Carbon Traveler Convertible TM
4 channel profile CF & ripstop portable Ultra-Light 3D/sport bipe.
KIT INFO AT BOTTOM
OF
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Ace Sim RC proudly presents the Carbon Traveler Convertible.
This
one plane just may be the most versatile, durable, and transportable RC
plane
available anywhere.
It was designed to offer the maximum crash resistance without the expense of flex in flight to learn advanced maneuvers.
Built entirely from nearly 50 feet of carbon rod and covered with 1/2 oz coated poly ripstop this fully 3D capable biplane weights right at 3 oz empty of any gear and can be flown in the smallest of yards (see videos below) with inexpensive off-the-shelf CDRom brushless gear.
(fluoresent yellow wings and fluoresent orange fuse)
SPECS:
Span 26 inch, Length 28 inches, 2.6 sq ft area, AUW (min tested) = 7.25
oz, W/L
2.8 oz/sq ft
Motors
currently tested:
Westport 20 turn CD-ROM w/APC
8x3.8 - ET 2S 700 LiPo -
GOOD
LensRC 22.7 25T w /8x4 DD - ET 3S
700 LiPo - GOOD
LensRC 22.7mm 20T w/ 8x4
- ET 3S 700 LiPo -
BETTER
LensRC GBX
single 20turn - slightly heavier
- BETTER
CustomCDR "cool" wind single
"Billet
Bullet" - BEST
Komodo 2204-15 turn - Current
recommended and in stock
2) GWS Picos, BMS-306bb,
WD-60s or HS-55s for R/E
1) GWS Naro HP, BMS-371 or
equal for dual
WINGERON control
Currently using Spektrum Dual
Link radio system - no
channels to worry about and no GLITCHES, period!
(all
flying control surfaces & wings offer max control at slowest
speeds)
Everything just
plugs together for ease of adjustments and flat
disassembly for transport.
Even the servos just
rubber band onto the frame!
Disassembles flat
for transport in about 2 minutes without
tools!
(Yellow wings with orange
fuse)
(Silver
wings with slate blue fuse)
(Red wings with silver
fuse) (Yellow
wings with slate blue fuse)
This plane was
designed for learning 3D
without spending all your time repairing or rebuilding and to be able
to fly on
a whim in a small yard with lots of obstacles. The low wing
loading keeps it slow enough to figure out what it's
doing and
keeping it light reduces the potential for impact
damage.
Using
a biplane layout not only
reduces the span for a given wing area but achieves great rigidity from
the box
strut structure.
This is a true case
for "form follows
function".
07/06 - I've learned
more from this plane
in the year now I've been flying it than in the previous couple years
with
other planes.
Let's face
it. We practice, we make
mistakes, and we inevitability screw-up.
"I crash therefore I
learn"
One
customer states; "The few
flights I had can attest to the absolute bullet-proof design.
This is
definitely the plane I wanted .....
the durability is unbelievable."
Here's an
independent review on a
pre-production ARF:
Be sure to also see
his flight pics link at
the bottom of the page.
MSgtrob on RCgroups has this to
say:
Thanks again for an AWESOME set
of plans. I've built quite a few other designs in my quest for a plane
that can
survive long enough to teach me to fly--your CTC has FAR exceeded any
reasonable expectation. I'ts my number one plane and still amazes
anyone that
sees it. Wow, Months of flying and this bird just keeps taking it!
Ran through a dozen batteries today--one line drive into
the neighbors
garage door and one screaming nose dive from about 50 feet straight
into the
concrete! Pieces of plane everywhere--new prop and two minutes snapping
it back
together and she was good to go! Much to the crowds disbelief.
Hardlock--the CTC is the undisputed champion of this
neighborhood-(confirmed by all the children and parents drawn to the
"free" airshow.)
Jlundberg on RCgroups writes: This CTC
is FANTASTIC!! We had some
great weather Monday and was able to do a lot of flying. Man, talk
about tight
loops and rolls. WOW
It was funny on my second flight. I was going vertical
after a takeoff
and a band broke on my prop, all I could do is shut it down. With just
a bit of
elevator it did an "elevator" to the grass. It was soooo slow I could
have caught it if I would have ran to it.
This is a blast. I love doing prop hanging etc.
Thanks Ken for such a fun plane. Keep up the great work.
I would
recommend this to anyone!
John
P.S You can quote me if you like... I'm one satisfied
Customer!!!!
All
fittings in this plane will just pop
back together even from the worst impacts.
The plane
as been crash tested so hard
into hard-pack earth and indoor floors I just knew something
must
be broken.
In the
hundreds of hours and probably as
many "mishaps" I've yet to break anything except props and one
LG strut from a concrete wall that got in the way!
Here's
some videos to give you the idea
of its durability:
3/06
- Watch the back of the hall
when the clip starts.
I fly out
of frame to the left but you
can hear that I crash HARD!:
indoor1-fix.wmv
about 8mb
Except for
a broken prop, she was almost
fixed by the time I got back to the flightline.
