Messages

16

Indoor / The Imp - EPP Indoor Combat Plane

« on: March 02, 2011, 19:38:27 PM »

I haven't re-drawn the version shown above. However I did re-draw the version before that (the one shown in the video) and I'm now thinking this version is the best all rounder. Eanna, Stu and Paul have been flying these regularly and are having a ball with them. I'm told their F3P airframes have been sidelined by the Imp chaos. I haven't had much opportunity myself unfortunately, just not managing to get to many indoor sessions   .
I'm told there's been plenty combat action and to date no serious damage to any of them so it seems the crashproof plan was pretty successful!

You can find the plan for the Pre-Imp here:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=17027477&postcount=14
The modifications made between this version and the one pictured above are described here:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=17027490&postcount=15

These plans are for printing on A0 which most people probably can't do (not at home anyway!) so if you need it set up for printing on several A4 sheets let me know.

If you decide to try one, have fun, and let me know what you think or if you have any constructive criticism.

I'm using the following hardware and it's a perfect match to the airframe:

Hardware
Motor: Infinite A1705-2250 or Hyperion Z1705-11 (17gr)
Battery: 2s Rhino 360mAh lipos (21g)
Prop: GWS 6x3DD
Servos: Waypoint W-060BB (6.6g)

Sorry for the delay producing a plan.
If anyone's interested I might look at throwing together some basic kits for next season.

Aidan

17

Slope Soaring / Mini Toons type close-in aerobatics sloper

« on: March 02, 2011, 10:50:58 AM »

...Oh, by the way, a bit early, but better to get prepared, if that fly, who will be interrested in a "kit" ?

One for myself and one for my Dad I think.

Aidan

18

Slope Soaring / Mini Toons type close-in aerobatics sloper

« on: March 01, 2011, 08:04:16 AM »

Looks great Fred!

I look forward to hearing how it goes.
What size servos are you using with those massive ailerons?

Aidan

19

Road trips / Anyone for flying this weekend (26/27 Feb)

« on: February 25, 2011, 12:59:01 PM »

Maybe it's time to take up paragliding so you have something to do if/when they're using the airspace!

I just might.

20

Slope Soaring / Mini Toons type close-in aerobatics sloper

« on: February 22, 2011, 20:52:13 PM »

Congratulations Fred!

21

Club talk / New Irish RC Website

« on: February 22, 2011, 16:18:36 PM »

Yep, what Ron said.

Some of us are just critical bastards!
Hope my posts didn't damp your enthusiasm.

22

Club talk / New Irish RC Website

« on: February 21, 2011, 07:40:00 AM »

The most important thing is not to misrepresent yourself. I'm not suggesting you would do that on purpose but if you post information online in a website that suggests it's the best around and that tells you how a plane works and what components it uses, an unexperienced reader may assume everything they read is correct. In my opinion that puts a LOT of responsibility on the writer. You need to make your level of experience and expertise clear from the outset and be VERY confident that what you post is correct and doesn't make unwarranted assumptions.
Otherwise you could end up leading people astray and causing confusion and frustration instead of providing clarity and encouragement which I'm sure is your intention.
The hardest thing, in my opinion, when trying to explain any technical subject is simplifying your explanations to a level that's approachable for beginners without distorting the meaning or misleading the reader into thinking things are simpler or more fixed than they really are.
So in this case, if you oversimplify discussions about aerodynamics or power systems without telling the reader that you're giving them a simplified version, they'll likely end up confused or thinking they know more than they really do. Neither is good.

Like Keith, I'm not trying to put you off sharing your interest in the hobby. But I would discourage posting any information in the guise of an expert unless you are absolutely sure it's accurate. Much better, I think, to make your level of experience perfectly clear and post these things as your opinions /understandings rather than as fact.

Aidan

23

How to... / Parts of a plane

« on: February 19, 2011, 12:42:00 PM »

I'm not sure if you're looking for input or not but in case you are could I suggest a few tweaks?

You might want to be a bit more specific in the subject or else more general in your descriptions to avoid confusion.
For example you say "the wing is the long piece on top". That tells a reader which part of your particular drawing you're talking about but it's not really a description of a wing. The wing can be long or short, it can be at the top, bottom or anywhere else on the plane; there can be more than one, etc....
You can't cover everything without getting confusing so I'd suggest just saying that the diagram illustrates the terminology for a typical high wing, propellor driven plane.

