A Radian XC ? (for fun)

[Libelle201B]

Today was an excellent thermal day and I was alone flying the Radian. I fly the Radian from a school yard that is empty most weekends. It dawned on me today(duh) that I have a strait 2 sm run (I measured it) of paved road that is not heavily traveled. An out and return would be 6.5 Km. Today I was specked out numerous times as I traveled to the extreems of my vision. There is little doubt that I could have gone at least 1/2 way (2sm) with the altitude I had at several points heading down this course from my stationary position. I guess I will have to get my brother to be my driver. :) Full down trim with the Radian provides a fairly moderate glide speed at low rate and a faster glide on full rate. (I use the third hole out on the elevator control horn). I guess the XC bug has bitten me again and it sure is fun to have some simple fun goals with a simple and fun sailplane. :) A 6.5 Km XC with a Radian would suit me just fine. Depending on what is happening, I will keep interested folks updated. :)
PS, I already painted the undersides of wing and stab dark red! Now you know I'm serious ;)

[GeeW]

GO FOR IT...you certainly do not need exotic (read expensive) models to have fun.
Might be worth putting a couple of high reflective holographic patches on as well to help when you speck it out properly....
Subscribed.
Gordon

[chamm37]

hahaha nice and yer i would put some high vis colours on the bottom of one wing tip or both to show which tip is which or just for good visibillity. I am thinking of getting a radian when my tax man gives me some of my money back in the coming couple of weeks :D Does the radian have any bad habits or anything because my grandfather is looking to get one aswell :rolleyes: He is only a beginner and will be using this as a plane to learn on. If i get the radian aswell i could hook up a buddy cord so thats no worries about all of that but would you recomend a different plane or would the radian be allright for him to learn on :confused: :confused: :confused:


Regards,
Chris

[Libelle201B]

hahaha nice and yer i would put some high vis colours on the bottom of one wing tip or both to show which tip is which or just for good visibillity. I am thinking of getting a radian when my tax man gives me some of my money back in the coming couple of weeks :D Does the radian have any bad habits or anything because my grandfather is looking to get one aswell :rolleyes: He is only a beginner and will be using this as a plane to learn on. If i get the radian aswell i could hook up a buddy cord so thats no worries about all of that but would you recomend a different plane or would the radian be allright for him to learn on :confused: :confused: :confused:


Regards,
ChrisChris, the Radian has no bad habits really. I don't know your experience with sailplanes so I cant really respond as to how you and your grandfather would be able to fly the Radian. One has to have a very basic understanding of sailplanes and how they fly. Power ON ie full power with the Radion will give a very steep climb that will surprise you, almost to steep if you are not pushing in down elevator. I highly reccomend the Radian but as with any sailplane/airplane you have to have some knowledge and experience to avoid mishaps (crashes) that all to often turn newcomers off to this great hobby. If you can find someone to help you get started, that would be a huge step in the right direction. :)

[chamm37]

I have been flying planes for 4 years know so i got a little bit of understandmant behind me lol No i was mainly asking for my grandfather because he is the one only really starting out and has ever flown before. I will be teaching him how to fly so yer i recommended the radian to him just because i have heard allot of good things from it but yer :D I know how to fly planes, 3D flying, helicopters, flying them in 3D sports aswell so yer i have a little bit of history oh and i fly F3J competition level :D :D :D


Regards,
Chris

[Libelle201B]

I have been flying planes for 4 years know so i got a little bit of understandmant behind me lol No i was mainly asking for my grandfather because he is the one only really starting out and has ever flown before. I will be teaching him how to fly so yer i recommended the radian to him just because i have heard allot of good things from it but yer :D I know how to fly planes, 3D flying, helicopters, flying them in 3D sports aswell so yer i have a little bit of history oh and i fly F3J competition level :D :D :D


Regards,
Chris Chris, with your experience and help your grandfather should have few problems. The Radian is a win/win situation. :) Good luck and happy soaring :)

[RBMartin]

Chamm,

The Radian is the PERFECT trainer. You might get one spare prop and one spare battery. I have never fully drained two full batteries in a day. I have had 1 1/2 hour flights one one battery. For training though, I can see going thru two batteries. Remember to tape the wings and you might put a small piece on the canopy as well. Though I never tape mine and have not lost it, I have heard others that have. I am a heavy F3J pilot and still get a kick out of the Radian. So getting one for yourself so you can buddy box it is not a bad thing.

