No build but thought I'd throw up some pictures of my new Skywalker 1900 before the maiden (just in case it's never seen again in this condition... or at all lol)
Specs:
Skywalker 1900 (HK UK warehouse)
SunnySky X2820-6 920kv motor (don't be fooled by the designation, this is a powerful 35mm motor)
Aerostar 60A ESC (the only 60A ESC in UK stock with programming card also in stock at the time)
Graupner 9x6 Aero-naut CAMCarbon Power Prop
5000mah-8000mah 4S LiPo
TGY-50090M metal gear servos for the tail surfaces
TGY-4409MD metal gear servos for the ailerons
EzUHF 8 Ch Lite receiver with home-made dipole antenna
600TVL 5-22v Plastic cased FPV camera (my go to camera)
EagleTree Systems vector flight controller/OSD
Fox 800 1280MHz VTX
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8259957/FPV/Skywalker%203.0/sw310.jpg)
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8259957/FPV/Skywalker%203.0/sw311.jpg)
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8259957/FPV/Skywalker%203.0/sw312.jpg)
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8259957/FPV/Skywalker%203.0/sw313.jpg)
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8259957/FPV/Skywalker%203.0/sw314.jpg)
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8259957/FPV/Skywalker%203.0/sw315.jpg)
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8259957/FPV/Skywalker%203.0/sw316.jpg)
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8259957/FPV/Skywalker%203.0/sw317.jpg)
What wattage is the motor? How large a prop is it spinning?
Looks like it will be capable of some serious range if needs be :)
Quote from: BlueFlyer on September 20, 2015, 03:26:05 PM
No build but thought I'd throw up some pictures of my new Skywalker 1900 before the maiden (just in case it's never seen again in this condition... or at all lol)
Specs:
Skywalker 1900 (HK UK warehouse)
SunnySky X2820-6 920kv motor (don't be fooled by the designation, this is a powerful 35mm motor)
Aerostar 60A ESC (the only 60A ESC in UK stock with programming card also in stock at the time)
Graupner 9x6 Aero-naut CAMCarbon Power Prop
5000mah-8000mah 4S LiPo
TGY-50090M metal gear servos for the tail surfaces
TGY-4409MD metal gear servos for the ailerons
EzUHF 8 Ch Lite receiver with home-made dipole antenna
600TVL 5-22v Plastic cased FPV camera (my go to camera)
EagleTree Systems vector flight controller/OSD
Fox 800 1280MHz VTX
(http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8259957/FPV/Skywalker%203.0/sw310.jpg)
(http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8259957/FPV/Skywalker%203.0/sw311.jpg)
(http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8259957/FPV/Skywalker%203.0/sw312.jpg)
(http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8259957/FPV/Skywalker%203.0/sw313.jpg)
(http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8259957/FPV/Skywalker%203.0/sw314.jpg)
(http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8259957/FPV/Skywalker%203.0/sw315.jpg)
(http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8259957/FPV/Skywalker%203.0/sw316.jpg)
(http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8259957/FPV/Skywalker%203.0/sw317.jpg)
Looks good. I built one the same that never got past a few maiden attempts. It was my first plane coming from a heli background. And some of the advice I followed for the build was not great. Was never going to work at the time.
Anyway I had a 2814-1100 KV motor in it. I put it on FX61 wing with 10x5 prop and its very good. 40amp max draw on 4s which is just under 600w. Motor is capable of 700 max so bit of head room. I also brought a 2814-900 kv to get some more range out of it. Running that on a 10x8 prop max draw was about 28 amps from memory so only 400w out of 570w max. I have a 11x7 and 11x8 prop to test next time as plenty of head room on the available watts.
With the 10x8 prop I can get 60 min flight time using 5400 mah out of the pack.
The 2820-920 kv looks like max watts 750 (according to Ecalcs) At a guess plenty of room for bigger prop on it.
Good luck with the maiden. Looks like a sweet build.
