http://www.porcupinerc.com/Volantex-...lane_p_65.html

Shipping cost is high but to me it is still cheap overall.

Glad I found this mega thread.
I now just need a year to read it and then I can go fly my new Poenix evolution 😪

Originally Posted by Tal_N

Glad I found this mega thread.
I now just need a year to read it and then I can go fly my new Poenix evolution ��

Just use the thread tools for pics and search this thread for words ...

Originally Posted by Tal_N

Glad I found this mega thread.
I now just need a year to read it and then I can go fly my new Poenix evolution 😪

Welcome to the world of RC groups forums Tal.
I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
One tip for you: it will help all concerned sooner or later if you fill in your location details on your avatar. Do you know how to do that?

I got my Phoenix 2.6m as well, after having the ASW 28. Still trying to dial in for this glider.

Originally Posted by Jim.Thompson

Welcome to the world of RC groups forums Tal.
I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
One tip for you: it will help all concerned sooner or later if you fill in your location details on your avatar. Do you know how to do that?

Actually, I don't.

Maidened the bird yesterday.
Managed 3 good flights, one of them a 22 minute easy going with one BIG thermal climbe.

I did manage a couple of out-of-control dives when playing with out of tune flight modes but all in all was a great day on the field.

This is my first experience with a glider and I was thrilled to see how different it is from motorized flying.

Really looking forward to fly again.

FYI

As others before me, I had an issue with CG … had to push battery way back to get a normal CG.

I picked up the battery plate and found the metal weight glued to it.
After removal the glider balances easy with the battery in it’s natural place under the canopy.

Going mountain sloping tomorrow.

Happy hunting.

Wow, no kidding. Thanks for the tip.
I remove mine as well. I just measure it, that is about 43g.

Maidened mine a week ago. She was sitting in a box almost a 9 months, so it was about time hehhe. CG was spot on with 3s 1800. I flipped the servo tray so to give me a bit more room. Changed all the servos for metal gear one. Ohhh yeah. I changed the wing to rubber tie down version. Much better. The motor is a bit under powered but i don't mind because I slope sore only. Nice flyer

I bought my Phoenix many years ago when this thread was below 200 pages and I thought it's time to share my experience with that nice plane.
I still fly it and use it as 'crash test dummy' whenever I don't trust the flying or landing conditions and when I test new locations. The Phoenix really survives hard landings without any damage where you would have damaged other planes easily.

Recently, I managed to do some serious mistakes same time and the Phoenix hit the ground hard from 15m heigth in 90 degree angle. It looked almost like the Phoenix in post https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show...postcount=9662.
Although the plane looked terrible, it was easy to repair as the fuselage was not damaged (just the battery mount). A bit of UHU POR for the wings, a new wing connector and battery mount was all I had to fix. Additionaly, I strengthened the wing mount with epoxy and fibreglass.

As the decals started to peel off, I decided to rip off the decals completely and give my Phoenix a new paint. As I fly many times above 100m that improved also the visibility a lot. In addition I installed a 1.3m carbon fibre rod into the wings as I was sometimes afraid the fuse would head its own way without the wings . It's now even more fun with the right conditions - and flying like a bird behavior is also gone.

The motor is still the original one and its always cool after landing. I also still fly with the original blades where the motor consumes 16-19amps. With the 2200mAh battery and some thermals (or on a slope) you can fly as long as you can survive the sun . In a flat country without thermals it's not so much fun anymore as the motor is just good enough to search for the right conditions.

My settings:
CG 75mm - ideal setting for me to identify thermals and do aerobatics but its sensitive and maybe not the best setting for beginners
rudder, elevator, flaps, ailerons - all I could get
flaps move with ailerons
butterfly with quite some elevator down
flying weight with 2200mAh - 1390gr (heavy for that plane but okay for me - the carbon fibre rod adds 100gr)


Attached are a few pictures of the new look - the light conditions hide the repairs

Hi Johmei,
Can you comment on the spar design?
I read somewhere that it had an aluminum spar, then somewhere else that it was square carbon; and somewhere else that the tip spar was plywood.
I am thinking of buying a wing and tail kit as I want to build a light fuse.
Is it a thin wing section? Any idea what airfoil?
Thanks!

