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Tilman Baumann

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Tilman Baumann

I was looking for a little foamie to throw in the slope to have some fun and not worry about breaking anything in crashes.

I was flying a flyingwings.co.uk Slipstream 1m delta-wing so far, but motorized. The wing was mostly indestructible, but was getting a bit floppy after lots of battering. I learned flying with this thing, 'landed' it hard on a regular basis. The wing took it well, but the motor not, the motor mount kept bending over at every crash and therefore I almost never had a straight angle of thrust. And I placed the battery so that it needed a big pack to have the right CG.

It became a bit of a pain to fly, and after all - who needs a motor?

 

Anyway. I knew that the SAS Wildthing is really nice looking and robust. But the website had some issues lately and I liked the fact that I can get all the building material at flyingwings.co.uk so that is where I went in the end.

I like the looks of the hawk. It's a real bird of prey with those forward swept wings.

It's probably not quite as indestructible as the Wild Thing, especially the tail feather. But I feel pretty good about it so far.

 

I have not finished the build yet, but a few things so far.

 

I used the laminating film they sell ant flyingwings. And I'm so glad I did. It is so incredibly robust and smooth. Way way better than strapping tape. Irons on like a dream and becomes really stiff. I put three layers on the leading edge, you barely see the layers but it's bomb proof.

 

Unfortunately the colored tapes flyingwings sells is still crap. Covering is really bad, especially on black foam. Really a shame that they always use white foam on the pictures but send you black, where no color really works on.

 

The foam is not very dense and has pretty big pores. Not the greatest stuff really. But perhaps normal for hot wire cut foam.

The cutting is not very precise, especially the foam around the fuselage has warped quite a bit and has huge gaps. And the corners are a bit crusty and need sanding down.

 

I soaked the whole fusilage in hot glue. I like treating the surface of EPP with a film of hot glue, that makes it ultra tough. (Also adds some weight) I will probaby find that this was overkill, but it will certainly increase longevity. The laminating foil is probably way strong enough.

 

The elevons are light balsa. Way too flexible for the job. I would prefer dense balsa or ply. Or even just good old correx with a carbon spar glued in.

 

I can't tell you how it flies yet. I will finish the build tomorrow or so and keep you updated. But i don't think I get a chance to actually fly anytime soon...

 

 

I really did not want to tape the whole wing. But this black is really not working. I might end up having no choice.

 

Klingon bird of prey

 

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Tilman Baumann

I got it almost finished today. Just needs some tuning now.

 

I got the orangebox Gyro stabilizer today as well. I think this could be a very worthwhile addition because I would love to be able to give that glider to other possible beginner pilots to have some fun.

I had also bought some of those dirt dirit cheap digital servos from hobbyking. I could not believe the price and wanted to see where the catch is. They moove butter smooth and have nice non linear accelaeration. But either the stabilizor or the servos or the combination just lead to incredible fluttering. I have to go bug hunting before I can fly this.

 

There are a few things wrong with that kit.

For example the super flimsy control rod setup. It's a carbon rod, a short steel rod and a piece of heat shrink tube. Come on, just give me the full length in steel that wieght difference really makes no difference.

 

The balsa elevons are really too soft. One of them got warped like crazy. Perhaps by the solarfilm I ironed on, that has some shrinkage. being bent by the hinge. I know foam is not the most precise meterial and my hinge might be crap but that kind of warpage is just inacceptable.

 

This surface is streight at the root.

 

Another thing i don't like is that the 'undercarriage' is actually not very thick and it does not protect the hinges. A bit more meat there would have made a big difference I think.

This is bound to get caught in vegetation at landings. I'm really disapointed with this design.

 

Still missing it's signature tail feather. The sticker has no particular philosophical meaning. :)

 

The battey I bought was the wrong size. It's flat and light enough, but it's about as wide as the fuselage. I had to cut slots in the side wall. The battery is now firmly stuck in there. Should be safe to charge in there, it's a LiFe battery. The battery bay and hatch is pre cut. I would have prefered to cut the cutouts in the center section myself. I would have made less of a mess than the wire cutter and I could have cut it to size.

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Tilman Baumann

The fluttering seems to be inherent to the Orange stabilizer. That sucks bad. I don't even have enough cables to bypass the stabilizer.

I cab just hope this constant movement does not wear the servos out too fast and does bit matter too much in flight.

In fact a non digital servo sounds even worse. The digital ones I got seem to smooth out the accelerations, it's just a shame they are so impossibly cheap. Will see how long they last.

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Tilman Baumann

I will take the gyro out and redo the wiring.

I hope it flies docile enough for beginners.

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If its the orange 3 axis stabilizer it wouldn't have worked as it has no provision for elevons and when you plug one servo into the elevator channel via the stabilizer that's the one and only the one that will be elevator stabilized. The other servo plugged into the aileron channel will be the only one to get aileron stabilization.

Unless your radio works differently to mine you need the eagle tree stabilizer for elevons.

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Tilman Baumann

Perhaps that is a recent thing, but the V2 version of the Orange stabilizers supports Elevon and V-Tail mixing.

It can even be switched on and off via remote channel. (how it's done is a bit crazy, and there is no manual explaining that)

Elevon mixing is done in the stabilizer, you just feed it aileron and elevator.

 

But as it looks it's not a shopping advice at all. The price is brilliant, but what's the point if the servos go spastic even when stabilizing is switched off and with and without channel input. Pretty useless if that is normal.

