I reassembled the Skysurfer, turned on the TX and plugged in the lipo and conducted a range check. No problems at 200 feet in range check mode.

Go figure. Maybe I just plane dumb thumbed it. That wouldn't be the first time.

maybe a faulty servo could cause the Rx to reset.. IT happens

Originally Posted by pavcon

maybe a faulty servo could cause the Rx to reset.. IT happens

It could be. I do have the aileron servos maxed on throw. I will check and see what the load is on them at max travel. After all, I am using the highest quality HXT 900 $3.50 servos.

Bill

Originally Posted by Prof100

I said it was a AR 6100 E but it is the later version AR6110E. Receiver was reconnected when I approached the plane after it crashed. I don't think it was low voltage brownout to the RX. It's powered by UBEC. The lights are directly connected to the battery lead.

According to Spektrum, the AR 6110 (and the end connector version AR 6110E) are Parkflyer receivers. You may simply have flown out of range, especially with all the extra "copper shielding" you added, which wouldn't be hard to do with the Sky Surfer.

Originally Posted by F-111 John

According to Spektrum, the AR 6110 (and the end connector version AR 6110E) are Parkflyer receivers. You may simply have flown out of range, especially with all the extra "copper shielding" you added, which wouldn't be hard to do with the Sky Surfer.

It could very well be that issue. Distance was just 300 meet max. I have flown AR 6000 to half mile high. I will simply install the AR 6200 with the primary and satellite receivers. It should protect for signal loss.

Originally Posted by Prof100

It could be. I do have the aileron servos maxed on throw. I will check and see what the load is on them at max travel. After all, I am using the highest quality HXT 900 $3.50 servos.

Bill

if your ESC has a bec voltage setting set it to high...

Originally Posted by Prof100

It could very well be that issue. Distance was just 300 meet max. I have flown AR 6000 to half mile high. I will simply install the AR 6200 with the primary and satellite receivers. It should protect for signal loss.

I got the HK parkflyer 6ch receivers and flown them to VERY FAR.. with no probs. I also got one 6channel full range from HK (which page is down at the momment) that is an AR6200 clone. it also takes the satelite and works fine. you can install one of those with no probs

Originally Posted by pavcon

I got the HK parkflyer 6ch receivers and flown them to VERY FAR.. with no probs. I also got one 6channel full range from HK (which page is down at the momment) that is an AR6200 clone. it also takes the satelite and works fine. you can install one of those with no probs

Are you referring to the Spektrum compatible Orange receivers that HK sells?

yes

AJ,

Where are you? I now think I have a tip stall problem not a RX problem. Three test flights tonight were with a new, AR 6200 RX that I range checked it. Three times it fell out of the sky on slow turns like a scale P51. It just spiraled in and no inputs on the controls could save it. No indication of receiver lockout or signal loss when I arrived at the plane.

Conclusion: I need to either remove the strips from the wings or embed them in the wing (after I repair the nose again).

I will get this to work.

Here is the video

HK LED lights on a Skysurfer -- tip stalling problems (2 min 52 sec)

Bill

See video on the previous post. Three flights and three crashes and walks of shame. I really am scratching my head on this one. The LED strips simply mounted on the airfoil appear to be destroying the airflow on the wing.

Ideas anybody?

Originally Posted by Prof100

See video on the previous post. Three flights and three crashes and walks of shame. I really am scratching my head on this one. The LED strips simply mounted on the airfoil appear to be destroying the airflow on the wing.

Ideas anybody?

