Falcon714

My Feedback: (62)

Jerry_Hailey,

Are you using the stock P-Box muffler (converted to pitts) on the 1.20AX or did you purchase a bisson pitts muffler? Can you post some pics if using stock? Would like to see how you set it up. Thank you!

Jerry_Hailey

I'll take some pics tonight. I had to cut the cowl for the box muffler.

DR10044

rlarkin70, How does your plane fly on the ST90? What prop is giving you the best performance?

rs670

My Feedback: (1)

On page 16 of the instruction manual (item 3) it says to drill 25/64 holes for blind nuts. That's so big, there wouldn't be much wood for the blind nut to bite into. A 13/64 or 7/32 seems logical to me. Has anyone else drilled holes that big?

Rick Carter

flybyme

The price is dropping on this plane, how low will it go?

rs670

My Feedback: (1)

I've read this entire thread prior to assembling my Goldberg Edge 540. After reading all the complaints about inferior hardware that comes with the plane, (which I totally agree with), I replaced the aileron, rudder and elevator linkage with heavy duty dubro items with 8-32 shafts. I also reinforced the firewall with triangular stock and epoxy. I installed an OS 1.20FS Surpass engine and a 1500mAh battery mounted under the front of fuel tank. This put the CG at 3 7/8 inches. The maiden flight went very well requiring very little trim. Since then, I've worked up to full throttle passes along with other aggressive maneuvers without a hint of flutter. I want to thank all the RCUniverse members for their feedback on how to address this problem. The expense and time to upgrade linkage is well worth the saved frustration and/or peace of mind. I'm totally satisfied with the way it performs.

Thanks again RCUniverse

rlarkin70

My Feedback: (1)

Hi DR-

I think it flies GREAT with the ST90. I am not trying to do 3D with it, but I can pull up into a hover and I think the vertical performance is just fine. I'm using an APC 14x6 "Pattern" prop, the one with the wide blades that costs about twice as much as a regular APC prop. The hobby shop I go to only had this one, so I went with it.

-Ron

out152

same thing happened to mine 5th flight.......bolt broke ,,,flutter,,,,wing tore in half,,,,bye,bye edge. cheap hardware. run around by goldberg. but i must say i loved the way it flew up until then.

Falcon714

My Feedback: (62)

Jerry, did you ever take some pics of the plane with the 1.20 AX? I'd really like to see them. You can send them to me directly at [email protected]. Thank you.

Also, to all on this post, if you haven't heard already, Great Planes just acquired Carl Goldberg / Lanier. Hopefully, since they are a very reputable company, they will stand behind the problems with this airplane!!!!

DR10044

Well, welcome me to the club. You guessed it, wing flutter! On my second flight of the day yesterday flying level one of the wings went into the most sever flutter that I have ever seen in my 25+ years of flying. End result is a lost plane. I had replaced all the hardware and had pulled a PM the night before. Everything checked out. The plane had at least 20+ flights on it. I really think the wings are under engineered. The spar spacing is to far apart and the way they are constructed leaves a lot to be desired. I will never buy another goldberg unless Great Planes improves their designs and quality control.

Jerry_Hailey

Just when I was going to take photos I had a little boo-boo. I was having so much fun flying, I ran out of fuel while hovering. i was too low and killed the nose. i have made repairs and replaced the cowl. I had to cut the muffler adapter to get clearance for the cowl. Here are the photos

Jerry_Hailey

I cut about 1/8 inch off of the face of the 90 degree adapter.

Falcon714

My Feedback: (62)

Jerry_Hailey, thanks for the pics. Much apprectiated!

DR10044, sorry about your loss. What hardware did you change yours out to? Do you have a link? So, if you changed the hardware and it still happened, the cause may not lie within that hardware at all. Am I understanding you correctly?

I'm just wondering if I should rip off the covering on the wings and reinforce them a little based upon DR10044 findings. Any thoughts on this?

DR10044

Falcon714, I used Dubro heavy duty .60 to .90 size, which I have used many times before with no problems. Even with the flutter the hinges stayed in place. With flutter it is sometimes hard to understand the cause. The only thing I could have done different was went with giant scale type hardware. But who knows, it still may not have corrected the problem. This is one great flying plane, if you can keep them from self destructing in the air.

rs670

My Feedback: (1)

I've been flying this Edge for three weeks now. No signs of flutter while making full throttle passes. The plane flies like it's on rails.

