Nan Models Shadow ( sorry for the mistake )

[Chipwillis]

Well, looks like tomorrow will be the maiden flight day.

She is all done except the servo covers. I will post some pics tomorrow.

She came in at 74oz only needing 1oz in the nose to bring the cg to 110mm. Not bad for 144" span!

This is going to be interesting, I kept my same radio setup from my Eraser Extreme- the Standard JR 9303 with the Joe Wurts mods. I will probably have to change the differential settings some.

I am pretty excited!

Then hopefully Ill get the Xpro airborn next week.

Thank goodness for a mild winter so far.

Chip

[dhauch]

nothing like the first flight, there the BEST!

is this a v-tail ?

dh

[Chipwillis]

yes, v tail.

First flights for me are interesting. One test glide, and then up the high start. Long as the test glide is ok, but it should be.

[dhauch]

good luck and hope all goes well.

i put my new planes right on my self launching winch trailer, set the tension to release at about 50-60 lbs. or so, and let her rip!

always fun to see what your going to get. :)

have fun, and let us know how she flies.

dh

[mlee8249]

Hey Chip!!!! We're waiting for your test flight report. Inquiring minds want to know!

Mike Lee

[Gldrpilot]

Yeah Chip,

I definitely want to hear what you think. I just got my Shadow and I can't wait to get it in the air. We are in the midst of another winter storm so I need to live vicariously through those of you that can get out and fly!

Chris Keller

[Chipwillis]

Got out and flew it today!

I still need to put on the servo covers but said ahh... it will be even better when I get them on.

I balanced at 110mm for now and put together my new high start. My old NSP pinnacle had lived a long life. I got the yellow rubber at Hobby Lobby at the suggestion of a couple folks, and did the line with some thick a$$ mono, like 200lb test or something. I need to get some 135.

Did a couple test glides and range checks ( I run my antenna on the outside- using JR 790 SS ). From a lumbering run and toss, this thing flew half the distance of the Westerville Field. Man.

Put her on the high start and started stretching. This new rubber is strong! I need to put on more line though, with about 100 feet of rubber and 150 ft of line, I was getting 240 foot launches according to my Zlog, or somthing like that. The distances are guesses so I might be way off... I will increase the line length too. There was about 5kts of wind, but it was all 90 deg. crosswind.

FedEx delivered my F3B winch I bought from Rich Burnoski, so I have to get it loaded up and learn how to use it soon!

Anyhow, back to the shadow. I have a TLAR setup on launch preset that will take some time nailing down for flap and aileron droop. Cruise flight was neutral TE, and Reflex a few mm up on flaps and ailerons. The launches were straight, could probably move the hook back a tad for now, but I will wait til I get the cg nailed down.

All the flying consisted of gentle turns, messing around with the rudder to get a feel for it, and some thermal turns. I didn't mess with camber any after launch. Getting a feel for the speed range of this airfoil is interesting. It seems to want to speed up easy, which is cool, but at the same time, it slowed down in turns well. I did get a few tip stalls, and I need to go and spend alot of time on my differential settings and aileron/flap mix. With my Eraser I had Ail/FLP mix on all the time and it was a joy to fly that way. It will be a number of flights getting everything worked out for the best settings, for sure. I need to measure deflections and percentages and log them in the next few days, before I start changing things.

I flew her about 7 times total, and the things I noticed were the pitch sensitivity. I will have to spend alot of time nailing down elevator DR/Expo. The tail is alittle short for such a high aspect ratio wingspan, and maybe its just me, but care will be needed in pitch. Dropping the flaps and Ailerons up for landing made approaches steady, and slow, but not too much slower than normal slow flight mode. Had great authority on roll and yaw on final approaches.

All in all, I have a ton of flights to do, to get used to the Blue Beast! It is a beautiful airplane.

I went thru an area of lift that was pretty weak and can best described as, well, I am not coming down, but not going up. The plane indicated pretty well so I may not need to move the CG too far aft. One I nail the best turn speeds/etc. I am sure this is going to be my primary weapon for next season.

