Slick 580 EXP__Flying With An Electronic Stability System

Electronic stability systems (ESS) have been all the rage lately, and for good reason. A well set up plane equipped with an ESS is simply going to fly better and be more stable. With a good system, you won't even know it's there. All you know is that you can push the plane harder and be more comfortable and confident while doing that. Well, that's my observation anyway.

There are still people who will try to talk you out of using one, but remember, it's your money to spend however you like. If an ESS helps you enjoy the sport more, it doesn't really matter what other people think about it. Resistance to ESS is waning anyway, because anything that makes the plane fly better is going to be part of the future.

On the forums, we spend so much time arguing about which airframe is the best, or which servos, and it gets so ridiculous that we argue about glue debonders, Velcro and even zip ties, all trying to find a way to make the plane fly better. An ESS is the one thing you can do right now that will make as much, and maybe even more, difference as those other things, so why not try one?

As far as using ESS in competition, I don't care either way.  I don't compete any more (so I am not going to tell those that do compete how to do it), but I can see where they would have been really beneficial. From a practical standpoint, some people are always going to cheat and you can hide an ESS so easily they would be almost impossible to police. Eventually everyone is going to be running them, legally or not, if for no other reason than to be competitive with those who already are.

52 Slick EXP__.Ghostrider 2018 from Doc Austin on Vimeo.

 

I am not married to any particular ESS, though admittedly the only one have tried so far has been the Aura 8. I hope to try the Hitec system next, and then maybe some others. I've been flying an Aura 8 ESS in my 52" Slick for around 25 flights or so now. I've gotten to where I don't even think about the ESS and I just fly the plane. I use one gain and one stick priority setting for all maneuvers, though I still use my conventional high and low control deflection rates. Essentially, from a flying standpoint, I am not doing anything differently than I ever have. I forget about the ESS and just fly the plane. There is not a lot of sense in making it any more complex than it has to be, and leaving the ESS settings alone while flying just gives me one less thing to get wrong.

As you can see, the plane flies smoother and more locked in than ever before, and it was already jolly damm good anyway. Now the Slick is more like an old pair of loafers that are comfy and warm. The plane just feels more solid. The limit of the airplane hasn't gotten any higher, but since the ESS continuously stabilizes the plane, the pilot can use this more stable platform to push harder, and in that sense, the pilot's limit has been raised.

52 Slick EXP__.Uncut from Doc Austin on Vimeo.

 

First, I am still learning how to set these things up, so I am not going to offer any advise on how you should do it, other than to suggest you get some help from a friend who is familiar with these units.

 

One hard and fast rule you never break is to always test any new installation with the ESS turned off. If you get any of your ESS gains backwards, you will absolutely crash the plane. Trim the plane with the ESS turned off, and only turn it on the first few times at altitude. You will need plenty of room to turn the thing off if you have it wrong. The ESS will correct, and the plane will go the wrong way, and then the ESS will try to correct even more until you have such a mess on your hands it will just get worse and worse until you can't do anything with it. If you get this, don't even try to fight it. Turn the damm thing off, land and correct it. I experienced this once on a friend's plane and if I had not had a lot of altitude and time to turn it off, we would have had a bucket of shrapnel.

People ask for my config files all the time, but there are too many variables for that. I also don't want to lead anyone down the wrong path because I am still figuring a lot of this stuff out for myself. Generally, though, the manual is a good place to start, but I admit to having a little dyslexia with written instructions. I tinkered around with the Aura config tool for awhile to familiarize myself with it, then turned to a friend who is more familiar with the system. I had a decent grip on the system after tinkering a bit, but my friend's experience really helped a lot.

First, the Aura has multiple "control modes" with different gains and stick priority settings.  On a 3 position switch, you will get off, low and high settings. I like to set the low up for all my flying and use the high setting for experimenting. I don't have a laptop computer yet, so I can't make adjustments at the field. I have to run home, which wastes time, so I only use what I know works on my low setting.

