RE: Wing spoilers vs. ailerons??P-61 Black Widow had spoilers....
Mitsubishi carried their roll control scheme over to the MU300 Diamond (BeechJet, BE400, Hawker 400). It has these very small trim tabs on the outer wings and uses almost full span spoilers for roll control. They have a fairly short chord, maybe 2-3". When doing an approach in gusty conditions, each time you have to raise a wing you effectivly do it by dropping the opposite one. So every correction you make makes the airplane lose a bit of altitude. I have heard of some guys using this to their advantage by making a series of quick, shallow roll commands to get back on glideslope without changing the power or pitch of the airplane. Another problem is if you are very near the stall, using them to raise a wing could have adverse effects. I couldn't find a pic of the spoilers but this pic from underneath shows the large flaps and little tabs.
Posted on: 10/8/2009 10:43 PM by Author "beenie" in the forum "Aerodynamics"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9157993

RE: Wing spoilers vs. ailerons??P-61 Black Widow had spoilers....
Andy Lennon discusses these in his book. He used them in a plane that had full span slotted flaps. Apparently they worked quite well and were effective inverted. Ben
Posted on: 10/7/2009 8:22 PM by Author "beenie" in the forum "Aerodynamics"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9154952

RE: TF- DC-3
PMed you
Posted on: 9/29/2009 10:48 PM by Author "beenie" in the forum "Kit Building"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9134657

RE: TF- DC-3
I have been wanting to replace the 2 Magnum .52fs on mine with the Saito .40. I have one in a 1/6th scale Super Cub and it is a great little engine. It hasn't quit in the air in the 6 years that I have had it and it is quite light and powerful. I would think an 8X6 3 blade would work well with it, although I havn't tried it. Ben
Posted on: 9/29/2009 9:46 PM by Author "beenie" in the forum "Kit Building"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9134491

RE: How many have flown a GeeBee, and not nosed it over
I have been flying the Page Gee Bee R2 for 4 years. Mine is not a hangar queen, it is flown regularly. As da Rock says, balancing it nose heavy for flight stability doesn't do you any good when it is time to land. Something not often thought about is the vertical position of the CG. The R2 is kind of tall for its size and has a tendancy to be top heavy. I have placed as much of the movable weight as possible towards the bottom of the plane. The lower CG helps keep it on its wheels. I have always had mine balanced as per the plans and have had no problems either in flight or on the ground. Another problem with those things is the large wheel pants. On the full size they are rather tight on the wheels and any attempt to replicate this on a model causes problems. I opened the bottoms up as much as possible and used shims to tie the pants to the gear leg to prevent the tire sidewalls from contacting the pants. I always fly off grass and am able to do a wheel landing without any problems. The design gets a bad name from some VERY heavy ARFs that don't fly well. The Page design is very light, mine is 7.75 lbs with an OS .91fs. The wing loading is around 24oz/sq ft and it takes off in 5 feet and climbs vertically. It is ashame that he went out of business. Ben
Posted on: 9/8/2009 11:08 AM by Author "beenie" in the forum "Questions and Answers"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9078590

RE: beechcraft baron
Wow, That is some serious detailing. You even got the A/C compressor hump and the condenser door on the left nacelle! I can't wait to see it done. Ben
Posted on: 8/9/2009 8:52 PM by Author "beenie" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9003172

RE: New Hitec Aurora 9-Channel 2.4Ghz Radio System
Will the TX accept regular 72mhz single frequency modules or is it just the Spectra? Ben
Posted on: 5/20/2009 5:22 PM by Author "beenie" in the forum "RC Radios, Transmitters, Receivers, Servos, gyros"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8785376

RE: How long does a radio last??
Like Pete said, send it AND the rx to Hitec for a check. They have an EXCELLENT service department and it will be alot cheaper than having to get all new stuff. I have had an Eclipse for as long as you have and it was sent back when I dropped it on its antenna, breaking the RF board. They had it fixed and back to me in a very short time. Ben
Posted on: 5/16/2009 7:06 PM by Author "beenie" in the forum "RC Radios, Transmitters, Receivers, Servos, gyros"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8774493

