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As previously mentioned, I personally like to see a scale like model flying in a scale like manner. My Airbus A380... designed as a 'slope soarer', and converted by myself to run off a flat field on 4 x 52mm EDF units was a big success. My next project was to build stretched fuselage to create an Airbus A340-600. This time I have used four bell motors and 3 blade props to clear the ground. Up to now, fast ground tests have been carried out and when a nice day pops up, it will on the tarmac for a maiden flight. It is painted in Court Line orange and yellow, for all of you RB211 historians that know of the first commercial UK owners of the L1011 'Whisperliner' Lockheed Tristar, When the A380 was built, very few manufacturers had model airliners on their production list. Things have now changed a bit. E-Flight have their generic airliner, Robbe built the HS 146, and there are a few LearJet / HS 125 looking models. By far the best quality airliners I have found are designed and hand built by an Australian company called EDF Models. They seem to have one model in construction at a time, then when exhausted, they move on to another design. There has been a DC10 three engine model, a Boeing 777 twin, a four engine airliner and currently the Boeing 737 is in production. These models are not in the cheap end of the market, running at about £1700 for the complete model. Now I live in Hucknall so that's not what I paid for it. I obtained my Boeing 777 via the classified Ads pages on the BMFA. Reported as being tip stalled and having its wings broken into two, and the fuselage being smashed up, I chanced the price being asked was fair for the end product if I could get it in the air again. |
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| The A380 has 52mm brushless EDF units running on 2 x 3 cell LiPo packs in parallel... giving 100 amps at 11 volts | The Boeing 777 uses 7 x LiPo's cells giving 25 volts at about 80 amps into two massive 90mm EDF units |
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| A pair of 90mm Electric Ducted Fans running on a 3 cell and a 4 cell LiPo pack in series | This model has mechanical, geared retracts on the main and nose legs. A clean fly-past looks the part |
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Whilst on the bench, the whole engine assembly appeared to be a bit too loose for my liking. Especially when powered up, they lurched in the direction of the motor torque. after removing the engine pods to check the housing attachments, I found that two holes to affix the engines to the pylon were oversized for the bolts used, and on one side one of the two bolts was actually missing and the other nut was only finger tight. When the bolts were tightened as best they could be, the whole assembly of the two engines were facing in different directions...one pointed up and right, the other pointed down and left. The advice here is, when buying second hand, and being advised that the plane has flown numerous times since a crash, check it over completely, even if it looks sound. Once the motors were lined up and secure, I moved to the mounting of the battery packs. 7 cells that weigh 600 grams on the bench at 1g, but fly it through the air at 70mph and bring it to a sudden stop against tarmac... and the batteries weigh a good deal more than 600 grams >1g. These cells need to be well secured into the model to avoid damage upon a heavy arrival. Once again, all looked well, but the adhesive on the existing Velcro was becoming tired. This was all replaced and tidied. With two servos for Ailerons, two main undercarriage leg devices, two sets of silicon power wires to each esc, and four individual LED navigation light positions.... the route for the wiring loom was screaming out for a reworking. Next I realigned the retract units, to ensure smooth uninterrupted routes into the body of the airliner. With a six wheel bogie on each wing, there was a real danger of them folding into each other and fouling. I attached custom made springs to the bogies so that each one stayed aligned with the not so roomy cavity's. All of the above completed, |
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| I took the 6 foot 7 inch span model to the aerodrome, hanging out of the back of a Ford pick-up truck. | Underestimation of the fuselage length resulted in close formation driving convoy to the aerodrome. Blackburn 1912 Monoplane for company |
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| It took longer to rig the Boeing 777 than the Blackburn | Four hands needed for some of the fiddly bits |
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| Familiar view of Hucknall
aerodrome, for those member of the club that actually fly
there. Maiden flight video
Click on the underlined text to see the video of the Boeing 777's maiden
flight. It was about 6 Deg, with a strong gusting cross wind right across
the runway. The camera can be seen shaking, due to the monkeys being
made of brass. On a nicer day, we will create a better video of a better
flight. Watch this space...
Local Photos - Kev Tuckley, Video - Mikkel Hansen, Pro photos - EDFModel.com
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