text: Aircraft - Electric - Airplanes Parkflyers T-IFO ~ Glide ???
  Jul 12, 2004, 06:00 AM
  Jul 12, 2004, 06:12 AM
  unless the Cg is finetuned, and the electronic gear is as light as possible, IFOs glide like rocks. its is possible however to put one in a dive and Pull out a foot above the ground for a Semi perfect landing. despite the fact that Power off they dont glide well, they are excellent designs. most likely, you will never have to deadstick an IFO unless a motor fails in flight, the prop flys off or gets broken in a midair, or you burn your ESC. unlike gas engines, electric motors are very reliable in this respect. I would reccomned investing in Lithium polymers to lighten your T-ifo, all Ifos fly and glide best light, and the lighter you can get them without sacrificing airworthyness and power, the better.
  I have had three IFOs and all are still airworthy. Excellent airplanes.
  Jul 12, 2004, 08:05 AM
  In its stock rudder form, it is a lot of fun for just that. there is one pitfall I must warn you about. The main gear is a bit fragile, even with a large number of kevlar wraps to give it strength. I reccomend that you wrap the gear legs with a little extra kevlar or thread up and down the length in a spiral and soak it with a little thin ca to prevent splitting of the rods later. Be super careful not to grab where you have just put glue.Reinforce it as much as you can without adding too much weight. Also, Covering it with ripstop nylon is difficult because its hard to get a super smooth taught covering. that the covering is tight is not super crucial on these planes, and a loose covering my make it fly a little bit better, although the jury is still out on that. Mine were all fairly loose, and they all flew Great. I think youll have fun building it, and You will love how it flys. when you get bored with rudder elevator, which you probably will, conversion to elevons is super easy. just look at any normal IFO or min Ifo thread and youll see how. when you convert to elevons, make sure you have a 4 or more channel radio so you can control rudded, ailerons and elevator and throttle all at once. its alot of fun
  Last edited by Inverted_Fly; Jul 12, 2004 at 08:15 AM.
  Jul 12, 2004, 08:20 PM
  Jul 12, 2004, 10:51 PM
  I like Yellow T-IFO's as well! Excuse the cross as it's a CAPTURED T-IFO!
  Can I ask what your AUW is? Mine came out kinda fat at 6.8ozs
  Jul 13, 2004, 12:32 AM
  I am yet to build, (Kit actually arrived today) Yippee!
  Just started reading the instructions and mulling over the plans.
  Also, is there any chance of snapping this carbon rod whilst bending it into such tortured shapes,
  I hope mine flies better then it looks!
  Jul 13, 2004, 07:59 PM
  Like those wheels. Are they GWS ?
  The ones that came with the kit are very ordinary.
  Just finished the tail hoop/skid, Fuselage.
  I am about to have a go at the main LE/wing spar. Looks like a challenge!
  Jul 13, 2004, 08:05 PM
  A good mornings work. Still picking the ca of my fingers!
  I followed the plans, joined the long carbon rods with the 2 pieces of
  Those wheels look great, I'm going to add similar ones.
  Jul 13, 2004, 11:03 PM
  I can't honestly remember just how the main body aligned in size as comparison to the tail. If I remember correctly <mind you I built the T-IFO in rush fashion over 2 days> the main "hoops" was much closer to matching the plans then the tail section.
  In regard to the glue, again the only thing I used was the suggested Dap Brand Weldwood contact cement. In my first experience working with it I found it to be a lot like rubber cement. Meaning it had the same fluid texture and would dry very tacky when exposed to air right quick. Perhaps you might want to snip a bit of the "extra" ripstop off and see what glue you have works best? Meaning which glue seems to adhere the ripstop to itself best.
  I was surprised but when I did my CG of the T-IFO I was tail heavy!!! While I did have to add a small length of CF rod to the "factory" tail skid I assumed those Pico Wheels would have me nose heavy for sure. To correct my CG I had to move my battery <1.5oz 2 cell lipo> right behind the landing gear.
  My only other problem was in the tail mounting. Aside from the fact everyone's tail <vertical> seems to lean to 1 side or the other mine is perhaps 2 far forward. By that I mean if I add the requested dihedral <2 inches?> via thread it will rub on the tail surface.
  All things considered I may be over critical of my build. I have seen a LOT better on here and some just as "bad" as mine. Heck if the thing flies with "loose" ripstop <and some say they fly BETTER loose> then I'm sure this isn't exactly rocket science, so to speak!
  Ill try to get pics of mine up and posted tonight. I'm I remember correctly I came in kinda heavy at 6.8ozs. Seems most people are at 5.9 give or take.