3Dfalcon

Ethan,

Sorry to hear about your loss.

Im sure your friend fells pretty bad too.

Glad to here you have a new fuse on the way. Hope your not out of comision too long.

On a lighter note I just got back from a competition at the TOC field in Las Vegas.

Had a great time and met alot of nice guys.

The weather was perfect,75-80 and hardly any wind.

I also got to meet Tony Quist, Diesel (Lenny) and Dave Stoik.
Dave and I clicked and we were both in need of a caller so we helped each other out through the weekend.

This was my first competition and I had only had a couple weekends to practice due to weather and selling FC#1.

I probably started a bit over my head but my friends talked me into starting in Intermediate telling me that I was a capable pilot.

When I got there I found that this was the largest class of the tournament. I looked at last years posts and saw there were only 7-8 guys in this class. This year everyone moved up and to my surprise there were 20 competitive pilots ready to go.

Even though I was nervous I flew pretty well and my FC made me look better than I am. By day one I was blown away to be in second place and only out of first by 11 points of 6000 points.

Day two went great also and I completed all the unknown sequence without any zeros and even got alot of 8s and 9s.

The leader and I both got a zero from a judge on a snap on the last flight of the day witch moved him to third and me to fourth. I was ecstatic and all my friends were happy for me.

I am an ok pilot but the plane took me there and tons of pilots came over to check out the plane and comment on how nice it looked and how well it flew. I could even hear the judges commenting on how neat it sounded when the plane did a snap roll.

Tony Quist also flew his FC at this event and looked very smooth out there and took first place in sportsman. Great flying Tony

One thing that helped me and I felt made a big difference is haveing a good caller. Thanks again Dave and Ill see you in Phoenix next month.

See ya guys later and thanks for all the help again.

Dave

Yakdude

My Feedback: (2)

Congratulations I got to watch the last known intermediate round and you looked real good.

Your FC looked sweet. I am still working on mine.

Hope to fly the Phoenix round if I can get time off.

Lenny.

quist

My Feedback: (198)

Dave, You flew damn good for your first contest. If you do the mod to your rudder your scores are only going to get higher and your plane will get smoother.

This was only my 3rd contest and it was by far the most fun and relaxing. I hope we get the same kind of turn out here in Phoenix.

RickP

My Feedback: (2)

Hey Dave,
You did great and that sounds awesome! Thanks for the update. Unfortunately, I have not gotten home before 8pm in the past two weeks, and I have spent both weekends flying my edge so little has gotten done on my FC. FWIW I should be seeing the DA pretty soon. Should ship this week. I hope this summer I'll get some flying time and perhaps a contest or two too.
RickP

Stratos

My Feedback: (4)

Way to go Dave and Tony. You guys are an inspiration to future FC 2.6m owners

I now have 2 questions:
To Tony: I read about the rudder mod on one of your earlier posts. The description was pretty good but can you produce a picture too so there is no doubt?

To every FC 2.6m owner:
After reading this post http://rcuniverse.com/showthread.php...02&forumid=142
I'm a bit concerned about actual final weight. Can you guys verify the weight of the plane once more and let us know!
I was under the impression that 27#s was way off the mark. What's your input?

FC330FLYER

My Feedback: (1)

Mine weighed 23.5 pounds w/ Da-100. I had the white top and red bottom just like the guy in the post has. Mine was a little light for FC's. Most of them are coming out about 24 pounds.

Ethan

FC330FLYER

My Feedback: (1)

3Dfalcon,
Good to hear you did so well. The FC does a lot of things well. Sometimes makes the pilot look good :-D But I am happy you did so well and I don't think this will be the end of your great placements in competitions.

Ethan

T_Hill

27+ lb. is way out of line unless you use a lot of paint. We have 2 of them. One is the scale scheme and is 24.4 lb. The other is the solid white and red with a light paint job, it's also 24.4 lb. The scale we use has been checked against a commercial scale and is accurate. Weights are with a DA 100 and stock mufflers.

Tracy Hill

jsnipes

My Feedback: (3)

24.25 lbs painted on top with DA100 and std mufflers. I did not have to add "dead weight" to the plane to balance, though my batteries are up front. I plan to move them back a bit to improve 3D performance.

LOVE the plane!

Congrats on your great finish, 3Dfalcon!

