thermaldoctor Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 Well it's finally here..the new F3j model from Samba It's been in development for a while and is very shortly due to be launched. Keep an eye on the Samba website http://www.f3j.com Luckily I'm getting 3 in March and will be flying them at the 2012 F3j world champs in South Africa. Pilots such as 2 time World Champion David Hobby and Jo Grini amongst some notable others will be flying them so the plane stands a good chance of success. It will be interesting to see the battle unfold between the new Pike Perfections and Maxas with the established Xplorers. Plus there's also the Icon 2's in greater numbers now so it is all to play for.. http://www.facebook......38;theaterhttp://www.facebook......38;theater Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Austin Posted January 18, 2012 Administrators Share Posted January 18, 2012 Lucky bugger. It looks really nice :cool: All the new design's are going towards a Supra style fuselage to save weight. What will the flying weight be? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thermaldoctor Posted January 19, 2012 Author Share Posted January 19, 2012 Flying weights are between 1700g and 2000g depending on lay-up. 1700g is with the new Vladimir 45g spread tow material for light to medium conditions. 2000g is with conventional 80g spread tow material and 120% sparsConventional 68g carbon falls somewhere inbetweenI think it is possible to build a Superlight one down to 1600g but this is with 80% spars for very light winds and early morning/late evening dead air slots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thermaldoctor Posted January 21, 2012 Author Share Posted January 21, 2012 Austin saidAll the new design's are going towards a Supra style fuselage to save weight. What will the flying weight be? I've heard Nan are soon to be making these type fuselages as well aren't they? You can lose around 100g using this configuration as the fin becomes purely a flying surface rather than a structural element to support the AMT. You also lose the weight of a tailplane joiner, joiner tubes and all the linkage devices of a conventional all flying tailInterestingly, the only new model not to use this fuselage configuration is the new Maxa designed by Joe Wurts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Austin Posted January 21, 2012 Administrators Share Posted January 21, 2012 thermaldoctor said: I've heard Nan are soon to be making these type fuselages as well aren't they? Nan can save a lot of weight in the fuselage on the current design but it take a lot more work to produce it. Thats not ideal for production in larger amounts so I am sure they will be working on something ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JG Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Very nice i like the look it of the colours :cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster-X Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Which colours are you looking at :eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JG Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Rooster-X said: Which colours are you looking at :eek: This 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thermaldoctor Posted January 22, 2012 Author Share Posted January 22, 2012 This is the first model out of brand new moulds and although Samba use CNC milled aluminium negatives they have made it in black to assess the quality and surface finish before production goes ahead. I think the red and yellow is just for orientation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thermaldoctor Posted February 14, 2012 Author Share Posted February 14, 2012 One of the very first production models is ready..for Jo Grini. Mmmmmmm…………….spread tow. Even the tailaplane, fin and rudder are Vladimirs 40g spread tow which you can't see in the photo……nice one Jojo :cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster-X Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 Now that is a much nicer colour scheme :clap: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thermaldoctor Posted March 1, 2012 Author Share Posted March 1, 2012 The very first Pike Perfections production models have now flown and appear to have very good results. So far the opinion is a feeling of light weight and low drag. Jo Grini's flight log shows a really good sink rate (less than -0.3 m/s) and David Hobby is reporting better penetration when coming back from downwind in 8m/s. It looks like the slight modification to the Perfect airfoil, and the design and constructional changes are producing the better performance we hoped for. What we have looks to be a great L/D plane with good L3/2/D for dead air rounds.My 3 are due middle to end of March, can't wait. General release will be summer I believe or after the worlds in August so get your orders in quick.Flight data logs below; http://static.rcgrou.....1330293068 David Hobby (2 x time world champion) with his new Perfection.. http://static.rcgrou.....1330442121 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Austin Posted March 2, 2012 Administrators Share Posted March 2, 2012 Sounds good Neil. Ill give you some first hand info on it if Jojo takes his to the North Cyprus Open on 16th March. http://northcyprusf3jopen.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isoaritfirst Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 Cyprus sounds like a nice venue for a comp, but would be great to get a site on the MOD base they water the grass. Its looks just like England only its hot and sunny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thermaldoctor Posted April 5, 2012 Author Share Posted April 5, 2012 They're here..! Three new Pike Perfections arrived today and will get put together over the Bank Holiday weekend. Thanks to Tony Fu from Sloperacer for going above and beyond the call of duty to get the Fu-Fix bearing kits to me for Saturday so I can nail 'em together over the bank holiday weekend. Service like this can make a difference.. First impressions; Usual Samba high quality mouldings Clever elevator pushrod system Nice use of Vladimirs 40g spread tow carbon on all the tail parts Round and small diameter fuselage ahead of the leading edge - good grip = good pre-tension Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Committee Member PeteMitchell Posted April 5, 2012 Committee Member Share Posted April 5, 2012 Nice Neil, Are they all the same layup/flying weight? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thermaldoctor Posted April 6, 2012 Author Share Posted April 6, 2012 They're not all the same Pete.. 2 are identical lay-ups meant for all round conditions. These are standard carbon 68 wings with carbon socks in the ailerons. Pretty standard stuff except the core material is rohacell rather than the herex they use on production models. Flying weights should be around the 1950g mark with the ability to carry around 600g ballast. Tail parts are made of 40g spread tow which makes them really light and stiff. Not sure if they will sell them like this though? Seems a bit overkill and an expensive way to do it. 1 is a Superlight. This is from the new 40g Vladimir carbon spread tow material and spars are 80% strength. This should be ready to fly around 1700g and intended for the early morning and late evening rounds of the World Champs. Max windspeed it can safely take a full tow in is 2-3m/s and up to 5m/s if doing fast tows. More initial impressions are; Teflon coated glassfibre snakes used instead of the usual Samba hollow metal pushrods. Detachable fin looks useful and helps transportation and storage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Committee Member PeteMitchell Posted April 6, 2012 Committee Member Share Posted April 6, 2012 Thanks Neil, I hope you do well with them. Certainly you team members are putting in a lot of effort and a big investment to represent the country. Interesting about your flying weights, our electric soarers are very close to F3j now. My 3.8 Xplorer flys at 2.1kg and my 3.5 Elektra is at 1.75kg F5j will probably be a bit lighter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thermaldoctor Posted April 15, 2012 Author Share Posted April 15, 2012 The C68 Perfections had some of their first shakedown flights today. Wind was 5-6m/s and the field small and surrounded by trees so turbulent at lower levels. It was about 4pm ish with 3/4 cloud and 12deg but the air was still cycling. First impressions are fast and floaty with HUGE rudder. Samba haven't finished making ballast yet so we flew at 2kg with no problem. I can confirm it goes up in lift and down in sink just like the rest :cool: . Seriously, until someone designs a sailplane with a positive sink rate it's hard to get excited but initial impressions are very very favourable. Feels light and nimble to fly and likes to go forward which is a very good thing. Handling under brakes is excellent and better than the Perfect. This may have something to do with the very light extremeties as planned :clap: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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