive sheet of mist, even extending to the field which hitherto has always remained clear. This was an opportunity to get the Phoenix into the mists - I'd wanted to try this before to see if the passage of the plane would leave indicators of wing-tip vortices, which would be really cool.
The reason the Radjet doesn't get a mention is that it's still on the desk awaiting repairs following yesterday's crash from a low banking sweep being a little lower than I anticipated. I spent some time compiling a video of launch crashes so didn't get around to fixing the Radjet, but that will be sorted tonight. Anyway, my aspirations for engaging in tip flow visualisation were stymied by the appearance of kangaroos inside the field. I don't like to scare them as they may get tangled in the fence trying to get into the paddock, so I waited for them to make their way out. Unfortunately by this time the light mist across the field had dissipated with the approaching dawn so, in between looping and spinning at full power, I turned my attention to sending thePhoenixon sorties skimming low above the tips of the reedy paddock grass, shrouded in the mist...
...and the beautiful cool sunrises Summer has gone, almost, the mornings are darker and the sunrises are returning to their spectacular best of the colder seasons.
I am already having to don my jacket against the chill, and have resorted to the mits as well although just precautionary at this stage; in a few months it will be a matter of maintaining the feeling in my fingers for a few minutes more flying!
I have been flying the Phoenix 1600 regularly and find it a remarkably versatile plane to fly. It is more of a sport glider than anything, yet the agility it exhibits is quite remarkable for a relatively large plane (1.6m span). I must admit that I fly it at 100% travel, something I'd never even contemplated with the Walrus.
Yet the Phoenixseems to relish the opportunity to exercise it's capabilities at every opportunity, although it can be flown super-slow, especially with flaps down and will virtually land itself in this mode. The only difficulty, in common with most gliders, is trying to guess when it will actually touch down, with the combination of increasing ground effect and reducing headwind as it approaches the deck! The Turnigy 2217 1050kv motor is doing well, although it does have a little buzz when flipped straight up to full power. Nevertheless it is performing well with the 11x6 carbon prop, which also looks nice as well...
...and it really flies well This morning I flew thePhoenixfor the first time fitted with a 11x6 carbon prop, and it flew really well. This was also in conjunction with the removal of the battery tray ballast. The result was very impressive climb performance from the big glider.
This flight was conducted against the backdrop of a gorgeous morning's golden rays illuminating scattered fluffy cumulous in a still sky, and the Phoenix's effortless performance had it climbing, swooping and hanging inverted in the sky off the top of big loops...
This afternoon was my first flight with the Phoenix 1600 in hot weather (32C). I expected flying as usual but the loss of lift was huge, with me having to keep feeding in up-elevator. Just like flying a Radjet and a little nerve wracking.
I was wondering whether something had gone wrong with thePhoenix, but inspection after landing showed everything was OK - it was just the heat causing it to fly like a brick...
...hoping it should improve climbing performance
Whilst stripping down the interior of the Phoenix 1600 in order to swap the motor, I noticed that the Phoenix 1600 now has ballast added into the front of the battery tray.
The Phoenix 2000 didn't have this feature, unfortunately, as this would have avoided the initial crashes I experienced due to the glider going into steep climb which invariably ended with me panicking and cutting power, followed by the glider burrowing it's spinner into the turf.
Now, however, I know better and I fly these with a larger 2200mAh battery, whose extra mass takes care of the light nose. While the
Phoenix flies well as it is, I think I could do without the additional mass, the ballast plug weighing in at 41g. I've removed it and will give it a test fly in the next couple of days. If necessary I can adjust the battery position to provide additional compensation, but I think it should work well...
...installed and tested! The Turnigy 2217 motor has been installed and test flown and all's well, having failed to make a note of it in my excitement to get the Phoenix 1600 up and running.
The Turnigy 2217 motor is the same size (28mm) and has the same shaft diameter (3.175mm) so installation is easy, except for two mounting holes in thePhoenixfuselage requiring slotting to match the motor mounting plate.
The motor mount is just a cross-piece without any backing plates, unlike the plywood mounts provided on thePhoenix's stock setup. Also, the mounting screws were tiny - undersized even for mounting only through the Phoenix's moulded fuselage, so I used some slightly longer screws to ensure sufficient engagement - I really don't want the motor coming loose during a flight...
