RC Rocket Gliders

[Merican]

I have an unbuilt AeroTech Phoenix I purchased in the late 80's, I think, when I used to fly RC gliders.

Should I build it as a winter project or just stare at the pretty box?

 

[AstronMike]

Originally posted by rokitflite
Holy Crap!!!

That reminds me of some of my, ahem, more interesting projects going awry way back in the day

Never had an HPR glider do THAT, but did have a G flexie RG back in 88 somehow pop the wings *on the pad* just as I hit the launch button. All he** broke loose, and by the time it was all over there wasnt much left.

Looked funny seeing big fat 200lb guys keeping up with me running away!!

 

[KenParker]

We actually had a great night flying RC rocket gliders.

Here is our Estes Centurian on an F12 BlackJack motor not far off the pad.

 

[KenParker]

Here is the Centurian further up. Kent has touched up elevator to put it into a more vertical climb attitude.

 

[KenParker]

And here is a final pic of the Centurian close to apogee on the climb out.

 

[KenParker]

Here is our Aerotech Phoenix on the pad, almost ready to go.

 

[KenParker]

Here she is, not far off the pad. This flight was on Kent's favorite motor, a G12. Lovely 8 second burn.

 

[KenParker]

And a final pic of the Phoenix, doing what it does best - cruzin' the skies.

 

[crazyrcer]

The Aero Ace is a great little plane, but it seems like it won't fly quite the same as a larger plane with servos and etc. (that is just my opinion as I don't have one). I would suggest going on RCGroups and check out their forums. They can get you started with a good plane. I've even found a bit of info on RCRGs on there. I have considered building an RCRG using a flying wing such as the Unicorn. It seems like the design would be perfect to convert to an RG. I have one that I fly for fun (it's electric powered), and I can say that it is a very stable plane. It wouldn't even be such a bad choice to learn on.

 

[Rocketlearner]

Originally posted by KenParker
We actually had a great night flying RC rocket gliders.

Here is our Estes Centurian on an F12 BlackJack motor not far off the pad.

That is a totally awesome pic !!

I'm just completing my build of a Centurian and hope to fly it up soon, hopefully this weekend (with D11 for test then some e-9's). I read somewhere that the black engine smoke messes up the elevator with clag, what your experience ? If you have any other tips, I've love to hear them, even if on a pm.

 

[KenParker]

Our Centurian is a relatively new addition to our rocket glider fleet. We have 2 D11 flights on it and 4 F12 flights. So far, there is not a sign of any "clag" on the elevator from the F12's.

If you carefully followed the build instructions, and you make sure the CG is properly located, you shouldn't have any problems. I am assuming that you do have prior experience with radio controlled planes of some type. In general, rocket gliders are not good as trainers for newbie RC flyers.

I have two custom launch pads for rocket gliders. One is set up for those gliders which use a launch lug as their main means of guidance (such as the Centurian), the other is set up with 4 rods in a square pattern that surrounds the fuselage and the wing (such as the Phoenix).

Both pads can be tilted significantly from vertical. (I don't remember the exact regs, but I'm pretty sure NAR regs have some limitation as to how much angle is allowed from vertical, so if you are flying at a strict NAR field, you may want to familiarize yourself with the rocket glider regs).

Another addition I have added to the pad used for gliders with launch lugs is to have an outboard support rod for each wing. That way, any intermittent gusts of wind while it is on the pad won't spin it around. I have a number of holes available for these rods to accomodate the different gliders that I fly. Make sure that the rods are spaced so that there is no binding among the three rods.

One last thing for the Centurian: make certain that the wires for the igniter circuit are underneath the stabilizer/elevator. I saw someone get in a hurry once and run the igniter leads over the top of the stabilizer/elevator. On ignition and launch, the igniter leads ripped the stabilizer/elevator off. It wasn't pretty after that.

Have fun, let us know how it goes, and, above all - POST SOME PICS!!

 

[Bigander]

I'd personnaly go with a park flyer. Hey but that's just me. Any ways a cool rocket would be one with steerable fins.

