COMPLETED R&D PROGRAMS

 

SD-MODELS/TOC-Extreme HP-Versions Target Date: Start in 5/2007 and continuing.

We suggested to Lee Lamury of TOC-Extreme, the importer of SD-Models airplanes, to make some additions to the SD-Models planes by doing the following:
* Change the shipping containers from wooden crates to double wall boxes with plywood between the boxes
* Install the firewalls for the longest engines
* Install the canopies
* Glue in the hinges.

The above were completed in 5/2007.

Future possibilities are:
* Installing pilots
* Installing fuel tanks, fuel dots, fuel filters, overflow fittings and all fuel lines
* Installing batteries, regulators, and switches
* Installing servos and servo leads
* Lightening the spinners
* Adding cowl/engine baffles
* Reducing box sizes to reduce shipping costs

 

Servo Testing Completed: 5/2007
We are interested in performing independent servo testing to see which servos have the best moving torque. Manufacturers rate the servos in different ways. We want to do our own testing and see what's what. We performed some testing and reported it on the servo page. More testing is coming.

The results may surprise you:  READ MORE

Low Cost 50cc Engine Completed: 5/2007.
We are interested in finding a low cost 50cc engine. We were offered several from China, Italy, Spain, and Brazil engine companies. The CRRC 45i is one which is half way decent. It's only 45cc, and it performs OK and it's a bargain price. We also tried Torch engines, and the 90cc was pretty good too. READ MORE
 

  PAU Edge Flight Testing Completed: 5/2007
We flew this plane and were very impressed with it. It used CF rods in the wings to strengthen it, and they worked well. READ MORE

  Flight Testing a WJM Rafale   Completed: 5/2007
We saw the photos and video on the internet about this new company's offering, and we worked out a sole distributor agreement with them. So we decided to put one together and fly it to be able to better answer any technical questions about it. Its maiden flight was 5/28/2007 by JR/Horizon representative Anthony Greco from Cape Coral, Fl. In the photo from left to right are: John Dunlop, Bill Hatcher, Anthony Greco, and Eric Clapp. Anthony did a wonderful job. The plane flew easily and we made a video. Rafale Page

  Flight Testing a JR Spektrum Radio   Completed: 5/2007
We replaced the JR 10X on my 35% Extra 260 and replaced it with a DX7. I have to say, it was great! I am always so conscious about my radio being off so that I don't interfere with others, replacing the pin so others on the same frequency can use the frequency, having the pin when I'm flying, being shot down, extending my transmitter antenna, electrical interference from engine ignitions or smoke pumps or servo extensions, and routing the Rx antenna. No longer do I have any worries!! It is totally awesome. It's like having a ball and chain removed from both arms and both ankles. This is the only way to go!! Once you experience the freedom that this technology offers, you won't believe that you waited so long to make the switch! This is one of the biggest technology breakthroughs ever! Better than the change to FM from AM radios, or digital from analog servos. 
JR Radio Page

  TBM Tailwheel testing   Completed: 5/2007
We installed this on the 35% Extra 260. It was the easiest tailwheel I ever installed, it operates better than any other one, and it appears to me the most durable as well as being very light.  Tailwheel Page

  SD-Models CF landing gear testing   Completed: 5/2007
We flexed the gear on the bench and it was flexible yet strong. We installed a 35% Yak gear on my 35% Extra 260. It was really good! I found it to have the right amount of flex, and I did some run offs into the grass and some rather quick turns and it performed great. Others told me that it was the best CF gear around, and in my testing, I can't disagree. It is the nicest looking CF gear I have seen.
Landing Gear Page

TBM Tx Battery Testing of the JR Spektrum Radio   Completed: 6/2007
We found that your transmitter battery will last 2 1/2 times longer with the new Spektrum module! We performed a series of tests and found that the standard rate of battery drain using a 72MHz module is 2 1/2 times higher than when a Spektrum module is installed. The current used by a JR 10X using a 72 MHz module is 170 MAh, while the same radio with a Spektrum transmitter module installed is just 70 MAh. Therefore the standard 1100 MAh battery pack in the JR 10X will last an incredible 15+ hours using Spektrum technology! Compared to the 6 hours of the 72 MHz modules, this is really great! I use a 2800 MAh LiIon battery in my 10X, so I can charge up just once a year or so! :)

JR Radio Page

TBM Range Testing of Spektrum  Completed: 6/2007 - During testing using the JR Flight Log, I found that it is impossible to get the receiver to not receive any signal at all unless I turned off the transmitter at the switch. Line of sight testing by others shows that the range is way farther than necessary. It is impossible to see even the largest glider at a mile, so anything beyond that is superfluous. This is a given. Spektrum has a range way beyond a mile. So I decided to do some tougher testing. I put the transmitter in the house and put the plane in a detached garage 100 feet away. Both buildings are hurricane resistant. They have concrete walls reinforced with steel. Cell phones and portable phones do not work well in the house or garage and portable phones don't work at all from one building to the next. There is virtually no signal. However, the Spektrum still worked perfectly! It was unbelievable.

