Carbon Taser arrived!

After a long wait, I think it was around 6 weeks, my new "toy", the Carbon Taser finally arrived!

This plane is very similar to a DLG plane, I am keen to try DLG but since I am still recovering from my back operation it is not a great idea to go throwing planes around so I decided on the Taser as the next best option.

With a small electric motor in the nose to launch this 2m, 500g plane would at least give me a taste of what flying a DLG would be like.

Everything is installed and the radio is setup so now I just need time to go and fly it! Unfortunately I have a HECTIC week ahead but unless the weather is really bad next weekend I should be able to test fly the Taser.

Taser ready to go!

Low level fun in weak lift!

I went out early yesterday morning for some practice and also a bit of fun flying.

Since the wind was light and there was not much lift around so early I was using the Osprey. After a few low launches to just practice landings I launched a bit higher, first try was launched to 116m.

At first I did not find any lift and slowly descended to 40m, there as I was getting ready to land, I found a bit of buoyant air, not enough to climb but it did allow me to maintain altitude for the next 3.5 minutes. Finally after 3.5 minutes the warm air broke away forming a small thermal that with careful flying allowed me to climb to about 95m, there I lost the thermal but managed to find it again after a decent to 70m riding it up to 90m again.

At this stage a friend arrived at the flying field so I decided to cut the flight short, total time around 10:30 and never higher than launch height!

I find flights like these really fun, it is hard work as you have to fly very carefully and work the weak lift as best you can but you learn a lot and it is extremely satisfying!

A really fun low level flight!

The Osprey is really great for this kind of flying, it can make use of the lightest lift and can be circled really tight and flat.

Taking a break between fun flights.

The next flight produced similar results, launch was to around 80m, very careful flying produced a very slow climb, peaking at about 118m and eventually making the 10 minute target after working another weak thermal towards the end of the flight.

Slow climb to 118m and then an even slower decent till the 10 minute target time.

The next launch was to 95m, over the next 10 minutes I worked 4 weak thermals twice peaking at around 160m before the 10 minute target was reached. Really fun and great practice for when you need to stretch a contest flight!

4 different weak thermals worked in 10 minutes.

I am really getting to know the Osprey now, unless the next contest is really windy I think it will be my #1 plane. The one thing I need to do is to try and get more flap movement, the current 60 degrees is not quite enough and it makes precision landings difficult.

Early morning practice

I decided to head out to the flying field early this morning before it became too hot and uncomfortable. Since the wind prediction was for just about still conditions I thought it would also be ideal to play with the thermal-ling camber setting on my Osprey.

I have not really used camber on the Osprey up till now since I mostly flew it in windy conditions and setting it up correctly is not easy with wind, turbulence and lift around.

Conditions turned out as predicted, for a change!

Playing around with camber on the Osprey proved that you need very little to be effective. Using a FRSky vario and telemetry I found that my best sink rate was with about 3mm of camber as measured at the flap closest to the fuselage. The vario is really a great tool to setup and get to know your plane.

A bit later I noticed some light lift, it was totally overcast but the temperature was rising, rather than playing around with camber and practicing landings I decided to see how long I could work the extremely light lift, always good practice for those early morning and late afternoon rounds!

It turned out to be hard work but also lots of fun! Slow gentle turns carefully trying to make the most of the very light lift was fun, the Osprey is really great under these conditions.

You can see the Altis log of the flight below, click on it to see a larger version.

I never gained much height above launch point but I managed to make more than a normal max.

I eventually ended the flight when a friend arrived at the field, it was fun!

The Osprey is really great in light lift!

The plan is to do the same over the next few weeks with the Supra and Xplorer to setup the most efficient camber for minimum sink conditions and thermal-ling.

2016 contest calendar

Below is a list of contests I am hoping to compete in in 2016. Due to other commitments and weather I might miss a few but I will try my best to fly in as many as possible.

Update 16/12/2016: The final results of the 2016 F5J league has been published. I am happy to announce that even though I did not compete in the last few contests I still managed to win the 2016 F5J League!

Since it was my first year of contesting (and flying for that matter) I am more than happy with the result!