 

[Rocketlearner]

Ken and others,
Thanks for the useful hints. I was hoping to test it this weekend but it's taking a little longer to get it completed. I'm looking to replace the pushrod cable. It appears that the one supplied is alum instead of steel. I tried to solder the rear elevator cable to stiffen up but it's not happening (it is not magnetic so assume alum). Also I found that the elevator rods interfer with the rocket engine mount so need to realign the pushrod, and while they recommend a HI-81 servo- it does not fit in the bay so had to rebuild servo mounts. A number of other things that just didnt jive with the instructions, but I'm almost there

I've flown RC for years so this will be fun flight, and I'll have someone with a camcorder so I can post some pics. I built the launch pad described on the site after searching for "Homemade Launch Pad". I may try to incorporate 2 additional parallel rod to stead the wings in case they try to rotate.

 

[kkooch]

Recently, I added flaperons to my contest S8 glider giving the glider roll and speed control. It now has (4) servos and the camber control alone allows Pushit to float like a butterfly. The (4) servos control rudder, elevator and right/left flaperons. I plan to fly it sometime this week on AT D7 reload first and then graduating to an AT E6. It has flown (15) times without flaperons thus far. The flaperons required extensive mixing with both rudder and elevator positions.

Yep, it is an _extreme_ rc undertaking....but, afterall, it is just a hobby. And it has been rewarding to see all this work finally come together.

Kevin K.

 

[Rocketlearner]

Originally posted by kkooch
... It now has (4) servos and the camber control alone allows Pushit to float like a butterfly. The (4) servos control rudder, elevator and right/left flaperons ...

Wow, where did you hide 4 servos on that ??


PS nice job !

 

[kkooch]

Originally posted by Rocketlearner
Wow, where did you hide 4 servos on that ??


PS nice job !

Rudder and Elevator servos are in the nose and the flaperon servos are in the wing with servo wiring routed thru channels in the wing then thru the boom and finally up to the nose where the receiver sits.

Oh...and thanks!

-KK

 

[stevem]

kkooch - nice job on packing the servo's on that bird.

what is the final weight of the glider?

please post flight reports!

 

[kkooch]

Originally posted by stevem
kkooch - nice job on packing the servo's on that bird.

what is the final weight of the glider?

please post flight reports!

Wing area = 216 in^2. Weight all up less reload casing is 163 grams.

 

[falingtrea]

Here is another good forum for strictly electric power RC planes. I have a Easy Glider Electric that I will be training on. But I really like that RCRG that was linked earlier. The electric conversion would be convenent.

 

[kkooch]

please post flight reports! [/B]

I flew Pushit a few days ago first on a D7 and then on an E6. Both
flights were real successful and my concerns about flutter of the
flaperons on boost were eliminated. The conditions were highly
overcast with a nice storm moving in. Using the D7, I flew for around
5 minutes. The wind had picked up during the E6 flight as well as the
rain, so I cut it short after around 5 minutes, dove it in and landed.

I'm flying mode 2 with aileron and elevator on the right stick and
rudder/flaps on the left stick. My left hand is still a little sleepy.
On boost, this was pretty evident as I tried to correct a bit of roll
to the left about 250' up. The correction was ok and the wings
leveled, but there was little yaw and the model got blown off course a
bit. Yaw control is important on boost in order to keep the model in
the part of the sky you want it to be in.

So the fix I think is to set up more rudder input and less aileron
input during the boost phase. The landing trims, however, were good
with full flaps. Here I've mixed in more rudder and really this is the
only way to guide the model in. I just need to train myself better to
fly elevator and rudder on two separate sticks.

**Actually an update from when I posted the above to yahoogroups: rocketboostgliders. I've switched to Mode 4 on my evo 9 tx which puts both elevator and rudder on the right and flaperons on the left.

-KK

 

[stevem]

my wife's gonna kill me! see what you guys do to me.

I have been a frustrated R/C pilot for a long time. I gave up back in 96 or 97 because i got sick of fixing wrecked airplanes.

Then I found rocketry and was happy. Life was good.

Then I bought an Edmonds ArcieII and found out I really could fly it!