The JR Spektrum Flight Log was used to determine the signal quality and the Flight Log worked extremely well. Only with the JR system can you not only see but you can also record any hits. I am very impressed! JR has even raised the bar by categorizing "hits" into 3 levels! I the past we have only known about "hits" which is where the Rx loses signal and either the servos go crazy (PPM/FM) or they lockup/hold (PCM). Since going into hold is virtually impossible to have happen with Spektrum, JR devised a system to see when one of the antenna's loses signal, this is called a "Fade". If all antenna's (2 to 4) fade simultaneously but not long enough to put the Rx into "Hold", this is called a "Frame Loss". Finally if the signal is lost for about a second, the Rx goes into the familiar "Hold". Those are the three levels - Fades, Frame Loss, Hold.

With the transmitter and Rx in two different buildings, the signal was reduced to the point that the JR Flight Log was showing some fades, about one every 20 seconds. Keep in mind that there are 3 independent antennas (you can add a fourth if you desire), and each antenna is monitored not only by the JR Flight Log, but also by the amber light which is next to the antenna. I discovered that when the JR Flight Log shows a hit that the amber light blinks off. By putting up the interference of the two buildings, the light blinked occasionally, and the JR Flight Log recorded an antenna fade. What's really neat is that the Flight Log keeps track of the fades independently on the 3 antennas. For instance the Flight Log would tell me that I got 47 fades on antenna A, 84 fades on antenna B, 18 fades on the left remote antenna, and 15 on the right remote antenna. This is great stuff for geeks!

Then I put it to the real test. With the Rx and Tx still in the two different buildings, I covered Rx's with bricks, wood, steel plate, chicken wire, five hundred 4' servo extensions and more in hopes of blocking the signal. While I was able to increase the amount of antenna fades a little, I was never able to get even one frame loss (all antennas losing signal momentarily), and of course it never went into hold either. I spent a lot of time trying to get a frame loss. In the hours I tested it, I had hundreds of  fades on each antenna, but there was nothing that I could do to block the signal to all the antennas at once, or even block the signal to one antenna repeatably. And believe me, I tried!

With all the benefits of the Spektrum system I will never use 72MHz again!

JR Radio Page

  Testing a JR-8711 servo   Completed: 6/2007
We ran the tests on the bench. But what does it do in actual practice? I installed it on my 35% Extra 260, and the difference was DRAMATIC! The plane could do knife edge loops so small it was incredible. I am totally sold on it.
Servo Page

  Regulator voltage vs battery draw   Completed: 6/2007  TBM performed extensive testing to determine the reason as to why if there were 2 batteries on one Rx, that often times the batteries would not be used evenly. Often times one battery was used more than the other. The problem this poses is that when either one of the two batteries is at the unsafe to fly voltage, that the plane can no longer be flown safely. When both batteries draw down the same, the highest number of flights between charges is obtained. TBM determined that if the output voltages are more than 0.3v apart that the batteries will not draw down very evenly. It is not important to have them discharge exactly the same, but they should be close. When purchasing fixed voltage regulators, such as 6v regulators, purchase them matched in output voltage. TBM matches the MPI 6v miracle switches. When using MPI, Fromeco, Smart Fly or other adjustable voltage regulators, be sure to match them closely and if one battery is consistently being used less that the other, raise its output voltage because the higher the output voltage, the more the battery will be used.

We now offer matched 6v MPI miracle switches. Servo Page

  Bubbless Fuel Tank (BFT)   Completed: 6/2007
There is a product called a UAT which is a very useful device to keep bubbles out of the fuel lines for turbine engines. One bubble to to turbine can cause a flame out. These sell for a very high price, as much as $65. We purchased parts off the shelf and assemble them ourselves with a price of only $34.95.

  Custom Painted Props  Completed Date: 7/2007
One of our supplier sent us some samples of custom painted props. We think the concept is great! I hate the looks of wooden props and really like the idea of props color matched to the airplane. These props are very rough samples. They used props which were damaged to do some test painting, and the painting was done with spray paint cans. We are looking for air brushed, beautiful paint jobs with deep, high gloss finishes. They will be balanced at the factory, and the cost for the painting they quoted me is very reasonable. They are considering silver in the center to match aluminum spinners, or black for CF spinners. Then white or yellow in the center, and then red, blue, orange or yellow for the tips. Of course they will start with just one version. Propeller Page

 