Jamie

quist

My Feedback: (198)

24 lb with the DA 100 and stock mufflers, but I have a heavy spinner.

jsnipes

My Feedback: (3)

By the way ... check out my web page for pics and info on my FC330LX.

http://home.nc.rr.com/jamiesnipes/extra.htm

Jamie

3Dfalcon

If you can find my old post in this forum on building the FC 2.6 you will be able to see a big difference in the interior of my plane as opposed to Kris.

It looks to me that the cans, extra paint, extra material and adding a fair amount of ballast has taken its toll on this plane.

I have a very accurate scale (a tournament calibrated fishing scale) and have weighed all my parts and completed planes.

My 35% carden extra with a BME 100, one receiver and two rec. batteries weighs 28lb 10oz.exactly!!

My 35%radiocraft extra with a new 3W and the same receiver setup weighs 26lb. 7oz. exactly!!

The 3 and soon to be 4 Fiber Classics 2.6m that I have put together in the last few months have been so far almost exactly the same weight.

The current one that I just flew at this contest has a DA 100 and the same receiver setup with two batteries. Everything else is stock. Carbon fiber tail gear and 4.5" ZN line carbon spinner.

These planes ALL came in at 24lb. 5oz. exactly!!

This just shows that a lot of times even though you think you are putting a lighter motor on the plane the deviation from the initial designer plans leads to a heavier product.

Kris may have added too much stuff to this plane and has lost the meaning of a light composit plane. Even at that I am sure it will still fly great. But not as good as the lighter ones.

As I wrote before at 24lb.5oz. this plane is ballistic and everyone at the tournament (people with cardens, aeroworks , radiocrafts and similar stuff) could see the marked difference in the performance of this plane. I even brought my lie detector (the scale) to the meet and weighed afew planes. You would be surprised at how much some of these 33-35% planes actually weigh. 28-30 is typical and only a few even get into the 25 club.

These planes, FC 2.6, are some of the lightest planes on the market to date. The only thing lighter is the TBM 35% extra 260 at 22-23 lbs, a small Giles with a single, or a completely custom ultra light balsa and foam design like the Hill brothers are working on.

Again this shows that keeping things tight and light is the key along with doing what others that have had success do. Another great reason to use this tool (RCU) to your advantage to investigate and ask questions.
All the guys that I conversed with had weights that are very typical and we are all within a few ounces.

Anyone contemplating a FC 2.6 ,and by the way I am a new distributor, will be rewarded with a plane that is light, strong, and flys very true. Its obvious within minuets of first flying a trimmed model. Most people that I have let fly my plane immediately start asking how much they cost and are thinking about that plane from then on. My sales with FC started because every time I handed the sticks to a friend at the club they had to have one so after the fourth one in a few months I am selling planes now. Go figure

It flat out flys great and it proved it to me this weekend

Anyway 24.5lbs is standard with a DA and not too much other BS.

Good Luck

P.S. If you want a deal on a FC give me a call - [email protected]

Stratos

My Feedback: (4)

I have read most (if not all) previous posts about this model and sort of knew that Kris's result was the exception rather than the norm but never hurts to ask for a confirmation from the horse's mouth

Thanks again,

Stratos.-

3Dfalcon

Your plane will come out at around 24.5 too.

eagle4442

My Feedback: (6)

Hi Dave,

I'm still waiting for my DA100 so I started a second FC 330L for a friend. I built the first one using your construction pictures. Have you changed anything in the way your building them? I used Ca to glue in my first canopy but I read this causes cracking. What did you glue in your canopy with?

Thanks, Tim

3Dfalcon

Tim,

I used thick CA on the canopys. I have not had a cracking problem (yet) and they seem to be very strong.

I looked at other ways to do this job but the CA seemed to be fast and clean.

I contemplated using afew spots of CA to set it and then using a silicone type glue to hold it all the way.

I have also learned, after afew,to make sure you mount the frame completly and then tack down the canopy using the tape handle meathod in the manual. This is a two person job to do it nice.

Good Luck

Dave

PS Stratos I got your PM and am emailing you some info.

RickP

My Feedback: (2)

I bought some RC56 glue at the WRAM show and am going to give that a try. Supposidly that is supposed to work pretty well. I have never used it, but have also never had really nice results with CA.
Dave, have any pictures of how that "Tape Handle" works? couldn't really visualize it working to well they way they describe.
Rick

eagle4442

My Feedback: (6)

Thanks Dave,

I also liked the way the CA worked. I think I might add a couple of carbon fiber rods across the fuse at the top to stiffen it up and remove the stress on the canopy. I'm copying a reply I added to the other FC 330 thread.

