Originally Posted by av8ersteve

Can I swap the brown and orange wire in the plug or is a reverser necessary? If so, what do you guys use?

Swapping the brown/orange wires will not work. I believe you have to pull servo apart and swap two wires on motor. I think you have to swap two other wires as well but I've never done it. There are a few how to vids for reversing the direction of a servo. These work well. http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...dProduct=17033

If you have enough channels, program a taileron mix (Elevon or delta) so that the stabs work both as elevators and ailerons. They give the airplane a huge boost in performance and redundance security. Plus it's how the real one works. No servo reversers needed then. Just need to unscrew the fans and replace the Y wire by 2 new wires for each stab.

Originally Posted by acesimmer

I used Hitec HS81MG on the SU35 elevators and they work like a champ with minimum fitting issues. You will need a single reverser for one side.

And AV8r;
The 81s are a good servo also especially since they are lighter and less expensive. The 82s are better with the top bearing (81s bushing) and are more readily available.
The 81/2 just takes more shoe horning because they are slightly longer than the 85s. The 85 are also a more precise servos... not just my observations but several reviews explain this. I usually use the 5085MG because digitals are even more precise and they can be programmed to reverse if needed.

Still as SU mentioned just put one stab on another channel and set them on your DX18 with 4 mixes. Per Andy if you use the delta/elevon mix it changes the flap controls if you choose to use them also; I'm thankful that the DX18 comes with enough mixes for both the TV and the Tailerons. The TX/RX solution is probably the best as it adds no weight and can't have a reversal failure unless you use a programmable external mixer like an SM2.

Like SU, I never found the taileron to be twitchy and the rates can be easily adjusted though I do allow for more roll on the tailerons than I do the ailerons.

Do a search in RCG for servo reversing. If you're not good at soldering don't bother. Both the pot and motor wires have to be swapped.

Well that was all an interesting post-flight-mortem.....

1) CofG was 140mm. A bit nose heavy!!
I had to move the battery to the very rear of the tray to get 160mm with gear down, and 155mm with gear up. So that seems the best place for it, for now.
But that meant the BECs had to be moved right to the front of the battery tray instead, and some rewiring for them.

2) The TV nozzles were tilted DOWN a bit. I had aligned the 'thin bar/lines' they have at the top and sides to the socket 'lip'. But this time when I checked I used the 'front rim' of the foam nozzle, all the way around, and its gap to the fuselage form of the exhaust, and by checking that method it showed it was clearly amiss. So I aligned them that way - which seems the best way to get a truly accurate nozzle alignment.

3) The elevator up trim was still approx 8mm (front elevator to fuselage tip).
But I guess fighting downwards tilted TV nozzles AND 140mm CofG needed that! LOL

4) It turns out that I had actually programmed a "take-off" mode on my second flight mode switch, that tilts elevator upwards by a few mm and the TV's the same angle upwards. I guess I did it that same day as posting about that (while the Su was still being repaired), but I didn't update my flight prep sheet and totally forgot about it.
"Tuning in" that take-off mode setting will be the scarey part!! Start small and build up! Or..... back-flip right from take-off! hehe

....
Hopefully the weather is better than predicted tomorrow morning! It is already windy even now at 1am.....

<

Hey, you know what this means right? ()*exp(10^99)

Hot diggity! Bought time you get her up in the air.

Looks like Christmas

Hahahaha yesss! ^^

Too windy this morning....
I weighed it - 3450g all ready to fly.
I probably have not weighed it since changing to the HETs, so they would have been 150g or more weight increase over the L2855's (with the ESC's changed to 90A from 60A ones), plus then the repair/strengthening plywood plate totals. So I think mine used to be 3200g area originally (I have never used the stock fan/motors). Plus I use 5800mAH batteries.

My Me-262 weighs almost exactly the same and it flies just about dead right now. But it is a very different airframe (much more like a P-51 than a modern jet).
I would say the Su take-off and landing process was ideal, but then that was even with its "Mad setup" of nose heavy and TV's downwards! So they must make those two processes (all processes!) at least some amount abnormal and it will be interesting to see what the more "Properly setup" Su will do then.
I guess the higher nose/AoA meant it MUST have that stance when on its wheels and thus it still took off 'properly', plus my own real-time elevator control just made it fly away fine - albeit under higher drag duress overall.
And then by the time it is trimmed to fly level, and again doing all the real-time things needed to make it do as you want, meant the landing process was also fine.

You can make almost anything fly - I have flown all manners of "badly out of whack" planes over time..... it is just a matter of what performance it will have, but in straight-forward paths (like level flight, take-off, landing) the control you input to form the path required is easily enough to make that goal unfold.
eg Landing.... nose heavy, tail heavy, correct CofG, it doesn't matter as far as you can still make it approach at AoA "X", and decent rate "Y", in all cases - just the speed it does that at (and the throttle required) will alter a bit.

I don't know how I aligned the TV's originally - it should have been that same "use their dash mark on the TV" way - but I don't recall having almost any trim needed, and it didn't drag the tail through turns notably like this time. So I am fairly sure it was nothing like it was this time (TV's down) and it certainly wasn't nose heavy then either. So maybe the TV down factor is not a huge input (it would have been about 2 or 3 degrees at least) and the majority came from nose heaviness.

Anyone know where I can get replacement fans ?
I'm so tired of searching.

BH outofstock
And I can't find the rotor by itself anywhere......

How bout any generic that will fit ?

Thanks !

HobbyKing has the Freewing fans....
About $5 each.

Originally Posted by mikecopey

Anyone know where I can get replacement fans ?
I'm so tired of searching.

BH outofstock
And I can't find the rotor by itself anywhere......

How bout any generic that will fit ?

Thanks !

Originally Posted by PeterVRC

HobbyKing has the Freewing fans....
About $5 each.

I was hoping to fly in a week or so......looking for USA dealer.....

Just the fan rotor......

If you cant find any blades, i could sell you some spares i have. I switched to a new ducted fan so i probably wont use the Freewing again. you would need to pay me what BH sells them for and shipping from Cal and paypal fees but if you have no other way, I would be willing. PM if you need. the other bad thing is I am in California.

Originally Posted by Maxthrottle

And AV8r;
Still as SU mentioned just put one stab on another channel and set them on your DX18 with 4 mixes. Per Andy if you use the delta/elevon mix it changes the flap controls if you choose to use them also; I'm thankful that the DX18 comes with enough mixes for both the TV and the Tailerons. The TX/RX solution is probably the best as it adds no weight and can't have a reversal failure unless you use a programmable external mixer like an SM2.

UPS store lost my DX18. There, I said it. I have been in disarray every since the 9th of this month. I had a small issue with the radio, and HH told me to send it to them and they would fix it asap and get it back to me. UPS store packed it for me so I never seen how it was actually sent, I just trusted them, (never trust ANYONE with your goods, I learned my lesson). HH received a gun stock instead of my DX18. UPS has found a package they say should be mine, and it was delivered to HH today. I will find out tomorrow if it's my radio. Talk about not sleeping tonight. It's been a LONG couple of weeks for me.

Originally Posted by av8ersteve

UPS store lost my DX18. ....... . I will find out tomorrow if it's my radio. Talk about not sleeping tonight. It's been a LONG couple of weeks for me.

Ouch. Now that sucks. If you have the UPS numbers they may have to foot the bill to replace if they lost it. Despite the delay you'll hopefully win either way.
Why did you send it back in? Screen glitch or something else. I've held off getting one hoping it would give them time to get the kinks out. I'd hate to have to send it in at all.