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Very Hot Topic (More than 25 Replies) Super Fike for Embryo (Read 3353 times)
Sky9pilot
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Re: Super Fike for Embryo
Reply #32 - Oct 1st, 2021 at 8:50am
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Agony and ectasy of OOS (Out Of Sight) flight! My congratulations and condolence on a wonderful model and flight!
  

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Your attitude will determine your altitude!- John Maxwell
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free. Jn 8:32
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MKelly
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Re: Super Fike for Embryo
Reply #31 - Sep 30th, 2021 at 8:22am
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I flew the Super Fike at meets in Hamilton TX this June and September.  At the June meet it flew well - very responsive to lift, but the glide was steeper than I'd like and limited duration to 80-90 seconds.  In August I formed a new canopy using thin heatshrink plastic - this came out at .4g vs. 1.3g for the plunge-molded canopy I originally installed on the model.  It also moved the CG back just a small amount.  Some trim flights showed the model was still adequately stable with the rearward cg, and I was able to reduce decalage and get a better glide.

Between reducing the overall weight almost a gram (from 25.3g to 24.4g including motor) and improving the cg/decalage relationship the model really started flying well.  At Hamilton earlier this month I put full winds on the model - first official flight was 150 seconds, the second flight went into a Texas hat-sucker thermal and disappeared against the puffy clouds after more than 15 minutes circling overhead!

I captured the model's brief but spectacular life in this video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glrqiAIipBU

Now the question is to build another one, or press on with some other interesting design for my next Embryo.

Mike
  
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MKelly
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Re: Super Fike for Embryo
Reply #30 - Jun 12th, 2021 at 7:40pm
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Thanks Victor.  The motor is 6.2g of rubber, 1x30" loop of 1/16" plus 1x30" loop of 3/32".  With lube, o-ring and aft tube it weighs about 6.8g.  It should be safe to about 2100 turns, and should break at about 2600 turns.  For today's flights the most I wound it was 1050 turns (halfway to the 2100 safe turn limit).

Careful setting of CG and incidence before the first flight goes a long way to reducing drama.

Got some video of the day's activities put together here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98uTaI1vbBs

Mike
« Last Edit: Jun 12th, 2021 at 9:07pm by MKelly »  
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Rekitus Maximus
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Re: Super Fike for Embryo
Reply #29 - Jun 12th, 2021 at 3:25pm
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good to hear no drama...  I'd love that.
maybe soon.

your comment about turns of rubber (1thousand?)

can you share the other qualities of the motor?

and only about half way?

victor
  

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MKelly
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Re: Super Fike for Embryo
Reply #28 - Jun 12th, 2021 at 3:20pm
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Took the Super Fike out for initial trimming today.  No real drama - some minor stab adjustments to fine-tune the glide and a few down and right thrust tweaks.  It's not quite the floater the Windindicator was but on half turns (~1050) it did almost a minute.  We were sticking to a corner of the field as the motorgliders and ultralights were out in force this morning, so I didn't wind it any further.

With the short wing it rocks a bit when disturbed, but it comes back quickly and damps out rapidly, so no real problem there.  It'll be a fun and reasonably competitive flyer.

Mike
  

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MKelly
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Re: Super Fike for Embryo
Reply #27 - Jun 6th, 2021 at 9:14am
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Thanks Tom.  Unfortunately it's humid and breezy with occasional showers here today - flight will have to wait for another day...  Meantime, there's been a few airplane noises heard near my desk.

Mike
  
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Sky9pilot
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Re: Super Fike for Embryo
Reply #26 - Jun 6th, 2021 at 12:20am
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Outstanding Mike...your builds and flight videos are really inspiring!  Well the Fike has now made it onto my "To Do" list.  Can't wait for the video of the trimming and flights!  Keep up the great work!
  

