VIper 70mm EDF Jet Is Here!

My 1st large EDF has arrived!  Just in time also, since I just crashed my P51 :( 

I bought the PNP version and added the new SAFE 6 channel telemetry receiver and added a current sensor!  This way I can land when my battery runs out instead of on a timer.  But, this thing is a rats nest of wires! :(  I'm working out how to mount the current sensor route the battery cables.  Also the battery hits the canopy and needs to be trimmed.  I will also probably need to add weight to the tail to get the CG right.

Mock up assembly completed!

Mid-Air Collision! P-51 Mustang down!

 I had a mid-air collision with my P-51 Mustang after waiting almost 2 hours to fly :(  I just took off and was making a right turn to pass down the runway when my wing clipped a smaller white plane I didn't see against the gray clouds.  The other plane's prop cut a gash in my wing and took out a chunk of foam on the outer leading edge of the wing.  I lost control and was unable to turn and my plane went into the ground, breaking the prop and forward part of the fuselage :(

Damage from the mid-air collision and ground impact.

My friend picked up the F16 70mm EDF!  My P51 being assembled prior to the mid-air collision.

I think I can glue my P51 back together and get it flying again, as the damage is only to the foam.  All the electronics seem ok.  I could also rebuild it with a new fuselage and wing, and add a new telemetry receiver and current sensor.  Or I can just scrap it and pull the electronics for spare parts and get a new war plane capable of flying on 4S batteries.  I'll probably try and repair it and see if it's still flyable at first.

Eflite Viper 70mm EDF Jet On the Way!

 Finally picked up the Eflite Viper 70mm EDF jet I've been looking at since it came out in late 2019.  I bought the PNP version and added the new 6 channel SAFE telemetry receiver which came at the end of 2020.  This way I have SAFE and battery current telemetry and fly based on battery capacity instead of a timer, like I do with my big helicopters.

March Session, 3/21/2021

I headed out to the field to finally fly some planes!  I wanted to get some flights in on my tiny Habu EDF, the UMX Timber I picked up for Black Friday, and my 1.2m P51 Mustang.

The Habu was a handful to fly!  With a cross wind blowing from my behind and across the runway, this little plane was bouncing all over the place! LOL!  I also ended up cracking the rear elevator which is glued into the fuselage.  I have some spares I think, but not sure if its worth it to fly at the field due to the wind.

Next up was my UMX Timber.  I picked this up to fly at the empty lot close to home, but construction started on that lot in January :(.  Only got to fly it there once right after Christmas.  Again this little plane was a handful to fly in the wind.  Flying into the wind I could hover it practically stationary in the air, turn downwind, then back into the wind and hover it again.  Using the flight battery voltage telemetry, I was able to fly 2-3 minutes past the end of my flight timer.  I can turn off the timer for future flights and just use the voltage telemetry to determine when to land.

Last plane to fly was my 1.2m P51 Mustang.  I only flew it 3 times though, as I was getting tired and hungry.  I knew I should have brought a sandwich!  I was able to land it without incident, although my approaches were all over the place and I had to go around and abort landing 4-5 times.  I need more practice!  I was able to do a few barrel rolls, but I didn't try any loops.  Feels like I don't have enough power?  I think I'd need to dive into the loop entry to have enough speed to go all the way around.  I'm also afraid I'd roll or yaw in the loop and come out in the wrong direction.  I seem to do loops fine in the sim though.

Next time out I'm packing some lunch and taking the P51 and 1 heli.  This time I charged way too many batteries and didn't fly half of them!  LOL!  Maybe I'll have a new plane to fly also?  Not sure what I want just yet though.  Big EDF?  4S warplane?  6S P51 with telemetry? 

Hanging Planes!

 Finally figured out an easy and simple way to hang my planes on a wall for storage.  This is what has kept my from getting more large plane, an efficient way to store them which doesn't take up a bunch of room.  Using picture hanger hooks (rated for 10 bs) on the wall and a string wrapped around the plane, I can hang the plane on the wall from 1 hook!  Now that I can store more planes, I plan to get more large planes!

I want to get the Eflite P-39 and Viper EDF.  I want to get the PNP version of the planes so I can add my own Spektrum telemetry receiver with SAFE.  Then I'll have the beginner mode, rescue, and I can add an energy (current) sensor, so I can fly via battery capacity usage vs a timer, like I do with my big helicopters :)

SEFSD Session #3 for February!

 I planned to fly at SEFSD at least once a month to make the membership fee I paid for AMA, FAA, and SEFSD worthwhile for the year and I'm already 2 session ahead!

I brought out the Goblin 650 and 380, and the Convergenge to fly for the day.  I was able to fly both Goblins well!  I practiced stall turns, loop, and nose-in inverted hovering!  I also tried a tail slide with the 380, but when I came out going backwards pretty fast, the tail started wagging hard!  I spun around and did a turn to slow down and let the tail settle down.  I turned down the gain 5 points in all flight banks, with the highest gain in the bank with the slowest head-speed.

The 650 felt great flying!  So well that I hovered nose-in inverted a lot!  I even executed some rescues from inverted to practice hitting the switch and recovering.  I enjoyed flying it so much I picked up another set of batteries for it!

I then fly the Convergence in the early afternoon.  It was ok to fly.  I need to try flying with SAFE mode off! LOL!  It took me awhile to figure out the best time to transition to heli mode for landing.  The first few times I did it too far away and I struggled getting back to the runway to land!  I figured out I need to transition almost right in front of myself while flying into the wind.  Then I would be able to land smoothly.

Flying session #2 at SEFSD for February!

For this 2nd February session at SEFSD I took out my Trex 550!  Last time I flew my Goblin 380 and tested my Trex 450.  But it wasn't much fun as it was cold and windy out there!  This time the wind was blowing in my face, due to the Santa Ana conditions.  Normally its at my back while flying from the helipad.

My 550 flew twitchy in the wind, so I turned down the agility 10 steps in all flight banks.  After that it felt good enough to do some high stall turns and a big loop!  Fun!

Next time I plan to bring out my Goblin 650!

Trex 550 ready to fly!

San Diego blue sky weather!