Dan ,

I use these on my fast scratch-builds . I get them from my LHS , but I've heard nothing but good things about Heads Up RC - fast delivery , good customer service , etc. They're in Florida .


http://www.headsuprc.com/servlet/the...-fdsh-Z/Detail

I managed to finish up early today, so I grabbed up SUE TOO and headed for the Field of Glory. Once there I put her on a pedestal and took a few glamour shots. See below.

I managed to have a dozen flights or so. Only two ended in hard landings. By the end of the day I was doing

level flight
fly bys
left hand circuits
right hand circuits
figure 8's

and *drum roll please*

several loops ON PURPOSE !!!

I also managed a mid-air collision !

There is a 14,400 V powerline that goes across the field from corner to corner. I managed to fly over it or under it ... except the last time. I was doing a figure 8 and so I was flying parallel to the wire. I thought i was well beyond it, but apparently not. I hit the wire with a glancing blow, and the wire apparently went up into the angle between the fuselage and the wing. That meant that the rapidly spinning prop met up with a 0.32" aluminum cable. I heard the sound as the prop screwed itself off. Then I saw parts falling off the plane. But the plane was still under control, so I declared an emergency, hit the button I have designated as THROTTLE KILL, and brought the plane into a half-decent landing !!

So, what did I learn today?

1) Don't run into high tension lines
2) I learned that the battery position does affect the behavior of the plane.
a) Too high and it tends to yaw when aileron is input.
b) Too low and it tends to dutch roll when the rudder is used.
c) In the middle is just right.
3) My builds of the SUE with a large dihedral don't like to be overpowered. Keep the throttle low.
4) Blending rudder into aileron function makes for much nicer turns. I'm doing it by hand now, but I plan to do mixes when I get the ep9x firmware.
5) Putting the battery on the opposite side from the other electronics does seem to help trim the craft better.
6) Take extra props and prop nuts to the flying field.

You know what is AMAZING I have now flown SUE TOO for TWO DAYS and she's not all bent up, and she can fly again !!!

And it's FUN.

Ad Astra

AWESOME ! AWESOME ! AWESOME !
And my very favorite part of your report ..... " And it's FUN " !
I'm so glad you are going out flying now and ENJOYING it ! Even doing loops now - COOL !
So next time out are you gonna try a roll ? Your SUE should do a nice open roll if you have max deflection ( 45* ) on your rudder , and with the addition of ailerons it should do a tighter roll . You'll get a faster roll if you go WITH motor torque , and speed helps also . But I always recommend trying a first roll high up - altitude is your FRIEND !
AWESOME ! AWESOME ! AWESOME !

Al

Originally Posted by balsa or carbon

There are a number of multirotors available that would work for that . The least expensive ones are the most difficult to fly because they need the most pilot input . The more expensive ones are easier to fly . Besides the stabilization , auto leveling , heading and altitude hold , you can get a system that brings the copter back to you ( by pulling the right stick back towards you ) no matter which direction the " front " of it is pointing . Also , if signal is lost it hovers in place until signal is regained , and if it doesn't get the signal back within a minute , it flies itself back to the spot it took off from and lands itself . But those are many thousands of dollars .

Actually, I think adding ArduPilot to an already-flying plane only costs around $200, and it has most all of the features you mention! In fact, right now for $179 you get:
-3-axis gyro, magnetometer, accelerometer
-GPS
-barometric pressure sensor
-simple interface headers
-many supported add-ons like telemetry, FPV support, etc.

The ArduPilot software allows you to switch between several interesting modes such as:
-Go to GPS waypoint
-Loiter (circle about a GPS point)
-RTL (return to Launch point)
-Stabilize
-Manual control


Unfortunately I have no experience with flying a real RC plane or ArduPilot, but I should have both arriving some time next week

datura

Forgot the link: http://diydrones.com/profiles/blogs/...mega-home-page

I have a Bixler 2 on its way from Hong Kong. My plan is to try to learn to fly it manually first and then play with the APM second. Ultimately I'm interested in long distance flights with telemetry/video feed, but aren't we all?

Enjoying this thread, give 'em hell, Dan!

Justin

Originally Posted by datura

Unfortunately I have no experience with flying a real RC plane or ArduPilot, but I should have both arriving some time next week
datura

Great I hope these stories will help you get over the bumps I stumbled over. What plane are you getting ? Do you have a flight simulator ? You can get FMS for free, and the Dynam simulation transmitter (same look and feel) is about $30. FMS isn't the greatest, but it's free and some time on the thing might help you avoid a repetition of my first flight... short, and nose into the ground.

