1.5 DLG

I got myself one of those Chinese 1.5 meter DLG gliders some time ago .
It has been sitting in a box , and with the Libertur*s wanting to criminalise RC in the near future
I thought it time to put it together and fly it , before it become illegal to do so .

If only those retards in Canberra would do something intelligent and increase the Banned Weight to 500 grams .. ( Maybe too much to expect unreasonable people to be reasonable )

Anyhow , plan is to get it up and DLGing ASAP ..

UMX WHIPIT in OZ

It is available again ! Just dropped $99.99 ozzi bananas on a Stock Whip !

Plan is to compare the Stock Whip to my modified Whip . ( Modified through necessity and repairs )
After almost a year playing with a UMX Whipit , I am itching to play with a Stock Whip .


Mini Surfer 800
Battery is charged , and the weather is turning again ( I guess winter might come after all ) .
So I am really itching for round two .
With hind sight , and a much clearer plan of action one hopes not to balls it again !


WL Toys DLG (?)
Please WL , we need more well priced ( Legal ) DLG gliders . ( Well - Legal in Oz )
The wizards are acting more and more like Cut Snakes .
So is it late 2019 or early 2020 , RC becomes criminalised on Oz and everything over 250g might be a federal offence .
Just got to love those Cut Snakes .

Oh , there is a Federal Election Sat 18th Of May !
Will you vote for the folks that want to destroy model flying in Australia ?
I guess since Gay's can no longer be discriminated against , a certain political party might be looking for another minority group to kick around .
Smell the coffee guys , smell the coffee ...

Sent for review by Banggood.com


Yes folks , I ballsed it big time !

Hindsight is everything !

A) I had forgotten that all my directions had been reversed ...
B) Adjusting trim , yeah I went the wrong way !
C) I completely ballsed the trim of the model
D) At the middle of the flight I had to much up trim and at the end of the flight I had too much down trim
E) The Mini Surfer 800 smacked the ground hard , there was no damage !
F) How ever .....

What did happen was the antenna on the Rx fell off due to the impact with terra firma ...
I did do a visual inspection after the impact , but there was some sticky tape holding the antenna in position . So everything looked ok .
This resulted in some more ground impacts and I gave up and put the still intact and in excellent condition Mini Surfer 800 back in the car .

So it was all ME .... I ballsed the maiden big time .

Maiden
A) I have no expo what so ever for the maiden flight
B) Ailerons were just about perfect
C) Elevator was a little touchy
D) Even though the Mini Surfer 800 glides ok
E) Under power it climbs

Hindsight
A) Add expo to the Elevator ( 50% maybe )
B) Ailerons need nothing
C) A higher pitch prop cant hurt ( more thrust )
D) It will fly 2s
E) The battery was just over 8v when I came home ..
F) I have set up a switch to add down elevator for powered flight ....

Under power with my CG the Mini Surfer 800 needs down elevator to counter...Continue Reading

XK A800
Super Kinetic
Mini Surfer 800



XK A800 ( Jumper T12 for Tx )

6D Flight mode ... I was flying low for reasons I will post later .
I dont know why , but when flying low in 6D mode the XK A800 wants to hit the ground (?) , twice on this occasion .
I did program in 3D mode , this is where you have partial flight levelling and the ability to stunt the XK A800 .
3D Flight mode ... It flew really sweet , with no tendency to smack the ground what so ever .
In 3D mode the XK A800 is a really sweet little plane to fly , offering no surprises like in 6D mode . ( Smack the ground )

Super Kinetic

I was really worried about this house brick .
Having watched reviews on youtube and seeing the Kinetic tip stall like a champ I was really nervous ( Maiden flight )
Battery was a Zippy 850 2s , as I was trying to keep the CG forward .
And I am really glad I did not go with a larger battery . It was sensitive to the elevator but not so much as to be unstable in flight .
I will update this post with a picture latter with a CG location ..
Dare say I would want more Expo ( I don't know what I have right now ) Maybe update this info when I post a picture .
Update - There was NO Expo what so ever .. I have set Expo to 30% for the control surfaces ...