RE: beechcraft baron
Dennis, I have wanted to try using carbon fiber in the past, but I have never been able to get over the price of the stuff. It would be interesting to see how the composite structures compare to balsa ones weightwise. It would be a fun project. On the full scale Baron, it was fairly easy to get it loaded with an aft CG. And IIRC, all the fuel was carried in the LE foward of the spar, so burning fuel caused the CG to move aft. Having a nose baggage compartment helped a lot by allowing you to put the passenger's stuff in the nose to balance them out. On your model, I would bet that all weight saving measures in the tail will be necessary to eliminate or reduce the needed nose weight. As for the Skyrocket, I believe it is about the same size as your Baron. The WS is 44.5" with an area of 360sq". With the glow engines and 2.5oz of ballast, it weighed 46.5 ozs, a wing loading of 18.6 oz/sq'. That is 12 ozs over the projected weight, or 35% overweight! I never could figure out where all that weight came from, but it happens. The good thing is the plane never seemed to care. Although at that weight, flying around on one engine would not be possible. Fortunatly I never was in that position. Do you know what engines you want to use on it? Ben
Posted on: 4/21/2009 11:20 AM by Author "beenie" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8701670

RE: beechcraft baron
Dennis, I am not sure if an all composite airplane would be any better than having built-up wings and tail. I am certainly not an expert on composites but it seems like you could make the wings and tail lighter with balsa than you could with composites. But I'm sure there is someone here that can prove me wrong. I think that retracts would be really neat, almost a necessity. If not, then some way to hand launch and belly land it. Nothing looks sillier than a scale plane that good looking flying around with its legs hanging out. The sound of two engines is really something that the electrics can't even come close to comparing to. However, today's electric power can be done for the same or less weight than comparable glow. Considering the weight of the engines, fuel tanks, plumbing, two servos, and the reciever pack. Also, they are always in sync, never quit in flight, don't need tuning, fit in the nacelles, etc. And you can use a single battery placed in the nose if the plane needs nose weight. And a Baron will almost certainly need nose weight. But there is just something REAL about a glow engine. Here's a link to my little twin on its first flight. It is a nice sound. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5oIB8riRQs Ben
Posted on: 4/19/2009 11:21 AM by Author "beenie" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8695470

RE: beechcraft baron
You get used to hearing the ice hit the sides of the cabin, but it is always fun to look back and see all the passengers with the same wide eyed expression! Airwalk, that is a really good looking baron. I have seen some large, high level competition scale models of the B58 that just had something wrong with them. There was some proportion that didn't look right. You absolutly nailed the fuselage shape! I am also interested in a kit or at least the molded parts with plans for the wings and tail. The 58 Baron was a blast to fly, when light it was very overpowered. They all have a nice, throaty sound that is unlike any other airplane powered by a flat engine. There is something about having two 1/2a sized engines on a plane that is instantly lost when it goes electric. When I did the XF5F a few years ago with 2 .074's, I looked at it as a real model plane. Now that I am in the process of electrifying it, I am starting to look at it as a toy. It is a very strange phenomen. I will be watching to see how it turns out, should be a very nice plane. Ben
Posted on: 4/18/2009 2:56 PM by Author "beenie" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8693190

RE: Passenger lands plane
For those that are interested, here is a link to the ATC tapes of the incident. It starts shortly after the pax takes over. http://www.news-press.com/assets/mp3/A4132719413.MP3 Ben After I posted, I read the news story. I was friends with Joe Cabuk. He was a really nice guy and seemed to be in good health. I guess when it's your time, it's your time. Fortunatly, it wasn't the passenger's time. Ben
Posted on: 4/15/2009 3:58 PM by Author "beenie" in the forum "Airplanes - Full Scale"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8684415

RE: begin Allstar Bipe superlite redesign build
Wow, this makes me want to get the foam down and do some cutting. I too am interested in the methods used for such a good looking build. Ben
Posted on: 2/24/2009 9:06 PM by Author "beenie" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8514876

