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Post by robert on Sept 23, 2013 17:37:18 GMT 1
I just added the t-28 Trojan to my hangar and spent way too many hours trying to get the front gear affixed to work properly. My advice to anyone putting that one together is to remove the prop and cowel first... Far easier.
Does anyone have any tips for me as to general expectations for my first 4ch or valuable mods for improving any inherent weaknesses?
Btw: I spent a solid 5 minutes on a hobby shop phoenix simulator to get the jist of ailerons...
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Post by toff on Sept 23, 2013 20:08:34 GMT 1
Only real worth while advice I can offer is once you've got over the initial joy of flying with ailerons, remember to use the rudder as well. Many '4 channel' fliers actually only use 3, the rudder quickly being forgotten. This is not helped by the rudder now being on the throttle stick (Mode 2 - which is what I use. You may fly a different mode.) Using all 4 channels needs a little bit of mental re-jigging, but it's usually a fast process, and if you ever want to progress to 3D flight, it's essential.
I might also offer one more thing...if you fly from grass, remove the landing gear, put tape on the bottom, and belly land it. The abuse grass landing has on the gear and the foam is quite bad ( One grass landing with my PZ BF109 tore out the leg and support on one wing. And that was a good landing!)
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Post by kenninny on Sept 23, 2013 21:07:30 GMT 1
Remenber a low wing plane is more agile than a high wing plane, it take less stick movement to turn.
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Post by robert on Sept 23, 2013 21:34:40 GMT 1
Only real worth while advice I can offer is once you've got over the initial joy of flying with ailerons, remember to use the rudder as well. Many '4 channel' fliers actually only use 3, the rudder quickly being forgotten. This is not helped by the rudder now being on the throttle stick (Mode 2 - which is what I use. You may fly a different mode.) Using all 4 channels needs a little bit of mental re-jigging, but it's usually a fast process, and if you ever want to progress to 3D flight, it's essential. I might also offer one more thing...if you fly from grass, remove the landing gear, put tape on the bottom, and belly land it. The abuse grass landing has on the gear and the foam is quite bad ( One grass landing with my PZ BF109 tore out the leg and support on one wing. And that was a good landing!) thanks toff, i added the 2.5 inch du bros to the gear and my super cub and my wheelchair roll very easily on this grass field that i use at my work. do you still advise no gear given those conditions? |
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Post by robert on Sept 23, 2013 21:37:02 GMT 1
Remenber a low wing plane is more agile than a high wing plane, it take less stick movement to turn. thanks ken, i'll go easy on the sticks. would you recommend that i set dual rates on my dx6i and start out at 75%, or just keep it real at 100% with push rods on farthest out holes? |
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Post by toff on Sept 23, 2013 21:45:14 GMT 1
With the bigger wheels the cub is quite a happy beast on the rough. It's also a tail dragger. The T-28 has a tricycle undercarriage, and relatively small wheels. At the end of the day, it's your plane and your choice, but, for myself, I'd fly belly lander. Best way is to try yourself. LG on first, see what the landings like. Then try tape and belly landing.
If the grass is short enough, the LG may work best. give it a go, and lets see what you think.
Oh, and I'll also recommend using dual rates to start with. 100% on full, and 60% on the lower rate, on both elevator and ailerons. Start with the 60, and work up from there, you'll be surprised at how responsive it is!
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Post by robert on Sept 23, 2013 22:25:47 GMT 1
great advice toff. thank you. another question for ya; what should i set my timer for as im running a 2200mAh lipo?
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Post by toff on Sept 23, 2013 23:23:23 GMT 1
I'm not familiar with the power setup for the T-28, but for a start, I usually only fly for 5 minutes on a new plane ( or even less sometimes!) Just enough to check how it flies, and bring it down again before my nerves and the adrenaline conspire against me. Once I've calmed down, I'll make any adjustments I think I need ( say from 60% to 80% rates), then happily fly as long as I wish. I don't usually use the timer, the plane tells me when it's starting to 'sag', so I bring it in and quick change the battery. Seems to work, as I'm usually above 10v per cell on my multimeter. usual other advice...check everything prior to flight, full throttle on takeoff, fly high, not on a windy day, and for the first flights...ignore the rudder for now. just enjoy how fast it turns and rolls. Fingers crossed...I know you're going to love it!!  |
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Post by robert on Sept 23, 2013 23:38:13 GMT 1
you're really helping me a lot toff! many thanks
i just noticed that i have to reverse the aileron and rudder channels on my dx6i with the spektrum rx i installed. to be sure... mode 2: left stick to the left should make rudder turn left, right stick to the right should make right aileron move upwards and the left aileron move downwards, and right stick up makes elevator move downward. that is how it responds now that i have reversed the rudder and aileron channels. that is correct, true? so, why must one reverse two of the four channels? curious as the elevator is normal and the throttle is normal.... what's the deal?
