Recommend a plane

Plug

The spinner and propeller arrived today so i have them installed, all I have to do is put the rubber on now and she will be all set. Im thinking of respraying it as its all bandaged up with black insulating tape, its one ugly looking thing at the moment:D
Hopefully that wind dies off, today for example would have been pretty hot if it wasn't for them damn winds:(

Bruthal

Why the insulating tape? Did you not glue and cocktail stick it?

Kashkai

Blenderm 3m tape would have been better than the insulating tape to hold her together while the glue set. As its transparent, you wouldn't have noticed it unlike the insulating tape;)

The reinforcing spars in my Wildcat's wings are just like the Radian's. The Wildcat gives all the appearance of one tough little plane that will handle some serious aerobatics. It comes with a stock 18amp esc but I put in a 30amp esc as I'll be using bigger batteries (1300mah is the stock one) and might upgrade the motor as well. It comes with a 2 blade prop but a 3 blade prop would make her look more "scale" but would affect the current draw.

Here she is:http://www.parkzone.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=PKZ1980

She's not as pretty as my Mustang but I'd say she's stronger and "upgradable";):D

Bruthal

I thought he meant he was leaving the tape on it for flights:eek:

I find insulating tape great, as its slightly elastic so holds repairs tight, not so sticky that it takes bits out of the plane, and i`ve loads of it for some reason.

Bruthal

Prosperous Dave wrote: »

She's not as pretty as my Mustang but I'd say she's stronger and "upgradable";):D

That is a nice one. I like the look of the slight dihedral on the wings.

Bruthal

Prosperous Dave wrote: »

Blenderm 3m tape would have been better than the insulating tape to hold her together while the glue set. As its transparent, you wouldn't have noticed it unlike the insulating tape;)

I soldered up a switch last week, for a childs ride on tractor i converted to RC a while back, and was doing update to it.

Its a switch that changes state by moving a stick or flipping a switch on the radio. Would be a handy switch for switching on and off lights on the plane etc. Probably try that later in the year.

Kashkai

I never considered putting lights on my plane until one day last January when I was flying my Tojan at dusk. The Trojan has a grey paint scheme thats blends in too well with dark grey clouds - see here http://www.rcpitstop.co.uk/parkzone-t-28-trojan-plane---pnp-version-pkz5075-1499-p.asp

I lost orientation with her in the dimming light and nearly lost her. I googled nav lights later that evening and had to admit that they do make a difference in low light conditions. However I probably wouldn't risk a flight in bad light again, nav lights or no.

These lights could be connected up to the plane's receiver in an unused port like gear or flaps and then they could be turned on or off using the appropriate switch on the tx.http://www.electricwingman.com/multiplex-led-lighting-set.aspx

Bruthal

Prosperous Dave wrote: »

I never considered putting lights on my plane until one day last January when I was flying my Tojan at dusk. The Trojan has a grey paint scheme thats blends in too well with dark grey clouds. I lost orientation with her in the dimming light and nearly lost her. I googled nav lights later that evening and had to admit that they do make a difference in low light conditions. However I probably wouldn't risk a flight in bad light again, nav lights or no.

These lights could be connected up to the plane's receiver in an unused port like gear or flaps and then they could be turned on or off using the appropriate switch on the tx.

Yea i was thinking of trying a night flight FPV, and use the lights for take off and landing. I flew out into dense fog once last year, plane out of site in 100 meters, but at about 500 meters away the camera failed, due to fog condensing on the circuit board which is exposed in the cheap navigation cam i use. Had to switch on the return to home, as when the camera stopped, so did the on screen display. Luckily the return to home worked perfect. A real live test.

I would probably use another DIY switcher and wire up superbright led`s myself, maybe even put diy flasher on them, would be interesting 2000 feet up and turn them on. Probably never get round to it though.

Kashkai

robbie7730 wrote: »

Yea i was thinking of trying a night flight FPV, and use the lights for take off and landing. I flew out into dense fog once last year, plane out of site in 100 meters, but at about 500 meters away the camera failed, due to fog condensing on the circuit board which is exposed in the cheap navigation cam i use. Had to switch on the return to home, as when the camera stopped, so did the on screen display. Luckily the return to home worked perfect. A real live test.

I would probably use another DIY switcher and wire up superbright led`s myself, maybe even put diy flasher on them, would be interesting 2000 feet up and turn them on. Probably never get round to it though.

