[AJCoholic]

Well, its almost RTF - just need to secure the receiver, and air tank and finish setting up the radio.

A few more questions:

I have a pretty good field here in Timmins, and was thinking (since I fly the AV8R, Reaction 54 and Phoenix here easily) the Kangaroo would probably be fine as well... although I have about 600 or so (maybe more) feet of runway to land.

#1 - what throws (and remember I have the single ailevator wings, ie, one flying surface per wing) should I have? Max them out? I have the 1/4" up reflex in.

#2 - I used to kill the engine on my Super REaper and glide it in for slower landings. For shorter field landings would this also work on the Roo? Or does it not glide well?

I did get a gyro for the nose wheel, and also will have the LG toed in slightly, and the gear are pretty tight (MAP retracts and Behotec struts).

This will probably be ready to test fly in a week's time (after I get my current engine review out of the way) and I think I may test fly it here, before Wingham.

AJC

[Guest]

Originally Posted by AJCoholic

Well, its almost RTF - just need to secure the receiver, and air tank and finish setting up the radio.

A few more questions:

I have a pretty good field here in Timmins, and was thinking (since I fly the AV8R, Reaction 54 and Phoenix here easily) the Kangaroo would probably be fine as well... although I have about 600 or so (maybe more) feet of runway to land.

#1 - what throws (and remember I have the single ailevator wings, ie, one flying surface per wing) should I have? Max them out? I have the 1/4" up reflex in.

#2 - I used to kill the engine on my Super REaper and glide it in for slower landings. For shorter field landings would this also work on the Roo? Or does it not glide well?

I did get a gyro for the nose wheel, and also will have the LG toed in slightly, and the gear are pretty tight (MAP retracts and Behotec struts).

This will probably be ready to test fly in a week's time (after I get my current engine review out of the way) and I think I may test fly it here, before Wingham.

AJC

Andrew,
I don't remember what the throws are, but as for the landings, I would not recommend killing the engine to land. The Kangaroo is easier to land with the speed brake down fully, keep the power on, and bring it in nose high. If you kill the power, my experience was that it would land faster than with power on. Despite the engine hanging out in the breeze, it is a very slick airframe. I had a couple flame outs with mine and every single time I ended up landing probably 800 feet further out than I wanted to.
The gyro really isn't needed, but if you have it, I guess use it. I wish I could remember what the throws you need are, it seems to me I used a lot of throw with lots of expo, but again I have no idea what those throws were.
It does take a fair bit of up to "unstick" on take off as the thrust line of the turbine likes to push the nose down into the ground.
They are great airplanes, one day I'll probably end up with another one!
Jeremy

[AJCoholic]

OK, will just keep the engine running

I have some experience landing a big delta - the Reaper - and after a while I was able to get it to slow down with the engine running... but if I was going to come in hot I would kill the engine and glide her in. Wont try that with the Roo

I will also be increasing the airbrake. Right now, its 1" by 11". It comes down a full 90 degrees. I am going to widen it to 2 1/2 inches, just by gluing on a thin sheet of FG ) I have some sheets of very thin PC board material which is strong and light). I will set the 12X to slow down the deployment of the air brake.

As for rates, I think I will just max them out and use expo (and I aways set my tripple rates anyway so if its too touchy I just drop down one, or two if needed).

My balance point is going to be at around the 120mm forward of the wing tube. People say anything from 100 mm to 150 mm forward, with the general idea being 100 to 120mm forward is OK. Just the way it worked out, its at 120mm with everything as far back as I can get it.

Will try there, and hope for adequate elevator authority on landing.

AJC

[Guest]

Originally Posted by AJCoholic

OK, will just keep the engine running

I have some experience landing a big delta - the Reaper - and after a while I was able to get it to slow down with the engine running... but if I was going to come in hot I would kill the engine and glide her in. Wont try that with the Roo

I will also be increasing the airbrake. Right now, its 1" by 11". It comes down a full 90 degrees. I am going to widen it to 2 1/2 inches, just by gluing on a thin sheet of FG ) I have some sheets of very thin PC board material which is strong and light). I will set the 12X to slow down the deployment of the air brake.

As for rates, I think I will just max them out and use expo (and I aways set my tripple rates anyway so if its too touchy I just drop down one, or two if needed).

My balance point is going to be at around the 120mm forward of the wing tube. People say anything from 100 mm to 150 mm forward, with the general idea being 100 to 120mm forward is OK. Just the way it worked out, its at 120mm with everything as far back as I can get it.

Will try there, and hope for adequate elevator authority on landing.

