RE: Thunderbolt A-10
The A 10 looks great. I am in the process of putting one together. I am concerned about the Motor/ fan assembly. It is the Detrum combo for $47 with ESC and servos. SO cheap that I have a confidence problem. Do you have any experience with this maufacturer? The motor is an out runner. I understand I must balance the rotating unit. I dont know how to do it. Should I just buy a new power train set to satisfy my concerns? I hate to throw out two $47 combos and start over? I havent installed yet .
Posted on: 5/6/2012 4:28 PM by Author "neilh2" in the forum "Electric RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11070687

RE: Defiant Model 74 Flight problems
I just competed the first flight of my Defiant and it looped on takeof and crashed. I now see that you have flown with the cg at 1-2niches behind the wing leading edge rather than the 4 inches in the manual. I have repaired the model and balanced at 1.5 inches. I hope it flys. I also have read many messages on this plane and I am aware of the need to set the ground attitude of the model. If you have any other goodies that I should be concerned with, please let me know
Posted on: 12/27/2009 9:31 PM by Author "neilh2" in the forum "NitroModels Support"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9364870

RE: Nitro Models Rutan Defiant
Brad, I understand that the CG in the manual is incorrect. It says 4.1 inches back from the front of the wing at the root. I have read on other tthreads that it should be 1.5 inches. Nitro model was no help
Posted on: 11/22/2009 12:07 PM by Author "neilh2" in the forum "Twin & Multi Engine RC Aircraft"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9272117

RE: Nitro Models Rutan Defiant
I just finished my Rutan Defiant and attempted to fly it.. Balanced at the required piont 4 inches back from the wing root. Started to do the take-off and before I pulled back on the stick , it lifted of and did a 180 inverted loop about four feet off the runway and crashed. It has way too much lift. and I didnt touch the elevator stick. Thinking the canard has too much lift. The canard is a lifting wing design. Could it possibly be required to mount the canard upside down? Is the CG differant from the instuctions? I haven seen any body say they have flown one sucessfully on RC Universe. Anybody got some info? I can repair the damage but If I fly it without changes , It wil loop and crash again.
Posted on: 11/19/2009 2:08 PM by Author "neilh2" in the forum "Twin & Multi Engine RC Aircraft"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9265409

RE: Need help with E Fan jet
Thanks, I've made new measurements and now have 5# of thrust. Others agree that I should have about 7 # of thrust, I am now aiming for a larger motor... a Neu 1912-1Y. I'll keep posting the progress.
Posted on: 8/21/2006 1:00 PM by Author "neilh2" in the forum "Electric RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=4650437

Need help with E Fan jet
I found out the hard way that my new Red Arrow BAE Hawk doesn't have enough power. I need help to find out what I should do. The motor,fan and batteries are the same as other Hawk fliers but my first flight was impossible to control and ended with a crash. The airplane is a Century Jet model with about a 60 inch wingspan. weight is 10.7 pounds. Balanced at 28.25 inches per instructions. Fan is a Aeronaut TP4000 5 inch diam with 5 blades. Motor is a Neu 1910-1.5 1200 watt claimed to produce 10 pounds of thrust with 40 volts. 680 RPM per volt. Battery pack is 10C, 6000 mah Thunder Power, and I'm using a Jeti 90 amp ESC. Range checked, and control surface check verified by others. Take off appeared to be sluggish and once in the air the plane wallowed and was barely flying. The hawk had an on board Eagle Tree recorder and the motor during preflight was operating at 3000 RPM,3 amps 41 volts at low throttle. RPM maxed at 10500 at 33 volts and 43 amps. My understanding from Eagle Tree was that the optical sensor I installed would read about half of the real RPM. I tested the plane after the crash and the rpm, current and voltage were about the same as before the flight. At 680 RPM per volt I should have been at 22500 RPM. I used a hand held tac and measured the rpm at 23300 after factoring for 5 blades instead of the 4 set on the tac. If I double the RPM recorded by the on board Eagle Tree I would have 21000 RPM. I measured the thrust using a fish scale for ground pull at 3 pounds. These things just don't add up. I see a power system and corresponding data that looks like I should get much more than 3# of thrust. The voltage, current and RPM are close to expected to produce good thrust to fly as well as others have with this airplane. The thrust measurement and flight performance look like they agree to very poor flight performance. Any ideas? Any suggestions to resolve the conflicting data?
Posted on: 8/17/2006 9:20 PM by Author "neilh2" in the forum "Electric RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=4636420