No idea about the wattage, specs here http://www.fpvmodel.com/sunnysky-x2820-kv920-kv800-motor_g281.html (http://www.fpvmodel.com/sunnysky-x2820-kv920-kv800-motor_g281.html)
9x6 prop is the biggest that will fit.
It's my 3rd skywalker build so learnt from my own past mistakes and kept this one simple. Built in 3 days from turning up at my door.
Very nice Chris , been thinking about one of these to replace the twinstar 11 these are made for FPV
Minus FPV gear Chris how much did the airframe cost with electronics etc etc....
Just over £120 mate
Hmmmm not bad, how much mah can they take thinking of a new platform for a winter project
im running 10000mAh 4s in mine with another 1000mAh for video gear .. tbh it doesn't notice the weight at all.
my old skywalkers ran 5000mah 4s, but now with the new multistar range of lipos, this will be running with 8000mah 4S and I know Steve W uses a 10000mah 4S in his.
total cost new for this skywalker minus FPV and UHF is:
Skywalker 1900 - £67
Motor - £25
ESC + programming card - £20
Prop - £7
2 x Aileron Servos - £17 total
2 x Tail Servos - £7 total
Then I suggest you buy some M2 threaded pushrods and M2 clevises from gliders-uk for around £10 posted (if you've got a Z bender) and about £5 on tape for hinges and so on.
all in then, you're looking at £158 for this exact setup.
There are of course cheaper motors/ESC/Servos available.
Oh, and here's the specs of the motor http://www.rcsunnysky.com/html/2014/xseries_0918/18.html (http://www.rcsunnysky.com/html/2014/xseries_0918/18.html)
750w as per helimadness' post.
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8259957/FPV/Skywalker%203.0/motor%20specs.JPG)
I've opted to have the VTX on the underside of the wing, with the antenna pointing downward.
This is because there's not only a big fat carbon spar going through that wing but there's also a carbon ribbon right next to where the antenna would usually be poking up. I'm hoping this way there'll be no way the carbon could interfere with the VTX antenna radiation pattern
Cheers Chris + Steve...not too. Bad that .....Chris not taking the piss here but if you decide to sell message me like I say it's over winter project ...😉
Quote from: mark1975 on September 20, 2015, 10:53:54 PM
Chris not taking the piss here but if you decide to sell......
lol, well it has been known for me to try something and sell up soon afterwards ;) but this is my only aircraft right now.
I sold my last skywalker to Iwan on here, he can vouch for the build quality of my models, heck... I think I've probably sold something to 80% of the people on here at some point lol
I do have a 2nd Vector OSD here with no airframe to go in... might put that up in the classifieds soon to raise some cash for my latest interest.... bushcraft/survival. Not long back from a week in the Swedish wilderness, loved it.
I know id make a right shit job of building it I have no confidence in my skills atall lol
Today I finished work early, so took the opportunity to take the walker for it's maiden.
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8259957/FPV/Skywalker%203.0/sw318.jpg)
I had initially planned to run this off a 5000mah 4S for a while before I start loading it up with bigger 8000mah and eventually a 10000mah but even with the 5000mah as far forward as I could get it, the skywalker was still a bit tail heavy.
This meant I had to go straight to the 8000mah 4S for the maiden... even then it was barely balanced.
So I gave it a few clicks of up trim, throttle to the max and launched it... WOW. I only gave it about 3 clicks of up trim but it shot up like a rocket.... I'll remember to not bother with the trim next time lol
Once up in the air, no drastic roll tendencies one way or the other... happy man... but it was very blustery and it was getting thrown around a lot. Also, I forgot how "tall" the fuselage was and how this makes flying side-wind a bit tricker than usual... it just wanted to weather vane all the time (point into the wind) which made trimming the damn thing tough as heck.
The main cause of concern now was how pitch twitchy it was... the slightest bit of up elevator caused it to just point right up and almost stall, a little bit of down elevator and it just wanted to kill itself... time to bring it in for some adjustments.