RE: A TRIBUTE TO MY SON, CHARLES IV
CP, I remember reading the first post and wanting to post something. I am ashamed that I did not. However; then, as now, words fail to convey the feeling. I have many friends and co-workers who are either over there now or have been and you are the first that I know who has lost somebody. I can not imagine the feeling. Our thoughts are with you and your family. Ben
Posted on: 2/20/2009 1:56 PM by Author "beenie" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8498490

RE: Where to get Magnets
I use www.allelectronics.com for magnets. It is a surplus shop, sometimes the inventory changes. Ben
Posted on: 2/19/2009 1:24 PM by Author "beenie" in the forum "Questions and Answers"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8494937

RE: Ice formation on full scale wings
I am not sure, merely mentioning the fact. Many people hate the boots on it, so much so that Gulfstream got Goodrich to develop silver boots for the G150 and 200. That way they look like "real" jets, instead of pretend jets with their black boots. I liked the black ones better, it was much easier to see ice on them. Regardless of color, I like them. They do a very good job of getting rid of ice with NO preformance penalty. Also, since they are de-icing devices, I don't have to turn them on when the possibility of icing exists, only when there really is ice. So I guess I am bragging[8|] Ben
Posted on: 2/18/2009 10:37 AM by Author "beenie" in the forum "Airplanes - Full Scale"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8490348

RE: Ice formation on full scale wings
As has been said before, airplanes accumulate airframe ice when flying through water that is supercooled, that is at or below freezing and still a liquid. How can this happen if, as everybody knows, water freezes at 0C? I forget, but Wikipedia doesn't http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supercooled_water . When it contacts a surface such as an airplane, it freezes instantly. The airplane moving through the air can actually heat up the leading edges due to air friction, the plane I currently fly gains 30C at cruise due to air friction. At Dash 8 speeds, the effect is less pronounced. Planes certified for Flight Into Know Icing have a variety of ways to either keep the ice off (anti-ice) or remove it after it has accumulated (de-ice). There are the pnumatic boots, bleed air heated leading edges, TKS weeping leading edges, or electrically heated leading edges. They all work and they all have their advantages and disadvantages. Interestingly, all of them are anti-ice devices except for the pnumatic boots. The boots inflate and break the ice that is already on them, then the airstream blows it off the surface. Jetmech05, you have mentioned ice bridging. That is supposedly a phenomenon where the boot inflates and ice builds up on the inflated boot. It then contracts, leaving a growing shell of ice that the boot is unable to remove. The FAA has recently published guidance stating that ICE BRIDGING IS A MYTH. It simply doesn't occur. In modern aircraft, turbines especally, the boot inflation and deflation cycle is too fast (usually 6 seconds of inflation) for the ice to build on the inflated boot. I currently fly a Gulfstream 200, arguably the highest performance civilian plane ever built with pnumatic boots. Our procedure for encountering icing conditions is to turn the de-ice on. It cycles all the boots automatically every 1 minute. You don't look for 1/2" or 1" or whatever, you turn them on immediatly. We were in ice 3 times today, never had a problem. Most (all?) jets have an ice detection system that alerts the crew to the airframe icing, usually before it begans to accumulate on the plane. There is a great article about this in thes month's issue of Flying. I don't know if the Dash8's have such a system, maybe someone who knows the type will come foward. This system along with visual inspections of the wings or windshields or windshield wipers or whatever is out there that collects ice lets the crew know that they are in icing conditions. Airplanes fly in icing conditions (sometimes severe) every day in every season and don't come falling out of the sky. Huck 1199, that is a great video. Thanks for the link, I didn't know that it was on the internet. Everybody who operates an aircraft in the clouds (FIKI or not) should see that video. It is eye opening and goes against everything that we have been taught about stall recovery. Everybody is taught about wing stall indications and recovery but nobody is taught about tailplane stall indication and recovery. From what I have read, it certainly points to tailplane icing. The loss of control upon flap application is very indicative of such. Now it has come out that they were on autopilot until the stick shaker activated, which disengaged the autopilot. I'm sure that there will be a $h!tstorm over that given the current guidance to hand fly the airplane in icing to better feel the changes in pitch and roll required due to aerodynamic changes from the icing. Seems like they didn't know that there were getting into trouble until they were already well into it. I am very interested to see what they find out. Ben
Posted on: 2/15/2009 10:16 PM by Author "beenie" in the forum "Airplanes - Full Scale"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8481114