DA-85 Engine testing      Started: 7/2007 Completed 9/2007

We tested the engine on 8/26 with a TBM 26x10 bonfire prop (shown). The rpm was over 6300 and  it was rich. We flew it several times, each time we richened the low speed needle and leaned the high speed needle. The final tweak was 1 turn out on each, though we did not get to test it in the air because the throttle clevis broke. We found that we had to install a choke servo. We originally had a choke wire which just hung down unsupported from the choke lever and exited the bottom of the cowl. After a few flights the weight of the wire was enough to close the throttle in the air which of course killed the engine. It shook about as much as the DA-100 at idle, and comparable or better than other singles in that size. It did start right up with no problems and ran well every time, hot or cold. It flies the 21.5 lb SD 33% Yak with ease. The thrust of the engine and prop combo is 42 lbs. With a power to weight ratio of 2:1, it has great vertical speed. I estimate the vertical speed to be 30 mph or so. It hovers at 1/4 throttle and has lots of power. I would say this combo has the most power to weight of any plane in any size that I have ever flown.

 

 

SD 33% Yak testing      Started: 7/2007 Completed 9/2007

We flew this plane several times with a DA-85 and a TBM 26x10 bonfire prop (shown). This is one awesome 3D plane. The rudder authority with one JR-8711 is awesome, though I notice some oscillation of the rudder with the engine running which I could only attribute to the servo gear train slop. This is one great color scheme. It is very easy to see. At 21.5 lbs the wing loading is very low. It is impossible to get into a snap by accident. With a power to weight ratio of 2:1, it has great vertical speed. I estimate the vertical speed to be 30 mph or so. It hovers at 1/4 throttle and has lots of power. I would say this combo has the most power to weight of any plane in any size that I have ever flown.

 

CURRENT R&D PROGRAMS

 

50cc Propeller Testing  Target Date: 11/2007
We are testing many props for 50cc engines to determine the best. Below is the info we have so far. We are waiting for some props to come in. We will retest all the props on one day and one engine for the most reliability.

To be tested:
TBM 23x8
Xoar 22x8, 23x8
Vess 22B, 23B
MSC 22x8

Ranking is the overall flying performance, not static test values. Both 3D and normal flying were considered.

Test conditions: DA-50 with standard exhaust on an engine well broken in. We used a digital scale tied to the tail of an airplane to obtain the static thrust. This is the thrust available to pull out of a hover. After static testing we flew the plane to determine the overall flying performance. Test plane was an Aeroworks 50cc Extra 260.

We found that the MTW TD75K canister muffler hurts performance. A DA-50 will lose a few hundred rpm and several pounds of static thrust. Since the canister muffler is heavy and expensive, it's only benefit is less noise (but you knew that already I'll bet).

 

Servo Arms  Target Date: 12/2008
A company from Asia contacted us about their aluminum servo arms. We tested them and they are as good or better than any arm we have tried to date. We will try them out and see if they are worth offering. They are less expensive than those available now. The design looks good. We hope to have them available soon.  Servo Arm Page

  Warbirds  Target Date: 11/2007 for the first flights of the prototype P-40. Production target date is summer 2008. Many other warbirds will follow.
I enjoy warbirds but I don't like the time it takes to assemble them and the performance is not up to my standards. I like high performance models. In a warbird I prefer a plane which is light with a big engine and high pitched prop so that it goes fast. We chose the DA-85 as the primary engine for these planes because it is a large single cylinder engine. A single cylinder engine is easier to fit into a narrow cowl. The design is based around an 85cc Yak. It has a removable hatch, aluminum wingtube, built up fuselage, wing and stabs. It will be 10 lbs lighter than a scale warbird. It should weigh under 20 lbs. The DA-85 has well over 42 lbs of thrust, so this will outperform any warplane on the market today by leaps and bounds! Our target speed is close to 140 mph. Of course scale speed is about half of that. Of course the plane can torque roll and rocket out of a hover, but that is not the intent. This is not the color scheme which will be used in production. This is built for FUN! Notice the split flaps, wing tube and wood construction. Notice the "B" version (as in P40B) cowl which is smaller and has a LOT better aerodynamics than the usual "D" version. If you are an aerobatic plane pilot and want to steal the show at a warbird meet, this is for you. It has it all, ARF building, low cost, extremely high speed, low wing loading, light weight, easy field assembly, easy transportation, high power to weight, good looks and more.

Warbird Props   Target Date: 4/2008
We need to develop a new propeller for the DA-85 sized Warbirds if and when the Warbirds become a reality. We will be performing prop testing for speed with custom made props ranging from 12" pitch to 22" pitch. The intent is to guarantee a very high minimum speed of the TBM Warbirds for those who like to strafe the fields at high speed. Target speed is at least 130 mph. Solid maple props with very high pitches do not hold up. The props must be laminated wood or CF.

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