I wasn't able to tell in the windy conditions if I needed any aileron pushrod adjustments... but the elevator travel was far too much, I moved the clevis to the second furthest hole on the horn away from the elevator hinge to reduce the throw by half. I also had to put a 2200mah 3S in the nose in order to make it a bit less tail heavy. For now, the original foam canopy is being used with just the FPV cam, so there's not much weight up front... but once my ply canopy arrives it will have the GoPro 3 in the protective casing, along with the FPV cam, so should be able to get rid of that 2200mah 3s dead weight.
All my adjustments worked a charm, and I was now confident enough to put the goggles on and took it for it's FPV maiden, video coming soon :)
Nice one matey! Glad it went well. Looking forward to the video. Rg's Anthony.
Nice Chris glad it went well :)
cheers guys, I posted the video in the FPV videos section, but I'll pop it in here too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yUWJ2O8VEs#ws (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yUWJ2O8VEs#ws)
Well yesterday I found out that the torque of my motor/prop combination on my 1900 is enough to throw my Vector's stabilisation out of whack.
I can set "level" on the ground but once it's flying, I need roll trim to keep it level. When I come off the throttle and glide a short while, the trim I've put in to counter the torque roll then rolls the plane in the opposite direction.... If I put more throttle on the torque roll gets worse and I have to put MORE trim in.
I thought the Vector would be able to compensate for this when in stabilisation mode but it doesn't... because it doesn't like the trims, effectively the trim on my tx is telling the vector to stray away from level. But if I recalibrate the Vector to accept my current trims as being "neutral" then when I throttle up or throttle down, the trims needed to fly "neutrally" differ... it's doing my head in that Vector can't just intervene and level the damn thing.
I would of thought that it would of compensated, bit disappointed if I can't. Sure it's not a vibration problem throwing the vector out a bit?
Quote from: Brucey on October 03, 2015, 07:19:48 PM
I would of thought that it would of compensated, bit disappointed if I can't. Sure it's not a vibration problem throwing the vector out a bit?
VERY disappointed, considering the price of the Vector.
Another thing I was noticing whilst flying was that I would be slowly adding my own roll input with the stick... trying to bring it to level... it would get to a certain point getting closer to properly level, then quickly flick over to being off level but on the opposite side. As if there was some kind of dead band.
Thinking this might be a problem with my transmitter, I've completely deleted the model memory and started from scratch... to be honest I was a bit lazy and used the same model memory that was the Skyhunter and just renamed it... so there were probably some subtrims and expo kicking about in there.
Along with that, I've now re-flashed the Vector with the latest firmware and moved the unit further away from the motor mount. It's now in the belly of the skywalker on the "floor" so to speak.
lets hope this will at least make things a bit better.
Quote from: BlueFlyer on October 03, 2015, 06:49:01 PM
Well yesterday I found out that the torque of my motor/prop combination on my 1900 is enough to throw my Vector's stabilisation out of whack.
I can set "level" on the ground but once it's flying, I need roll trim to keep it level. When I come off the throttle and glide a short while, the trim I've put in to counter the torque roll then rolls the plane in the opposite direction.... If I put more throttle on the torque roll gets worse and I have to put MORE trim in.
I thought the Vector would be able to compensate for this when in stabilisation mode but it doesn't... because it doesn't like the trims, effectively the trim on my tx is telling the vector to stray away from level. But if I recalibrate the Vector to accept my current trims as being "neutral" then when I throttle up or throttle down, the trims needed to fly "neutrally" differ... it's doing my head in that Vector can't just intervene and level the damn thing.
Would the Vector work with a throttle / aileron mix ?
Probably not, I'm hoping the changes I've made will make a difference.
Chris I have the same issue with the Tornado with the Skywalker and it gets right on my nerves.... I have balanced the plane wings with a weight and it STILL does the same thing when throttle is on. It *does* compensate, but in PA + Heading Hold that makes the plane porpoise left and right ... super annoying!! It's much better at higher speeds though, I assume that the torque is less of an issue once the airframe has some tougher forces acting on the surfaces.