There are a few little things that showed up later that are worth mentioning. I broke piece of a Flap Wiper while grinding some. Not that big a deal, you normally don't see it anyhow. I used CA installing my Servoframes. I dont know if the CA did it or not, but looking at the top of the wing surface, you can tell where they are, but the slightest depression. I'm going to epoxy the ones in the XPro. The Fuselage is spacious and for the Vtail, mounting servos side by side, and still getting max throw on the Ruddervators is possible using shorter control horns on the servos. I grinded away some room to use larger to learn later, I really didn't need to do that. I have my battery mounted way up in front of the canopy, along with 1oz of lead, then the RX and 6v mpi voltage regulator next, with more room for a Zlog with ease. The wing construction is very light!. There was a slight defect on one of the flaps ( looks like someone bit it, but it is only visible really close, and from underneath ).

You can go to www.chipwillis.com/shadow to see some of the pics I shot today.

One a fun note, I put the zlog into the Multiplex Easyglider motor version, and with a 3 cell 1320TP battery, stock motor, climbed to a very high altitude amost directly overhead. I could see it clearly and could have gone another 2-300 feet but the Zlog said I was at just under 1500 feet!

If you wan't a plane that is to stay in the car all the time for that few minutes, get one! At $89.00 from Hobby-Lobby.com it is a great deal.

I have the glider version I am going to go throw together now as a matter of fact. Should be able to thermal off an Ant Fart.

Chip

[flystoolow]

Beautiful glider, I like it!

[dhauch]

plane looks great!

never seen a paint scheme like that one, where did you buy this plane from ?

dh

[Chipwillis]

plane looks great!

never seen a paint scheme like that one, where did you buy this plane from ?

dh

Got it from F3x.com

I wonder about the blue, I think I will be putting a bright fluro Orange stripe or arrow on the top surface.

I love the bottom.

[Tuomo]

You have crammed a hacker-master speed control in nose :eek:

I will have to spend alot of time nailing down elevator DR/Expo. The tail is alittle short for such a high aspect ratio wingspan, and maybe its just me, but care will be needed in pitch.

Maybe you should just move CG forward. Usually the best trim for a glider is the one that feels natural and easy to fly.

[Goinav8n]

Hey Chip

Glad to hear you got to take it out and fly. I bet its a real floater. I like the blue. The Green is also good to see. Sticks out like a sore thumb. Get it dialed in and let us know

Jeff

[Chipwillis]

You have crammed a hacker-master speed control in nose :eek:



Maybe you should just move CG forward. Usually the best trim for a glider is the one that feels natural and easy to fly.

Tuomo,

That is a possibility, I didn't get high enough for dive tests or inverted flight, maybe there will be enough lift this afternoon.

What you see in the nose is a 2 cell Lion battery, 2400 mah, by www.fromeco.org
Behind that is a MPI 6v regulator, and the receiver ( jr 790 ).

Plenty of room up there.

[rdwoebke]

That is a pretty sweet looking field, Chip. How come the MOSS club never flew there? I used to attend the hand launch contest they held and it was in this little grass cut out surrounded by a bunch of trees.

Ryan

[mlee8249]

Hi Chip,

I like that Blue!!! I would like to add a few cents to the mix:

In reading your comments and looking at the photos, I think you may have too much UP ailerons in the CROW mix. I almost always start my shake down flights with maximum flap deflection and almost no UP aileron for CROW. If the plane floats too much on approach, I add UP aileron. If it doesn't float enough, I decrease the aileron. Everyone has their ideal rate of descent and you change that with the amount of UP aileron during CROW. I would decrease it for yours, as it appears to be a lot. That will slow the plane down a lot without it falling from the sky.

Launch mix: I am deflected 3/8 inch on the flaps as measured at the root, and then the ailerons are dropped to match the flap line. No elevator compensation is used.

Camber mix: I am using about 1/8" on the flaps, with the ailerons matched. She flies very slowly with this, yet retains good roll control.

Reflex mix: I am using about 1/8" raised flap and ailerons set to match. She gets up and MOVES with that!

My CG is also set at 110, but I fly the X-tail version and so the CG may not relate. I do like a sensitive model, and so your preference may be for less wild controls. In the dive, mine is hands off and it uses up about 300-ft to change nose attitude by 20-degrees. A very slow and gradual pull-up. My towhook position is about 1/8" in front of the CG. Launch angle is very steep right from the hand. The photo attached here doesn't reflect that as it is the very first winch launch we did before tuning everything in.

Congrats on those first flights and I really beleive you are going to love that plane!

Mike Lee

[F3X]

plane looks great!

never seen a paint scheme like that one, where did you buy this plane from ?

dh Got it from F3x.com

I wonder about the blue, I think I will be putting a bright fluro Orange stripe or arrow on the top surface.

