I've modified an old 36" flying wing plane - took off a geared 300 & put on a DD SP400, filled the holes, Covered it in packing tape and put a zagi canopy on it (almost a perfect fit). I'm wondering if the "gap" where the prop fits in is a problem - the plane was designed for a different motor mount, so I just "filled" the back end to accomodate the canopy. Attached is a Diagram.

On it's first flight, it just kept nosing up on me, and when I could level it out, it was very squirrly. Any suggestions on what I can do to get it to fly right?

I'm used to flying wings (Swift, Zagi, Viper Twin and a Wedgie) - this is an experiment with an old set of cores.

It weighs 18oz and balances about 8" from the nose. I have no Idea what the airloil is, but it used to be a slow Geared 280 or 300 with a 9x6 prop.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Hey Helicool, I would say try moving the battery forward, if you can, to get the CG farther up front. Ive flown lots of wings as well, and thats the first thing I would try. Try somthing like 6 inches from the nose at the root. I know it seems like a big jump, but you will know right away if its the balance point of not. If you toss it with the CG very far forward and its stable, maybe even to stable, then you know that somewhere between the two points has got to be the sweet spot.

Also, maybe you have to much up trim?? That would certainly cause it to nose up. And when you finally get it level, maybe you are fighting the trim, and it seems hard to control. Just a thought.

Good luck!
Barrett

What Barrett said, when you get it to glide strait power off. Then go for the thrust angle so power on and off it goes straight. I usually start with the motor parallel to the wing, no up or down thrust on flying wings. When you get it dialed in, you will love it.

Thanks! As soon as it stops raining, I'll give it a throw!

I never thought of purposly putting the CG too fas forward and then shifting it back as need be. I can't move the battery (it's at the front already) but I will add some nose weight of maybe at HECELL battery that weighs a little more.

I have an eRaider that I did some work to and added weight tot he back of the plane. I didn't change anything and flew it with the regular battery pack so it was tail heavy. It flew exactly as you describe. I landed it and had to add about 1.4 oz of weight to the nose to get it to fly well. I went and added a cell to the battery back for my brushless system, went from 8 to 9 cells, and now it balances great and with no dead weight. I did have to change the configuration of the pack for it to fit, but the extra cell gives me a little more power.

Mike

Did you chop the E-raider? If so, what dimensions do you come up with (I've been thinking about one to round-out my Foam Flying Wing Collection....)

Thanks!

Its box stock. I have the old one where the battery is mounted along the root instead of across it. They are made to take the batteries in a side by side configuration. The4/5A cells in a 3×3 flat configuration will fit, so thats how I got them in. Fly's very nicely, long glides with the motor off and plenty of power for big loops and long slow rolls. After I complete the tweaking of the power system I will be posting pix and the setup I am using here. I am running something new as far as systems go so I don't want to post just yet.

Mike

Thanks all for the advice -

I taped 2 bucks work of quarters (Canadian, of course!) to the nose & the battery - Flew so well that my test field prooved too small this morning - it's pretty fast and doesen't seem to want to slow down!

Once I tweak it out I'll just put some lead under the canopy near the nose.

Thanks again!

Smash - I'm curious to see what your new power system is!

Ok - Here We go Again!

I took a buck-fifty off the plane, and it seems to glide nicely - about 50' on the glide test. Once in the air with the power on, I can't seem to trim it - it always noses down a little. Loops were nice - clean and big or small. Rolls on the other hand were not good - just floppin' all around.

So guys - and ideas on this one?

Thanks!

Is it balanced laterally? In other words, if you place a finger under the nose at the LE and under the motor shaft at the TE, does it fall off to one side or the other drasticlly? If it does, then that might be why your are having trouble rolling. Or if you are using a computer TX, check to make sure your aileron throw is set the same for both control surfaces. If one travels more than the other then the rolls will not be axial.

If you can, try taking a little of the up out of the motor thrust angle. If you are having problems with it nosing down under power, thats the first place that I would look for improvement.

Good luck,
Barrett

I'll try the thrust angle - it balances pretty good laterally.

Thanks!

Well, I didn't get a chance to fly it last weekend with the updated system, but a friend of mine has a similar system in his FMA Razor. He is running a Hacker B40-18S with a Mega 2:1 gearbox on 8 CP-1300's and an APC 9×7.5. Performance is as good as the same motor direct drive with a 6×4 on it. Vertical is better and the sound level is way down. I have a Mega 1615/4 with the 2:1 box and 9×7.5 APC on 8 1700AUP's. I have 2 9 cell HeCell 1800 packs that don't perform well. I have to get them broken in and then see what they will do. I like the power that the geared setup gives. The plane will power through the climbs much better with the higher thrust than the direct drive setups. We are both happy with the "new" planes since we fly in populated areas and don't want to over stay our welcomes. These were easy upgrades that didn't cost much. The hardest thing was deciding how big of a prop to cut the elevons for.

I can fit a 10" dia prop on the back of my Raider now...

Mike