Glad I'm not the only one... make me feel less like it's ME doing something wrong lol
Sorry, I didn't mean I was glad you're having problems lol
Quote from: Steve W on October 03, 2015, 11:27:19 PM
Chris I have the same issue with the Tornado with the Skywalker and it gets right on my nerves.... I have balanced the plane wings with a weight and it STILL does the same thing when throttle is on. It *does* compensate, but in PA + Heading Hold that makes the plane porpoise left and right ... super annoying!! It's much better at higher speeds though, I assume that the torque is less of an issue once the airframe has some tougher forces acting on the surfaces.
What version of the software you on? that was meant to be fixed in 1.10
I'm on the earliest version, I have the updater tool but I couldnt be bothered digging the OSD out of the fuselage :laugh:
Quote from: Steve W on October 04, 2015, 11:20:56 AM
I'm on the earliest version, I have the updater tool but I couldnt be bothered digging the OSD out of the fuselage :laugh:
I know how you feel :laugh: I went to the effort of doing it and mine flies perfectly straight in PA and all other automated flight modes now :D if it really annoys you it could be with the effort... also means you get a few other nice additions like loiter mode.
Well now I can get rid of the dead weight in the nose. my FPV pod/canopy arrived today, I've already glued it together, sprayed it black and attached the GoPro.
I think I need to shorten the FPV camera arm a little bit though, looks too exposed out there, I think I'd like it closer to the actual GoPro lens.
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8259957/FPV/Skywalker%203.0/sw320.jpg)
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8259957/FPV/Skywalker%203.0/sw321.jpg)
Looks good :) I didn't know you could buy one when i put mine together so made one myself (?)
The FPV cam could have done with being on other side of the GoPro really so its further away from the lens? That way you could mount it closer without the worry of it being in the shot.
It's ok, I can move it back so it's level with the GoPro lens, it's on the middle holes on the bracket right now, I can bring it into the rearmost holes if I notice it's in shot.
I'm just happy I can get some decent unobstructed footage now, I do like the tail shot from my latest vids, but much prefer completely clear.
*sniff* that fuselage is so clean and nice ... makes mine look tatty!
Won't last long :)
It's only had less than 10 flights so far.
Looks great.
Could you mount the FPV cam on the front of the gopro case- just above the bottom button? Better aero assuming the wide angle of the gopro doesn't spot it.
Looks good, the Gopro case is screaming out for a GWS 125 1T (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/161011658598?adgroupid=13585920426&hlpht=true&hlpv=2&rlsatarget=kwd-121152238146&adtype=pla&ff3=1&lpid=122&poi=&ul_noapp=true&limghlpsr=true&ff19=0&device=c&chn=ps&campaignid=207297426&crdt=0&ff12=67&ff11=ICEP3.0.0-L&ff14=122&viphx=1&ops=true&ff13=80) 360 degree servo though :)
I don't understand though how you fix your camera to the rear to get those shots though. I cant fathom it out :)
Quote from: Coyote on October 06, 2015, 08:00:55 AM
I don't understand though how you fix your camera to the rear to get those shots though. I cant fathom it out :)
:flamethrower: :laugh:
Quote from: Billy_boy_2010 on October 05, 2015, 11:38:45 PM
Looks great.
Could you mount the FPV cam on the front of the gopro case- just above the bottom button? Better aero assuming the wide angle of the gopro doesn't spot it.
cheers, I'm looking for alternative fpv cam mounting points, but as you allude to... the FPV cam may be visible in the gopro footage, only one way to find out though eh :)
Quote from: Coyote on October 06, 2015, 08:00:55 AM
Looks good, the Gopro case is screaming out for a GWS 125 1T (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/161011658598?adgroupid=13585920426&hlpht=true&hlpv=2&rlsatarget=kwd-121152238146&adtype=pla&ff3=1&lpid=122&poi=&ul_noapp=true&limghlpsr=true&ff19=0&device=c&chn=ps&campaignid=207297426&crdt=0&ff12=67&ff11=ICEP3.0.0-L&ff14=122&viphx=1&ops=true&ff13=80) 360 degree servo though :)
I don't understand though how you fix your camera to the rear to get those shots though. I cant fathom it out :)
I'd love to put another 360 pan servo on there, maybe one day in the future... The UHF rx is actually out in the wing with just the single servo cable to the vector for PPM. This makes it tricky to get another servo cable out to it for the pan servo... although I think the vector has AUX outputs which are configurable in the GUI, so I might be able to do something there.