If you were going fpv for a night flight, would you use night vision equipment or rely on the lights of Navan to get you round? I would imagine that your return to home base gadget would be a must have in case you got disorientated.

I've just been reading up on fpv systems. Its not cheap is it? I could buy 3 or even 4 new planes for what I'd spend on a decent fpv set up, i.e. 5.8ghz goggles, tx/rx, camera, gps and flight stabilisation boxes and osd. However I think it would be a waste of money to buy a cheap set up that would give crap images and would lose the video feed after a few hundred metres.

Bruthal

Prosperous Dave wrote: »

If you were going fpv for a night flight, would you use night vision equipment or rely on the lights of Navan to get you round? I would imagine that your return to home base gadget would be a must have in case you got disorientated.

I dont rely on anything on the ground to navigate around in the daytime anyway, purely just the on screen display, until within visual range and find it in the air for direct view approach. But i do use the horizon to know what level is, especially needed when climbing. Unless you have the artificial horizon, so for that reason, ground lights would be helpful. Night sensitive cameras are available especially for FPV.

We have flown above clouds and right through big ones as well, an interesting view on screen of that when it happens. And you cant see anything while inside a cloud, except grey, and OSD info. The radian will stay level itself while gliding, especially when its reasonably calm, and i can use the compass to keep it straight, which will mean its level also.

I've just been reading up on fpv systems. Its not cheap is it? I could buy 3 or even 4 new planes for what I'd spend on a decent fpv set up, i.e. 5.8ghz goggles, tx/rx, camera, gps and flight stabilisation boxes and osd. However I think it would be a waste of money to buy a cheap set up that would give crap images and would lose the video feed after a few hundred metres.

One thing i have learned though a lot of FPV stuff now, a ground tracking patch antenna is a must for reliable reception. We started with the normal omni directional whip antenna on a receiver, and there would be a lot of breakup depending on plane orientation. Antenna polarization is an interesting subject to look up too, it helps to familiarise yourself with how the best reception can be achieved. Once we started with the tracker, it was an enormous difference. Did you see the video of our one? Its a DIY pan-tilt unit, with the eagle eyes controller on it.

We have goggles but use the portable tv mostly, it has a 12 volt adaptor that normally powers it so i cut that lead and put EC3 plugs on the cut ends, so i can now power the tv from the adaptor, or a battery. Usually if i use the goggles, i also have the tv connected too, as the eagle eyes controller is a tracker, and 4 way video splitter as well. It also allows a laptop to be plugged in and a live track appears in google earth while flying.

Plug

robbie7730 wrote: »

Why the insulating tape? Did you not glue and cocktail stick it?

Yeah I used cocktail sticks and glue as well but the plane was so badly damaged I had to leave the tape on it. Its a lot worse than the one on this thread a few pages back. If I took off the tape they would be holes and all sorts.
Do you know the little access door to the servos and receiver, is it ok to tape that up to improve aerodynamics or is it like that for a reason(like chicken wire)

Bruthal

Its there as an air vent, air goes in through the intake vent on the canopy and through the fuselage and out that servo door vent, to keep the ESC etc cool when running the motor.

Kashkai

Plug wrote: »

Yeah I used cocktail sticks and glue as well but the plane was so badly damaged I had to leave the tape on it. Its a lot worse than the one on this thread a few pages back. If I took off the tape they would be holes and all sorts.
Do you know the little access door to the servos and receiver, is it ok to tape that up to improve aerodynamics or is it like that for a reason(like chicken wire)

You can use Gorilla Glue to fill in holes in the foam where chunks have been knocked out. Be careful using it though as it expands when setting and you might end up with a plane covered in "warts" of glue:D. It dries rock solid though and can be sanded down level with the rest of the foam.

Don't underestimate the need for proper cooling in a plane. The motor/esc/battery can get quite hot depending on the ambient temperature, the "aggressiveness" of your flying and the type of battery you are using. A battery with a low "C" rating will get quite hot as the power is drained from it and it can puff up and even go on fire. Best to buy batteries with high "C" ratings. The esc is also a likely "failure" if it has too low a rating and is operating near its max. Most of the rtf/bnf/pnp planes come with a stock set up that is finely balanced. However if you proceed to upgrade a motor or even use a bigger battery, you can overload an esc and cause a brown out which would result in a total loss of control and bye, bye plane. Some of the Parkzone planes like the Mustang and the Wildcat only come with 18 amp escs which is cutting it very fine imo. I put a meter on this stock set up and was pulling in excess of 18 amps at wot. Now while you shouldn't fly for more than 10 - 20 seconds at full throttle anyways, my test proved that the stock 18amp esc would not last too long if flying full throttle. I put 30 amp escs in both planes to give me some headroom, especialy as I use 1800 - 2200 batteries in lieu of the stock 1300 batt.