For the control surface descriptions it might be a good idea to use the same format for each. For example:
The aileron is used to make the plane roll left or right and is used to turn the plane in combination with the elevator. The aileron on one wing goes up and the other goes down. The plane will roll towards the upgoing aileron.

The elevator is used to pitch the plane up or down and is used to change the angle of attack so the plane climbs or dives, slows down or speeds up. On a conventional plane when the elevator goes up the tail is pushed down so the nose points upwards.

etc...


Hope this is useful and best of luck with the website.


Aidan

24

Club talk / Re: New Irish RC Website

« on: February 19, 2011, 12:14:24 PM »

Hi,
I started this rc website please check it out.

I'm living in cork so its pure Irish

http://www.rcrepublic.ie/

Cian,

It's nice to see you starting an RC website. However, I think you need to reign in your enthusiasm a little. It's got potential but so far it's no more than a template with one small page of content.

So it's seems rather silly when you come across the tag line "Irelands best RC Plane website".
Likewise I notice the following sentence in the "About" page
"I decided to make this website because I realised that there was no Rc website in Ireland worth talking about."
I think you'll find the users here will completely disagree with you on this one!

Aidan

25

Radios / Jeti radios... It's official!

« on: February 08, 2011, 15:48:01 PM »

It looks a little wider and shorter. The Multiplex Profi MCs weren't far off being square. I think it's a lot lighter than the Profis MCs though.
If I remember correctly my mc3010 weighs about 1.6kg. The Jeti is advertised at 1.2kg. Seems reasonable for a tray style TX.

26

Electrics / Watt Meter

« on: February 07, 2011, 08:13:05 AM »

I don't know anything about that one other than what's in your link but it appears to cover your needs. What you'll usually use it for is to test full throttle current and to see how much the voltage is sagging under load to check see if your motor and batteries are in spec and/or being over-stressed. This should do the job.

27

Slope Soaring / Re: DS Record now at 468mph or 0.61 mach!

« on: February 05, 2011, 13:03:58 PM »

DS Record now at 468mph or 0.61 mach!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/v/rfoxjNg-eg0&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

Impressive

P.S. Technically Mach no. applies to airspeed not groundspeed and the speed of sound varies with air pressure, temperature and humidity.....  :wink:

28

Radios / Jeti radios... It's official!

« on: February 03, 2011, 19:49:33 PM »

I think I like it - still deciding

29

Wanted / Graupner MX-22 Transmitter

« on: February 01, 2011, 17:57:19 PM »

Thanks but I'm all sorted. I got myself a Multiplex Evo 12 last year (this thread's over a year old)

Aidan

30

Park Flyers / Foamies / Prop Size..

« on: January 18, 2011, 13:24:57 PM »

Looking at the specs for those components, the ESC is fine up to 20A and the cells are rated for 30A or bursts of up to 45A. The motor however has a max current rating of 13A so it should be the first to go - by a long way.
There's some test data given for the motor on an 8x4 prop at various voltages. Unfortunately they don't say which 8x4 they're using. They should as all props have different characteristics.

Configuration:      Propeller:      Volts:      Amps:      Thrust:    
  Direct Drive      8040      7.4V      8.2A      12.0 oz / 342.86 grams    
  Direct Drive      8040      8.4V      8.6A      13.8 oz / 394.29 grams    
  Direct Drive      8040      9.6V      11.1A      17.0 oz / 485.71 grams    
  Direct Drive      8040      11.1V      13.1A      21.0 oz / 600 grams    


Assuming they used a non-slowfly 8x4 similar to say an APC-E prop there's probably not a huge difference between these figures and what you should expect with your folder.
For a 20C battery I usually estimate a supply voltage of 3.5V per cell under moderate load for the purposes of working out a power system. So your 3s pack should supply about 10.5V. From the data above you can see that should produce a current draw of somewhere around 12A.
If their test data is accurate and unless the 13A maximum current figure is very conservative you might well have problems if you go to a 9x5. If you had an instrument for measuring the current I'd say give it a quick try but otherwise you'll be taking a chance with the motor. Not the end of the world at that price but you might be without a plane until you get a replacement. I think if you want a significant improvement in performance the ESC and cells are fine but you'll need to change motors.

The larger prop sizes mentioned in the motor spec are presumably intended for 2s applications but the info is poor and that's not made clear.

Aidan