 I start with the "Genric 3D" template in the Aura config tool, and turn the gains back until any ESS induced control oscillation ("gyro shake") is eliminated. This gyro shake usually happens at high speed when you run too much gain, and it can become so violent that I'm pretty sure you could shake the plane apart if you weren't careful. As such, it's safer to start off conservatively, find a good baseline adjustment and then creep up on the max one degree at a time.

The gains in the template are way too high for something as fast as an EXP, and I found this out on my first flight when the plane shook with frightening veracity. I started with the gains (from the template) in the 25-40 range, but the shaking was so violent I backed them off to 5, and then slowly started working my way back up until I hit my current setting of 10. The ESS is extremely effective at this setting and there is no gyro shake. Once I get a lap top and can make adjustments at the field, I will dial in 1% at a time until I induce shake, and them back it off. As it is, the plane flies beautifully and I doubt I will add much more gain.

Some people like to use a higher gain for 3D, and then flip to a lower gain for high speed work. This is too much switch flipping for me, so I leave the ESS set on low gain/low stick priorities, and use my conventional dual rates. It's enough of a work load to remember which rate I am on, and adding ESS control modes and another switch is just too much. Some guys can keep track of all that stuff, but I am better off forgetting about the switches and concentering on flying the plane.

As far as stick priorities, I have not played with them at all. I just use the priorities from the template, and while the low stick priority works really well, the high priority has the ESS fighting me in snaps, spins, pop tops and such. The low priorities from the template are not high enough for you to notice them, and neither is the 10% gain adjustment. To me, I don't want to know the ESS is even there. I just want the plane to fly better, and I think my current set up does just that.

Of course, this is likely to change as I get more experience and knowledge with these systems. So, about the only thing I have to offer in the way of set up is to suggest a gain setting of 10 is a reasonably safe place to start on a 52" EXP. The low stick priorities in the "generic 3D" template are also a good starting point.

Just like everything else, all adjustments are going to have to be tailored to the individual pilot's preference. I've got a good basic formula, but there is no guarantee it will work for you. I think the most important thing is to set your gains up so there is no gyro shake first, and then adjust the rest as you go. The generic 3D template is really, really close except the gains are too high for these planes.

Just for grins, I dropped an Aura in my beloved 48" MXS. This plane was the first I used to try Hitec's 5070 and 5087MH servos, and later I jammed a killer 3910 under the cowling, so she has always been the plane I use to tinker around with. It just seemed right to throw another experiment at her. The MXS is such a wild beast I thought this would be the one EXP that would benefit the most from an ESS, and the results suggest that hypothesis is not that far off. I thought the 52s had left this plane behind a little bit, but the ESS brings the MXS right back into the fight.

MXS EXP__Bad Attitude 2018 from Doc Austin on Vimeo.

MXS EXP__Bad Attitude 2018 Pt.II from Doc Austin on Vimeo.

Of course, any time I try something new, it's with an Extra EXP. The 52" Extra has taken over from the 48" as my go-to front line plane, and it was the obvious choice to use in initial ESS experiments. I flew the Extra enough to come up with a decent baseline set up for the Aura, and I start with that on any new installation.

 

As you can see, the Extra responds quite well to stabilization, though she was already pretty superb here anyway. The ESS just takes it to the next level.

 

So, the tinkering will continue. Now that I have a reasonable grip on the gain settings, I can start experimenting with different stick priorities. Eventually I will have some config files available, but I want to be sure they are dialed in perfectly first.

52 Extra EXP__Testing Aura 8 from Doc Austin on Vimeo. 

52 Extra EXP__Testing Aura 8 II from Doc Austin on Vimeo.


52 Extra EXP__Grandpa Goes Huckin' from Doc Austin on Vimeo.


52 Extra EXP__Grandpa Goes Huckin' II from Doc Austin on Vimeo. 

3DHS 60" Slick V2__Old School

Ten years is an eternity in the world of 3DXA airframe development, and many good planes have become outdated and fallen by the wayside. The 3DHS Slicks have been around since, I believe, 2007 or so, and while the flying characteristics were always among the best, the newest construction techniques passed it by. The Slick too could have fallen off the deep end except for it's rabid and loyal following, so updating the plane restored it's place near the top of the heap. It's great to have it back in improved form, with all the latest construction tweaks and liberal use of mixed composite materials. Essentially, it's better than ever.