Bruthal

Proper rated ESC`s should be able to handle well past the 10 or 20 seconds id say. Otherwise its no use for high performance planes, and no more flying of the t-rex`s.

The radian has a 30 amp ESC, the full throttle draw is 18 amps from freshly charged battery, according to the flight OSD anyway. I ran it for 4 full minutes on the stock battery a couple of times to test ESC and it hardly warms. But im sure some ESC`s they will say are not rated for continous running, but if a 30 amp one is not capable on 18 amps, then its not really a 30 amp ESC in my opinion anyway. It is rated for the 30 amp continous though, in an air flow to cool it.


18 amp ESC`s in planes which are taking just over the 18 amps is tight alright though, and they would be a bit more of a roblem for long runs, although the 18 amps will be down nearer 16 amps at the discharged end of the run.

A bigger C rated battery wont really make any difference on the same ESC and motor, marginal as the bigger C battery can maintain its voltage level better than a lower C, but the amps draw will be very little difference from the fresh charged battery on a 3s 20c or a 3s 100c (once smaller battery was adequate). It would of course make a difference if the ESC shorted out, but we wont be selecting batterys based on that scenario.

We run 2200mah batteries in the 2 radians, and the OSD shows 18 amps from the battery fresh off the charger, the same as it does for the 1300mah stock. The stock one tails off quicker though in a short time, as the higher C rated one maintains a better voltage throughout the flight.

If a motor jams stopped for some reason, then a bigger C rated battery would deliver much higher current to the stuck motor. A held stopped motor takes far more current than a running one, as when its running, it generates its own current in the opposite direction to the supply, and the faster the motor runs up to, the more current is generated in opposition, which is why they take more current as you put more load on them, as it slows it down. This is what actually limits a motors speed, the voltage generated starts to approach the supply voltage, but cant reach it as then no current would be flowing into the motor. So a higher voltage supply will speed it up, (for a dc or universal AC motor anyway)

Not sure if the ESC`s have protection for this. I would imagine good ones do. If you hold the brushless motor stopped as you start it, the ESC`s seem to cut in and out. The way brushless motors with ESC`s work anyway, they have to get rotating to produce any decent torque. Once they do get going, amazing power from them.

Bruthal

Prosperous Dave wrote: »

Now while you shouldn't fly for more than 10 - 20 seconds at full throttle anyways, my test proved that the stock 18amp esc would not last too long if flying full throttle. I put 30 amp escs in both planes to give me some headroom, especialy as I use 1800 - 2200 batteries in lieu of the stock 1300 batt.

Definitely need the 30 amp ESC`s there alright, I would run it for a couple of minutes full throttle though, with plane in hand, and see how the motor and ESC temps are. Once not roasting, then full thottle should be no time limits really.

Its ironic though, as i fly the gliders full throttle for much longer runs than i ever would of on a higher performance plane like the nitro ones i had.

Kashkai

robbie7730 wrote: »

Definitely need the 30 amp ESC`s there alright, I would run it for a couple of minutes full throttle though, with plane in hand, and see how the motor and ESC temps are. Once not roasting, then full thottle should be no time limits really.

Its ironic though, as i fly the gliders full throttle for much longer runs than i ever would of on a higher performance plane like the nitro ones i had.

I don't think I've ever had my Radian's motor running for more than a minute to get it to altitude. I heard that long run times were not a good idea on the Rad's motor/esc set up. This is why I do a step type climb, i.e. climb out from launch, level off and glide for a while and then climb again. Repeat as necessary until required altitude is reached.

A guy I got talking to an another forum was over in Dublin last September and he brought his Mustang with him. I met him in the Phoenix park one Saturday afternoon for a flying session. He was using a Zippy 2200 battery that had a 15"C" rating while I was using a Turnigy 2200 battery with a 30"C" rating in my Mustang. After some serious dogfights, his plane started acting strange, i.e. sluggish to control and intermittent control issues. He landed and when he took the cockpit off, the battery was all puffed up and very hot to touch. His set up was the stock motor, the stock 18 amp esc and the zippy battery with the low c rating. My Mustang had the same motor, but an upgraded 30 amp esc and a 30C rated battery. Now perhaps he had a duff lipo but it made me convinced that fitting a larger esc and using a battery with a higher C rating was a good idea.

