11th 2021 F3-RES/F5-RES Combined 14 day duration posta

[AnthonyB]

I will put this here just to encourage others to have a go – no matter how dead it seems.

(This is my real Bombay Duck – for over 6 – 8mph wind)

I have been so busy setting up my lightweight (because most peoples are lightweight) that this has been ignored. The rest of the time was on the “Trainer” version because people wanted a fly.

I charged it up 3 days ago and when it was charged, it started raining. This was my first chance. There is no wind, but the air is wet and it is generally “grey.”

I had 2 flights and they were OK but perhaps nose heavy. Making it sluggish.

I moved the battery 15mm back and it was better (like the others I had moved back). But still rather sluggish – but not a problem.

So, I moved it another 15mm back and it was even better. Still sluggish.

Moving it back the second time meant pushing it into the rear of the canopy opening. Then I did the best flight (shown). Most were 4min+......... from 60m.

I pushed the battery (leads first) into the fuz – now there was nothing to grip to get it out!!!

Realistically it needs a lighter battery, the one in is a 950-2S but 65C and weighs 54g. I will have to find one about 44g.

I NEVER us a rate switch, why would you? For some reason, this has a rate switch and it was switched on at 60% - duhhh.

10 flights and a pleasant interlude............. Please, get out and practice.

[martynk]

I managed to get out this afternoon for a while, the first time in ages. 4 flights, the first was very poor as the motor cot unexpectedly at about 30-40m, the other three were 8mins, 5mins and ended with this one:

I am claiming 10:25 glide time.. 

 

Air was quite buoyant with weak patchy lift and weak sink. Very strange to feel the infill with the model directly overhead and still slowly going upwards

 

Best flight I have had in ages.

 

[martynk]

Updated table.  Not often I am at the top with more than me flying.. In fact very rare. 

 

      

      

      

[Graham Lorimer]

Nice flight Martyn, the conditions we are currently experiencing do not lend themselves to 10 minute plus flights, you did very well.

Graham

 

 

[martynk]

Thanks Graham

I am a bit annoyed I flew into that sink at the end of the flight.. A bit too low and too many trees to escape.. still pleased with the flight though.

[cirrusRC]

Graham, did you get to bottom of Purito smoke?  Still running the hacker motor in it?

[Graham Lorimer]

It appears that the ESC malfunctioned. It looked perfect, and the wires going into the motor were burnt, although there was no evidence that they had touched the motor housing, the normal beginning of a fault.

I fitted a new DYS motor, connected it up and it immediately burnt out, so the thought is faulty ESC. Fitted another new DYS motor, new ESC and all is now good.

Not sure how I could have avoided smoking the second motor, everything looked fine.

I am a real fan of the DYS motors, and at £12.50 they are hard to fault.

Hacker annoy me a bit, they make very nice stuff, but will not sell a motor without the gearbox, so very expensive to replace the complete unit every time there is a failure.

GL

[mikef]

1 hour ago, Graham Lorimer said:

It appears that the ESC malfunctioned. ………

Which ESC was it?

I got out with my Purito-e yesterday - best was 7:08.

[Graham Lorimer]

It was a 30 amp ESC with built in BEC from Hyperflight. I have used these all year without problem until now

 

Graham

[AnthonyB]

This is the result of a whole day (20+ flights) - 8mins 5secs from when the motor cut. And yes - I landed after every flight. 

But my landings (with no brakes) are benefiting, so within a pace or 2.

The biggest advantage is where there are others flying, you can launch to where they are circling / highlighting lift.

[AnthonyB]

(above) There was virtually no wind (all day), so launched to where there was slight disturbance in trees. (Looking afterwards) I got the lift, then lost it, found it again and lost it.

Once I lost the lift, it came down from 60m in about 4mins. This was the form all day. 

The hard part in all this, is getting someone excited about a 4min flight........ I know, WE are totally absorbed.

Oh, and just within vision were gulls circling - too far and directly along my shadow. Into the sun, 180deg away (very bright / low sun) there were also gulls circling. There is an estate 600 yards in each direction, fields of wet grass don't seem to work !

[martynk]

Updated table..

      

      

[cirrusRC]

Hello.  Some questions for the F5RES flyers.

 

1.  I assume you are all using the Altis height limiter?  The nano?

2. What are the golden rules for setting up the Altis?  I've read too many reports where model loss was attributed to incorrect wiring and setup of Altis.

3. Do you use a separate ubec in these models for redundancy in case ESC fails?

Thanks

[martynk]

I use the Altis Nano. I wasn't aware of any problems. I program it from my PC using the app and have had no problems with either of the Altis devices that I have.

I don't use a separate uBec.

 

[martynk]

New postal started...

[John Minchell]

Cirrus

I will not be using an Altis Nano, but the RC electronics Altimeter #2 Basic.  But it has the same function of height or time cut off to the motor.

Having suffered a full set of 10 servos and a receiver burnt out from a failed ubec, I will always now use a separate battery to supply the power to Rx and servos in any competition airframe. Pays your money etc.

John M

[mikef]

1 hour ago, cirrusRC said:

…..  1.  I assume you are all using the Altis height limiter?  The nano?  …..

RC Electronics RC Multi 3 here.

 

[cirrusRC]

Thanks all.  A separate battery would be a good idea, but it's a trade off with space and weight on these small light RES models.   And as John pointed out, UBEC not guaranteed to provide peace of mind.

I very much prefer the simplicity of F3RES but appreciate the advantages of F5RES.  

[AnthonyB]

I went out for a fly (last week) and my motor would not finish priming. Hence it would not run. I went back inside and found (then) that nothing would work – dead !

I then removed the Altis and took the covering off. The orange / yellow wire was off and was clearly detached from the board. Further investigation revealed that the brown wire was also off.

I can fully understand how that happened. The 3 wires are all together (usual 3 wire lead). The wire goes straight into the board – BUT – the 3 wires are also held together by a silicon band (see photo). After each session I usually pull the Altis out and connect to computer for a reading. Each time you flex the wires, both pulling out and replacing, the soldered copper wire is notoriously bad for work hardening, hence that very short length of soldered wire is brittle and it will snap (Shame on me for not seeing this before it snapped).

**The garbage used for leads now (I bet) is not as good as real Copper.

Then I had the task of re-soldering !!!!!! It is a very small unit, the wire is really close to the screen – well, I sent it back, I did not like the idea of doing it.

I have no problems with even very small components, I have the tiny soldering iron and solder paste (which is better).

I really would have liked to do the work – I would have made all the wires the exact right length.

When it comes back, I will have split the 3 wires (between esc and Altis) into signal going to one plug and plus and minus (on a longer lead) to another.

The signal going to Altis and the 2 power wires directly to Rx.

On the other side of the Altis, the 3 wires (as normal) will go to the Rx.

Should that (to Altis) get flexed (and broken) it will only stop the motor. The power to the Rx will not be constantly moved and flexed and hence not affected.

I am on 2S and all else is HV, so really it is all just connected to the battery. There is NO bec / sbec to fail.

If you have a bec, then it is just the same, but with the extra failure point.

It is now a week and no message from AerobTec.......... It may be a while !

[AnthonyB]

The 30A (yes – too big) ESC is to the right, covered in red heat shrink.

The wire is the one sticking up, that goes to the Altis.

The ESC is a Blheli-S and is internally wired from the 2 battery pads.

I may use a smaller (20A) esc and re-wire, so the plus and minus wires are long enough to reach the Rx. The white one will then be the only wire going to Altis.

On the other side of the Altis, it will plug in as normal.

It may be better (and lighter) to wire the Altis directly to the esc, via just the white lead.