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Author Topic: Brodak Electric Ringmaster ARF: Then and Now  (Read 8001 times)

Offline Sean McEntee

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Brodak Electric Ringmaster ARF: Then and Now
« on: May 03, 2016, 06:28:35 PM »
Greetings all,

           I have a Brodak Ringmaster ARF on its way with the electric conversion kit.  I did some research and found a thread on them dating back to September of last year.  To those that own a copy:  how is it holding up?  Any issues that need to be addressed?  Please share.

           Note:  Don't fear, I'm not switching to electric full time, definitely not on models that I intend to fly in classic/OT, and I still love building.  I bought this ARF/Electric package for a VERY specific reason S?P

           Care to guess??

Offline Dane Martin

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Re: Brodak Electric Ringmaster ARF: Then and Now
« Reply #1 on: May 03, 2016, 06:54:35 PM »
It's not bad enough that you kick people's @$$es with a ringmaster, now you have to do it with an ARF? ;D

Offline Sean McEntee

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Re: Brodak Electric Ringmaster ARF: Then and Now
« Reply #2 on: May 03, 2016, 07:02:59 PM »
It's not bad enough that you kick people's @$$es with a ringmaster, now you have to do it with an ARF? ;D

It is highly unlikely that this model will ever fly in competition...


...or on US soil.

Offline badbill

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Re: Brodak Electric Ringmaster ARF: Then and Now
« Reply #3 on: May 03, 2016, 07:39:19 PM »
I don't have the electric, but I can comment on the new glow ARF. I probably have 30-40 flights on mine with a la .25. It flies very well... I had never had a Ringmaster, and I have had a blast with it. The controls work good and haven't fallen apart like my ARF vector lead outs did. On the downside, the fuselage is not shaped... Just left square. And the covering is no better than the old arf's. It is peeling up all over. Yours might do better, no fuel residue. I wish I had just bought the kit, which I will end up doing after this one falls apart. I am finishing up a Brodak Shark 402, and it is one of the best kits I ever built.
Bill Davenport
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If some is good, and more is better, then too much is just right!

Offline Dane Martin

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Re: Brodak Electric Ringmaster ARF: Then and Now
« Reply #4 on: May 03, 2016, 07:42:27 PM »
Deployment? Easier to transport electric than a glo engine on aircraft?

Offline Sean McEntee

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Re: Brodak Electric Ringmaster ARF: Then and Now
« Reply #5 on: May 03, 2016, 09:24:04 PM »
Deployment? Easier to transport electric than a glo engine on aircraft?

Ever since my first deployment (this one will be number 5 if anyone is counting) I thought that it would be cool to fly come CL while on deployment.  The biggest challenges were availability of fuel, and just the inherent danger of standing in the open for any length of time.

This trip takes me to Kuwait, which will be a lot quieter.  Also, with the proliferation of electrics, it takes the need for fuel out of the picture.

...but more on all of this later.

Online Fredvon4

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Re: Brodak Electric Ringmaster ARF: Then and Now
« Reply #6 on: May 04, 2016, 08:06:30 AM »
Ring master in Kuwait on Fly a Thon weekend and not needing unobtainable glow fuel is a good plan

Photos are a must!
"A good scare teaches more than good advice"

Fred von Gortler IV

Offline Tim Wescott

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Re: Brodak Electric Ringmaster ARF: Then and Now
« Reply #7 on: May 04, 2016, 10:14:20 AM »
Ever since my first deployment (this one will be number 5 if anyone is counting) I thought that it would be cool to fly come CL while on deployment.  The biggest challenges were availability of fuel, and just the inherent danger of standing in the open for any length of time.

This trip takes me to Kuwait, which will be a lot quieter.  Also, with the proliferation of electrics, it takes the need for fuel out of the picture.

...but more on all of this later.

Think ahead about how you'll get batteries.  I don't know how they're going to get you there, or if military aviation hyperventilates about LiPo's the way that civilian aviation does, so it may be good to check.

I'd be inclined to take a bag of connectors and a soldering iron with me, and, if necessary, obtain batteries there.

I guess I can't say have fun on your deployment -- but, all the best.
AMA 64232

The problem with electric is that once you get the smoke generator and sound system installed, the plane is too heavy.

Offline Sean McEntee

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Re: Brodak Electric Ringmaster ARF: Then and Now
« Reply #8 on: May 04, 2016, 02:39:06 PM »
Think ahead about how you'll get batteries.  I don't know how they're going to get you there, or if military aviation hyperventilates about LiPo's the way that civilian aviation does, so it may be good to check.

I'd be inclined to take a bag of connectors and a soldering iron with me, and, if necessary, obtain batteries there.