Bruce M

[Libelle201B]

I have set some perameters for my super cheap Radian "for fun" XC flight. I will limit my "power on" flight (launch) to 12-15 seconds MAX, equal to a good winch launch, I have timed it. No power allowed at ANY point after launch, a desperate low save with power ends the flight. Pretty basic really. Although I had no driver today I thought I would get some practice, the wind was at the Radians limit I think 15-20 mph aloft and the thermals were very fragmented and turbulent down low. Climbing down wind was a complete dissapointment as one would expect given the wind, once you got high, you lost all of that altitude getting back to your starting point. The new red painted wing bottoms helped quite a bit in the vast blue sky. It just wasn't a Radian kind of day. Anyways, I hope this thread garners some interest for even accomplished pilots that want to test their skills with a not so "state of the art" rc sailplane, and maybe this will spark a Radian XC competition of sorts. That would be alot of fun. :)

[Libelle201B]

Test post!

[Libelle201B]

It is with sad heart that I announce the loss of another Radian (mine). This will now postpone my quest to do an 8 km XC with the Radian. After a morning with at least 4 speck-outs, I experimented with a very brief (2 seconds max) low power dive. The plane never recovered. Unfortunately the plane crashed at least 200 yards away in heavy under brush on posted property, surrounded by a canal and no doubt guarded by hungry rattle snakes. My theory is that the elevator clevis popped loose (nylon) as there was no recovery from the dive which started at about 600' agl. Oh well, such is life. I do plan to get another Radian, but it may be a while as I also have other planes I really should be working on.

[TurboThruster]

It is with sad heart that I announce the loss of another Radian (mine). ..Unfortunately the plane crashed at least 200 yards away in heavy under brush on posted property, surrounded by a canal and no doubt guarded by hungry rattle snakes.

200 yards? Just go and get it!
Part of RC soaring is the art of retrieving lost gliders. It'll be fine. ;)

[StevenatorLTFO]

It is with sad heart that I announce the loss of another Radian (mine). This will now postpone my quest to do an 8 km XC with the Radian. After a morning with at least 4 speck-outs, I experimented with a very brief (2 seconds max) low power dive. The plane never recovered. Unfortunately the plane crashed at least 200 yards away in heavy under brush on posted property, surrounded by a canal and no doubt guarded by hungry rattle snakes. My theory is that the elevator clevis popped loose (nylon) as there was no recovery from the dive which started at about 600' agl. Oh well, such is life. I do plan to get another Radian, but it may be a while as I also have other planes I really should be working on.

Might have been that aluminum thumb screw thing loosened up on you too, thats the one thing I'd like to engineer something different for on my Radian.

I maidened my Radian today, took a 1300 lipo straight out of the package, without charging it, gave the Radian a hand toss, just before the airplane settled into the grass, I gave it about 1/3 throttle, and it started to climb a bit, so I ran it up to about 2/3 throttle, and climbed on out. First landing was well over an hour later, great lift, and a sweet flying bird!

Steve

[Libelle201B]

200 yards? Just go and get it!
Part of RC soaring is the art of retrieving lost gliders. It'll be fine. ;)
Thanks Turbo, I've pretty well made up my mind. A couple hours of searching for a plane that is probably trash in the FL heat on private property with no access, I hate to say it, but it's probably not worth the effort, that is unless you want to join me in a search :)

[Libelle201B]

Might have been that aluminum thumb screw thing loosened up on you too, thats the one thing I'd like to engineer something different for on my Radian.

