Congrats on the maiden Nole. Mine's still at the same stage when I last posted. I'd sure like to see the video you said you'd post. I'd really like to see one fly.

Noel, Taildragger.
I found that the holes for the aileron horns were too far apart for the horns that i received with my kit. They were also positioned in such away as to cause the aileron pushrods not line up straight with the horns and servo arms. It will work but it don't look right. They would be at an angle not at 90 deg. to the servo arm. I will move mine. Hmm Perhaps a change in servos.

Larry

Originally Posted by Taildragger55

Congrats on the maiden Nole. Mine's still at the same stage when I last posted. I'd sure like to see the video you said you'd post. I'd really like to see one fly.

Thanks TD, I plan on going out to the field this week to fly the Raven, and my wife has accepted the camera duties. Stay tuned...

Originally Posted by Travler

Noel, Taildragger.
I found that the holes for the aileron horns were too far apart for the horns that i received with my kit. They were also positioned in such away as to cause the aileron pushrods not line up straight with the horns and servo arms. It will work but it don't look right. They would be at an angle not at 90 deg. to the servo arm. I will move mine. Hmm Perhaps a change in servos.

Larry

Hi Larry,

Since I only used 1 servo for my ailerons and dubro micro torque rods, I never used the horn mounts. Depending on how severe the angle is, if it's only slight, I dont think it would do any harm to simply adjust the z-bend slightly to match the angle you need for your servo arm. Let's see some pictures of your build!

Nole.

NOEL,
It was different servos. I used a pair of HK 900's because they fit the aileron servo mounts but wouldn't fit in the servo tray without sanding because they were too wide. I used the hitec 55's in the tray. This put the pushrods at an angle. It would have worked but I'm fussy. The instructions tell you to make a right and a left fuselage side but don't tell you that the sides are different. Yes I used the right side on the left and ended up with about 3/32 LEFT thrust. you would that after 30 years of this I could get it right. Fixed with motor mount.

Wing finished and covered, fuse done and 1/2 covered, tail feathers built and hinged.

Larry

Hey Guys,

It was a gorgeous late summer day today in Minneapolis! Although it was a little windy at times, I took the Raven out today and my wife agreed to film it. Please note- the video isn't as good as I would like it. My wife had a hard time keeping things steady and in the frame. I apologize for the poor quality, but I did my best to edit it down, and I was able to add a neat slo-mo flyby at about 1:10 through 1:20 The other unfortunate aspect of this was my less than stellar landing. Upon approach a healthy gust caught the left tip and I had to drop her in before I hit a tree right next to my "runway" (dead end farm field access street). I bent the landing gear a bit, but no other damage thankfully. It will be an easy fix. The prop or covering didn't even get scratched. Here's the youtube link:

Raven Flight 9 9 12 (2 min 44 sec)

FYI- for those gauging the speed and handling, keep in mind this entire flight was at about 1/4 throttle, and also note that I am a fledgling sport type flyer- I'm used to slow sailplanes and I'm still getting used to ailerons and the small size of this bird

Enjoy the rest of your week everyone-
Nole

Thanks for your build log and for adding the video.

My build is coming along but I have not had much time to work on it lately. I have completed the fuse, tail, and one wing. Not sure my battery tray / battery size is going to work out.

Did you add a tail skid or wheel or just leave the thin balsa there as it is in the plans?

looking good there nolebotic, looks like a really nice flyer, manouevrable but predictable and easy-going

Originally Posted by dthankins

Thanks for your build log and for adding the video.

My build is coming along but I have not had much time to work on it lately. I have completed the fuse, tail, and one wing. Not sure my battery tray / battery size is going to work out.

Did you add a tail skid or wheel or just leave the thin balsa there as it is in the plans?

I originally went with a tailskid made from a plastic tie-wrap piece CA'd to the bottom of the balsa sub fin. The completed model turned out a bit nose heavy due to my battery, not the design, so I added a simple tail wheel which adds a lot of ground control and a little tail weight to help her balance (it's the first model I've had with a tail wheel, and they are fun )

See Post #59 for detail pic of my tail skid.

Nole

Originally Posted by big bird

looking good there nolebotic, looks like a really nice flyer, manouevrable but predictable and easy-going

Thanks bb. It's a clean flyer- I like the big fin, it gives her a nice presence in the air. If the weather holds, I'll be taking her out this sunday for probably the last flight of the season

Nole

My first flights with the Raven were not enough to call it a maiden flight. Taxi tests and I must have hit a hole in the pavement as the right landing gear broke. I had some misgivings about using a balsa doubler (w4a) to support the wire.Should have used ply. I did the second time.
The next attempt was about once around the flight area and had to set it down cause I couldn't find the aileron rate switch and I was only 4 ft high when I finally flipped it. I set it up way little throw. I had to land in 4 inch grass and it bent both gear legs back evenly and broke the left side gear support out. Use Ply.

Originally Posted by Travler

My first flights with the Raven were not enough to call it a maiden flight. Taxi tests and I must have hit a hole in the pavement as the right landing gear broke. I had some misgivings about using a balsa doubler (w4a) to support the wire.Should have used ply. I did the second time.
The next attempt was about once around the flight area and had to set it down cause I couldn't find the aileron rate switch and I was only 4 ft high when I finally flipped it. I set it up way little throw. I had to land in 4 inch grass and it bent both gear legs back evenly and broke the left side gear support out. Use Ply.

I thought I might be the only one who had problems with the stock gear because of my mis-adventures with attempting to install retracts. I ended up going with the stock gear, and yes, it is a very weak mounting solution in the wing ribs. I have folded my gear twice now, and will be repairing next time with ply. Your Raven looks really nice in red though

Nole

I found a bigger place with no orange trees for the maiden this AM. This plane is faster than my only other low wing experience, a MM Switchback. The timer was set for 7 minutes and the charge showed 570 mh back in a 1300 3s pack, so should be good for 15 min.
Setup is Emax2822 from Heads up R/C $7.95, 3s 1300 lipo ,GWS hd 8-4 prop.
No trim on the plane yet. It might crash with my experience with Low wing planes.
Somebody asked about the tailskid protection. Here's how I do it. Small piece of 1/16 music wire with prongs bent into it epoxied to tailskid.
I put doublers on the cheek cowls using kit scraps and ply for the doublers on the W-4 ribs ribs that capture the landing gear. I put an access hatch in the top for battery, no need to take the wing off. the wing is bolted on like Noels. It is a sweet flying plane that moves right along. It needs open space with no trees and paved runway because of the landing gear design. I also changed the firewall because I don't like liteply firewalls and the holes didn't match my motor.