Will a 5 hump pack AA will fit in the nose of a Great Planes Spirit 100?

[Berkie]

Does anyone know if a 5 hump pack AA will fit in the nose of a Great Planes Spirit 100?
The pack is the IB PRBL 2000-5 at http://aircraft-world.com/shopexd.asp?id=5117

I don't have the fuz with me & want to order a flight pack

Thanks for any help

Kev

[Double Pappa]

It will fit in the fuze but I don't believe it will fit in the first compartment.

[Petem]

Berkie,
I have the ARF version of the Spirit 100 and the fuselage is super-slim at the nose. I used a standard 4-cell AA pack, replaced the steel shot in the kit with lead, and still had to file a bit of the servo tray away to let the pack slip in - just! No room for padding, and I don't think it's ever coming out of there without a fight.
On the plus side, the aircraft flies and thermals nicely and made an excellent introduction to full-house gliding and Tx programming for me - a bit on the heavy side, so needs a decent launch and doesn't mind a bit of breeze.
It's a keeper.
All the best with yours,
PeteM

[Berkie]

Thanks Pete

What is full-house gliding?

Kev

[Monster Mash]

Thanks Pete

What is full-house gliding?

Kev

Ailerons, Flaps, Rudder & Elevator as opposed to Rudder, Elevator & Spoiler only.

[Double Pappa]

I have the ARF version as well and have enjoyed it thus far. I did some work to get the decelage right but other than that it is a very fine kit and nice flying airplane.

PP

[regis]

But why? Why 5 cells anyway? :confused: Regis

[Hossfly72]

Speed, power, torque..... ARR ARR ARR ( as Tim Wilson would say)
Also, if there's a need for more weight up front, why not make it useful weight?

[Berkie]

Well I really only needed a 4 pack, but 3 of the sources I use none had stock. One had an 1100Mah pack, but why bother when it is half the capacity of a 2000Mah?

I really don't dig why they bother stocking 1100's. Perhaps that's the old stock they offer when they're out of 2000's

Kev

[Berkie]

Ailerons, Flaps, Rudder & Elevator as opposed to Rudder, Elevator & Spoiler only.


Aaaaah! Thanks Monster Mash. Learning, learning.

Now, what is decelage? Obviously not a low cut dress :rolleyes:

Kev

[Petem]

Berkie,
In this context decalage is the difference in rigging angle between wing and tailplane. When you have sorted your CG to suit your personal taste, the elevator will be a bit up/neutral/a bit down at your preferred 'cruise' setting. You can optimise the trim by jacking the wing up at front or back a little to return the elevator to neutral. As a side-note, the front wing bolts on my Spirit 100 ARF were a bit short and I replaced them with longer DuBro items, same thread (forget - was it 4-40?) but longer. The washers are also a PITA if left loose, so glued to wing or bolt as preferred.
My only other issue with the beast was that I broke off the neat little extension on the fuselage moulding that locates the leading edge of the tailplane - fixed by adding a 3mm nylon bolt at rear of fuselage into a blind nut in the tailplane.
Oh, there was one other minor issue - if you get brand new multi-focal glasses to help with your flying, watch out for barbed-wire fences on approach! :o
If you ignore this advice, the matching colours for the covering are listed in the instructions.
Cheers,
Pete

[Berkie]

Berkie,
In this context decalage is the difference in rigging angle between wing and tailplane. When you have sorted your CG to suit your personal taste, the elevator will be a bit up/neutral/a bit down at your preferred 'cruise' setting. You can optimise the trim by jacking the wing up at front or back a little to return the elevator to neutral. As a side-note, the front wing bolts on my Spirit 100 ARF were a bit short and I replaced them with longer DuBro items, same thread (forget - was it 4-40?) but longer. The washers are also a PITA if left loose, so glued to wing or bolt as preferred.
My only other issue with the beast was that I broke off the neat little extension on the fuselage moulding that locates the leading edge of the tailplane - fixed by adding a 3mm nylon bolt at rear of fuselage into a blind nut in the tailplane.
Oh, there was one other minor issue - if you get brand new multi-focal glasses to help with your flying, watch out for barbed-wire fences on approach! :o
If you ignore this advice, the matching colours for the covering are listed in the instructions.
Cheers,
Pete

Good on you Pete, thanks for that
Am looking fwd to the maiden. Sounds like they are a nice ship

Kev

[Petem]

Kev,
Forgot to mention - I set my Spirit up with the CG as per instructions and the rigging angles seem spot on. Have not needed to touch anything.
Also, you can adjust the decalage just as easily by shimming the tailplane.
One useful idea passed on by a friend was to mark the extension cable ends for the wings with coloured heatshrink so you can easily sort them when assembling. The four wing bolts are hard enough to align and engage without worrying about which cable is which. Also make sure no cables are trapped in the wing seat before you tighten the bolts.
If this is your first aileron/flap/elevator/rudder sailplane, get some help in programming the Tx to get best performance. I left the spoiler bays sealed - spoilers plus crow braking seemed like overkill. No regrets.
Of course, all this is bull if you have a different version of the Spirit! :)
Pete

[Berkie]

Thanks again Pete for those pointers.
I've printed it out to take to Rosebud where I fly/build at the weekends.

