I ordered my Graphite 2e from Hyperflight in June 2008, and after a short wait for a fresh batch of kits from Vladimir, a rather large and rather well packed box was delivered to my doorstep. After spilling foam peanuts all over the place (my other half was really not impressed!), I had teh basic components laid out on the living room floor.
The quality of the wing panels and fuselage were impeccable. The finish was nice and even, and I could not find a blemish anywhere! I chose a red underside, with yellow everything else, and red splashes on the wingtips. With hindsight, this colour combo realy stands out in the air, especially on dull days. On the brighter days, I keep wondering if some contrasting stripes on the underside would help gauge those thermal turns in the distance a bit better, but then, it's probably more down to lack ofpiloting skills!
The build was pretty quick really. I did complicate things slightly by installing servo frames for the Futaba S3150 servos in the wing, but other than that, there is very little work to be done. Just install servos, linkages and wiring to the wing, then start on the fuselage.
As I was planning on a fairly warm electric setup, I decided to install a Spektrum AR9000 receiver in the rear of the fuselage, thus giving maximum space for batteries under the wing, and in the forward fuselage. A simple wrap of foam was enough to wedge the RX in place, and provide some shock protection too. Up front, in the removable nose cone, I installed a Hacker B50-11l with a 6.7:1 gearbox. This motor, if anything, is a little on the large (heavy) side, and I wouldn't hesitate to swap it for a B40 on the same gearbox if I ever need to. The motor fitted perfectly, with no need for any dremelling! Behind the motor, I fitted a Castle Creations Phoenix 80 ESC. The BEC on this had no chance of coping with 6 digital servos when powered from a 6s lipo pack, so I fitted a Castle Creations CC-BEC to the main battery connector too. This BEC is rated up to 5A (powered from a 6s pack), so should cope fine with the servo load onboard the Graphite 2e.
With all that installed, the rest of the space is available for batteries! As luck would have it, my existing 3s 2150mAh Zippy and Rhino Lipo packs fitted in perfectly, just needing a small block of foam at back of the fuselage to stop them sliding back too much. With the nose assembled to the fuselage, the packs can just about slide in through the canopy opening, which means easy pack changes at the flying site!
To begin with, I fitted a 16x10" cam folding prop at the front end. Bench testing this setup gave a current draw of around 50 amps (21 volts ish) for just over 1kW input power. Plenty considering the whole model weighs in at around 2.45kg! I have recently tried an 18x10" prop, and this sees the current go up to over 60 amps, for an input power of over 1300Watts!
The first flight was a bit of a non-event, mainoy because I left the battery wiring harness (to connect the two 3s packs in series!) at home! After a quick trip to fetch it, The model was range tested, and all setup ready to go.
The handlaunch was easy, just a firm push forwards, and the graphite was away. I needed a fair bit of down trim to get a level glide (ip ut that down to me getting the neutral All moving tail incidence not quite right), but once it settled into a level glide, I opened the throttle gently. The model literally shot forward, and started to rotate upwards. I had to hold a fiar bit of down elevator in to keep the climb at around 60° (meaning the CG is a bit far forward), but it climbed rather quickly (2600fpm later recorded on my Micrologger!). Levelling off and shutting the motor down, the Graphite settled into a nice flat glide at around 600 feet. A quick few circuits to check the control response out (spot on as given in the manual!), and I had to push the nose down for a fast, low pass!
The sound it made as it came past me about 12 feet off the deck, is perhaps my most favourite sound in aeromodelling. A sort of whistling, whoosh type noise. The sound air molecules make when being tortured! In over 200 flights since last summer, I never fail to grin from ear to ear when I hear that noise!
I spent quite a lot of time exploring the flight envelope of the Graphite, and it is VERY easy to fly. The stall is very tame, with it only wanting to drop a wing if the CG is quite far back, and you really provoke it. With a bit of camber dialled in, it really slows to a crawl. A bit of reflex on the wing, and it is nice and brisk too, especially if you point the nose down!
The landings are a piece of cake too. With the assistance of just the flaps hanging out at about 75° (or crow brakes if your TX can handle them), teh descent rate increases dramatically, yet the airspeed doesn't! A party piece of mine is to launch the model, climbout almost vertically to about 500feet, pull inverted, put out full crow brakes, then pull through to an almost vertical descent, before levelling out at about 10 feet, tuck the crow brakes away, and alnd at my feet :) It never fails to impress!
IN summary, this is a fantastic bit of kit. It is so versatile, from hot climbs, and high energy aerobatics, to circling away at a snails pace looking for thermals, it does it all. It may not be the fastest ship in the world, and it may not be the best thermal hunting machine, but it does fit the "Jack of all Trades" label perfectly! If I ever lose this one, I will not hesitate to buy another one straight away! In fact, I'm tempted to buy a spare now.....
Cheers!
Andy
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