Yipes. Take those lights off the bottom. They are acting like an airbrake. It is odd that i did not catch that on your first pics of the setup. Ah well, that should take care of your immediate problem. Now, here is the "rest of the story" (as Paul Harvey r.i.p. would say). I noticed very early on that the SkyS could be made to tip stall even with a perfect CG and everything else. The problem is that it will NOT recover from the subsequent spin unless you have enough altitude. Here is what I experienced after forcing tip stalls many times -> I HAD to point the nose DIRECTLY into the ground to force an airspeed gain. ANYTHING else (like full up elevator or jerking the ailerons around), would ALWAYS make the spin worse. So, I decided to run the plane with an 84mm CG and a gyro. That totally ended the tip stall "problem" Again, I had to really force the plane into a tip stall to get it to happen. i.e. GET HIGH!!! Then, glide slower and slower and slower while adding full up elevator until the inevitable stall. The stall is so dramatic (as shown again on your videos) that I just could not stand it anymore. So, I did something radical for a radical problem. For me, it worked better than I expected.
Remember that all of the above is IME (in my experience) and I would not recommend anyone modify this wonderful plane in the manner described. Without forcing the problem in this plane, almost everyone would never experience the problem. So, unless you have some driving compulsion to modify the plane as described, DON'T. But, if you do, do so at your own risk.
Meanwhile, Prof100, I agree with you that the lights are causing the above problem to magnify itself 20 times (or more). After watching both videos several times, I have convinced myself that all you need to do is embed the LED's or remove them from the bottom of the wing only (for now to test the plane). Of course, if you still have a problem, remove every LED and test it again. I am sure that if you get 6-7 mistakes high, you can test it without worrying about crashing it. The hardest thing to do is to give down elevator and point the plane DIRECTLY at the ground to recover some badly needed airspeed. I promise you that it will be very difficult the first time you need to do that. But, I hope it will be easier for you. For me, it was really tough for the first couple of times. Then, it was second nature. I know that you and I have many hours of pushing down elevator to get back airspeed. I am certain of that - We are not beginners. But, what I am saying is that this plane is very different from any other plane as far as stalls are concerned. Yes, even much worse that the dreaded P-51. You will see what I mean when you first try it. Let me know. AND, as always, all of the above is IMO and IME. I reserve the right to be wrong. I am just getting tired of you crashing your plane when you do such a beautiful job of building it. Keep me posted on the results of your efforts.
AJ
P.S. There is a small chance that one or more of your decals are blowing up and causing a spoiler type action. Check them just to be sure. I had that happen on my Hawk Sky and I had to go through a lot of crashes before I found it. I think you can find it a few pages back (post #611).

Originally Posted by ajbaker

Yipes. Take those lights off the bottom. They are acting like an airbrake. It is odd that i did not catch that on your first pics of the setup. Ah well, that should take care of your immediate problem. Now, here is the "rest of the story" (as Paul Harvey r.i.p. would say). I noticed very early on that the SkyS could be made to tip stall even with a perfect CG and everything else. The problem is that it will NOT recover from the subsequent spin unless you have enough altitude. Here is what I experienced after forcing tip stalls many times -> I HAD to point the nose DIRECTLY into the ground to force an airspeed gain. ANYTHING else (like full up elevator or jerking the ailerons around), would ALWAYS make the spin worse. So, I decided to run the plane with an 84mm CG and a gyro. That totally ended the tip stall "problem" Again, I had to really force the plane into a tip stall to get it to happen. i.e. GET HIGH!!! Then, glide slower and slower and slower while adding full up elevator until the inevitable stall. The stall is so dramatic (as shown again on your videos) that I just could not stand it anymore. So, I did something radical for a radical problem. For me, it worked better than I expected.
Remember that all of the above is IME (in my experience) and I would not recommend anyone modify this wonderful plane in the manner described. Without forcing the problem in this plane, almost everyone would never experience the problem. So, unless you have some driving compulsion to modify the plane as described, DON'T. But, if you do, do so at your own risk.
Meanwhile, Prof100, I agree with you that the lights are causing the above problem to magnify itself 20 times (or more). After watching both videos several times, I have convinced myself that all you need to do is embed the LED's or remove them from the bottom of the wing only (for now to test the plane). Of course, if you still have a problem, remove every LED and test it again. I am sure that if you get 6-7 mistakes high, you can test it without worrying about crashing it. The hardest thing to do is to give down elevator and point the plane DIRECTLY at the ground to recover some badly needed airspeed. I promise you that it will be very difficult the first time you need to do that. But, I hope it will be easier for you. For me, it was really tough for the first couple of times. Then, it was second nature. I know that you and I have many hours of pushing down elevator to get back airspeed. I am certain of that - We are not beginners. But, what I am saying is that this plane is very different from any other plane as far as stalls are concerned. Yes, even much worse that the dreaded P-51. You will see what I mean when you first try it. Let me know. AND, as always, all of the above is IMO and IME. I reserve the right to be wrong. I am just getting tired of you crashing your plane when you do such a beautiful job of building it. Keep me posted on the results of your efforts.
AJ
P.S. There is a small chance that one or more of your decals are blowing up and causing a spoiler type action. Check them just to be sure. I had that happen on mine and I had to go through a lot of crashes before I found it. I think you can find the video a few pages back.