PR8

My Feedback: (1)

Hello Dr. Sorry this is so long but I have a lot of info to share. I'm the one the Flydoctor left a message about earlier regarding the aileron flutter. As he stated, I was able to land it after experiencing flutter 15 seconds into the flight while at 50% throttle and flying level. Upon inspection we found the left bolt was sheared off and the left wing was busted at the end of the wing tube and the servo mounting box was ripped up pretty bad. The right wing had held together but the right bolt was severely bent, almost in half. I was baffled. The plane calls for standard servos but I used Hitec 475's in the entire plane with a Saito 125 pulling her. Got a Crappy response from Goldberg. All I really needed was a new left wing and they said they were out. The best they could do was send me a new plane for $220.00 plus $12.99 shipping. I read all the posts and figured what the heck, everyone says it flies great, just crappy hardware, so I bought another one. Big Mistake on my part because I crashed this one real good this time do to flutter again! Remember all I needed was a new set a wings so me and Flydoctor went to the LHS and picked up some Dubro heavy duty .91 and up control horns and clevises and some clear monocote to seal the hing gaps this time. This really looked good on the operating table! We thought for sure we had this sucker fixed right this time. Well we did, but Goldberg didn't. I took off and flew her on low rates for about 5 to 8 minutes and I did two gentle loops and a couple barrel rolls. Nothing extreme and just as I was bringing her around for landing. BAM! The left aileron sheared off at the hinges! The metal pins in all 5 hinges sheared off. No warning at all. She death spiralled right into the bean field next door. Total loss. 3 stripped servos, broken prop, smashed tru turn spinner, bent the crank shaft on the brand new Saito 125, and shredded the airframe. Upon inspection I am a firm believer that the aileron servo mount couldn't take the stress and tore loose causing flutter which breaks the bolt and with so much load on a free aileron (servo flopping around like a novice bullrider) it sheared off at the pins! It is my belief gentlemen that the hardware isn't up to par, but the real cause for everyone's problems is the engineering and building of the wing. Not enough ribs and too far apart. And not enough support around the servo mounts. For all of you who haven't crashed yet do yourselve's a favor and look inside the wings and reinforce them! This plane is beautiful and flies like a dream. I still have a new fuse. I intend to fix the wings and have the Saito repaired and start over for the third time! Yes, I am persistant! I hope this helps all of you out there!!!!

DR10044

PB8, I think you hit the nail on the head about the wing design being sub par. The eye witnesses to my flutter said the whole wing was in convulsions. The hardware on mine did not fail. The servo tray was out of the plane after the crash, with the servo still screwed into the tray. Did the flutter pull the tray loose or did the tray come loose first and then cause the flutter. Since there is no video I don't know. The spar spacing is very wide. Also the spar construction, especially some of the bracing can be pulled loose with very little pressure. The bracing pulls loose from the glue joint. For the amount of money you pay for this ARF the design and quality control on the build should be a lot better. For the price of this ARF you can buy the AeroWorks 90-120 size QB Yak. I have their 50CC Yak and the quality of it is on another level all together.


Good luck with your rebuild.

maxcontinuos

Well I am really sorry for those of you who have lost airframes due to sub par hardware or workmanship. I really wanted to buy this airplane but I am getting really tired of buying an ARF and then replacing everything. For the price Goldberg is charging, the hardware should be gold plated!

I have written an email to Goldberg stating that due to the fact that they are selling a product for top dollar knowing full well that it has substandard hardware and has not been willing to provide any meaningful customer support to those who have been affected, I will be passing on my purchase and spending my money elsewhere.

Such a shame for an ARF that is twice the price of everything else, to still come with crap hardware. I wish they would just give up all together and only provide an airframe. My garbage can is full of garbage hardware.

Now that Goldberg is part of GreatPlanes, who knows what will happen.

Falcon714

My Feedback: (62)

Below is an email that I sent to Great Planes Air Support and their Reply:

My Email:

To whom it may concern:
It has come to my attention recently that Great Planes Model Mfg has just aquired Carl Goldberg / Lanier. My question is this, with all of the problems being encountered with the Carl Goldberg Edge 540 67" model airplane (specifically wing flutter), will Great Planes stand behind the faulty hardware or inadequate wing structure? I purchased this kit and now I'm nervous about building and flying it as a result of all the "lost planes" (see link below). I hope this email makes it across the desk of Don Anderson as we fellow modelers work hard for our money and to spend it on this plane only to know what will be the final outcome....a crash. Don should read all of the posts to see for himself all of the complaints. I've owned many Great Planes kits and I've never seen anything like the problems being encountered here with the Edge. Carl Goldberg use to make exceptional kits back in the days. However, this is not the case anymore. Thank you.