I guess I can't say have fun on your deployment -- but, all the best.

I am shipping them in our HAZMAT tricon.

Offline Tim Wescott

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Re: Brodak Electric Ringmaster ARF: Then and Now
« Reply #9 on: May 04, 2016, 03:28:56 PM »
I am shipping them in our HAZMAT tricon.

Excellent.  It's good that they've provided you with a way to get them there.

Have fun in the heat -- I worked at FLIR Systems up to the early 2000's, where Saudi runways taught us some lessons in thermal management.  It can get brutal, particularly when your equipment is painted black, and hanging off the bottom of a helicopter, right over black pavement, in the middle of the day.  Thankfully it was a mostly a spectator sport for me -- I was designing software and systems architectures.  It was the mechanical guys who got to take the brunt of the effort -- I just got to make suggestions about how to make boards use less power, or justify why they couldn't.
AMA 64232

The problem with electric is that once you get the smoke generator and sound system installed, the plane is too heavy.

Offline Sean McEntee

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Re: Brodak Electric Ringmaster ARF: Then and Now
« Reply #10 on: May 04, 2016, 11:11:36 PM »
Excellent.  It's good that they've provided you with a way to get them there.

Have fun in the heat -- I worked at FLIR Systems up to the early 2000's, where Saudi runways taught us some lessons in thermal management.  It can get brutal, particularly when your equipment is painted black, and hanging off the bottom of a helicopter, right over black pavement, in the middle of the day.  Thankfully it was a mostly a spectator sport for me -- I was designing software and systems architectures.  It was the mechanical guys who got to take the brunt of the effort -- I just got to make suggestions about how to make boards use less power, or justify why they couldn't.

   I have definitely had my share of 120+ degree summers in that region.  After growing up on the flying field, heat doesn't bug me too much.

   What I was ill-prepared for was the extreme cold in the mountain region south of Kabul on my last deployment.  During the winter months, we would get -20 lows at night (day for me as I was on the night shift).  Add to that the fact that there were only port-a-johns on the airfield.  You haven't experienced life if you haven't sat your rump on a sub-zero porta-potty!  That was the most miserable thing in my career to date.  The upside was that the TB didn't want to play either, and IDF attacks during those months were reduced considerably.

Ring master in Kuwait on Fly a Thon weekend and not needing unobtainable glow fuel is a good plan

Photos are a must!

That is indeed the plan!

Offline MikeyPratt

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Re: Brodak Electric Ringmaster ARF: Then and Now
« Reply #11 on: May 06, 2016, 05:38:15 PM »
   I have definitely had my share of 120+ degree summers in that region.  After growing up on the flying field, heat doesn't bug me too much.

   What I was ill-prepared for was the extreme cold in the mountain region south of Kabul on my last deployment.  During the winter months, we would get -20 lows at night (day for me as I was on the night shift).  Add to that the fact that there were only port-a-johns on the airfield.  You haven't experienced life if you haven't sat your rump on a sub-zero porta-potty!  That was the most miserable thing in my career to date.  The upside was that the TB didn't want to play either, and IDF attacks during those months were reduced considerably.

That is indeed the plan!

Sean,
Have a blast and keep your head down and stay safe.

See ya when you get back,
Mikey

Offline Dan McEntee

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Re: Brodak Electric Ringmaster ARF: Then and Now
« Reply #12 on: May 06, 2016, 08:17:02 PM »
Sean,
Have a blast and keep your head down and stay safe.

See ya when you get back,
Mikey

     Hey Mikey!
      It will be easy for him to have a blast, with his trigger finger connected to four Hellfire missiles! 

      Remember, this is the little blonde haired kid Hazel and Maxey gave a 1/2A Skyray kit to in what seems like just a few years ago! We will have to try and get together with you just for giggles and grins when he gets back. Do some flying, some BSing and relive good old times in Montezuma!
   Type at you later,
   Dan McEntee
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AMA 480405 (American Motorcyclist Association)

Offline MikeyPratt

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Re: Brodak Electric Ringmaster ARF: Then and Now
« Reply #13 on: May 07, 2016, 10:06:39 AM »
     Hey Mikey!
      It will be easy for him to have a blast, with his trigger finger connected to four Hellfire missiles! 

      Remember, this is the little blonde haired kid Hazel and Maxey gave a 1/2A Skyray kit to in what seems like just a few years ago! We will have to try and get together with you just for giggles and grins when he gets back. Do some flying, some BSing and relive good old times in Montezuma!
   Type at you later,
   Dan McEntee

Hi Dan,
Yep it was only yesterday wasn't it?  You bet we can have a great time and do a little flying and a lot of BS-ng.

Later,
Mikey


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