Hi

Has someone the building manual (drawing) for a v-tail Fredy. It would be nice if someone can scan this and send it to alex@halde.ch

thx and best regards
Alex

Originally Posted by akacpn

Hi

Has someone the building manual (drawing) for a v-tail Fredy. It would be nice if someone can scan this and send it to alex@halde.ch

thx and best regards
Alex

I have it at home, but may not be there for several days. Also, I have a scanner that I've never hooked up, that is a hand-me-down, so I may have some trouble there, but will try to help you out when I get a chance.

Target

Here's some pics of the plans. I will send you the full size files to the above email addy.

T

hi target

Thx for your help!

Good luck with the build!
And be advised that one of the better slope racers here with a Fredy is running with his CG somewhere back at the 70-73mm range.

T

hi

that's strange. what CG should i take for maiden

best
Alex

Originally Posted by akacpn

hi

that's strange. what CG should i take for maiden

best
Alex

Alex:
Here is where that info came from:

http://www.soaringusa.com/products/p...ategory_id=257

Some of the manufacturers seem to err on the side of caution, and I think Valenta is no exception, based on my experience with the Swallow. The CG on that is considerably further aft than on the plans.

What I would(and will) do, is maiden the plane with the stock CG, or slightly aft of 55mm, but make certain that you can remove some nose weight to shift the CG to at least 70-73mm.

Let me know what CG you end up using, and I'll do the same if I maiden first.

Target

Hi Target and akacpn,

please keep sharing your info in this thread. I just received a Fredy myself and find it extremely helpful. Ain't gonna maiden mine too soon, though - I grabbed it 2nd hand because the price was right, but I want to sharpen my skills a bit more before I commit it to the air (nasty landing zones here).

BTW, are you guys going with a working rudder, or not?

Zero-Zero,

No problem, there. I may even post a few pic of my ballast set up and fuse/ tail linkage.

Is your plane a flapped, 4 surface wing?

Mine is, and I will most likely go with seperate servos for each half of the v-tail, I like the redundancy, even if I don't use the rudder stick(which I finally am starting to use).

Target

Hi akacpn & zero-zero

I didn't own a Fredy but accordingly to some Fredy owners :

1. Like the Destiny (also manufactured by Valenta), depending on your flying style it may need to shim the leading edge of the v-tail or otherwise it could not fly right (always nose up)

2. Beware of the v-tail mounting screw, some pilots has experienced the v-tail dropped off during the flight

3. Same as Target's advice, during your trial flight, feel free to move the CG a bit afterwards to identify the "sweet" spot

All-in-all, Fredy is a nice plane, enjoy it !

Here's some pics of what I'm doing to my Fredy-

1. 2-piece 1/8" ply keel to get a better fit in the fuse top and bottom.

2. Ballast tube and slugs. 5 x 4 oz....

3. Slot for ballast tube.

I'm trusting Bill DelHagen's 73mm CG spot, I hope it's right, so that I won't have to make spacers.

Target

Hi Target,

mine is the T-tail version without flaps (a.k.a. the poor cousin ). I might look into getting a flapped wing, but that won't be happening soon. Somehow I feel it's going to cost almost as much as the whole plane, and certainly more than what I paid for mine.

Right now, the order of the day is to give it a good overhaul and correct the "all-thumbs" build method of the previous owner. It is flyable as it is right now, but I want the gear installation to look and perform as well as I can make it. It's my first mouldie and I want to make things right.

Re commiting your ballast system to the 73mm CG spot, are you sure it's a good idea without at least maidening it to check if it feels right to you? I don't doubt your skills at all, but hey, that looks very aft, especially considering that the plans call for 53-55. I'd feel better flying it at least once to make sure I like it there.

By the way, I received the plane without any documentation at all. Do you guys have some numbers for control throws?

ZZ-

First of all, I already own a Valenta Swallow, and put together my brother's Valanta Destiny. Guess what? BOTH planes required shimming the V-tail's leading edges, AND both planes needed the CG to be substantially more rearward than the plans called for.
While I was initially "put off" by these glaring oversights, I've warmed up to the fact that the planes are both good value for the money, and fly well after the CG/ incidence issues are corrected.

As for the faith of the 73mm cg?

I have more faith in our veteran F3F/MoM racers over here, than the Valenta plan sheet. You can bet that I'll be taking a very close look at the V-tail /wing decalage before tossing this baby, too! The maiden of the Swallow nearly resulted in a crash, it was so bad! In went the shims, and out came some nose weight.

I can make adjustments fairly easily to the ballasts' cg if needed after dialing in the CG empty, but I had to start somewhere, and it'll be easy to come fwd by spacing the back of the tube...

The throws are on the sheet that I posted. From my experience, go light on the elevator throw, if you don't want to tip stall. With a rearward CG, you need less elevator to get the desired result.

Good luck with yours,

Target

Great heads up - I will be improving the way the stab sits on top of the fin in mine, as there are some small gaps now. I will make sure I take a good look at the incidence while I am at that.

About the throws, I've seen the aileron ones in the wing cross-section, but I didn't see any numbers, only a "+" that I guess indicates differential. They seem to be about what I'd have used, so I guess I'll go by the TLAR method.

Great thread. Thanks.

I wouldn't use more than 5mm up, 7mm down on the tail. On the ailerons, try 15mm up, 10mm down if you like them "hot", and 9mm and 6mm, if you like them tame.

GL,
T