I don't think anyone here is trying to say the Maxa is not a good plane. My brief experience with the plane is quite the opposite. I thought it flew great. I think the only thing people are questioning here is the claimed 43' per minute sink rate. That would imply that from a normal winch launch you could easily get a 15 minute flight in dead air. That is a claim that I question. I'm sure it has a great sink rate, but maybe not that great. Ultimately, success in competition will validate the design, and success will enhance its popularity.

George

Maxa is a nice plane for sure. I closely watched it last year... And it can achive that long flight if the conditions is right. Almost any new plane can...
But 30+ seconds on the line? Is it circle towing?

Originally Posted by jojoen

But 30+ seconds on the line? Is it circle towing?

Slow wheels.
The first launch MAXA 3.5 in December last year

maxa3-histart.avi (0 min 21 sec)

Maxa of 4 meters, a week ago...

MAXA4 Launch (2 min 20 sec)

Originally Posted by FAV

Slow wheels.
The first launch MAXA 3.5 in December last yearhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VM-XY...layer_embedded

Maxa of 4 meters, a week ago...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eQbW...layer_embedded

Not that slow... See you in North Cyprus

I want to see circle towing in an F3J contest ... Would be good for the industry.

Back to Maxa: I would not worry to much about the claimed dead air sink rate, there is no reference dead air and it was a single measurement and not an ensemble average.
Reto

Originally Posted by RetoF3X

I want to see circle towing in an F3J contest ... Would be good for the industry.

Back to Maxa: I would not worry to much about the claimed dead air sink rate, there is no reference dead air and it was a single measurement and not an ensemble average.
Reto

It is done. I think it was Giovanni Gallizia that launched some seconds after the others in rd4 of the finals of European championship last year. He did one large circle in fairly calm conditions with his 4m Explorer. He got fairly good alittude but did not win the round as half of the pilots flew full time and he did not (7:50).

I agree. There is no reference. But this log anyhow is fishy or atleast strange with so much time on the launch. I would guess it is something wrong with the timeline. And the line is not consistant either so either some air or the model is flying too high nose. Attached you see some logs I did the other day. On a few you can see I flew with high nose as the altitude changes a lot (line is not consistent). I changed the settings (camber and CG) every 2nd flight and in the last ones I nailed it or atleast I was happy. Typically it is better air in a valley at altitude and then gets worse when you come further down. It was almost dead calm but with differences (most would call it dead calm). The big numbers is CG and camber. This model and CG likes very little camber in the conditions THAT DAY... Launches were made on F3B winch with 120-130m to the turnaround.

Good information, but not a Maxa :-(

Does anyone have a starting point for setup. I got the templates for launch, cruise, thermal, reflex. I need a starting point for aileron travel, elevator travel, rudder travel, aileron flap coupling, aileron rudder, and landing elevator comp.

Thx in advance
Matt

Originally Posted by FAV

Slow wheels.
The first launch MAXA 3.5 in December last yearhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VM-XY...layer_embedded

Maxa of 4 meters, a week ago...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eQbW...layer_embedded

Winch Line Cam....LOL.

My new Maxa is in the mail! Sweet!

I was able to test Gary's over the weekend..... Wow! This model really circles effortlessly. Can't wait to get it set up the way I like and become one with my new Maxa! :-)

I lost my first Maxa due to a component in the TX breaking. Went straight out and bought another. In its 4 metre form as an electric its a very sweet handling plane. I feel comfortable rolling it etc coming down from thermals. Second one the wing was 100g heavier than the first one. As an electric with the elevator servo in the fin I don't even have to worry about the elevator bell crank flopping round when assembling at the field.

Originally Posted by Joe W

One comment about the airfoil design for the Maxa. The Maxa is using airfoils that have a bit higher max lift than the Supra airfoils, and also are intended to be more optimized for handling characteristics than for absolute performance. I'd far rather give up a small amount of theoretical performance to buy achievable performance by a pilot that is focusing on the air rather than having to focus on flying the plane "just right".

I never understood this comment. What part of the handling experience is driven by airfoil design? Certainly the Maxa handles great as far as I'm concerned just don't understand how the airfoil design contributes.

Originally Posted by davidleitch

I never understood this comment. What part of the handling experience is driven by airfoil design? Certainly the Maxa handles great as far as I'm concerned just don't understand how the airfoil design contributes.

Some airfoils need to be flown within a narrow range of AOA's ("peaky" L/D curve). Others don't give up much if you deviate from max L/D AOA (flatter curve, but a little below the max L/D you can get with the more critical airfoil). In short, the "better handling" airfoil will yield overall better performance when "maneuvering" through a broader range of AOA's. Straight and level, the more critical airfoil will do better with a good pilot. In circling and maneuvering flight, the less critical airfoil will likely be better, especially when flown by a ham fist like me. In the end, it's more important how and where you fly (i.e. it's still the pilot who wins)

Well my ham fist freakin loves flying this model. It's so easy to fly. Performance is top notch in my book.

Oh Matt! I am going to the TPG comp this Sunday and if you like we could compair setups there. Hope to see you then.

K