I enjoyed my yellow 3DHS 60" Slick 580 V2 so much that I absolutely wanted a second one. Unable to choose between the yellow or red/white/blue color schemes, it was inevitable I would eventually have both anyway. Some planes are so nice that they make you greedy, and the Slick V2 is one of those.

As seen in 3DHS 60" Slick 580 V2__Hell Yeah, the Slick is full of carbon fiber and composite construction. Part of this is for added strength and part of this, maybe inadvertently, makes this maybe the coolest plane we have ever seen. It's also probably the nicest. Everything coming out of the Big X company lately has raised the bar, and the Slick is, so far, the supreme example of that. Both of my Slicks came out of the box so beautifully turned out that I almost hated to build them. When they were built I almost hated to fly them, because they were just so damm nice. For a closer look at the quality built into these Slick V2s, read 3DHS 60" Slick 580 V2__Hell Yeah!

With a little more knowledge of the plane, I was able to crank this one out in six hours. You might notice there are no servos in the plane, but that's because I sent them in for service. This gives me plenty of time to check and recheck everything. Don't worry though, we will fly it later in the report.

 

 

It's not the carbon alone that makes the plane cool. First, it's a Slick, which is enough to score maximum style points in anyone's book. On top of that is another stunning Aaron Bates graphic presentation. Along with the 52" Extra EXP, this is my favorite Bates scheme.

The liberal use of mixed composite materials and carbon fiber just pushes the entire package into the legion of legendary cool. This plane routinely gets more attention at the field than any plane I have ever owned. People are always dropping by and wanting to check it out. It looks like I am going to have to file a sport report on this plane because so many sport pilots think it's too cool. Judging from it's super solid and gentle manners on low rates, I am sure this would make a sweet sport plane. From the quality construction and superb flying characteristics, to it's blindingly blinged out carbon reinforcements, this plane ticks all the boxes for just about everyone.

Outside of the 44", I have not had a Slick in probably six or seven years. I really enjoyed the 44", and wanted to put together a 60" Slick V1 (with printed covering) together, but the timing was all wrong. I was kind of disappointed to miss out on that plane, but the new V2 more than makes up for it.

Looks like Christmas came a little early again this year.

Details

Usually the second of any build goes much more smoothly and ends up closer to perfect than the first. Being equipped with a bit more knowledge this time, I was able to get the CG extremely close. On my first 60" Slick I used less elevator and later added more. This time I already knew the plane is stable enough to take everything I could give it, so I used the 1.25" arm and pegged my end points. Essentially, I ended up with the same set up I had on my original 580, and I liked that plane so much I went into the first day of flying with a high degree of confidence.

I've changed a few things around for this plane, but nothing too significant outside of adding a few minor set up tweaks. Inside the plane I wanted to tidy things up a little,, so I paid special attention to getting all the wiring and antenna done neatly.

With a pull cable system you need to pay attention to keeping the servo wires out of the cables. Here I used some monofilament to fish the elevator servo wire through the round holes in the bottom of the fuselage formers. It was a bit of a pain, but it keeps the servo wire secure and prevents it from tangling in the pull wires.

Servos
For my 60" planes I generally like to use Hitec's magnificent 7245MH servo, but at the time of this project they were pretty much sold out everywhere. Before that servo I used the HS-5245MG servo for years in my 60" Extra, MXS, and still have my original pair chugging away in my 60" Yak. I had another set of those laying around, so I plugged them in. While the 7245MG is definitely a better servo, the 5245MG is more than up to the job, and since those two share the same mounting hole pattern, I can drop some 7245s in there any time I can get a pair.

I've had good luck with my 5245MGs, and like I say, I've still got my original set. One thing I really like is that these are 6 volt servos, so I can run them straight off the Airboss ESC's onboard BEC.  Not only does this save me the expense of buying a separate BEC, but I also don't have to solder it up and live with the extra complexity. The hardest part of the job is just plugging them in.