I am also taking this opportunity to announce that I won't be competing in 2017, I am selling most of my planes as well. RC gliding/F5J was fun but I am now going back to full-size flying on weekends.

Thanks for the support!

Rudi

January
17  F5J League #1 - (Done - 3'rd place)

February
13  F5J League #2 - (Done - 2nd place)
21 HTL #1 (Highveld Thermal League) (Done)

March
20 F5J League #3  (Done - very close 2nd place)

April
16 F5J League #4 (Done - 1st place)
30 April -2 May National championships (F5J and Open) (Done - 3'rd place)

May
22 HTL #2 (Done - 3'rd place)

June
19 F5J League #5 (Moved to 25 or 26 June)  (Done - 2nd place)
19 F3B workshop/contest  (Done - Fun event!)

July
17 F5J League #6 (Did not compete)

August
21 F5J League #7  (Done - 1st place)

September
11 HTL #3
18 F5J League #8   (Cancelled - not enough entries)

October
15 F5J League #9 (Cancelled - not enough entries)

November
20 F5J League #10 (Not entered)
27 HTL #4

In between these contests there will also be a few local club contests and a slope session or two. Non contest weekends will be reserved for practice!

Next plane to get ready to fly?

I still have a few planes in the workshop that I need to complete, the question is what next.

The choice should be between finishing the second Osprey, to use as a backup for the 2016 contest season, or maybe the Pike Perfect ET. The Osprey will be the easy and logical choice, maybe, I have already made the servo trays and the nose is ready for the motor. But, maybe something different will be fun?

I think I might choose the Pike, at 3.8m it is larger than anything else I have at the moment so it will be fun comparing the performance of that with the Osprey/Xplorer/Supra.

Pike Perfect ET awaiting conversion.

The plane is brand new so I need to install the servos in the wing (aileron servos done) as well as the normal nose amputation and firewall/motor installation. The plan is to start by laminating a firewall for it this coming weekend, if time allows I will also work on the servo installation. 

The motor will be my favorite Powerline 1025 with 30mm spinner and RFM 16x8.5 prop again. because of the narrow nose of the plane the 22mm Powerline is one of the few motors that will fit.Fortunately I still have a new Powerline motor in it's packaging waiting for the Pike so there will be no delay waiting for a motor for overseas.

If time allows it could be flying in a week's time, lets see if I can do it......

First round of the 2016 South African F5J League.

So the big day finally arrived! The first round of the local F5J League!

I was hoping for a last bit of practice the day before the contest but it was not to be, it was raining on the Saturday, I did go to the local flying field (the same field where the contest was going to be held) but ended up going home without any flying, oh well, that is the way it is....

I arrived very early in the morning for the contest, I wanted to have lots of time to assemble my primary and backup plane, and then also to fly a flight or two in the prevailing conditions to help me decide on the right plane to fly. I took the Osprey, Supra and Xplorer along to the contest, on arrival, and according to predictions, the wind would be light so the decision was made to just assemble the Osprey and the Supra.

The weather still looked a bit threatening after all the rain the day before but I was hoping for the best!

Still cloudy, but some blue sky visible so there was hope for good flying weather!

Once the planes were assembled and checked I could relax a bit and get in a few flights to settle the nerves.

Ready for the contest, weather clearing up nicely!

After a few flights on each plane I decided to use the Supra as my primary plane, for no other real reason than that I had more recent flight time on it than the Osprey.

Soon the other pilots started to arrive, was great to see some old and some new faces, there was a lot of chatting about the contest and some joking about each other's planes and  chances.

Everyone getting ready for the contest, there was an interesting selection of planes, from a few Tsotsi's (Locally produced, composite 2m plane) to the usual selection of high end molded planes. All the pilots were a LOT more experienced than me, but I was not going to let that little point get to me!

My planes ready, let the fun begin!

Some of the "opposition"

As luck would have it I was drawn to fly in the first group in the first round. I decided to take a reasonably high launch, rather make the time than land short, the chance to take a gamble will come later..

I managed to find lift soon after launch and climbed the plane as high as I could see it, this was really good for the nerves and the self confidence! Most other pilots in my group were also well away but at least I know I could make the time.

