Had to show my new Majestic to somebody!

[Storhund]

Just finished building the Majestic from Laser Arts. Kit was great, wood quality was high, and instructions pretty good. I'm looking forward to launching this one!

Gary

[R. Carver]

Good looking plane, but next time how 'bout wearing a shirt? :p

[rrowley]

Very nice, Very nice. About how long did it take to build. I have been looking at these as my next kit.

Keep us posted on how it flies.

Rod

[Don Mackay]

I'm also looking for my next kit, looks like you did a nice job building it. Are the wing tips removable? We flew till dark last night in upstate NY, major temperature drop, had condensation dripping of the planes, so we were forced to wear our shirts.
Nice job
Don

[John McCloskey]

Gary,
That's a truly beautiful creation!!! Did you do the spar mod ? let us know how it flies . All the best, John
looking for the wife's second ship!

[Storhund]

Well she had her maiden voyage yesterday and passed with flying colors. It was a very windy day with poor lift and I only had a 50 foot (rubber) 2 meter high start but managed to get in a few good 5 minute flights. I think I need more nose weight based on a couple dive tests and I need to play around with the radio to see if I can mix in up elevator with the flaps (anyone know how to do this on a flash 5?). Overall I'm very pleased with the feel of the plane. She penetrated well into the wind, indicated lift well, turned easily and tightly when needed.

To answer the building questions:

Yes I did the mods suggested on the website (linked from Laser Art) with carbon strips on the spars of the inboard panel and kevlar & thick nylon (ran out of kevlar thread) the whole length of the spar. Note that this (the kevlar bit) was a tedious and time consuming task done while watching TV. Building time was around 50 hours. Wing tips are not removable, it's a two piece wing joined with a steel wing rod through the fuse. Whole thing fits in the back seat of my Mazda Millenia.

Still 90 degrees in Houston...ie. no shirt weather.

Gary

[Ollie]

Spoilers, not flaps.

See:
http://home.houston.rr.com/kovacs/hawks/

[Kestrel]

Use the dive test to get close to your c/g adjustment but be careful. I found (when close to nuetral) that if put into to steep of a dive and building to much speed that it wouldn't pull up by itself. Even after changing the balance. I think, perhaps it is some boom flex showing up. Shallow dives seem to indicate batter. Be careful when getting to light on the nose. It seemed to go from ok to pitch unstable real quick. Wouldn't pull out of the dive.

My procedure was to use the dive test with shallow dives to get close on the c/g. Then simpy fly it around and adjust to your preference. Fly into the wind and observe its ability to maintain pitch. Then make a long shallow turn downwind and let it build up some speed going with wind. If it would climb a little when speeding up I took out about 1/6th oz. and flew the same sequence again. I look for a balance that seems to yield the most consistant pitch going into, across and with the wind. Sorta simulating the different flying conditions. Right or wrong, that is how I did it and it yielded a model that was real nice to fly. If when flying along, it starts to go up, you might be in lift! It takes some time and fiddling with but was worth it.

My Majestic liked to fall off in a tight turn. It seemed ok if you flew the turn real fast. It has been suggested to add .15" washout at the outer TE of the center panel. I plan to try to do this with a heat gun. Could be tough though as it is a rather stiff wing.

Good luck with your Majestic. It is perhaps one of the better built up RES models avail. right now.

[bwaltz]

I personally saw Gary's Majestic fly this past weekend. One of the best flights I have seen. Thermaled all the way to almost out of site.

[markdrela]

Originally posted by Kestrel
My Majestic liked to fall off in a tight turn. It seemed ok if you flew the turn real fast. It has been suggested to add .15" washout at the outer TE of the center panel. I plan to try to do this with a heat gun. Could be tough though as it is a rather stiff wing.


Just to clarify... The washout must be added to the mid-panel, not the center (innermost) panel.

[Kestrel]

Thanks Mark. I did mean the center of each wing half. You just stated it more clearly. Duey