Older news items can be found in the archives, click here to go there
Happy new year and all that!
9th January 2012 -
URC would like to wish all our readers a very prosperous, produvtive and exciting 2012. May many sun-blessed rain free flying days lay ahead of you. We'd like to take this opportunity to apologise for the lack of updates and housekeeping. Things in "the real world" have been very busy of late and we just haven't found the time to keep this place up to scratch. Hopefully in a few months the situation should improve; until then if you have any questions, thoughts or just want to say hello drop us an email.
Exclusive news annoucement!
14th December 2011 -
Global RC will soon be announcing that they've become exclusive UK distributor for the entire range of 3D HobbyShop aircraft. This makes Global the first outlet for these models outside of the USA. We heard so many good things about 3DHS aircraft...we decided to get our own! Below is a picture of our 104" Slick powered by a Plettenberg Predator 30 motor. There will be a write up on this model in RCM&E soon; watch this space for videos...
Unlimited-RC's latest project
26th August 2011 -
VPP/4D flying finally goes giant scale
22nd July 2011 -
An online video has recently come to our attention that we had to share the moment we saw it. It shows well-known German aerobatic and large-scale electric pilot Markus Rummer flying a SebArt Sukhoi 2.6 metre aircraft with a VPP system fitted! That's right folks, reverse thrust finally goes giant scale.
Now this is NOT the first model of this size to be VPP, a few years ago a chap in the USA developed a system for the DA100 petrol engine, but it would appear that wasn't wholly successful. Remember VPP isn't easy, it's taken us over a year to crack it, and that's with all the help we could get.
However Markus appear's to have a pretty good system, it at least has the power to sustain an inverted hover. From what we could make out the VPP unit is basically a modified heli rotor head, using heli rotor blades. Not much else is known except that there is some form of belt drive involved. You can view the video below:
Exclusive: A closer look at Gerhard Mayr's Toxylen
11th July 2011 -
This update is coming a little late as both Simon and myself have been busy with other commitments. But now I've got some spare time I'd like to show you some awesome shots of the exterior and interior of Gerhard Mayr's F3A model, at the recently contested UK F3A World Cup, where Gerhard finished 1st.
I spoke to Gerhard and managed to get some interesting background information on the models development, current configuration and future plans. For starters, the "Toxylen" took around 900 hours to build, although it is unclear whether this included design time or just the build. The fuselage is fully built up and sheeted, as the pictures show, forming a sort of balsa semi-monocoque construction that is both light and strong. The wings and tail are balsa veneered foam. The total all up weight is around 4700-4800 grams depending on the flight battery used. You can't see from the pictures but the aircraft is a little unusual by modern standards in that it has a flat-bottomed fuselage.
The wings feature twin ailerons, the inboard ailerons are used throughout the flight envelope whilst the outboard ones are purely for snaps. I wish I could tell you why the wing is double-tapered but alas, my hand-written notes are too difficult to read! But I can tell you that the distinctive "wing canalisers" were hand carved from solid balsa, and are there to smooth airflow over the tailplane, as well as apparently increase stability at the low airspeeds Gerhard flies his aircraft.
The spinner, carbon fibre canopy and carbon fibre undercarriage were all moulded by Gerhard, and he has built the aircraft to a very high standard. It is rare to see such a model covered in Profilm so beautifully and accurately, no ARF film-covered plane comes as well finished.
Looking to the future Gerhard spoke of his latest design the "Toxiris", which is available in ARF form and is fully composite. He said that the Toxiris is a simpler design because he found the things like double ailerons, and double tapered wings made little or no noticeable difference to the model's flying characteristics and so were dropped in favour of a simpler, cleaner design. The Toxiris has a shallower fuselage, for better crosswind performance, a feature that Gerhard says will be crucial when he uses it in the upcoming World F3A Championships in America, where the competition field is likely to be winder than his home club in Austria.
You can check out www.toxiris.com for more info on his latest model, in the meantime, click on the picture below to view the Toxylen gallery.
Apologies!
