Tom,
with the stab on in the neutral position I drew a reference line on the brass rod to see its relative position up and down on the fuselage. After taking the stab I pushed down on the rod to check the amount of resistance pat the neureal position. Anything below the neutral position of the brass rod is stiffer than just "springy".

Stefano

Finished the build. With CG at 113 and 1450 LIFE pack it needs 3.1oz of nose weight. All up weight for this C68 model is 71.3oz.
Stefano

So far I'm liking the plane at 113mm CG. Flies level inverted with just a bit of down pressure on the stick and signals air well.

Tom

About time Stefano
I look forward to seeing her in the air when I get back in town.
Cheers,
T

Originally Posted by stefanoc2

Finished the build. With CG at 113 and 1450 LIFE pack it needs 3.1oz of nose weight. All up weight for this C68 model is 71.3oz.
Stefano

Flew the Perfection some today. The launch set up is not dialed in yet. With the tow hook as far back as it will go and 12mm of flaps is still not rotating hard out of my hand. I will start working on the elevator setting but if that does not work I may have to modify the tow hook plate.
The feel of this model in the air is completely different from my Perfect. At 71.5oz it moves around faster than the 78.5oz Perfect and that really surprised me.
The circling is also different may be due to the larger tail volume and much larger rudder. I will need to really work on the Thermal Mode settings i.e. aileron differential and aileron to rudder mix (probably a lot less to none and let my thumb do the work).
Overall I am pleased and I am looking forward to getting to know the Perfection more.
Stefano

Finished up my SL. CG at 112. Weight is 1720. Still playing with launch settings, but so far, happy with the plane.

Originally Posted by stefanoc2

The circling is also different may be due to the larger tail volume and much larger rudder. I will need to really work on the Thermal Mode settings i.e. aileron differential and aileron to rudder mix (probably a lot less to none and let my thumb do the work). Stefano

When flying slowly in light lift the Perfection likes rudder and benefits tremendously if you can fly it in conjuction with the rudder stick to keep the fuse level rather than tail down. Coupled rudder and differential settings aren't the answer I'm afraid.

Originally Posted by stefanoc2

Flew the Perfection some today. The launch set up is not dialed in yet. With the tow hook as far back as it will go and 12mm of flaps is still not rotating hard out of my hand. I will start working on the elevator setting but if that does not work I may have to modify the tow hook plate.
The feel of this model in the air is completely different from my Perfect. At 71.5oz it moves around faster than the 78.5oz Perfect and that really surprised me.
The circling is also different may be due to the larger tail volume and much larger rudder. I will need to really work on the Thermal Mode settings i.e. aileron differential and aileron to rudder mix (probably a lot less to none and let my thumb do the work).
Overall I am pleased and I am looking forward to getting to know the Perfection more.
Stefano

The Perfection benefits tremendously from manual rudder inputs when flying slowly in light lift. Aileron differential and coupled rudder settings won't help. You need manual rudder inputs to prevent that tail slide.

As for launch I'm surprised...I use 10mm camber, about 0.5mm-1mm down elevator and the hook is nearly all the way back and it launches extremely well. But I need to check how far back my hook is from the nose because here we are assuming the hook slots are in identical positions with each model.

If someone was to ask me what the benefits of a Pike Perfection are I would say an awesome L/D and launch performance so something must be up with your launch set up?

Launch setup here is now ~11mm camber, a couple clicks of down trim and hook as far back as it will go (115mm from LE). Rotates and pulls nicely.

Tom

Originally Posted by Neil Jones

When flying slowly in light lift the Perfection likes rudder and benefits tremendously if you can fly it in conjuction with the rudder stick to keep the fuse level rather than tail down. Coupled rudder and differential settings aren't the answer I'm afraid.

That is where I was going with that comment Neil .. "let my thumb do the work". Using my left stick (Mode 2 here) to get the rudder working for me in the turns.
Samba intentionally placed a dab of epoxy to stop the backward travel of the tow hook plate. It allows the plate to slide back until the nut in the front is just about to come off the plate. The slot on the bottom of the fuselage is another 5 mm longer.
I think my launch issues are due to too much down elevator. On the Perfect I run 1.5 mm of down on launch and with the Perfection sounds like I need a lot less.
Toe hook placement should be OK because it is just about identical to what Tom reported. That is CG at 113 and back of tow hook at 115 from LE.
As soon as I have another day to get out and work on it I am sure it will all be great. I did notice and comment to my friends that this model seems to carry its energy through the zoom better that the Perfect ... may be the stiffer wing?
Stefano

Originally Posted by stefanoc2

Samba intentionally placed a dab of epoxy to stop the backward travel of the tow hook plate. It allows the plate to slide back until the nut in the front is just about to come off the plate. The slot on the bottom of the fuselage is another 5 mm longer.

On the Perfect I run 1.5 mm of down on launch and with the Perfection sounds like I need a lot less.

On both my C68s, the tow hook slot runs out at 115mm, and the securing nut is about 1/3 off the plate. To help keep the plate positioned flat in the fuse, I added a SS 4mm button head screw and washer just in front of the hook, at the aft end of the plate slot. The tow hook plate traps the nut, just as with the primary screw. Ideally, Samba should relocate the whole assembly about 5mm further aft than it is...can't imagine why anyone would run the hook at the forward-most position as it's located now.

And yes, over 1mm of down in launch mode sounds way too much.

Tom

That is exactly what I have Tom. The nut is 1/3 off the front of the plate. I am going to follow your lead and add a second bolt and nut .

Stefano

just received my perfection from soaringusa ...i asked them to build it for me as this was a big splurge and i didnt want to screw it up - shockingly nice plane, build and especially customer service, from them and from Ed who did the build great guy and much appreciate his taking the time to ask questions as he progressed through the build and also taking the time to offer suggestions!

One ? Is the main difference between the sl and the c68 the wing? ie if I was to order a c68 wing with ballast option would that work?

I would check with Samba or your countries distributor.

Certainly my SL tail parts are a bit lighter than the normal ones

Has anybody else run into this issue?
The elevator pin has come loose from the elevator. It happened in flight and I was lucky to get the plane down safely. When I put the pin back in the hole there is a lot of play as if the hole had been hollowed out.
It does not look like the pin was roughed up before gluing (may be).
May be the elevator fluttered on launch but I do not think so because the connection had no play in it before this. I need a solution that I can have confidence in.

Stefano