Free Flight Radio Assist

Cool looking add on , there was a friend on some years ago that made the Wild Hair Joe and it was ! >> The link on second page is Joe https://www.coxengineforum.com/t10392p25-wild-hair-joe-ken-willard-pee-wee-powered?highlight=Wild+Hair+Joe    

I can understand why you'd want that option Robert. Curious; I'm neither a free-flight or RC-flight aficionado.. so I'm wondering what the two servos will control?

Why not make the module single-channel? I'm sure that there's good reason why you're opting for two channels.. but with single-channel, you could place the flight battery where the 2nd servo was.... for a totally self-contained module and additional weight savings.

Does one of the servos activate a dethermalizer? Maybe an emergency fuel cut-off? Maybe switch-on an audible signal to help locate a lost model?

This wouldn't be the first time that I've asked a dumb question..

Thanks Ken, I’ve seen your Dakota…. Just lovely

Thanks for the video Eric…. Part of the inspiration of me wanting to build one!!…

Good question Roddie…. If it were practical  I would rather experience these just straight up FF like when I was a teenager and had access to large cotton fields…But these days I have a only have small landing spot on a brushy field…. Rudder trim only could certainly work but having an elevator trim will allow to fly in a little more breezy weather and still have a chance to come back….I’m hoping the flights will be sorta: Let it do it’s FF thing on the way up, Let it glide in circles in FF mode, Then steer it back while it still has some altitude….

Here’s an off the shelf unit designed for FF although only one channel that could work similarly….



https://jhaerospace.com/product/bmk-radio-dethermalizer-tx-rx-pair/

OH Yes!

Brick radios ---- I remember them well.

The Kraft brick radio (my 1st one)

Then the EK Logitrol Brick two channel (27mhz) (LRB -- Little Red Brick)



Next was the EK Ranger 3 channel brick radio (72mhz)


Then last is the Becker brick five channel brick Rx (72mhz)



Yep,
It was easy to move the "brick" radio from one plane to the next as there was no long wires from servos to Rx.
Just pull out the brick and drop it in the next plane.

By the way, they all still work.

The kraft brick is in a sailboat (27mhz) on channel "Green -- 27.195mhz"

Thanks for the photos of the “bricks” sosam….I think an interesting concept that still has some virtue…. Another one that comes to mind was Ace R/C’s single channel pulse flight packs….Many of their planes were designed so that the actuator was mounted on a bulkhead that could be slipped in and out of the plane because it was only constrained by a couple of rails in the fuse….

The one my father owned was blue. It was in a foamie Cessna which Hobby Lobby offered in the 70's. It was a terrific plane. Many flights it had with a OS steel .15.

The all sheet model goes together fairly quickly….. Engines spec’ed for it was .02 to .039….I think Willard’s original in the photo had an Infant on it…. I have an Infant but with burned out plug ….. So we’ll try the .039…. Sounds like a lot for 16” span FF….
The Cub is rated at about 22 watts compared to a PeeWee’s 26 W so maybe it will be manageable….

Beautiful Robert, absolutely beautiful.

Good work

Thanks Bob, Levent …. A simple little thing but an enjoyable project….

Really nice work, Robert. It was originally designed as a free flight by Ken Willard, but you made it into a practical really small flight pocket R/C.

Thanks George, I always liked Willard’s designs…. Another fun one to experience

Good work on that one it turned out really nice ,now for some color .

Something I always wanted to try on models of this style wing was to use a clear Mylar like covering on the bottom. I have lots of iron on clear film I use on foamie combat wings. It would seem logical to me that it would certainly improve the airfoil and create less drag. If I ever want to play down the power, I always put the prop on backwards. I do this on my first initial flights to see how the plane flies and go from there.

Thanks Eric, Yes, looking forward to the color part

Interesting idea on the single surface wing Ken, It might just improve efficiency quite a bit….Will do on reversing the prop for test flights…. I have a couple of Grish Tornado
5-3 that ought to be about right…. One thing I haven’t worked out is a fuel tank…. I was thinking about making a small brass one with just enough capacity/ time to make sure needle is set right and maybe 30-45 sec max air run time …. Is there a best configuration for something like that?…. Or maybe better to stick with an eye dropper style?….A small balloon with metered amount of fuel might be an option as well….