We had a laugh afterwards that if he had kept on flying, I might eventually had "shot him down in flames" when his lipo blew:D

Bruthal

Prosperous Dave wrote: »

I don't think I've ever had my Radian's motor running for more than a minute to get it to altitude. I heard that long run times were not a good idea on the Rad's motor/esc set up. This is why I do a step type climb, i.e. climb out from launch, level off and glide for a while and then climb again. Repeat as necessary until required altitude is reached.

The radian taking 18 amps max should be ok to run continuous, with its 30 amp ESC. Climbing in steps is often what i do myself too though. In FPV i often went on long climbs though. A few flights ago i climbed from 330 meters to 780 meters just on thermals, an amazing thing to see on the screen, watching the altitude reading increase on screen with no motor on.

A guy I got talking to an another forum was over in Dublin last September and he brought his Mustang with him. I met him in the Phoenix park one Saturday afternoon for a flying session. He was using a Zippy 2200 battery that had a 15"C" rating while I was using a Turnigy 2200 battery with a 30"C" rating in my Mustang. After some serious dogfights, his plane started acting strange, i.e. sluggish to control and intermittent control issues. He landed and when he took the cockpit off, the battery was all puffed up and very hot to touch. His set up was the stock motor, the stock 18 amp esc and the zippy battery with the low c rating. My Mustang had the same motor, but an upgraded 30 amp esc and a 30C rated battery. Now perhaps he had a duff lipo but it made me convinced that fitting a larger esc and using a battery with a higher C rating was a good idea.

The ESC being under-rated wont cause the battery to puff, it will cause problems for the ESC itself if its rating is below the amps drawn.

His zippy 2200 15c (15c means 15 times rated capacity)means it is rated for a continuous 33 amps (2200 x 15 = 33 amps). Your one is 2200 x 30c so has a continuous rating of 66 amps. So you can see why your battery will be far more durable, even though he was likely flying well within his battery limit also.

Battery c ratings are possibly a little over estimated, although they will deliver the rated current continuously when new, but if they are kept as much below the rated C as possible, then they will have a longer lifetime of charge cycles, so you using the 30c is a great idea, its exactly what i do myself.

A lower rated ESC wont make the planes motor draw any more amps, so his lower rated ESC would not have put extra load on the battery, it will just overload the ESC possibly, but its probably just within its limits in that stock setup, or an amp or so under rated according to your own tests. But your 30c battery, and 30 amp ESC are all very sensible ideas.

We had a laugh afterwards that if he had kept on flying, I might eventually had "shot him down in flames" when his lipo blew:D

They certainly go up well when they go. I deliberately shorted one out here before. Instant puff up and flames out of it when casing burst. Main leads solder melted off the copper tabs on the cells in a few seconds, ending the event:D

Plug

I had a good today with it but it was the windiest day so far, I could barely keep the glider in my hand as it was trying to fly off, bending the wings etc. i managed to do some turns and stuff, the only thing im afraid to to is a left hand turn:o im ok at right hand turns. Any time I go to turn it went behind me as it was very windy. Hopefully the wind dies down before I die:rolleyes:

Kashkai

Good news. According to the weather forecasters, there's a high pressure area moving up from the south midweek which will give calm conditions so no more bloody wind. Dust off those planes and get ready to get airborne (and not before time:rolleyes:)

Bruthal

I have been doing a bit of flying anyway, but no FPV flights in nearly 2 months. This month is redicted to be very hot apparently. A bit of FPV thermaling now would be good. Up to a Km high:eek:.

poteen

Its defo calmer todaty. Roll on a good week with the radian !

Plug

Im down to 2 batterys now:(
I bought them batteries recommended by robbie, I was in the process of changing the connections. I cut the connection off and left it there for a day or 2. someone had kicked it or something and it must of shorted out all night or something. No voltage at all in it now and it won't charge. Fcuked.
Im going to have to fit the EC3 connection on the other battery, any tips and tricks. It was a bit hard to do it on the first battery as I melted the connection on it:(

Bruthal

Plug wrote: »

Im down to 2 batterys now:(
I bought them batteries recommended by robbie, I was in the process of changing the connections. I cut the connection off and left it there for a day or 2. someone had kicked it or something and it must of shorted out all night or something. No voltage at all in it now and it won't charge. Fcuked.
Im going to have to fit the EC3 connection on the other battery, any tips and tricks. It was a bit hard to do it on the first battery as I melted the connection on it:(

Them batteries could be dangerous to leave lying around with the ends cut off and able to touch.

