RCP F22 V3 MORE SLOW FLYING TESTING

I had my F22 out again a couple days ago doing some more serious testing on slow flying characteristics.  I have said before and Dave Powers has also said that the F22 does not like to fly so, but I thought I would try a couple different things just to see what happened.

There was a tiny bit of wind less than 5 mph, but it was there.  So when flying without spoilerons, I was able to fly at about 35-40% throttle without too much problem except when I went from a tail wind to a headwind, the plane would stop turning, stall and then roll opposite to the control inputs I had in!  Never had a plane do that before on me.

With spoilerons, I was steering (or trying to steer) with rudders and discovered very quickly that I either didn't have enough rudder throw (I am only using 5 gr plastic gear servos as I didn't really plan on doing any slow fly testing), or the rudder surfaces themselves are too small.

Here is some video of the flight

After posting the video, Dave Powers commented on the RC Powers website the forward swept trailing edge of the wing, forward swept ailerons and vertical stabs blocked by the body all contributed to it's inherent instability at slow speeds compared to the Mig29 and F18 V3s which are the opposite.  This makes sense as does the fact that the control surfaces are all so close together and if the airflow is "dirty" or non-existent, then they are probably all affected the same way at the same time, giving little control ability at slower speeds.  Just some of my theory anyway.

Bottom line, this is a muscle car and needs to be driven like one, not like Grandma's Buick going to church on Sunday, but it was fun testing!

Cheers,

Scott

RCP F22 V3 SLOW FLIGHT TESTING AND NEW MOTOR

Hi everyone -

I had my F22 V3 from RC Powers out for several flights in the last couple of days and have been pushing myself to try and fly slow (less than 50% throttle) without mishap.  I had been trying it with spoilerons at about 7/8" inch deflection with the SMJV2 motor setup which gave me an overall weight of about 23 oz.  I reduced the deflection down to about 1/2" and it seemed to fly pretty well at 35-40% throttle straight and level, needing a little more power in the turns to keep it steady.

It became basically a 2 channel plane then, no real elevator input needed to keep the nose up and stable, I was controlling speed and sink rate with throttle and turning the plane with rudder.  It was still a challenge and I had to be on it all the time, one little slip up in throttle management and the tail sank and it kind of "parked" itself in the sky.

Since I have been having such amazing luck with the Focal Price 2700 Kv motor with a 6x3 EMP prop in other planes like the F18 and Mig 29 V3s and the FRC Foamies Su37 MK2, I decided it was time to give it a try in my F22.  I basically would be getting the same thrust but overall weight would be reduced by 1 oz.  I had been hesitant to do this as I was really liking that 6.4 oz/sq ft wing loading that is working so well for me on all the V3 planes.  With the new motor and a 2200 Mah battery, my new AUW is 22.1 oz, wing loading is now 6.1 oz/sq ft.

It worked really well with the new motor I am happy to report.  I put a little more expo in the ailerons to smooth out the roll factor in turns and it handles even smoother now.  I flew it with an 1800 Mah battery and found that it almost felt a little bit too light for my liking, I just didn't have the nice "feel" that I like to have with this plane.

So, I tried a little slow flying with the lighter weight and lower wing loading and found it flew better without spoilerons at slow speed!  I was able to keep the power around 40% and with gentle aileron input it turned nicely.  It is still a challenge and I have to stay on top of it, it doesn't stay as stable at slow speed as the F18 or the Mig 29, but it is a nice challenge and looks cool as it cruises by!

So I need to do more flying and testing with the new motor and get it dialed in just right again and then hopefully do some more slow flying and get video of it.

Cheers,

Scott

RC POWERS F18 V3 "THRASHFEST" OR "CRASHFEST"... :)

It was a beautiful clear, cold day yesterday, so I took advantage of it and had an awesome day flying at the field with my FRC Foamies Su37 MK2 and my RC Powers F18 V3.

There was a bit of a breeze now and then, not strong, but swirling, so I put a 2200 Mah battery in my F18 to help with that which gives me that ideal weight of about 21.5 oz that seems to be "magic" for me.  So I decided to really put it through it's paces and luckily the RC Gods were with me as I had four "unscheduled" landings and the plane survived all of them!