Then I saw this thread and have been following it until I finally gave up and bought this...

 

[stevem]

If I can fly the EasyStar then the next goal will be to fly the Bud Nosen Trainer that I built way back when and have never had the nerve to crash, uh I mean, fly it.

sorry if this is OT but actually it was this thread and the Arcie that convinced me to try flying R/C again.

 

[BobCox]

Ah, I see you are taking the same path to perdition that I did... Arcie II and EasyStar. Both good choices.

It looks like you got your EasyStar in kit form. Before you build it, I suggest reading doing a bit of reading. This is very popular plane and several people have posted suggestions for mods to make it more durable and easy to maintain.

https://www.mpx-easystar.de/
Click on "Modifications" or "RCGroups.com threads" on the left column. Tons of useful ideas.


https://plawner.net/3/1st_plane/
More encouragement that you made a good choice.


As for the Arcie II, read my review on EMRR.

 

[stevem]

excellent info Bob!! thank you!

 

[sylvie369]

Originally posted by PunkRocketScience
Thanks for the pointer Shockie!

Well, I picked up one of the little Aero Ace planes that Bunny was talking about and it is a lot of fun to fly. However, it seems to weigh less than most low-power kits! Makes flying in even a light breeze a challenge.

Based on Bunny's recommendation and this post, I bought one of those as well, over at Walmart last night. Flew it around my mom's backyard last night, and then out at a baseball diamond this morning. It's the first time I've ever flown any R/C plane. Unfortunately there's a front coming through and it's way too breezy to really fly the thing, but that didn't keep me from playing with it for a solid three hours this morning. What a great way to spend $30.

If I'd had something like this as a kid I doubt I would have ever played with any other toy.

 

[crazyrcer]

If you want some modification ideas for the AA you could check out the RCGroups Micro RTF forum.

 

[sylvie369]

Originally posted by Crazyrcer
If you want some modification ideas for the AA you could check out the RCGroups Micro RTF forum.

Jeez, just what I need - another hobby. Thanks for the link. I flew the thing with a little nose weight, and it does fly better, as long as the charge is fresh.

Man, in calm air that thing actually flies. I'm amazed.

 

[PunkRocketScience]

Bad news on my Aero Ace addiction.... Mine thermalled out of sight so fast it made my head spin! Once it got up there, I was unable to distingush which direction it was flying even! I still had steering control, but the wind pushed it too far away to recover! I released control and it came down somewhere in the business park where I work, but how far away, I couldn't tell you!

I'm considering something just a bit larger for my next plane...

 

[sylvie369]

Originally posted by PunkRocketScience
Bad news on my Aero Ace addiction.... Mine thermalled out of sight so fast it made my head spin! Once it got up there, I was unable to distingush which direction it was flying even! I still had steering control, but the wind pushed it too far away to recover! I released control and it came down somewhere in the business park where I work, but how far away, I couldn't tell you!

I'm considering something just a bit larger for my next plane...

I was surprised that something that ugly with wings that small could thermal, but sure enough, flying over grass yesterday just downwind of a dirt baseball infield, I was catching plenty of thermals. Of course the slightest turbulence in the thermals knocked the plane out of the sky, but as long as I could keep it level, it was staying in the air.

I think that one clear lesson for that next plane is that it needs to have control even with the power off (that is, servos and control surfaces, not just propellers pushing it around). Once the "Ace" is up a little too high, all you can do is cut power and hope for the best. I think it's a $30 lesson: skip right past the larger park flyers that still rely on differential power for steering, and go right to something with control surfaces.

I flew mine in calm air this morning in a big park, and was able to keep it up for a couple of minutes at a time, until the charge dropped enough that I didn't have the power to stay aloft. That was great fun.

 

[stevem]

I asked my wife to see if our local WalMart had any of the Air Hogs Aero Aces on stock when she made her weekly trek for groceries.

She brought one home !!

My son and I have been having a hoot with this thing!!

We found that putting a screw in the nose really made this thing fly much better. Before we added nose weight it just kept porpoising.

You guys were right, this is about as much fun as $30 is ever gonna get you!