Futura RCJI article - Schlusen.net

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TOMAHAWK FUTURA - batteries, in that the switch incorporates a milliamp/amp counter which does exactiy that, continually measures the draw on the batteries so the user knows exactly what banery capacity is left before every flight. The batteries themselves are easily mounted on the purpose built and supplied forward tray. This also helps in providing the majority of the Flap extended to reveal the internal horn and pushrod required C of G baiance for the Futura. With all mandatory equipment fitted the model was balanced at the suggested forward location (centre of main spar). This model did require a further 0.4 kg/1.0 lb of lead to get the C of G bang on and as with everlthing in this model this weight can be easily reduced as flying confidence builds. The a1l up weight of the Fufura came in at a very respectable 18 kel39.6 1b, so when powered by your [zpical 160 class engine a 1:1 thrust to weight ratio exists. Not bad for a jet this srze. Nearing the end of the build, I realised something was wrong. That was, that I did not have to re-engineer a solitary thing during the build process. This is just about unheard of with the current ARF kits on the market today and definitely a first for me. In all, the Tomahawk Futura is by far the easiest. quickest and honestly the best jel I have built and without giving too much away the Futura flies better than any other jet I have seen. I decided moments after finishing the build that I can't let James have all the fun, and ordered my ownl The Maiden Flight - James Ellingford The day of the maiden couldn't come soon enough and Phil had not only done, yet again an outstanding job building the jet, but he had done it in record time. I am the first to admit that I will never ever truly be able to appreciate what goes into building a jet as my interests firmly lie in flying. The day of the maiden flight came and it was one of those champagne summer days, clear blue skies with a very light breeze which helped cool the fie1d a 1ittle as the sun blazed overhead and the temperafure soared to 35 Celsius/95 Fahrenheitl With the jet now unpacked Irom the trailer and assembled it was time to inspect everything to make Festo air mounts {itted into the wing cot Ai4 valves, lights and Rx all mounted on the plate supplied with the kit '!tr 44. The port wing showing'Night Fire' landing and position lights sure a1l was in order and where it should be. Then it was onto topping up the air system ar fil1ing the massive five litre fue1 tank with Jet A1. Not sure if you have ever fi11ed a five litre tank before but even with my trusty Jersey Modeller fuelling station it seemed to take forever! Air done, fue1 done, pre flight done there was nothing left to do than head off for the mandatory bathroom break and sit back with as many cigarettes as I could possibly ja into my mouth. Me nervous? Don't be ridiculous! I am an Englishman and it's aboul maintaining tradition, nothing more! As is customary, our club in Sydney, Australia, soon fil1ed with members, eager to see this piece of German engineering take to the sky. The usual club pre-flight banter took place as I headed out to the start up area to fire up my turbine and get the show on the road. I couldn't help but comment to Phil ont il'l 1l: RCJETINTERNATIONAL.COM 4,:ri';ii. :':.. :
TOMAHAWK FUTURA N Awaiting the maiden flight Easy access to all areas is assured with the large, removable hatch ' . - ^^.-^ *''den i"nit"il";;a tense time Lined uP readY to go on tne I tor the Pilot! more time hor.v large the jet seemed compared to all others I had flown and once out of earshot from the rest of the members I took some comfort in my own prediction that the plane should handle and fly beautifully and that in fact, this maiden should be a walk in the park. As a good friend, Phil agreed and said, as usual "She'll be right mate" which translated in English means, all will be fine my friendl Once the one-piece canopy, which appears to be the iength of a football field, was removed the inner workings of the Futura become clear to see. \Vhat I love about this jet is that with canopy removed all is exposed to see. No hidey holes, no hard to get to places, everl'thing easy to check and easy to reach. With a1l checks done there was nothing left to do than start her up and taxi-out! Ready for Take-Off : Sitting at the end of our 1000 ft east . west grass runway, the Futura, with I her flaps set for take-off, had an : incredible presence even though I was standing some 250 ft to lhe wesl of her. Final check to the wesl rhar ' the runway was clear it was now time 1o fire rrn the Iets Munt and find out how the Futura would fly. As the aircraft built up ground speed it was instantly noticeable that I had fantastic rudder/nose wheel control, as only slight corrections were required. As speed continued to build a little elevator was fed in and she lifted off the ground with such grace and beau[' that I could hardiy believe my eyes. I do have a habit of talking to myself on the flight line, which even annoys me but sticking with tradition is important. "Positive rate of c1imb, gear up, speed building, flaps up." A little up elevator was added to compensate for reducing lift as the flaps retracted then away the Futura soared. "Wow", was my initial thought at the forty second mark. "Itrs flying almost dead straight" One click of right aileron and the Futura was ] 1lOne click of right I I aileron and the Futura was flying perfectly straight and level flying perfectly straight and level. 'That was too easy", I thought to myself. "Let's see how she performs a ro11." Hard right aileron was added and she rolled, not barrelled, but rolled perfectly on the horizontal a-ris. l,eft roll, again perfect. "Wow, this was too good to be true", I thought as we hit the three-minute mark. At this stage I usually get the aircraft up high and perform a basic stall to see what she does. So up the Futura soared responding perfectly to my inputs and off with the power. A little up elevator, more, more, and the Futura started getting light on the sticks, more up elevator, then bingo, she stalled very gently and I do mean gentiy dropping her nose and a wee bit of wing. Recovery was a simple matter of neutralising the sticks allowing her rime ro build speed. powering up and flying away. Again, wow was the only thing going through my head as this jet was shaping up to be the best flying model I had ever flown Four minutes into the maiden flight signalled rhar it was now time to get her slow and dirty to see how she handled and also to allorv me enough time to get used to the model in slow speed flight to ensure a half decent landing. After all, there was a crowd gathering back in the pits and I certainly did not want to do the Coming in for a low pass to impress gathered club mates A fast pass with smoke on E C J ETI hITffi roil{ETI **{AL.*OM
Page 1 and 2: THE WORLD'S PREM TER R/G JET MAG AZ
Page 3 and 4: TOMAHAWK FUTURA JAMES ELLINGFORD/PH
Page 5: TOMAHAWK FUTURA T The Tomahawk supp

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