5th June 2011 -
It's been a while since either Simon or I have updated the website, rest assured we are still alive but just haven't had the time to put anything up. We've got some juicy info from the recently held UK F3A World Cup in May (see the calendar), and lots of other goings on. But until we've got the time to something proper together we're going to hold back...HOWEVER! Here is something that was posted on UK forum 3DRC earlier today and we had to share, it's a VPP system for the Hacker A150. In other words, for 3D aircraft of up to 2.6 metres wingspan!
Canalisers for the masses
12th April 2011 -
I recently got my hands on a canaliser to try out on my 2 metre pattern aeroplane. Now a lot of folks ask what "that thing on the top" does, and if it really does anything at all! In short, a canaliser (the small wing pictured below) is believed to help smooth airflow going over the top over the model, before it reaches the rudder. The result is a big boost to rudder power, and now we've tried it ourselves we can say that it really does work! It's not just us either, but many of the top F3A pilots in the UK and abroad testify to the remarkable improvement in rudder power as a rsult of fitting a canaliser to the model (typically just behind the canopy).
The canaliser pictured is not made from carbon fibre at all, and it only set me back £15! It comes as a balsa wood and liteply kit, designed and manufactured right here in the UK by Elation Model Products, and takes a couple of hours to finish for a clumsy fellow like myself. Carbon fibre effect Profilm is included in the kit so you can fool your mates.
The whole thing goes together pretty well and requires a little sanding (to get the airfoil shape) and a little gluing. Pretty convincing eh! The other only canalisers we could find on the market cost upward of £90! Canalisers can be fitted to almost any model, not just F3A ones. Check out EMP's website www.elation-f3a.co.uk (opens in a new window) to get in touch for a canaliser kit. Steve Dunning is the mastermind behind EMP, tell him I sent ya for a canaliser!
URC news exclusive - Micro F3A plane revealed!
1st April 2011 -
Well we've had trouble keeping this one to ourselves, but after a thumbs up from the manufacturer we can now reveal this fantastic micro F3A model. Based on similar internals to other micro models, this aircraft is a faithful micro reproduction of the famous Comp-ARF Integral pattern aircraft. However it features new form of brushless micro motor; don't be fooled by it size, mutliple vertical snaps can be performed with ease! We're desperate to get our hands on one to practice those tough schedules in our living room.
Further details to follow shortly, but in the meantime check out the teaser image below:
6D explained
20th March 2011 -
It's been a bit quiet on here recently, but this weekend we found some time to put together another 6D video to better explain how it works.
It's safe to say that the system has matured nicely, it works smoothly and freely with no issues, the task now is simply to get better at flying it and see what's really possible! Many thanks to our friend Dave Royds also knowsn as "Aerovids" on YouTube who put together the video for us, check it out below:
Hyperion thrust vectoring ARF
1st March 2011 -
I came across this video of the Hyperion Enigma, it's one of the few aerobatic models larger than a shocky I've seen fitted with a thuest vectoring system. The unit comes supplied with the kit and is driven by a seperate servo, yaw vectoring is the result. You can check out a video of the model in action below, or see the thread on RCGroups by clicking here (opens in a new window).
The 6D system has flown!
22nd February 2011 -
Here is a video of the first tentative flights of our own "6D" system. This is a motor mount that allows vectoring of the motor in both yaw and pitch, coupled to a control mechanism that allows reverse thrust.
For the first runs we set the throws low to check that everything worked ok...and it did! Now we aim to increase the throws to realise the full potential of the system. The mount is driven directly from the tail servos by way of carbon pushrods, the tail servos are JR 318s (188s elsewhere). The whole thing is smoother than expected with the only vibration issues coming from cracked blades, not the unit itself.
The model is my own design the Wizard, with power coming from a SlowFlyWorld DW8 motor, the propeller-pitch system is a Mamo Model UpsideDown unit. All up weight with 2 cell 350 packs is around 190 grams, with scope to lose weight in future models. The hope is to test the system with maxed out throws, that's up to 40 degrees yaw and 30 degrees pitch within the week!
News from Nuremberg - Walkera with shock 12 channel transmitter
9th February 2011 -
We don't have any details yet, but this striking 12 channel transmitter has come from Walkera. Not exactly known for their high-end gear this is rather unexpected. The display is one of the largest we've seen, comparible even to the Futaba 14MZ. More info when we get it...