Here is the video -

Looking back on all the planes I have flown that have been responsible for big "turning points" in my RC journey, this is the latest and greatest.  In fact three planes probably stand out as the most significant planes I have flown to get where I am today -

1. the RC Powers F35 V2, the one that started it all, heavy, not too pretty, elevons only and Kf2, the first parkjet I ever flew;
2. the RC Powers Mig29 V1, recommended to me by Jay and Greg from FRC Foamies to rebuild my confidence after writing off two of my nicer planes in one day, that plane though simple (profile construction and elevons only) is what really helped my flying skills "take off", I put hundreds of flights into that plane (built two of them); and
3. the RC Powers F18 V3, it has really helped me take my skills to a while new level in how low and close and I can fly to myself and know that the plane will do what I ask of it without biting back, it is truly one of the best (if not the best) all round parkjet I have ever flown.  The Mig29 V3 would be a very close contender, but the F18 V3 is probably my all time favorite.

Anyway, having said that, it is probably time to dust off my F22 V3 and take it flying today, time to push the skills even harder!

Cheers,

Scott

BENCH AND FLIGHT TESTING RC TIMER 2208/8 2600 KV MOTOR

Hi everyone -

Several weeks ago, I tested this little motor from RC Timer, works really well for planes in the 16-19 oz weight category. http://www.rctimer.com/product_112.html

This motor is quite light, 56 grams with prop, X mount and connectors installed.

I ran through the same series of tests as I did with many previous motors, I tested with a Turnigy Plush 30A ESC as 30A ESC is what RC Timer recommends, I tested 6x4 APC and 6x3 and 6x4 EMP props on low, medium and high settings on my ESC to find the best setup for what I'm looking to get out of this motor.

Here are the results

6x4 APC prop on 50% throttle -

• ESC at low timing - 13.3A/155.8W/429 gr/15.1 oz of thrust/thrust to motor weight ratio 7.7:1, 1.1 oz of thrust per amp drawn;
• ESC at medium timing - 14A/167.3W/445 gr/15.7 oz of thrust/thrust to motor weight ratio 7.9:1/1.1 oz of thrust per amp drawn; and
• ESC at high timing - 14.3A/174.3W/431 gr/15.2 oz of thrust/thrust to motor weight ratio - 7.7:1/1.06 oz of thrust per amp drawn.

6x4 APC prop on 100% throttle -

• ESC at low timing - 28.7A/332.7W/695 gr/24.5 oz of thrust/thrust to motor weight ratio 12.4:1/0.85 oz of thrust per amp drawn;
• ESC at medium timing - 29A/321.7W/720 gr/25.5 oz of thrust/thrust to motor weight ratio 12.8:1/0.8 oz of thrust per amp drawn; and
• ESC at high timing - 30.6A/335.5W/720 gr/25.5 oz of thrust/thrust to motor weight ratio of 12.8:1/0.8 oz of thrust per amp drawn.

6x3 EMP prop on 50% throttle -

• ESC at low timing - 12A/138.9W/485 gr/17.1 oz of thrust/thrust to motor weight ratio of 8.7:1/1.4 oz of thrust per amp drawn;
• ESC at medium timing - 12.9A/149.4W/515 gr/18.2 oz of thrust/thrust to weight ratio of 8.7:1/1.4 oz of thrust per amp drawn; and
• ESC at high timing - 14.2A/164.8W/520 gr/18.3 oz of thrust/thrust to motor weight ratio of 9.3:1/1.3 oz of thrust per amp drawn.

6x3 EMP prop on 100% throttle -

• ESC at low timing - 24.5A/266.2W/795 gr/28 oz of thrust/thrust to motor weight ratio 14.2:1/1.1 oz of thrust per amp drawn;
• ESC at medium timing - 28.8A/332W/805 gr/28.4 oz of thrust/14.4:1/1.0 oz of thrust per amp drawn; and
• ESC at high timing - 27.9A/329W/835 gr/29.5 oz of thrust/thrust to motor weight ratio of 14.9:1/1.06 oz of thrust per amp drawn.

