I had to think seriously about sharing this article,yes in my opinion I built a sweet looking plane but the maiden didn't end so well.I have no flight footage,only pictures,a damaged but not lost plane... and am more than a little frustrated !!
So why share then ? Well if like me,you consider yourself a Scratch Builder or even want too start Scratch building then this article is for you.I've been Scratch Building planes for nearly 2 years and the thing about this hobby,probably the most frustrating thing I have learned is you are more likely too have far more failures than flights when you are building an unproven design.
Look on You Tube,forums,anywhere really and you will see hundreds of successful maidens....this doesn't happen without practice,just remember every process is a practice for your next build.
So onto my build....
The P51-B
Wingspan 1150mm
Fuselage 1000mm
AUW 1330grams
E-Power BL2815 Brushless Outrunner Motor 1400KV
80Amp ESC
4x E Power 8.5g micro servo
2x E Power 20g micro servo
3 blade 11x8.5 prop
3s 25c 2200mh Gens Ace
There isnt really any build shots,but I will show what I got :)
Along side a Spitfie for size comparison
I even achieved the elusive leading edge on the wing,not something many have tried too recreate.Working flaps are also included :).
Control surfaces via 'Snakes'...Shall cover them later...!!!
Battery access
Canopy
The inspiration....
Painted....
Double skinned tail surfaces....
So did she fly ? perfectly,even the CG was spot on then after roughly 2 or 300 yards she went down,belly landing on the road and stopping when she hit an imovable object :(
The cause....a faulty piece of kit...
This is the Elevator control snakes,it broke right behind the alloy insert causing me too lose control :(
The damage wasn't too bad to be honest,however I do need too redesign my tail surfaces and think about better linkages
The strange thing is I cant figure out how the tail sheered across the foam like this,there is no damage too the tail or underside of the fuselage and it never hit anything upon landing...or well ....crashing :(
The only damage is the control snake that snapped ??
Oh and I bent the motor shaft....but all in all this bird will fly again.And when she does ....there will be video :D
I guess this isn't a typical article showing resounding success,it's more of a sob story :) but one I'm sure many of us have experienced and no doubt many new comers to the hobby shall too.
The moral is tho things like this do happen,yes it is frustrating and yes it does make you wonder why bother sometimes.Then the day comes when your design,your build,your work flies off into the sky...then lands successfully.This is the reason we do what we do....
It is an incredible memory :)
Thanks for reading
Scottie
P.S.
Since I wrote this article,I've made another fuselage,the mk2 :).
It flies,build article too follow but for now a happy ending after all.....
the video......
http://youtu.be/URjMfs0OpQo
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I decided it wasn't worth the effort to repair it,the current version has been 'crash tested' so to speak and the tail again has shown itself as a weak spot although not in the same fashion as the 1st crash.....needs a little tweaking yet :)
And thanks,the rebuild does fly nicely ,the 1 I built for my mate flies better than mine :(
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Very nice spot btw on how the structure of the tail was used to seat it on the fuselage,I did actually put a wedge on the inside of the fuselage once the tail was on specifically for that very issue,I knew the tail was weak at that point and did try to compensate,I've just never seen a break like that before...we learn something new every day eh :)
cheers for your input,it is appreciated.
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The canopy was really easy to build James,its just strips of 5mm FB shaped and glued into place then covered with acetate.
Sorry to hear your madens didn't go too well,never mind mate,I'm waiting for your Vampire build ;)
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No pressure then eh :P guess I had better finalise my plans
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Gryf
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We learn from our mistakes...or failure's in this case .It happens - quite a lot for me actually :P
The re-make is holding up quite well...no control snakes this time :).
cheers
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Yep it's my design . I'm still working on this model, it's still a bit tail heavy as it is just now so it's going through a little change in desin and size . Its basically bigger now:-)
As for the plans, it's difficult for me too transfer them too a digital version but I am trying too do it along side ironing out the last of the cg issues.
I really do appreciate the interest out there for my design, I am trying mate ;-) soon as I can, I will make plans available.
Cheers
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tudo de bom
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