News from the Nuremberg International Toy Fair
4th February 2011 -
More product announcements are rolling in from the Nuremberg Toy Fair. Of particular interest is a smoke pump for large scale electric models from Emcotec, new Spektrum technology called DSM-X (claimed to be a more robust system) and Graupner releases details on it's new transmitter thats similar spec-wise to the new Jeti radios we reported on yesterday. Below are the announcements from the manufacturers:
Spektrum: "The foundation DSMX is built on is the same foundation as DSM2 the superior on-channel interference resistance and coding gain of wideband DSSS. Compared to the wideband signal of a DSM2 or DSMX system, the narrow-band signal of other 2.4 transmitters is more likely to suffer crucial data loss in the event of on-channel interference. Think of wideband 2.4 as a river and narrow-band 2.4 as a stream. It takes much more interference to stop a river than it does to stop a stream."
Graupner: "Graupner MX20, features integrated voice telemetry, via headphones and a large display. It has 12 channels and 24 model memories, which can be expanded via the built-in SD card slot. Telemetry data can also be stored on the SD card. Channel 12-bit resolution = 4,096 Steps"
Emcotec: "Emcotec presents the first smoke system for electric aircraft, the PowerSmoke 4000. The PowerSmoke 4000 is powered from the aircraft battery or a separate LiPo battery (12 to 14S). Our launch unit is for 3 metre class aircraft, with versions for smaller models currently being developed."
New Jeti transmitter images released
3rd February 2011 -
Jeti have released images and some details of their new (debut?) transmitters, the Pult DC-16 and the DS-16. The features and software is identical between the two, the only difference being the DC-16 is designed for transmitter trays.
Based around Jeti's well established Duplex 2.4 Ghz system, features include 16 channels, voice output, upgradeable firmware and unlimited model memory. The memory we assume comes from removeable SD cards of sorts.
Naturally both transmitters support real-time Duplex telemetry, that appears on the transmitter screen itself allowing you to monitor battery voltage and other parameters in flight. Telemetry data can be recorded and downloaded to a PC for later use, voice warnings linked to telemtry data can also be utilitsed. For me this would be someone shouting "You didn't set the bloody timer!" when the flight battery gets low...
Further details can be had from the Jeti website - click here
The Jeti DC-16, for transmitter trays
The Jeti DS-16, for holding with your hands
Moving with the times in F3A...
2nd February 2011 -
F3A is considered by some to be an elitist corner of the sport, where to be competitive you have to spend large amounts of money. This couldn't be farther from the truth and many pilots do exceptionally well and even win competitions on modest gear. You don't even need a 2 metre plane, I flew through last year with a humble Angel 50 and managed to bag a few trophies. Now with that out of the way, enjoy the light-hearted video below:
Yet another new Sebart!
2nd February 2011 -
Mr Silvestri must be a very busy man indeed, the last few months have seen the revealing of a new range of Sebart aircraft. First the new Sukhoi 140, then a thrust vectoring Mig 29 EDF. More recently a PC9 has been announced, and we know there is a 150ccer in the works as well. So the emergence of a float plane isn't entirely surprising, although still unexpected! We don't have many details but the aircraft can be flown from land or water thanks to wheels within the floats.
A little more info and pricing can be found on Area 51 Distribution's website by clicking here
UK F3A contest calendar released
22nd January 2011 -
The GBRCAA contest calendar is now available for download from the GBR website, or if you prefer the competitions have been listed on our own events page. Of key interest is the RCM&E Triple Crown contest in early July. The Triple Crown is an F3A competition between England, Scotland, Ireland and an international team (made up of pilots from each area) that takes place every year. Last year the comp was in Ireland and now it's England's turn to host once again, see you there!
Click here for the Events page
Click here for the GBRCAA competition calendar
6D flying
9th January 2011 -
Deep in the bowels of the Unlimited RC development laboratory, otherwise known as the shed at the back of the garden, I've been working away on a motor mount that allows the motor to be angled in any direction. This coupled to a VPP system gives what I like to call 6D.
