tripower222

My Feedback: (5)

bemson,
That is awsome, This is my second gas plane. My first one is a Sig 1/4 Cub on floats with a Zenoa G26 nice plane, good running engine, but (sorry Cub fans) Boorrringg!!!!
My build is going well but I'm at a stopping point for parts I need a few items to finish (prop, fuel lines, muffler, spinner, switches, and battery). I would just buy it all but I know my wife told my parents to get me a Tower Hobbies gift card for Christmas so I hate to spend a couple hundred then get a gift card for a couple hundred and not need it. so I'll wait a another week. I'm excited for you and your maiden can't wait to hear how it goes.
Good luck!!!!

airborne2.4

MERRY CHRISTMAS GUYS

bemeson

Merry Xmas to all...I hope Santa took care of all of you. Well, Santa gave me a set of Aero-Works wing bags for my plane. They are really nice and fit the wings perfectly. I am not sure I will use the elevator bags since I rarely take off the elevators. I ran a second tank of fuel through the plane yesterday and I think I got the engine where it needs to be before the maiden flight. I think a 19X7 or a 19X6 will be the perfect prop for the flight. You guys may find something different because I live at 6000 feet above sea level. With the 19X7 prop the motor turned around 7800 rpm running pretty rich on the top. It will just barely sit still at idle with the 19X7 prop.

I will try to take some video if I maiden it tomorrow. I did get around 4 flights with my Giant Super Sportster yesterday. It was nice, I think I have flight number 30 on the Supersportster. Its a really nice plane with great qualities. Its a plane that you can fly anytime. Take care and enjoy the holidays.

Brian

tripower222

My Feedback: (5)

I got the Tower Hobbies gift certificates I expected and odrered a bunch of parts, they should be in when I get back in town next year.

bemeson

Hey Everyone,
I maidened the 540 today. We have been lucky enough to have great weather here in Colorado over the Christmas Holidays.

It went perfect...awesome...would be the correct phrase. The plane flies like its on rails. The roll rate is so fast I can not belive it. It is light and it feels light in the air. This plane far exeeds any other plane I have built to date. One thing I should mention is that the video that will be posted was flown by Mark Dennis. He can do things with planes that I have not ever dreamed of doing. I figured the hard core 3Ders did not want to see me fly the plane. I can say that I did fly it and now I am chomping at the bit to fly it again. I am going to Phoenix tomorrow, so flying RC will have to wait.

The motor ran superp for two the 2 and 1/2 tanks of fuel ran through it. The prop that I used was a Xoar 19X7 and it was pefect for me. Mark mentioned that he liked it as well. All you guys that are thinking about buying one of these birds will be very impressed from the time you open the box till the time it gets in the air. The DLE30 is a perfect combo for the plane. Up here at 6000 feet it had awesome power, I can not imagine the power the little motor would have at sea level. I flew the plane around at 1/3 to 1/2 throttle and it moved.

I can see why others have told me that Aero-Works planes are built to a very high standard and they fly great. You can see the guys did an awesome job designing it. Well I am not going to dribble on much further, but for the guys that are still building them....get building...its awesome...for the guys that are on the fence thinking about it...you shouldn't be...I will upload the video as soon as I get it.

Take care
Brian

bemeson

One thing I forgot to mention was that the plane flew perfect with the CG a little nose heavy. As I become a bit more comfortable with the plane I will move it back slightly. I think it will stay where it is for awhile.

cal_mag

My Feedback: (89)

Hey Guys,

I just built the same plane and have been watching this thread. What is your RTF weight? Mine is an electric setup and weighs 12 lb 9 oz which seems heavy to me. Not sure what to do to drop some weight either so I'm wondering how it compares to everyone elses planes.

Thanks,

Jim

airborne2.4

GREAT! Thanks for taking the camera with you Brian. NOW I'll get to see what the 30cc Edge can do

greg palmer

That is on good looking spinner on the front. Was it pre cut and drilled from AW? I putting the same set up on my AE edge 540, dle-30 but I bought a 3" spinner from VVRC which was pre drilled. I tried to call AW today but they are closed until the 28th

bemeson

Yes the carbon fiber spinner was pre cut and it fits great.
Brian

cal_mag

My Feedback: (89)

Hey guys

I'm going to sell my 3" Tru Turn spinner and some other excess parts left over from my build if you are interested. I'd like to know what your setups weigh. I think I am going to get the CF spinner like you got to save weight. Other than that I can't think of too much else to save weight. Do any if you have the CF tail wheel? How much weight would that save anyays?

bemeson

I believe my plane weighs between 10.5 and 11 pounds AUW. I will weigh it later next week. I can tell you the DLE30 powers the plane with tons to spare. The carbon fiber tail wheel may save you 2 to 5 grams. Check my setup above and you will see exactly what I used. I decided on two switches, two life 1700 mah. Batteries. When you see the flying video you will notice how light the plan is

The only way to save weight easily is to use one battery for both ignition and recvrn, use carbon fiber cone and tail wheel. IMHO. I don't think the single battery is worth the risk esp on a 2.4 rig

Quit worrying about weight, build it, fly it then decide

cal_mag

My Feedback: (89)

Hopefully I can get to the field Wed for the first flight and try it out.

