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GWS E-Starter 4 channel foam plane So far check: ...this page and Video only. www.sussex-model-centre.co.uk £25 kit (airframe only, +£100 for radio gear etc.) Kit only (no motor) Alternatively available as a ARF complete
package kit with radio Try reading the RC_Tips.doc, I wish I had ;) (bad link? Try here;) Flew the whole 3xTP1320mAh pack in 3 flights, estimate a total of 15-20 mins of very mild cruising on a stock brushed EM400 motor, 'D' gearbox (3:1?) with a 10x6 orange prop (AUW=~500g). I have heard that the brushes will soon burn out at 11.1v, time will tell... I wasn't that impressed with the top end speed and wouldn't want much less power reserve (might be trimming the wing tips soon). Here are some pics of my first plane
build effort.
Top tips I found has to be the home made prop saver from a servo horn and a pair of large rubber 'O' rings. Might not look pretty but who cares at this stage. As a precaution I also strengthened the tail section with fuselage embedded CF as detail in images from this thread. Remove the wing screw in case of an accident so leaving the wing with some where to go, just might save any breakage. So far so good. Oh and a screw driver (15g) in the tail for correct Centre of Gravity. Some great pictures in this fellow flyer's E-Starter
Build Party thread, Check the Ultimate E-Starter Thread? Part 2 I got the Himax 2015 2800 installed today and got the weight down to 360g (12.7oz) w/o batts. Using the 'D' EM400 gearbox main shaft meant using a hollow CF tube to brace the long shaft's 'c' clip against. Very happy with the results, knocking 35g+15g(tail ballast) off the total weight. The Himaxx power is much better than my EM400 7.2v brushed motor. I don't know if I had a dud because I ran the numbers on the 400 against the Himaxx setup and the 400 should give 27oz static thrust (11 Amps) against the Himaxx geared for 22oz of static thrust (8 Amps). Now the plane will hover in my hand at 60% throttle on less amps. Although the numbers suggest that this setup is not quite as efficient as the 4100rpm/v option, it can be done. Yet to test fly later today hopefully. Himaxx 2015 2800rpm/v Online motor calculators: See my setup numbers here. The correct motor would be Himaxx 4100rpm/v on 5.33:1
gearbox 10x6 prop for 80% efficiency figures. Today's test flight went great :). The power system was ok, didn't do a vertical launch but did stall the plane vertical and was able to climb out. I am geared for an 8 Amp max draw which is about 90 watts into the motor at best. The setup will cruise for ages at low rpm. I got at least 25+ mins in 4 flights. The speed envelope seems to range 5 mph - 35 mph generally 15 mph. From a hard surface take offs are ok. Landing... the one attempt onto a ruff tarmac strip wasn't great. Failed to bleed off enough speed before touch down and was far from tidy, managing to rip out the plastic rudder control arm. Needs more practise. Sadly no video due to poor light and a soft camera
battery (using an old pair of poorly liths), so my descriptions will
have to do for now. It's a shame because I really went for it and
was pulling rolls, loops and stall turns. No inverted yet. Flight 3 - DarkHorse-GWS_E-starter_Loops.wmv 5.8 megs 2 mins (50 fps) Video 2: Wing Mods Highlights of a 20 min rooky stick banging test flight...
banked, rolled, DarkHorse-GWS_E-starter_WingMods.wmv 13 meg 3 min WMV format (50 fps) During the manoeuvres I must have pulled some high G as I managed to rip out a wing support strut mounting point. The strut was visibly detached from the ground and landed to inspect. They where all glued in quite well and the 'T' shaped plastic had been wrenched away. Carried on without the strut. Near the end you can just see my first crash when I got a little confused whilst inverted, not surprising as this was my 5 th fixed wing flight, still much to learn. The plane went into the grass fairly fast up side down and thought the damage would be significant... astonished... zero, absolutely nothing what so ever was damaged. Very very lucky impact angle into 2ft grass I guess and was instantly back in the air. Modifications: Strengthen the Landing gear front mount point Fairly simple to do. I used roughly ~120 mm by 4 mm
CF rod, undersized drilled about 14 mm parallel below the skin. Entering
in bottom cowl vent slope through the LG mount (pre drilled for tight
fit). I have been using ZapAGap new 'no tears' formula (well new to
me anyway, white bottle) for Styrofoam, almost no weight glue :).
With luck I'll never tear out your landing gear. Increasing control surface area Using folded 60 mm photo quality paper (card) and thin selotape to extend control surfaces. Will allow more aggressive flight and worth doing. Also get the max throws out of those servo's by using the out servo horn holes and the inner control link holes at the control surface to amplify movements to the max. Compensate for comfortable flying with Tx exponential rates, enables easy controlled cruising with full surface deflection when required. Removing the winglets The purpose of the curved winglets is to increase wing stability and reduce the tendency for the wing to roll. Removing the winglets might improve roll rates. I used a small hack saw for a clean cut. Then added studs for easy re-fitting if required (slower flights and landings). You might notice tip stalls at slow speeds so you must fly and land at a higher air speed to avoid crashing. I didn't notice much difference to be honest. Removing dihedral wing The dihedral or slight 'V' shaped wing profile helps
stability for self leveling in flight. When removed to a flat wing
profile inverted flight characteristics will improve and the plane
should fly faster. Video 3: Windy Acro Video of the second half of a breezy pack yesterday.
More stick banging, though this camera operator had trouble and sadly
missed a few good action shots. Jabbing those Mode2 stick diagonals
for fast rudder+elevator rolls and tumbles. Plus a bit of inverted
flight and an outside loop. The sharp handling is starting to look
more like a floaty foamie in the breeze. I don't think it was too windy 5-10 mph with the occasional
15 mph gust, any more is too much of a drag. Initially the wind was
blowing left to right and then moved round to come in from straight
on or slightly right to left. DarkHorse-GWS_E-starter_WindyAcro.wmv 19.6 meg 3.5 min WMV format (50 fps) Extra info Choosing your First Plane guide! What some lite online reading? Try See
How It Flies by John S. Denker
Disclaimer Intro Buying Building Learning Flying Upgrades & Mods Tips Video Heli BB Glossary Links
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