RE: TF- DC-3
I have one that I bought already finished. It is done up as a Marine R4D. I have not been able to find any pics to support the paint scheme, but it is different and seems to hide some of the kit's funny lines. Not a bad flying plane. It wasn't really well done and at some point will be getting a full rebuild, possibly with a new wing. I am going to make the wing in 3 parts so it can ride around with the center section attached sitting on its wheels. Vupilot, I am considering making straight floats for it, amphibs would be too heavy and complex. Would really make a unique model. A few videos of it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QFQUWFwX7o Ben
Posted on: 1/31/2009 10:04 PM by Author "beenie" in the forum "Kit Building"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8424637

RE: forward swept/swing wings
It doesn't look like much of the wing area is involved in the sweep. There seems to be a lot of fixed surface area with the wing stubs, the "canards" and the fuselage to keep it flying during the transition. I would be a little concerned with the outer panels getting ripped off. When they are transitioning foward, there will be a large load on the hinge and all of the wing structure, even at moderate angles of attack. I agree with Tall Pall about the glider, however, you may be able to do it with one glider that has repositionable wing panels. Good luck and keep us posted. Ben
Posted on: 1/20/2009 12:18 AM by Author "beenie" in the forum "Aerodynamics"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8378652

RE: 1/2a House of Balsa Bonanza V35
The FASCOLOR may be ok to use on the canopy, but I used the laquer based Pactra car body paint on the inside of mine and it made the canopy sides curl inwards. Ben
Posted on: 1/4/2009 12:02 PM by Author "beenie" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8317191

RE: 1/2a House of Balsa Bonanza V35
The HS65's are wonderful servos. Just slightly larger than the 55's but stronger and faster. You could easily lighten it enough to have flaps and retracts, room for all that equipment is there but it may be tight. I used to fly a V35 and loved seeing the model in the air. Its outlines aren't terribly accurate (for example the nose is way too long) but for some reason it looks like a perfect little reproduction. Keep us posted. Ben
Posted on: 12/12/2008 11:49 AM by Author "beenie" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8238482

RE: 1/2a House of Balsa Bonanza V35
I used the HS81's, but you could use something smaller, although I think that HS55's may be too small. I had both the Norvel .061 and .074 in it. The .061 was ok but would overheat in the summer. The .074 had lots of power for it and never had any problems. I tried several tanks and settled on a Fuji film tank right behind the firewall. Also the battery was a 4c 400NiMh.
Posted on: 12/11/2008 10:57 PM by Author "beenie" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8237323

RE: Ideas Needed for Travel With RC Equipment on Comercial Ariline
I fly 6+ times a month on airlines and have brought planes along. My little bipe comes completly apart and packs flat. I put it, 2 lipos, the charger and TX in a cardboard box that will fit in the overhead bin. I have had very few TSA guys even ask what is in the box. From talking with them, a model plane is pretty mundane compared with the stuff some people bring along. Ben
Posted on: 12/11/2008 9:18 PM by Author "beenie" in the forum "Questions and Answers"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8236974

