Just back from the field after blasting through some lipos on my 3rd F22 V3, the Seahawks Jet! Was getting a little too windy for my liking, so I thought best to call it a day until I have the plane completely dialed in before trying it in higher winds.
Wow, what a difference 2 oz/58 grams of weight makes on this plane! I just finished watching Dave Powers' and Scott Lott's promo video at the start of this thread one more time to remind myself of the characteristics Dave described in the video as I wasn't sure at the heavier weight of 26.5 oz/750 grams that I was experiencing all of those characteristics. Well, the reduced weight does amazing things for this plane from a standpoint of acceleration, top speed and crispness and handling in aerobatics.
In the video, Dave refers to this plane as a "sports/muscle car" and I know I have used the same term myself, but at this lighter weight it is even more true. It is not a plane at this weight that you can or really want to just put on cruise control and do lazy circles around the field. It will do that, for sure, but I cannot let my mind wander when flying this plane at this weight and with this power setup or it will bite back!
I found the controls much more responsive, so in order to avoid "over control", I put the expo up about 10% over where it was before on my heavier planes and it smoothed out my "twitchiness". I'm sure I will be able to bring this down somewhat as I get more flights in.
The aerobatics now are unbelievable, I had only about 75% throws on today for the maiden and I went into a couple of high speed full deflection loops and was amazed at how it just carved a perfect circle so smooth and so quick that the loop was done before I realized I had done it!
At the lighter weight, it slows down quite a bit quicker without that extra bit of weight and momentum, so I had to be more careful on the throttle in turns and slow rolls or the nose or tail would drop quicker than what I was used to. Same thing when just cruising along straight and level, once the airflow over those vertical stabilizers gets down to a certain point as Dave says in the video, the tail will drop on you. But if you have good power and punch out for the weight of plane you build, it is recoverable...:)
As Dave says in the video, this plane does like speed! At this lighter weight, anywhere above 50% throttle and it is like driving a sports car, tons of responsiveness to the throttle and all control surfaces, just an absolute blast to fly, it transitioned from one aggressive maneuver to the next without hesitation and without bad habits (as long as I didn't let too much speed bleed off). It will cruise around comfortably "in town" at 50% throttle as long as you watch how tight you make your turns, but once you open it up on the "open highway", hang on!
I did manage to get a certain amount of dialing in done today, I have the CofG in the pitch sorted out for zero trim and my CofG is 3 and 1/2" inches behind the wing break, so even further back than the second one I built by about 3/8". I'm not sure where that relates to the stock CofG on the current plans, I would suggest starting with what is on the plans for now and work it whatever way you need to to get it sorted out to the way you like to fly. I'm still working on getting trim in the roll down to zero by gradually moving my battery with relation to centreline. My last F22 it took me about a dozen flights to get it sorted, but it is worth the time and patience, cause one it is dialed in, the fun really begins!
The lighter weight also meant keeping on a little more power when landing, when keeping the same throttle settings as with my heavier versions, it would slow down too fast and I would get the nose popping up, tail sinking or even a bit of tip stall.
So at this weight and configuration, I definitely see the nickname "the Expert's Parkjet" more clearly. I am definitely not an expert, perhaps somewhere between novice and intermediate, but I find this plane a real joy to fly. Like a sports car, if you respect it and treat it right, it will respond in amazing ways with amazing accleration and handling. But if you get complacent or lose focus, it can bite you hard and fast! It likes a little extra speed when in doubt, especially in the turns and on approach to landing, but I far prefer this weight to the heavier versions I built. Again, I wouldn't have thought 2 oz would make that much difference, but it does.
If you are really ready for a new challenge, this plane in this configuration is a great option, I look forward to having a lot more fun with it and getting it truly dialed in.
Here is some flight video I shot today
Cheers,
Scott
No comments:
Post a Comment