My greatest fear, apart from landing, was that on take off she’d nose dive into the ground. :oops:
Up to the west ridge of Mt. Lienster I went this afternoon. My logic being that provided I could launch the Squall 3 or 4 meters away from me then there would be a fair amount of “air” beneath her wings to gain air speed in. Also, there’s lots of nice soft heather for her to land in if everything went pear shaped. :wink:
All my fears were to no avail, she took to the sky like the proverbial ‘duck to water.’ Climbed steadily and with just a hint of stick movement she turned round for a return fly past!
Much easier to fly than I’d feared, provided I moved the sticks gently.
By the second flight I started to be a little more aggressive with the controls. :evil:
Things learnt;………….Being only small, 26” wingspan, it’s very easy to loose orientation of the plane when it’s much more than a couple of hundred meters away, particularly against a grey sky.
With the control surfaces set to High Rate the planes roll rate is just a blur. :shock: There’s no way of knowing which way up she’ll be when you let the stick centre itself.
On full throttle the climb rate is breath taking.
Oh, and the landing? Believe it or not, this EDF is one of the easiest plane I’ve ever landed. Looking not unlike a model NASA Shuttle she comes in, nose high up, loosing height and just “plops” onto the floor at little more speed than a fast walk.
Downsides?
Only one,……………..the noise! I’m sure she could be heard howling all around the mountain. Takes a bit of getting used to. But it’s all part of life’s rich experience.
(Won’t be flying this little girl in my local farmers field,………….might cause the cattle to stampede!)
Keith