As you can see in the videos, the 5245MG works just fine in this plane. I will replace them with 7245MH when I get the chance, but I'm in no hurry to spend a lot of money when the plane flies fine the way it is.

Set Up

Again. I use my custom drilled 1.25" Xessories arm on the ailerons. My machinist friends, cansfan, drilled holes at 7/8" from center, which is the same as the small Hitec PN55709 arm I have been using for years on my 60" planes. I could have used the inner hole on the standard 1/25" arm, but I would have had to turn my end points back to about 100%. This way I peg them at 140% and that gives me the aileron response I am used to from my other planes.

On elevator, same basic set up as before, though this time I've got the ball link all the way out and my end points pegged. Plenty of control with that kind of movement. Again, the arms are the perfect length, and everything bolts on. It could not be easier, and it's also great to work with such high quality stuff.

Here I set up my pull cable ends the same as I chronicled in Working With Pull Cable Systems. I tried to minimize and streamline the cable and this is probably as clean looking as I could have made it.

 

 At the other end, I used the recommended Xessories arm and used the inner holes. With my end points cranked out to 140%, I've got perfect throw in both directions.  This ended up being the easiest part of the whole build because it did not require any kind of tinkering. I just set it up and it was perfect.

FLYING

The only surprise this time was how much I missed flying this plane. I have been keeping myself entertained flying my 52" Slick and Extras, but everything else being equal, it's hard to beat the bigger plane for smooth, confidence inspiring, sure footed manners.

 Usually the Florida winters are pretty mild, but this year it's hitting us pretty hard, and it's been tough to get some video footage. I think you've all seen enough footage of me flying in crazy winds, and it's not the kind of conditions you like to fly a new plane in anyway, especially one this nice.
This time I already knew exactly how I wanted my throws and rates set up, plus the CG, so it was easy to hit the set up just right. About all that was involved was getting the plane trimmed, but that only took a couple of clicks of right aileron and we were set.

Here I simply picked up where I left off with my original V2 and it was pretty much like flying the other plane only the colors are different. These V2s are so smooth and stable, and they feel so good that it doesn't take long at all to feel right at home on the deck. I was originally planning to put an Aura 8 stability system in this plane, but it's so perfect I don't want to risk messing that up. I really don't need this plane to be any better, but testing and setting up an Aura is something I plan to try soon.

One place you need to use a little restraint with the Slick is on low waterfalls. The plane does them so well that the ground stops being intimidating and you'll start doing them lower and lower, or worse, one after the other, until you simply run out of air. That's what happened to my first one and while strictly my own fault, it was an ugly mess. I was also furious with myself until I could get another one up and running, and that usually helps you forget about smashing the last one.

I'm still experimenting doing tumbles with this plane, though it's mostly the timing I am working on.  The Slick is really, really gyroscopic, and snaps and tumbles with blind impunity. As I have said before, the Slick likes to throw that tail backwards over the nose on the last rotation of a tumble and no other plane have flown (except the 42, 44 and 51" Slicks) does that so consistently every time. It's almost a signature of this plane.

Solid harrier has always been the hallmark of the Slicks, and the V2 is really no different here. I tried my usual 25% spoileron mix, but it did not improve anything enough to be worth the extra distraction of another switch to flip. The Slick harries so solidly that it's better to just concentrate on flying it and only resort to switch flipping when choosing high or low rates. It is a lot like the Edge this way. Forget the switches and just fly it.

For a more detailed flying analysis, please check 60" Slick V2__Hell Yeah Huckin'__Flight Report

3DHS Slick 580 V2 Old School from Doc Austin on Vimeo.

3DHS Slick 580V2__Old School II from Doc Austin on Vimeo.

 

 

The 52" Class Is The Future of Mid Sized 3DXA Performance

I've written so much about the 52s it's hard to come up with something new to say. Instead, it's probably better to reaffirm my belief the 52s are the future of midsized aerobatic planes. While they are a little more expensive than the 48s, the economy is recovering to the point more people will be able to absorb this without too much pain. Even if it does hurt a little, the benefits of a better flying plane equipped with larger, more robust and reliable equipment is more than worth it.