It flew really nice and smooth though .
Also got it to fly slowly , slower than I have seen on youtube .
I did program flaperon .. And I had to try it as well .
I like it , it did lift the...Continue Reading

Well , not much unfortunately ...

Mini Surfer 800 - Ready to maiden !
But - A cold front rolled in and we have wind and rain ..
A quick check of the weather say's Monday might be the only day to play
Every other day promises some very decent wind for those wind turbines ....

Bixler HLG Project
Was put on hold for the Mini Surfer 800
I got some more 4ch FS2A Rx , so soldered one up the other day ...
Goal is to get some servos working for the Rud / Ele
Oh by the way , I have gone with a all moving ele for this one ... ( Might be interesting )
Hopefully will have a flying Bixler HLG soon ...

The old Gearbox is churning for a new DLG !
Kind of thinking / leaning toward 800mm , and use one of the WLtoys 949 control boards ..
I was thinking Ail / Ele with a fixed vertical fin ...

Come on WLtoys , make a small DLG already ... Something a little larger than the UMX Whipit ( 700mm )
On the Whipit , still not available . Even though it was promised for April availability here in Oz ..
I have set aside $100 for a Stock-Whip .... ??????????????

Get it ????

Stockwhip ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockwhip

Mini Surfer 800 from Banggood com ( CG Games ) (3 min 14 sec)

I put another Lead Ball in the nose ..

CG is now some 10mm back measured from the centre of the spar ..

My first launch was superbly timed as the wind lifted the left wing and did it's best to flip the Mini Surfer 800 onto it's back .
It was so quick there was no recovery .
Luckily the Mini Surfer 800 is a tough bird , and tumbled across the ground sustaining no damage !

My second and 3rd attempts / launches - resulted in some test glides ...
For now I am happy to leave the CG where it is ..

A) Glides ok
B) Controls are not overly sensitive ( This could change under power )
C) Push come to ..... ( its a pusher ) I can always throw another lead ball at it !
D) There does seem to be some tendency for the model to roll to the right on launch ( is that me ? ) , but with the clockwise rotation of the motor , the torque should counter this .. ( Un powered flight so far )

Ok . I think I am ready to fly the Mini Surfer 800

I have an appointment tomorrow , so hopefully by the weekend the Mini Surfer 800 will have flown under power ..

Maiden - Ballsed big time !

Sent for review by Banggood.com


CG Games

I did watch the two available youtube reviews on the Mini Surfer 800 ...
Just have to wonder why the G spot is such a secret ?

Anyways , after watching the videos the Mini Surfers flown by the reviewers had a tendency to drop it's nose on launch ..
In the first video I watched it dropped the nose like a lead sled and thumped the ground really well ..
And if mem serves the starting G spot was just forward of the spar ...

I don't recall any mention of the CG in the second video ...
Hmmm , I guess thats what the CG games are all about , find the G spot before you break the model
I broke the model , actually the motor pod fell off ( See pictures ) ..
Interesting ! , seems that the hot glue has no real strength bond wise to this foam ( See Pictures ) ..
Pod is re-glued , this time with your run of the mill Cyno ( Not foam safe ) ..
This foam seems to be a little glue resistant , and ordinary cyno seems to do the best as far as gluing things together goes .

The CG Game !
1) My starting point is 15mm behind the spar for almost a 50% CG
2) You would think it was horrendous with such a rearward CG , but that was not the case at all .
3) The model seemed to be very soft on the elevator , this might change as you fly under power ( more speed )
4) On launch into the wind , the model climbed ever so gently and stalled
5) Launching slightly down helped a lot
6) Just as I was going to try a 25% power launch , well the motor pod fell off .

End of CG Game !


Yes , I would say the CG is too far back , but how far too far back ?
I might just slap ( glue ) another lead ball into the nose and get the G spot closer to the spar .

So thats where I am for now ..
CG will be moved forward , motor pod has been re-glued ..
And hopefully after lunch I will do a low power CG glide test ...


