My New Planes - Got a Skyray kit

Godsey3.0 wrote:...Yours appears to have fixed flaps added on. I guess someone was in the mood to experiment....

Do Skyrays usually have hinged flaps?

Hmm,

It's certainly Clown esque. A Super Clown has a thicker nose and the elevator is not split. It also doesn't have flaps, fixed or functional.

It almost appears to be a custom build inspired by a Super Clown.

What's the span? Super Clown is 38"

Skyrays do not have flaps at all. I do not think it really needs them. Mine went everywhere I pointed it. And boy o' boy could it take a hit. The ribs are all ply and it is tough!

I cannot really tell but there almost appears to be a seam near the back of the Clown Impersonator. It almost seems like they put on the flaps and then sanded them way down. I can see the flatness of the trailing edge and then a wavy seam and then a flat surface traveling in a slightly different direction.

Rolla

Cribbs74 wrote:What's the span? Super Clown is 38"

40something inches, I can't remember exactly. It sure has a nice fat airfoil.

If the Clown thing had hinges, they're covered up now.

hey bud,

I was gonna pm you and offer my condolences for the Missouri game...but i just noticed a little bit ago, SC rallied back and sent it to ot, and a win in double ot!!!! Congrats, that should but then in the SEC title game.

I'm gonna guess the plane is a modified Brodak Clown kit.

Did you score those at the contest? nice!

I'd keep working on Beginner pattern till you get really good with it and fly it again at your next contest, if you can fly the beginner pattern and score high point for each maneuver, it will make the learning curve flatter for the full pattern.

I got a Disc Golf Tournament in the morning, looking forward to it but know i'm gonna be wore out by the end of it

Mark Boesen wrote:hey bud,

I was gonna pm you and offer my condolences for the Missouri game...but i just noticed a little bit ago, SC rallied back and sent it to ot, and a win in double ot!!!! Congrats, that should but then in the SEC title game.

I'm gonna guess the plane is a modified Brodak Clown kit.

Did you score those at the contest? nice!

I'd keep working on Beginner pattern till you get really good with it and fly it again at your next contest, if you can fly the beginner pattern and score high point for each maneuver, it will make the learning curve flatter for the full pattern.

I got a Disc Golf Tournament in the morning, looking forward to it but know i'm gonna be wore out by the end of it

Yeah, they put a one legged Connor Shaw in at QB and he rammed it down Mizzou's throat. What a football player. Not that easy to win the SEC East, Georgia has to lose another one and Mizzou has to lose another one. And we have to win out. Then we presumably would play Alabama in Atlanta. If we win all those it'll probably mean the National Championship game. That's a lot of ifs though.

It's not made from a kit, just got that funny Clown shape. It's bigger than a Super Clown I think. I did get the Skyray and the Clownlikething from Ray Copeland at the contest, along with four OS engines, three .35s and a .40, all FPs. One of them is ABC, the rest are iron.

Cribbs74 wrote:. Let us know how you like the Skyray!

Ron

Okay, so today Wayne and I went out to fly. He was there early finishing the trim on his e-Nobler. It flies a beautiful pattern. And I can stand at the edge of the circle and talk to him, that's so cool. Do NOT EVER let the quiet run of a lekkie lull you into underestimating the brute force they are capable of.

I'd never touched an OS engine before. I was used to priming the thunder Tiger with 10 choked flips, but that flooded the crap out of the FP .35. By the third flight I finally figured out two choke flips and a few spins were all it needed for a two-flip start... with a chicken stick. No more bare fingers. I set it up with a 4oz Dubro Uniflow tank on muffler pressure. It runs really good and only sips fuel. My first flight on 3.5oz of fuel lasted 9 minutes. The formula turned out to be to richen it a bit and put 2-1/4oz in it for a complete beginner pattern. But it uses every drop of fuel and runs steady right up to shutoff. I think it did run a little faster on the last two laps

I took off on the first flight planning to just be careful and evaluate the plane. I flew some flat laps that clocked out at about 4.9 seconds, the wings were level and the yaw was right on the money. It pulled way harder than the SS and by the end of that first looong flight I was holding it with both hands. I did a few wingovers and loops and some inverted laps and it seemed very cooperative.

So two clicks richer and a half ounce less fuel and it was time for a pattern flight. I was absolutely astonished at how this plane went where I wanted it to. It was like it was on rails. I could plant my feet and fly three big identical round loops without having to chase the damn thing around or force it to stay in the groove. There was no hint of the windup that I had with the SS, and no hint of an engine burp any time anywhere in the pattern. It just chugged along like a freight train following the tracks. Coming around the flats into the wind, some slight elevator would punch it through and keep it flat without trying to climb. It did take me a few laps to master that and anticipate where to start feeding it some elevator. Although round, my outside loops were bigger than my insides, and that affected my figure 8s, but I found the problem later, it was my handle adjustment. My wrist motion wasn't pulling full down. But in any case I never aborted a single maneuver including the overhead 8s. The squares were not sharp cornered like the SS would do, and I think it's because it's too nose heavy. I'll adjust that a little bit next time. But the squares were always in the same place, which I usually didn't do so well with the SS.