In 2018 alone there will be two all new 3DHS 52s with a mind blowing new 57 that will use the same equipment. I have not heard anything about any new 52" Extreme Flight EXPs, but the Boss is so busy it's not hard to believe he's locked in the basement on the cad program churning out more world beaters.

The are a lot of reasons for going to 52" now. All of the equipment and batteries will work in all the upcoming 52s, so you will not need as many different size packs. Maybe even more important is that all the hardware is the same. In fact, all the pushrods are the same length, so everything is interchangeable. Even the landing gears have the same bolt hole pattern, and the wheels and pants are the same. This cuts way down on the amount of spare hardware and parts you need to keep on hand, and even less spares you have to carry in tour flight box.

So, with two of the fabulous 52s already available and many more to come, there's no doubt this is the future of the medium size aerobatic plane. If you are serious about quality and performance, now is the time to jump in.


Update: February 2019
The third plane in the 52" series was dropped on us this February in the 3DHS Edge 540, which you can read about in 3DHS 52" Edge__Had To Happen ,  3DHS 52" Edge__Flight Testing An American Classic, and 3D Hobbyshop Edge__Deadly Serious.

 

 

 

 

 also, the new 3DHS Velox is coming this summer too, so 52" is where it's at in 2019.

 

 

 

While the Torque 2814 and Airboss are still more than up for the job, the poor little HS65MG just could not keep up with the demands we put on them with better batteries and more powerful motors, not to even mention much larger control surfaces and ridiculous 88 degree elevator deflections. This is so far past the original design limitation that it's amazing we weren't seeing servos bursting into flames all over the place. This size servo far exceeded any expectations a reasonable person could expect from them. Still, I fly my 48" MXS on the original 6 volt analog Hitec servos, and they are fine as long as I service them every 100 flights or so.

A better option was to go up to the next size servo and only upsize the plane enough to offset the additional weight. This is where the original 51" Slick came from, and it turns out we had the answer all along and didn't know it. We know now because not only do the newer HS5087mh servos work well, but I have had surprising success flying Hitec serviced HS85MG and new 5085MG servos. Without even talking about the upcoming new Hitec high end servos for these planes, or high end servos like MKS and Promodeler, what we already have works exceptionally well with tank like reliability and, tellingly, durability.

 

While the Torque 2814 served us brilliantly for well over a decade (ages in the rapidly developing 3DXA world), the heavier plane was going to require a larger, more powerful motor. Extreme Flight's new power division, Xpwr stepped up to bring us the radical new 3910. This motor is only a little heavier, but puts out an astounding 1069 watts on Thunder Power 4s 3300 70C packs. The 3910 has huge cooling inlets and exits, and the resulting lower operating temperatures not only makes the power system more reliable (remembering that heat is always the enemy), but less hot air also blows over your temperature sensitive Lipo batteries. Something we have taken for granted is when coupled with the Airboss 80ESC, the 3910 features the smooth running and perfectly linear throttle response of the legendary Torque 2814.

Here you can see how the Airboss nestles in between two carbon stringers to give you a nice, clean installation.

Another huge benefit of the 3910 is you can swing a Xoar 14/8 or a monstrous 15/6 propeller. The 14/8 gives you mind blowing speed, and the 15/6 delivers a little less (though still substantial) power with the benefit of about a minute's more run time, lower temperatures, and a lot less stress on the power system. I prefer the 15" prop for all those reasons, but the real benefit is a bigger cone of vectored thrust to bring you more control authority in post stall flight. Frankly, you have to experience this kind of difference in 3D control for yourself to truly believe it.

 

This is such an extraordinary amount of power that I will be dropping to Thunder Power's dead solid reliable 55C Elite series packs, which will save me a little weight and a lot of jack. You don't give up an appreciable amount of power with these packs anyway, so I can afford  that to get the advantages. While I would love everyone to run Thunder Power packs, everyone has their favorite and those will work well too. For now, though, it's probably going to take another summer of hard core 95 degree Florida blast furnace abuse to kill off my year old 70C Rampage packs.