Part 6 ( RTF )

Sorry Guys !

Mini Surfer 800 is on hold for the Victorian Control Line State Champs ...

My back can only take so much activity and I am spending it all going to the state champs and taking some pictures ..

https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show...2019-F2C-Final ( Saturday F2C Final )

https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show...Vintage-Combat ( Sunday Vintage Combat )

Sure wish I could have stayed longer ...

Sent for review by Banggood.com

Control Surfaces &

Mini Surfer 800 from Banggood.com (1 min 47 sec)

The short of it is , the Mini Surfer 800 is ready to play the CG game ! ( Check out the video )

Vertical fin and horizontal stabiliser ( Rud / Ele )
I glued these in place with foam safe cyno ..

Controls /

Ailerons - you need to cut them free as they are ever so slightly moulded in place . Also they are some what stiff , so you may want to take a knife and cut the hinge line 30% to 50% to release some tension .
Elevator - same as above ..

Control horns .. Bush league .. They be the press together type , some glue wont hurt .
Control rods - again bush league .. ( See pictures )

With everything connected

Just check direction of travel - I had to reverse everything .
With my set up Ch4 is another Aileron Ch .. This means I can do flaperon at a later date ..

Ch1 - Aileron
Ch2 - Elevator
Ch3 - Throttle
Ch4 - Aileron

As mentioned this will be a 2s Bird . Thrust is nice and almost 1:1 with a 2s 850mAh battery ..
CG is too far back , so most likely will need a larger ( heavier ) battery .
I only have the 5x3x3 props , though I did order 2 pair of 5x4.5x3 .. ( Who knows when they will get here ? )
So the potential is there for more thrust when the new props get here ..

I did run the Mini 800 on the ground and it is accelerating ( in the back yard ) , so I dare say I wont be lacking power for flight .
Not that the mini 800 will...Continue Reading

Sent for review by Banggood.com


Installing the Receiver

I am using a small FS2A Rx from banggood , so far these have proven to be cheap and reliable for me .
The Rx was put on the foam protrusion that is the forward wing lock into the fuselage . I wanted to keep everything together as much as possible for the insertion and removal process of the battery . So everything has to be as clean as possible .
There is only one wire to contend with now and that is for the elevator servo and it is a very long wire . ( See pictures ) This seemed to be the logical way of
doing things ..

ESC

The MR RC ESC simply did not work . I dont know what happened but the ESC and Rx simply just threw a WOBBLY ! Connecting a battery and things kind of went haywire .. So I tried another ESC and everything was fine ( ?? ) Sharp eyes may pick up that I have installed another 12A ESC .
Everything looks to be working , the install is relatively clean and clutter free offering easy access for the battery .

The next thing I do is install the tail surfaces and connect the control surfaces . After which I can worry about the battery and CG .

Part 4 / Ready to play the CG game

Sent for review by Banggood.com


Motor ESC install

I had some alternative ESC's to chose from in the 10A to 12A range ..
Chosen was the MR RC 12A ESC , since it already had a connector on it .
Yes , the plan is to run a 2s battery with the 5x3x3 prop ..

With the ESC soldered up , I did a quick current check and the combo pulled some 5.5 amp ..

A) Motor pod .. I was very easily able to open it up .. This allowed me to tighten the motor mount screws .
I then proceeded to hotglue the motor mount into the pod and hot glue the pod shut .

B) Since I was playing with the hot glue , I hot glued the pod onto the wing ..
No issues here , and the wing fits to the fuse just fine .

C) The 12A ESC was zip tied to the wing and the cables routed through the hole to the inside of the wing .
The ESC should get plenty of air where it is . Seems to be a very neat install .

D) At this time I do not plan to run 3s , just in case anyone was wondering .

E) Next I need to watch some TV , give my back a rest .. Then I will solder up the Rx ...
This one from BG , simply my Fav 4ch Rx right now ...

Part 3 - Install the Rx ...Continue Reading

Mini Surfer 800 sent for review by Banggood.com

AF Link - https://www.banggood.com/custlink/mDDGrhd0ma ... to product page

The opening bout weigh in

I thought it might be interesting to weight the mini surfer to see what sort of weights we are dealing with .