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Post by toff on Sept 24, 2013 0:04:10 GMT 1
Sometimes it's just the nature of the beast! I never really thought about it. If that's what needs doing, I just do it. As long as everything's set up right, it doesn't matter.
For true bafflement, try setting elevons on a delta plane, with twin servos. One in the elevator plug and one in the aux plug ( because the way it shows in the manual doesn't work!)
Sounds like you have it set correctly. Don't forget to add a little elevator to complete a turn, and when flying towards you, your controls are 'reversed'. ( you will be flying 3 mistakes high, won't you?)
Good luck!
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Post by robert on Sept 24, 2013 0:29:38 GMT 1
you got it man. as long as the surface movements are going the way they are explained as correct i should be good to go. the weather may cooperate tomorrow and i'll get her up in the air. i'll keep her high enough to get a feel for her behavior with my stick input and if all goes right we'll come home in one piece. thanks for your advice and i'll report on this thread post maiden...
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Post by flydiver on Sept 24, 2013 17:57:35 GMT 1
There is no standard for servo direction movement. Some brands go one way, some go the other.
Thats why you get a computer TX.
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Post by robert on Sept 25, 2013 2:18:33 GMT 1
The maiden flight was awesome...The maiden landing however, not so awesome. I found a new field that is lovely. A solid 4 football fields of fresh cut corn with a paved path through the center 400m long and as wide as a car. I took her off and was taken aback by the speed. Got a nice groove going and even threw some rudder into the steep turns. I was really enjoying the tight turns and power this plane has. Tried a flyby near the runway but was going way too fast to land so I brought her back up to a safe cruising altitude and attempted another pass at the runway and this is where it went a little sour. Again too much speed so I tried another punch and turn off and got way too tight. In an attempt to level out i must have over compensated and went inverted... maybe 15ft up and upside down at a swift speed. Literally the next blink and she was a dirt nail. I've never crashed anything so tremendously before. I was a bit in shock for a few seconds as I just stared at the wreckage.
Damage report : broke the rear wing mount off the wing and it's corresponding mount off the fuselage, broke the front wing mount off the fuselage but the front of the wing remains unscathed. Mashed the front of the fuselage just aft of the cowel a bit, and evidently a cornstalk base nailed the right aileron servo arm successfully stripping the gear in that servo. The front gear clevis plastic pin that goes through the rudder servo broke as well.
Repair status : after about 30 minutes of work the wing mounts are firmly epoxied in and covered with packing tape. I believe that it is stronger now than it was right out of the box. The clevis has a tiny metal screw through it where the little peg was and is in complete working order, and the $9.00 long wire servo is being shipped from amazon to arrive this weekend.
So, not the best post I've made, but i guess this is part of the hobby as I've read many stories that include epoxy... i'll be flying the super cub for the rest of the week sharpening my reflexes to be prepared for a "do over" maiden, or a maiden take two next week.
A little sad but not defeated.
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Post by toff on Sept 25, 2013 19:41:20 GMT 1
Robert, I'm truly gutted for you! Glad you've started on the repairs. One great thing about foamies: they're relatively easy to fix. Due to what happened on landing, can I suggest putting the aileron rates down to 40%. Also, a little helper for dropping airspeed prior to landing is the 'S' turn ( google it!), or if you're lazy like me, just start your landing run a lot further out. Just remember: Practice makes perfect! and you did enjoy the flight prior to the foam to earth conversion!
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Post by robert on Sept 25, 2013 19:53:44 GMT 1
good call toff. im ready to give her another go as i feel it was an error made in haste to land that could have been avoided, or at least not repeated now that i'm familiar with the general characteristics of the bird.
just waiting on the servo and the simulator. the phoenix 4 sim will arrive tomorrow and i'll try to recreate the error to see what exactly happened. i know that sims are different than the real thing, but i'm sure they have value for investigative purposes. i'll practice landings and this "s" turn that you elude to.
i figure cub time and sim time for the next 5 days should give me a more successful experience on the do over.
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