Flight update for the Sea Vixen. You all know the thoughts that go thru your mind when your ready to maiden a new plane. What's it going to do after taking off? What am I going do to when it takes off. This was amazing. It took off and I did nothing but watch as it calmly took to the sky. No panicking, no triming. I was pleasantly stunned. The AUW is 25oz with a 3 cell 2200 lipo. The first 4 flights were with no covering on the ribs. The second time out, I put covering on the center ribs to see what characterstics changed. None that I could tell. I put 3 more flights on it and it was all good. The next time out, I will have covered the wings top and bottom. It seems that it will probably fly about the same either way. I'm close to having the Sketchup files refined for publishing. I'm thinking a .60 size Sea Vixen might be a good winter project. Here are a couple update pictures. Attached files
Can't wait to see that plane fly. When done, please post a video of it flying. Good job so far. Cheers. GHB
Looks great LaVerne and glad/surprised to hear that the maidens went well even without the covering. Shes going to look great when the covering is complete. I am waiting to hear if having the covering on the rest of the wings makes a noticeable difference. Great job once again and if I know you this is just the baby! Mark and Trish
Here's the next flight report on the prototype. I covered the wings top and bottom. The plane did fly differently. Most notable was it now required 4 clicks of down on the elevator to fly level. It also seemed to slice thru the air better. I got two more flights in. On the second landing the nose gear caught the edge of the landing strip and killed the steering servo. I replaced the servo. Plus, I added 3/4 oz of weight to the nose to move the CG forward and see how it affected the elevator trim. This step allowed me to take back out the 4 down clicks. I am pleasantly please with the planes performance. It could use some more horsepower. It just does not look right flying slow. I am still refining the drawings and will soon be cutting a depron version. Here are a couple more pics and a video. Attached files
Another characteristice I noticed on landing is that it likes a little speed. I am too used to landing my saucers which like to float to a landing. This is quite a change in flying for me. But, I like it.
Heck it looks fast just sitting there Sorry if I missed it earlier in the thread, but what are you covering the wing with?
Thanks for the comments. I am ready to start the depron version of this plane. I deepened the fuselage to allow for up to a 5 cell 2200 lipo. And made a few other refinements that should improve the overall appearance. It's a 2 to 3 sheet project. You can do it with 2 sheets if you have saved those 7 to 8" pieces that you have to trim off when cutting with the PhlatPrinter I. I envy you PhlatPrinter III people.
Here are the SketchUp files for the Sea Vixen. It's not one of those planes you can put together in a couple hours. There are 4 files and will use 3 sheets of 6mm 48" foam plus a 7" x 48" sheet for the ribs. Based on the flight experience, you don't have to cover the wings. The wing ribs do add a lot of strength to the wing. My depron version will be using a model A2820/6 (similar to AXI 2820/12) motor and a 5 cell 2200mah lipo. I'll be covering the frame soon and will post the completed pictures. Attached files SeaVixenBooms.skp (828.7 KB)Â SeaVixenFuseAndCenterDoubler.skp (828.5 KB)Â SeaVixenWingFile.skp (926.6 KB)Â SeavixenRibs.skp (1.2 MB)Â
Here is the completed Sea Vixen. I've got 5 flights on it so far and it flies as smooth as silk. The 5 cell lipo and a 7x4 prop has some awesome power to it. It pulls about 450 watts and weighs about 45 oz. Attached files
Wow! are real beauty LaVerne! I remember seeing one of these at an air museum it was awesome! Thanks for posting Mark and Trish
Nice foamy. I designed a sea vixen too. Not as many key locks as you did lol. I use 1/2 inch foam for the booms also. She's one of the best planes I've ever scratchbuilt. If any one is interested I sell kits of the sea vixen and others on ebay. Message me superduperjetspeed@yahoo. com Attached files