Stinger Ready to Go

...hopefully it will be good

The Stinger has been reconstructed with its new fuselage and replacement fan unit, fitted with a zen-first R615X receiver  and, just yesterday, received its new Nanotech 2200 4S 45-90 power pack.

Apart from it looking sharp and new with the replacement fuselage, and interest in how the new DSMX receiver will work, it's the performance impact that the big nanotech will make that I'm most intrigued in.



And it is big; in fact it's too wide to fit easily into the fuselage, bulging the foam past the matching form of the canopy. I'm hoping that in due course the foam will compress a little to reduce this distortion but there's no denying that there's a lot of battery there.

My experience with 4S nano's on my Rarebear indicate that they offer substantial performance improvements, although I'm not sure whether, in this case, the additional grunt will be offset by the increase in mass over the 1800 40C Zippy I used previously.

Anyhow, I'm very interested to try out the reborn Stinger. I had, in fact, been hoping to get it out this afternoon for a test run but the weather wasn't cooperating with overcast and windy weather. Lets hope there's a mild and sunny afternoon in the offing soon...

Raptor Glider in the Cool

...beautiful tranquil morning

Hot air balloons suspended in the sky bode well for a good morning's flying, their presence indicating millpond conditions. The cloud cover was also breaking up, bringing with it the possibility of a lovely sunrise.

It was overcast at the field but, after a few minutes flying, the sun broke through the clouds and flooded the paddocks with gorgeous morning light. Bringing the Raptor in, I got the Mobius running and sent the Raptor off again, capturing the gorgeous sunrise on video.

It was an opportunity to fly the Raptor glider, now on its third outing with its new Turnigy powerplant, and get a feeling for its capabilities in calm conditions. Launching the Raptor is very easy, especially into cool morning air, as it gets up to flying speed almost as soon as it leaves your hand and, if you launch it with a little extra power, it will start climbing steeply.

This can be a little off-putting and could be countered by moving the battery forward a little, however I'm quite happy with the way it's flying so I'm going to leave it as-is. The Raptor is, as you'd expect, very stable and capable of being flown and turned at very low speeds without even a hint of stall.

This is, of course, handy as landing gliders without air brakes can be a protracted exercise, and more often than not the Raptor comfortably overshoots the designated spot and I'm turning it around for final approach part two...

Raptor Glider Thermalling. A Bit.

...trying it out

The dull grey and rain cleared early this afternoon and I was down at the field with the Raptor glider, keen to get it in the air for a more expansive run now that its new Turnigy motor had been tested.

There were a few fluffy cumulus drifting across the field in the westerly breeze so, after a few runs across the field to double check the trims, I had the Raptor climbing. Initially I had it at three-quarter cruise but, becoming impatient at the pedestrian rate of climb, I soon flipped up to full power.

The 2217 brushless motor, as I've mentioned before, is an impressive little unit, comfortably swinging the fairly large 11x6 props and with the capability to have the Raptor soaring almost straight up. With the glider diminishing rapidly, I eased off the power and, with flaps down, headed under an approaching cloud.

Now, similar to my previous experiences, I have to say that trying to thermal without a telemetry radio is rather hit and miss, with the glider that high that accurately determining its behaviour is unlikely. I did, however, manage to get the Raptor in lift for some minutes before slipping down.

I climbed the Raptor up several times before eventually calling it a day as the lift clouds passed on and the breeze stiffened. Not a spectacular success, but a pleasant afternoon's flying nonetheless...

Raptor Glider First Flight with Turnigy 1050kv

...all goes well

Today I eventually got the Raptor glider into the air again after a protracted delay while waiting for the replacement motor to arrive.

Not having flown it for a while I was a little nervous and, to add to that, flying in warm conditions contributes to a significant loss of lift, affecting even something with as much wing area as the Raptor.

Nevertheless the flight went well, with the Turnigy 2217 performing well, and providing generous power to the 11x6 prop, sufficient to keep the Raptor climbing almost vertically.

The motor is both smooth and quiet and, although I had concerns regarding the tight packaging of it in the slim fuselage, it has performed fautlessly...

Installing Turnigy 2217 1050kv Motor into Raptor Glider

...a tight fit

The replacement motor for the Raptor glider, a Turnigy 2217 1050kv unit, arrived a few days ago and I've just finished installing it into the Raptor glider.

Replacing a Phoenix motor, which has a bell mount, the Turnigy was an unexpectedly tight fit due to the motor installing straight onto the firewall, with the result that the motor cables are squeezed between the motor and the fuselage.

To move the motor back a little, and to strengthen the mount which is just 3mm ply, I glued in a second firewall which is provided as a spare with the Raptor. The motor is turning freely so I think there's just enough room for the outrunner to clear the cables. 

The downside to pushing the motor back , as I discovered when I installed the motor, is that the shaft stickout is marginal. However the spinner has tightened up and the prop is turning fine, so it might be OK...

Canadair Power Climb

...impressive for a flying boat

The Canadair had a power-plant upgrade some time ago to the high-power higher-speed Turnigy bell motors. The Canadair also inherited a very nice Zippy Compact 2700mAh battery bought for the Trainstar floatplane.

The combination, in conjunction with smallish 7x4.5 props, means that the Canadair packs a potent wallop and is capable of indecently fast speeds. Also, with the fat power pack, it can sustain high rates of climb with no problem at all.

On a very nice cool morning I enjoyed sweeping the Canadair in low over the field and then climb it steeply in a full-throttle climb until it threatened to disappear from sight. Then, and just as enjoyable, I'd let it float down in a serene glide...

Turnigy Thrust Test

...the Canadair's cooking

Following my concerns regarding the Canadair 415's prop size, or lack thereof, I conducted a rudimentary thrust test using a scale. First up, the Canadair weighed in at 1.25kg all up including a 2200mAh battery.

The Canadair sounded quite impressive running up to full power, with the scales indicating it was developing somewhere in the region of 1.6kg thrust, close to the quoted maximum of the Turnigy L2210's and more than adequate for getting the water bomber into the air...

Performance Anxiety

...how big is your prop?

The only minor concern I have regarding the Canadair 415 is whether the props are sufficiently large; I traded in the 8x3.8 slow-fly props for three-bladed 7x4.5's following the methodology of dropping one size going from two blades to three. However, in this case, the original prop is a slow-fly paddle version, so I'm thinking that going for a regular eight-inch three-blade would have been a better equivalency. 

Anyway, I might do a power test on a scale just to get a rough idea of how much thrust to expect; the 210W bell motors are rated at a max 880g thrust which, pushing the lightweight Canadair 415, would probably give it unlimited vertical performance...

Gliding in Autumn

...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  Phoenix seems 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...

New Motor for the Phoenix

...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 the Phoenix fuselage 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 the Phoenix'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...