I love the bottom.

Yep, the only one in that scheme. Really looks great. I wish my new shipment had some the same scheme.

[Chipwillis]

hehe Thanks again Tom!

Day two flight report- Weather was even better than yesterday, sunny with light lift all over.

First flight with no changes from yesterday. Can you say- Holy Crap! There was an abundance of light spotty lift, and this plane indicates it like no other I have owned. It was liteally jumping up and down. A fellow sailplane friend was at the field, Bill Hoelcher ( sorry if i spelled it wrong!), was watching it as I was sometimes wrestling it thru some light lift. I was thinking it but he said, you know, I think your cg might be too far aft. Any little thing was upsetting it, and while maneuvering back to the pattern, I hit a bump that tossed me into a spin! I recovered about 1 turn into it, but then I was like, yes, that is too far aft for my comfort! I landed and added 1 oz to the nose.

Next flight was a different animal all together. Smooth. This airfoil is amazing- after launch I kept going forward for what seemed like 1/3 of a mile or so before turning perpendicular. Spotting the lift was still very easy with this plane, either the wings would react, or the nose would pop up, or tail up on the back side. Very good indications. I was able to circle smoothy in the lightest air, and the tip stall issues were gone. Just that little bit of weight seemed to do the trick well. Easy to fly. Easy to center lift because the plane reacts so well in different air! You could really see what part of the turn was better lift, until getting centered. I played with thermal camber which right now is set to about 1/4 inch which is way too much. The plane slows down and allows for some serious tight circles, but the trade off in drag was evident. It seemed much more efficient at a little higher speed ( not like the a mh32 eraser either, not that fast ).

I never got high enough to try reflex. Right now I have about 1/8 inch, but to be honest, this thing covers alot of sky with a clean trailing edge. I bet I can easily range 1.5 times that of my old Eraser. The L/D seemed phenomenal.

The wind was still cross but only a few knots, so I wasn't getting great launches off the high start.

I just bought a F3B winch and I need to get it going soon. Hell, if you get 500 foot launch, I bet you could make 7-8 mins off of this thing in dead air. I will have to look at my zlog plots and figure a sink rate.

Mike- when you launch of a winch, are you concerned about the wing at all? I have heard that there should be no worry up to about 10 kts of wind, them perhaps back off alittle up to 15. At that point id prolly be switching to the Xpro anyhow. I had the Extreme light Eraser and I never worried about it unless the wind was blowing.

It is safe to say, that this is going to be the main weapon in the Quiver next year. Its gonna be fun for sure!.

On a note about the color. It was blue sky today and coming back towards yourself, it did become hard to see. I think I will add some reflective holographic tape to the leading edges, and perhaps some day glo orange stripes on one wing upper surface.

Tomorrow should be a good day too, planning on specking it out hopefully.

Funny thing, was I had my Easyglider up, motor off, specked out twice today! LOL

Chip

[Goinav8n]

Chip

Im glad you were able to get out again. It appears the plane will be a top contender. Maybe you'll give Marc (OVSS BOSS) a run for the money next year. Although that will be tough as he is pretty good with that Insanity.

I was looking at your pics. Your lithium placement is the same as mine but with the new servo rails supplied it is a little tighter in the front. With your setup it would be no problem.

Hopefully you'll get out even more

Jeff

[mlee8249]

Hi Chip,

You asked if I am concerned about the wing at all......Nope.

Yes, on a verys trong winch and into a 10-MPH wind, you will see the wings bend a bit, but that doesn't mean anything, other than they can bend. It doesn't mean the wings are going to break any sooner than a wing that does not bend. I have taken the older Breeze, which is an open rib wing with molded center section into competition against fully molded birds with the wind blowing 20-MPH+ and watched as the moldies blew apart and the Breeze bent wings but never broke. The Lazurite bends like crazy, and took 2-man F3J launches all day long, without any damage. Shadow is much stronger than that and so I have no doubt it will take whatever I throw at it.

Now, I will say that ballasted, the Shadow does very good in windy conditions. With only 8-oz on board, the plane can move very well. I plan on picking up the new X-tail Vision when it becomes available as my windy day model, but I have no problems tossing my Shadow into windy skies right now. It's plenty strong enough for winch or two-man tow in the wind.