If your looking for small Perfect tanks, I have 100 brand new ones of various sizes. I could offer you dimensions if your interested. I would send one to you. Extending the olive branch so to speak. Just let me know. I have a box which is full to the top of NOS. I can offer you up sizes when I get a chance later today if interested. My oil burner decided it doesn't want to come out of hibernation. It starts purges the flue and shuts off. I truly believe I have a capacitor issue. Of course no one around me carries this capacitor in the duty rating I need.

Thank you Ken, That is a kind offer and I may take you up on that if the following is not a good idea…. I have a Perfect wedge tank (Thank you Bob ) that I believe is 1/4 oz….
Thimble in the photo for size reference….. Could it be mounted like it’s oriented in the photo?… Fuel feed on the bottom….I could make a mount for one side of the profile body and extend one vent tube to come out the other side…. Let me know what you think….

Hope you get your oil burner running……. Is the motor getting hot causing you to suspect the capacitor?….. You may already have done it but there is a way to check the cap with an analog meter if needed….

That looks like an eighth of it ounce I'm pretty sure this one is I tried to find one in a box but I can't find it

Thanks Eric, Wasn’t sure about the size, Only that it’s small ….I’ve seen these tanks in old R/C plans oriented as in your photo…. I suppose it wouldn’t be much different for FF…. Regardless, will just be rubber banded on so I could try different things if needed…

To answer your question of tank mounting, yes it could be orientated like that. However, a square tank with it's pickup in the middle might also be a option. Whichever choice, these tanks should be taken apart and correctly soldered and pipe positioned. They're really poorly put together.

As for my oil burner, I replaced the capacitor and it's still not working. I was suspect of the capacitor for two reasons, the startup utilizes the capacitor with a burst to get the blower motor and oil pump going. What I noticed was the motor would start to turn and then shut down. I figured it was the capacitor seeing the longevity of them is typically 10 years. The problem I came across is that the old 16 Farad capacitor is now replaced by another and cross referencing this was not as easy as I thought. Newer motors use yet a smaller capacitor with a slightly different climatic range. I had it sent overnight. Arriving at 5 am, this still didn't solve the problem. There are so many redundant backups on this system it's difficult to pinpoint a problem. Somewhat like working on computerized cars.

Thanks for the advice on the tank Ken, Appreciated…. When it comes time in the project I’ll pop the back off and do necessary beef ups…. I’ll probably bug you again on the elevation of the tank relative to the needle and maybe some other stuff….

Too bad the cap didn’t solve the problem….Yes, They supply a “burst” of current as needed….. I like to look at them as sort of an electrical “spring”…. Energy in and energy out as needed…. Some motors that use the cap for starting under load, Say a pressure pump for example, May have a centrifugal gadget in the back of the motor with springs, weights, and a set of points…. If that mechanism gets sticky it can cause the motor to remain in start mode then shut itself off after awhile due to heat…. Spray solvent and cleaning the points can fix this sometimes….

Other motor types use the capacitor not so much for starting under load but more as a damper for smoothing electrical highs and lows…. More of a shock absorber in this situation….

A rough check of a capacitor can be done with an analog meter…. Set for ohms, (Usually Rx1) and with circuit leads disconnected,…. Touch the meter leads to the two posts of the cap…. The needle will bump to the right (toward 0 ) and then fall to the left again…. Reverse the leads and will do the same thing (charge and discharge)…Needle will do the same if the cap is good….Careful if you try this, Caps can store energy even with power turned off and out of the circuit…. Discharge appropriately before testing…..

Everything around here is fired by natural gas …But there might be a similarity or two to an oil burner…. At the start of a heat cycle the combustion air motor kicks on and purges the fire box…..A pressure switch confirms the motor is running….. The pressure switch is usually first suspect if the unit purges then stops…. It usually has a flexible hose to the fire box….If it’s at fault it will stop the process…. Some pressure switches may or may not have a reset button…

There’s usually a flame rollout switch in the circuit that senses heat if the flame misbehaves…. It does not reset automatically…..Usually has a reset button and is near the main burner ….

May or may not be helpful but just some thoughts on heating units…

What a great way to get acquainted with FF...!

I need a drink after watching the video of the single channel rodeo plane....!

Thanks TD…. I like that video too and have watched it several times…. He had such a great time with it… Very well put together video too….

I’m trying to keep it slanted FF as much as possible…. More of an “on the fly” trim tab on the stab rather than an elevator….Similar for fin/rudder….The trailing edge of the single surface wing is not trimmed until after gluing the ribs and causes washout to be formed automatically….Mr. Willard was a pretty smart feller…