[Cactus]

once home i decided it needed some nose weight.

might as well make it useful so i used a mini switch from Ashtek at about 4g.
this has made the CofG just forwards of my mark when i got back from the test so it should be perfect.

my AUW before the switch was 4.2oz, 120g, so now it should be 124g which is bang on target!

[ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ]

[Cactus]

went round me mates last night with his kit and some tape.

we slowly built it while watching Pussy Galore throw 007 around a barn.
his is done with normal foam spray and Zagi tape from Staples ( which was a PAIN coz it kept splitting or loosing the colour, not the best stuff this Staples tape. )
anyways, after 3 hours we had a finished Alula, just missing the gear and that could have been done easily in the 3 hours.

his tape is stuck brilliantly, and it turns out my foam glue isn't that yellow after all and i could have used it.
tempted to pull it apart and try again coz now the tips are unsticking.

anyways, there you go, get it one night, fly it the next.

[Andy Sayle]

Sounds good!  What colour staples tape did you go for?

I'm just waiting on my kit(s) to be delivered now.

Cheers
Andy

[Cactus]

he chose orange and yellow tho they come in a 6 pack, the blue and yellow refused to pull without loosing colour or ripping.

[Cactus]

Went out to the golden sands of Gwithian tonight.
There wasn't a breath of wind on my face on the dune i was stood on, i heaved up the Alula and right away i heard cries of kids, "whats that? wowwwwww"
I was picking up currents everywhere, but back where i was they just wanted to put me in the floor.

I moved forwards a set of dunes closer to the cliffs with the high tide below, I wouldn't call it a sea breeze, more of a sea's breath.

I threw the little Alula up and there she stayed floating at a mear snails pace while flapping seagulls looked on in envy.

Pics to come tomorrow of this beautiful evening.

[Cactus]

Heres the pics taken by my girlfriend, her first time using this camera and some great results!



















Great shot, "sea's breath"




Bad launch








Not a pic of anything really, but it just looks good



Jealous seagull

[Andy Sayle]

The second pic down from the top shows off the colours nicely

Cheers
Andy

[Cactus]

not bad for a quick spray up hey

[Andy Sayle]

I've just noticed how the tape seems to be lifting on the third from bottom picture.  Is that becuase of the tape you used, or the spray glue do you think?

I wish mr Postman would turn up with the two Alula kits I ordered!

Cheers
Andy

[Andy Sayle]

GUess what turned up on my door mat this morning?  Not the 2 Alula kits, but a note from the Post Office saying there was an £8.04 customs charge and a packet waiting for me....  Pesky customs!

I've been and picked the two kits up anyway, and I didn't realise how small they are!

I should be able to get started on the build today, as the weather is absolute rubbish here.  The only think I don't have is some clear packing tape.  I'm going to have a trip down to Staples, and see what they have to offer.  I hope the stuff you can buy off the shelf in the UK is UV resistant!

Cheers
Andy

[Andy Sayle]

Time for another question

What is the weight of your battery pack?  I'm trying to find a suitable 4 cell 210mAh pack to use, and nowhere seems to sell them that I can find.  I was thinking of replacing it with a 2 cell 360mAh lipo pack, and a BEC from a small speed controller....

On the other hand, if I can find somewhere that sells the cells recommended, that would save the added complexity!

Cheers
ANdy

[Cactus]

I've just noticed how the tape seems to be lifting on the third from bottom picture.  Is that because of the tape you used, or the spray glue do you think?

it is, I've not sprayed the fuz and it seems to stick better!
that 3M photomount is rubbish! the cheap spray glue from the wholesalers is much better if not as clear.

8 quid for 2 kits... sounds about right, whats that make them each? bear in mind mine cost me 37 when it came in a batch of 18

the staples coloured tape is nice and thin but can be a pain to unwrap. it should be UV resistant enough.

i got 10 cells from Overlander for a quid ( i think ) at Sandown.
I've heard one guy is using a 700 single cell. i was tempted.

these might work in flat pack build, measure your bay, my cells were a tight fit so dont worry about the sides being pushed out a little
http://www.overlander.co.uk/detail.asp?categoryid=52&offset=25&ID=590


nose weight is good, i've had to add a 4g switch

let me know, might be tempted meself with extra run time and no switch

[Andy Sayle]

I've just worked it out, and I paid £36.93 per kit, including the postage and customs fee.  Not bad really when you think about it!

