20 Foot Wingspan "FB Albatross" Maiden Flight Attempt

I couldn't get the video to upload to youtube. I have no idea why. However, my Dad did take over 200 still photos so I selected a few of them and made a slideshow and uploaded that. Something is better than nothing. Also, since I don't know how to add background music to a video, without getting into trouble with Youtube, the slide show is a "silent movie" and I apologize for that. But...something is better than nothing.

The overall wingspan was 20 feet 1.5 inches long
The wing chord was 13.25 inches
The fuselage was 9.75 feet long
The AUW was just under 22 pounds

FB Albatross Maiden Flight Attempt - YouTube

Too bad on the damage. Even with just still photos I was anticipating it going in the air.
Would it have had enough power to pull itself through a grass takeoff?
Hopefully it is not the end of it.

Aww man, I was so hopeful, waited all weekend for a good report!
So cool to even attempt such a monster build and fly!
I hope you fix it and try again ?!?

Doh! So close!

Do you know why it made the drastic direction change?

Man..

EyeStation said:

Too bad on the damage. Even with just still photos I was anticipating it going in the air.
Would it have had enough power to pull itself through a grass takeoff?
Hopefully it is not the end of it.

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Yeah, the damage was pretty severe. The steerable tail wheel bracket got bent. Linkages twisted. Broken right wing section. Shattered landing gear. Summed up - all messed up.

Would it have enough power to go through the grass? Yes, I believe so.

is this the end of the plane? Yes, I have already stripped the electronics off the plane and the plane will meet the garbage men in the morning. it's really unfortunate but the damage was really bad. I'm bummed but moving on.

Gerald said:

Aww man, I was so hopeful, waited all weekend for a good report!
So cool to even attempt such a monster build and fly!
I hope you fix it and try again ?!?

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It was a fun build and I learned a lot.

pvolcko said:

Doh! So close!

Do you know why it made the drastic direction change?

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Honestly, I have no idea what caused the drastic direction change. It surprised me so much, I still had the throttle on when it hit the curb.

To bad Derek after all this time.

breeze400 said:

To bad Derek after all this time.

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Thanks Sam! Yeah..it's a bummer. I work really hard on this plane and I kept picking Tony's brain, endlessly.

But....ya win some and ya lose some. it's just the way it goes

Bad luck Derek.
From the pictures it looked like the right wing was damaged before you go down the runway.

Bad luck Derek. Lee is right I think right wing at odd angle. You also need more dihedral for more stability. Better luck next time. V2 are always better

man sorry to hear about the misfortune derek... i agree with lee on the rightside wing also it looked to be drooping a lil to much but i am wondering if it would lift i did'nt see support wires on the underside of the wing wondering if the weight during liftoff would over flex the wing upwards... and you were right those wheels would definitely would rolll good through the grass she sure looked good though derek... any ideas on what the next project will be????

I can assure you....there will be no V2 of this plane, lol. It's done! It's over! That chapter of my rc career is closed. But I do have ideas in my head for another scratch built plane that will accept the Tacon Bigfoot 160, the 100 amp esc, and the big servos.

wolfman76 said:

man sorry to hear about the misfortune derek... i agree with lee on the rightside wing also it looked to be drooping a lil to much but i am wondering if it would lift i did'nt see support wires on the underside of the wing wondering if the weight during liftoff would over flex the wing upwards... and you were right those wheels would definitely would rolll good through the grass she sure looked good though derek... any ideas on what the next project will be????

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Looking at the picture below, you will see that the Albatross not only had the ground lines on top of the wing, but it did have flight lines on the underside of the wing. I guess I did think about it thoroughly while we were out there....and I didn't really notice the right side was low. It definitely wasn't damaged before the attempt....it was setup improperly.

But the support lines were on the plane....

It's a shame. Waited two years to see This thing get some airtime. I noticed the right wing had some sag in it and the left was straight out.

So now for the next Tacon project. Which is what?

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It's entirely my fault! I didn't even notice the right side sagging down until the RCH people were pointing it out. I don't even remember it being that way when we were out for the flight attempt. After the RCH people were pointing that fact out, I went back through my still photos and sure enough...that right wing was sagging quite a bit. It wasn't broke...just poorly assembled. That should have been done much better than that.

Would the right wing sagging cause the abrupt left turn to the curb? I doubt it but I still should have noticed it. I had so many things going through my head, at the time, and I simply over-looked it.

Well....I never claimed to be a pro-builder...just a builder, lol

As stated before, I have stripped all the electronics and useable hardware from the Albatross and I am moving on and looking ahead. I do have plans for another "sizeable" plane (not 20' though, lol). I mean, lets face it...I have 8 very strong metal gear servos, a 100amp esc, and an awesome Tacon Bigfoot 160 245kv motor just sitting on my work bench.

What to do? What to do?

Months ago, Tony (jokingly) suggested a 15' wide foamie flying wing. As impressive as that would be, I think I'll leave that project for someone else, lol.

Details to come on my next large scratch build endeavor.

The kraken, been done and I think the plans are available on flight test.

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The Kraken would be a cool plane to have!!! I think my 245kv motor would be overkill though, lol.

They used a two motor setup to get the power they needed for it. So I think the tacon as a single motor would work.

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That's true...and if I remember right, Josh Bixler had to use the differential thrust to get it to turn properly because the elevons were lethargic, or something.

How about a 15' Slow stick?

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