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Post by felix on Sept 3, 2008 21:27:57 GMT 10
just thought i show my build as of late.....after showing up to the slope with new mods/covering on what feels like a weekly basis i think i have finally run out of ideas  www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=912715.....think i may have to order a bee evolution soon? |
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Post by chamm37 on Sept 3, 2008 22:11:09 GMT 10
kool i have got a really lite bee that i want to test out aswell and to keep the weight down i have got covered it It is really ugly but i should think it would fly ;D |
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Post by chamm37 on Sept 3, 2008 22:12:18 GMT 10
it has got a straight LE....dunno how it is going to go  |
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Post by felix on Sept 5, 2008 20:34:51 GMT 10
Looking forward to hearing how she flies chris. Good luck with it mate. The bee is finally ready for it’s maiden. Thanks to people like Andrew, sean, mike and mark for plenty of advice, ideas and know how. This one has taught me a lot and is my best build yet, came out super smooth and stiff for a chunk of foam. once shes test flown and trimmed i'll throw a nice coat of paint on. Now I just gotta learn to ds |
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Post by felix on Sept 9, 2008 20:06:56 GMT 10
Had a very eventful maiden today,
Showed up at SC to find the usual weekday crowd on deaths corner and after a few very useless test glides launched her off the cliff……
first flight –very short with a spin and vertical impact with the rocks below , of course this was the structural integrity test of my workmanship. I can safely say i passed. Mike had also pulled out his camera so to be nice I thought I better make it an entertaining flight too of course
Second flight –with plenty of lead added to the nose managed to stay airborne a bit longer. She showed that she was very quick, the controls were far too sensitive, still too tail heavy and something strange was happening. At this stage I decided to test it’s maneuverability, practice my spot landing technique and show off my climbing prowess by landing at the top of the highest tree I could find.
Third flight –well this time I added yet more nose weight, toned down the controls and decided to test the wings sea worthiness, buoyancy, water tightness and most of all sailing qualities. Bravely did this by once again doing a high speed spinning vertical descent but this time into the ocean……results showed that she was watertight and with a much bigger fin (had to wait quite awhile for her to sail back to the shore) she would make a great sailing vessel.
So with a wet model under my arm and wondering why it flew fine then became so uncontrollable suddenly (thoughts of too tail heavy, elliptical wing tip stalling, warps, mikes camera cursing me again etc etc) mark now decided to say that his bee kept falling out of the sky too and we came to the conclusion the wind was too northerly.
So off to the eastern side and a good solid handlaunch into a 8knot breeze and she was off. A few clicks of trim and getting used to the still too sensitive controls and she started to show her qualities…..flew off rock solid and climbed easily in the light lift HOORAY. So off along the slope with a bit of height did a half roll and pull out for the fly by ……..well basically she goes like a CUT CAT!!! Not sure how quick it was but I really had to think with this one and had me and mark cringing as it went pass. By this stage my cheeks were hurting from the stupid grin and we were giggling a bit lol (can’t wait to fly in strong winds!). a bit more flying showed rolls and loops perfect and tracks as straight as you like. Inverted was a piece of cake and hardly lost speed. Went on to do some really tight turns and halfpipes where she showed great energy retention. Hardest thing of all was landing as she doesn’t like to slow down one bit and just keeps her speed on. gunna need a lot of practice at steve’s (aka dings) landing technique with this one I think.
