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Post by thevon on Jun 27, 2009 18:39:59 GMT 10
Here's a pic of the Espada RL put together. Unfortunately the photo's underexposed for the white wing and doesn't show the writing on it.
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Post by bundyglida on Jun 27, 2009 20:00:57 GMT 10
Jase, Springfield airstrip, behind St. Brendons is an awsome thermal location! that is if you can still fly from there? yeah.. but we need to go more inland to fly and there isn't many places to do so. not to mention the people that fly up here are rather "keep to them selves" type people. i've got a high launch bungee that came with my fling though.
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Post by aussiejarred on Jun 27, 2009 20:32:12 GMT 10
i see lil pups is gonna take a ride?
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Post by chamm37 on Jun 27, 2009 20:34:48 GMT 10
Looks very nice Andrew ;D Can't wait to see her fly
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Post by jase on Jun 27, 2009 23:08:00 GMT 10
yeah bundy. i know the place.... i was actually talking to a guy who flys there on weekends yesterday in the shop and he said it wasn't all that great as we get teh sea breezes which wash away the thermals....
that and no one does it up here anymore... but like previous posts (and the help of another member), i can't really commit to a new plane at this stage as i should know if i get into the police service within the month.
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Post by thevon on Jul 11, 2009 16:04:37 GMT 10
I went out to Kev's ridge at midday today hoping for good slope lift and DS. As so often happens out there, the lift was good at times and dodgy at others. The wind direction has to be bang on SSW to work well there, which is rare. I think if I'd been an hour or 2 earlier I would have got the good conditions but it was swinging off as the day wore on. But I got some buttery smooth mild DSing with the JW and Ditza. That Ditza is fast, and reflex works well.
I just about bailed, to head to Bald Knob to meet Nick, Steve Cuz and Sean but the wind seemed to freshen up so I maidened the Espada. Now I'm no expert or connoisseur of thermal planes, but it was markedly different to anything I've flown before, and I came home smiling. It flies very light (obviously) but is very stable and in lift it holds really nice turns very effortlessly (I'm normally fighting it and the plane's prancing around).
On the first flight it had a gentle pullup on the dive test, so I removed a bit of nose weight (which requires removing everything including the servo tray).
I was impressed with how in lift, I kept gently pulling back on the elevator and it just kept climbing, and didn't stall. I had one scary time on the 2nd flight when I sank way below the horizon but I "did a Sean" and just hung in there and kept looking for lift. My heart was in my mouth as it kept going down, but finally I hit a lump and worked it slowly back up. I was very impressed!
It makes a lot of noise - you can hear it howl if you speed up in the turn, from quite a way away. I liked the way that reflex just seemed to make it fly faster, but it didn't seem to lose height in the glide. The roll rate feels really doughy unless you get lots of speed.
This thing makes me want to go in another thermal comp! I'll be keen to get out to the next winch session so I can sort it out on the line.
Wow!
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Post by sean on Jul 11, 2009 18:04:13 GMT 10
Great to hear the Espada flew so nicely. Wish I could have been there to see it. I'm glad you didn't "do a Sean" and end up walking to the bottom of the valley - something I've done a few times with my Pike at Bald Knob.
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Post by jirvin4505 on Jul 11, 2009 18:54:44 GMT 10
I'm frightened Andrew.... You at a thermal contest with a plane that floats and floats ...... We will be all on the ground waiting for you to come down ;D ;D Truly sounds like an amazing model ... winch launching on Monday?? Dive test... Theo probably opted for the most reliable cg for thermaling. (I'm on shakey theoretical ground here..) Here the dive test can be misleading. For distance thermalling you don't want a neutral - cg rearward - setup. The intention is for the plane to have some inherent stability. Me ...I would put the lead back in for a while and find out why he had it set up that way. It may show some advantages in managing distant thermals with less workload. cheers jeff
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Post by thevon on Jul 11, 2009 19:42:02 GMT 10
Jeff I suggest that you should only be frightened about what damage I could do to such a nice plane. I am at still a newbie but loving it.
Personally I'm keen to see how Sean goes at comp when he starts to get his Orca dialled in and gets some practice.
Yeah I think I'll try to make it Monday.
Good advice about the CG, thanks.
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