AJC

Hi Andrew,
I think my speedbrake was around 2.5" to 3" deep and probably 11" or more wide. It was big for sure. I had it on a servo slow function as well and when it dropped, it came down to about 80 or 85 degrees, not quite 90, but pretty darn low!
They are a great flying plane, good luck on your maiden!
Jeremy

[reo]

Originally Posted by AJCoholic

OK, will just keep the engine running

I have some experience landing a big delta - the Reaper - and after a while I was able to get it to slow down with the engine running... but if I was going to come in hot I would kill the engine and glide her in. Wont try that with the Roo

I will also be increasing the airbrake. Right now, its 1" by 11". It comes down a full 90 degrees. I am going to widen it to 2 1/2 inches, just by gluing on a thin sheet of FG ) I have some sheets of very thin PC board material which is strong and light). I will set the 12X to slow down the deployment of the air brake.

As for rates, I think I will just max them out and use expo (and I aways set my tripple rates anyway so if its too touchy I just drop down one, or two if needed).

My balance point is going to be at around the 120mm forward of the wing tube. People say anything from 100 mm to 150 mm forward, with the general idea being 100 to 120mm forward is OK. Just the way it worked out, its at 120mm with everything as far back as I can get it.

Will try there, and hope for adequate elevator authority on landing.

AJC

Hi Andrew.....

Throws are as follows:

Elevator - 35 MM up and down (35% - 50% Expo)
Ailerons - 25 MM up and down (35% - 50% expo)
CG is listed as 95mm - 105mm AHEAD of the wing tube (not 150MM)

The larger airbrake will help a lot, I used to use 3" X about 13"...worked great, and I found using partial airbake on T/O would lift the nose a bit sooner as well because you will be noseheavy on takeoff with full fuel.....as for drag, partial airbrake does nothing for drag and I think they even state that in the instructions, get as close to 90 degrees that you can.....

I will disagree with Jeremy, gyro is NOT optional on the Roo and I took Dean's advi ce many years ago to install a gyro. I started w/o a gyro and life becomes simpler expononetially (no pun intended) when I started using one. With the line of thrust quite high, as power comes on (on take-off) you will get more and more weight on the nosegear making it very sensitive, having takeoff throws of about 15 - 20 degrees along with a gyro will soften all this up and keep things straight. Otherwise all sorts of bad stuff can happen on take-off....I wouldn't shut the engine down on landing but if you do I don't see how it can land faster with the 1 pound of residual thrust gone.....the tech stuff above is all accurate to the best of my knowledge, the rest is just my opinion though.....good luck with your roo....Ron

[AJCoholic]

Ron, if you see the many discussions on RCU (tons of stuff early on about the Roo) thats where I got the 100 to 120mm CG ahead of the front of the wing tube... and some guys are as far as 150 although most suggest anything past 120 makes it hard to flare for landing.

I will try and push the battery back as far as possible..

I bought a Century Piezo gyro (single rate) for $13 on a close out at Great Hobbies. Works great, and for $13 it was a no brainer.

ANyhow, thanks for the throws - will set it up and maybe soon try a test flight. Its not the flying that worries me, its the horror stories of landing. But I will definitley increase the brake size.

AJC

[reo]

Originally Posted by AJCoholic

Ron, if you see the many discussions on RCU (tons of stuff early on about the Roo) thats where I got the 100 to 120mm CG ahead of the front of the wing tube... and some guys are as far as 150 although most suggest anything past 120 makes it hard to flare for landing.

I will try and push the battery back as far as possible..

I bought a Century Piezo gyro (single rate) for $13 on a close out at Great Hobbies. Works great, and for $13 it was a no brainer.

ANyhow, thanks for the throws - will set it up and maybe soon try a test flight. Its not the flying that worries me, its the horror stories of landing. But I will definitley increase the brake size.

AJC

Andrew, make the CG where you think it lands best. These airframes have a real wide envelope and you can pretty well get away with anything within reason, but the closer to perfect you can get it the better, it will be easier to hold it off on landing until there is NO energy left to beat itself to death on touchdown if it starts porpoising on you....I have over 1000 flights on these airframes (Roos and Rookies) over the last 10 years and I think I've seen it all.....you'll be fine....have fun with it....btw, personally I have always balanced mine right in front of the main gear strut with zero fuel but the UAT full......I think that puts it right in that 95 - 105 mm envelope.....good luck, let us know how it went when you get a chance to fly it....Ron

[AJCoholic]

Well, its done. All things installed, tied down and balanced, programmed and triple checked.

Now I need some decent weather (calm, and not raining) and I can think about a test flight. Will run the RAM750 a few times to make sure the GB controller is set up properly, and then see if our field can handle a Roo'!

I knew I coudlnt wait to test it at Wingham...

AJC

[AJCoholic]

So I brought all my gear to the field today, as the rain is holding out. I figured I would do a test run, and if the engine/ecu was behaving, put the wings on and try a test flight.

Well, I blew the fuse (too low a rating for my starter motor and the new Lipo I am using for the ECU) and didnt have a spare.

Upon trying to defuel I also had a line from my header tank coming off the wrong nipple.

So, rather than try and rush and do something fast at the field I flew my Habu a few times and went home. I just replumbed the system properly, and also put in a larger fuse, and tried a start (without gas). No probs...

Next time... which might not be until next week. But, thats OK. It'll happen

AJC