Mike Lee

[Jurgen]

.... I almost always start my shake down flights with maximum flap deflection and almost no UP aileron for CROW. If the plane floats too much on approach, I add UP aileron. If it doesn't float enough, I decrease the aileron. Everyone has their ideal rate of descent and you change that with the amount of UP aileron during CROW. ....Learning time again, thx for this great tip, gonna check this out on my Zenith when the weather becomes better. I had no AIL-UP so far for maximum steering opportunity, going to play with that because it float strongly in final, and the more flap is only choking the speed, not improving anything to the flightpath.
Jurgen.

[Tuomo]

Yeah, a good tip. I have never thought it that way. Must try it. Until now I have controlled the floating tendency just with elevator mix.

Recently I have gone to quite minimal up-aileron mix, because ailerons seem to loose their power when deflected up. Precise aileron responce is needed for spot landings. Around 5mm seems to good starting point in most planes.

[Jurgen]

Elevator mix i did too, it helps but is not the total remedy, its too much speed dependant to get it all done.

[Chipwillis]

Thanks guys!

Was out again today and there was a thin overcast all day, meaning, zero lift!
Was good flying though, getting used to her characteristics. It was amazing to see how far you could range out and still make it back with minimal altitude loss. I can't wait to get out on a typical good lift day with this thing.

My roll control on landing with the crow is pretty good and the down elevator mix I have is pretty close to a stable nice approach. I am not one for routine lawn dart landings but it seems like that should be no problem if needed.

Next week I will put her on the winch hopefully.

Any tips on F3B winch operation?
I think the biggest one, is to disconnect the sprocket to retrieve the line!
Any other tips?

Chip

[Barnsey]

Any tips on F3B winch operation?
I think the biggest one, is to disconnect the sprocket to retrieve the line!
Any other tips?Leave any finger jewellery at home (12v across a wedding ring will do more than make your eyes water). Leather glove for the hand which guides the line back onto the drum when flying's over.

Nice flight reports, Chip.

John

[tomcat5109]

Mike and Chip,

What is the general feel of flying the Shadow? At such a light weight (74 oz)does it feel "floaty" or does it groove? I have about 20 flights on my new Pike Superior (76 oz) and really getting to like the plane. It's fast, it's slow and thermals great anywhere in between. This past weekend a friend let me fly his new Pike Perfect and compared to the Superior, the Perfect felt a little floaty. I realize that ballast can take care of that feeling, but just want to know the relative feel of the Shadow. Thanks.

Tommy

Hi Chip,

You asked if I am concerned about the wing at all......Nope.

Yes, on a verys trong winch and into a 10-MPH wind, you will see the wings bend a bit, but that doesn't mean anything, other than they can bend.........
Mike Lee

[Chipwillis]

not really floaty, but it can be.

I guess with a neutral trailing edge, and a couple clicks of nose down trim, she moves smartly, covering alot of ground at a great L/d.

Slow her up and she gets alittle floaty. I had the CG back more and it was even more pronounced, but was a hair on the unstable side for my comfort, so I added an oz. to the nose and that seemed to settle her down. I was talking to a buddy, Ron Mong, and the topic of rear cg vs. v tail came up. I guess with a flying x tail, rearward would be more controllable ( could be more precise in pitch I would imagine ).

As I get used to it, I may move back some, depending on the conditions.

My thermal camber was a bit much, and it got super floaty and turned on a dime, but the drag seemed really noticable. I hope tomorrow works out well for more learning.

I will be building my Xpro soon and I look forward to its capabilities as well.

[Chipwillis]

Had my first winch launches today with the shadow.

I bought a F3B winch from Rich Burnoski and today was the first time out with it.

Launching off mono is sweeeeeet! Being able to load up tension on the line and then launch is much easier than with a standard winch that you have to keep tapping to hold tension. The springy line is nice too. The wind was mostly 5-10 kts, from about a left 45 degree cross/headwind. A few launches I used the pedal the first couple seconds and then just kited up in the wind, until near the top, then standing on it for the zoom. This is not as strong as the winches used at Muncie or the ones in the contests in Cincy or Dayton. I can make it stronger by putting on clamshells to make the drum diameter larger, but for now, I like it as is.

http://www.chipwillis.com/images/f3b.jpg

Here are a couple launch logs. The air was turblent and pretty sucky at best. I managed a 6 min flight once.

