Conference vmszoo::rc

   My first comments about the ACRO-WOT. As I read elsewhere in the notes - the
   quality is second to none. Again the building instructions is a simple, but
   detailed, booklet or leaflet, with a number of the finer details drawn on a
   single sheet. 

   Building is quick and simple.

   My additional comments would be :-

   The flick roll strakes don't appear to be needed.

   Some may like the option of using rubber bands to mount the wing. Nothing is
   mentioned here and may be worth while adding. If this is the case the plate
   that the plastic wing mounting bolts screw into may be in the way of the
   aileron rods (if the wing moves around a bit).

   Fuse walls could have ply added around where the servo mount �x� spruce is
   attached - in a twister the spars may pop through.

   I put an extra 1/4" plate inside the fuse behind the firewall because the 'as
   per plan' is a little weak to hold onto a 90 four stroke - well more on the
   thin side.

   One should drill some holes in the bottom of the cowl at the back so residue
   can drain out. The part that bends up to the bottom of the fuse prevents any
   real draining, and storing it on its nose will fill the spinner depending on
   the type used.

   The rudder will be prone to more damage, I reckon, on nose over landings
   should they ever happen ! I don't know what one can do here other than put in
   large pin hinges to spread any force applied. Maybe add a couple of extra
   hinges ?

   I have never been a fan of aluminum u/c's so I think I will build a carbon
   fiber u/c. One of the model mags had a step-by-step guide to building one.
   Infact the prototype legs were for an Acro-Wot ! A bit of weight is trimmed
   off in addition, apart from the flexible bonus.


   Eric.














    

   Haven't been doing anything really interesting lately - just flying
   the Acro Wot and enjoying every minute of it.

   So, I dug up my old idea of a camera pod again. This time I decided
   to use one of those disposable cameras. Only snag is that you don't
   have an auto-rewind capability. That said, the whole unit with one
   servo, weighs in at around 6-7 ounces which is not too bad - didn't
   do too much to the performance - I streamlined the pod to minimise
   the drag that it would create. To minimise the vibration I mounted
   it on soft spounge, positioned the unit such that the CoG was the same
   as without it. So to the acid test...I mounted the camera pod, took
   off and climbed to a decent altitude and dropped the power to a
   tick over and took a shot, came down rewound the film and repeated
   this 4 more times. I am going to get the film processed before the
   coming weekend - to see how they turned out and to see what I need 
   to do to improve the mount should there be bad distortion. Hope to 
   have some 'nice' pictures of the local river ! Will follow up on the 
   results.

   I think I will look into doing an auto wind on, It needs a ratch 
   mechanism and maybe an extra servo to advance the film. My last 
   RC camera had an autowind on mechanism but it was a lot heavier and
   bulkier - and was mounted inside the "drop-a-wing-when-it-felt-like-it"
   Viceroy.

   Eric.

   I got my photographs back yesterday evening. I was plesantly surprised when
   they said that they would not charge for them - well there were only 4 shots
   that I wanted developed. So that made me happy. And now to the photgraphs....

   Well, its true that they bask in the sun, in their birthday suits, over in
   that expensive area beside our flying field ! 

   Of the 4 shots 2 were better in that the clarity was better. One shot was over
   the flying filed, just, and we are in the corner of it. What showed up on the
   photographs were the ridges on the hill sides where they used to farm in
   decades past - interesting. Also apparent was the difference in quality of
   the grass in adjacent fields. Also the houses were positioned in an
   interesting manner with long driveways - something that is not apparent from
   a roadside point of view. 

   So now I can go and experiment further with the camera pod, since the quality
   is reasonable. One thing that is evident that the lower altitude shots were
   clearer, with less vibration. Or maybe it was that I throttled back and
   waited longer - we shall see. I think that I may turn the nose up next to get
   a wider 'field' of view ! If not I need to go up a little higher, although I
   was quite high. Wide angle lense here I come, but that means a 'proper'
   camera and thats more expensive and as well as heavier. 

   I passed them around last night to a couple of people and they were
   interested. One asked what load the planes could carry...he was thinkin'
   that, well, he could shift the turf from the bog to the road side. I
   suggested that if he went that far why not put it down the chimmney ! 

   Obvious problems that could be developed upon are :-

        * eliminating effects of engine vibration without cutting the engine.
        * making sure camera is horizontal when taking that an overhead shot
        * putting an autowind mechanism on the disposable camera.
       
    Eric.
    
    ps Click, Click,....Cllliiiiccckk, Cruuuncccchhh.

    OK, so I have been flying the Acro-Wot for a good while now and have some
    additional comments.
    
    1. Landing speed. This beast when loaded with a OS91 4S comes in rather fast
    at best. One has to really work at getting it to come in at a reasonable
    speed. Eric H put flaps on his Acrow-Wot - a thing that I have been tempted
    to do with a possible second wing. Any comments Eric ?
    
    2. U/C plate is prone to coming off with a bumpy field and a hard landing.
    Mine came off once when I landed in field trodden by cows - the ground
    was freezing at the time so there was no give when the U/C leg ended up in
    a hole. 
    
    So I put a strip of carbon fiber (about 1.5" wide) inside lying flat on the
    U/C plate and going up the sides a bit - the U/C plate has yet to come off
    but then the circumstances above have not been around lately (frozen ground
    etc).
    
    3. Cowl mounting lugs. I would recommend using a harder wood for same as the 
    wood (as used for the servo rails) tends to split. I have long since
    replaced mine.