Spirit Elite ARF Flight report

[Hostage-46]

Continuing the discussion from the "pull-pull" thread...

My ship is at 39.7 oz

CG is 3-7/8 that a tad further back from the aft limit on the plans of 3-3/4.

I have 16 grams in the nose with a 650 Mah or so battery.

I had planned on adding a few grams back into the nose but I've decided to challenge myself and continue in this trim. I've been off the sticks for about a year so I need a challenge. I'll leverage my radios expo function and tame the pitch input.

Next step is to tidy up wing control surfaces. I'm not satisfied with the ca hinges supplied with the kit so I'll tape them, also need to tighten the linkages a bit for more overall control.

Has anyone seen any worthwile results with reflex?

Thermals from Dallas

Dan

[Ricardo RW]

Hi,

I'm Ricardo from Chile, (winter now)

Last friday she was in the air again. The day was overcast, 18° C (64°F) low wind 4.5 mph (7 kph) and caught two thermals (10' and 7'), one circling with small hawks. Very nice.

My ship is 41 oz. and I'm planning to do a liposuction replacing the pushrods with CF ones and the wing joiner steel rod (it is 3.5 oz!) and maybe keep it for windy days.

I have not try yet the camber adjustment for launching or speeding neither the crow. Only flaps for landings.

After launching my Elite, I gave a try to my RES 2M Spirit ARF, very disappointing but for small thermals it's OK.

Regards.

[Hostage-46]

41 oz is not bad, Mine is a little bit under 40.

Not sure what your conditions are like but if you are planning on thermal flying then you need a responsive model that signals lift.
You'll find that performance by optimizing the Center of Gravity (CG). With this model, that's going to be towards to the aft limit in the plans. However you must factor in your own personal preferences.

My technique is to go to the field on a very calm day and conduct a series of test flights. Starting with a CG recommended on the plans, on each flight I take out a small amount of nose weight and test fly.

Continue this process until you find the plane uncomfortable, then add in that last piece and fly it again.

This process can take several hours but will make a HUGE DIFFERENCE in performance and is a necessary step.

Once I moved the CG back the airplane became alive and was able to find lift and stay in it very easily.

I have my CG at 3 - 7/8, actually further aft then called for in the directions, but it took me a few days of testing to get it there and I would not recommend starting that far aft.

In fact, I had the CG at 4 inches, but added a bit of weight back in, moving the CG forward to its current position, after I found the plan a little too unstable at high altitude where I cannot see it well enough to control pitch.

Invest the time in trimming and you'll be rewarded with a great flyer.

Hope this helps ....

[thelocust]

My Spirit Elite turned out probably around 41 or 42 ounces... I have a 1500 mah battery in the nose, though, with probably a 1/2 ounce more weight up there. My CG is about 1/8 or 3/16" behind the stock CG, which I assume is about the same as Dan's.

I've replaced the pushrods with a CF/Teflon pushrod for the elevator and a SpiderWire pull-pull system for the rudder. The extra weight probably comes from the extra epoxy that the previous owner (he'd never flown it) added in construction.

I had an 11 minute flight last Sunday, and plenty of 5 minute ones as well... On launch I put the flaps down about 20 degrees or so, and launches are stable and (mostly) straight with the towhook about 1/8" in front of the CG. I don't think I'll go any further back with the towhook, but I may try.

I know the weight seems to be of concern for some folks, but my ship is flying quite well at 42 ounces or so, with nice tight thermal turns, and can move across the sky when it needs to.

There are a couple of things that I'd like to make a little more tough on the fuselage, though -- the hole under the wings is a little too large and causes a lot of flex in the fuse. It has been suggested to strengthen the sides with 1/8" by 3/8" spruce down the sides and make a "box" under that cutout. Already, the fiberglass has started to pucker at the corners of the cutout -- nothing terrible, but I can see that after repeated flights, this could become a problem.

My gallery with pictures of my pull-pull modifications, etc.
http://phliteklub.org/gallery/20030729spiritelite

[Hostage-46]

I agree the fuse could use a bit of beefing up. I've dorked it in a few times for various reasons from a few feet up and have some cracking of the gel coat. Seems ok structurally, I thought about some carbon to reinforce.

Per your pervious post, it's all about CG, 39 to 42 oz ought to be similar, nither will fly well unless the CG is aft.

Cheers
Dan

[thelocust]

Originally posted by Dan Ahearn
I agree the fuse could use a bit of beefing up. I've dorked it in a few times for various reasons from a few feet up and have some cracking of the gel coat. Seems ok structurally, I thought about some carbon to reinforce.

Per your pervious post, it's all about CG, 39 to 42 oz ought to be similar, nither will fly well unless the CG is aft.

Cheers
Dan

Yeah, a composite builder in the club suggested using carbon tow on the inside to stiffen it up. He's offered a piece of tow to do the job, but I'm still a little unclear on how to lay it up. I'm guessing some slow-cure epoxy or perhaps even thick CA would work.

[Hostage-46]

It's dirt simple man, much more robust and lighter.

You could use any type of epoxy, wet up and lay it in.

Off to the field to bag a little lunch time lift !

Cheers
Dan

[Hostage-46]

This airplane has served as an excellent trainer in preparation for my Compulsion on the bench.

Today I had my 1st crack at a winch ..... I don't know if I can ever go back to the highstart, what a gass!

The model is now very nicely dialed in and once the thermal activity began, I found more lift then I needed.

Only problem is size! It doesn't take long for a Texas hat sucker to spec this ship out. I suspect learning to fly on the edge of visibility is what it's all about.

Dan

[thelocust]

Originally posted by Dan Ahearn
Only problem is size! It doesn't take long for a Texas hat sucker to spec this ship out. I suspect learning to fly on the edge of visibility is what it's all about.

Dan

Yeah, that's the truth. Even though I barber-pole-striped the wingtips, it is still hard to tell when it really gets up there.

[Ricardo RW]

Does anyone have flown this baby in a slope?

I tried last weekend, wind blowing 10 - 13 mph but I couldn't fly ...up... I have flew a ARF RES Spirit, Zagis without a problem, but my Elite is hard to track in the air.

Any suggestions?

Thanks.

[Hostage-46]

Check your CG.

I moved mine back substantially aft of what was suggested on the plans.

Completely changed the airplane for the better.

Just change it gradually....

Dan