as for the camera mounting... it's black magic ;)
put some LEDs on it tonight
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8259957/FPV/Skywalker%203.0/sw322.jpg)
with the lights on
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8259957/FPV/Skywalker%203.0/sw323.jpg)
out in the garden
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8259957/FPV/Skywalker%203.0/sw324.jpg)
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8259957/FPV/Skywalker%203.0/sw325.jpg)
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8259957/FPV/Skywalker%203.0/sw326.jpg)
haha, well I havent updated this thread for a while.
I figured out that there was nothing wrong with the vector at all... the problem was my rudder
The rudder was out of trim, and my vector was in 2DH which is stabilised mode with heading hold
in order for the vector to keep my skywalker flying in a straight line, it basically had to fly with one of the wings dropped to counter the rudder trim I had in there (for some unknown reason)
I think the tail is slightly warped... not uncommon with skywalkers really. because even with the rudder trimmed on the ground to be perfectly neutral, it would still "crab" to go straight...
well the remedy was to NOT use 2DH mode, instead I now use 2D mode with NO Heading Hold... this way the plane stays nice and level for the good videos I want to make, and I can control the heading manually using the rudder now :)
Also, I've removed the LED strips.... they were taking up to much power believe it or not.
Interestingly enough when I have Heading Hold armed on my Tornado in PA mode, it also banks the wings. When I fly LoS, I notice my SW tail is not straight, I bet this is the problem.
Quote from: Steve W on December 29, 2015, 02:23:40 PM
Interestingly enough when I have Heading Hold armed on my Tornado in PA mode, it also banks the wings. When I fly LoS, I notice my SW tail is not straight, I bet this is the problem.
yeah, its hard to build a straight as an arrow skywalker (foam tail version), all 3 of my skywalkers had slightly off tails
Another late update...
As you can see, I've got my VTX on one wing and my EzUHF RX on the other wing.
I was fed up plugging in the 4 servo connectors at the field, all the while balancing the wing just right so it wouldn't pull one off that I just plugged in lol.
So I decided to solder the wires into connectors with more pins, so I could reduce how much plugging in/out I needed to do on assembly.
I bought a pack of 6 pin MPX (multiplex) connectors.
I soldered the 5V for the Servo and the EzUHF rx to the same pin in the MPX connector.... and did the same with the GND wires. The PPM signal wire and Servo PWM signal wire got their own pins.
on the opposite wing, the VTX needs 12v and the servo needs 5V so those wires had their own pins respectively, they also had their own GND pins, leaving just 2 pins for the video signal and the servo PWM signal wires.
I took notes as to what pins were what, and made sure the matching pins were soldered correctly on the fuselage side connectors.
Tidied up with heatshrink and zip ties... 1 zip tie for the left wing, 2 zip ties for the right wing for quick and easy identification of which one goes where.
Now I just need to plug 2 connectors on assembly :)
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8259957/FPV/Skywalker%203.0/sw330.jpg)
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8259957/FPV/Skywalker%203.0/sw337.jpg)
This evening, I've also relocated the Vector back up into the ESC bay where I put in initially.
This time I've mounted it using my Lego technique
UHU PORed a base plate into the area, making sure it's dead straight
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8259957/FPV/Skywalker%203.0/sw335.jpg)
with some tiles double sided foam taped to the Vector and it clicks in nicely, again, I can lift up the model by holding onto the vector, the lego is that strong.... and just a twist-lift and it comes off easily to access the USB port.
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8259957/FPV/Skywalker%203.0/sw334.jpg)
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8259957/FPV/Skywalker%203.0/sw329.jpg)
This relocation meant I had to put the ESC back into the main belly area, but this is good because I've just freed up a lot of space in there, I can have a bigger battery in there now, and further back than before when the Vector was on the "floor"
I've routed the motor wires so...
