KC5ZKI

Thanks. I guess I am little more nervous flying this one than I thought I would be lol !

Never understood why they had three tick marks for 3 different size planes when you can only build one size plane!

opjose

Huh?

The ticks marks are for the C.G. and have nothing to do with different sized planes.

The tick marks would work pretty well if they were collectively about 1"+ forward of where they are now... it would seem that someone made a mistake in the laser template.

1alonso

My Feedback: (5)

Sorry to get in the middle... I am just looking for an airplane for my gemini FT300... you owners know if this would be a good fit?

thanks

KC5ZKI

wow! The first flight was a hairy one! it porpoised up and down and was twitchy as hell ! It just wanted to float on landing and then just slammed down... no damage luckily!

CG was set 1/2 inch in front of the first mark... time to move it further and try again!

opjose

I would NOT move it further forward.

The C.G. only needs to be moved if the nose has a tendancy to come UP in flight or as you power off from full throttle.

1/2" forward of the first mark is a bit forward of where I have mine.

The "twichyness" comes from excessive throws with no or not enough Expo.

The first time I flew it, this caught me too, as I was not used to it being so responsive...

I increased the expo for my low rates to about 50% and decreased my throws to about 45% of my high rates.

This turned out to be perfect... however now that I'm used to the plane I usually fly it at high rates, but my high rate expo is about 60% to keep things under control at center.

The tail has a short "moment" which can make the plane seem very twitchy, but this makes it great for aerobatics... and it will even hover suprisingly well in spite of the short tail.

IMHO The ideal flight condition for this plane is when the C.G. is adjusted so that the nose just barely drops a little from level flight at 50%-60% throttle with BOTH the plane upright and inverted. This occurs about where you currently have things.

The rate at which the dive changes should be the same both upright and inverted.

When I flew the plane the first time with the C.G. at the second tick mark, the nose came up slightly at 50% and it felt twitchy as hell at first. The problem was that as the fuel was used up the tail got heavier, making the first landing a bit difficult...

After dropping the throws a LOT via the radio I was much more confortable with the plane.

KC5ZKI

interesting... I used low rates on the low side of the listed values. No expo - so that could be a huge factor. As it settled in for a landing at idle, it seemed like the nose didnt want to come down and it just sort of dropped out of the sky! lol
I really didnt experience much fuel usage as after about 4 laps around with it twitching in every direction lol I just wanted to bring it in!

I will try the expo route and see if that clears it up.... I was really surprised how twitchy it was up and down as well... on low rates it didnt roll very fast so the whole thing caught me off guard as well... mine came in right at 15 pounds according to my bathroom scale so that is right on. Do you have to do any mixing at all once you get into the more advanced manuevers?

opjose

Ideally the nose should start dropping before it hits stall, to aid recovery and so you know what is happening. So try moving your batteries forward a bit, say another 1/2" at most.

However the plane is more responsive and better at rolls, and hovering with the C.G. about where you have it now.... though yes when I bring it in, it never seems to drop the nose... I merely float it in under minor amounts of power.

Try bringing down the radio throws/rates for your low settings. I had mine about 65% of high initially and I ended up around 45% of high instead... particularly for the elevator... the ailerons ended up around 55% for low rates.

Re: mixing

With the C.G. set as neutrally as you have it now, coupling is VERY low when it occurs.

I'm not flying it with any mixes at the moment, but it might be fun to program in spoilerons for elevator like decents... It really doesn't need flaperons as you've discovered!

KC5ZKI

that was my plan... the batteries are over the fuel tank now... i will move one up a bit and see what happens! you have to remember I am coming off of a giant big stik which was like a giant trainer so twitchy was not good! lol

It really is a good looking plane - looking forward to smoothing it out a bit! by the way what engine and prop did you settle on?

opjose

I'm using a ZDZ 50 NR with a Bamboola 22x something prop... I forget what the pitch as I am not close to the plane.

Mine came in under the stated weight by about 1/3 lb.

-

I have a GP Big Stik .60. I've maxed out it's throws so that is very responsive.

It's one of my "go to" planes when the winds are high. It turns into a big red glider in 18mph winds or more.

KC5ZKI

my bathroom scale is only accurate to half a pound so I dont really have an accurate reading... but the Evo 45 pulled it fine with a 22x10. I do appreciate you letting me bother you with the questions! No one has ever seen this plane before at the field here...

opjose

Yeah about a 40-46 would be ideal for this plane...

The ZDZ50 seems like gross overkill.

