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Did you see that :
Regards, Roland |
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I'm starting to dislike this site!! As soon as i think i have all the planes i want lined up; another plane shows up that I want to fly
I dont need a trainer but I am intrigued by the fuselage . I would most likely upgrade the power system . Looks like a decent flier. |
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So, my Trainstar has now 12 flights, and I'm very happy with it.
I ended up with the CoG 1 cm (about 0.4 inches) more toward the leading edge than the marks on the wing, the plane felt tail heavy before. I'm using Hobbyking Zippy compact 3S 35C 2450 mAh batteries (208 gr > 0.46 lbs), and they are pushed forward almost against the "firewall". I also added two washers behind the upper mounting holes of the motor holder (more downthrust) and now the plane behaves almost neutral regardless of the throttle applied. Without the washers, I had to apply down elevator each time I throttled up, to maintain the desired climb rate. Also I'm wondering how well it glides with no throttle, I had to resume some landings because I came to high and expected a quicker descent ! I didn't add flaps, the plane can be flown slow enough witout them for landings. The plane weights about 1400 gr (about 3.1 lbs) without the battery and about 1600 g (about 3.5 lbs) with. It can be slowed down without brutal stalls, and seems very forgiving in this aspect (that's normal for a trainer) The motor could be a little more powerfull, not that the plane wont climb, but when doing loops, don't leave the plane too long with the nose to the sky, or it will loose too much speed. Flying inverted is possible too, all in one it's a nice plane, relaxing with some possibilities for light aerobatics (loops, rolls, stall turns...). With the 2450 mAh battery the flight time are between 12 and 14 minutes before the cell voltage drops under 3.50 volts (under load). No ESC or motor problem for now, but I think I will replace the stock servos, not knowing if they are reliable in the long term. Roland |
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Last edited by Rollmops67; Jan 26, 2016 at 05:08 PM.
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I'm not crazy about those bell motors with the looooong shafts. They tend to bend easily. As accident prone as I am, I know I will bend those. my motor seems to have good power, so I will deal with the prop shaft problem a different way, either by modding the motor end so the Durafly prop shaft will just bolt on, or make a shim to take up the gap. ------Metalguy
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Since this is a "good for beginners thread", is the 1400mm TrainStar Tough a better plane for beginners or is the newer 1100mm TrainStar Exchange with 2 sets of wings (3 channel and 4 channel)? Any other pluses or minuses? Thoughts in general? Appreciate any advice.
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It has ailerons, but it also has (lots of) dihedral so it can be flown with just rudder and elevator, the ailerons being a nice plus for more "aerobatic" flight (rolls, inverted). After about 20 flights, I'm now wishing there would be no dihedral, or at least less, because it's too much self-stabilizing now that I'm at a better flight level. Will try to find wings (no success so far, if anyone here knows a source...) and assemble them without dihedral. Roland |
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While the Trainstar Tough has no problems taking off a grass surface, it's smaller and less powerful counterpart probably won't unless bigger wheels are fitted. I mistakenly ordered the smaller one, flew it once and stuck it on top of a cupboard where it still sits after buying the bigger one. |
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I crashed mine early one morning when I inadvertently flew into the sun and was blinded.
It came into a playing field nose first at half throttle and did considerable damage when the wings separated after pulling the plastic screw keepers out and twisted and bent the internal wing spar as well as smashing the plastic cowl. Totally my own fault for first flying it into the sun and then panicking and not following the golden rule of throttling back and leveling out. Had I done that, it would have flown into sight again. However, I did get it flying again but could never get the aluminum internal wing spar exactly right again so it now flies with a small piece of packing under one wing to bring it inline with the rear stab and has a little less dihedral. I was able to buy a replacement cowl but not the wing spar. |
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My stock half-wings were glued togheter, so it was impossible to take the aluminium spar out and straighten it. So I simply bought another Trainstar. I didn't know if it it would be possible to straighten the stock spar without fragilize it. But no better way to know than trying it ! I put a drill in each side of the spar (diameter of the drill about inner diameter of the spar so a vice or the hammer can't flatten it) and put one side of the spar in a vice, and then straigntened it gently with a hammer. No problem at all. Just to be sure I pushed a 2 inch long steel rod (same diameter as the spar's inner diameter) into the middle of the spar where the bent was. I had also to cut a little EPO layer on the top of the wings, at the place the plastic joiner comes. And voilà, it was not more difficult than that. And how behaves the plane without dihedral ? The first thing : take offs are very more "straightforward" now. With the dihedral when at take off the plane deviated say left the right wing lifted, increasing the phenomenon, and it was hard to counteract. Now, not only the plane deviates less, but it lifts off with both wings at the same time (OK there is still a little rudder needed sometimes, but not so much) Flying is practically as simple as with dihedral, the plane is inherently stable with the high wing. Of course, more aileron input is needed now to initiate turns (and a little opposite aileron to end turns), with a little rudder of course to made the turn nice. Rolls are also easier without the dihedral. And last but not least, I find the plane looks better ! Have nice flights and smooth landings. Roland |
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I bent and twisted the alloy wing spar on mine after coming in hard nose first when I lost site of my plane in the sun (silly me) and was never able to get it exactly right again despite my efforts with heat, vices, round steel bars and frustration. As a result, although I got it in the air again, I had to pach one side of the wing up to make it align with the rear horizontal stabilizer but it was never the same when flying. Your idea would probably fix that and like you, I have a lot more stick time behind me now. As an afterthought, why use the alloy spar at all? Why not just replace it with a carbon fiber rod or tube with a piece of rod through the guts? |
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Last edited by khellio; Feb 29, 2016 at 05:51 PM.
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Trainstar tough as pylon racers?
I recently has an email from our club president regarding introducing less experienced pilots to pylon racing.
It's been decided that all interested can only use a stock standard Trainstar Tough in order to make it fair on everyone. Not the ideal for a pylon racer but it's ease of flying and toughness should prove to be a lot of fun for those wanting to expand their skills and interests. |
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