If you are a hands-on tinkerer, these scratch built foamies are fun too. Sooner or later I'm going to go back and try flying Hawk Sky... but first I want to get good enough that I'm not just condemning the poor ol' battered bird to an early grave.

GOOD LUCK...

Ad Astra
Dan

Originally Posted by datura

I have a Bixler 2 on its way from Hong Kong. My plan is to try to learn to fly it manually first and then play with the APM second. Ultimately I'm interested in long distance flights with telemetry/video feed, but aren't we all?

The planes look very similar in basic design (although the devil is in the details).

The Hawk Sky can be seen at

Dynam Hawk Sky flight review, stunts and tips (6 min 9 sec)

Your Bixler 2 can be found here...

Flite Test - Bixler 2 - REVIEW (14 min 47 sec)

(ignore the first 25 seconds, where they lead in with a Bixler 1).

Perhaps some of what I have learned and will learn with Hawk Sky can be transferred to your learning on the Bixler. I plan to fly the SUE's for a few more weeks (once I get back) and then take out the poor ol' battered bird and try again. I'll keep you updated.

The review says that the Bixler has cutouts for flaps, but no servos to activate them. That could be a good excuse to order the motor/esc/3-servo combo that Al recommends - and then build your own foamie... It doesn't hurt as much to crash a $2 airframe. Then when you are ready to mod the Bixler2 you can use 2 of the servos for flaps.

Originally Posted by datura

Enjoying this thread, give 'em hell, Dan!

Justin

Thanks ! I'm having fun doing the flights and writing the thread.

Ad Astra

Originally Posted by Dan_D

Great I hope these stories will help you get over the bumps I stumbled over. What plane are you getting ? Do you have a flight simulator ? You can get FMS for free, and the Dynam simulation transmitter (same look and feel) is about $30. FMS isn't the greatest, but it's free and some time on the thing might help you avoid a repetition of my first flight... short, and nose into the ground.

Yes, I hope your stories help me avoid some issues as well. One thing I learned is to be ready to add trim right away on the first couple of flights! Also, the idea of a few test glides into a nice hayfield is probably not something I would have thought of on my own.

I do have the Phoenix simulator, but unfortunately it doesn't run on my computer (Macbook Air) so I have to run it on my girlfriend's PC and she is always using the thing I haven't checked lately to see if there is a Bixler or Bixler 2 model there.

I love the idea of these foam board planes and it seems like there are plans for all shapes and sizes on the net. I must admit I'm partial to the extremely slow indoor flyers. Too bad I don't have a gymnasium handy to play in!

The Bixler 2 video is hilarious, mostly due to the younger guy's jealousy over his friend/nemesis having 2 planes named after him! I wonder if the 2 would fly as quickly and agile as the 1 if it had a motor upgrade?

Cheers,
Justin

Originally Posted by datura

I do have the Phoenix simulator, but unfortunately it doesn't run on my computer (Macbook Air) so I have to run it on my girlfriend's PC and she is always using the thing I haven't checked lately to see if there is a Bixler or Bixler 2 model there.

I have a Macbook Pro that I use for work, and I run VMWare and a Windows 7 emulator on it (also XP, Linux, and a 2008 server). It's a powerful enough computer that I can run all of those OS at once and it still chugs along. I think you can get VMware for free for personal use.

Originally Posted by datura

I love the idea of these foam board planes and it seems like there are plans for all shapes and sizes on the net. I must admit I'm partial to the extremely slow indoor flyers. Too bad I don't have a gymnasium handy to play in!

Check You Tube. There are videos of planes that are so small that people flying in regular sized living rooms, using the coffee table as the landing strip. I've been thinking one could really cheat and make a wing with mylar fuel tanks using the classic airfoil shape ... and put helium in the tanks rather than fuel. Maybe make a mylar fuselage and make it more buoyant. One might not get enough helium to make it float, but imagine if one could reduce the apparent weight by half. Or more. You could use a smaller motor and smaller battery and that would mean more weight savings. Hydrogen is even more buoyant than helium. You could make SUPER light planes, and re-enact the Hindenberg in your living room.

How about a hydrogen filled weener balloon as the fuselage, and superlight foam wings and tail feathers?

Originally Posted by datura

I wonder if the 2 would fly as quickly and agile as the 1 if it had a motor upgrade?

Once again check You Tube. There are several videos of motor upgrades on the Bixler 2, and one of the videos the guy is flying so fast that the wings are vibrating. He is going to reinforce the hollow carbon spar tube with an interior solid rod and try it again. I didn't look to see if he reports on the results. I think he also enlarged the air ducts to handle the heat generated by the bigger ESC.

Ad Astra ... or in living room fliers... Ad Lampadem

Many congrats to you Dan on your success!