I flew several flights that were pretty much identical. On the last flight I did the best loops ever and pulled out inverted. When I came around on my second inverted lap, it got lower and lower and I pulled on the elevator harder and harder, as hard as I could, but it skidded in like I was doing a powered landing. I thought for sure something had gone wrong with the control system, but could find nothing awry. I parked it and was holding the handle giving it elevator input. Full up was fine, and I pulled full down... what I needed in that descending inverted lap, and grabbed the line and tugged. The elevator moved down more. I apparently never had full down all day, which explains my bigger outside loops and the larger left side of my 8s. As for skidding it in, I think I had become over confident with it and was just too gentle on the control input. The only thing it hurt was the prop and the ugly-ass wing covering which was half tape anyway.

So that's the first Skyray report. I'll probably fly again Thursday. If I have time I'll get the Clownlikething ready to fly too. If I had known I could fly a pattern that easily, I would have flown the Shoestring through a wingover into a dumpster a long time ago.

Rusty

And that is why the Skyray will always be at the top of my list!

Rolla

Sounds like it's a good flyer. I am surprised the loops were better than the SS though. Oh well what do I know anyway.

Perhaps the lack of down and the nose heavy condition played together on your inverted powered landing.

Ron

Geez Rusty... "wing-over into a dumpster"?... (S.S.  )

Roddie,

Rusty has been bitten by the contest bug so he wants to fly planes that do what you ask them to do.

The SS has been holding him back and making him feel like his skills were lacking. Now that he has a plane that flys well for him he realizes his skills were not the problem. So..... Wingover into a dumpster LOL! That's what I got out of it. Sound about right Rusty?

I have seen a SS do an excellent pattern so I am going to keep that in mind when I build mine.

Ron

Rusty, you got a couple birds in the stable now, so you should have a back up, i'd look at building a Cardinal or maybe a ARF Cardinal?

I just traded the ME 109 RC kit 66 Malibu gave me for a Brodak Flite Streak kit. Not so much because it would be the best backup, but more because I want a Flite Streak. But I hear the Streak is a competent stunter.

Roddie, Ron's right about my perspective. I'm seriously exaggerating the part about the dumpster. 
I had no idea how much easier a plane could fly the pattern, but mine was over powered, and my fuel system might have contributed to the glitchiness. That TT might be better suited for a bigger plane. It could easily fly speed limit combat. After using the Dubro uniflow clunk for one day, I'm sold on that idea. But I might buy a couple of 3oz versions.

The Flite Streak is a great plane to fly. If you choose to fly it for stunt, you may want to detune the controls. You know the routine, large control horn, slow controls, small handle, and work from there. They can be very glitchy. Look closely at the moments of the plane and how small the elevator is and how fast it turns. Short nose, long tail and thick airfoil. Your going to find yourself in the same position with a tank like your Shoestring. There's very little room on the nose of the streak. This is where a Chicken Hopper works excellent. It will give you the capacity, and also the proper feed that's needed for a quick turning plane.My best advice for a hopper, set the needle with the outboard tip low and nose pointed high and set it to allow the engine in a crackling 2 stroke and fly. It also takes a bit of a learning curve to get used to it. Chicken Hoppers are very critical to factors like height and how the plane is flying such as tip high or low. I've seen several other make a new fuse by extending the nose slightly to allow for the properly sized tank. Depending on your advancement into stunt, the next step is full AMA pattern which may require slightly more tank. Ken

I know it's unorthodox, but is there any reason you can't put a clunker on the inboard side... other than looking funny?

I've always WONDERED that!  I tried it with Epoxy Bomb, but couldn't tell any difference.  It DOES work great on the 3 meter B.O.T.'s power-pod, providing a clean. smooth area behind the engine, making it easier to wipe down after flying...

Now...guess I got to get me some Chicken Hopper tanks to play with...this hobby...if for no other reason...is fun for it's "Technical Terms"....

"If I had known I could fly a pattern that easily, I would have flown the Shoestring through a wingover into a dumpster a long time ago."

Please, please, PLEASE post that video on you tube when it happens! 

Jim

Put the clunk tank where you want it to be. It will be "uphill" on the inboard side, but uniflow will help accommodate.

The real reason tanks are traditionally on the outboard side is the triangular profile made mounting anywhere else difficult at best.

Phil

JPvelo wrote:"...I would have flown the Shoestring through a wingover into a dumpster a long time ago."

Please, please, PLEASE post that video on you tube when it happens!

Jim

Don't worry Jim, I'm not gonna do it. I'll have it for a long time unless I give it away.

pkrankow wrote:Put the clunk tank where you want it to be.  It will be "uphill" on the inboard side, but uniflow will help accommodate....
Phil

Centrifugal force speaking, the fuel will be flowing downhill. I'm thinking any time the lines are tight that should hold true.

Rusty:

"Dumpster diving" are you?

Might we now call you "Crusty"?   

SD

SuperDave wrote:...Might we now call you "Crusty"?      

SD  

May as well, I've been known to sign off that way myself. I could name my Clownlikething "Crusty." Get it??? Crusty the Clown... from the Simpsons.

Terrific! Nothing could be finer Crusty!  


SD

oh "for crust sakes"...

Aw crrrrr...ap, what have I gone and done!?