It was 21F out there (notice the ice lake opposite the pilot in the photo! I had to find one spot where there was no ice.
The plane did groove pretty well. It could use a little more on the top. I was using 15 thousandth lines, and I think they are somewhat longer than 60 feet. I'll makeup some 60 foot 12 thousandths lines tonight. The prop is the Graupner 9-4 electric. The lighter lines and the slightly shorter length hopefully will improve the vertical performance. I could also go to a different prop.
One disappointment is my data recorder didn't work for some reason (a corrupted buffer--maybe it was too cold for it too!)
Overall the darn thing had better trim than any other of my previous planes.
Thanks Fred for the photo's and an execellent stooge job!

Hi Alan,
I'm with Mike on this one. You probably don't need to change a thing in the basic setup: just run the batteries at a more suitable temp.

Pre-warm your batteries if you must fly in 21 degree weather, and try putting your battery in a small paper envelope to keep it a bit warmer. If that isn't enough, try a tin foam elvelope or thin bubble wrap. If you can at least get the plane to land with the battery at body temp that will work. (use the old baby's milk on the wrist test). With my 2500 to 3000 Watt F3A setups I actually stick a foam rubber block into one of the two the battery cooling inlets for weather under 65 degrees, and on really cold days, I would even tape over half of the remaining inlet.

Charge your batteries at the field in a small styrofoam cooler to keep them warm. Maybe you could even put the charger inside thge cooler to raise the  battery temp under charge to the same as a summer day.

Of course, you get kudos for going out in the cold!
later,
Dean

Alan,
   Excellent info!! I think the data you collected proves and explains the problem.

   The static current draw you measured was 31amps. On warm/hot days I always measured ~34-36amps static (this is probably a result of the low battery voltage due to the cold temps).

   The battery capacity consumed was only 2564mah where I measured ~2700-3000mah (depending on props used). Again, this is probably due to the cold causing the voltage of the pack to drop, which in turn lowers the current draw. 

   I am happy to see both the RPM and voltage seems to stay fairly constant. Are you using a JMP timer? If so does it step up the power? It would be nice to see the graph scaled differently so you could see more detail.

   I hope you get her dialed in when the weather breaks!! You will have to update us with a new graph with warmer temps. Nice work.

This was all Brodak stock (motor, battery, ESC, and timer) at this point. For Mike, I am using the Graupner 9-4 e prop--this is the lightest load prop (in the 9-4 range) I have.
I do have a JMP timer, which I will put on at some point (once I figure out how to program it). That will eliminate the waste of power as I walk out to the handle. Also will allow me to set a lower throttle setting (if that works of course).

This was all Brodak stock (motor, battery, ESC, and timer) at this point. For Mike, I am using the Graupner 9-4 e prop--this is the lightest load prop (in the 9-4 range) I have.
I do have a JMP timer, which I will put on at some point (once I figure out how to program it). That will eliminate the waste of power as I walk out to the handle. Also will allow me to set a lower throttle setting (if that works of course).

Hi Alan,

I'm glad to hear good things about your turnkey Clown system. It's success may help bring more turnkey ARF elec. systems for more modelers to enjoy. It looks like Mike did a great job helping to make this a solid ARF.  

You should get an "IRON MAN" award for braving the elements in the name of research. :-)

You will like the JMP unit. It is solid, very flexible, and gets easy to use with practice. I too was initially put off by it's button programing method. After playing with it several times, it turns out to be a very simple system to program. Making changes in power settings and time frames is easy and only takes a few minutes to accomplish. Will Moore got me started on the JMP units and now, like him, I routinly make adjustments at the flying site.  

Before you start to use it, do your self a favor and make a simple piece of test equipment. Will Moore published a picture of his in Stuntnews last year. I made a smaller version, putting my mini servo, battery, and 0% to 100% arc into a 3"x2"x4"  plastic box (I used the plastic box an Airtronics servo came in). This will make programing the JMP much easier. It also allows you to do a test "run" on any changes you make, without running your motor.

I wish we could trade a few degrees of temp. Your batteries are too cold, and my motor needs a little time between flights to cool down a few degrees. It was 86 F while flying today, and it is forcasted to be 95 F this weekend at our flying field. If we could trade about 25 F, we would both be happier. :-)  

If you have any questions on the JMP timer I will be glad to help. Will taught me well. ;-)

I hope your WX warms up soon. I'm sure you will have more fun flying your Clown off green grass while wearing your golf shirt.