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8259957/FPV/Skywalker%203.0/sw332.jpg)
and they come into the main body here...
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8259957/FPV/Skywalker%203.0/sw333.jpg)
I do like the lego idea :)
Looks good Blue, very neat build with the plugs etc....Guess you like the Vector huh..?
So much internal room in the SW, unlike my Bix 2....:)
Looking forward to some nice raw downlink footage when the Sun comes back..... ;)
:vulture:
I hope you know I'm nicking all your ideas
I hope you don't mind me watching and taking notes....
:laugh:
Nice and tidy build there Blue, looking forward to the maiden.
Quote from: English Turbines on January 03, 2016, 07:23:45 PM
Looks good Blue, very neat build with the plugs etc....Guess you like the Vector huh..?
So much internal room in the SW, unlike my Bix 2....:)
Looking forward to some nice raw downlink footage when the Sun comes back..... ;)
:vulture:
Mate, when I built a Bixler 2, I cut out a side hatch, just like what the skywalker has
I put my Storm OSD in there (before the Vector came out) right in the belly, under the wings.
I had my tail servos back at the tail itself, with servo cables running down the inside of the tail to the flight controller.
You'll be surprised how much room is inside a bixler 2 if you cut a hatch in the side
Quote from: Dillwhacker on January 03, 2016, 07:54:58 PM
I hope you know I'm nicking all your ideas
I hope you don't mind me watching and taking notes....
:laugh:
feel free bud :)
Quote from: Lola on January 03, 2016, 07:55:45 PM
Nice and tidy build there Blue, looking forward to the maiden.
hehe, maiden?
This thing has been flying since the summer, i've just been lazy with updating this thread with what I've done on it lol
Quote from: BlueFlyer on January 03, 2016, 08:01:05 PM
feel free bud :)
Just off to
steal blag borrow buy some Lego off my mate's kids...
done a bit more hacking at my skywalker today...
I had this old camera lying around, so thought I'd set up a 2 camera system on the plane for the live video feed. I've got a turnigy camera switcher that's operated through a channel on your receiver.
http://www.surveilzone.com/fpv/fpv-camera/sony-super-had-ccd-600tvl-fpv-ir-block-camera-2.8mm-lens (http://www.surveilzone.com/fpv/fpv-camera/sony-super-had-ccd-600tvl-fpv-ir-block-camera-2.8mm-lens)
I've now installed it into the wing, pointing down to the ground... far enough away from the fuselage as to (hopefully) not get any of the fuselage in shot when in use.
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8259957/FPV/general/wingcam1.jpg)
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8259957/FPV/general/wingcam2.jpg)
Quote from: BlueFlyer on January 03, 2016, 08:02:11 PM
hehe, maiden?
This thing has been flying since the summer, i've just been lazy with updating this thread with what I've done on it lol
Ah sorry mate, I thought it was new. Which still means I missed the maiden.
Quote from: Lola on January 05, 2016, 09:03:21 PM
Ah sorry mate, I thought it was new. Which still means I missed the maiden.
I was just prepping the walker for a possible outing on Sunday, and it's a good job I did a full run up check.
Since relocating the ESC, I must have plugged the motor wires in a different order, so now the motor is going the wrong way lol... easy fix with this ESC... programmer can swap the direction, no need to dig the wires out again.
motor now spinning the right way and fingers crossed I'll get some flying in on Sunday... I want to try out my new FPV bivvy :)
I had a reversible ESC on my Skipper XL.
The instructuons said don't reverse while the motor is turning...
I did, to try out the new 'short landing' feature....
Lots of smoke leaked out, and it blooming trashed the motor too...
:o
haha... would've been gutted... but this isn't a ESC with reverse... it's just a normal fixed wing ESC with the option of being able to program it to swap direction using a programming card as opposed to having to swap 2 of the 3 wires over. Ideal for situations where the wires are buried in the model.
Yep cool.