Info on the line is as follows.
About 125 yards to the turnaround, 150# mono, and my Shadow weighing in at 74oz. The wind makes a big difference in how much tapping you need to get up. The line stretch is pretty cool.

I am going to switch to some 100# line next time if the wind is the same or less and try to get at least 150m to the turnaround, or more.

The club I fly at is all power so I dont like to have my stuff all over the place, if its crowded, so doing the shorter launches will work on good lift days. There does seem to be a good deal of interest in what I am doing at times, so maybe there will be some "converts" this year.

Up til now I haven't written much about how the Shadow did.
Still nailing down settings. Flying in the variable wind, but more steady up, probably about 10 Kts, it had no trouble pushing upwind from launch, still showing that great L/D. It gets tossed about in turbulence as you would expect from a low wing loading. I ran upwind a good distance, and then cross/downwind quite a bit, and each time, I am more confident staying downwind, or far away for another turn. One time I freaked out but instinctivly pushed the nose down, and she came home smartly.

One run I did was in reflex, with the entire TE up about 2.5-3mm. Couple clicks down trim and she moves. It will be great knowing, that most of the time during a contest, I shouldn't have to think I can't make it somewhere.

I modded the thermal setting to about 2mm down TE and it seems to turn tighter, and slow down just a tad. I did get a tiny tip stall or two, so I may bring the ailerons up a hair and see if that helps. It was pretty tame. The CG is still pretty well aft. There was a difference in how it showed up in the turbulent air. In dead calm air, the plane handles almost too stable, but today getting jostled around, it was somewhat different. Just about right actually. Dive testing and inverted flying is still to come when I get a good day to get high enough, but honestly, she feels pretty good right about where the CG is now. I might put it on the stand to measure it for future reference.

Ballast is something I was wondering about, how it would make the plane behave and that is on the list of future tasks. I had planned on this being the light air under 15kts wind plane, and the Xperience Pro being the above 15kt plane.

I have figured from my logs that 100 feet per min is about minimum sink so far. Going to be interesting to see what the Xperience Pro will do.

The light blue is pretty, but in certain attitudes it gets hard to see. I have to find some flourescent paint for a couple stripes on top of the wing, as well as the holographic reflective tape to add to the LE of wings for added visibility.

I bet you will be seeing a few Shadows on the contest circuts this year, and beyond.

Here is a vid of one of the launches.
http://www.chipwillis.com/images/slb.mov

[Wing-span]

Chip,

Try 'Solartrim' or the like instead of paint. You will be able to remove it if you ever feel the need.

[mlee8249]

Hi Tom,

There is a lot of what Chip says that is similar with mine, but mine only gets floaty when cambered to max. I only use that setting when there is dead air and I need maximum hang time. Cleaned up, she moves nicely and is very fast in reflex. Penetration is good without ballast, and excellent with ballast. I have only run 8-oz of ballast so far, but another guy in my club has run as much as 28-oz in the plane and reported good handling and not too bad on slowing her up for landing.

What I like most about the bird is that she has a wide speed range with very good roll rate at low speeds. Most birds get pretty sluggish in roll at low speeds, which makes for some hairy landing situations. The Shadow also tells you when it engages the thermals very quickly. That makes her easy to keep in lift. If I were to say this is an easy plane to fly, that would be the best description of her. She has no bad habits, and there is nothing lacking from her performance that I can tell. Just an honest flying flying model that does the job real good.

Thanks

Mike

[Jim Frahm]

Shadow owners,

I just recieved my Shadow and I have a question regarding the piece of light ply that's included in the kit. It looks like it's used to hold the ballast in. Can someone tell me how it's installed or what they use to hold their ballast in?

Thanks,
Jim

[mlee8249]

Hi Jim,

Yup, that's a bulkhead designed to be glued to the front of the ballast tube and the fuselage side. It will only fit correctly one way, so just note that the left side pushrod will just touch it and you can anchor the outer rod housing to the plywood.

Now, I went and trimmed mine back so that the bulkhead does not go much past halfway across the inside of the fuselage. This is because I placed my receiver next to the ballast tube. Other people are placing their reciever further forward and don't have the problem of getting the receiver in there. I also used Shoo Goo to attach the bulkhead. This is because this glue will provide a hint of give when you do a dork landing with ballast on board. An epoxy joint might pop loose, unless backed with some other materials to prevent the ballast from pounding through. The Shoo Goo has worked very well for me.