I maidened my Radian today, took a 1300 lipo straight out of the package, without charging it, gave the Radian a hand toss, just before the airplane settled into the grass, I gave it about 1/3 throttle, and it started to climb a bit, so I ran it up to about 2/3 throttle, and climbed on out. First landing was well over an hour later, great lift, and a sweet flying bird!

Steve
Steve, I modified my Radian with a conventional clevis arangement. I think I may have just used the wrong material (nylon). I should know better. But then again, something else may have happened????? I suspect I will never know. :(

[Libelle201B]

I should have a new Radian by this weekend and will continue the XC quest :)
After some thought I am starting to think that it may not have been a linkage problem that destroyed my Radian....I noticed after several flying sessions that the battery/motor lead seemed to be almost ready to disconnect when I pulled them apart after flying. I now believe that the connection may have vibrated loose on the last power-up. Maybe other Radian owners have noticed the same thing with that connection.
Jon

[StevenatorLTFO]

My Radian bit the dust during the after Nats Radian contest in Muncie, might have been my receiver (a Hitec Electron 6) that gave up the ghost, the Radian went in from several hundred feet, its pretty tore up. I had 5 flights on it when it went in, total flying time was over 3 hours.

[Libelle201B]

My Radian bit the dust during the after Nats Radian contest in Muncie, might have been my receiver (a Hitec Electron 6) that gave up the ghost, the Radian went in from several hundred feet, its pretty tore up. I had 5 flights on it when it went in, total flying time was over 3 hours.
Hmmm, mine did the exact same thing, but I had the factory supplied 2.4 rx.
Was the battery/motor connection still connected?

[Libelle201B]

After some thought, and expense, I have purchased another Radian. Also I have learned some interesting and valuable information from others much more familier with the 2.4 system, BEC and electric sailplanes in general. The advise I got for the Radian set-up, the lipo should be at aprox. 12.8 volts fully charged, check the voltage after about every 30 minutes of use and NEVER fly with the voltage at or below 10.8 volts. I now believe that low voltage and a receiver brown-out was the cause of the crash of my first Radian. A tough and expensive lesson learned.
Happy soaring!
Jon

[SimAndy]

Chamm,

The Radian is the PERFECT trainer. You might get one spare prop and one spare battery. I have never fully drained two full batteries in a day. I have had 1 1/2 hour flights one one battery. For training though, I can see going thru two batteries. Remember to tape the wings and you might put a small piece on the canopy as well. Though I never tape mine and have not lost it, I have heard others that have. I am a heavy F3J pilot and still get a kick out of the Radian. So getting one for yourself so you can buddy box it is not a bad thing.

Bruce M

A spare prop and spinner is agood idea. There has been much talk on WattFlyer from radian owners that have had prop failures with the stock props. Mine failed in the same way but I was lucky, both failed together so the vibration was only enough to throw the canopy and not tear the front of the glider up as happened to one owner. Mine will fly with a rubber band around the canopy from now on.

Despite that I am delighted with the Radian and enjoy every minute of flying it. I have not yet drained the battery although I don't spend all day at the field but a couple of flights totalling 90 minutes off the stock battery seems like the norm for me.

[Libelle201B]

A spare prop and spinner is agood idea. There has been much talk on WattFlyer from radian owners that have had prop failures with the stock props. Mine failed in the same way but I was lucky, both failed together so the vibration was only enough to throw the canopy and not tear the front of the glider up as happened to one owner. Mine will fly with a rubber band around the canopy from now on.

Despite that I am delighted with the Radian and enjoy every minute of flying it. I have not yet drained the battery although I don't spend all day at the field but a couple of flights totalling 90 minutes off the stock battery seems like the norm for me.
I did order two extra prop sets as I have also had problems. I always tape my canopy down. I suppose 90 minutes is about right. I tested mine last outing 3 times over about 80 minutes of actual air time and the voltage was about 11 volts. Another flight may have pushed it to or below 10.8 volts, so I packed her up. Happy soaring!
Jon