RE: Century Jets Sport Hawk
Chris, I am coming along well on my Hawk. Have the wings and stab installed. I have a few questions on the fan. I have a 4000 fan which looks like yours in the build photos. The fixed fan blades are attached to the motor enclosure but are not attached to the outer fan enclosure. I plan to epoxy the fixed blades to the outer duct fan enclosure with the fixed blades at the end of the duct. This leaves plenty of room for the rotating blades within the duct. Any comment? Also, it appears that you did not secure the fan duct to the fuse. How did you support the fan/motor assembly? Neil
Posted on: 5/11/2006 3:25 PM by Author "neilh2" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=4266892

RE: Century Jets Sport Hawk
Thanks to both of you. I've been in this sport only 8 years and the second strike against me is that I'm 74 years old. I fly a ducted fan with a .91 engine and I'm anxious to fly the electric. (my 2nd electric). I have read Chris's build log and many photos. They are a big help. Now that I got the instructions, plus the info from Chis, I think I am OK. However, I would really like whatever photos you can send me. I'm sure it will help. The plans from Century are for the non electric version and I could use photos in those areas as well as installation of the wing spar joiner. Neil
Posted on: 4/26/2006 8:43 AM by Author "neilh2" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=4208174

RE: Century Jets Sport Hawk
Chris, I got the instructions and I'm building. I'm almost ready to mount the wings and I'm concerned that I have the correct wing angle of incidence. Do you know what It should be? If so please send me a note. Thanks, Neil
Posted on: 4/23/2006 4:39 PM by Author "neilh2" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=4200950

RE: Century Jets Sport Hawk
Chris , Thanks for the response. No, I didn't get a 26 pg instruction manual. I was led to believe that their was no more info. Thanks, I'll call them and get it. Neil
Posted on: 4/19/2006 8:20 AM by Author "neilh2" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=4183634

RE: Century Jets Sport Hawk
Chris, I finally received my Century Sport Hawk kit and the plans are inadequate for me. The wing mount is a prior design drawing and doesn't show the aluminum bar and C section. I did get the bar and C section in the kit. I see from your build log photo that you cut the wing to insert the bar. Please explain the installation. Did you reinforce? I got a bunch of laser cut pieces in the kit but I don't see any location info on the plan other than the servo mounts. Does this model need internal reinforcement sections? Also, how did you do the exhaust tube from the fan? I bought a Neu 1912-1Y motor and a HW750 fan with a 19s battery and a Hacker 90 ESC. Most of that design I got from your messages on RC Universe. Last question (for now), You installed flaperons in your plane. I'm not an expert flyer although I do have a 91 powered ducted fan that I fly and I really need the slow speed for landings. Do you think I need flaperons? How about adding flaps? I obviously need help with this kit so I would appreciate all I can get. Thanks, Neil
Posted on: 4/19/2006 6:17 AM by Author "neilh2" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=4183436

RE: Century Jets Sport Hawk
Chris, You have been a big help. I'm going to buy and get started. I will probably be back to you again when I get into assembly. Thanks.
Posted on: 4/6/2006 1:46 PM by Author "neilh2" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=4132097

RE: Century Jets Sport Hawk
Thanks for the response. I need to build my confidence that the batteries I have on hand will fit. I have two Thunder Power 6000mah 3s3p's...1 7/8" wide, 15/16" high and 7 3/4 long. I'll have to buy a 4s3p. It will probably be the same size but 2 1/2" longer. Three batteries total. I have'nt bought anything yet but so far, your comments are very helpful. The motor and ESC I plan to use are the same as yours but it was sugested that I use a Wemotec HW- 750 fan. Comments? Since your batteries fit on the side of the fan, and you narrowed the duct to fit, maybe I should do the same fan as you to be sure my batteries fit. What mah batteries do you use and what is your flight duration? I have another Fan jet using a .91 engine and I'm always concerned that the engine will quit. This problem goes away with an electric. This sounds like a real nice plane. I'm really looking forward to flying it.
Posted on: 4/6/2006 10:18 AM by Author "neilh2" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=4131348

RE: Century Jets Sport Hawk
Chris, I am just about to buy a Sport Hawk with the same setup as yours but using 10s3p at 6000 mah batteries. I'm concerned that I can fit three Battery packs in the plane. two 3s and one 4s. I'm doing this because I already have the two 3s batteries. Please comment on the fit and what you think of the planes performance. Neil
Posted on: 4/5/2006 7:04 PM by Author "neilh2" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=4128992