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Panther Trainer Autogyro


Richard Harris
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Ben,
Here is one complete and the bits that were removed.
 


Andy,
 
I will try the hang angle later see how it looks.
 
Tom,
Pinch what you like, if you are keeping it simple and cheap you can have a rigid flapping head (no control) and control everything using elevons with some cheapo servos. There is a chap in the US who has really good results with this method, he can roll his model on a six pence!
 
Rich
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I have now added the triangular Fibre Glass plate and the rotors so I can check my CG, it should have a nose down attitude when hung from the spindle.
Mine is almost horizontal but that is with no motor, esc or battery fitted so I should be somewhere near.
 
Well I hope so any how!
 



Rich
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Tom,
I just placed everything on and I have an AUW of 3.4lbs (minus the wheels).
 
For a gyro to perform ok we need a disc loading of between 2.5 -5 oz per square foot. I have a rotor span of 46 " and this should give me about 4.4 oz per square foot which is ok (but I may well have got my maths wrong), It is a bit towards the top end but should handle the wind a little better, of course if it ever gets that far. I have cheated a little and made my blades a little wider than normal. I have experimented with different widths and the wider ones seem to spin up far better than higher aspect ratio blades, they also seem to generate a little more lift depending on the thickness of the TE.
 
 
Rich
 
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Well that is about it gents, rudder servo and snake have been connected up. Just need to make adjustments here and there and will be ready to try for a maiden.
 


I will hopefully go and try it Sunday afternoon weather permitting.
 

And one final photo 'just in case'
 

It has got 2 chances
 
 
Rich
 
 
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well done rich---make sure the 'mag' is one of the promise's....think a plan or better still a plan pack will be a winner......especially for next years greenacre do.....
 
ken anderson ne...1. waiting in the 'wings' for the twist  plan etc....

Edited By ken anderson. on 23/07/2011 16:46:57

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Well, she flies!
 
I tried a few hops to start with and added a touch of left roll trimt. Then it took to the air but it was ballooning up and hanging its tail so I decided to land and add some nose weight. This cured it and I had 6 flights in all, but the wind was really blustery especially below 20'.
A bit of right rudder trim also had to be applied especially at full chat, so I will add some more right thrust and go out again in more favourable conditions.
 
I will give you more details later, I had a problem towards the end and I am sure someone will be able to give me some advice. I just need to hook up the watt meter later on and see how things stand.
 
Here are a few photos, one with my camera girl Debs...she took all the photos and a video and always does a good job.
 
 
More later.
 
Rich
 
 




 
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Rich,
 
Congrats on a lovely model and a successful maiden flight! I think the orange and green scheme is really unusual, but very effective.
 
I don't pretend to understand all the geometry involved in this model, but it's great that you're making it all so accessible for the rest of us!
 
I don't know if you saw the pic of yourself and Debs I took at Walsall, so I'll post it here if that's OK.
 
tim
 

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Thanks for the photos Tim I hope her clothes have been washed since Walsall!!
 
The flights went well, but on a couple of occasions towards the end of the flight the roll and pitch controls went sluggish. The last flight landed because of this, the model was very close to me when it was on the ground and I operated the control. The servos seemed slow and jittery? I carried the model back to the pits, re connected the Lipo and all was fine again.
 
I do not know to much about this electricity malarkey but could it be that the servos are loading up the BEC that much that this could happen? the stated rating of the in built in BEC on my ESC is 3 amps.
 
So when I got home I decided to top up my battery and take some readings on my watt meter.
 
I am swinging a 12 x 6 APC prop and at full chat with a freshly charged battery it is pulling 27 amps and 320 watts.
The standing current is 0.08 amps but when I waggle all 3 servos I can get a max of 1.7 amps but it does fluctuate.
If I stall the roll or pitch servo on their own I reach 1.3 amps (no motor running).
There is no way I could monitor the amps pulled in flight but I would guess it may be getting towards the 3 amps possibly.
So my question, what would happen if you are pulling more amps on the BEC side of the esc? and what would be the easiest solution to over come this? that's if it is that.
 
I hope I make sense?
 
 
Rich
 
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Thanks Stephen, I will give that a try as I could then removed the lead from the nose!
 
Here is a video of the second flight, it was a bit windy.
 
 
 
Rich
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Rich : With my infinite knowledge in this electric Lipo battery management sluggishness means LAND!!! LAND NOW !!!! THAT'S FROM EXPERIENCE MIND YOU. The next stage is well not pretty. Anyway thats all I have on that subject, as far as the flight goes She looks dam nice in the air.
 
PS running the radio gear on a separate battery sounds like a good fix. and will help with the balance too.

Looking forward to more flight video Bill
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Cheers chaps
 
Will have a play later on and make the adjustments needed. The weather looks like it will be good for the next couple of days so I will see if I can get out and try again.
If the problem persists I will fit some TP servos that I have fitted in another model , though not the most accurate of servos they are very powerful and ideal for autogyros.
I have weighed the Panther this morning and it is around 3 3/4 lbs, I may just be asking a little too much from the Hitec 225's.
There was certainly plenty of lift being created from the blades, I am half thinking of knocking up another set just a tad shorter in length. This should make it a little faster and handle the wind a little better, but only after trying it in lighter winds.
 
Another photo.
 

Rich
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Chaps,
Thanks for the advice regarding the separate battery I tried it out yesterday but I still got the same sluggish feeling towards the end of the flight.
So it had to be the servos. These were replaced with Tower Pro MG 996's, these things are almost bullet proof and have a said torque of 11kg. They were a bit of a tight fit but I managed to squeeze them in
Tonight I took it out again to try and what a difference!! control was almost instant and it flew far better, those Hitec's must have been working their hearts out!
One little niggle was that in some instances I was having to correct a little with rudder, I am thinking that maybe I could do with a touch more vertical area. So I will add some finlets (or whatever they are called) to the underside of the tailplane and go try again.
It is getting very close now and was a joy to fly.
 
Just a short clip of one of the many flights
 
 
Rich
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Not had much time of late to progress further but today I managed to make up a couple of under slung fins. I am hoping that this will stop the very slight yawing I am getting in some situations.
Going to try and get up the field last thing tonight after my lad has gone to bed. It is a little breezy but should be a good test for the 'add ons'.
 


Rich
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Rich
 
Fantastic as ever.
 
I was thinking about you comment mate.
 
The tail problem was resolved on another model that had it's tail hanging
The stab was made into a lifting section, or was the LE raised to give a lift to the tail? Cant remember!
 
Not sure if this helps as yours is fixed.
Perhaps a little more down thrust to the engine will lift the tail!
 
She looks great, Debs that is! LOL. Also the Panther dosent look too bad!
 
Regards Andy
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