This motor mount modification on the Aerobird and Aerobird Challenger is
probably the single most valuable addition you can make to your plane. I
originally posted this on the internet in April 2003 and hundreds, of people
have made the change and praised its effectiveness.
Here are pictures of the damage I sustained from a hard nose in crash as
well
as the repair. This plane would not have flown properly with the motor like
this.
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...2Ys2bU¬ag=1
Here is a thread about the original repair:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...5&pagenumber=1
You drill holes from the sides, right in front of the motor and put a nylon
tie wrap through that sits just in contact with the motor. If you hard hit
the nose, this helps support the motor and prevents it from moving. The
holes
are 1/2" apart, centered on the motor. I used an 8" nylon tie-wrap/zip tie,
but a 7" would probably be fine and a little less bulky.
I also include some shots of the motor and control board out of the plane,
just for reference. Remember that this is an original Aerobird so the
Challenger's board looks a little different but you remove the guts the same
way. The motor reinforcement works perfectly on the Challenger.
When you put the tie wrap in, you have to slip it under the noise
suppression
components that are soldered between the motor terminals. They are the
orange
disks in one of the photos. I used a small screwdriver to just lift them
away
gently from the motor slightly so the tie would fit against the motor.
Just take your time and don't over tighten the tie wrap. Leave a little
slack
as the body needs to flex on a crash and the tie-wrap will pull through the
body if it is pulled tight.
The photos show a yellow tie wrap, but that was just for pictures. I cut
this
out and replaced it with an orange one that looks much better on the plane.
I love the Aerobird. A few months ago I upgraded to the Challenger which is
now one of my favoriate planes. The original Aerobird is still with me, now
dedicated to night flying.
Between the two I have over 350 flights. I power fly the Challenger, I
thermal soar it and have added slope soaring to the things I do with this
versitle plane.
It is very good in the wind as well. I have flown the plane in a measured
18
mph wind, allowed it to get 150 feet down wind from me, cut the motor and
glided it back to me and landed it at my feet. It was fun to watch the
faces
of some pilots with large gas planes when I did that.
The Aerobird Challenger is the plane I typically use to train new pilots.
It
is rugged and easy to fly. Parts are cheap and very available. There are
probably 8 or 10 that fly at our club field.
I now have 18 planes that range from a 30 inch parkflyer and a 33" wing
span
discus launched glider to a 3.4 M (12 foot) wing span scale sailplane.
However, the Challenger lives in the car and is always ready for some fun,
no
matter what kind of flying I want to do.
Don't wait, do this mod on your Aerobird. Do it now, before you need it!