Apart from that the motor works well - it pulls strongly and is quiet even at full throttle which is nice for a glider...
...a great morning's flying Yesterday's weather was a remnant of summer; a hot day extending into a hot evening. Things, however, were to change, with the northerly bringing the annoying desert flies to be replaced by a cooling breeze off the southern ocean. Such events are portended by wild and unstable weather, as confirmed by forecasts of winds followed by rain. As such the plan was simple - get into the air as early as possible, wind permitting. The morning turned out quite promising; a steady northerly was still blowing although now cooler. Unsure about flying the Phoenix 1600 in these unsettled conditions while still in its underpowered state, I opted for unpacking the Radjet. Having blasted the little jet around the field until the battery faded I glided in into the breeze for landing. It's flying a neutrally and stably as ever, exemplified by it's steady approach evening in the breezy conditions.
Determined not to risk damaging thePhoenix, I was nevertheless deeply tempted to try it out in these conditions; the breeze was still there, but steady and not too fast... Throwing caution to the wind I hauled out the big glider and lobbed it up on full power and left the throttle there for the duration, just to be on the safe side. The flight was most entertaining, thePhoenixshowing off it's exemplary flight characteristics and agility. It's also surprisingly fast - I am so anticipating the new motor, expected tomorrow or the next day at the latest!
...still looks dodgy but goes a little better Having run the Phoenix 1600 fitted with the Floater Jet motor on large prop for a couple of flights, it was clear that things were not well. Although the motor would launch the glider OK, after a while I could hear the motor skipping. Checking the specs, its speed rating is 2150kv compared to 1050kv, more than twice as fast, which explains the difficulty it was experiencing trying to spin the big 10.5x6 prop.
I swapped it over to the 6x5 prop I had been using on the Floater Jet and found things to be a bit happier - still under-powered but at least the motor was running true. However the appearance was rather unlovely so, having noticed a tweeter housing I'd set aside thinking it might be useful for something, I set about crafting a cowling for the front-mounted motor. Surprisingly, things went rather well, and I fitted the cowling on with tack adhesive for convenience. It now looks like a 60's power glider fitted with an old-fashioned nose-job. While looking less ugly, it also seems to make the gliderfly more efficiently - not more thrust but the battery now holds up for longer.
I've ordered a replacement motor, having abandoned hope of Hobbyking quickly processing my warranty claim. That will arrive next week, giving thePhoenix the power it deserves...
...it's the second tone you want My recently acquired Phoenix 1600 came with a new blue ESC (compared to previous unidentified yellow in the Phoenix 2000), accompanied by an instruction booklet which, amongst other things, provided instruction on how to set the brake on the ESC. It does seem odd that the default is set to "brake off" when most of their products are gliders... Anyway, my attempts at finding the three beeps proved fruitless and had to resign myself to rather compromised gliding, with the large prop whirling busily in the breeze, and with the risk of doing the prop in on landing. Fortunately I came across this forum post #58. To summarise succinctly, the crucial moment is when one hears the second musical tone. Don't bother with trying to identify the tone amongst the myriad sounds the new unit makes, you'll just end up reprogramming random settings like I did. Anyway, I am happy to say, that after the first attempt with the new instruction, the ESC brake is now on and I can look forward to a bit of gliding tomorrow morning. And, by the way, if you were wondering, Volantex is the new Lanyu...
...but at least no disasters! This morning was the first outing of the Phoenix 1600, resplendent in it's immaculate newness. It launched happily into the cool still morning, a little nose up despite the 2200mAh battery. It's a big and relatively heavy glider, at least compared to regular foamies, so it's slow response takes a little getting used to. It also seemed a little underpowered compared to the Phoenix 2000, with which it shares the motor and prop.
Having done a first run I brought it in to land, needing a couple of tries due to it floating; I tried it with flaps flaps but that just made it levitate. I shifted the battery fully forward with improved results, confirming the experience I'd had with its larger brother; if you fly these with a small battery (they suggest as small as 1100mAh) you have to be very careful with the power, otherwise they just nose straight up. During this second flight I heard a "pop" and the prop stopped dead. On the ground I opened the canopy for inspection which revealed that the cause was that the outrunner motor had rubbed against the ESC leads, resulting in a short and, probably by the sound of it, blowing the ESC. The friction from the motor contacting the wires probably explained the loss of power I'd noted earlier...
