Today was a perfect weather day that started out (April 16, 2019) with cool temps (60F) but warmed up to about 75 by noon. Winds diminished to about 5 mph and no clouds. Lift was light but just enough for the Heron. I used the Lithium Ion (LiIO) charge setting on my $110 Hitech �Black� 2 pack charger. This puts about 90 percent into the Lipo 2200 3S 45 C pack and does not over charge the pack. On the first flight I flew for about 25 minutes using about 1.5 minutes of full power climbs. I only go full throttle for about 15 seconds each so this was about 4 or 5 climbs. After landing I had 55% remaining on the pack. I adjusted one flap and launched again into light but steady lift every where. After climbing to about 1000 feet and turning off SAFE Self Level I did about 1 minute of aerobatics with aileron rolls and loops. Max dive speed with SAFE on is limited to about 60-70 mph because the gyros limit dive angle to about 40 degrees. No wing flutter or flex was observed from the foam wings with aluminum wing spars. Energy retention is not like heavier fiberglass designs but is fun anyway. The full flaps and crow with full down elevator stick provides a nice 40 degree slow dive to a round out and flare right in front of you. The single wheel protects the belly and allows for friction free rollouts that are about 30 feet long . There is not friction on the wheel but if it had then this could provide for less rollout distance.

I am still learning...Continue Reading

I've made up retractable handles for other models and they are helpful for carrying or storing. However I plan on using the Albatross handle for hoisting the model in and out of the water and for checking asymmetric thrust during static engine runups. The Albatross will be suspended from a plane holder just above the ground and will be able to swivel left and right approximately 45 degrees. Here are some pics on how it's done:

It should work but I recommend an AR636 SAFE Select Receiver. It does not have signal strength telemetry like the antennaless receivers or the Taranis/Frysky systems. You already have a DX 6-9 transmitter right?

See my blog on why I�m using the AR636 wing leveling feature to minimize prop and wing surface contact. Will post flight test results in about 2 weeks using the V900 636 receiver.

If you don�t want to have the benefits of a SAFE receiver then yes. I have the 4ch antennaless receiver in a DHLG 60 inch glider that has carbon fiber imbedded in the Kevlar fuselage. It�s a 8.9 ounce David Forbes Vixen that I don�t want to lose. The nice feature of the 4 and 6 ch design is that your DX transmitter shows signal strength in various aircraft positions where battery and metal, and carbon can interfere. To verify and validate adequate signal strength this I had another pilot point the CF fuselage and tail at me about 1000 ft away. I could barely see the rudder and elevator move but we had cell phone speaker comms open to coordinate the test. I found no low signal strength values at my DX9 telemetry screen and flaperons, and rudder and elevator worked perfectly. The nice feature of this new design is that you could use 3M Dual Lock (not flexible velcro) to mount the RX in the wing to test signal strength. When testing is completed you would have less connections at the wing and fuselage.

I like to have gyro technology level my wings on crosswind landings and takeoffs. This will...Continue Reading

This applies to Turbo Timber and any other design that uses foam or some other type of material for flight control hinges.

A hinge that gets loose on any flight control surface will cause erratic control in flight. If the hinge fails and the flight control departs the model then a crash is most likely especially if it is the elevator.

My Turbo Timber showed failure of the plastic elevator hinge. It was easy to see when I removed the stab/elevator for maintenance. The elevator was easy to move up and down as viewed on it�s edge. Many use the same center mounted nylon hinge with or without a metal hinge pin to fix a loose hinge but there is a better method that originated back in the 40�s and 50�s and is a variant of the thread and needle used way back then. It�s called Tyvek paper hinges.

I use the Tyvek paper that is used on mailing envelopes. I lightly sand both sides with 220-320 grit sanding paper and cut to size. Using regular (not foam safe) CA I glue the hinges to the top and bottom of the elevator and stab. I use Monocote plastic backing to push the paper and glue on to the sanded foam and this prevents the CA from sticking to my fingers. You can paint the white paper or protect it with tape.

As an experiment I want to see how the TT would perform as a motorglider but still retain the sportplane qualities. I removed the stock landing gear and installed the Valiant 1.2 gear which saves about .7 oz but is about half the area drag. I installed the Aerostar 60 amp ESC and activated the prop brake. With 10/6 folding blades on a 55 mm B+B aluminum spinner and 2200 4S she pulls 33 amps and 470 watts. She pulls very strongly.

The flight test was successful and I am pleased with the performance of the folding prop and Valiant landing gear. There is enough thrust on the smaller prop to maintain full up elevator (in SAFE Self Level) and climb at a near vertical pitch angle. At 200-400 ft with the motor stopped and flaps retracted she has a much better L/D glide ratio. Driftdown times are increased so that with 2:42 minutes of power used there was a 9:21 flight. There was 45 percent remaining on the 3200 4S 40C Kinexsis lipo pack so total flight time can be extended. However the style of flying is different than most flyers in my club.

