I managed to get out this morning with my Cessna for the first time in 3 weeks. The first pack of the morning was my ACES 2200 3 cell pack. I think the battery is heavier than the stock pack, because it seemed like it was tail heavy the whole time I was flying. I shot a couple of ugly landings, and managed to run off the runway and hit a gopher mound This didn't damage the plane, but it sprayed the entire thing with dirt. After checking her out, I took her up a few more times until the battery finally ran out. Most of the landings were bouncy messy affairs. I am going to re-balance the plane with the ACES battery and see if that makes a difference.

On the other hand, my second battery was the stock battery that came with the plane. First thing I noticed is that I had to dial alot of the elevator trim out of the plane after take off. Landings were much better, as I could stall it at a much lower angle of attack. I greased a few landing, and flew until the batteries were down below 3.5vs. I really like the long slow approaches I can do with the flaps down.

She can Roll! I wanted to thank everyone for their help. I sorted out last week the whole not willing to roll thing.... I adopted everyone's recommendations and especially jasturkey who said to just start from scratch (which is basically what I did):

- I made sure there is no sub-trim in the TX (There was! opps. Why? I have no idea...)
- Removed all Trim and re-centred all controls mechanically.
- Moved the clevises to the furthest spot on the Servos (no surprises there).
- Made sure no mixes are programmed.
- Moved the clevises on the ailerons to the second hole. I wanted to use the first hole but it was hitting the wing. Figures you will need to increase the horns' holes size.
- I increased the throws to 125%
- I changed the ESC. I know, not the first thing that comes to mind when sorting out inability to roll, so this one is probably psychological. However, I swear the motor runs faster and better. Maybe it is because the throttle range was never set on previous ESC when I changed the stock TX to the DX7s.
- And probably a few more things which I don't already remember...

She flies so much better now: Inverted, nice big loops, and finally rolls (and here is the video from last week where I tested the new settings out)....
It was a "cold" FL day at 50F and the wind was at 14mph. The intention was to practice rolls and loops. Half way through, my son (with otherwise only SIM time) took over the sticks for the very first time making the plane do "crazy tricks" (as he put it) and having me recover (which was quite fun actually). The video was taken from the custom mount on the rear wheel wire (which still seems to vibrate quite a bit so I may try and lift it little more towards the fuse to see if that helps).

Cessna 182 (NitroPlanes SkyTrainer) fun @ Ives Estates Park in Miami (11 min 57 sec)

I wonder how or parts situation will be effected by Nitroplanes' latest dropping of the FMS line?

Most other hobby shops that carry FMS can step-up the parts supply, but minor things like the Airfield "G-KEMY" decal set will eventually sell-out and vanish. I like the subtle Airfield decor versus the "busy" FMS decals.

Also, it seems Banana Hobby has picked-up FMS planes. This, to me, is bad news. BH has a horrific CS rep.

I guess I'd better order an Airfield ST 182 kit soon, just to have whatever parts I might need.

Mac

EDIT:
I took a peek at Banana Hobby and answered that question already.

Here it is, guys:

It is confirmed or is it a rumor? Did NP themselves said so?

C. Alan - sounds like you had some good flights. I can't imagine that any 2200 mah would cause too much of a problem since I an using 3300's which should be a lot heavier than yours. Maybe you can just put a piece of foam in the battery compartment ot make sure your 2200 stays put and adjust tthe battery position so plane is balanced.

Arnav - grats on getting your plane sorted out. Looks like she rolls pretty well now judging from your video. Nice that your son is getting some stick time. How old is he?

I hope Nitoplanes doesn't drop the FMS line - I probably won't deal with BH. I have had good luck with Nitroplanes so far, though I only buy kits from them.

Winds over 20 mph here today, so no flying for me.

Wolfe

He is 7..... I can't wait until we can both have planes in the air at the same time...

Probably won't take him long - especially if he is on a sim. I started teaching 2 six year old's and an 8 year old (grand kids) last summer. They learn really fast it seems.

Wolfe

Let us know how they are doing on the SkyTrainer (if you are still planning on letting them fly it)....

I will let them fly it - that's really why I got it. They all seem to be pretty busy with school and baseball right now, so not sure when they will get back to flying with me, Weather hasn't been very good lately either. I will be sure to post on here when they do get a chance.

Wolfe

Originally Posted by arnav

It is confirmed or is it a rumor? Did NP themselves said so?

Confirmed by NP

Originally Posted by arnav

It is confirmed or is it a rumor? Did NP themselves said so?

There's a statement from NP in this thread:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1581919

But the general consensus seems to be that while NP is going to keep selling planes under the "Airfield" banner, the planes themselves could be from various manufacturers.

Wolfewinde: not dealing with BH might be a good move. This is not a good report:
http://www.la.bbb.org/business-revie...e-CA-100075745

I will be flying tomorrow!!! charging the cameras, and the batteries now!

Originally Posted by stoopidmonkey

I will be flying tomorrow!!! charging the cameras, and the batteries now!

Good luck, Stoop!

Just got my red 182, $118 shipped to Denver. Weird thing is, they included a nice 2012 catalog...featuring all FMS planes. Seems like the split was not anticipated while NP was putting its marketing together for this year...

Interesting that the three newest FMS planes are missing from that NP collection.