Peter Miller Posted December 14, 2016 Share Posted December 14, 2016 Great. Maidens are always a bit edgy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Leighfield Posted December 15, 2016 Share Posted December 15, 2016 Mine certainly are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Chaddock Posted December 15, 2016 Author Share Posted December 15, 2016 Just for completeness a picture of it...er....complete! And with both together for comparison. It does not look that much bigger - until you try to get it is the car in one piece! It is of course possible to have both retracts and stab switchable by putting the retracts on the Aux 1 (ch 6) rather than ch 5 and do away with the 'dual aileron' function. The only issue is when I set up the 'direct drive' ailerons I did not centre the servos particularly accurately as I had the 'sub trim' function for individual fine centre adjustment. On the plus side when run one channel the ailerons naturally centre slightly 'up', which is a rather better option that slightly down! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted December 15, 2016 Share Posted December 15, 2016 That looks very nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McG 6969 Posted December 15, 2016 Share Posted December 15, 2016 Sóó impressive, Simon. Probably a bit rude, but forgive me though, please... are you going to build a 120% one with floats as well now... ??? Cheers Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Leighfield Posted December 15, 2016 Share Posted December 15, 2016 They look great Simon, I bet you're pleased with the results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Chaddock Posted December 16, 2016 Author Share Posted December 16, 2016 Thanks for the kind words. Happy enough so far but it needs quite a bit more flight testing before it I can consider it a "good-un". If I was going to build another, which I am definitely not going to, I could try cardboard! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Chaddock Posted December 16, 2016 Author Share Posted December 16, 2016 Nice and bright this morning so at last a video edited down from the 8 minute flight. Despite the gentle breeze it was surprising turbulent so the stab remained on all the time. It does perform modest aerobatics quite well in fact the stab significantly improves the quality of the roll by applying rudder to keep the fuselage level. Despite its slow landing speed I would be happier if the undercarriage had some 'spring' in it. Like the Petiterina it really needs some throttle/elevator mix to make better use of its performance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Chaddock Posted December 19, 2016 Author Share Posted December 19, 2016 Still flat calm this morning so the Depron Ballerina could be flown for the benefit of the camera. Alloyed with myself that I failed to keep the head cam in shot for the landing run out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Leighfield Posted December 19, 2016 Share Posted December 19, 2016 It flies beautifully Simon. Also the speed looks very appropriate for a "scalish" looking model like this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McG 6969 Posted December 19, 2016 Share Posted December 19, 2016 I'll second Colin, Simon. I wasn't imagining that it could fly that smoothly slow even being totally 'lightweight'. Superb achievement. I would nearly be tempted to pretend that I could try to fly it as well... Cheers Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted December 19, 2016 Share Posted December 19, 2016 Very nice indeed. Looks just like my own Ballerina performance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Chaddock Posted December 19, 2016 Author Share Posted December 19, 2016 Thank you for the kind words. It does look very scale(ish) at that sort of flying speed and with its retract layout it would not be too much of a step to consider something similar but true scale. However if I was ever tempted to try such a thing my inclination would be for the delicious MB5. It just has to be one of the top ever 'fit for purpose' planes! Just imagine at the span of the Ballerina it would be turning 19" props! Edited By Simon Chaddock on 19/12/2016 20:33:33 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Leighfield Posted December 19, 2016 Share Posted December 19, 2016 I've been thinking about the MB5. Must have contra-props though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Chaddock Posted January 20, 2017 Author Share Posted January 20, 2017 Really nice today. Sunny, blue sky, a bit chilly but very little wind. Just right for the Depron Ballerina! The field was still so muddy and rough that a 'wheels up' hand launch was in order. Once in the air I found a patch that was reasonably firm and not too churned up so wheeled 'kiss' landings and very short take offs were possible. In the calm conditions 'gentle' flying seemed appropriate, mainly long slow climbs and a glide back down although some mild loops and rolls were included.. 3 flights with a total of 24 minutes and all on the same 1800mAh 3s charge. Flying was ultimately limited by my cold fingers (no gloves!) rather than a lack of battery power. An advantage of 'silly' light weight coupled with modest power. . