Actually the first test flights were done last Friday.  Here is a summary report.

Elroy flight report.

Date: Friday, October 8, 2010

Time: 9:09 am

When we arrive at the Napa circle, a loud, fire breathing, smoking spewing, oil-spitting monster called a Thunder Gazer seemed to be on a rampage that initially traumatized Elroy!  At first he didn’t want to leave the confines of the Honda Odyssey.  Only after I assured him that the monster would soon return to its lair did he muster the courage to enter the circle proximity.  He bravely sat as I prepped him for his maiden flight while the monster went on two more 6-minute rampages spitting burnt oil droplets on his spotless exterior.  Upon entering the flight circle ready for take-off he asked that he be placed in a spot free of Thunder Gazers oil excrement.  I obliged, checked for neutral cleaned the lines, allowed Capn. Fitzgerald to hold him only after his hands had been degreased.

I pressed the start button and Elroy gave a tiny burp as he prepared for gradual full throttle, roll out and takeoff.  As he initiated throttle he began to accelerate the torque pushed his nose out and he crabbed rather hard but reached take off speed at a quarter of a lap. I applied up elevator and he cleared ground.  I think he must have sensed my searching for level flight as he took control and led me to 5 foot and proceeded to groove there until I applied control.  He changed flight attitude quickly and locked very tightly when control was neutralized.  He did not hesitate turning either direction and locked very solidly.  Rounds tracked perfectly and transitions at intersections were smooth and deliberate.  Overhead eight was very easy with no floating and the same line tension as level flight.  Glide to landing was gradual with good control response all the way to touchdown.  This first flight presented an outboard wing high as spotted by Dave.  Added .25oz. tip weight for second flight.  Wing leveled out some but was still up a bit.  So why not try the pattern the pattern.  Best way to describe performance and flight behavior is best summed up by a quote from my long time friend Dave Adamisin, “this one is special”.  Added another ¼ oz of tip weight for the third flight and the wing was perfectly flat inverted and right side up.  This was the first flight I pushed it as hard as any of my competition seasoned Divas of Zealots.  When I landed it was hard to be humble.  Elroy handled everything I could throw at him and just said “is that all you got?”

Capn. Fitz flew the fourth flight.  After he landed his comment was “the only thing I would change is the neutral setting on the handle”.  

Conclusion:  I just don’t know how it can get any better then this!

Dateline Sunday, October 10, 2010.  Perfect day for flying but timer problems spoiled the day.  Elroy will get a clear coat, new timer and maybe a little buffing and polishing this week.  By the time Golden state rolls around, he should have another 30 flights.

Congrats Phil!

Under the hood , no dip stick or gas tank!

You can also check Elroy joins JCT post by PTG

Actually the first test flights were done last Friday.  Here is a summary report.

Elroy flight report.

Date: Friday, October 8, 2010

Time: 9:09 am

When we arrive at the Napa circle, a loud, fire breathing, smoking spewing, oil-spitting monster called a Thunder Gazer seemed to be on a rampage that initially traumatized Elroy!  At first he didn’t want to leave the confines of the Honda Odyssey.  Only after I assured him that the monster would soon return to its lair did he muster the courage to enter the circle proximity.  He bravely sat as I prepped him for his maiden flight while the monster went on two more 6-minute rampages spitting burnt oil droplets on his spotless exterior.  Upon entering the flight circle ready for take-off he asked that he be placed in a spot free of Thunder Gazers oil excrement.  I obliged, checked for neutral cleaned the lines, allowed Capn. Fitzgerald to hold him only after his hands had been degreased.

I pressed the start button and Elroy gave a tiny burp as he prepared for gradual full throttle, roll out and takeoff.  As he initiated throttle he began to accelerate the torque pushed his nose out and he crabbed rather hard but reached take off speed at a quarter of a lap. I applied up elevator and he cleared ground.  I think he must have sensed my searching for level flight as he took control and led me to 5 foot and proceeded to groove there until I applied control.  He changed flight attitude quickly and locked very tightly when control was neutralized.  He did not hesitate turning either direction and locked very solidly.  Rounds tracked perfectly and transitions at intersections were smooth and deliberate.  Overhead eight was very easy with no floating and the same line tension as level flight.  Glide to landing was gradual with good control response all the way to touchdown.  This first flight presented an outboard wing high as spotted by Dave.  Added .25oz. tip weight for second flight.  Wing leveled out some but was still up a bit.  So why not try the pattern the pattern.  Best way to describe performance and flight behavior is best summed up by a quote from my long time friend Dave Adamisin, “this one is special”.  Added another ¼ oz of tip weight for the third flight and the wing was perfectly flat inverted and right side up.  This was the first flight I pushed it as hard as any of my competition seasoned Divas of Zealots.  When I landed it was hard to be humble.  Elroy handled everything I could throw at him and just said “is that all you got?”

Capn. Fitz flew the fourth flight.  After he landed his comment was “the only thing I would change is the neutral setting on the handle”.  

Conclusion:  I just don’t know how it can get any better then this!

