Really blurry long shots. Nice that you preserved that vintage model. Well flown, too. I hate to see flip-flops on the flight line; it's so ... so ... je ne sais quoi.
The cowl would have flew off! This was a test flight to decide if I wanted to invest time and money into rebuilding it. The airplane was given to me without an engine or servos, & moldy ripped covering. I had some hardware sitting around so I saved it from the garbage. I added a bunch of packing tape to hold it together and put it in the air. I liked how it flew so I spent the money on a cowl, wheel pants and new covering. After stripping it down and replacing 1/3 of the structure I hope it will be in the air this summer. Wings, elevator, & rudder are finished, cowl and wheel pants on in primer. All hardware is mounted. I just need to cover the fuselage, hinge the tail feathers and put it in the air. Thanks for watching. Check back in a month or two.
Hello I like your airplane good job. I have this kit new in the box i'm getting ready to build it. Did you need to add any weight for the CG and was it up front or in the tail. I have a DA50R thank you for posting this video.
I added 5.5 oz to the tail. The CG was at 4.75 behind the leading edge. It still flew nose heavy. It needed about .25" of elevator to fly level. However the engine had to be mounted forward because I only had a pitts muffler.
My goal was to get it the air by spending as little as possible. It was given to me. I had the parts to get it flying. I wanted to see how it flew before I spent money and time on it. The covering is stripped off, i have a new cowl and new wheel pants.
RCGroups and RC aircraft of Louisville FB group. I will do update vids on my RU-vid ch. It will be a bit before I get to it, I just started my Sig Somethin" Extra, my second!
+david david Once I figured out how to dampen the vibration the next challenge was trying to set level flight. Simply adjusting the trim was not working for me. You are suppose to set your flight trim in the radio then toggle a few switches and it's now flying level. I could never get it to work right. So I put a bubble level on the horizontal stabilizer and set level. then reset the trims on the guardian. I then would fly it. If it nosed up or down I would then adjust for level (guessing) on the ground. If you are methodical about it it works. It does a great job flying the airplane but setup is ridiculous. You won't be able to use you high/low rates either. Rate switch does nothing. I think I would try one of the others on the market.
Dave tied a ribbon to his trainer and I tried to cut it. After many attempts in 10 minutes. I hit his airplane instead of cutting the ribbon. A small chunk was cut from my airplane's wing.
I've refined the mounting apparatus to the point I can almost turn the pit trim 3/4 way up (clockwise) before I notice any deflection of the rudder (which always seemed to move first with vibration). That's with the engine at full throttle with the plane on the ground. The gain controls on the guardian itself is set for max in whatever direction is required). When my tablet comes back from ASUS, I will try to upload a picture.
I took your advise and used the pit trim pot to adjust the gain during flight. It worked beautifully. I mounted the guardian on foam to isolate it as much as possible from excessive vibrations. I nosed the plane from altitude toward the ground and let the elevator go back to neutral and I thought the plane might snap in too it was so sharp a level-off. I enjoy relaxed flying and it seems possible now even with gasoline. Thanks for the tip.
I was flying my gasoline plane about a couple of weeks ago with the gain on each pot set at 40 according to the computer. When I turned the eagle tree on, it began to oscillate something fierce. I believe it would have shaken itself to pieces if I hadn't turned it off immediately. I will try your mounting and see if that helps. As I recall, I now have the gain set at about 15. I might try it this weekend, weather permitting. On the bench, the control surfaces still operate at that low gain setting. Maybe I'll find the combination some day but thanks for the video. I would like to see your plane fly with the eagle tree setup.
I have been looking for a way to mount an eagle tree in a gasoline engine plane. I have used foam but it didn't work well enough to stop the shakes. In your mounting, did you reduce the gain via a computer setup. Is so, what gain numbers did you end up using? I use the 3 position switch if there are no flaps but the gear switch if the plane has flaps, which most of mine do. Thanks for the view of the eagle tree mount.
I control the gain with a control knob on my transmitter. I don't know what it's set at looking at the computer. It's been on the shelf all winter. However the mounting should have little to do with the gain. It you have poor mounting the gyro is wrongly correcting and anything can happen. If the gain it too high it will over correct and you will see ossolation. When I have my gain too high level flight is not possible. The airplane will go up and down, yaw back and forth or rock side to side as if you are wiggling the sticks. I think I have the gain knobs on the gyro set to 5/8-3/4. Then on my radio I set it to where it looks good. I don't rember where that is. If you need more info I can pull the stuff off the shelf and take a look at it but its still freezing in my garage.
I finally got around to putting the gain on the pit trim pot. In effect turns the guardian off just as the three position switch. It's too windy to fly, at least during the day and by the evening, too much is going on to go to the field. If you fly your plane, please do a video showing the different gain levels and the auto leveling function. I mounted the guardian surrounded by foam rubber. I believe it will function properly with the gain control set just below oscillation. I'm looking forward to trying it. Thanks
Once you get it dialed in in calm weather you will be able to fly with confidence in just about any wind. Flying weather may be a few weeks away yet for me.
So I watched both videos and I might try and replicate your mounting design in my plane. I am going to fly tomorrow with the guardian for the first time. I dont know that I will use 2d mode because I have heard nothing good about 2d mode. I have the mode switch on a 3 position switch so I can have 2d, off, 3d selection.
Was the guardian moving around in the foam? How was it secured between the foam...CA glue? Also in the second video when you used the 16g steel plate, how was the guardian secured to the steel?
In this video it's just squeezed between foam. No velcro or tape. This mounting fails because of vibration. The second video starts with steel plate, velcro, foam, double sided tape. Then I switched to just steel plate, thich double sided tape.
Did you see both videos? This is the second. I have not changed the installation since this video. I have a few dozen flights on it now. It's a different arplane with the gyro. I fly it high wind without thinking. 2D mode however does not work for me. The airplane will not turn. However not a mounting problem.
I have not seen the first video yet. I will look at that now. I have read a few reviews on the system and it seems most people use mainly the 3D mode as well. I have not had the chance to have my first flight with the guardian installed, but I am hoping to try it out in the next week or so.
I've had 2 Smoothies in the past, built exactly to plan except added doublers from the firewall to just behind the wing, one sixteenth acft ply. Facts are, built per plan, it comes out a little lighter, doesn't need anything bigger than a .40. Inverted engine doesn't cause any problems, Fast, clean and stable. Price when I had mine was less than $25.
They are safety fences. Most of the time they are not needed. But they have saved a few legs from accidents. Crosswinds can blow an airplane into the pilots. If your watching your airplane in the sky your not watching the guy next to you try and land. Some people are not as proficient at landing either. They are made from PVC pipe.
Thanks James. My buddies put a trainer into the corn earlier in the day. The Smoothie is safe. It was a $10 airplane from a swap meet. The engine was brand new for $50. Spare parts from other projects made for a cheap project. The tail wheel got it's own control rod.
Beautiful Smoothie. I've got a Brodak kit with the wrap around windshield that I want to power electrically. Did it land in the corn? didn't hear on the soundtrack.