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Leighfield Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 Nothing silly about light weight Simon, you're the master of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Low pass Pete Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 Hi Simon I reckon yours is the only one with retracts. Looking at her in the air, a pseudo camouflage effect with a Hurricane type canopy could an interesting variant. Yours looks to fly very well. Well done. Peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 I am not even considering going flying with current temperatures. I look out of my bedroom window on these sunny days and see clubmembers on the field and think "No chance" Ahalf hour stroll down the road and my toes are suffering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Chaddock Posted January 21, 2017 Author Share Posted January 21, 2017 The final modification is to create some light weight long travel 'oleo' legs to ease the landing shocks on the lightweight retracts and the surrounding structure. At the moment the leg is, on purpose, just plain steel wire so unless the landing is truly gentle something bends. Hopefully soft springing will allow slightly firmer landings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Chaddock Posted May 5, 2017 Author Share Posted May 5, 2017 Just a short update demonstrating some of the benefits of its monocoque Depron construction. Not quite sure why but on its last flight it suddenly decided to dive into the ground almost vertical from about 30 ft! The result was only to be expected the nose was completely crushed but its progressive crumpling absorbed the impact so virtually no damage was sustained by the remainder, not even the prop! The fuselage cut back to sound structure. Another advantage of thin Depron sheet is that a butt joint with UHU POR is virtually as strong as the original material, particularly in shear and tension (the major loads in a monocoque) so no complex joints required. Saves quite a bit of time! New side panels simply clued on, the formers reinstated and planking started. The nose planking complete and the battery box restored. Some filling, sanding and paint. The black Petiterina spinner has been substituted (it now has a 'radial' so its no longer needed). Complete. It took 6 days to do but most of that was glue and paint drying time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McG 6969 Posted May 5, 2017 Share Posted May 5, 2017 Sorry to read about your 'gravity dive', Simon. But also fine that it's already 'stand by' for service again. Is it just me or did you build the new nose a bit 'slimmer'? Well done again anyhow. Cheers Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Leighfield Posted May 5, 2017 Share Posted May 5, 2017 When some models get busted I can't be bothered to fix them, but others are different and I can't mend them quickly enough. I think this is one of those, definitely worth fixing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Chaddock Posted May 6, 2017 Author Share Posted May 6, 2017 Chris Nose a bit slimmer? No. In fact the wood engine mount former is the original reused..I expect its just the black spinner is a bit less obtrusive. To be absolutely exact the black spinner is actually 0.5 mm smaller diameter but I doubt you could tell that from the photo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Chaddock Posted March 16, 2018 Author Share Posted March 16, 2018 A bit more on the Depron Ballerina! The original U/C legs were simple soft(ish) wire (actually coat hanger wire!) on the grounds it was cheap, light and would simply bend so hopefully saving the completely built in retract unit from tearing out of the wing. But it does mean there is absolutely no 'give' at all in the U/C so 'greaser' landings are a necessity and even then only on fairly short grass. I have considered some form of telescopic strut but the weight and complexity rises dramatically as well as requiring some significant modifications to the wing cut outs. Lying in bed drinking my early morning tea I wondered is a "sprung wheel" was possible particularly as it would be just a simple swap with the existing wheel. The first test piece. It helps to have a 3D printer! the design may look a bit "Victorian". Not surprising really as it was used when making cast iron wheels! The inherent flexibility prevented the brittle iron from cracking as it cooled down. The next step was a 'side by side' spring arrangement suitable for the broader "scale" wheel used on the Ballerina. Again just a test piece as the Ballerina wheels are bigger and because they have to fit into wheel wells they have to an exact size. The completed pair of 74 mm diam wheels for the Ballerina. The printed cover plates slide over the wheel side walls as the hub moves. The complete wheel weighs 2.8 g the same as the un sprung version..They have also been fitted and retract tested on the Ballerina. There is some 5 mm of axle movement possible when a load of 1.3 kg is applied to the axle. As the Depron Ballerina weighs just under 700g ready to go it should be capable of taking a 4g landing bounce. Just needs painting - Depron black, covers silver. Now how well it will work at the field remains to be seen! Edited By Simon Chaddock on 16/03/2018 13:58:30 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted March 16, 2018 Share Posted March 16, 2018 I do like ingenuity and thinking outside of the box or even outside the whole workshop. My best solutions usually come at about 4 am. I will be interested to hear how it works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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