I'm pretty new to this and glueing it all up so u can't get to stuff to change it is a bit scary to me..
That's why I have made 2 doors on my SW1900 - so I have some hope of reaching inside and fixing stuff.
T
The only thing "inside" my fuselage is the ESC and the Vector PSU where the LiPo plugs into. Everything else is either in a cut out on the wing, covered in easily removeable/cuttable tape, on the FPV canopy or in the top compartment, easily accessible with the wings off.
with a Skywalker... the inside is really supposed to be for as much LiPo as you can fit in there lol ;)
On mine EVERYTHING is inside apart from the ESC :laugh:
Getting it ready for some mountain flying tomorrow ;D
cool Adam.... where will you be flying?
back this side of the sea yet lol?
Im going to go to the Wicklow Mountains which are just south of Dublin. Only problem is the forecast all week and last night was no wind or rain.... this morning it flipped and said rain and wind >:(
As you will have guessed from the above, i'm still in Ireland :)
Quote from: AdamG on January 16, 2016, 10:49:14 AM
Im going to go to the Wicklow Mountains which are just south of Dublin. Only problem is the forecast all week and last night was no wind or rain.... this morning it flipped and said rain and wind >:(
As you will have guessed from the above, i'm still in Ireland :)
you'll be happy to know the weather here isn't that much better either lol
started off lovely this morning, but the winds just wouldnt let up, then the snow came... not even nice snow either... that crappy soggy snow that just melts straight away :(
I was getting fed up of my GoPro fogging up in it's protective case, so I thought I'd do something about it.
I ordered a new "frame" case for it and it's got a sunshield built in... ideal as lens protection...
I also missed the ability to pan 360 degrees since my GWS servo got totalled during the recovery of my crashed skyhunter last summer. So I bought one of those as well.
Here's the updated FPV canopy, not very aerodynamic but I don't really care if it gets me the footage I really like.
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8259957/FPV/Skywalker%203.0/sw339.jpg)
Thats nice ....... and it works. I miss jury rigged stuff like this. Not sure if that lense shade is removable but i use TBS gopro lense filter which has served me well.
where did you get the pod from Chris?
Quote from: Gundummy on January 30, 2016, 07:42:00 PM
Thats nice ....... and it works. I miss jury rigged stuff like this. Not sure if that lense shade is removable but i use TBS gopro lense filter which has served me well.
where did you get the pod from Chris?
Probably here - look down the page
http://www.fpvmodel.com/fpv-airplanes_accessories_c16.html (http://www.fpvmodel.com/fpv-airplanes_accessories_c16.html)
no the lens shade isn't removable, it's part of the frame case, and I bought the pod from hobbyking
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__72973__Skywalker_1680_1720mm_Plywood_FPV_Camera_Mount_Canopy.html (http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__72973__Skywalker_1680_1720mm_Plywood_FPV_Camera_Mount_Canopy.html)
(http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/catalog/72973(3).jpg)
I've decided to transplant all the gear from this SW1900 into a new airframe for the summer.
There are 2 main reasons for this...
1. This airframe is getting a bit tatty now, not because of bad landings or crashes or anything like that... but because of how many times I've moved things around getting stuff just right, adding bits here and there, cutting chunks out of it for stuff then taking that stuff out etc. The wings are a mess underneath and there's holes all over it.
2. It just wont fly straight and it's bloody annoying. It's a known "feature" of the standard all foam fuselage version of the skywalker that the tail will end up twisted or warped somehow, regardless of how much care you put into building it. I'm hoping the new airframe will be straighter by design.
So what am I replacing my Skywalker 1900 with?
Another Skywalker, only this time I'm going to try the carbon tail "Revolution" version with the 1720mm wings.
(http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/catalog/72959(4).jpg)
Hi Blue,
You could try glueing some struts between Tailplane and the base of the Fin....?
:vulture:
Quote from: English Turbines on March 27, 2016, 04:05:51 PM
Hi Blue,
You could try glueing some struts between Tailplane and the base of the Fin....?
