I went down to NOVAAR's launch with Don Brown yesterday, along with my
son, Andrew. We had a fantastic day, the weather was perfect, just a
little bit on the hot side though. Fortunately we had canopies and lots
and lots of water to help beat the heat. Winds were light until later
in the afternoon, when they picked up enough to discourage high altitude
flights. Still, it provided welcome relief from the heat.
My Arcie-II made 3 successful (mostly) flights.
First flight - D12-3. The boost was perfect, and after ejection the glider
quickly settled into a nice glide. After a few moments I realized it was
pulling left, so I entered some right trim and she straightened out nicely.
The CG, set where Rob Edmond's instructions said it should be, was just
about bang-on perfect. Glide time was about 1:30, and control was EASY the
whole flight. You can't make mistakes flying this glider, it won't let you!
Just move the stick left or right, and let it turn in the direction you want
it to go.
Second flight - E9-4. For this next flight I decided to get a little bold,
and moved up to an E9-4. Boost was perfect again, although at max velocity
the stack seemed to get a little 'squirrelly' and started rolling a bit.
It settled down though and coasted up through apogee, where ejection and
separation occurred flawlessly again. Altitude was a good bit better than
the D12-3, and at the limit of comfortable visibility. About 1/2 way through
this flight, however, I experienced my only problem of the day. After giving
the glider right trim again, and pushing the stick all the way to the right,
it began circling (almost spiraling) in that direction and wouldn't come out
of it. I lost effective control of the glider as it drifted downwind, and
it landed behind the parking area a couple of hundred yards away. There was
no damage, though. Upon reaching the glider I found out what went wrong.
The combination of right trim and full right stick resulted in one servo arm
getting jammed against the side of the elevon control horn. I flexed the elevon
down and the servo arm popped free and returned to its centered position.
Flight time was over 2 minutes, despite the control problems.
After this second flight, I added some weight (tape) to the right wing, to
counteract its tendancy to turn left, instead of the right trim I had given
it before. This way I wouldn't risk another control jam, since the servo arm
can't get stuck behind the elevon control arm unless I apply full stick AND
additional trim.
Third flight - D12-3, my 12-year-old son Andrew flew the Arcie this turn. This
was Andrew's first ever R/C flight (except for one brief moment at the controls
of my 2M glider), so he was a perfect guinea pig to test the "total beginner"
aspect of the Arcie II's intended audience. Boost was perfect again, and after
settling into its glide the Arcie behaved nicely. As it was directly overhead,
Andrew didn't get 'turned around' so to speak (most beginners get confused with
the control reversal which happens when an airplane is travelling towards, rather
than away, from the pilot). He kept the glider into the wind, which was beginning
to pick up by that time, until it got a bit too far upwind, then turned around
and brought the glider down about 50 yards away. The glider pitched up just before
touchdown (probably due to ground effect) and stalled into the ground, but not
too severely. Fight time was 1:30, same as my D12-3 flight.
So, we give the Arcie "two thumbs up!". It boosted almost flawlessly, separation
and glide initiation were perfect, and control was very easy, even for a total
beginner. Glide times were not what I had seen other Arcie pilots get, but this
is probably because I'm using a heavier receiver than the recommended Hitec
'feather' RX.
Some recommendations for others thinking about the Arcie:
1. Check your lateral balance! I've heard one other Arcie builder who had
one wing heavier than the other, besides me. Even with closely matched
wood, its always a good idea to check.
2. Make SURE your servo arms can't travel past the end of the elevon control
horns, or you'll get them caught beneath/against them, resulting in an
uncontrollable turn/spin.
3. If your Arcie has a tendancy to turn, add some trim weight to one wingtip
instead of relying on trim adjustment, provided your servo arms are aligned
perpendicularly. Otherwise you may end up with problem #2 above. If you
make in-flight trim adjustments anyway, just be wary of overdoing it.
4. I saw another Arcie go up yesterday, that got tangled with the chute. I'm
going to replace my chute with a streamer, which ought to reduce the chances
of this happening to me. The power pod is plenty robust, and I think even
the small chute provided is overkill - a large streamer ought to do nicely.
5. The E9-4 flight left some exhaust marks on the top of the glider wing - I
wouldn't call it 'scorching', but it's probable that too many flights like
this one might cook the tape hinges near the fuselage, and possibly the wood
too. It would be a good idea to protect the wood here, either with some
stick-on foil tape, or a coat of epoxy. Putting some sacrificial masking tape
over the strapping tape hinges should help to protect them from heat damage.
Also, run your antenna wire along the BOTTOM of the fuselage stick, so it is
protected from the exhaust too.
6. After setting up for launch, always do a double-check to make sure the igniter
clips will fall away from the tail surfaces, and that the antenna wire falls
free and won't get caught on anything as it leaves the pad. A bit of tape and
a 1/4" dowel can make a handy portable "umbilical" support for the igniter
leads, so they drop away from the glider at launch.
-Vince P.
Here it is:
