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Post by nick on Dec 11, 2009 21:07:42 GMT 10
howdy Sean and i flew today with a guest appearance from Jeff on his way to do some welding. as you know it was real hot, but the thermals were just pumping, i saw one of the biggest dust devils i have ever seen, it was on the next door farm, it would have been 30 to 40 meters across at the bottom, to far to fly to or i would have launched. we were practicing our landings so we set a time of 6 minutes and we always had to dive out of the sky, if it was a comp day you would have called it a landing on time comp not a thermal duration as you could have thermaled a brick today ;D well nealy i broke one of my aerials off the nose of my xpro and decided not to fly again as i had a good fly and Jeff suggested to look on rc groups for info, i put up a post looking for help and Mike Lee from America told me how to fix it and sent me a good link to his web site on his experiments on 2.4 have a read it's very informative mysite.verizon.net/respri94/then click on the 2 point 4 chronicles link see ya nick
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Post by sean on Dec 11, 2009 22:09:14 GMT 10
Yeah another good day . I've never flown in such an abundance of lift before. The thermal were wide, powerful and frequent and there was actually lift inbetween the thermals too... I broke one of the Tracer's flap servo mounts out doing a dork landing... the glue joint let go. It was an aggressive landing and I didn't get the flaps up in time. I'm also wondering if the heat weakened the epoxy bonding the flap mount to the wing - when I went to pull the wings off while packing up, the wings were so hot I could barely touch them. The Orca's white wings were only slightly warm in comparison. Time to make some silver wings bags I reckon.
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Post by bananaman on Dec 12, 2009 18:54:28 GMT 10
Nick thanks for the invite, but am in the middle of a roster block. Was meant to do nightshift tomorrow but have a last minute reprieve for the MRSSA Xmas party tomorrow (at least I don't have to worry about no sleep before hand now). Probably too late notice for all you thermal interested guys but you're always welcome to our events out there. Regarding flying in dust devils/ willy willys I'm not saying don 't do it. Just be prepared for the model to not necessarily go where you expect it to ;D ;D Another one you might want to try someday is above an intense fire. eg a pile of burning tree trunks. Very hard to core.
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Post by nick on Dec 12, 2009 19:46:11 GMT 10
No worries Brian Im off for another week of chasing the yellow metal, near Charters Towers, rocks in my head hey, gunna be hot up there. I flew hang gliders for 3 years and yes, your plane would go all over the place, (just make sure you have heaps of speed) as i have first hand experience at that one. Merry Christmass everyone Regards Nick
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Post by skyboyken on Dec 13, 2009 20:24:13 GMT 10
Went to the strawberry farm at about lunchtime today with Greg Roper and my darling wife to maiden the Shooter and for Greg to maiden his Xperience Pro, and for Mary-Lou to see a winch launch for the first time. Conditions were overcast with a light breeze when we arrived, with the temp in the mid-30's. By the time we'd put up the shade structure (happy wife) and set up winches and planes the wind had risen and it was blowing quite strongly from N to NE. For those who know the site that tends to shred the lift - it just doesn't develop. Unfortunately Greg's beautiful rework of the X Pro he bought from me didn't get to fly as it had glitching on the range check (36MHz) and a crystal change didn't fix it. We did a VERY thorough range check on the Shooter, at both 30m and 50m (30m is the spec with FASST 2.4GHz) because it has a full carbon fuse (narrow!) with a glass nosecone, and I had the R608FS receiver inside the boat with both antennas 'above' the boat and fully inside the nosecone. So no antenna outside the fuse at all, but not completely surrounded by carbon either. The boat is upside down so 'above' really means facing down, which is good for our purposes. I tried this configuration because there's not a lot of room in the fuse and because the Aussie distributor for Robbe gear, David Leigh of Sailplanes-Aus, told me he has been getting perfect results and full range with a FASST 7 channel receiver with its antennas fully surrounded by carbon inside a fuse. It range checked perfectly so I decided to go with it, and it went without the slightest problem out to say 2/3rds of the max range I fly at. So far so good, and I continue to be supremely impressed by Futaba's FASST technology. I was going to fly my Caracho first to get the thumbs in, but I was feeling confident so with a very basic radio setup Greg gave me a nice straight toss into a mild crosswind and she rotated to vertical and went straight up the line like a champion, pulling well. What a relief! A nice zoom to finish and the result was a 225m launch which is about 10m better than the best launch I ever achieved with the Caracho. To top it all off Mary-Lou was suitably impressed and Greg said WOW so it doesn't get a whole lot better than that! I did 4 launches today and every one was straight, consistent, easy and high (for me). There's heaps more to come with setup and practice too. That's fantastic for me because I simply haven't been able to get the Caracho to launch high or consistently which hasn't been good for my confidence, or for quality practice. If it had done nothing else the Shooter would have fulfilled my ambitions for it with its launch alone . Boy does this plane cover some sky!! I first saw a Shooter fly at Jerilderie and I couldn't believe how fast it flies without noticeable loss of altitude. No surprise but mine's no different. It is going to be a very different style of flying for me, and I have a lot of setup and getting used to it to do, but very clearly it is capable of performing extremely well in duration and it handles like a Ferrari!! Great stuff . I tried circling today in the turbulent and relatively random lift and the plane handled beautifully and indicated lift well, but in retrospect I would probably have been better off to just cruise around in the better air than to try to gain height by circling. I pointed the nose down once and it took off like a scalded cat. Some planes just accelerate fast, the Scorpion is one, the Estrella another, and the Shooter is the same. No doubt it's quick and heaps of fun to fly fast (aren't they all ). It's going to be quick at Speed boys!! And finally it seems to have very good brakes. Brakes always work well in a breeze but the Shooter had absolutely heaps of stopping power today. Every landing was easy and close, so I look forward with confidence to having a go in calm conditions. I couldn't be happier. It's a joy to fly in every respect. Hooray!! Ken.