AJ,

Thanks for the very thoughtful reply. I appreciate it. I have noticed the tip stalling problem with Skysurfer, but this put it right over the top. It was so bad I thought it was RX lockout. In fact, the RX that was in the plane is now on its way to Horizon. It's going to check out OK but sometimes HH just replaces it free of charge.

Anyway, I have to repair the nose again. I do have a spare Skysurfer RTF I bought from the returns dept. at BH. I may just try it with the new set of virgin untouched wings. Or, I am confident now the problem is simply I modified the washout on the plane so badly a P51, by comparison, is a docile trainer. To embed the lights I am going to break out the trusty soldering gun and embed them, then cover with 3M storage tape.

Again, thanks, this was driving me nuts. I now have the root cause and will probably end up with replaced receiver I didn't need or repair charge for good receiver.

Oh well, we learn.

Bill

ps, I will check the decals to make sure they aren't flapping in the wind.

Originally Posted by Prof100

AJ,

Thanks for the very thoughtful reply. I appreciate it. I have noticed the tip stalling problem with Skysurfer, but this put it right over the top. It was so bad I thought it was RX lockout. In fact, the RX that was in the plane is now on its way to Horizon. It's going to check out OK but sometimes HH just replaces it free of charge.

Anyway, I have to repair the nose again. I do have a spare Skysurfer RTF I bought from the returns dept. at BH. I may just try it with the new set of virgin untouched wings. Or, I am confident now the problem is simply I modified the washout on the plane so badly a P51, by comparison, is a docile trainer. To embed the lights I am going to break out the trusty soldering gun and embed them, then cover with 3M storage tape.

Again, thanks, this was driving me nuts. I now have the root cause and will probably end up with replaced receiver I didn't need or repair charge for good receiver.

Oh well, we learn.

Bill

ps, I will check the decals to make sure they aren't flapping in the wind.

I hope your plan is to try the virgin wings 1st (without ANY lights) and make sure all is well again. For me, I would build the RTF because I would need a character builder to renew my confidence. Then, I would put the old wings without the Led's on it AND with stock washout to make sure all is still well. I know that you know all of this. But, given your situation and you are pretty deep in the forest, I just want to make sure you don't miss any trees on the way out (pun intended).
AJ

Originally Posted by ajbaker

I hope your plan is to try the virgin wings 1st (without ANY lights) and make sure all is well again. For me, I would build the RTF because I would need a character builder to renew my confidence. Then, I would put the old wings without the Led's on it AND with stock washout to make sure all is still well. I know that you know all of this. But, given your situation and you are pretty deep in the forest, I just want to make sure you don't miss any trees on the way out (pun intended).
AJ

AJ,

Good points you make there sir. I am a little twitchy about flying this plane again. I will, at the very, least, fix the fuselage and fly it with the stock wings. It's late here (1 AM) and I have to get up a 6 AM so i will sleep on it.

Bill