I'm running 72 Mhz on the Eraser. I am using my 9303 transmitter with a dial-a-crash (adjustable frequency module) and the JR ScanSelect receiver. How are you routing the wiskers on the 2.4 since the Eraser has a removable nose cone?? What are your tip panel weights?

Skye: I'd love to know the tip and center panel weights if it's not too much trouble. I am curious as to what my panels are supposed to weigh.

Scotty

Here are the weights of each of the "big" pieces which I measured separately the other day. Sorry - I should have posted this earlier but didn't think about it:
center wing weight 690 g (642 g not incl. 2 wing joiners)
right wing weight 317 g (341 g incl. one joiner)
left wing weight 305 g (329 g incl. one joiner)
nosecone/fuse/V-tail weight 824 g
total weight 2,136 g
total weight 75.35 oz

Skye

Are the wing tip weights including the carbon joiner?

Scotty

Scotty,

The reason that I asked was for that reason. The nose cone is a real pain for the 2.4 whiskers. My RX does sit just forward of the ballast tube so it is close to the edge. I temporarily ran them out by grooving the fuse at the slip joint.

This winter, I am going to run small golden rod thru inside and up. Looking down the point of the nose, they will pertrude ar 10:30 and 2:30 positions to be 90degrees apart.

I will post pictures later this evening.

That 2.4 antenna routing sounds like a pain. I routed the 72 MHz antenna on the outside of the fuse. I drilled a small hole (a little bigger than the diameter of the antenna) on the seem line behind the leading edge and routed the wire though the hole and down the seem line. I just taped it in place.

You got me on routing the whiskers for 2.4. Sounds like you are on the right track, though. Are the holes in the fuse located just ahead of the wing? Can't wait to see the pics so I'll know exactly how you did it. I wonder how other people route the whiskers on their planes with a removable nose cone.

Here's some more pics of the wing tip repair and painting. I weighted the center section before and after painting and adding decals. I added 4 grams of paint and 6 grams for the decals, 10 grams total. I couldn't resist adding the custom decals. I always add some kind of googly eyes to all my planes.

Scotty

Originally Posted by wsmorton

That 2.4 antenna routing sounds like a pain. I routed the 72 MHz antenna on the outside of the fuse. I drilled a small hole (a little bigger than the diameter of the antenna) on the seem line behind the leading edge and routed the wire though the hole and down the seem line. I just taped it in place.

You got me on routing the whiskers for 2.4. Sounds like you are on the right track, though. Are the holes in the fuse located just ahead of the wing? Can't wait to see the pics so I'll know exactly how you did it. I wonder how other people route the whiskers on their planes with a removable nose cone.
...
Scotty

Scotty - I posted this in another thread, but It's applicable here since I show a picture of my Airtronics 2.4GHz Rx Ant layout in my Eraser. Check out here:

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...2#post13968632

I say the wing is mostly glass with a carbon spar. In hindsight, I can't say that for sure. All I know is that the best thing to do with any radio installation is to test it in as many orientations as possible in low power mode with the plane held in a non-RF reflective surrounding. I personally use the branches of a small tree in my front yard to hold the plane and then walk way down the side walk to get far enough away. The neighbors probably think I'm strange, but that might be a benefit.
Skye

Have you had any blank outs with the antennas buried in the nose like that?

How much flap travel are you getting? I am able to get a solid 70 degrees. I figure that should be enough to slow her down.

I am almost done with all the painting and sanding. I'll post the final weights of everything when I'm done.

Scotty

Been flying that setup for 5 months with zero failsafe activations (lockouts).

As far as flap travel I only get 80 degrees but as you say, that's more than enough.

70 degrees is about all I ever got out of it.
It is enough as the flaps have a large area.

BTW, the original V-tail got broken in a hanger accident. I had an Eraser X-tail rudder I was going to graft onto the fuse. Most of the wing damage happened in Denver at F3J team selections a few years back and I am responsible for most of it. Ask me at the SWC and I'll tell you a funny story about that patch near at the leading edge...

Hi!

I'll be helping with scoring at the SWC, so you may see me running back and forth with score cards. That will be me. Also, keep an eye out for the Eraser with google eyes on the bottom of the wing.

I got to test fly the Eraser today!!! I brought the scale to the field and checked the weight. I got 75.5 ounces AUW! Not too bad considering the extensive repairs done on the wing. I still have to finish the nose skeg and will re-weight it. The CG is sitting at about 110 to 112 mm from the leading edge. I don't have a CG machine so I made marks on some tape on the bottom of the wing and then used my fingers to hold up and balance the plane. I left the base of the skeg on the plane for extra landing protection. The field here is mostly dirt with some rocks thrown in.

Flying: The hand toss looked perfect with just a click or two of down trim and a click or two or rudder trim. Since I am inexperienced with testing out new planes, I had two fellow flying buddies (who were way more experienced) launch and trim the plane. Needless to say, I was nervous. We played with the aileron to rudder mix and the elev to flap mix. Yup, 70 degrees of flap really slows her down. :>) Can't wait to finish the skeg and get in some landing practice. One of the flights was over 30 minutes. My flying buddy was having a great time! Wish I had a "How High" in the plane. Finally got to fly the plane after some more radio adjustments and it flies great! I am still getting use to it, but the thermal turns are almost effortless. I still need to do a dive test and I'll fine tune the CG from there, but I'll wait till I get the skeg made and the servo covers installed. Had a close call already.... the line broke on the winch just after launch at about 20 feet up. My flying buddy was able to recover and land safely. Boy, was I sweating.

Scotty

Just an FYI.

Of the 75.5 ounces of AUW, 29.5 ounces was the fuse and 46 ounces was the wing.

I am still working on the nose skeg and should have it ready for flying on Sat. I'll post pics of the skeg building soon.

Scotty

OK. The skeg is done! Here's the pics of the build process. The finished skeg and tape weighed in at 0.8 ounces. To compensate, I removed 0.7 ounces of lead from the nose. That should be close enough to keep the CG about where it is or with only a click or two of trim. Many thanks to the guys in the CASL club and on RC Groups who helped with the ideas on how to build the skeg. And many thanks goes out to Phil, who supplied the G10!


Scotty

Originally Posted by wsmorton

OK. The skeg is done! Here's the pics of the build process. The finished skeg and tape weighed in at 0.8 ounces. To compensate, I removed 0.7 ounces of lead from the nose. That should be close enough to keep the CG about where it is or with only a click or two of trim. Many thanks to the guys in the CASL club and on RC Groups who helped with the ideas on how to build the skeg. And many thanks goes out to Phil, who supplied the G10!

Scotty

Wow, that looks as dangerous as mine

A dap of silcone caulking will hold the skeg without the ugly tape
and it will never come loose.

Great job.

Phil

I got to try it today and all I can say is Eeerrrrkkkkkk! As soon as the skeg makes contact, that's where she stays. The ground wasn't too hard so the skeg got to dig in to the ground each time. It worked so good, now I have friends asking to rebuild their skeg. :>)

I still need to adjust the throws on the elevator and ailerons. The plane is a bit too sensitive. I will also add a 1/4 oz to the nose to move the CG just a bit forward.

Scotty

A few more pics. The skeg looks great! I might repaint the top of the wing a different color, maybe yellow. I got the plane specked out yesterday and it was a little hard to see the red on the top of the wing. The Onyx has a yellow top and is easier for me to see at distance. I may compromise and paint a large yellow stripe on one side of the wing (top only). At least the red paint has shown me some of the areas that could use a bit more "Icing" here and there, not many, but just a few.

Scotty