All went well, my timer gave me regular updates, at 7 minutes I started to descend and slowly get into position for my landing. As my timer called 1:30 I was slightly high but I was not worried as the Supra's flaps are quite effective. Then I got a shock, just after my timer called 1:30 I could hear at least 2 other timers starting to count down the last 30 seconds! Oh no! My timer got it wrong and added a whole minute to my time!

I still tried to get down in time but ended up landing about 7m short of the spot, but worse was that I was 1 second over the time (10:01) so I could not get any landing points! There was potentially the opportunity to get a re-flight, but it was not easy as our setup did not really cater for that. Plus I was a bit shaken and just wanted to relax. Not the best start to the contest or my new "contest career"!

Anyway, there was no time to think about all of this, I had to time for the next group and then fly again!

The second round went well, I managed to find lift but I was still a bit shaken so I messed up the landing, it suddenly felt that all my practice went out the window, well, at least I was putting a score up and not breaking the plane!

The third round was a disaster for me, I flew over to where I thought there would be lift (as my timer said he saw someone else finding lift there) and all I found was huge sink, I was down soon and some other pilots found lift, this might well be the round I would drop....

The fourth round was also bad with cold air and very little lift, but as it turned out everyone else had the same problem and I was down last for my first round win and a 1000 on the score board.

Round five was similar, I found lift but never got really high, I still managed to make the time but while trying to stretch the time I landed short and lost my landing points but still managed a score of 923.

Round 6, the last round went well, I worked two strong thermals and had so much height that I had to work hard to come down! My landing was good so the last round was also a win and 1000 points for me.

Ava turning to land, the owner, Ivan, turned out to be the co-winner of the contest.

The final results were only posted later in the day and it held a pleasant surprise for me. Two guys, Gordon and Ivan, were tied for first place, in the next position was me! A far better result than I could have hoped for!

Main lessons learned were not to always listen to your timer (telling me where lift was and me thinking that is an unusual place for this field, but still going there only to find massive sink), turned out that the timer was definitely less competent in finding lift than me looking at his own scores after the contest.

The other thing I need to do is practice my landing, in conjunction with the clock a lot more, it turned out that the extra complication of trying to get the time right messed up my landings. More practice practice practice needed.....

I am really looking forward to the next F5J contest in a month's time! Before then I will also fly in a TD contest and a TD "postal" contest, not F5J so not my main focus but still an opportunity to gain more experience.  

The F5J journey continues...

Since the last post about the Supra to F5J conversion I have managed to do quite a bit of flying. My main aim was to get rid of some of the rust still troubling the pilot and also to trim the planes in all flight modes.

Since I now have three functional, decent F5J planes (Osprey, Supra and Xplorer) I need to get to know them to the point where it would be easy to decide what plane to fly based on the conditions.

One thing I did notice while practicing with the different planes were that flying 3 different planes, and changing between them all the time might not be ideal. They all fly well but subtle differences in handling, mostly while landing, makes it difficult to be consistent. I find that I get it right with one plane, then when I change I miss the spot/time again for a while till I am used to the different plane.

So I have to decide, do I keep on changing planes and getting to know them all, or concentrate on one (but which one?) and get it as perfect as possible? I think my progress would be quicker if I stick to one plane for now.

Early morning at the flying field, best time to trim a plane!

 Trimming and getting to know the Osprey and Xplorer.

With the first F5J League contest rushing up (17 January) I decided to concentrate on the Osprey and the Supra since between than I would be fine for just about any weather other than really strong winds.

 Pre-contest practice session with the Supra and Osprey.

I am at the point where I can now read the air reasonably well again, on most flights, if there is lift around, I can find it. So I decided it is time to practice landings.

I took out the Osprey and Supra on a few occasions, in different conditions, to purely practice landings. Initially the plan is to just practice landing precision and then to later add accurate timing as well. To practice accurate timing I have MP3 recordings on my phone for 1 to 15 minute countdowns. As things turned out I never got around to the timing practice before the first contest, but that is another story!

By launching low, 30 - 50m, it is possible to get quite a few landings in in a few hours of practice. I had a couple of sessions doing around 25+ short flights each to to practice landings, with a few longer flights added for fun!

Supra landing practice session, I have fallen in love with this plane!

