Durafly Slow Poke

[Predator]

Thought it was about time to build something a bit different to fly so I talked my dear wife into buying me a Slow Poke for my birthday.

Its been here for several weeks but it’s been out of bounds till today.

There is not a lot of building to do , glue the tailplane & rudder on, glue the main wings together & screw them on, then the usual wiring to hook up and not much else to do.

I did find a couple of minor issues, the first being that (in my opinion) the landing gear was way too high & the wheels were too close together which I think would have made for rather unstable landings.

Landing gear was removed & re bent to move the wheels about 50mm further apart (were originally 230mm, now 280mm) & I’ve also lowered the setup by around 50mm, making sure the prop still has plenty of ground clearance. It’s still 70mm clear when the plane is taxiing level so should be ok

The second issue was that the motor was very tight. Having large Aerostar motors in previous Tundra’s I know the magnets are quite strong but this just didn’t feel right.

Removed the engine cowling & then the motor only to find the rear of the motor shaft jammed quite hard against the firewall. I’m sure it would have eventually worn itself loose so long as it didn’t burn out first. Anyway an indent was drilled into the firewall to accommodate the shaft & all now seems to be just fine.

On with the wiring & electronics fit out.

[Kermit]

HERE IS ANOTHER SLOW POKE

[Former Members]

I can see our friendship diminishing very quickly you nasty little thing</p>

[Hoppy]

Shouldnt there be wing bracing wire? Looks like attachment points!

[Predator]

Yes Chris you are correct but its still a build in progress.

According to the HK website the wing wires (braces) are there purely for show and have NO structural value at all (but they do look cool)

Getting there slowly between a beer or three !!

[Gadget]

Well, happy birthday Mike.

I hope I get to see it’s first flight.

My other daughter and her husband are visiting from Bundaberg arriving tomorrow for 10 days so I have taken a bit of leave.  Hopefully we will have some good wether and they are keen to come out flying and sailing while they are here. 🙂

 

 

[Predator]

Thanks Ron, hopefully this weather will clear up good enough for sailing on Saturday & flying early next week.

[Hoppy]

Tuesday looks like the best option at moment! Bracing wire looks good!

[Kermit]

Just wondering what HOPPYS missus is going to get him for his birthday now that predator has started this wifie thing off

[Predator]

Could be a new V Tail glider to replace the old one he wrote off the other day ?

[Predator]

Actually I was thinking that Sunday MAY be OK if the weather improves tomorrow.

Sunday is supposedly only light winds & possible showers later in the day (much like Tuesday)

[Hoppy]

Nothing in the calendar for Sunday so if u put in an entry then I will do one for Tuesday. I just asked my wife for a slow poke but she got the wrong idea!

[Kermit]

WELL HOPPY  if I were you I would go with that …………..JUST SAY’N

[Gadget]

Hmmmm…. There may not be any flying in the short term as there are rumours abound regarding an impending lock down.  Premier making an announcement at 2:30 pm.

[Predator]

Yes Ron, I also just got the word, most likely 3 day lockdown from midnight tonight so Tuesday is looking better by the minute.

The announcement has not been made officially yet but everyone is out panic buying. My daughter is at Coles NthGate and reckons the register queue stretches right down to the back of the shop.

Happy times ahead !!

[Hoppy]

Ive got my autogyro or gyrocopter ready. One of the two ESC was burnt out. May look at repairing the V Tail now we are in lockdown! Be a good time to build Flite Test foamboard models too.

[Sinker]

Well it’s not my birthday, and I don’t have a wife any more to buy me presents.

So what the hell, I can just buy myself a present whenever I like!

My lockdown project arrived today – (just in time)

[Kermit]

YOU AN I ARE SO SIMALAR uncle g  for I do have a dragon but unlike others I also can buy what I want without asking/begging  /BIRTHDAYS ……..SO whatcha got there fello free cobber

[Sinker]

A clue, it’s got lots of green on it.

[Predator]

This looks like an Uncle G type of plane !!

[Sinker]

Wrong

[Predator]

Well then perhaps one of these

[Sinker]

Sorry, wrong again.

[Predator]

Well then how about

[Sinker]

No! too fast for me.

[Predator]

Well then perhaps

[Sinker]

That looks more like it.

Assembly didn’t take long, 2 screws holds the tail & horizontal stabilizer on, 4 screws & 2 clips for the wings and a few for the landing gear.

It came with a “Reflex” stabilizer already fitted, but I will fit a Matek 405 WSE board to it for the telemetry and return to home.

[Predator]

That was the first one I spotted but thought it was too similar to some you already had. Oh well being FMS it should be a decent plane. No doubt some sort of Cessna knock off.

Hopefully (and with a lot of luck) we may still get to fly on Tuesday.

[Kermit]

LOVE THE COLOUR

[Sinker]

Thought you would.

[Former Members]

hey guys its my birthday and I got nothing

you guessed it no one loves me

[Predator]

I guess that means at your age you have EVERYTHING you want !!

[Kermit]

GEEZE MR MOOSE  Thats so sad I would have thought the fab two would have got you something but I guess payment and lunch is as far as they wish to go  I ON THE OTHER HAD am not afraid to express my feelings towards you so may I say  YOUR RIGHT ……….             but  buggar it

[Hoppy]

Are all FMS planes green? That Ranger looks nice. I just spent most today rebuilding my V Tail glider and its ready to fly. I looked at Ian’s VTOL plane but havent got motivated to fix that and looks too fragile to turn into a plane only. Lets hope we can fly on Tuesday and Moose put in the calendar already. Still waiting on a slow poke though…

[Kermit]

       

   MY PUTT PUTT IS FINISHED NEEDS ELECTRONICS DONE

[Predator]

Looking good. Hopefully lockdown will still finish Monday evening then you can come & visit for us to set up the electronics.

That pilot looks a bit of a worry though, perhaps the frog should be in the pilots seat.

[Sinker]

Where’s the “GREEN” tail?

[Kermit]

Did’nt want to stuff up a nice tail section with paint but if it survives I will get some green cover  stuff an put on …….HAPPY NOW

[Predator]

Think I have found the issue with the Slow Poke Max Speed being lower than expected, the AeroStar 40A ESC is faulty.

Was doing a bit of testing today and it got far too hot to touch and the motor was running very rough.

I’ve installed a Turnigy Plush 30A esc and all seems to be running fine. WOT on the bench is 28Amps so I should be able to get away with the 30A instead of the 40A

I’ve put a warranty claim into HK as all except batteries is supposed to have 12 months warranty.

Next project will be the Super Chipmunk.

[Hoppy]

Do you think its the timing thats wrong on the ESC? That would make it run hot and motor to run rough. You probably need timing set to Low for a big outrunner motor.

[Author]

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