I also have the CMP Marathon which I was about to start working on.

This plane is slightly smaller, weights about 1.5lbs less if that, and only calls for a 20-24cc engine... I'm putting in a 26cc engine...

KC5ZKI

lol seems like you cant stop with the overkill lol I truly hope the expo takes care of the problems - it truly is a unique looking plane!

1alonso

My Feedback: (5)

I finally got mine. I am using an OS Twin Gemini FT300, Aileron and elevator........ HITECH HS-7985MG, Rudder............................ JR DS8611A

I will repost weight when I get done.

rc.dude

I read your thread my first flight on the same plane was a wild flight i thought i was getting it back in a black bag. So a freind of mine showed me how a he balance is 40 % edge i end setting mine at 1 1/2 inch foward from the first tick brand new air plane.

fireplug1111

My Feedback: (21)

OK Guys:
I have a question? I been flying for about 5 years. Biggest plane was a 1/4 scale Cub. Flew it a few times. I was wonder if this is a good plane for me, or if this is a plane for the hardcore 3d guys. I just want something easy and nice loking to fly around with.
Alan

DamBo

The Edge 540 is an excellent plane to fly. It can be as docile as you like or as wild.
I have had mine for this year and it has been a fun plane to fly.
I don't do extreme 3d, maybe some mild. Comes in slow and settles in nice.

This is my first big gasser.
Getting the C.G. correct "in front of the first tic mark" is one of the most important things that I have found on this plane that makes it fun to fly.

fireplug1111

My Feedback: (21)

SavAxiInf:

You said setting the CG in front of the first make is important. How far in front of the tick mark?

Alan

rc.dude

Hello hope you enjoy your new airplane once i got my CG i really like flying it. I can't wait till the snow goes away so i can fly it again.

opjose

It's up to you!

At 1/4" in front it's a 3D'er...

At 1 1/4" in front it's more docile but still agile.

So-Low

Something I will share about this plane. The landing gear is very flexable on landings. After replacing two 21X8 XOAR props due to ground hits from the gear flex I installed a two 4-40 rods on each gear side and used a heavy spring in the middle. Since duing this a have never had another prop hit the ground. I have over 30 flights on this plane. It stands as my favorite to fly. It never missed a trip to the field.

Johnn1e Walk3r

can you please post a picture of this ?
Thanks

loefflerh

This thread is really quiet - does anybody have another video or pictures? I just got mine from NP, engine is ordered (DL50) Any advice building besides the CG issues?
Hans

opjose

The build is fairly straight forward and easy.

I have a bunch of photos in my gallery, of this plane's construction. Click on my name on the left and then on "Gallery".

I have NOT found the gear to flex as listed above, nor have I had to employ the spring idea, not that it is a bad one.

I've used similiar things on other planes with weak gear however.

The C.G. is the only thing to really watch for.

You'll also need to fabricate some simple battery retention plates, etc... but this is trivial.

The plane itself is a great flyer with somewhat gentle flying characteristics.

Don't cut the speed to much on landing as it can tip stall, so hold a bit of power until a few inches off the ground.

Otherwise it's a great plane...

I'm building another one soon, and one thing I'm going to do with this one...

The tail fuselage formers are somewhat long, and a lot of wood has been removed for lightening.

To re-inforce the back part of the fuse, I'm going to epoxy in some 1/8" carbon fiber rods, lengthwise and at least one cross wise under the rear deck.

crazytracey

I have a plane like this and from all the pointers on where to set the C.G. is 1 1/2" a good place to start or woud it be to nose heavy Im just getting to fly gassers running a DL 50 runs nice can,t wait to fly 'but in the past has some cg problmes with nitro planes

bigmike3412

I don't know if you have already flown the plane, but I maiden mine the other day and almost dumped it because I C.G.'d it like everyone else on this thread did (on the center hole) and found the plane uncontrollable! I wish I would have read what opjose and rcdudes advice on this issue. I can't stress enough on moving your C.G. in front of that tick mark. Also, I hung a nice DA-50 on mine and if there is such a thing as too much power, this is it. I swung a 24x8 prop and the plane just wouldn't slow down enough to land. I never went above 1/4 throttle because it started to get hairy dueto high speed and short fuselage! I may be able to put a smaller prop on but I just decided to hang an SPE-43 I had laying around on it. I have a good feeling I should be a able to 3D no problems with this motor. I have a DA50 on an 18 pound YAK that still has enough power to explode out of a hover....compared to a 14 pound edge with a DA. Let me know how you like your plane.