RFFS-100 Scale?

[pease1]

OK, I shot the lock off the wallet and went ahead and ordered a Dynamics Unlimited RFFS-100 system (I hear Gordon giggling)

What I'm wondering (Dave you there?) is what type of goals should I shoot for when attempting to commit scale aviation with this system?

I was hoping after getting a testbed working, that I'd move on to say some nice World War I semi-scale efforts. I've always liked the Sopwith Pup, and since it's got dihedral scale, it would work great with R/E control.

Can I get away with 2.5 oz with 4 cells on a KP-00? How do you reccomend I go about constructing it? Depron? I'd prefer to stay stick built if possible, maybe coloring and marking tissue with an ink-jst then covering?

One last idea, How about converting the DU actuators for remote mouting? I figure if done properly, it would look better and make re-using the coils easier. But can it be done??

Later for now,
Al

[pease1]

One last thought - I think 1:48 scale WWI Biplane might just be PERFECT scale for this.... what do you think?

Al

[gjohnson]

Alan, no giggling, just a sigh. I got mine first, and you will probably still be the first in the air. Did you order an extra set of actuators? If you want to try some Zepron, let me know and I'll bring a couple of sheets Saturday. My preference is 1/32 5-lb contest balsa. Dave's looks really nice.

Gordon

[pease1]

Darned if I'm going to miss it this Saturday - UNH is in the Hockey East playoffs and I haggled a pair of skybox tickets for the weekend. GF would string me up by the privates if I didn't take her to the game. Maybe if it's a blowout I can sneak out in time to catch the 2nd half of the fly.

Zepron, I think I have some meat trays, should be plenty large enough for the size we're talking about. I'm thinking balsa myself too though.

Extra actuators? I figured I'd make my own, or if I fail order more from them later.

Al

[Dave Robelen]

Hi Al,
Yes, I'm here. It is no accident that the Pixel has the major proportions of an SE5. It would take very little to blow a 3-view up to about 13" span and build from it. Like yourself, I have a real problem with the stock actuators bulging all over the tail. There are a couple of considerations to moving them indoors though. Even with the spacing on the tail of the Pixel, ther is some interaction of the controls due to the strong magnetic fields. No big deal at the moment, I "fly" the stick to get the motion I want anyhow.
Stuffing a couple of those little powerhouse magnets inside a small model is going to take a bit of doing. I don't see any real problem with making the assembly so that it can drive a pushrod, I have done this with a BIRD actuator with good success. The biggie is going to be keeping them spaced apart.
When you size the model think more in terms of a max of one ounce for the KP-00 drive on a little biplane. Above this weight the actuators will be straining to move the controls I believe.
Have fun, Dave Robelen

[Chris]

I weighed all the components (the RFFS100, KP00, 3 actuators (1 for elevator and 2 for the ailerons), a 3 cell battery (50mah NiCad), and all the wires and stuff and it came out around 3/4 of an ounce, maybe a little more. Even with a 4 cell battery, I don't think you'd approach 2.5 ounces unless you built your plane from rock maple ;)

I'm working on a walnut scale Dumas Corsair, the fuselage is done and weighs next to nothing, as I rebuilt all the ribs out of the lightest 1/32 sheets I have. I don't see topping an ounce and a quarter once it's ready to go (just waiting on some Corsair blue RA Microlight). If it flies (or not) I'll surly let you guys know. If it does, this will open up an entirely new set of rubber power models for conversion... I've been eyeing the Dumas Cessna Skymaster - can you imagine a 2 pager motor, tractor/pusher scale Skymaster!!

I'm also working on something else... if it flies it'll be incredible, I have my doubts but I just have to give it a try. More details to come... ;)

[MicroPhil]

Al,

I would think you should have no problem at all flying a 2-ounce plane with coils. I personally have well over a hundred flights on a plane that is close to 50 grams. I’ve seen super birds fly 2-ounce planes; the super BIRD is 60 ohm, about the same as the DU coil. I have also had the privilege to watch Ralph B fly a 65-gram plane outdoors with wind on 120-ohm coils. The only reason the plane weighed so much, because this was done more than a couple years ago, without the nice little package from DU. He was using an Aplex radio (in today’s standards a very heavy radio) with DPC boards from Cloud 9. The reason I mention this, is because it is possible to fly 2-ounce models with coils, but it really depends on how the coils are mounted. Using rubber to mount the coil will only rob power from the coil, try mounting them like BIRDs, and then you will have a super BIRD. Just my two cents worth, and this is based off what I have seen been done before. Just do a search on “Ralph B” he has given all his secrets on this BB, and don’t forget he has been doing this for a number of years now, so he knows what he is talking about. This is nothing new for Ralph.

Philip