Did you try soldering them with the blue plastic part on the brass connectors? Solder them first then fit into plastic part, one at a time.

When soldering the EC3 connectors, its best to have something to hold the brass parts to solder onto. The brass bits should be soldered onto the wires before the blue plastic bit is fitted on. Cut one core of the battery first if it already has a connector on its leads, solder on its brass bit (the one with the hole opposite the soldering end) then push this into the blue plastic part, keeping note of the polarity. Blue bit is marked + and -. then do the same with the other core.

I usually half fill the brass parts with solder first, holding them in the vice which has a handy groove in its jaws. I usually plug 2 of the brass halves together and the one not being soldered i lightly grip in the vice, as holding the brass connector to be soldered direct in the vice and the vice acts as a heat sink, making it harder to get the brass connector up to soldering temperature

A bit of flux will help although i dont use it for the small plugs if the solder has the flux core in it.

Here is a video i just looked up which might of saved the typing:D, but anyway, it might be of help.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYpJI1zJXOo

The Doktor

For soldering the bullet connectors, a handy way to hold them is take a block of wood and drill holes in them for the size of connector you want to solder. 3mm for ec3 male about 4mm for the female, 4mm for 4 mm bullets male etc. Just move the drill around a bit to oversize the hole.
The wood doesnt act as a heat sink so much or doesnt damage the connector.
Holding them in a pliers like in the vid above is bad practise if you ask me, because its not tight the connector can come loose and flick nice hot solder at ya

poteen

Had three really great flights at dusk last night. Each one lasted about 3-5 minutes. The wind had died down to nothing. I Was very happy. Three safe landings too. Confidence is back ! Looking forward to extending the flight time and getting more altitude next time.

Kashkai

Was going to fly myself last night as the wind appeared to have dropped off but as I was in the shed getting my Mustang ready, the heavens opened and it bucketed down - calm before the storm :rolleyes:

Still, the forecast is looking good for the next few days so I can wait.

Be careful flying at dusk as the low light can play tricks with your eyes and you can lose orientation with your plane and not know whether its heading towards or away from you, especially if its up high.

As for extending the flight times, well you've got the perfect plane for that as I've gotten almost an hour's flight time out of one battery in my Radian:D You'll need a deckchair or a neckbrace at that stage:D:D

Bruthal

I was out with the cularis myself, was calm enough, but noticably windy up at a fair altitude.

I have broken the hour barrier only with the FPV flights, although got to only seconds short of the hour with the radian once, and 57 minutes with the cularis, both on direct view flying. Its a lot easier to find thermals with the FPV setup. You can see the altitude start to increase on the reading on screen, and cover far more area without struggling to see the glider.

And then just circle while watching the altitude increase. Amazing to see on screen. Eventually it will lose the thermal, so then go looking for another.

In FPV the glider is carrying a little more weight, but it still thermals very well. On direct view flights, it can go up very quick and before you know it, your struggling to see it, so you have to be paying attention and be ready to lose a little altitude.

Bruthal

poteen wrote: »

Had three really great flights at dusk last night. Each one lasted about 3-5 minutes. The wind had died down to nothing. I Was very happy. Three safe landings too. Confidence is back ! Looking forward to extending the flight time and getting more altitude next time.

What flight times are you getting? With the stock battery and no thermals, you should get 30 minutes easy enough, as long as you fly with gentle turns etc to reduce the amount of altitude you lose during flight.

Bruthal

Prosperous Dave wrote: »

as I was in the shed getting my Mustang ready

The shed? Is it not now the hanger with the amount of planes you have:D

Plug

robbie7730 wrote: »

What flight times are you getting? With the stock battery and no thermals, you should get 30 minutes easy enough, as long as you fly with gentle turns etc to reduce the amount of altitude you lose during flight.

My confidence is also back poteen, i've been out the last three days flying, all windy with no hicups. I may get that second battery ready!
Also robbie you say a half hour? I only manage roughly 10 - 15 minutes before it comes back down although there still is battery power. I just can't keep it up on the thermals.