:vulture:
will only make a messy plane messier, and I've already bought the new plane :)
also, the reason the horizontal stab isn't level with the wings isn't because it's not on at a perfect 90 degrees to the vertical stab... it's because the actual foam tail boom is twisted... it's just a manufacturing defect that many people have noticed with the fully foam body skywalkers
Im still glueing my Fuz together...It does seem rather floppy as standard, maybe I will glue some bamboo skewers in the Fin...It will be getting some Tailplane struts as well....
:vulture:
you'll have to let us know how you get on with your tail and if you manage to get it straight lol
to be honest, I didn't have these issues with my 2nd skywalker. That was the 1680 version and I went to town twisting that tail back into shape using brute force and fibre tape :)
I'm hoping the carbon boom version is "jigged" somehow so there's no way to avoid the tail being perfectly straight.
TBH I'm surprised this is a problem. My 1900 has such a big long stiff ( :D) carbon tube all the length of the boom, I can't see how the heck it could bend. If it just twisted a bit on it's axis, I wouldn't think that would matter.
Mine came with tailplane diagonal braces, bright orange fixings.
And I stuck a lump of GRP (not carbon) up the fin.
It bl@@dy better be bl@@dy good !
(http://s24.postimg.org/h4r4hxci9/271220153698.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/h4r4hxci9/)
The tail isn't bent, and it's plenty stiff...
The tail is twisted, imagine holding the tail with both hands, one where it meets the fuselage and one where the vertical stab starts as if you're riding a bicycle. then twist one hand forwards and the other backwards... that's what I mean by the tail is twisted.
It's a very small twist and with a conventional inverted T tail, it would hardly be noticeable but because the skywalker has an upright T tail the weight of the horizontal stab and the forces acting upon it in flight have a lever effect at the base of the vertical stab meaning it will twist the tail with more torque than it would if it were an inverted T (if you know what I mean).
Look, it doesn't have a MASSIVE impact on the flying characteristics of the walker... it's just that when on a long flight, when I want to fly perfectly straight in one direction for a long time... the imperfection in the tail causes the plane to veer off course and continually turns, like it wants to do a really really big circle lol.
This just happens, some people are lucky, others aren't.
no disrespect intended, but some people might not even notice it.
Cool, no worries.
Can it not be trimmed out with a touch of rudder & aileron?
Trev
Quote from: Dillwhacker on March 27, 2016, 11:46:15 PM
Cool, no worries.
Can it not be trimmed out with a touch of rudder & aileron?
Trev
Yes it can, but that's just masking the problem.
Also, when trimmed to fly straight and true at one airspeed... when you go faster or slower, the excessive trim you've applied comes back to haunt you and you need to re-trim again.
Cool, hadn't thought it through that far..
Nice one!
;D
Thanks!
T
The only thing you should find yourself trimming at different airspeeds pitch due to the differing levels of lift generated as air passes over the wings faster or slower. A truly "straight" plane shouldn't need rudder trim.
remember as well, the vertical stabiliser is directly in the prop wash, so a not perfectly straight tail will definitely have differing levels of effect depending on throttle.
AHA ! cos it's in the spiralling propwash..
;)
I noticed this about my Skywalker. I found myself obsessing over it.
Then I remembered what I used to fly when I first started off.... a massive dump of tape, hotglue, foamboard fixes, pop bottle nose etc..
And suddenly the SW doesn't seem so bad :D
My little AXN changes trim with speed change...Not suprising since its a pusher, it actually changes direction faster using rudder, very sensitive to rudder in fact with that constant airflow over it....I imagine my big SW1900 is going to be similar.....Its why models like the Mini Talon are so well behaved, no spiralling propwash....which reminds me, must resurect the Depron Drone for Summer...After the SW1900 is done...Too many models....:)
:vulture:
Well, that's the end of that lol
www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLyq4yupQYk#ws (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLyq4yupQYk#ws)
New plane build here http://www.fpvhub.com/index.php/topic,49045.msg245428.html#msg245428 (http://www.fpvhub.com/index.php/topic,49045.msg245428.html#msg245428)