Hey all,
I decided to add ailerons to my Wild Hawk due to the poor manoeuvrability of the plane in higher winds (10-15mph). I found myself having to change my pants on a few occasions because I came so close to planting the plane when a gust hit it - the rudder servo wasn't the quickest, and anyone who has flown a 3ch plane will know how much time you have to allow for it to turn - not so great when performing an emergency anti-crash turn, of which I have had to do plenty :D
Because the Wildhawk is still on its stock radio gear, it only has a 3 channel receiver in it. I decided to do away with the rudder and switch to aileron + elevator control only.
Ingredients:
1 x Y splitter servo cable £1.10
2 x cheap-ass servos £3.20 each
2 x paper clips (push rods)
1 x old credit card, diced into small pieces (control horns)
Here's some pics:
Happy workbench:
(http://www.swoo.co.uk/sandbox/ailerons/01.jpg)
First one done:
(http://www.swoo.co.uk/sandbox/ailerons/02.jpg)
Close up -note the paperclip pushrod, easy to make Z bends and strong enough for purpose:
(http://www.swoo.co.uk/sandbox/ailerons/03.jpg)
Cable ducting cut into the wing for the wires:
(http://www.swoo.co.uk/sandbox/ailerons/04.jpg)
Full view, notice how it goes along the fuselage:
(http://www.swoo.co.uk/sandbox/ailerons/05.jpg)
Y-connector plugs built into fuselage, so that I can disconnect the ailerons when I remove the wings for travelling etc.
(http://www.swoo.co.uk/sandbox/ailerons/06.jpg)
Jobs a good un... took it out today in 20 mph winds, wouldn't say it was a great flight but the fact that I was able to land in a controlled manner was great - can't wait for some calm weather so I can try them out perfectly.
If anyones interested:
Ailerons are cut starting 5" from fuselage, 10" long x 1.25" wide.
Cheers :D
Nice mod Steve, shove a rate gyro on there and you will be amazed how well it handles the wind.
Yep - brushless and a gyro are the next plans - Does it really make a noticable difference though, i've never flown a plane with a gyro.
The main problem now (from like, 2 mins flying) is the amount of lift this plane generates in a head wind - it goes up like a rocket
What it will do, instead of you having to roll left and right as the wind hits it is........... nothing :) As the wind hits it, the gyro senses the movement and rolls plane the other way. It does it that fast you dont even see it happen. It just flies dead level without you doing a thing :)
Takes a few goes to set it up though. You have to start with hardly any gain and fly, land and increase gain until it does it really well without osscilating
Any you'd recommend that are fairly cheap just to give it a shot? I'm all for anything that'll make it easier to fly in the wind, means I can get outside more.
Plus I'm sure it'll make FPV a lot more stable too.
Yeah Esky rates : http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Esky-Belt-CP-Helicopter-Rate-Gyro-/330527814252 (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Esky-Belt-CP-Helicopter-Rate-Gyro-/330527814252)
Very cheap but do the job