The home-brew system is actually quite simple, and is makde up of two fibreglass pieces that sit inside one another, connected by carbon rod and tube. Testing has shown the system to work well, however due to my lack of firesight movement in one axis is fairly limited. A redesign is in order to allow for more travel, but it's antiticated we will use this axis for pitch vectoring, and keep the axis with the most throw for yaw.
Pictures tell a better story, there are a few snaps below but for more pictures check out my thread on UK RC forum High Alpha by clicking here
Another new Sebart model
8th January 2011 -
This just in, Sebart have a twin EDF thrust vectoring MiG 29 in the works! The model appears to be based on Sebby's bigger MiG 29 he famously hovered about at a few shows. No further details yet but we do have a video:
New Sebart Sukhoi 140 images leaked
8th January 2011 -
My collegaue Simon Mills has just found some images of what would appear to be the new Sebart Sukhoi 140 (2 metre size) on an Italian RC forum. The most visible changes appear to be flared trailing edges on the elevator and rudder (as per the Sebart 2 metre Wind patternship), a split cowl and a curved rudder trailing edge like the Sebart's 100cc Sukhoi. More info when it comes through. You saw it here first! (hopefully)
Calendar for 2011 now online and F3A comes home!
22nd December 2010 -
Well I've managed to get around to making a start on the events calendar for 2011, you can check it out by clicking here. At this point in time not all dates have been released yet, so for example you won't find any of the GBRCAA domestic competitions listed, or some UK shows. When those become available the page will be updated accordingly.
One event I am especially looking forward to is the very recently announced F3A World Cup event to be held in the UK. Expect to see the likes of CPLR, Silvestri, Mayr and the rest of the best European F3A talent on UK shores. This is a unique opportunity to witness some truly world class flying here in the UK, not to be missed! For more info check out the site for the event here. It's not all about big names and flash aeroplanes though, there is an entry level competition running alongside the main event called the "SebArt Cup", only the BMFA B test schedule is to be flown, it's a great chance to get started in competitive aerobatics. And finally...
Unlimited-RC would like to wish you all a merry christmas and a bloody brilliant new year!
Electric Indoor Masters 2010 is over!
13th December 2010 -
Well if you weren't there you missed another world-class event, the level of flying has gone up another notch or two since last year's comp. But not to worry if you didn't make it, there will be a swathe of videos and pictures going online in the next few days and weeks as well as full competition results. Check out Aerovids' page on YouTube for the first of the EIM 2010 videos, he filmed over 250 flights! www.youtube.com/user/Aerovids. In the meantime we'll keep you updated further media becomes available.
Off the shelf 4D flying
15th November 2010 -
Yesterday I finally got around to trying out the new Axi 2203/40 VPP motor in my latest 4D model. The results can be seen in the video below, but first a few details. The motor is mated to the popular Mamo Upside-down VPP unit running 9" blades, with a Logic RC LSX-65H servo direct mounted on pitch (see picture below). Please note the mount I've used is custom made, and the LSX pitch servo is packed off the mount by about 6mm so that everything lines up ok, the bearing that runs inside the Mamo unit is mounted directly to the servo arm. For those of you interested in running the Axi/Mamo setup, or maybe you already have it and are having difficulty setting it up, I'm going to point out some of what I've learnt thus far, but first a video:
The correct mechanical setup of the unit is key, you want a free running, smooth system without any binding. Don't tighten the retaining bolts in the base of the propeller blades too tight. I nip mine up so that the bearings are just supported without any play, but can still spin freely. Also make sure your neutral point (where the blades are at zero pitch) is truly zero pitch, you can sometimes have a little residual thrust one way or the other (see the vid below for how I the neutral point). For the AXI 2203/40VPP + Mamo combination, there is no need to limit the throttle. And change the propeller retinaing bolts after every crash! They WILL bend, and even if the blades are ok you will lose power even if the bolts are fractionally bent. They are 2mm x 12mm in size so it helps to keep a bag handy. The rough values I use for pitch are (measured on the unit), 1mm forward and 1.5mm reverse, this is a starting point only. The only way to correctly setup a 4D unit is to use a wattmeter and monitor amp/watt values, so you know you're not going to blow anything up and also so you can see how your pitch changes affect amp draw. A good rule of thumb is aim for equal amp draw in positive and negative pitch, without bogging the motor down and losing revs (revs are key!), the wattmeter I use is about £27 (GT Power meter from Robotbirds). So far my Axi/Mamo setup draws no more than about 10.5 amps.