Fuselage = 50.4 grams
Tail ( Ele / Rud ) = 12 grams
Wing = 82 grams
Motor Pod ( Motor / ESC / POD ) = 71.4 grams

All those were individually weighed for a total off = 215.8 grams
Now if I assemble the fuse / wing / tail I get 144 grams and adding the pod returns some 212.5 grams ...
Yeah , that's a few grams Variance there .

I am really impressed with the weigh in less the motor / pod / esc .... Hmmmm , 71.4 grams is a little weighty ..
Even the wing @ 82 grams is a little sturdy ..

My first impressions are that the Mini 800 is well moulded and all the parts fit well together .
I dont think I can bring it in under 250 grams flying weight ..
There would be some serious dieting required to meet the new Libnazi RC rules that will be shoved down Australians throat's shortly .
Oh , for all those Australians , don't forget NOT to vote for the people that want to kill your hobby ! ( )

The Mini 800 just arrived , and the first thing I am going to do is run up the motor / ESC / prop combo as it came in the kit to see what sort of power / current / thrust we are looking at ...



UPDATE !

3s / 5x5 prop ( included ) / 15.7 Amp ( peak ) recorded .. Average is in...Continue Reading

Hobbyking Raven 990 @ the sink hole (9 min 27 sec)

HobbyKing Raven 990 @ the sink hole day 2 (14 min 26 sec)

...Continue Reading

ELF DLG @ the sink hole (22 min 20 sec)

Sink Hole = Local Park ...

Most of the air seems to go down , not much air going up ..
It's some what rare to catch air that can lift a DLG ...
Lots of turbulence though , if you like that sort of thing .. Probably from the trees ...
But since I put the screw into the nose of the ELF to hold the Canopy / pod / nose cone in place , I thought it best to actually test it under field conditions .

The screw worked perfectly ! , I'm happy to report .

I really dislike using tape to hold the canopy ( pod ) in place on the Elf DLG ...
So for a while I have thought about screwing the Elf
To hold the canopy in place ...

There is a hole in the front of the canopy ( pod ) , and I thought if I put a screw into the front part of the boom ... It could act like some sort of fastener to hold the canopy in place without the needed tape ..
And it looks to work ...

Part 2 : ( Theory )

So my idea was to have a screw with a small enough head ( 3.3mm ) so I can slip the Canopy / Pod in place without actually removing the screw . Who the heck want's to drag tools to the park , and possibly lose the screw in the grass ? That would be super annoying !
So now the screw head has just enough tension on the face of the edge of the opening to hold the canopy / pod in place .. And just a little bit of force is required to pull the canopy / pod off to install or remove the battery .
Should the plastic wear , I can put in a new screw with a slightly larger head ..

Is there anything better than a bushleague mod ?
Maybe one that cost's only one dollar ?

I got myself one of those USB 1s chargers off Ebay for all of one Ozzi Banana ( $1 )
Then I soldered some connectors for batteries I use a lot ..

Description from Ebay add ...

5v Micro USB input OR 5v Power source (the power input solder points are exposed)
Red light indicates charging and Green light indicates fully charged
The input voltage must be rated at 5V
Maximum charging current: 1000 mA or 1A
Charge cut-off voltage: 4.2 V + / - 1%
The battery overcharge protection voltage: 2.5 V
Battery over-current protection current: 3 A
Size:2.6 x 1.7 cm

Now it's important to remember that this little charger is supposedly capable of charging @ 1A
Thats one amp !

But , the important thing to remember is , this is very much dependent on the power supply
So if you have a USB power supply that delivers lower current ?
I have one that does low current , which makes this bushleague mod very user friendly for charging small batteries ...
Max charge current is around 240mAh
And importantly , the charger actually stops charging ...
The terminating Voltage ( Of the battery ) was 4.19v , which is simply superb ...
If you had a variable current USB power supply , you could have a very powerful 1s battery charging solution ...