Bit of a rant for a humble bee I know, but this has been a very satisfying 12months to finally have made the best bee I can. Learnt a ton of building techniques, improved my limited flying skills and made something that is a blast to fly! ;D
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Post by felix on Sept 11, 2008 20:33:34 GMT 10
Had a shocking day yesterday in the northerlies at sc. First flight was ok but something was not right. Thought CG and choppy lift was the problem as it never seemed to get on “step” like the day before. Second flight ended in what I thought was a downwind stall and a big stack. Third flight showed the problem when at 3foot from the launch I had no control and the bee continued on a very nice, stable free flight to the bottom of the hill!  I got home dissapointed and was about to cut open the guts and have a look when I decided to test the voltage…..read 3.2 volts! Turns out the battery may be a little tired after sitting so long so after a cycling all seemed to come good again and the bee avoided the hack job. So today was the first chance to really start to tune her a bit in some more rough northerly winds. Reduced the throws by half and after the flight I think I really need to half that again (this thing is super responsive to the smallest movements).also started to slowly move the CG back. Has 50g of lead taped to it and by the end I had moved it a full inch back with no real noticeable loss of stability (maybe a touch in yaw)…..really have to wait for some smooth lift to fine tune and get her to “pop” as I remember Andrew saying one day. A good experience today was that I had a chance to compare it to a bat in flight. the bee really seemed to hold its own in the very rough air being quicker in some respects but struggling in others where the thinner bat aerofoil really shined, all very interesting for me at least lol. So tonight I’ll sink the lead in the foam (figured a way to remove some of it for fine tuning), seal the aileron gaps, smooth a few areas and add some coloured stripes coz the bloody thing disappears every now and then! Lol. Putting my order in now for a 15knot silky smooth easterly for tomorrow that should arrive around 5pm |
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Post by thevon on Sept 11, 2008 21:21:13 GMT 10
Felix, your story makes me realize again how there's no substitute for a big, lifty, soft site like Pedwell Rd for maidens. SC is great but your plane needs to be dialled ... any glitch and there's only a split second till instability spits you into rock, sea, cactus or tree (or house, road, bench seat, fence ... etc). It always surprises me how I can fly all day at Maleny and usually bring all the planes home undamaged, but a short session at SC can mean hours in the shed patching it all up.
I think it's more critical with something that flies faster, that if you can make the trip to a good maidening spot you can really work the plane well and do some big speed dive tests to get the CG right, the rolls looking good, etc etc. When there's heaps of sky you can even leave your radio on the menu you're working on and make the adjustments in flight!!
Also I really recommend even a small bit of fluoro vinyl on the tips to resolve the visibility issues!
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Post by felix on Sept 11, 2008 23:03:15 GMT 10
I now know what you mean Andrew……maidening something with no guidelines as far as throws, CG, etc at a place like SC is a bit tough on the model especially in less than ideal conditions lol. Good news is laminate and epp is extremely durable (and waterproof!  ). bar a pretty scuffed up leading edge she survived all the arrivals with little fuss. Once I sort out the throws and CG I’ll strip it and redo the laminate a little better. I’ll have to get some fluro at some stage after seeing mark's eagle literally glowing at dusk. I did however throw some red and blue tape on the wing and fin tonight. |
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Post by felix on Oct 10, 2008 19:08:10 GMT 10
have been flying the knoxie christened beelix for a few weeks now and thought I would stay fairly content, made a few adjustments and formed a list of small improvements to do once I got around to recovering it. pretty much i thought I was finished and so I also thought my bee obsession had ended…….i was wrong! After seeing mikes beevo performing great I got to wondering what would happen if I applied the same mods to its slicker design??? Lo and behold vanders (thanks mate!) has donated his beevo in the interest of R & D (in his words) and spectacular high speed stacks (my words) So expect another fast bee, maybe much faster, flying uncontrolled over shornecliffe shortly. Few questions to some of those who fly the beevo. What are it’s flying qualities like and how different is it over a bee? What mods have you all done already? Anyone have any ideas for new mods? Bit nervous about hacking this one into another pig. The original bee I got to know very well and my current wing was a gradual evolution over 12 months, I pretty much knew what effects the changes would have….the beevo is all new to me so it’s a rather big leap. Woo hoo it starts again! |
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Post by chamm37 on Oct 10, 2008 19:54:27 GMT 10
ill give ya a call felix to have a talk about it |
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Post by nige on Oct 11, 2008 6:47:07 GMT 10
As if you didn't have enough to do! You're a glutten for punnishment, but it must be a better than testing real planes. Your career would have been over long ago in a firery crash! Nigel |
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Post by felix on Oct 12, 2008 20:42:42 GMT 10
Yeah I’m a glutten all right nige and you’re spot on about the fiery death too ;D….hopefully a modded beevo will satisfy my perverted bee urges haha.
Chris, i had a good long fly of a beevo during the week so should be right to make a start.
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Post by felix on Oct 23, 2008 23:52:52 GMT 10
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Post by felix on Dec 10, 2008 22:41:46 GMT 10
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Post by Pij on Dec 11, 2008 6:33:22 GMT 10
There's a lot of action missed between those two photos, Felix. How do you deal with all the old slots and holes when you remodel a combat wing? Some kind of filler? And do you have any pics of the spar system you're using in the modded bevo?
BTW, I don't think the old Beelix is ugly - just well-used. That Wild Wing is going through skins, isn't it?
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). bar a pretty scuffed up leading edge she survived all the arrivals with little fuss. Once I sort out the throws and CG I’ll strip it and redo the laminate a little better.