If God is your Co-pilot...switch seats...
Your attitude will determine your altitude!- John Maxwell
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free. Jn 8:32
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MKelly
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Re: Super Fike for Embryo
Reply #25 - Jun 5th, 2021 at 10:17pm
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Thanks Tom.  She's done!  Sanded, painted and rigged the prop today.  Model weighs 18.5g empty, with CG about 1/4" ahead of target.  With a 6.8g motor (1x1/16" loop +1x3/32" loop each 30" long, 6.2g rubber weight plus o-ring, bobbin and lube) braided, installed and tensioned it balances right on target at the aft edge of the spar.  Can't wait to go flying!

Mike
  

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Sky9pilot
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Re: Super Fike for Embryo
Reply #24 - Jun 4th, 2021 at 8:04pm
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The Fike looks fantastic.  I'm sure she'll be a great flyer for you.  The bones of the P-47 looks good as well!  Love the razorback. Smiley
  

If God is your Co-pilot...switch seats...
Your attitude will determine your altitude!- John Maxwell
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free. Jn 8:32
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MKelly
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Re: Super Fike for Embryo
Reply #23 - Jun 4th, 2021 at 6:55pm
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Got three thin coats of dope on the prop yesterday, working in series with the 4-blade prop for the P-47 I've been working on.  This morning I doped some 3/4oz fiberglass prop onto both props, and after lunch I trimmed the edges and wiped a coat of epoxy over the glassed blades.

In between these activities I set the stab incidence for 2 deg difference between wing and stab, and put some black tissue intakes on the noseblock.

With the glassed (but not final-sanded) prop, the model weights just under 18g and is slightly nose-heavy.  The rubber motor is biased slightly aft, so balance should be close with a motor installed.  My target weight for the airframe is 18.6g.

The weather is beautiful and nearly dead-calm out tonight.  Unfortunately, the model won't be ready until sometime tomorrow, and it's supposed to be raining most of the weekend...  Oh well - I can entertain myself by starting to cover the P-47.

Mike
  

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MKelly
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Re: Super Fike for Embryo
Reply #22 - Jun 3rd, 2021 at 2:13pm
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Cut a prop block yesterday...then cut another one after the first one broke in half...  Carved it up and trimmed the blades to shape.  While the first coat of dope dried on the prop this morning I put a little tissue trim around the canopy, installed some exhaust pipes, then glued the fin on.  Coming into the home stretch.

Mike
  

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MKelly
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Re: Super Fike for Embryo
Reply #21 - Jun 1st, 2021 at 8:02pm
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Thanks Tom.  Got the canopy glued on and built up a set of wheels and pants.  I put a little nubbin on the inside of each wheel pant to provide a more solid attachment to the landing gear wire (see photos with pants covered and installed).

Mike
  

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Sky9pilot
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Re: Super Fike for Embryo
Reply #20 - May 30th, 2021 at 11:29am
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Canopy looks fantastic!  Well done!   Smiley
  

If God is your Co-pilot...switch seats...
Your attitude will determine your altitude!- John Maxwell
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free. Jn 8:32
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Rekitus Maximus
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Re: Super Fike for Embryo
Reply #19 - May 29th, 2021 at 10:10pm
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aah... you will not believe how long I spent looking at the nose of that plane
before I realized you meant a block of wood for carving...


as ever, yer killin' me...

beautiful aircraft.

victor
  

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MKelly
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Re: Super Fike for Embryo
Reply #18 - May 29th, 2021 at 8:56pm
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For the scheme I'm doing a bubble canopy works well - gives the pilot room to look around for airmen in distress...  Less importantly, the sheet plastic windscreen shown on the plans looks great on the model, but it doesn't meet the FAC Embryo criteria for canopy/windscreen bonus points.  The molded canopy does.  I'll put exhausts on the model to capture another set of bonus points, but I haven't decided whether to add wheel pants to get the remaining available bonus points.  Like the Windindicator, I kind of like the look of big balloony tires on this one...

Set up a prop block this evening while the Krylon dried.

Mike
  

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