6x4 EMP prop on 50% throttle -

• ESC at low timing - 12A/140.7W/395 gr/13.9 oz of thrust/thrust to motor weight ratio 7.0:1/1.2 oz of thrust per amp drawn;
• ESC at medium timing - 12.6A/147.1W/410 gr/14.5 oz of thrust/thrust to motor weight ratio 7.3:1/1.2 oz of thrust per amp drawn; and
• ESC at high timing - 13.7A/160.5W/415 gr/14.6 oz of thrust/thrust to motor weight ratio 7.4:1/1.1 oz of thrust per amp drawn.

6x4 EMP prop at 100% throttle - 

• ESC at low timing - 28.4A/315.7W/663 gr/23.4 oz of thrust/thrust to motor weight ratio of 11.8:1/0.8 oz of thrust per amp drawn;
• ESC at medium timing - 29A/311.1W/671 gr/23.7 oz of thrust/thrust to motor weight ratio of 12.0:1/0.8 oz of thrust per amp drawn; and
• ESC at high timing - 31A/360W/675 gr/23.5 oz of thrust/thrust to motor weight ratio 12.1:1/0.8 oz of thrust per amp drawn.

The 6x3 EMP prop seems to jump out as the best prop for this motor on the bench, so I won't even bother testing the other two props.  What I did test at the field was the difference between high and low ESC timing as I was getting about 1.5 oz more thrust with high timing than I was with low, but at a higher amp draw.

Here is the video I shot of the field testing

I did definitely get a little more snap and thrust from this motor at high ESC timing, but the motor ran very warm, warmer than I like for the overall health of the setup, so I reverted to low, great performing little motor that definitely punches above it's weight!

I now use it in my FRC Foamies F35 600 which is about 16.5 oz, works awesome!

Cheers,

Scott

FRC FOAMIES SU37 MK2

I recently completed a lighter weight FRC Foamies Su37 MK2.  I had previously build an Su35 MK2, but built it way too heavy and it just never flew right, so I wanted to build this one much lighter

My build -

• 6mm depron with 4mm dollar store foam Kf4 airfoils, mostly Foam Tac glue with epoxy and Gorilla Glue (my new favorite combo for motor mounts) and epoxy for the control horns;
• 6 servo setup using RC Timer 9 gram nylon gear servos, elevons, ailerons (mixed as spoilerons, but I think I will delete this mix, not using it too much) and rudders;
• power setup is the Focal Price 2700 Kv motor with 6x3 EMP prop, a 40A Turnigy Plush ESC, 1600/1800 Mah battery, giving me good solid 5-6 minute flight times;
• all leading edges bevelled and sanded, paint is based on the Russian Flag colors of white, blue and red, used dollar store acrylic craft paint; and
• AUW with battery is 555 grams/19.6 oz which in calm conditions is a perfect weight for this plane.

I am loving this Focal Price motor again for this size of plane, gives me such awesome performance for not too much money or weight.

I did a fly off with the RC Powers Mig29 V3 and found the Su37 MK2 to be more nimble than the Mig, possibly due to it being 5.5" shorter and having a 1" shorter wingspan, but I think that the Mig is just a bit more stable overall.

I have shot a couple videos of it flying 

It is an awesome little plane with lots of versatility from a standpoint of power and control setups.

Cheers,

Scott

409 NIGHTHAWKS F18 V3

Unfortunately I have been getting way behind on my blog as of late, so time to play a little catch up!  I recently built another RC Powers F18 and this time gave it a nice paint job inspired by the 409 Sqn Nighthawks of the RCAF.  409 was the first Sqn operational with the CF18.

Their motto translated from Latin is "Midnight is our Noon", so I used blue and black to represent day and night.

I did a walk around/build video here to describe my build and techniques

I am really liking the Focal Price 2700 Kv motor with a 6x3 EMP prop for these V3 size planes, light, inexpensive and gives tons of power for acceleration, speed and vertical.  

Here is the flight video

This is an awesome plane, one of my favorite park jets ever!

Cheers,

Scott