To hold the ballast in, I first insert a spring that is about 1/2 inch in diameter or so, and about 1.5 to 2 inches long. Doesn't matter a lot. I then begin to throw slugs down the tube. For slugs, I use 5/8 ID brass tubing filled with shotgun #8 shot and epoxy or molten lead for my heavier slugs. Each slug is 1.5 inches long. I can slide 8 slugs down the tube. This is then topped off with a wooden dowel that is 5/8 inch diameter and 2.25 inches long. That makes it just long enough to fit the end of the tube and push back against the spring. You push it back and then it falls into place against the bulkhead. All done. I also have wood dowel slug dummies so that I can vary the number of brass slugs from one slug up to eight, depending on my choice of ballast needed. To remove the ballast, lift up on the wood dowel and away from the bulkhead, it will push out. And then everything comes sliding out easily.

How's that?

Mike Lee

[Chipwillis]

Shadow owners,

I just recieved my Shadow and I have a question regarding the piece of light ply that's included in the kit. It looks like it's used to hold the ballast in. Can someone tell me how it's installed or what they use to hold their ballast in?

Thanks,
Jim

is your ply pre cut? Mine didn't come with the ply bulkhead, but I stole the one from my Xperience pro. I made a outline of it on a piece for my Xpro, and I could scan it for you if you want if you need to cut one. I can take pics of my install too.

Mike, I got my Brass tubes for ballast. Can you get lead shot at Gun stores?
I would imagine thats a dumb question but I have never been to one. I was looking for a source of lead to melt for the tubes.

Thanks for all the info.

PS> I am running Full span Flaperons all the time these days, instead of having it on a switch. The roll rate is very good for such a large span. Much better than my 130" Omega used to be.

[rdwoebke]

Mike, I got my Brass tubes for ballast. Can you get lead shot at Gun stores?
I would imagine thats a dumb question but I have never been to one. I was looking for a source of lead to melt for the tubes.


Chip,

If you are looking for lead to melt, if you have a friend that is having a roof redone, there is lead involved in that that probably gets thrown away at the end (at least I think it does). A buddy of mine gave me this big "chimmny" looking thing when he redid his roof that is made of lead that I can cut strips out of. On my simple planes I don't have a sweet ballast tube like you all do so I just use strips of lead secured with a screw, but I'm sure some day I will be in a situation where I'll melt some into a brass tube for a ballast system.

Ryan

[rdwoebke]

Also, if you decided to just go with lead shot in a tube rather than melted lead in a tube, be sure to go with the finest/smallest shot you can find. It will minimize the amount of empty "air space".

I'm not an expert on guns either. I think this lead shot stuff is used for folks that go deer hunting. I think a place like "Dicks sporting goods" would carry it, if you wanted to go that way.

If you are a cheapo like me :) , I am told another place for free lead is the tire shop. They use lead for those stick on weights when the ballence tires that I am told gets thrown away after use.

Ryan

[D_Ryan]

Chip;

Another good source for lead is anyplace that does tire installs/service. Typically all those old tire weights are discarded, and you can gather them up and melt them down.

r/
Dave

[mlee8249]

Hi Chip,

Looks like Dave and Ryan beat me to two of the sources of lead weight that I use. You can buy lead shot (or steel shot if you live in California) at any sporting goods place that sells reloading equipment and supplies. Otherwise, you can buy a box of shotgun shells and empty out the shot from those. I have done that in a pinch, but then you are faced with proper disposal of what are still live rounds of ammunition. Can't just toss them in the garbage can. (Well, you could but if the disposal guys ever found out, that's a Federal offense). Another place is a diving shop, where lead shot is used for ballast in scuba diving vests. And finally, there are places that sell weighted bags for holding down paper and things like that, which are filled with shot. Plenty of places to find the stuff, if you look around.

BTW, filling the brass tube with molten lead was pretty easy. I melted the lead with a propane torch and had the brass tubing sitting upright on my concrete garage floor. (And the fan blowing like mad for air circulation to the outside air!) I simply poured the hot lead into the tube and that was it. On the 8 slugs I made this way, only one needed to have the edge trimmed to look neat, and they work great! Two things to beware of: Either do this outside or in an area that has tons of open air for circulation to fresh air as you don't want to inhale lead fumes, and secondly, let these babies cool off for at least 10-minutes. They will stay hot for quite awhile.

Mike Lee

[Chipwillis]

Thanks guys!