I've been busy building up the first of the kits this afternoon.  I've covered the wing in some black packing tape I had left over from a Zagi that has long since fluttered it's way into the bin.  I tested the adhesion out on bare EPP, and it was rubbish.  A quick spray of Maplins spray adhesive, and a 5 minute wait, and it sticks really well! It's not the smoothest finish, but from 5 metres away, you can't tell!  I've covered the elevons with Profilm, as I had some spare.

As for cells, then I have decided to go for a 2cell Lipo pack, and an old Kontrice Micro 10 ESC used as a regulator.  It says it is rated at 5v, 0.8A, so it should do the trick for the time being.  The Lipo pack is a 2 cell Kokam 360mAh (23g weight).  What sort of operating time are you getting on the 210mAh?

The second kit is going to be done a little different.  I want to try the spilt ailerons and elevators (3 servos) as described in the rc soaring digest.  I also want to have a go at using profilm as the covering the wing.  I know the instructions warn against it, but it worked well enough on my Unicorn.  I'm more worried about the additional weight over a tape finish, than the risk of distorting the wing panels.  I'm also really tempted to try a little motor on the front of one, just to see what happens!

Cheers
Andy

[Cactus]

i dunno, I've not flattened it yet

profilmed elevons, good thing you've got all that gubbins up front.
think you might be a bit heavy let me know your AUW

best advice is keep it light, under 4.8 oz and you won't be disappointed.

[pike]

I found a supplier for small receiver packs suitable for the Alula, http://www.modelpower.co.uk/acatalog/Receiver_Packs.htm.

 I've just received my kit 14 days after ordering , total cost £32.91

Pike

[Cactus]

nice one.
don't remember exactly what i havei in mine, it'll be a few pages back.

keep the tail light at all costs, and don't worry about removing too much from the nose.
an extra strip of clear tape on the LE will also help get the weight forwards and make the wing more ding proof.

i handed the transmitter around at the hop farm, everyone liked it, even the non slope slow, give me engines and fast stuff guys

[Andy Sayle]

With the wind and rain that is beating up my house/workshop at the moment, I thought it would be nice to finish the Alula that I have been building for a while.  I've made a few changes from suggested in the build manual, the most notable one is that I have gone for a 3 servo installation.  I've split the elevons at about 150mm from the fin, and used a Supertec pico servo on each outer section, and a HS55 driving both inner sections.  The inners are effectively an elevator, and the outers are ailerons.  this should allow for some funky mixing just for the hell of it (such as crow brakes!).

I've covered the foam bits in packing tape (spraying the foam with spray contact glue first to ensure adhesion).  The finish is nothing special, but it works.  I've covered the balsa control surfaces in fluorescent profilm.  The rx is a schulze 435, and the battery shown in the pic is a 2/3aaa pack which is too big to fit in the nose.  All up weight with that battery is 147grams, the battery making up 30 of them (weight minus battery 117grams).  I just need to get hold of a smaller nimh pack, something like the 1/2aaa, or 1/3aaa sized one, before the test flight...



Cheers!
Andy

[Cactus]

all you need is a 7g battery :ww
hows the CofG with this pack?

[Andy Sayle]

I've just checked, and the CG is about 3mm forward of the recommended point (25mm back from the LE at the pod to wing junction) with the battery at the front of the nose.  I would put the rx at the front, but that would mean an extension to the servo leads...

I might give it a few test chucks with the big battery in....

Cheers
Andy

PS.  have you seen this?  interesting reading :
http://www.dream-flight.com/instruction_files/Alula2.pdf

[Cactus]

interesting....

i still have a spare wing set.

still dont think i have mine right yet. the rolls are pretty slow and i can't do the ultra tight loops like Julians after a short dive.

[Andy Sayle]

CG issue?  Or just more control throws required?

