RCP Mig29 V4 M3e3 post flight report

Hi everyone -

Just back from the field after the maiden flight of my RCP Mig29 V4M3e3... :)  I actually got about 10 flights in with it in total, so getting it dialed in really well already.  I took my stock built Mig29 V4 to the field as well and did a walkaround video comparing the two as well as a couple warm up flights with the stock plane before trying the V4M3e3 to allow me to be able to best assess the differences in performance.  There was occasionally a breeze today, perhaps not enough to assess the full improvement of the reduced tail plate and elevon surface, but the V4M3e3 was rock solid either way and more stable in crosswind turns... :)

The V4M3e3 was amazingly smooth and stable right from the time it left my hand.  For purposes of comparison, I copied the exact same settings I have on the stock V4 with respect to mixes, throws and expo.  After a couple flights, I increased the amount of throw in the roll axis (ailerons and elevons) by about 10% to give me the same roll rate I have on the stock V4.  Other than that, the response in the pitch is amazing, crisp and precise with no bad habits.  The redesign that Stephan did on the elevons is perfect for my setup and flying style.  It gives amazing authority with only 75% throw, but no thrust vectoring (TV) stalls.  I had to try hard to get it to even approach TV stalls, so still plenty of TV for aerobatics and high alpha, but without the stalling, air braking and tail drop seen with too much elevon surface in the prop wash.

The new rudders are very effective.  I tried in the video to demonstrate how direct it is in the yaw by doing a couple of stall turns, no or very little opposite aileron required to keep it from rolling in the stall turn.  They are clean and very precise, and very effective for maneuvers requiring good rudder input like flat spins, wingover, stall turns, high alpha.

The smaller ailerons give excellent performance in turns and rolls, rolls are very crisp and precise and they worked very well in high alpha when deployed as spoilerons.  Similar to the stock V4, I found very little spoileron deflection was required to allow me to hold pretty decent high alpha.  I will do more evaluating of this aspect of flight as I get the plane totally dialed in, but for now it does high alpha very well, in fact I think I might even be able to hold the nose in a higher angle of attack without wing rock than I can with the stock Mig, but more practice required.

I know it is a bit hard to put my finger on any one thing that helps with stability, but I think even just that slight increase in KF surface area by extending the trailing edge back 1/4" makes a big difference.  Handling was so smooth, even more stable in the small breezes than the stock V4 with stock KF.  This might also contribute to the ability to hold the nose up at a higher AOA in high alpha also, but again, more evaluation required.

I didn't feel any appreciable increase in speed between the two planes, perhaps the slightly larger KF creates a bit more drag that cancels out the reduction in the size of the vert stab and elevons?  Either way, it is the improvements in smoothness, tracking and precision handling that are impressing me with this modified Mig29 V4.

Interestingly enough, after going through my normal process of dialing in my plane in the first few flights, I ended up with my battery quite a bit farther forward than from the start point.  I launched it balanced on the stock CofG and could tell it was a bit tail heavy, nothing that really affected it's performance, but I could see that it was flying with a slight nose up attitude.  So after a few flights, the plane now balances at a point almost 3/4" ahead of stock CofG with zero trim in the pitch.  I also managed to get it to balance in the roll axis with zero trim with my battery positioned as it is in the picture below.  

This being able to have the battery right on centreline like that makes for great handling and crispness in the roll axis, so I got lucky... :)

In this next picture you can see where the battery is in relation to the stock vent hole and the bulkhead.  The end of the battery is about 5/8" from the bulkhead.  I might just be able to get it to balance with a 1600 battery right on the bulkhead, but I'm not too worried about it as I really like the handling and stability I get with the 2200 battery, so 99% of my flights will be with the heavier battery.

So overall, a big two thumbs up for the mods Stephan and I made on this plane.  It dials it in amazingly well to suit my flying style and preference.  It is smoother, slightly more stable and as yet I note no problems with elevon polar pitch effect or tail slide in a turn through crosswinds.  The rudders are crisp and every effective.  It still handles very well at slow speed, I felt comfortable flying down to about 35% throttle and still felt I had complete control even with smaller elevons and ailerons.  Tracking and handling feel tighter, crisper and more precise than the stock plane.

Overall, extremely happy with this plane and how the modifications we made dialed it right into how I like my planes to fly... :)  Another big winner for the NAMC in my humble opinion... ;)

Walkaround and flight video will be posted after it is done processing, either later today or tomorrow.

Cheers,

Scott