The old now V911 heli control board is getting hard to find and some what premium priced ..
So I felt the need to find an alternative ..

There is still the V949 control boards , but with the release of the new V911s Helicopter !
I thought I might search out a control board and see if it can be used for other applications .
Being a fan of the V911 boards , they will be missed for being a cost effective way of controlling RC projects ..

The V911s board is not a very good option at all .. Much cheaper to buy a 4ch micro Rx and some cheap servos ..
Especially since the FS2A one from Banggood runs so well on a 1s battery ..

Either way , I thought I would try out the new V911s board . ( For my curiosity )

Minimum RC Piper J3 (3 min 16 sec)

Here is some flight video ...
The J3 really can fly well when the correct CG is achieved .

I was how ever having issue with the V911 flight board , where by the servos would stop working for some reason ( ?????????????????????????? )
Don't ask me , everything was fine , then crash !

There just was no servo response .. I could cut the throttle just fine , but the servos .
Cant blame the J3 for the flight board issues !

Anyways , I unsoldered the antenna and replaced it with something much longer ..
Will see what happens ..

Aside from the servo issues , the J3 did impress ...

J3 @ Banggood

Watch the video , and see what you think ...


Sorry - Forgot !
I was flying @ 30% to 50% Throttle ....
So there is more power available ..

Went to the park , took the UMX Whipit as it has not flown in quite a while ..

UMX Whipit at the park (7 min 59 sec)

What can I say , it was cool and overcast , so the park was dead ! ( No thermal activity )
The whip behaved itself ok , just a little trimming for the conditions .
I really struggled for hang time though ...
What was it with 24 seconds ?
I got in one 41 second toss , but nothing close to a minute ..
Some times the park felt a little like a sink hole !


Minimum RC J3

Took it out to the street this morning ...
It was really hanging it's beehive .. And tip stalling like a champ .
Hmmm , I could only wonder if the CG was too far back .
That wing is a little like a parachute , so it might have been ballooning .
So I move the battery further forward ( Quite a bit )
VIOLA ! - It flies , right into a tree !
But no , it actually flew like a RC plane is supposed to fly ( yeah , right into a tree )
So it flies .. I just need more space ..

I will try and get some video of the J3 , maybe tomorrow morning ...

The V911 control board has been connected to the motor ..
And then hot glued into the J3 ..

Elevator / Rudder connections made ..

I did some chuck testing with the battery taped to the fuse and ........ I put some Velcro on the belly !
This way I can move the battery for CG ..

It's ready ! Just charging up a battery now ...
It is way too breezy for the J3 outside , so I might do some taxi runs in the hallway ..
It was very calm last night . so maybe a after dark session with the J3 ?

https://www.banggood.com/custlink/KK3GrdJ1Bo - Minimum RC Piper J3 @ Banggood.com

I saw this on banggood.com and thought - how cute is that !
With Oz Wizards becoming crazy %^&^&#$^*'s and criminalising RC in Oz , it looks like law abiding citizens need to think smaller if they dont want to be licensed and registered like gun owners for flying model air-planes .

So with crazy Wizards running Oz !

This be a very small J3

Specification
Wingspans : 360mm
Length : 290mm
Weight : 25g
Motor : 720 coreless motor

My plan is to use one of my precious V911 boards to fly the J3 .
So as pictured , is where the stock build ends ... And the V911 conversion starts .

Fuse:
Comprises of 3 pieces of depron glued together
This makes for a light yet relatively stiff sheet fuse .
Only issue I see , is the section for the Rud / Ele is left as a single sheet . This makes the tail somewhat flexible and weak . ( Could be an issue )
Also be sure to alight correctly as the two outer pieces are used to create a slot for gluing the wing into .

Rud / Ele:
The rudder seems fine , but you need to be careful gluing the elevator .. It needs to be located carefully so it does not sit too far forward or to far back .
Also it is best to get your angles correct . the ele does not just sit there while the glue dries , it tended to droop for me .. So I needed something under one ele tip to maintain that 90deg angle with the rudder while the...Continue Reading