Hi ForeverFlying,

The spar design of the main wing is made of light square metal tubes + plywood extensions + round carbon-tube spar joiner.
The 10x10mm square metal tube in each wing is 68cm long and then a piece of plywood stabilizes 20 more centimeters before the curved wing ends.
The tube is narrowed at 20cm to prevent the 40cm x 9mm carbon-tube spar joiner from falling into the wing.

I don't have any idea about the airfoil but you cannot expect a perfect aerobatic, speed or thermal performance.
Wing depth at root 20cm and 24mm thick.

The most impressive thing for me on that plane is actually the unbreakable fuselage.

Here are some pictures from the thread:
Plywood extension: https://static.rcgroups.net/forums/a...-239-image.jpg
Square metal tube - rough idea for airfoil?: https://static.rcgroups.net/forums/a...210_134100.jpg

Thanks Johmei!
Mike

Over the years I did also couple of changes and fixes to the plane and it seems the Phoenix needs more attention as any of my other planes. On the other hand it's nice to have a plain you don't hesitate to experiment with .

• Unfortunately, I bought the Phoenix 2000 with servos. I don't know how its sold today but buying just the raw plane could be the better option. After the first check on the bench (the first servo I tested broke already with little force) I replaced all servos with metal gear servos. Well, I kept the one for the rudder as it's not exposed to any force.
• From time to time I had to fasten screws of the pin horns - you know if play becomes worse.
• Cut off all rudders and attached them with pinned nylon hinges.
• Reduced play in linkages using soldering iron to melt a bit more nylon into the holes of the pin horns.
• During a pre-flight check I found the elevator was moving strange - turned out the clevis pin was almost broken - if I would have went flying with that thing the Phoenix would not exist anymore today Replaced elevator clevis with more stable version.
• Cut off a bit of the spinner nose and opened front for more air to the motor.
• Cut screws for wing attachment and have cordless screwdriver with me to attach the wing to the fuse.
• Replaced plywood wing joiner 2 times because it broke during landing.

Recent changes already mentioned in last post:

• Installed 1.3m carbon fibre rod into wings. If you have to disassemble the wings you should know that the fibre rod sits really tight and you have a good chance to pull out or damage the metal channels within the wings when you remove it.
• Built new plywood battery mount as the original one was broken into many pieces.
• Removed decals and applied new paint. Top is acrylic paint and bottom is transparent acrylic paint as EPO protection+resin paint - all rolled or brushed (tail) on. Not so many flights so far but the paint does not show any issues after some landings in grass.

I keep the two wing half's always attached as it is a pain to to screw them together before flight.
Have to attach the canopy always with tape because I ripped off at least one of the connection pins in one of the first flights.

With the next pit-stop I will replace all clevis and push-rods with z/l-bend push-rods and metal clevis for the tail.

It's a real fun glider for the money and if I take into account the money I have saved if I had to repair other planes - and still having a lot of fun with that glider - its amazing

Nice mods. This was my first and so far (waiting on a lanyu ASW 28) glider.
With the help of some reaally smart gents on this thread, and a new taranis, Ive ceased crashing mine and having a ball with this (best 65.00usd ever spent on an aircraft yet) glider. Using 5.00 hk mg servos all around, everything has been re-hinged, 2836 1000kv, 20c turnigy 1500 3s, precison vario, voltage meter aboard.
Longest flight was 47 mins and thats cuz I got bored and landed.
Worst flights are 12 mins. Get 3 runs up to 6-700ft at full throttle. Lands at my feet, well nearly,
Haven't melted. Havent crashed landed due to dead battery.
Nothing but happy time.
From what Ive read about the ASW 28, I'm prolly gonna prefer this beauty over it.
Thanks heaps to Nigel!!