The motor glider uses the motor to climb and glide. The glide can be slow or fast depending upon thermal and lift activity. On my test flight it was around sunset so wind and lift was scarce. However on sunny days between 10-2 lift is usually enough to maintain altitude and depending upon wing loading increase or climb. I�ll be comparing her to more dedicated foamy motor gliders like my Conscendo, Calypso, Radian...Continue Reading

I�ve flown my Turbo Timber with 3S 2200 45C Admirals, 1500 4S CHNL 100 C cells and Turnigy Graphene 2200 75 C 4S cells. The performance on 4S is the most desirable but endurance is not as good as 3S. The Graphene was tested and started out at 90 percent charged. Flying consisted of 5 max power climbs to 300 ft. 5 inside loops. 15 aileron rolls and 5 takeoffs and landings. This took a little less than 5 minutes using the DX9 power on timer. Total flight time was about 7 minutes because of power off glide times. Capacity of the Graphene 4S pack started out at 90 percent and at the end of 5 minutes was measured at 31 percent remaining. So 90-31= 59 Percent in 5 minutes or 59/5=11.8 percent/minute. If flying were to stop at 15 percent remaining then a total of 90-15= 75 percent would be used. This would take about 75 %/ 11.8 %/min X = 6.35 minutes. A 3200 4S 40 C pack has been recommended by Horizon and will be tested for similar endurance time.

All dimensions in millimeters.

The 60 amp Aerostar has advantages over the stock Turbo Timber Eflite 50 amp ESC:
1. With an extra channel you can reverse the rotation of the motor/prop for reverse thrust during surface operations.
2. The brake can be programmed on to stop the prop from windmilling. This reduces drag but also allows the ESC to go into reverse. I have not been able to turn the brake on for the stock Eflite 50 amp ESC
3. The ESC is rated for 60 amps which might be needed for 4S and larger props

The Aerostar has two leads. The 3 wire lead gets plugged into the throttle channel 1 for the AR636 that came with my Turbo Timber (TT). The second lead gets plugged into channel 5 (gear channel) and switch C is programmed to say �Forward thrust� for position C0 and 1 and �Reverse Thrust� for position C2. I use F0,1,2 for low to high rates and expo. The flaps are on channel 6 (Aux 1) and SAFE Self Level is on Aux 2 or channel 6. Using the Digital Switch Setup I have programmed position B0 and 1 as Self Level On and B2 as Off. Switch C0 and C1 are programmed for forward thrust and C2 as reverse thrust. I have not programmed in any Flight Modes but may after a few test and trim flights....Continue Reading

Weather not too good now so made up some �nice to have mods� for SST. Based on experience with regular Timber.

For picking up the loaded model I�ve installed a retractable handle. It can be used to hoist the float plane in and out of the water/weeds/docking area. Also for hanging from the ceiling. Coat hanger and bends or wheel collars.

The folding wing storage and transport mod has been around since Orville folded his bicycle for Wilbah! Use an old necktie or parachute cord and bungee to keep the wings against and on top of the fuse. Be careful that the anti collision red strobe lense does not dent the trailing edge flaps. The Ace hardware folding step stool can be used to sit butt, stand on or invert SST for feeding Lipos to the belly.

Stock rudder linkage throws are good enough for 180 turn arounds. Nose lights are nice and bright! Here is a short video.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0WLk...orth_Bay_Hills

Stock 10BL 800 KV motor with 50 amp ESC and 3S 2200 and 4S 2200 Turnigy Graphene
11/7 3 blade prop
26 A, 256 watts, 45 A, 650 watts
With 10/8 5 blade Eflite Spitfire 1.2 prop
24 A, 235 watts, 50 A, 690 watts

The Turbo Timber comes stock with a Cirrus 3 bladed 11/7 prop. I wanted to see how my 1.5 Timber would like with a 5 bladed 10/8 prop from the Spitfire. I reamed the prop out to fit the prop adapter and with a longer 3 mm bolt fitted the stock 2 bladed spinner to the prop adapter. I�ll have to measure the amp draw so not to exceed the ESC limit.
Turbines can have many blades and here is the Pilatus PC21 5 bladed version

Just measured my Cirrus 22T 1300 KV motor (not the TT 800 KV motor) and on an Aerostar 60 amp RVS ESC and CHNL 4S 1500 100C measured 55 amps and 717 watts static. Looking forward to measuring a 13� prop for amps and watts on the TT. I know prop will unload in the air and should be below the 50 amp ESC spec.

Swapping out the Timber RX for the V900 RX solved the problem of wing rocking at full throttle with SAFE on or off. This is because the V900 was designed to go much faster than the Timber. There is proper pitch and roll with SAFE on at full speed and at slow speeds.
I recommend the V900 RX instead of the Timber RX for the AVISTAR ELITE.

Specs:
Rimfire 46
(Max constant amps 60, max surge 100 amps) max constant watts 1100, max surge watts 1850
With a 13x4 APC 72 amps and 1400 watts measured

Castle Edge 100 amp ESC
Turnigy Graphene 5S 5000 lipos

I purchased a used Heron and installed an AR 636 programmed for the EFlite Spitfire. I�ve flown both and so I purchased an open stock AR636 but had Horizon put the program in for me. I installed the RX so the long coaxial antenna would go forward and all the wires would be tucked away aft. I had to install inline reversers on rudder, elevator, and aileron to get proper Self Level servo movement. Later I can program the receiver to reverse those RX channels and remove the inline reversers. The RX is very close to the CG and a 2200 3S Admiral Lipo can fit under the RX if an aft CG is desired. I flew the maiden with the pack forward so the restrainer strap would keep the pack from sliding.