I ordered two kits, and bu&&ered the first one up.  I was stupid enough to pull the tape a bit tight over the wings when covering them, leading to some rather heavily twisted and warped wings    I tried to remove the tape, and just pulled a load of the foam apart!  Packing tape and Spray adhesive doesn't half stick well!!

I'm tempted to order another kit too, as they are pretty good value really......

Cheers
Andy

[Cactus]

any more throw makes it worse, it's not bad jsut not as good as i remember Julians being.
CofG may be a tad forwards now, but it was a tad back before the 4g switch

[Cassandra]

It does sound like the CG is too far forward. The Alula CG is extremely critical, and even a fraction of a gram (1.0 mm in location) can make a huge difference. Additionally, you'll most likely have to  reduce elevator throw as the CG is moved back.

Here's how we set up ours:
* Set the CG per the instructions. Do nice gentle hand launches across open grass and adjust the elevon trim until you get a nice flat glide. NO MUSHING!
* Now give it a light SAL and watch what it does. If the trajectory curves upward, you have too much up trim. But watch the glide - the Alula likes to fly with the fuselage exactly level with the horizon. If the nose is even slightly up, you've got too much up trim.
* Ideally, the glide should be flat and the launch trajectory should have just a HINT of an upward curve before it runs out of speed. That's what you're aiming for.
* OK, if the launch curves upward too much, take out a small amount of weight and go back to gentle hand glides across the grass and set the elevator trim using the same procedure as before. Once satisfied, give the light SAL again.

This is a slow trail and error process, but you should see performance improvements with each cycle.

What you're actually doing is the equivalent of a dive test (see Martin Simons' books...) and you're looking for something close to neutral stability while still remaining positive. With a short coupled low aspect ratio tailless aircraft like this, ANY unnecessary up trim will definitely degrade performance. Same with elevator deflections - the smaller the deflection required, the better.

For those building the three servo version, either add that additional material to the inner portion of the separate elevator, as described in our PDF, or tell Michael you're going to build the three servo version and he'll special cut the elevon stock for you so that material remains rather than being cut off.
By the way, "crow" (ailerons up, elevator down), once set up properly, is a real benefit when diving out of strong thermals, and is great for spot landing in close quarters.

Hopes this helps some of you. If you have any questions, send them our way!

Bill Kuhlman, RC Soaring Digest Managing Editor and enthusiastic Alula fan

[Cactus]

i'll have to try that out thanks, was gonna play at bury but while peaking up the wind came.

[clintonsmith89]

I just bought 2 recently, i bought them from aguy called steve who i believe is in the westin uk team, not sure if he importing them n e more as i bought the last 2 of him 
should hope to get them flying soon.

so what do they get lift from that enables them to fly for a long while, i herd house tiles after a hot day is good.

clint

[Cactus]

Steve Dorling.

house tiles is one, look for swallows at the end of the day, their darting into groups of insects in small thermals.

but you'll get a respectable glide just from a throw.
we've had mine out again tonight even tho it was a bit breezy.

even the guys with no interest in light flight love it, all i can do to get a flight in myself.

[Cactus]

been a while since i updated this thread and the Alula has seen some changes.

i tried some book covering and easycote to get a smoother finish but that didn't work.
tried the servos in the nose for better weight distribution, worked ok.

but heres the definitive Alula in my mucking about so far...



servos in the wing on top.

a few reasons, first the rods are shorter and out further meaning you have less slop. on top their out of harms way and also pull for up not push.
out in the wing they also help the weight and gear placement.



second mod the correx tail mount, I've chopped it to look like this _____[]_____ and then glued in the wing using the bottom to rest on the bottom of the wing and chopped some of the middle away to let the remaining box in.

you then cover over. this makes it stronger and lighter.





the covering is clear Easycote over a fine mist of 3M77 that was left to dry over night.
it's only just shrunk which with easycote is easy to do without warping the EPP
the elevons are diamond taped on.

the battery and switch sit in the nose and a GWS rx behind, the tip here is to tape over them to form a canopy to cut drag, if i needed more nose weight I'd use the wing cores to make a small canopy.
as it is I'm slightly nose heavy so the switch will be moved at some point.



the only thing that could make this better is a Li-po my setup could run on a single cell, but finding one isn't easy.

so there you go, make the mods, their worth it.