 

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__28456__RX3S_OrangeRX_3_Axis_Flight_Stabilizer_V2_V_tail_Delta_AUX_.html

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Tilman Baumann

I got the twist out of the elevon. The Solarflim came off without ripping the wood in pieces. I stiffened the wood up with thin CA and used tape to cover it.

I don't like tape there because it always tends to come off when I pull the tape hinges off. And it adds no stability.

 

I also found out the CoG. That was not part of the manual, but Rob from flyingwings told me to start with 1cm off the leading edge at the wing root.

Which is easy to achieve. Even with all the heavy hotsnotglue that I used to plug the holes in the correx wing.

(Correx tends to splinter from the edges. I hope to stop it from doing that this way)

 

I have some white primer left from another job. I might use that to make spray paint the wing.

I tested if it sticks to the plastic film, and it looks good enough.

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Tilman Baumann

Another thing i don't like is that the 'undercarriage' is actually not very thick and it does not protect the hinges. A bit more meat there would have made a big difference I think.

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This is bound to get caught in vegetation at landings. I'm really disapointed with this design.

Man sometimes I hate it when I'm right. :-/

I flew it this weekend at Colley Hill. Or rather I tried.

I could not get it in the air at all. But conditions where terrible for a maiden flight of a unbalanced untried model.

There was a lot of crashing but not the kind a flying wing could not take.

Until both control horns ripped off. That is exactly the kind of abuse I expect any good foam wing to take.

And would it not be for this design flaw, it would with no problem whatsoever.

Als rather dubious is the way the tail feather is fitted.

No glue in the world would keep this little carbon from twisting at even the most soft landings.

I will have to cut a notch in either the tail or the wing to slit them together.

They will still fly off with every landing, but at least it will keep straight in flight.

How it flies apart from those design issues will have to be seen. Story could look different in better conditions. And then there is pilot error...

So far I'm not liking it at all.

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Rob Thomson

Lol.  Give me a hour on it and it will be flying true.

 

Even the Wildthing will break horns in a crash.  They take allot of punishment.  (and the horns are well out of reach)

 

I suspect more likely...

 

Colley is a biaatch to fly at.   Many good pilots stay away from it.   Me...  I fly there often.  You just have to learn the hill, and how tough it can be.   That.. coupled to it being a new model and your newness to slope soaring.  The result was not good :-)

 

Weather being good - we can sort it out on Wednesday.

 

Rob

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Tilman Baumann

I'll take that offer gladly. It's a handful as it is I can tell you.

It could take more weight in the nose I think. I used all my stick weights. Do you have some spare?

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Rob Thomson

I will make sure I have some on hand!

Biggest question mark at the moment is the wind. Wednesday is still looking a real mixed bag. :-(

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Gotta say dude that everything have had from Flyingwings has been spot on. Maybe you need to dual back on the enthusiasm and up the skill set?

Some of your questions posed in other threads make me uneasy about the level of abuse you think you are qualified to state a wing should take.

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Tilman Baumann

I have got another (powered) wing from them. It's been through a lot.

Never broke any hardware on it.

There he used nice dense balsa for the elevons.

What bugs me with the hawk is that the control horns and the trail make ground contract even in the most gentle landings, which could be avoidable.

You don't need to abuse it to wear those down.

There is a lot right with it as well. The design and the price foremost. And I still hope also the flying will be great as well.

And if the flying is just out of my league add a pilot I will say so here.

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isoaritfirst

I have not had any Flying wing models so I may be completely mistaken but my impression is that he Hawk is designed for lighter winds, and looks like weight saving was the producers intent. 

 

More large Alula than Wildthing. 

 

If I am right then the model achieves its strength from crashing lightly...rather than being heavy and strong.

 

If you do want it for a different purpose then changing elevons etc should be simple enough. But changing the density of the foam isn't. 

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Tilman Baumann

I certainly built it too heavy. I suspect I'm expecting it to be something it isn't.

 

But that is more about how it flies. I can't tell you that yet.

 

But that's really not what I'm talking about here.

I'm taking issue with design over practicality decisions which are wholly unnecessary.

 

Fragile stuff sticking out over the landing skid will cause issues.

 

Making the skid a few cm longer would not add significant weight.

 

When I'm confident that I will not need the whole tail surface I will probably cut off the bottom part of it and key the wing so it does does not twist so easy.

 

I'm sure that little change will make a big difference.

 

But hey we will see. I'm not done testing yet. I will figure it out.

I'm sure in the end I can tell you guys what and what not you can expect from this model. And of I got what I wanted.

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Tilman Baumann

OMG I just cut this test way short.

 

I can't believe my stupidity.

I had just finished painting the wings and wanted to cure the clear coat faster so that I could fly it Wednesday.

Do I put it under the grill in the oven.

I knew I had to watch it to find out how warm it gets.

Well I'm stupid, got distracted and son later noticed a funny smell.<br />I will attach a picture for your entertainment.

And sorry for this thread, no conclusion from me.

 

 

Please make fun of me. I deserve it.

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isoaritfirst

Probably for the best. The hawk was never going to fulfill your needs. Not all foamies are designed to be crashed. Buy a 48 wild thing, that will be a much more suitable model for the kind of flying you describe. But even the wild thing needs some careful building if you want it to fly well and survive hard nose in crashes. Build a wt quickly and you will end up with twists in the wing and the elevons, and also a nose that will snap of on the first bad crash. Build it carefully and store it carefully and it will last for many years. Mine is probably around 7 now and still flies great. Little tweaks like running a few stands of carbon tow just slashed into the top and bottom of the wing a few mm in front of the te help a lot in keeping everything straight, and using lots of layers of tape on the nose to wing joint replace nose weight and add the strength that join needs.

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