Great Planes Response:

"Thank you for contacting Product Support. We are currently in the process of updating our files. This means we are setting up manuals, plans, parts (replacement, damaged, etc.). At this time I do not exactly know which kits we will be working with. We will stand behind the airplane kit should you have any problems. If you would have a problem you can contact us via phone (217-398-8970) or via e-mail ([email protected], or [email protected]. If you have a specific question concerning your plane please contact us and we will do our very best to find an answer for you. Please bear with us for a few weeks while we get up and running. We have a lot of things yet to learn. Don is working with our department manager during the transition, and will be informed of the RC posts, e-mails, correspondence. Thank you. I hope I have be able to assure you about the kits. "

So, for all of you who encountered a crash or some type of problem with this plane, over flood Great Planes with emails and calls to see if anything will be done. I would forget about Goldberg doing anything as it is shown by the above posts that contacting them never resulted in a resolution. If anyone does contact Great Planes and gets a response, please don't forget to post it here! Thanks.

CVN-71

Ok I was was SUCKER. I went and bought a second plane BEFORE i even sent the other edege back to CG. Once they did get my first plane they said there was nothing they could or would do for me.
Now the second plane flew just as sweet as the first plane did. only problem was that during our clubs first Funfly the wing blew out on this one too. Went and called them again. (SURPRISE) got Great planes. explained the problem (s) to them and they said to send it back and that they WOULD take care of me.
Well just have to see how the new owners do. already told them i didnt want another CG product. will only be burned twice by the same company.

Randy

Bax

My Feedback: (11)

After we saw the postings about the Goldberg 67" Edge and 67" Yak ARFS having in-flight failures, we took some time to investigate the claimed problems in these two models.

We found that some hardware was not up to our standards. It is our belief after thorough testing that this original hardware was the cause of the in-flight failures. We are in the process of adding new hardware and a Product Improvement Sheet to all of our in-house stock as well as sending these out to Great Planes Dealers and Tower customers.

As you can imagine, this is a large undertaking and we ask for your patience while we make up these hardware packages and get them sent out. Attached is a copy of the Product Improvement Sheet so that you can see what is being replaced. If you have built your model with the original hardware, please do not fly your plane again until you receive your replacement parts.

As always, if a modeler has a problem with any of our products, they should contact Product Support- 217 398 8970 - 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM CST. Each incident will be thoroughly reviewed. Our support staff should be able to help you resolve your difficulty. If you believe your model has a difficulty that is a result of its original manufacture, it can always be sent to Hobby Services. Here are the return instructions: http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_1154095/tm.htm

67" Yak 54 ARF
Product Improvement Sheet
Please replace all of the included Control Horn Bolts in the
kit with the items in this bag:
Four 4-40 x 2-1/2" [76mm] Counter-Sunk Phillips Head Screw
(Aileron/Elevator Control Horn Bolts)
One 4-40 x 3-1/2" [89mm] Threaded Rod
(Rudder Control Horn Rod)

67" Edge 540 ARF
Product Improvement Sheet
Please replace all of the included Control Horn Bolts in the
kit with the items in this bag:
Four 4-40 x 2-1/2" [76mm] Counter-Sunk Phillips Head Screw
(Aileron/Elevator Control Horn Bolts)
One 4-40 x 3-1/2" [89mm] Threaded Rod
(Rudder Control Horn Rod)

Falcon714

My Feedback: (62)

Ask and we shall receive. That is the difference between a "Great" company and one that doesn't want to deal with the problems. Thank you Bill and Great Planes for taking the time to investigate this matter. I'm just sorry for all of those who lost their models before this matter was looked into.

lowcash

Hello, I ordered my 540 today , I am planning on running a os 1.20 fs. Do I need to have the pumped 1.20, or can I just use a non pumped.
Thanks

R/C Foolish

My Feedback: (6)

I would use the pumped, put the fuel tank by the wing tube.

R/C Foolish

HoverLoW

Hellow!!!

I have some quick questions:

Is this a 3D plane?

An O.S. 120 AX can hover this aircraft with a good amount of power to pull out?

Did anybody consider an OS 160 FX for this bird??

Thanks!!!!!!!

HoverLoW