RE: 1/2a House of Balsa Bonanza V35
The V35 is a great little kit and makes a very fun little plane. I left the gear off and hand launched it. It just looks WRONG with the gear hanging out and retracts add too much weight and complexity. With a Norvel .074, 3 HS81's and a 7 gram servo for throttle it came in around 24ozs. It was pretty fast but would slow down well, did great aerobatics and if the wind was calm it could do touch and goes on the belly. There was alot of opportunity for weight savings and it would make a good electric plane. Mine had a nav light set and a beacon using T1 LED's and magnet wire. The weight was almost nothing and the cool factor was high. As stated, be careful with the plastic canopy, I painted mine with car body paint on the inside and it caved in. So the sides of the cabin were concave. I went with ultracote covering and used a trim stripe to hide the wood/plastic seam on the canopy. That little plane could take a beating! The worst that would happen is the wing would break its mount in the fuse. Ben
Posted on: 12/11/2008 8:51 PM by Author "beenie" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8236858

RE: Electric ARROW (Laddie M's)
Dave i have had deltas before that would land like you are describng, with the nose way up and the speed very slow. The Dart doesn't fly like that. When it gets to a certain speed it instantly transitions to a spin, sometimes flat. I have only put one flight on it since I moved the CG up and it shows more promise in slow flight. I put the test flight videos on my youtube page http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JalyugknC9c http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOUbJ6_RotQ Do you know what %MAC 15 3/4" works out to on the arrow?
Posted on: 11/28/2008 6:42 PM by Author "beenie" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8192545

RE: Electric ARROW (Laddie M's)
Well, the cg difference between a full tank and an empty one was not very much. However, 15% was a little tail heavy. I have a video of it in an inverted flat spin/ tumble type maneuver during the test flights. I'll have to upload them when I get some time. Since your plane is just a scaled down version of a very well proven plane, I doubt you will have any of those problems. ben
Posted on: 11/27/2008 9:54 PM by Author "beenie" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8190213

RE: Electric ARROW (Laddie M's)
Dave, Your build is looking good. Should be neat little airplane. I built something similar this summer for a .074, although it was not a scaled down Arrow. I will be curious to read the flight report to see if the good flight characteristics scale down. Mine was a handfull in the first few flights due to a bit of an aft cg. Things calmed down with a little nose weight. http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_7757509/anchors_7867974/mpage_1/key_/anchor/tm.htm#7867974 Ben
Posted on: 11/27/2008 6:33 PM by Author "beenie" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8189764

RE: Tail wheel set-up needed! Must be scale
Something I just thought about, depending on what you plan to do with the plane and how serious you are about exact scale, I would suggest enlarging the rudder a bit. I added quite a bit of area to it on mine and it was ok for what I was doing. The Show Cat has a more rounded rudder that adds some area, so does this plane.
Posted on: 11/26/2008 8:01 PM by Author "beenie" in the forum "RC Scale Aircraft"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8186810

RE: Tail wheel set-up needed! Must be scale
Charles, I am flying a Gulfstream 200 now, but at the time I was in a King Air 200 (in the avatar). I stumbled across many interesting airplanes on the BTR ramp heading to the plane. I have come across Glacier Girl and meet Steve Hinton, the Collins B24, a very nice Spitfire MKIX, an Alpha Jet, Air Force 1, and some others I can't remember. I didn't know that little Baton Rouge was such a great overnight stop. As for the Ag-Cat tailwheel, I found some pics that do a good job of showing it. They do vary somewhat and it looks like the Show Cat has a different one altogether. The one that seems the most common appears to be made of one leaf of spring steel, about 1" thick. It has a pretty serious curve to it both where it attaches to the fuse and tailwheel. It could be difficult to make from aluminum and have it last for any length of time. I have been experimenting with molding carbon fiber gear and think that maybe it could be used to do the trick. Maybe someone with more experience with the material will chime in. Ben
Posted on: 11/26/2008 7:31 PM by Author "beenie" in the forum "RC Scale Aircraft"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8186714

RE: Tail wheel set-up needed! Must be scale
Charles, I did take the pics, he stopped in Baton Rouge for the night and I found the plane on the ramp in the morning while going to mine. The colors looked pretty old and faded although the overall covering and paint condition looked ok. I'll be curious to see what you come up with for the tailwheel. I am building an old Sig Liberty Sport and will have to make another one for it. Ben
Posted on: 11/21/2008 12:22 PM by Author "beenie" in the forum "RC Scale Aircraft"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8169329