Am looking forward to doing the maiden at Gunamatta beach - off the sand dunes there. Only about 10 metres high, but good lift with a sou'wester.
Then if it's a sou'easter we head off to a spot at Flinders - off a cliff. Superb lift.

Cheers

Kev

[mred3]

Kev,
Forgot to mention - I set my Spirit up with the CG as per instructions and the rigging angles seem spot on. Have not needed to touch anything.
Also, you can adjust the decalage just as easily by shimming the tailplane.
One useful idea passed on by a friend was to mark the extension cable ends for the wings with coloured heatshrink so you can easily sort them when assembling. The four wing bolts are hard enough to align and engage without worrying about which cable is which. Also make sure no cables are trapped in the wing seat before you tighten the bolts.
If this is your first aileron/flap/elevator/rudder sailplane, get some help in programming the Tx to get best performance. I left the spoiler bays sealed - spoilers plus crow braking seemed like overkill. No regrets.
Of course, all this is bull if you have a different version of the Spirit! :)
Pete

I am planning to use my spoilers along with the crow. Now I know most people think that is overkill and most say it is not needed, but I think they are and at times much needed. If you are using flaps and crow for landing and you need to stretch your glide, you are stuck with a slower flying speed and will need to drop your nose to pick up speed again to normal flying speed without the flaps down. If you are to low when this happens, you are cooked. Nothing to do but hit the ground either where you are, or come down hard due to loss of flying speed when you bring the flaps up. With spoilers, you don't so much loose flying speed as you lose lift. You can bring it down on spoilers and if you need to stretch your glide, pull the spoilers down and start flying normal. After you get to the point of starting your actual landing you can start using the flaps and crow to slow the glider down and hit the landing spot, but without spoilers, you can get in trouble during landings.

Now I could be wrong and if I am, I am open to suggestions. I'm kind of new to glider flying and this is my first full house glider, so I could very well be all wet, but this is what I have come up with. If I am all wrong, them please let me know. I am building an ARF version of the Spirit 100 and putting a motor in it. I had to build a new fuse or cut the fiberglass one up big time. I have the fuse finished and am covering it now and getting ready to fly it soon, so this would be the time to tell me I'm still wet behind the ears.

Ed

[regis]

My experience with RES is that activation of spoilers dumps lift but doesn’t appreciably slow the plane down. Crow will only reduce lift more (which will increase the need for speed). FWIW Regis

[Petem]

Ed,
I agree with you re spoilers - it's nice to be able to regain full penetration instantly by closing them when falling short.
But you can set crow up the same way - I'm also on my first full-house sailplane, so we may get some better informed comment as well.
The trick to me - with either spoilers or flaps/crow - is to get the elevator compensation right.
Keep fiddling with the down (or up) brake to elevator mix until full crow (or spoiler) pitches the sailplane down nicely to the new, steeper approach path - but at the same speed as before.
Then, when you retract the flaps (or spoilers) the aircraft will just transition back to its clean configuration with same airspeed as before.
Having said all that - there are times when you can't have too much drag, and you will have a heap of fun sorting out the two controls and their performance with mixing - go for it!
Agree re the electric option - I bought my Spirit 100 ARF with the thought of electrifying it, but took one look at the size of that nose and decided to go glider - it's also a bit porky for my taste at around 2kg (glider).
Your option of building a separate fuselage for electric makes sense and you should be able to come out near the weight of the glass glider fuselage.
Cheers,
Pete

[Petem]

So I guess on the key question: 'Will a 5 cell hump pack fit ...'
the answer after some minor diversions is:
Probably not! :D
How's it going, Berkie? The weather is looking up - must take mine out for some thermal chasing again.
Cheers,
Pete

[Berkie]

No bloody good mate.
Not much time, but briefly, I wrote it off!
Wind was blowing my hat off, got distracted, lost sight of her. Cut throttle, pulled full up, but when found she was in a mess. Need a new fuz.

Do you know who supplies the Easy Flyer. Fuz only $39 & it might fit

Berkie

[Petem]

Bummer! Always sad to lose one so early in its life.
Don't know any sources for suitable fus, but it should not be too hard to knock up a wooden one if the flying surfaces are OK.
Condolences till she flies again,
Pete