I have to admit I am a bit apprehensive about the first contest, it has just been 3 months since I started flying, and due to my back operation I have not been able to fly nearly as much as I wanted to. Not much more than 2 months ago I was still nervously trying to keep my foam glider in one piece, maybe it is expecting a bit much to go and mix it with the big boys in a contest at this stage? Time will tell.....

I decided that my main goal for the first contest would be to fly all the rounds and keep the plane in one piece, with no worries about my score some of the pressure will be off!

Next post will cover my first contest......

Supra Pro F3J to F5J conversion.

Following my success with the Xplorer F5J conversion I decided to tackle the next project immediately, making use of some free time, not something I often have....

The next plane that I wanted to convert was a Vladimir Supra. I did not plan on getting a Supra but when a nice one with a bit of history (it competed in a F3J world championship before) became available I grabbed it at once!

This is what she looked like when I got her.

Interestingly this plane came with a powerpod, a commercial unit that uses a Powerline 1020 motor! It is fixed to the plane using the two normal wing mounting bolts.

I got her going quickly with the powerpod, only had to install a receiver (FR Sky X8R) and replace an Airtronics servo that burned out while testing on the bench!

Flying her with the powerpod proved to be fun but it was not a great solution. Firstly the pod added about 385g and some drag, but far worse the motor that was mounted so high caused a HUGE pitch down when the motor was started. It was so bad that you need full up elevator to control it and when launching, with the plane slow, it more than once almost dived into the ground!

The plane flew well though, even at about 2.1kg I knew I was going to like the plane so the job to convert it to a decent F5J plane with the engine in the nose was started

.

Ready for the first flight with the powerpod.

Back after the first flight, she flies well but the launches were scary!

I had to replace the rudder and elevator servos with smaller units to make space for the ESC and the battery. Turned out it was not such a huge job.

The plane received the same power setup a the Xplorer, A 3S 1300mah battery, PowerLine 1025 motor swinging a RFM 16x8.5 slim prop.

Since the laminated firewall I made, consisting of 2 layers of 1.6mm plywood and 3 layers of heavy fiber glass, for the Xplorer, worked so well I did the same for this plane.

The plane was a bit nose heavy in the F3J configuration so I also wanted to move the CoG a bit back. A full day in the workshop saw her ready for a test flight! The good news was that the plane now only weighed 1755g, and the CoG was just where I wanted it!

Ready for the test flight with the motor in the nose.

Back on the ground!

The first test flight proved that all was well and that the plane flew really well! At 1755g she can make use of really weak lift like I encountered early on the day of the test flight. Later in the day when the wind picked up to about 10 kts she was still fine!

The Powerline motor can launch this plane just about vertically (around 12 m/s), more than enough power.

I really like this plane, I liked her so much that I did 18 flights in the first flying session!

Xplorer F3J to F5J conversion.

I have been rather busy getting my planes ready for the 2016 F5J cup.

During the Christmas holidays, while on a break from work, I managed to complete conversions from F3J to F5J on two planes that have been in the workshop for a month or so.

The first plane to be completed was a Xplorer. I specifically wanted this Xplorer to be my windy weather plane. It is the double carbon version, not exactly light but very strong and it really flies well when it gets windy. I am sure I won't need any ballast to at least 20 kts wind!

The conversion was not easy. Other that chopping off the nose, installing a firewall and motor, I had to remove servos and install them as far back as possible. Changing push-rod lengths after they have been installed is not fun! This way I managed to make space for the ESC and battery and also ensure that the CoG is not too far forward, something that is often a problem with a F3J to F5J conversion.

The power comes from a 3S 1300mah 45-90C battery, the motor is a PowerLine 1025 swinging a RFM 16x8.5 prop.

Here she is before conversion.

I managed to get out early one morning to the GEMS flying field to test her. She needed no ballast to balance at my preferred (at least starting point) CoG. I am happy to report that she flew perfectly from the first flight needing no trim and it seems the CoG is perfect, or at least the way I prefer it.

Ready for the first flight!

Back on the ground after a perfect test flight!

I am really happy with the conversion, now my fleet contains a decent windy weather plane! 

This success has encouraged me to do more F3J to F5J conversions. Next I will describe the Vladimir Supra conversion!