Very neat how it flys like that!

 

Amazing! I would not even want to try flying anything with all those trees lurking so close.

Great flying Mark! Even if you did do a little tree surfin.

 

Very cool, That was awesome !!! He was just landing to take a break up in that there tree
Great Job Mark!!!

John

 

That would be sweet 3D... !!!! I was thinking speeder bike/biker scout from Return of the Jedi ( Star wars of course) profile style


John

 

That is tooooooo cool!!!

 

oh man....all I can say is my MKII CANNOT get here fast enough!!!! That is tool COOL!!!!!

Mark, looks like inspiration struck again. You did a GREAT job!

Tim
AG4RZ

 

Oh...what gear are you using Mark?

Tim
AG4RZ

 

OK...you guys NAILED IT!!!!

The SS rocks, and I am looking forward to cutting one out. You can bet that will make it into our indoor show!

Mark, Trish, you guys are amazing. Not only have you brought us the PP, but you continue to crank out awesome designs! Thank you so much for all you do for our hobby!

Tim
AG4RZ

 

Well, Mark's first Silver Surfer kit has been shipped and received! It just got here a minute ago, and although I have 1.5 tons of mulch to spread, I had to slip it together for a picture! Man it is NICE!!! When my PhlatPrinter gets here later this week, I know I will have to cut another of these!

Anyway, I just thought you guys would want to see a picture of it slid together on my bar...I will build it later today after I get the mulch done....

TIm
AG4RZ Attached files

 

OK..so after church today, and after my FB took a nap, Brandy, Eli, (my flying buddy) and I loaded up a couple of planes and headed over to my private testing facility. ( I am lucky to have access to a nice, clear section of land that is fenced in. That's where I test all of my new foamy's before taking them to a public field.)

Anyway, I flew the RaptorGS first, to knock the dust off, so to speak, and get me ready for the Surfer. After a couple of flights on the Raptor, I slid a battery on the Surfer, double checked the controls, and slid the throttle up. It was pulling nicely, so I said a quick prayer and let it go.

MAN DOES IT LOOK COOL!!!!!! A click (beep) of down, and a click (beep) of right, and she was on the money. I could not get over how neat it looked in the air. Eli was laughing and pointing, as only a 19 month old with an airplane fetish can! Brandy, who isn't normally enthused with airplanes, commented on how neat it was in the air as well.

I ended up using gear I had on hand, 2 Eflite S75's, a FC 28-05 1600KV motor with an 8x4 GWS HD, and an Eflite 10 amp speed control. For batteries I used a 3s1p 730 Thunder Power, as well as a Kokam 3s1p 640. I hate to admit it, It hit me today I have never owned a Blue Wonder of any type! (I plan on correcting this soon!)

I ended up balancing at the back of the finger marks, but it felt fine. I tend to like my stuff a little more tail heavy then most people. She turns left like a dream, but takes a little coaxing to turn right. I feel that this is due to the equipment I used and in no way reflects on the design. Mark has proven in the videos it turns fine to the right with his setup.

My AUW with the TP's came in at 8.1 ounces, so I am happy with that. I intend to get a Blue wonder of suitable KV and swap the motor and prop out, as well as pick up some slightly higher capacity (and slightly heavier packs.) I want to get the CG where Mark intended it and fly it the way Mark intended before I settle on the location I have it at now.

Mark, you did a GREAT job with the design, and I look forward to getting in alot of fun flights on this ship. I told Brandy on the way home that I would be cutting a couple more of these when I get the PP built, and I plan on doing one surfer dude up with Eli's profile picture on him and painting it like him as well.

Congrats on a job well done and THANK YOU!!!!!

Tim
AG4RZ

 

I built my SurfsUp late Saturday and had it ready to head to the field on Sunday morning.

Everyone always gathers round my car to see what contraption I'll bring next, so it was without surprise that everyone once again found their selves agap in wonderment as I pulled out the flying surf board!

With the help of a fellow flyer we launched it successfully but it would only turn in left turn circles.

Back to the car for some adjustments. After 3 flights, we managed to get it to go left and to go straight but right turns could not be coaxed out of it.

Then just as things were getting exciting, the ESC decides to burn up and that ended the flying sessions.

Later when I got home, I replaced the speed controller and tried it again. This time the motor was getting pretty hot, so I decided to put a different motor on it, but alas, the only one I could come up with was one that had some frayed wires and it was not suitable so I waited till this morning and headed off to the LHS. Did I say Local? Two and half hour round trip.

Well anyway, I purchased a BP 2212-13 motor from Graves RC in Orlando. When I got home and took the motor out of the package I discovered they had sold me a used motor! This is not the first time they have pulled this stunt, to me and many others! The outter case was all scraped up and the bearings were grinding.

Needless to say, I was ticked! I called Bill Graves to complain and was passed off to his son who told me I could bring it back for an exchange. I explained it was a 2 1/2 hour round trip and he should just send me a replacement, which he agreed to do.

So once again, I am still waiting to see if I can get this baby to fly.

We got it to fly straight and left turn only by putting a heavier battery on the port side. It desparately needs some kind of rudder. The elevons did not seem to have much reaction other than as an elevator.

I think it needs a rooster tail wave added and setup as a rudder That or make surfer dudes butt the rudder Attached files

 

addendum: I just had to see this thing fly today. I removed a BP 2217-9 motor from another plane and mounted it on the surfer dude. I turned the motor mount 180 degrees to let the prop push more air over the top surface. That seems to help. I have more control now than before, but it is still a left turn machine.

This motor may be overkill for this size plane, but amazingly, it did very very well. In fact, I went to a smaller prop size, 8x4 and it flys very well with it.

Nothing I have tried so far will correct for it. I was thinking maybe make the bottom center fin into a rudder?

As long as the wind is calm, left turn circles are fine, but Sunday, the wind kept pushing me further and further out since I could not get it to straighten out.

The balance points seem pretty critical.

But all in all, this is one cool flying thing of a ma jig! I don't know if I'd call it a plane but it is an attention getter, that is for sure!

Great work Mark! You never cease to amaze me. Attached files