I've found a very good epoxy to use on the FC 330L. It's Hysol 9462 and it's made by Loctite. This is the same epoxy the jet guys are using. It has a 50 minute working time and dries overnight. Once it has dried the only way to get it off is to grind it off(don't ask how I know LOL). The best thing about it is that it doesn't run. When you glue something on a vertical surface it stays there!!! When you glue on the hatch frame it doesn't run down the slot!!! It is more expensive then the other epoxies but worth it. Here's a link to it.


http://www.loctite.com/catalog/prod...+++++++++++++++

woodscra

My Feedback: (23)

I am considering one of these planes, but would like to see a list of things people have had issues with, defects, so I know what to expect.

I have heard of the hardware kit have servo horns where the pin hole is too big and the thumb wing retaining screws not meeting flush against the inside of the fuse.

I would like ot hear of anything else. Things like that I would hope to never have in such an expensive airplane.

Thanks

eagle4442

My Feedback: (6)

RickP,

I've used RC56 before without much success. The canopies always started lifting after a while. The canopy on this plane absorbs a lot of stress I'm not sure RC56 will work. I've used ZAP A DAP A GOO and P.F.M before and they have more strength.

Tim

eagle4442

My Feedback: (6)

woodscra,

There is almost always a few flaws in the painted versions. The holes in the servo arms and control horns are drilled for the Metric clevises that are supplied. If you use them you should have no problems. Some people want to use a clevis that has a locking device so the holes are too small. You have to make a beveled ply washer for the front and back wing retaining bolt area. Since all these planes come from the same mold you would think the piece on the plane would already have the correct angle! I also think that the cowl should be a painted one piece instead of the two piece with a seam. They also need to make the correct set of wheel pants for the 33% instead of using the wheel pants from the 40% plane. These are the gripes I have about the plane. On the plus side these are by far one of the lightest planes you can get. Everything but the final assembly is done for you and the fit of the parts is great. The hardware that comes with the plane is very complete. I think that they should drop the price some if you have to settle for the quality problems.
But if I got this plane at this price without a flaw it would be a bargain. You can't compare this plane to a Hanger 9 arf or any other of that type for that matter. The closest would be the 3W and they sell for around $2500.00.

woodscra

My Feedback: (23)

Thank you for the response.
Has anyone tried using aluminum servo arms and ball links?

Has anyone besides Kris^ put cans on this plane and would comment on the install? Sound at some fields is watched closely, the quiter the better.

Thanks

quist

My Feedback: (198)

I had the Pefa 2 into 1 and did not like the way the engine ran

My buddy used ZDZ cans w/ 3w 85 and it worked great.

There is no reason to stray from the supplied hardware. The only thing I changed was to use strings under the rudder servo tray to screw the servos into. The rails went the full width of the fuse.

3Dfalcon

Woodscra,

The supplied control horns are made of a phenolic material and will flex if you try to use ball links. The manual tells you this as a warning and should not be done. The arms and setup are very strong and I dont think you could have any problem.

Shill has a post on making his with doubled horns to accept ball links but he milled new slots and fabricated his new horns.

I regularly stress test them by doing agressive 3D stuff,walls ,blenders and quiequie flips are as hard on this stuff as you can get and it is still holding up.

I just opened another 2.6 kit and worked on it most of the day.

The reality is,and I know you have been following these FC posts for months and are concerned about these issues,that every kit that I have had in MY hands has had a few small flaws.

These are normaly flaws in the painted ones with a seam bleeding over or a spot of color on another color.
These can be cleaned up with a little paint and clear nail polish.

Otherwise when the whole plane comes together you wont see anything accept it stunning appearance and clean lines.

And you have already heard how it flys!!

email me if you have any questions on a plane for yourself

Dave [email protected]

jsnipes

My Feedback: (3)

Here's an interesting one. Mine was #3 off the line and was constructed a bit differently from the more recent ones. It came with double phenolic horns and double slots already cut in the surfaces. I am using ball links with the double phenolic horns. On the rudder, I have an aluminum arm. Mine also had carbon fiber tape down the seam in the fuse which I've noticed the later ones do not have.

I've got some photos on my website showing this, but no pictures of the finished linkages.

http://home.nc.rr.com/jamiesnipes/extra.htm

JS