The maiden was at sunset and was only 3 minutes long but it was enough to put down elevator trim in to fly hands
off. Then I turned on Self Level to verify proper correction. Flaps were lowered and confirmed that down elevator trim will be needed to pitch down with Self Level On. She will fly very similar to my Multiplex Cularis with its AR 636 SAFE Select Receiver....Continue Reading

A top battery door and compartment for any model offers a more convenient method to load and remove your battery pack because you don't have to pick the model up and hold it inverted. With a belly door there is greater risk of the door opening because of G loading from inside loop and landing G forces. I've seen many planes flying around with the battery hanging down being held only by the connectors! Those are the lucky ones as battery separation means a loss of control and crash damage. Battery back up methods are highly recommended but won't be discussed here. Converting the stock belly battery door to a top door can be done with a little effort and time. TheTimber 1.5 and 1.2 meter wingspan designs are discussed here.
The battery door is cut just forward of the Timber windscreen. The thinnest part of the pack gets loaded first at an angle. Once the pack is inside there is plenty of room for fore/aft CG adjustment using foam blocks as spacers. Inside the former battery compartment is the larger 60 amp Turnigy Aerostar RVS (reversible) ESC but the stock ESC will fit as well. A balsa plywood floor/ceiling separated the top battery compartment from the bottom ESC compartment and offers increased structural strength between the fuselage sides and the motor mount area and the landing gear area.

As of Feb 2019 the following pics show the different packs that can be loaded thru the top hatch. Refer to Horizon Hobby Airplane Technical people to find the largest 3 or 4 cell pack that will fit in the stock Timbet belly door. Any of those should fit the thru the modified top door and top battery compartment.
.

Why hinge the canopy? Even though there are 4 magnets holding the canopy to the fuselage you know that eventually they will lose their strength or the glue will fail and the canopy will depart when you are flying. The hinge and latch are a redundant method of keeping the canopy attached to the fuselage in case one or all magnets fail. Having the canopy attached to the fuselage eliminates the canopy being blown off the table or onto the ground with a gust of wind.

Previously I usedTyvek paper hinges glued with CA as a hinge and they worked fine for about 30 or 40 opening and closings. However my plane holder overstressed the rear hinge and rather than replace the torn hinge I replaced the front and aft paper hinges with Robart hinge pins. The plastic is ribbed and a steel axle is rugged. I used a 1/8 drill to make the holes in the fuselage and canopy and low temp hot glue to keep them from coming out. See pics

The Night Radian fuselage twists left and right and is OK. But if you are used to stiffer foamy motorglider fuselages like the Multiplex or Flyzone designs then here is an alternative to clear or fiberglass tape. Materials needed are 1/64� thick plywood and Loctite Plastic Mender epoxy. Midwest Products sells 1/64 x 12 x 24� via Amazon for $24.61 and can last a long time for strong lightweight reinforcement projects. A 16� long x 25 mm wide piece is all you need for reinforcement. A box cutter slices the fuselage about 11 mm deep at the tail end and 25 mm deep at the thick fuselage end.

Place a straight edge on one side of the fuselage (see pic) and use a box cutter to make multiple cuts or slices deep into the fuselage. You don�t have to go all the way through to the other side. Measure the cut to 11 and 25 mm deep. Fit the ply into the slot and push in as far as you can go. Mark the excess sticking out and cut just inside the marked line. This will ensure the ply is not outside the soft foam but insides. Any mark or slot can be filled with lightweight modeling sparkling putty. Since CA needs air to dry and there will be very little air at this joint use Loctite Plastic Epoxy as this will harden without any air to the joint. The epoxy will also give you plenty of time to position the plywood unlike CA that can harden in a few seconds. I weighed the plywood before epoxy and it was 1 gram. I smeared epoxy on both sides of the ply but did not weigh it. I estimate the epoxy at 1 gram for a total of about 2 grams weight. I usually use 3M 20 or 40 X clear packing tape know that this would weigh more if wrapped around the fuselage area. My fuselage had a slight left twist that required right rudder trim. After the plywood was inserted into the sliced fuselage I used the clear tape to pull the fuselage into an opposite twist to counter the warped fuselage.

A handle is convenient for hoisting or carrying a flying boat like the ICON A5 in and out of the water. The handle can act as a place for a hook to hang from a ceiling rod or hook. With grooves in the handle you can orientate your model in a nose down or up attitude depending on your CG and where the hook is placed on the handle. Here is an example using the 52.5 inch ICON A 5. Music wire can be used but in this case normal coat hanger wire is used to support the 53.5 ounce (3.3 pound model). You will need wheel collars, plyers, a round file or Dremmel to make grooves in the handle wire.

This technique was adapted from handles that were made for an Apprentice, Timber and Valiant foamy models.