clausxpf,

Are you planning to use the exit guide vane?

Presently the EGV's are installed but I think as they are about 4~5" away from the impeller, I think they will just cause turbulence.

Once I get that far, I'll run a thrust test with and without the EGV's.

"...I've turned over the matter to PayPal..."

PayPal has issued a nice $ credit to my account. I would have preferred PayPal tackle NitroPlanes direct but I'll take whatever help on can get with this. Now that this issue has been resolved its time to get back to the A10.

Wing damage has been repaired and I was able to fish the aileron lead strings through the wing without damaging the covering. The aileron servos are mounted but I need to buy two 18" servo leads.

Wired the power system together except for the UBEC. I need the receiver installed so I know where to locate the UBEC.

I'll have the radio sometime next week and then I'll do a power/thrust test.

The apparent quality of this ARF is very high. I am amazed at construction and covering. The covering is perfectly applied iron-on, way better than I could ever do. The FG nacelle section is beautifully done. Even the instruction manual is very complete.

man you just cant get a break....come nitro where the love

I can't say enough good things about the Projet A10.

I do wonder, though, "what's a nice ARF like this doing in a place like NitroPlanes?"

I just had to put her together, just to see the finished product. That's a 12" scale on the floor.

got some pics and video from yesterdays A10 adventures lol!!!

Nicks ProJet A10.mp4 (5 min 41 sec)

Very nice.

But, if any model ever needed a pilot, this one does.

Good show....

have you found a good cockpit/pilot for this A10?. in Nick's case we could do a cockpit/pilot and remove some of the lead in the nose for cg

Originally Posted by jcdfrd

have you found a good cockpit/pilot for this A10?. in Nick's case we could do a cockpit/pilot and remove some of the lead in the nose for cg

I need to look at lowering the battery tray as well!

Haven't really looked around for a pilot yet.

I agree with lowering the battery tray.

I added 4.5 oz. of lead to the nose for ballast. AUW is now 84 oz for a wing load of 24 oz/sq.ft.. Mine will be bungeed...

Some minor progress on the A10. I was able to run a power test with and without the exit guide vanes.

Because of the installation, the EGV's are located about 4" downstream of the impeller face. I thought the location just might have a deleterious affect on the thrust.

Using a 4Sx4000, 25C GENS ACE pack and the EGV's in place, I measured the following, averaged for two runs:
67.8 amps, 991 watts, 50 oz. static

Removing the EGV's, same batteries
67.5 amps, 990 watts, 54 oz. static

Using my EXCEL spreadsheet to predict maximum velocity based on 54 oz. static, a frontal area of 120 sq.ich and a drag coefficient of 0.127, I calculate 67 mph. At 86 oz AUW, 184 watt/lb, thrust/weight of 0.63 - no where near vertical but should perform nicely.

Needless to say, I'll omit the EGV's.

Last Saturday I attempted to maiden the Projet A10. She just broke ground when the front end came off. The resulting cartwheel caused the battery to eject, punching a hole in the port wing. Other than that, the damage was minor.

Turns out the root cause of the breakaway front end was the total lack of any kind of glue in some of the tab/slot alignment points. Essentially, the front end was held together by two 1/4" balsa longerons, one 1/8" balsa spine and the iron-on covering.

I added two 1/8" x 3/8" spruce longerons, some 1/2" tri stock and CA'd the heretofore unglued tab/slot joints. I removed some of the covering and added a bit of FG cloth, followed by a bit of rattle can paint, to complete the repair. Total repair time - 2 hours

This morning I had ideal weather for the maiden; 62 degrees and no wind. Stretched the bungee 18 paces (about 16 lbs.or 2.8 x the AUW). Pushed the throttle to the half way point and hit the release. The A10 lifted off cleanly, trailing quite a bit of water from the very dewy grass.

The balance point was just about perfect. The published balance point, as well as that supplied by fellow Ezoner jcdfrd and my calculations were in good agreement. I added 2 clicks of "up" on the elevator. to get her level.

I had previously "aimed" the thrust line at the balance point and I could vary the throttle from one end to the other without any change in attitude. I was able to do this as I used the tail cones from the WM400's. Now that she has been flown, I will remove the electrical tape from the tail cones and glue them into position.

My A10 has neither flaps or rudders nor does it seem to need them. On low rates I thought my aileron and elevator throws were a bit much and made a note to reduce them. My first landing attempt appeared to be hot so I added power and went around. The second attempt resulted in a smooth landing, although she kicked up a lot of spray from the dew.

The second flight went equally well. I had reduced the throws a bit and this resulted in a less twitchy flight. My A10 has an AUW 0f 88 oz. and the actual wing area, ignoring the instruction manual value of 505 sq. inches, is about 450 sq.inch, measured. This results in a wing loading of 28.2 oz./sq.ft. but she flies as if she were lightly loaded.

The A10 has a wide speed envelop and seems equally stable anywhere between gliding and full throttle. No where near enough thrust for vertical flight but that's never been my style, anyway. The only negative of this morning was the loss of the canopy. Not sure why it came off but it fell into the trees that border the east side of the field.

All in all, the Projet A10 seems like a decent flier. After a rocky start with the damaged wing and zero help from Nitro Planes, she has turned out to be just fine. Before I fly her again I will fab a canopy, probably from pink foam as well as add some contrasting color to the wing bottom. Under certain lighting conditions it will be hard to tell which side is up.

excellent Larry! this a10 is a blast to fly, the flight envelope is crazy. we are finally figuring out her unique characteristics, finally today Nick and I got some really nice and slow landings. with full flaps deployed I had her landing at walking speed......just awesome and fun

Good for you, Larry! Hope you can wear her out.

Fuzz

Put two more flights on the A10. Both launches at half throttle, slick and clean. Still need to reduce aileron throws a bit.

I'm beginning to like this plane...

At the end you'll see how slow it flies.

A-10 Warthog by Projet (6 min 1 sec)