I have a propane torch, and the brass tubes. Just need the lead now, and I should be able to find some this week.


Hoping the weather gets alittle better this week. Crazy when I am this anxious to fly in January, but hey, I can't get pissy at El Nino'. Denver guys well, I am sure you are.

[saab340]

Hey guys if you are looking for lead shot, the best place is a reloading store. The smallest shot you can buy now is #9 and a 25 lb. bag will probably run you about $20 to $25 dollars. They don't sell it in a smaller bag, you could possibly share it with some one. The bag is really not that big but their is a lot!

I would not do the shotgun shell thing, you are wasting your money and it is just a pain to open the shells unless you have a shell cutter.

Yes my other big hobby is Sporting Clays!

[glderguy]

I noticed on the SUSA website the Shadowxtail in listed now with a price and buy now type order button. Are they now in stock w/o a wait? I hate waiting.
Walter

[Chipwillis]

I noticed on the SUSA website the Shadowxtail in listed now with a price and buy now type order button. Are they now in stock w/o a wait? I hate waiting.
Walter

I think F3X.com had some. Give Tom a shout!

[Jim Frahm]

Mike and Chipwillis,

Thanks for the "information/direction" on the ply. I actually picked up a ballast kit, wiring harness, and pushrods from a comany in the UK. Cost $114.00 for everything including shipping and took about 10 to 12 days.

Chipwillis,

Feel free to send the photos of your ply install, "a picture is worth a thousand words". My ply is already cut to shape, I just couldn't figure out exactally how to install it. It's like one of those Chinese puzzle things.

Jim

[davidjensen]

The Mibo website should have pictures of how the unit is installed.

[Wing-span]

Check this thread out:

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=611934#post6650299

The ballast for the Shadow is the same.

[mlee8249]

Walter,

My contacts tell me that there was one left in stock this morning, and it got sold today, but the only real way to find out is to hit Bob Breaux at SUSA.

Mike

[Jim Frahm]

Check this thread out:

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=611934#post6650299

The ballast for the Shadow is the same, I'm told.

True, the Shadow and X-Pro share the same ballast tube.

Jim

[Jim Frahm]

The Mibo website should have pictures of how the unit is installed.


David,

I found this photo on their web sight. My guess was right. :D

Jim

[h@bib]

hallo

whats the size of the ballast? (diameter/length, metric if possible... ;) )
how much of these fit into the tube of the shadow?

I wanna try a aluminium and a brass-version....... on a chain....

=> like this => ESPADA RLX (http://www.euromodell.de/grafik/rlx/rlx8.jpg)

smart and simple :) ;)

david

[Wing-span]

The ballast information you require is here, through this thread.

Each ballast slug is 16mm in diameter by 30mm in length.

Check this thread out:

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=611934#post6650299

The ballast for the Shadow is the same.

[may fly]

You fellows that are looking for a source of lead should try tackel shops or Walmart. They sell lead sinkers used for fishing a lot cheaper than shotgun shells. You can also buy big lead bars from plumbing supply stores.

[ToniGe23]

Hi Guys,

Visit this web site www.acemodel.co.uk they do a range of accessories for the Xpro and Shadow including ballest, harnesses and building tips :rolleyes:

I have also done a build thread on a top UK forum site on my Xpro, it may give you some tips. www.flyquiet.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=271.0


keep it up!

tony.

[Jim Frahm]

I can vouch for Tony's products. I ordered the ballast, harness, and pushrods. Everything is first class quality and shipping was quick.

Jim

[THE EYE]

hey where did you get the blue shadow v tail?????
Mb

[Chipwillis]

hey where did you get the blue shadow v tail?????
Mb
F3x.com
Tom Copp!

Great service.

[THE EYE]

Then possibly you should change the post to read F3X shadow?????
not mibo
the plane is cool and light
need to look at the new Zenith a nother killer plane Tom will be getting

[Chipwillis]

Then possibly you should change the post to read F3X shadow?????
not mibo
the plane is cool and light
need to look at the new Zenith a nother killer plane Tom will be getting
Yea, I thought Mibo was the maker, but learned it was Nan Models.

[Wing-span]

What is the latest on the Shadow? Still performing well?

[Chipwillis]

Weather here has been horrible. Havent been out in a few weeks. Looks like I will get her out tomorrow though!

Still need to finish my Xpro too.... Its 90% done.