This will be my main winter project.
I bought this 1/4 scale Tiger Moth, with a gas engine up front. It has an 88" wingspan and appears to weight about 20 pounds.
This is a Bud Barkley Models kit.
I haven't opened the fuselage yet and haven't figured out what to do yet, but my plan is to get an E-Flight 160 motor under the cowl and use 10 or 12 lipos.
Installing the wings took less than 10 minutes, so I imagine field set up will not be a big problem.
I'll post any substantial progress.
Oh my... I looks amazing!
You done the conversion yet? I will send John Mackenzie your way.. We did my 1/4 Pup in one night...
Gas engine, tank, tubing, etc., removed.
Now planning motor installation/mounting and battery location.
My preference is to be able to load/remove batteries from the top. It appears this might be doable from the front cockpit.
I'm using an E-flite 160 motor, CC high-voltage 110 amp ESC and 10S or 12S 5000mAh lipo batteries.
I would think that you need to locate the batteries as far forward as possible on that plane. So access from the cowl maybe a possibility. My 1/4 Tiger has an old G23 with magneto which is heavy and the CG is about right.
Outer firewall cut to fit motor mount, and inner plywood bulkhead cut open to make room for batteries up front.
There's lots of room, and I may put a long tray in right up to the inner front of the cowl area.
The cowl has already been cut open on the bottom to make room for the huge gas engine that was there before, so I may simply install batteries from the bottom cowl area.
That was a similar to my 1/5th scale. It had a big opening under the landing gear. Enough room for a big battery. I had to make a ledge right to the nose to hold the battery.
Michael, make sure that there is enough support where the engine goes... Mine had some nice thick hardwood supports that ran down the fuse near the cabine mounts. The area I had that I opened up was only think Balsa. I had to make some supports to hold the battery and the extra weight.
And don't forget about the very important float attachments!!!
E-Flite 160-size brushless motor and motor mount installed.
See how that big motor seems dwarfed by the massive model.
What a mammoth motor. You should deliberately unbalance the stator to get the radial engine sound effects.
or hockey cards in the prop!
Electric installation complete.
E-Flite 160 brushless, metal motor-mount (some custom work needed), Castle Creations 110amp High Voltage speed control, and 10S 5000 mAh batteries.
Batteries mounted with Velcro onto a the bottom of a plywood tray; speed control on top. Lots of air cooling.
APC 20/8 propeller.
Witnessed the maiden today. Despite high winds Michael did a terrific job flying the plane. I understand he ran out of down trim as the first two thirds of the flight was some great barnstorming! But as Michael said once he got it on the ground "the last 15seconds of the flight was the best". LOL. He actualy had it tamed prior to that but those TWO loops out over the field the second bottoming out at about 10' had me scared sh1#<, less!
Great job Michael.
Separating the men from the boys flying today!
Maiden Flight! Sunday morning, Oct. 21, 2012, TEMAC.
Flight duration approx. 2 minutes.
Bottom line: Landed safely! ;D
Ed and Frank (and visitor Dave G) were on hand, but Frank spotted for me and kept me calm.
Although not as big as a wingspan as my 1/4 scale Cub, this plane seems massive, and at about 20 pounds, is my heaviest model airplane.
The plane taxied perfectly, and I lined it up into the wind. The wind was a strong 15km cross wind from behind me (west), but I actually didn't feel a problem from the wind once in the air. Maybe the weight helped.
Anyway, I advanced throttle and the plane moved forward and took off reasonably slowly and easily. Once in the air however it became clear that extreme trim changes were needed. Fighting unwanted stalls and loops, Frank dialed in maximum down trim and a fair amount of right trim. There were a few moments when it looked like the plane was going to crash, but with Frank's help, I stayed calm and finally got it under control. I lined it up for landing (north-west directly into the wind) and made a nice and slow touch down with maybe a 40 foot roll-out. No damage.
As I said at the field, it doesn't matter how bad it looked, as long as the last 15 seconds of the flight are perfect! ;D
The plane is in one piece, in good condition, and the electronics stayed cool. Now I'll adjust the trim and balance as needed, and I'll finish some of the cosmetics.
It'll be ready for next spring.
That's simply awesome! Congrats Michael.
I've spent the last 2 evenings building a 1/10th scale Tiger Moth, and I've fallen in love with the way it looks; it's so antique and classic. I can't wait to see Michaels. Do we really need to wait until next spring?
Niec job M! :)
Way to tame the Moth Michael. It looks great (and so does the happy pilot). Congrats! Next step is to get you up in a Cessna!
Heartiest congrats!
Andy
very cool... i wish i saw her fly... got any video?
No video.
From one of the images, you need more down thrust... I had the same issue with my 1/5th.. It just pitched up all the time.. I was also max down...
Good idea.
A little down-thrust, down elevator trim, and a touch more nose weight.
Also need to tighten up elevator control slack, and add more rudder deflection.
Quote from: Michael on October 22, 2012, 01:08:26 PM
Good idea.
A little down-thrust, down elevator trim, and a touch more nose weight.
Also need to tighten up elevator control slack, and add more rudder deflection.
The cg looked ok I think Michael. If it was tail heavy those maneuvers at the start would have been unrecoverable. I think the downthrust will solve a lot of the troubles along with getting the trim within range. Just my 2 cents.
Thanks.
OK, based on Ed's comment above, and a similar suggestion from Glenn a couple days ago, I am remounting the motor about 3/8" higher but with downthrust, so the propeller is at the same position at the front of the cowl. Other medium and large size Tiger Moth models I've had always had some downthrust built into their designs.
First image shows the new mounting location (higher set of holes) on the firewall.
The second image shows why I want to finish this project as soon as possible. I am planning on starting my next model in December. This photo shoes the cowl behind the transmitter. It's a big airplane.
Photos re-posted.
Motor mounted with down-thrust and slight side-thrust.
Cowl and spinner installed.
Looks much better!
Nice flight today; takeoff to landing!
Photos by Greg H.
What batteries did you end up using with the 160? 10S? Did that seem to be the right combo or too much power?
10S on my 1/4 pup is too much power IMHO. I am running a 19X8 prop.
I'm using 10S.
More than enough power, but my plane weighs more than 20 pounds! :o
2 nice flights today.
Despite what seemed like 25km gusts, this 25 pound (approx.) flew solid and stable.
Glenn and Jeff helped out. Thanks.
Just curious was it the down thrust that solved the troubles?
Big beautiful beast
Adding down thrust made a big difference.
A little more down trim on ailerons and a little more throw on rudder did the rest.
A Jack Higgins photo during my flight yesterday.
Video from today ...
1/4 scale electric Tiger Moth (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIR04owbfyU#)
Although the flight was great, the music was better. Nice, Michael!
Tom
Thanks Tom!
John L and Paul Mc thank you too! ;D
Love it! Fun video to watch, and I'm glad you're having fun with the big Moth now ;D
ooooh a moth on floats would be cool to see :)
hint hint Michael
Yes, and I know it's been done full size. In fact I think it was quite common.