wiggles

bought my first electric today. a zaggi 400. after reading the destructions found out that the upgrade kit is a 400x. have several questions;its got this teeny little 7.2 volt 500 ma bat pack that is supposed to power everything, is this enough? have a carbon fiber arrow shaft can i use this to strengthen the wing? can i use a 1800 ma sub c or e for longer flights? would it not be better to run a separate flight pack? very confusing this electric stuff. got the wing so i could fly at the beach on weekdays instead of going to the strip. all replies appreciated muchly.

Matt Kirsch

My Feedback: (21)

If it is truly a 7.2 VOLT pack, then it won't spin the motor fast enough to fly the airplane adequately. Zagis need at least a 7-cell (8.4V) or preferably an 8-cell (9.6V) pack. The stock pack in the USA is a 9.6V 500mAH pack.

An arrow shaft is ideal to strengthen the wing. Just dig a trench in the bottom of the wing, somewhere near the balance point (8" or approximately 204mm back from the nose), and embed a length of arrow shaft with some epoxy before you apply the tape covering.

Because batteries are heavy and brute power is often lacking, weight is a critical factor in electric aircraft. A separate receiver battery pack would add weight. Besides, there's already a battery in the airplane; a redundant second battery would be redundant! Electronic Speed Controls (ESCs) are designed with built-in voltage regulators (battery-eliminator circuits, BECs) and low-voltage cutoffs so they automatically shut off the motor to save enough power to run the servos for landing.

1800mAH Sub C cells are too heavy for the stock Speed 400 motor. It simply won't have enough "poop" to make the plane move fast enough to fly. To have enough thrust to push the heavier plane, you would need to use a larger motor and propeller, which in turn will shorten your duration back to what it was with the light battery and motor. Do you really want a fragile, overweight rocket?

For more duration, you could use ~1000mAH NiMH cells, which are the same size and weight as the 500 & 600 mAH NiCd cells. Zagi also sells somewhat heavier duration flight packs: A 1400mAH and a 1700mAH. Both weigh about the same, which is about twice as much as a standard Zagi pack, but a pack of Sub C cells will weigh twice as much as both of these packs put together. The difference between the two packs is that the 1400mAH pack is much less expensive, with only a slight decrease in duration.

TRP

My Feedback: (1)

Congratulations on the purchase of your Zagi. I own one and I am ashamed to admit the fact that I don't fly it nearly as much as it deserves to be flown. They are a great flying plane low stress planes (once the CG is set properly.)

I have built two 2700mAH ni-Cad packs from some loose cells that I purchased from my local hobby shop. They are identical in size to the 1700mAH ni-Cad pack that came with my 400x. The 2700's don't have the 'punch' of the 1700mAH pack (not sure why... maybe some battery goo roo can enlighten me on the subject) but they seem to last longer. I need to time each pack/flight and record the numbers to just to be sure. For the price and time it cost me - I would have been better off just ordering 2 extra 1700mAH packs from my Local Hobby Shop. (I try not to order directly from the Zagi.com site - as their prices tend to be higher than the hobby shops.)

The only other mods I purchased were some different props and a speed 400 motor. I have yet to install them.

Enjoy your Zagi!
TRP

Randy Smith

My recommendation is to go with the Zagi 400X battery pack, 1700mah - 8 cell Nicad. Mine flys really well with good power / performance and flight time of 10 - 12 minutes by managing the power settings. Weight of my Zagi 400X is 25.7 oz (740 grams)
Use APC 5.5 x 4.5 propellor.

I am eager to experiment with a 9 cell - 1650mah NiMH pack as found on radicalrc.com battery catalog. Hopefully, the lighter pack will help the Zagi performance. I don't know what else I might be trading off with the NiMH.

Uluru,

Randy Smith

wiggles

thanks for the replies guys. sliced the arrow in half and is imbedded in the bottom of the wing. as for the batteries, i won't be going for NiMAH as i don't have a charger for them. mkirsch what size batteries are these? are they AA's or E's. the pack in the kit is a 9.6 volt, it was so tiny i thought it was only a 7.2. what flying time can i get out of this pack as i reckon i will be finished by the afternoon.

wiggles

OK. what did i do wrong? finished the zaggi, charged the battery as per instructions, servos work but the motor doesn't.did i do wrong or is the motor dead?

Matt Kirsch

My Feedback: (21)

Electronic Speed Controls (ESCs) often have safety features built into them where you need to put the throttle to idle for a few seconds to "arm" them.

Your throttle channel may need to be reversed. To confirm, try putting the throttle all the way to full for a few seconds, then slowly lower it to see if the motor runs.

If you have a fancy computer radio, make sure the throttle trim is centered and the ATV is set to 100%.

What's an "E" cell? The stock Zagi pack has 2/3A cells in it, and the 1400 and 1700 Zagi packs are both full A cells.

wiggles

yep that was the problem.reversed the throttle all works well.our name size for cells here must be different to yours. our standard flight packs for ic at 4.8v is AA, 1/4 inch shorter and 1/2 the width are AAA, an E is a little longer and a little bit fatter than a AA.i don't know what these little ones in the kit are called anyway finished setting the zaggi up, wait till morning. dawn a fine clear day. decide to go to the local sports fields for the test flight.get to the field .... mmmm bit windy {30 knots +} big black clouds in the distance. bugger it give it a go. lesson number 1; do not throw aircraft into ground.lesson number 2; after throwing aircraft apply el and thr. third time lucky.what a hoot, wind gusts up to 40knots, wouldn't even dream of flying my other models in this wind.flight lasted 8min all to short. by the time the battery was charged for second flight it was raining.definitely need another flight pack.came home dragging my bottom lip.there is something about this eflight.:sunsmiley :thumbup:

mpj220

No longer support RCU

TRP

My Feedback: (1)

Sounds like you had a great first flight.

I am glad to hear it.

TRP

wiggles

thanks for all your help guys. am thinking of getting another electic later on.went to our local battery shop and order 8 new cells.they are called 3/4A here.