Originally Posted by studioRS

I've already got two quarters in the tail, maybe .75 ¢ will do it.

A 1/2 oz gold coin works just right, and it's nice and small.

Originally Posted by Jovanx

A 1/2 oz gold coin works just right, and it's nice and small.

I use gold nuggets and velcro them on

Originally Posted by studioRS

You're welcome Jim! Yes, indeed I printed houndstooth pattern on cloth on my ink jet, worked pretty well. The only thing I need to do is add a little more weight to the tail, it's still a tick too nose heavy with the added dude, cabriolet and houndstooth hat. I've already got two quarters in the tail, maybe .75 ¢ will do it.

Wow, I assumed it came on the pilot, didn't think you might have done that. Really? Can't imaging cloth running through an inkjet.

I'm with Strike3, find a way to get your CG with the battery, move it or get a different size/shaped one. I find if I move the 1300 mah I got from Heads Up 1/4 inch forward or backward, it changes CG quite a bit. If it's just three quarters I guess that's no big deal, but I'm allergic to weight.
Jim

Thanks for the notes on CoG guys. I've been flying my Radian for almost three years now and adjusted CoG all the time, including using wing spar ballast for high winds. Yes I've had the opportunity to adjust battery weight and find that it glides the best with battery all the way back and more weight in the tail in stock form with the 1300mAh battery. Now that I've added more weight up front, I'll need to compensate. It's really only a little and I might just have to only add my .02 ¢ worth on this... :-)

@cloud_9 - Jim, yes I spray glued with 3M Super77 a peice of old bed sheet fabric to an 8.5x11 piece of paper and it just runs through the ink jet no problem. Look closely at the photos I've posted and you can see the hat pattern printed on the fabric too. Peel off the fabric and the spray glue stays on the paper - easy. Cheers, Thompson

Originally Posted by studioRS

@cloud_9 - Jim, yes I spray glued with 3M Super77 a peice of old bed sheet fabric to an 8.5x11 piece of paper and it just runs through the ink jet no problem. Look closely at the photos I've posted and you can see the hat pattern printed on the fabric too. Peel off the fabric and the spray glue stays on the paper - easy. Cheers, Thompson

Thanks for the printer idea. I am getting a new printer next week. It has waterproof ink. It is much cheaper to buy a new one than replace cartridges in my colour laser.

" adjusted CoG all the time, including using wing spar ballast for high winds."

Humm, that is interesting, I have always assumed adding weight to the wing tube would not change the CG, or at least very little.

Rafty, you are right wing tube weight didn't change the CoG. I just mentioned it along with the tail weight statement. My bad.

For the wing spar weight I use romex wire pieces.

Originally Posted by Jovanx

Now you have my interest!!! I have long considered having a strobe on my Radian. I would like to hear more details about this installation.

Finally got some pics. These strobes are not visible during daylight but good for dull days or late evening. The voltage they specify for operation is too low, hence my larger battery. It has operated for hours on this battery and no problems. There is negligible current draw and you could use it several days and not have to charge it. The strobe tube is protected by the fuselage contour so it is quite safe to land on hard ground etc. It is held in place by leukotape. I see the local Jaycar shop has half circle strobe tubes. I thought I might try one as it should be brighter.
Anyway I hope this helps.

lol, I think you need to do the math on that.

Keep in mind printers aren't designed for shoving thick substraights that aren't paper. So just make sure that you are careful when you set it up.

Originally Posted by Grantham Kid

Thanks for the printer idea. I am getting a new printer next week. It has waterproof ink. It is much cheaper to buy a new one than replace cartridges in my colour laser.

I wonder if it will print on solarfilm? lol

Originally Posted by studioRS

For the wing spar weight I use romex wire pieces.

Are you an Electrician ???
I'm an Electrician, sounds like somthing I'd do LOL

Glen

Originally Posted by Grantham Kid

Finally got some pics. These strobes are not visible during daylight but good for dull days or late evening. The voltage they specify for operation is too low, hence my larger battery. It has operated for hours on this battery and no problems. There is negligible current draw and you could use it several days and not have to charge it. The strobe tube is protected by the fuselage contour so it is quite safe to land on hard ground etc. It is held in place by leukotape. I see the local Jaycar shop has half circle strobe tubes. I thought I might try one as it should be brighter.
Anyway I hope this helps.

Thanks for the pictures of the strobe. I'm assuming you leave it on for the whole flight considering what you say about battery life. I was thinking along the lines of a high powered LED that flashed with the help of an electronic circuit, and was controlled with a spare channel, but your method would probably be lighter.

Originally Posted by biggy boy

Are you an Electrician ???
I'm an Electrician, sounds like somthing I'd do LOL

Glen

Art Director, graphic designer and Vermont yankee My buddy who is in construction had some laying on the ground and we cut it up! The copper peices work the best, I can cram three strands in there when it's really windy. The bends and curves in the wire keep it from rattling around.

Originally Posted by Jovanx

Thanks for the pictures of the strobe. I'm assuming you leave it on for the whole flight considering what you say about battery life. I was thinking along the lines of a high powered LED that flashed with the help of an electronic circuit, and was controlled with a spare channel, but your method would probably be lighter.

It weighs practically nothing except for the battery but the battery was my choice. It doesn't affect the flying.
There are people that sell ultrabrite lighting systems but they can be expensive. This was cheap and I had the battery from my old Bell47 helicopter. I do leave it switched on as it goes for many hours. There is a receiver controlled switch at HK if you try your idea. I have one and use it for the landing lights. It is Y leaded to the gear so the lights come on when you put the gear down.

I recently got a GoPro Hero 3 and have not been satisfied with my first and second attempts at mounting it on my Radian.

My first attempt placed it on top of the fuselage with the center of the GoPro mount right over the wing spar. I applied packaging tape to the foam fuselage and then stuck Scotch Heavy Duty Fasteners to the packaging tape, and a matching fastener on the GoPro mount. The problem with this arrangement was that the fuselage is curved, both forward/back and left/right, while the GoPro mount is flat and the fasteners didn't make contact over their entire surface area, so the camera was wobbly, especially left to right.

My second attempt placed the GoPro on top of the wing, right next to the fuselage and still over the wing spar, using same attachment technique of packaging tape and heavy duty fasteners. The top of the wing in this location is much flatter than the fuselage, so the fasteners connected firmly. I chose how far back to place the camera on the wing by setting the Radian on a stand, with the battery positioned to have recommended CG and then placed the camera on the wing , moving it until the camera did not tip the plane forward or backward. I thought that this would work well, but my test flights didn't go as expected. Under power the Radian appeared to fly normally, but when gliding the nose would point down and quite a bit of up elevator was required to keep the nose up. Why, when I thought I had the camera located right over CG, does my Radian appear to be so nose heavy while gliding?

I've also considered placing the GoPro further out on the wing, to get the nose, and especially the spinning propeller, out of view, but I wasn't sure how far from the fuselage it could go without having the Radian become too unbalanced left to right. Would you share your results, good or bad, of mounting a GoPro to the wing of a Radian?

Thanks,

Jay