Dateline Sunday, October 10, 2010.  Perfect day for flying but timer problems spoiled the day.  Elroy will get a clear coat, new timer and maybe a little buffing and polishing this week.  By the time Golden state rolls around, he should have another 30 flights.

I love the way you told that story Phil!  And the only thing I would change with that plane is put a snarling beast inside that engine compartment   

I love the way you told that story Phil!  And the only thing I would change with that plane is put a snarling beast inside that engine compartment   

The Jive Combat Team is no stranger to the snarling beast.

Hi Phil,
post flight component temperatures?
battery consumption?
nervous shakes?
thanks,
Dean

Elroy was designed from the ground up exclusively for electric.  There are some new design features that seem to be working very well.  I will do a complete write up in the coming weeks for those who are interested.

will be looking forward to this one!!

Just a quick update on some things learned.  With just 30 flights most of which had trim and a variety of speed controller and timer adjustments, flights 31 & 32 were a trial by fire as Elroy was taxed with high wind, severe turbulence and competition in a field including 2 World Champions and 6 Nats champs.  Given the fact that his driver/pilot totally placed him in a “this can’t be good fatal position” by not detecting a wind shift in the hourglass he performed very well.  While I was treated to a full 360 degree inspection of Elroy during the during that single maneuver he did not give up and somehow found a way to restore control to me!

Power components:
Plett 20-12
APC 13/4.5 pusher
Turnigy Nano-tech 4S-2650 and Zippy Flightmax 4S-2650 batteries
ICE-50 Lite ESC
Hubin FM9 timer system
Maxx Products arming switch

Airplane general specs:
55” span, approx. 615 sq in. area, small flaps
Flight weight: 62 oz.
PTG Skinny airfoil (14% root, 9% tip,) dynamic flow curve (different root and tip plots) includes flaps (they are part of the wing)
Moments: Nose 10.675”; tail 18.75” (hinge/hinge)
*Much more about airplane details and flight characteristics in the future

Things learned:
How to work with small, low overhead, lightweight, inexpensive batteries.
How to calibrate, record and adjust FM9 system to match ICE-50/Plettenberg combo.
How not to fly combat sized maneuvers during official flights.

So we’ll start with the easiest first:
‘How not to fly combat sized maneuvers during official flights’ JUST SAY NO!

With that out of the way lets move to batteries.  I would be remiss if I didn’t credit my good friend Erik Rogers with finding, testing and logging virtually all of the info about these batteries.  He is by far the most experienced CLPA electric pilot around here and has rapidly ascended the ranks of very stiff Advanced completion here in CA.  One of the things I like most about competition is the idea of pushing the equipment performance limits.  These little batteries can and do deliver very good performance if care is taken to do the following.
1.   Charge them correctly
2.   Closely match the motor KVM with practical flight RPM.
3.   Control flight time
4.   Closely monitor # of cycles and mAh usage on each battery
5.   Check individual cells for voltage after fully charged
Always charge these and probably all other Lipo batteries in full balance mode.  I learned by accident that not doing so can greatly shorten their usable life for competition flying.  Elroy was first flown with Plett 20-14, which has 810 KV specs.  The combination of charging without balancing and running this motor at relatively high RPM averaging 9300 resulted in the premature demise of several batteries.  At first I was baffled when the Plett 20-12 rated 950 KV was installed and a couple of the batteries I thought were gone somehow recovered.  After reviewing charging details on the individual packs I noticed that the low packs were not charged in balanced mode.  This was farther verified by checking the individual cell voltage after fully charged.  Indeed there was always at least one cell that had a lower baseline voltage than others.  With over 100 flights Erik had concluded that if any single cell reading was 4.4 volts or less the pack is just too unstable to chance in competition.  This proved to be the case in the dead packs for me.  Also, mAh usage seems to be somewhat variable and generally not critical if under 2475.

Flight time is also important in maintaining performance of these packs.  One thing to note is every airplane/prop/line type and length combination will have different actual power requirements during flight.  Add to this flying style and wind conditions and things get really interesting.  Given all these I settled on 5 min. 10 second flight time.  Flying on 66 ft. Laystrate lines at lap times between 5.2 and 5.35 seconds there is plenty of time to complete the pattern and setup your landing approach.  

OK, so we’re really on the ragged edge pushing these packs this way but given their very light weight (Zippy Flightmax = 9.59 oz, Turnigy Nano-tech = 9.45 oz.) the reward is well worth the risk when closely monitored and matched with motor/airplane/prop/lines.

One final note re. governing.  In my opinion and much praise for Dennis Adamisin for his insight and work with APC, the 13/4.5 props seem to offer an RPM envelope that is close to ideal.  Head speed plots of RPM in different wind conditions, with a wide variety of ESC settings and bigger battery packs with more overhead are remarkably consistent averaging between 92 & 93k and Elroy is very happy regardless of what my handle tells him to do!

The topic of calibrating, adjusting and recording the FM9/ICE-50, Plettenberg combo will come after as soon as notes are fully reviewed.

Hi PTG,
I'm running a Pletty as well. What PWM rate did you set and did you leave the timing at 5?

By the way, amazing looking model........mine looks quite plain compared to yours!!!!