So, with the planes now seemingly bulletproof, we now have more weight to deal with, and the best solution was to go up in size, and lift producing area. After all, the Pilot X for 60" planes is a perfect fit in the 52" Slick because the canopy is actually even wider than the 60" Slick.

 Essentially the 52 Slick fuselage has even more lift producing surface area per span than the 60" Slick, or at least enough to produce a smaller wing span plane that flies as lightly. If you think about that in terms of bigger planes usually being more floaty to fly than smaller ones, the 52s are startlingly light flying planes, which helps immensely in their 3D ability.

Details
While few of the 52" class details can be considered "innovations," they are still things that make the entire built and fly experience a lot nicer. Check them out below.

One detail that sets the 52" Slick apart from other planes is it's unique self jigging (aligning) horizontal stabilizer. This is still the most stressful operation of the entire build because it's so critical to get it right, but this has now been reduced to jamming the stab in all the way forward and gluing it into place. The leading edge is notched and seat against a former. As long as you get the stabilizer seated all the way against this former, you just about can't get it wrong. On top of that, improved cad work and precision laser cutting makes the stab fit so well it almost looks like it is molded into place. No gaps or gagged edges or anything. It's just a tight, nice, quality fit that looks terrific and comes out straight every time.

 New to this series is the full line of Xcessories hardware. Especially nice are the bolts for securing the wings, cowl and landing gear. The washer is cast into the bolt, so you don't have to worry about losing them when you are working on the plane. I suppose you could still lose the entire bolt if you are clumsy and forgetful like I am, but you won't lose just the washer any more! These are also especially nice because almost all the annoying and cheap looking Phillips head screws are gone, and the new ones all fit the same size allen driver. The titanium colored anodizing is also a nice, high tech look.

Also so sweet it the use of mixed composites and carbon. While the original EXPs unashamedly used lots of functional bling, Chris, Ben and the factory have worked hard to engineer better wood construction and only employ expensive materials where nothing else will do. This way you still get a robustly built airframe that stays tighter, flies better and lasts longer, not to even mention the abuse these planes are surely going to see. Since carbon is so expensive, eliminating as much as possible with better engineering helps keep these planes affordable.

Her you can see the carbon reinforced servo mountings.

New for the 52" Slick are laser cut exhaust openings. While the Extra was released about a year earlier and may not get them, these slots are done so nicely there's no reason to believe the rest of the series won't have them.

Also useful are hooks cut into the formers to route the servo wires and stop them from slapping around so much in violent maneuvers. It's also not hard to believe his can also avert a lead accidentally pulling out of the receiver in violent snaps, cranks and tumbles.

 Using new quality Xessories twisted servo extensions, you simply untwist the wires a little until you separate the wires from each other, slip them into the hooks individually, and then twits it back up, Like this the will never slip out. You can also press the in, but you risk breaking the tab or wearing out the tight fit. Still, it's an easy operation that you do once and then forget about it. The radio tray has strategically placed holes to help you route the wires under the tray and give you a nice, clean and clutter free installation.

FLYING

While the more durable equipment is easy to point out, you have to actually fly a 52 to appreciate it's next level performance. I've chronicled that enough in my other 52" reports, but club fields and parks will soon be so saturated with these planes that if you have not already seen this for yourself, it won't be long before you do. After all, these planes are the future of mid sized performance.

52 Slick__The Benchmark II from Doc Austin on Vimeo.

52 Slick__The Benchmark from Doc Austin on Vimeo.


Extreme Flight Slick 580 EXP__Rabid from Doc Austin on Vimeo.

52 Extra EXP__Grandpa Goes Huckin' from Doc Austin on Vimeo.

52 Extra EXP__Grandpa Goes Huckin' II from Doc Austin on Vimeo.

52 Extra EXP__Testing Aura 8 II from Doc Austin on Vimeo.

52 Extra EXP__Testing Aura 8 from Doc Austin on Vimeo.