Richard Franks

Hi Steve A question about chord wise balance point if i may please.when i check the chord wise balance on my blades they seem to balance further back than shown on the plan[ el bandito). so do i add weight to the leading edge to achieve nearer the plan spec or go with what i have ie balance point a few mm rear of plan? regards Richard franks

Hi doing well with my panther so I decided to do for a revolver next…. Can you advise best motor and servos to use regards richard franks

finished my El Bandito now looking at a firefly ..only got 5mm to make fuslarge sides and cannot source any 6mm at present.. will that do?Also got some spare blades from previous Burky builds they are a little longer both length and chordwise will they be OK ? Any thoughts Richard Franks

I am assuming this is for The Panther..The Sarik plan pack does not include Fibre glass parts or undercarriage..The quality of the supplied stuff is great,so good I bought 2 of them.The first one completed flies briliant . F/Glass parts or sheet to cut them yourself available from Coolwind models (very helpful) but the u/c you will have to bend and solder yourself. Really depends on your confidence at building.I dont think the sarik plan pack includes the materials for the rotors but I will look in the unopened one in my workshop

Hi richard El Bndito nearly finished and will be progressing blades today hopefully. Looking for next build its between RPG V2 or Revolver 11 . not sure on the rotor lengths or which would be best any comments from the master Will try to post pics of El Bandito soon Thanks richard Franks

Good morning I hope you are all wee and keeping sane lock down is giving building time to finish my El bandito but I have a couple of questions please if anyone can help// (1) The C of G position on the plan is the balance point at the point where the arrow is shown on the plan IE to balance on a point at the top of the hatch or can it be any vertical point down from that line(if you have the plan I hope that makes sense) (2) was going to use an OS30 4Stroke but may make it a bit nose heavy. What electric motor can anyone recommend to suit. Regards Richard Franks

Thanks for the info Richard .A very successful flying day with the Burky fitted with lighter blades and a thinner rotor plate (0.7)mm. Its interesting to note the much thicker rotor plate for the El Bandito (1.5mm specified on the plan) but I will see how it goes.I will publish some build pictures as it progresses. Regards Richard Franks

Built another Burky but on maiden it just climbed out, half loop and then came down.I have had success with the others but this one appeared to have no cyclic control at all.The only difference was that the blades were glass cloth covered which added about 30g extra for the three blades could it be the fuselage was tilting and not the rotor?.,its repaired now so was thinking of trying it with lighter blades? Starting the El Bandito today.. will a 30 fourstroke be OK ,just like the sound.... Richard

This is very interesting so will be drilling my mounting holes individually in future .Are there likely to be any Autogyro fly in~s this year? I am based on the Kent coast. One silly question about flying the Autogyro. I have found height and descent are dictated by power (throttle control).If, like a fixed wing plane, your applied ~down elevator~ to an Autogyro would it descend or just slow up the rotor speed or both? Waiting for the wind to drop and getting itchy fingers. Richard Franks

Hi David I am still fairly new wit AG models and flying but beginning to succeed with both aspects.I have built 5 AG~s but only one Panther.Most AG~S suggest cog line for blades slightly back from the balance line.My panther was 2mm back and flew on its maiden with no trim at all.I think there are 2 important issues(1) The models COG must be spot on.I used the COG shown on the plan using the fitting of brass collars on the mast then getting the balance spot on via a rod through .(ie I did not try the hang angle approach) NO ROTORS attached .If its electric make sure you fit the battery! (2) when drilling the Rotor mounting holes make sure they are all in exactly the same position..I had my rotors stacked on top of each other ,clamped and then used a pillar drill with the correct size drill. As a final note I am now skinning my rotor Blades with lightweight glass cloth/resin. It adds very little weight but the increased strength is incredible.(have landed in a tree with no damage to the rotors at all) I will be interested to hear from others especially ~the master~ Mr Harris should he read this Regards Richard Franks

Just had to post now getting good flights with Burky and Panther.Panther is far more stable than Burky.. Now realised the importance of head speed on take off and using rudder for the turns correcting the roll with opposite roll (Aileron).There seems far more more tendency to roll right. Left turns can almost be completed using aileron/elevator like fixed wing but must watch out for too much roll .Building the Panther now and intend to get two in the air at the same time (2 pilots) at our flying site. Any advice on achieving a decent canopy with the pop bottle method as so far not much luck? out aging this Friday Regards

just had to post the fact that had a maiden with my Panther Christmas eve. ONE WORD WOW. flew straight off no trim really great. skinned the blades in lightweight glass cloth which only added about 45gm for the set of three but incredible strong. Proved a point on landing in the only tree in our flying field (orientation issues) and only bent the prop adaptor otherwise minimal damage. Starting to build another straight away. Hats off to Rich Harris.

Thanks Richard is the plan still available. I have the Burky 2 and el bandito but not the cruiser. Can I buy it anywhere? Will have to check my piles of Rome to see if I have the free plan.still unsure about the play in the tower pro servos what did you use in the Panther?

Many thanks for all the help so far. Going electric with this one using Emax motor BL2828/07 with a 60A ESC. Servos are Tower pro MG996R. Still struggling to fly these machines properly but with some good success with Rich Harris Burky 2 design.The main issue is the rotors have ~ folded back~ on a turn .Do I need to tighten them more? was around a 15mph wind. Have to say I am getting pretty good at making rotor blades.Will post some pics when time allows.

I am building a Panther and have a couple of questions (1) with electric is the motor ~built in~ the cowling.ie cowling not removable? (2) My metal geared servos (new) have a little play in them is that OK.I am told all metal geared servos have some degree of play. Any help would be welcome