Remainder
of clip is me getting some
much needed 3D practice. :)
3/06 -
MUST SEE! I
let "DJ", one of our local experienced 3D pilots, try
the
CTC. He wasn't content to just fly it around, but took it for
a walk down
the hall, up the stairs, walked the walls, fell off the wall, crashed
down the
stairs, all kinds of fun stuff!
BTW, This
is all one continuous flight
(less crashes) and only edited for time:
indoor-DJ-stairs.wmv about
6 mb
Again, NO
damage to plane!
1/06 -
Indoor dogfight between #1,2, and
3 prototype CTCs. Ends with a cool midair!
3-CTC
dogfight
10/05 - Am
I 3D yet? Staying in
the box - relaxing mix of maneuvers in the yard. The
dance of the
CTC!
Mostly high rates using 3S 700 w/ LensRC 22.7 20T and 8x4 HD prop:
MI3D2.mpg
20mb hi-res (download to run smoothly)
MI3D2-small.wmv
8mb low-res
When foam
and CF collide. Foam
loses! I was hovering at the time and didn't see him coming.
Scratch
one foamie, mine came out uneffected
except needing to flip the elevator back from overcentered on the
linkage
wires.
I was back
in the air in seconds.
This is one tough bird!
8/05 -
After much testing and changes
from the original prototype, I hit the field for a maiden with
the
pre-production version.
3S 700
pack w/LensRC 25T on low
rates:
7/06 - BTW, this
same #2 prototype gets
flown (and crashed...) almost daily and is still going strong after
over a year
of hard use!
What makes
it a "convertible" you ask?
Well if you want to fly in some wind, just unplug the
lower wing in a
couple moments and have a high-wing sport model.
Or secure
the wings from moving, add longer wing struts to get some
dihedral and you have a nice and slow R/E plane. With the
travel set low
enough and the dihedral left in, it can be used as an aileron trainer
as
well. A mid-mount single wing configuration for use
as a higher
loaded 3D version has been developed by a builder on RCgroups and
performance
reports are good (see pics on RCgroups thread at bottom of page
starting at
post 535).
A built-up ripstop wing for it also envisioned
at some
point. Makes for a great testing platform as well.
Here's the
directory location of the
final
Construction Manual you
can download.
Note -
it's a big file with lots of
pictures so best to download it first.
(right
click link, choice save-as file,
etc.)
There is
also a video there
showing the setup for travel.
The kit
includes everything needed to
construct the plane less servos and power gear (available separately).
All the panels are completed with all fittings
and rods cut to
length (all 50 ft of rod!).
Two colors of ripstop coated poly material is supplied
with all needed
hardware.
Only the
highest quality materials are
used in the kits. Note that other "similar" constructed
import models
use inferior grade rods that have almost no carbon fibre in
them. We use
only Avia Sport brand rods. Our fabric is 1/2 oz poly that is
coated for
zero porosity instead of the typical 3/4 oz nylon usually seen on other
models. It costs us twice the price but every gram
saved helps
performance. Even though we have to pay retail for it as it
is only
available from one source, we feel it's worth it to offer the best
quality
product available.
The
construction is considered
intermediate due to the power gear and servo linkage
installation. Except for covering the
pre-constructed panels using
contact cement, the remainder of the construction is just lashing
fittings to
the frame for plug-in assembly of all components and support
rods.
Build
time is estimated at about 3 hours
a day for 4 or 5 evenings of relaxing work.
Nearly 200 pre-made parts are included!
Complete
kits are now available for
$159.00
Proudly
made in the USA
The
kitting has been fully test built
and flight tested.
To keep the cost down it does
not include a printed manual or
fancy box.
If
you can't download the
PDF manual, a CD will be included on request if
needed.
If you
want to
scratch build your own, here's the RCgroups construction thread with
development
and build details:
RC groups thread
If you
have Real Flight, here's a link
to a CTC modeled for it:
Real
Flight CTC model
and some
discussion about setting it up
here:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=766533
E-mail kit testimony
from one builder:
"Hi
Ken,
I want to tell you how impressed I am with the quality of your
Carbon
Traveler Convertible kit. I was blown away with your
attention to detail
when you manufactured this kit! The instruction
manual was the most
detailed that I have ever seen and the language was precise yet
understandable. The large color photographs were greatly
appreciated. Sorting all the fittings, bushings and other
parts out into
separate bags and then clearly labeling the bags was also very helpful.
My
CTC
assembled exactly as the instructions called for ...Also, thanks for
the rapid
shipping.
Your material selection for the fittings and bushings was
perfect. The
bushing material was straight and rigid without an excessive amount of
wall
thickness, and the fittings are flexible yet very
strong....
My CTC's maiden flight will probably occur this Saturday down in Hanger
1 in
Lakehurst, NJ (home of the Hindenburg) - I hope that my piloting skills
will do
justice to the quality of the CTC kit. Thanks again for your
obsessive
attention to detail.
Roger Williamson"
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