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Post by sean on Dec 13, 2009 23:50:46 GMT 10
Glad to hear it went well Ken. Can't wait to see it!
Sean.
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Post by skyboyken on Dec 15, 2009 10:40:49 GMT 10
Anyone up for winching at the Strawberry farm this Sunday morning?
I'm thinking of doing it on the flat in the morning and off a hump in the arvo!
Ken.
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Post by skyboyken on Dec 17, 2009 14:10:09 GMT 10
Anyone for winching on Sunday? So far it looks like Greg and I. It's close to Chrissy I know. Still, a poor day's flying is better than a good day doing a lot of other stuff... Ken.
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Post by skyboyken on Dec 20, 2009 21:52:39 GMT 10
I went out today to the Farm, by myself as Greg was crook. Was very lucky to get out early and get 4 good flights in, and be just about packed up when the rain started I was going to Bald Knob this arvo to fly slopies but steady rain put paid to that. Having done some more radio programming work on the Shooter (LOVE my 12FG with 8 Flight Modes/Conditions) it was great to have a day with not much wind for tuning. After 4 good flights I have a workable thermal setup, and I'm thrilled to bits with the way she flies. The Shooter is unique in my experience in that it never feels 'heavy' in flight. Every other plane I've had has felt heavy when in bad air, particularly when going slowly. The Shooter simply never feels that way. The worst it gets is slightly doughy if going too slow in bad air. A touch of down elevator and she's back to feeling lively again. A nice low save to boot and my confidence continues to rise! Launches were lower today due to the cross/downwind conditions. I still have plenty of work to do on optimising the launch, but having a well-behaved plane makes a heap of difference. That confidence stuff again! I'll be out flying again - weather permitting - on Boxing Day if anyone cares to join me. Go Great! Ken.
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Post by thevon on Dec 21, 2009 7:46:21 GMT 10
Sounds great Ken. I didn't even consider going - the weather was bad here from very early.
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Post by planegraeme50 on Dec 22, 2009 20:20:20 GMT 10
Ken boxing day sounds good ? which day Sat or Monday and need to meet at cjs Graeme
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Post by skyboyken on Dec 23, 2009 14:24:27 GMT 10
Hi Graeme!
I'll be there on Saturday, Sunday and Monday (weather permitting).
I have a lot of setup and flying practice to do!
Happy to meet you at CJ's Wamuran. I'm available anytime Saturday, from about 10:30am Sunday and from early - say 6:30am on Monday.
Just let me know what suits!
Ken.
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Post by skyboyken on Dec 26, 2009 19:43:50 GMT 10
Had a fun and eventful day at the Strawberry Farm today.
I delayed setting up the winch because of rain, and then I spent most of the day flying in between showers with strong winds. I was very grateful for my shelter, and for the wall accessory to keep the nearly horizontal rain off!
Nick came and was a huge help, launching, retrieving and reminding me to flick the right switch! Thanks mate!!!
Graeme and his lovely wife also came for a look and a chat.
I was working on my launches today. My best was 265m. Woo hoo! The Shooter is an incredibly consistent performer so it is easy to see the effect of changes to the launch parameters. If you don't have a RAM3 or similar you are missing out on an awesome tool for not only optimising your launches but also your thermal flying. I learned heaps from reviewing today's data.
I had a couple of exciting moments too. One with Graeme and Nick watching; I was cruising around at great speed at height, not coming down, so I kept moving further and further away to try myself and the plane out. Visibility isn't a problem unless I'm flying directly toward or away, as normal. I did suffer a loss of control though!!
As you may recall, the Shooter has a carbon boat (inverted) and a glass nosecone. I had both antennas inside the nosecone 'above' the boat. Today I found the limit of that arrangement! I held the Tx above my head, as suggested by Graeme, and had control straight away. So I continued flying at lesser range without problems. I have now extended an antenna outside the airframe so we'll see how that goes.
Once Nick and Graeme had left, I continued trying different launch options, launching myself. That's no problem with a reliable plane unless you are unlucky enough to get a line break as the plane leaves your hand. Guess what!!! By the time I had both hands on the sticks and was ready to control the plane, it had gone vertical, stalled and was vertical nose down at about 20 feet (6m). I pulled full crow and tried to pull out but no go. The plane hit almost vertical and with the left wing slightly down. So the nose dug into the soft ground and then the left wing struck, which wrenched the fuse and broke the boat just in front of the lip which the nosecone mates with. It cracked for about 270 degrees around. A pushrod end also broke out of its pushrod, but fortunately there was no further damage at all. WHEW!!!
It's all repaired now and ready to go again tomorrow (Sunday) so if you're keen for a fly how about you come and join me at about 10:30 - 11am for a winch, and then head up to the slope about 2-3pm for a fly?
Go Great!
Ken.
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Post by mikey100 on Dec 27, 2009 6:05:22 GMT 10
Sounds like you have found your 'perfect plane' Ken. You are so right about the Ram3....its a great little tool! Mike
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Post by thevon on Dec 27, 2009 8:02:56 GMT 10
Aw man, very sorry to hear about the prang Ken. What a bummer. I'm heartbroken for you! But very glad you have been able to fix it fast.
When I am doing repairs in the shed and they take ages and ages, I promise myself I'll never take an unnecessary risk again. Then of course very soon I can't help myself and take a risk or three, and "Crunch". But in this case yours was really just bad luck with that broken line.
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