What will you do in '07?

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Lou Melancon
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What will you do in '07?

Post by Lou Melancon »

What will you fly in '07? What will you change? Each year brings new advances to combat. Here's what I'll be working on:

1. Choosing the right foam - lightest verus toughest
2. Deciding between a flying wing or fuselage plane
3. Figuring out how to make a building fixture or set of fixtures that allows me to assemble most of the wing in one step. Ditto fuselage.
4. Protecting antennas - I seem to either shear them off or get them cut.
5. Putting the tank inside the fuse or figuring out how to make the wing cutout in a way that doesn't reduce the wing strength.

Right now I am debating on which plane to build for 2007. Last weekend I had a chance to watch the SSC Avenger, Georgia Battle Axe, Treneff Battle Axe, Georgia Gorilla, and Lee Liddle Falcon. All flew great for their respective pilots. Right now I am leaning towards flying wings and if I go that way will just build a lot of them in January-February to have enough to last the year.

The engine will be the OS .15LA with aluminum backplate and hex bolts through the head and muffler, OS A3 plug and 5mm spinner nut. The needle valve will be the stock LA needle cut loose from the backplate and mounted behind the engine.

Tank will be a bladder as I've had good luck with them. They are not for everyone but for me they are the easiest and most reliable system I've tried to date. Not saying they are for everybody but I like them.

If there are Open B contests nearby I plan to re-engine the SSC Falcons with either Foras or Cyclons using a longer motor plate to balance them out. Mike Wilcox flew a Falcon with a Nelson .15 on it at Paris faster than any B airplane in the same match so I know it can be made to work.

I remember George Cleveland flying a 72" Falcon at Paris a couple of years ago and how quick it was so I've written to him asking if he has any in stock. Also I talked to Lee and got in line for a Falcon kit when he gears up production. My hope is to build bigger wings that have low wing loading and very good turning characteristics if I can keep the weight down without sacrificing too much stength.

What are you planning on doing or trying for the 2007 season?
JGrizzle
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Post by JGrizzle »

Lou is back?
Pathous
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Post by Pathous »

Lou I will be flying mostly open B. The plane I have had great luck is a modified Avenger B2. I cut my own wing which has proven to turn with the wings. I also have doubled up the G10 at the motor mount. The nice thing about the avenger is the removable motor mount. I was able to switch between B engines and ssc easily only needing to move the battery for ballance. I have been useing the square edge foam available from Lowes. This seems to be able to take most hits with little damage and is also light. My open planes usually come in at 2.75 pounds and ssc at 2.5.
Lou Melancon
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Post by Lou Melancon »

Jim, maybe not back yet, but definitely interested.

Scott, the Avenger is a great plane, and AJ is probably the best design/engineer we have ever seen in this sport.

George Cleveland advises that he has about 40 72" Falcons in stock at $80 each so I will get a couple to measure and plagairize it.
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boiler
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Post by boiler »

Do you want your pvc wing carrier back. I used it a couple of times but found it didn't work too well on Battle Axe and Pirahnas. I'm thinking about a hybred type fuse using rails and phencepost materials. Still have some thinking to do. I will use a clunk tank. I plan to build a couple of Kates for 2610 and at least one P-39 for 2548. I plan to get the (fuel/break in) formula for 1/2A and fly scale as well as open. This winter and next spring I plan to help a couple of club members build for SSC. Since we have wheat planted, I plan on several meets after the NATS. Need to work out the dates with club members by January. Oh[:0] I amost forgot. I want to try the 3696 concept. It sounds great and may bring back a few old scale junkies but more important, it may bring in many new electric only pilots to rc scale combat.
AIM
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Post by AIM »

I'm going to stick with LimB and SSC. Both are built on fence posts and Fredericks wings without epp leading edge.
I'm planning on sticking with the non epp leading edge as it seems to not make much difference in longevity of the wing plus it eliminates one extra wing building step.
The only problem I have with my current design is servo lead damage. My current design has them going through the fuse and up through a hole in the wing. If my wing gets twisted to far it will either pull the wire loose from the servo or simply cut the lead in half. If I secure the wing tight enough to eliminate the twisting on impact, more wing damage will result. Other than that I'm pretty happy with my planes. I build them with all full size gear and still end up an ounce or so under the 3.25 .lbs.
I'm not trying to get a SSC-LimB convertable plane. My SSC planes are built similar but with less tape, smaller tail feathers and smaller radio gear.
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boiler
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Post by boiler »