Thanks

Jim

tripower222

My Feedback: (5)

Thats great news, I ordered my parts today. Muffler, spinner, fueling valve, props ect. I went with the same spinner you got from AW. I will get back in town about the same time the parts do.

Where did you wind up placing the batteries and what brand or weight are they. I havent got any batteries coming, still undecided on what i'm going to use until I go to balance the plane and get an idea of how much nose weight it needs to balance out.

bemeson

Take a look at the earlier photos. I placed a 1700 battery on the opposite side from the ignition. The second. 1700 battery is placed next to the fuel tank. The battery Packs weigh about 3 ounces each. The ignition battery is overkill b ut I had a spare. I think a 2000 mah battery for the receiver would be optimal if you fly more than 4 flights before charging

tripower222

My Feedback: (5)

I have a new 1100 LiFe battery lying around but I fear it may be too small for the ignition.

HelividD

My Feedback: (1)

Great thread and forum!

I am new here, and actually found this thread by being redirected by Aeroworks link.

I also have a 540 running DLE 30, Hitec 5645's and the 635 on throttle. I have built mine and after today, I have 4 tanks through it(in the break in process). This is the first running with the cowl on and all went well. I have, like you all, set it up with ignition and separate flight batteries. Unfortunately, I didn't get to Sears before the holiday, so I purchased Toro 2 cycle oil, and am running 32:1 ratio(however, this is a very dirty oil, as I have black soot on the ground and wheel pants), so I cannot wait to get through the break in cycle so I can switch to synthetic, or, I just may run the 2.5 gallons I have now and switch to the lawnboy. Have you guys found that it is pretty clean as far as smoke and the soot? I have to also replace the plug, as I was also told that the stock plugs do not last too long, however, I tached the idle, and was getting 1360-1420 steady. And I just use the throttle cut to kill the engine on my model. I haven't done the high end yet, as I am still trying to take it easy with the throttle, and I don't believe I have stabbed it past 1/2 as of yet.

Right now, I am running a 18*10 Zinger, and as this is my first gas motor, I honestly, am really thinking about converting my 1.20 and 1.60 glows to gas, as even with the break in soot, it's nothing compared to the mess of glow, the cost is cheaper for gas, and it really appears that the power band is much more powerful than the glows. At least, it is much more responsive out of the box?

I am going to have to weigh it, though, honestly, I cannot believe the thing even weighs 10lbs with the motor. I have a Great Planes Ultimate, and it's 12.5 lbs but feels much, much heavier than the Edge when picking it up.

And, I will have to call AW and order one of those spinners also, as that is the last thing that I need in order to have the model "completely" done also, and I really want one also(BTW, it looks great on your model).

bemeson

You will be really pleased with your plane, but I would rethink your break in process. Running your engine on the ground in your plane is very hard on the airframe. All the vibration is being distributed to the wings and airframe. I normally get a basic reliable tune on the ground and then fly it. During the process of running fuel through the motor during the flights, I constantly monitor the motor and check the engine temp with a pyrometer. I may gradually lean the motor to get rid of the burble as I run a couple of gallons of fuel through it.

If you are running a non-syn oil in your plane, you do not need to go to lawn boy. I run Stihl Ultra HP during break in at 32 to 1 and then run the same oil at 40 to 1 for the rest of it's life. Oil is personal thing and there are hundreds of thread talking about this on here.

The soot you see will continue for awhile and as it breaks in it will get better, but never completely go away. The longer the exhaust tubes on your muffler the less soot you will see.

Good luck I love my plane and it makes me think I want the 50 or 100 cc Edge now.

Brian

telejojo

Break in your engine flying............................................ ..................

airborne2.4

or on a test bench?

HelividD

My Feedback: (1)

Huh? You guys lost me. You have to bear with me, as I am a helicopter dude up north(Michigan) and I have only been flying planes for 2 years, but helicopters for 14. I just caught on and got hooked quick. And that is what I am trying to do(breaking in the engine), and I do not have a test stand or break in stand. I suppose I need to build one for the next project. Since this is my first gas plane, I have never had any sort of issue with breaking in either the helicopters or previous airplanes(and I have 5 downstairs) in this fashion, though, as I see, yes, the gas engines "indeed do" vibrate much more. Well, at first it did, but now, it's about the same as my Ultimate(I found out after the first tank, exactly what you guys are talking about as far as the airframe and firewall, but I have taken care of that little issue in the "helicopter guy" fashion.... LOL!), so yes, it may vibrate the airframe, but I would rather it vibrate the airframe on the ground, than in the air, so I can see the weaknesses and correct them if need be. I cannot fly it at the moment unfortunately, as I believe all the fields are covered with snow(it sucks bigtime). And I was following the instructions on the DLE USA website, as to how to break it in on the ground.