The motor, 4D unit and pitch servo I've sourced from www.electricwingman.com. It's crucial to keep the weight under 155 grams for best results, 160 is a max.
A more thorough study of the Axi/Mamo setup will be coming in the next few months in my column in RCM&E magazine, until then check out the video below! The milling on the model that I pointed out in the video isn't all that clear, so I've stuck a photo on here of the rather cool milling (thanks Simon!)
Remarkable flying manta ray
7th November 2010 -
I saw this on the telly the other day and had to share, the ray is made up from a specially engineered structure that mimics that of the real animal. The "wings" are driven by servos, no automatic flapping here either, the operator has to move the transmitter sticks in the right way to get the desired effect. The whole thing is filled with helium for bouyancy, and is even capable of basic aeros such as loops, albiet very slowly. The company who have come up with the ray, Festo, have a host of other flying objects too.
The best indoor venue in the world?
24th October 2010 -
I suppose the venue shown below has a few obstructions and chairs on the landing area, but for the sheer beauty of your surroundings you'd be hard pressed to beat the Main Auditorium of the Warsaw University of Technology, this link sent in from good friend Chris Bogdanski who is doing work on UAV's at the University.
Click the picture below to see more shots (opens in a new window)
RC flying gets primetime TV exposure
14th October 2010 -
Breaking news! We've just caught wind of a gentleman by the name of Martin Hauk, an Aeromusical pilot from the Czech Republic. Who last Saturday appeared on national TV channel TV Nova on their talent show called "Talentmania" watch by millions of viewers. Following the suit of other pilots around Europe who have entered such shows with shockies, however Martin has not only made the semi-final, but he will be going through to the finals next Saturday. We wish him the best of luck, you can watch his appearance by clicking the following link (opens in new window): Martin Hauk on "Talentmania"
Remember you heard it here first! (possibly)
4D testing video
29th September 2010 -
Below is the video footage from our testing session. First model is a Wizard 4D with the Axi 2203/40, second is another Wizard 4D but with an Axi 2203/Race and the final model is a Arrow 4D V3 with a DW8/18. All models are running Mamo Upsidedown VPP units with Castle Creations 10 amp controllers, off PolyQuest XQ2 350 2 cell packs
4D finally cracked!
27th September 2010 -
I'm happy to announce that after many months of frutration and failure, we've finally nailed 4D! Fellow URC team member Simon "Firetappe" Mills took his Wizard 4D and gave it a proper thrashing, with bags of power in both positive and negative pitch. No vibrations, no hassle, and best of all without resorting to silly current draws (within 10-11 amps). The setup is an AXI 2203/40 VPP motor, coupled to a Mamo 4D unit on 9" blades. All of this is mated to a Castle Creations 10 amp speed controller. The only other stipulation is that the model is at 150 grams or less ready to fly for best results. More detailed info on the unit and speed controller settings to come...watch this space!
Update on the latest Wizard 4D...
23rd September 2010 -
The model is now finished awaiting testing, despite the fact it's using less than optimum equipment in terms of weight (aileron servo is 10 grams!), heavy leads and generally not built all that light. The finished weight of 148.1 g is right on the money! This is without milling and retaining as much stiffness as a normal Aeromusical model. The pictures tell the rest of the story, the PolyQuest pack being used is currently one of our favourite, being a good compromise between discharge and cost, at a weight of 28 grams. Available from Electricwingman
Rumour has it the next batch of packs will be even lighter. Other options we've tried include the Thunderpower 325 45C discharge packs (weighed at 24g) although this is about £4 more, you can grab these at West London models
Just in the country are the Hyperion G3 cells in 320 size, more info when we try them...in the meantime the pictures below tell the rest of the story! We reckon with lighter gear we can easily lose upto 5 grams.