One of the YouTube channels I subscribe to is from guy in Japan , he and his buddies make all kinds of fun indoor flyers . This one is made with balloons , if filled with helium it could probably be even slower and floatier .

Balloons flyer 風船飛行機 (2 min 1 sec)

In a living room , hopefully NOT Ad Ceiling fan !

Originally Posted by balsa or carbon

One of the YouTube channels I subscribe to is from guy in Japan , he and his buddies make all kinds of fun indoor flyers .

I LOVE the simplicity of the motor mount. I was looking at the gimbal mounting that one company sells for kites ($100) and this is so elegant by comparison.

Ad Astra Per Simplicitas

Originally Posted by Dan_D

I LOVE the simplicity of the motor mount. I was looking at the gimbal mounting that one company sells for kites ($100) and this is so elegant by comparison.

Ad Astra Per Simplicitas

Looks like he just threw it together in his kitchen from stuff he had laying around !

In the RC kites forum there's a thread showing different ways to do vectored thrust , this one is probably the simplest , no mixing necessary :
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/attac...mentid=3817857

Here's the thread http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1393965

Do I see a balloon living room flyer in your future ?

Al

Originally Posted by balsa or carbon

Looks like he just threw it together in his kitchen from stuff he had laying around !

Do I see a balloon living room flyer in your future ?

Al

One of the first things I thought about was "where does one get different sized balloons?". When I was a kid the local grocery stores all had those little balsa gliders, and rubber powered planes. They had 5 different sizes of balloons. Now, the kids just run home and play video games, and the Walmart has pushed out all the little stores. Especially here in the backside of rural... Walmart doesn't seem to carry stuff like that.

But I did order a small flock of 3.7 g servos, and a couple of small motor ESC combos, and a couple of 4 channel micro receivers, so... My plan when ordering was make 0.5 SUE and 0.33 SUE, and try SUE with wing cutouts and saran covering... and maybe even a NON-SUE... (Someday in the near future: Dear SUE, I'm think it's time for me to think about seeing other planes ).

However, all of that has to go on hold for a week. Tomorrow I'm off for a business trip and no construction or flying. I thought about having one of the planes shown below FedEx'd to my hotel. Imagine one of those flying around the Lounge of the Palmer House in Chicago (also shown below) - The plane is so small and cute I doubt they'd object. HOWEVER... I've blown my RC budget 3 times over this month so it ain't gonna happen. Also, it wouldn't be nearly as impressive when I'd be chasing it all over the room crash after crash after crash. This little plane is probably something for somebody who is much much better than me.

Ad Astra ... (with balloons?)

Originally Posted by datura

Yes, I hope your stories help me avoid some issues as well. One thing I learned is to be ready to add trim right away on the first couple of flights! Also, the idea of a few test glides into a nice hayfield is probably not something I would have thought of on my own.

I do have the Phoenix simulator, but unfortunately it doesn't run on my computer (Macbook Air) so I have to run it on my girlfriend's PC and she is always using the thing I haven't checked lately to see if there is a Bixler or Bixler 2 model there.

I love the idea of these foam board planes and it seems like there are plans for all shapes and sizes on the net. I must admit I'm partial to the extremely slow indoor flyers. Too bad I don't have a gymnasium handy to play in!

The Bixler 2 video is hilarious, mostly due to the younger guy's jealousy over his friend/nemesis having 2 planes named after him! I wonder if the 2 would fly as quickly and agile as the 1 if it had a motor upgrade?

Cheers,
Justin

Hi Justin I had a Sky Surfer which is a Bixler with decals from Banana hobby. It flew nice and was pretty in the air but it was hard to trim to fly fast without porpoising and I landed it hard and broke the fuselage. Well I ordered some parts and scavenged the parts off the wreck and built a couple foamboard planes till I get this flying stuff figured out.

I think the new Bixler is heavier but stronger fuselage which was the weak point in the old plane. I don't know how far you can upgrade the motor unless you go with like a 2212-6 2200kv motor but its not really designed for a larger prop cause of clearance problems. Its as much of a glider as it is plane and flying it fast is kind of like racing a logging truck. It's got a lot of wing and it takes a lot of power to make it fly fast but it was kind of squirrely to me that way. I had more fun heading it into the wind and slowing down almost hovering and go straight up the thing will glide great.

I also have a brand new axn floater jet still in the box untouched it will fly faster better than the bixler. If that is what you want it to do it might serve you better but I'm having fun with the foamboard and building my own flying wings so far to get back to finishing it. At some point you will wreck it and have to decide to buy a kit and transfer parts or whatever or take the parts buy some parts and start building. There are hundreds of plans on this site. Have fun and good luck with your Bix