Aaron, try using a short airelon extension between the radio and the wing servo. Have both the servo wire and extension wire anchored well so they just come unplugged. It saved me a lot of wear and tear on my radios.
Hat Trick
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Post by Hat Trick »

Building a bunch of Russian clones. I extended the wingspan to 64". These will be used for another trip to Russia and for the few Open B contests I'll get to. Can only be considered as disposable although they have proved to be tougher than I thought they would be! With a Webra .36 on it the performance is amazing and hopefully will give the Russians a run for their money! It's no slouch with a decent .25 either!
Limited B and SSC will be my Phencepost plane. Keep meaning to release a kit but just can't seem to get around to it!
Dawg
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Post by Dawg »

SSC with my Georgia Battle Axes. Only modifications will be to add dowels to the wings to keep the wings from rotating in wing-to-wing hits. Got this idea from the Treneff kit. Very good idea, can't believe I did not think of it first... [8D]
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dirko
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Post by dirko »

I will build a couple of Limited B Phence post planes so you guys will have more targets.[:D].25FX engines with wings from Mike Fredicks.
Captain America
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Post by Captain America »

Been converting to the b2 wing on my fencepost fuse. Its a cheap avenger knockoff but has proven to be lighter, maybe even more durable and I can still swap motor mounts back and forth. One wing anf fuse to build
Cajun
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Post by Cajun »

It's great to see some ideas and plans from Lou. Your presence has been missed here.

I plan on flying the same Flat Bats I flew this year. The 2 mil coro wing with full foam LE is indestructable. I have about 40 rounds on my first one and plan on flying it at Jetero. I have flown one ship all year in three meets and many weekend pick-up heats. At 48" the wing is not as productive as the glider wings, but I score as well with it as with the hi-tech wings I flew for several years. The short wing just requires better pilotage[:D][^]

I will be spending time trying to revive the number of pilots and meets we had in Texas in years past. This year's participation, other than the Texas Nats, has been dismal and I know we can do better. I would like to see us consider going with just one compromised open class and one scale class. In a three year time frame we went from holding too many meets in Texas to holding practically none. There has to be a reason.

I too will be trying the 3696 scale electics as it is looking like a very viable way to bring scale back to combat. Whether people are interested enough in scale remains to be seen.

Now is the time to start planning for a bigger and better 2007.
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Donduck73
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Post by Donduck73 »

Lou, It will be nice seeing you fly combat again. I have been having good luck flying the SSC Falcon though my launching seems to be a problem. I am using a solid foam wing with no EPP leading edge. I did not see the advantage plus the cost of getting it. I can cut around 12 wings per 4x8x2 foam. That brings the cost of the wing with all the build up and covering to around 15 dollars a wing. The motor mount I get at a Bed Bath and Beyond and get around 8 per cutting board. All said I am building them for around 25 dollars each plane not including the Engine, Servos, and Recievers. I have one of Lee Liddles that I have copied from and use as a template. I hope to spend most of the winter building some additional planes plus working on some ideas I have about making them easier to launch. Let me know if you want to take a look at the lee liddle design. I can bring the templates out to our field one day.
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o1moregil
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Post by o1moregil »

I'll be building some clones of planes that are out there for the local guys, seems like theres a lot of local guys that don't do a lot of web surfing or shop online for kits and is easier to get a fellow pilot involved in combat if you have a kit or two with you at the field, I'm sticking with the b2 Avenger for 2007, I been working on some home made fiberglass skins for the past week for these and seems to be working good, I will also be working in getting new guys into combat in field's nearby (yeahh! winter practice baby!), in the last five months we been up to 5 combat pilots and growing, geezzz ... can't belive its almost a year I move to Texas, time sure flys.
Hat Trick
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Post by Hat Trick »

I also found the flying wings to be difficult to hang on to and launch. I put a handle on my Russian clones and that made a world of differance! I also enlarged the fin a bit and I think that helped some too!
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