Now, I know there is the "in the air" and also "on the ground" method. Normally, I like to do a combination of the two, getting heat into the motor, while not over revving it while the ring seats. I do this with the combination of a temp gun and tachometer. The only thing that I have found, as per being warned, is that, it takes all day to run out a tank of gas in an unleaded plane. That is the major drawback. I am one of the "old schoolers" who runs a good gallon of gas or more at least through the models before revving it. I want my engines to last, and the method has never failed me. The engines run powerfully(as told by others that I have sold engines to and been asked to break in their motors for them) and never have problems. Who knows, maybe this gas thing will change that streak, but I tend to fly my models not hard hard, but I push them, so reliability and "consistent" performance is important to me(I fly aerobatics between slow and fast, so I can't have engines dropping out on me). So, I take my time and do not rush it. For instance, in order to get the motor heated, I run the r's up to 2000, then back it down after a time(this fluctuates as I get more time on the motor). The first tank, I just let it idle high so the engine is warm and seats the ring, while getting all the manufacturing gunk out of it.

I still have another three months before I can fly it, so, by then, "it will" be on synthetic. I am just trying to do the initial 5 gallons with the messy stuff and get it out of the way.

And I would love to do a larger one also, but I am constrained on space for transportation at the moment. Maybe in the future, but if I do that, I need to get rid of some of my smaller planes. Heck, I need to do that anyhow, as I don't really want to fly the smaller ones anymore to be honest.

Thank you all for your input. :-)

brwilkins

My Feedback: (4)

I thought I'd share how my electrified version came out.

Here's my setup
Hacker A60-18M
Hacker X-80 Opto Pro 80A ESC
APC 24x13W prop (may switch to wood later)
Hobbycity el-cheapo lipos - 2 5S packs in series for 10S total
(all of the above connected using 10-12 gauge wire with 5.5mm bullets)
Castle Pro BEC (running off of the 10S flight packs)
Spektrum AR9100 receiver
Hyperion DS20-FMD servos

As you'll see in the pictures, I mounted the ESC right behind the firewall. With the included air scoops, cooling should be good. I used the Hacker cage mount for the motor and had to add a few washers to get the spacing right for the prop hub. The only other thing that I did was to build a small plate in to separate the lipos from the ESC.

I have a Pilot-RC 30cc SBach and am running this exact same setup. I've been very happy with that one, so I feel confident that it will work well in this one too.

erieqc

HelividD your doing a good job as far as I can tell. Its a hobby and its something to have fun with and you work with what you have. The only thing I would do different is run about 2 gallons not 5 gallons before switching to synthetic. I've been told by an excellent engine guy that you can use synthetic from the get go but I don't I will run 2 gallon of Penzoil air cooled threw first then switch. Other than that keep doing what your doing!

Grelker

My Feedback: (58)

I agree with erieqc, 2 gals of fuel before synthetic is the way I've done it for the past several years on my gas engines. I use non-synthetic for those 2 gals and then switch to Amsoil 100:1 synthetic. I run this at 80:1.

As far as break-in, I run the engine up to operating temp (about 5 minutes) at 2500 rpm or so, on the ground, then let it cool completely (about 15 minutes). I repeat this cycle 3 more times. This method allows the rings to seat. Then go fly it!

HelividD

My Feedback: (1)

Hi guys! :-)

Thanks for the support with my break in methods. The only thing is I spoke with Mark from Aeroworks(twice actually) and honestly, now I am afraid to proceed the way I was going. We had a nice long conversation, as he was going to reply to my previous post, but I called him in the meantime.

The gist of the conversation is the cooling of the engine and carbon deposits that can build up, which do not happen with glow motors in the way we break them in. He was very kind in saying that, the intention on my part was great, but with the gas motors, it is a bit different and they have to be basically run in "under power". He explained it in great detail exactly why and gave me probably more information than anyone has as far as this gas engine/airplane thing is concerned thus far. He really is a great guy to talk to, so thanks to him for his patience. So, I will probably, as much as it pains me, just put the Edge in basement and wait for warmer weather. Talking with my fellow pit partner/flight buddy(my wife), we contemplated as usual how we possibly could rig up something to get the results that he mentioned(I don't want to say them, as I do not want to mis quote anything he said, thus making him look bad, when in actuality, it is my mistake or misunderstanding), but in the end, we decided/concurred that this probably is the best thing to do.

We talked about setting the plane outside(this weekend is supposed to be a little warmer) and running it up, letting the cold air counter the heat that the engine may build up under the higher rpm's, but since this isn't something that I am "seasoned" in, I basically am going to step out of character and be patient. :-) As hard as that "truly" is, but the thought of me actually hurting the motor, is completely against my motif. :-) Not to mention, that I am trying hard to get my hand on a CM6 plug locally and am suprisingly having a hard time(went to Napa, AutoZone, Murrays, a local auto supply shop, etc), is making me say "maybe it's just meant for me to wait a month or two. It's really not "that" long(I am trying to tell myself.. LOL) that I have to wait.

I did however find a location that has Amsoil in my quest for a spark plug, so that is definately a plus. :-)