Phat Phreddy

Am starting to gather the bits and pices I need to get a IFO in the the air....

Cant really decide between these two and wonder if flyers have a preference and if so which and why...

I am leaning to the mini as smaller should make it easier to find room for it and transport etc... The mini is marginally cheaper but that will be needed for the smaller servo's...

Are they both comparable in flight times and charachteristics ??

I would intend to put LiPoly's in either plane...

Anyone selling a IFO flight ready can alwasy drop me a mail !!

fishgod

My Feedback: (13)

I have been flying the MKIII for a year and a half now. I love it. but I am in the process of putting togeather a mini. If you are going to be flying indoors then get the mini. It makes our gym seem so much larger using the mini. As for getting one ready to fly. You can get a fully assembled one from www.flyifo.com.

PS
The Li-poly batteries are awesome. Great power and long duration

davidj

I have the Mini and enjoy it but the flight times are short. Mine wieghs in at 3.75 oz with an 8 cell 50 mah nicad I also have a 9 cell and a 9 cell 110mah nimh. The 9 cell nicad gives me balistic power for about 1 1/2 min and goes away after 4 min. The 110 nimh lasts for about 6 to 7 min with OK performance (about the same as the 8 cell nicad) With the 110 nimh it weighs in at 3.92oz. It will loop in a 2' box and the roll rate is 400 deg a second when at speed. It is great fun to fly it aroun your self and touch it with the antenna all the way around. I have also flown it in a circle about 18" from my head all the way around several times. Too much fun

madsci_guy

Minis fly great with 2 800 mah Li-ion. The cells are just a little heavier than NiCd and they last a long time.

Three cells will hover the mini IFO, but you stand a good chance burning out the motor at full power.

Phat Phreddy

So am I to take it that a 2 cell 7.4v 950mah LiPoly will not quite hover ??

Also how does that power pack sound with the carbon brushed BB & recomended 5.84 GB (with heatsink) ???

Also how do i calculate what amps will be pulled (and therefore decide what ESC rating to pick up) ???

Thanks for all these answers...

madsci_guy

Mine won't hover on just two. the 7.5 volts that pack produces is about the same as six or seven NiCd cells. The motor I burned up was a carbon brushed GWS A stock from flyifo.com.

A GWS A w/ heatsink can pull about 2.5 amps continuous. Any more and you risk burning it up.

I recommend for GWS A motors or similar, that you get at least a 5 amp ESC. They are as small as the 2 amp ones and they have more margin. Jeti makes a 10 amp one that's pretty tiny too.

I also recommend getting an astroflight or similar wattmeter, if you want to go to the edge. If you want to predict, motocalc or similar programs can be used.

http://www.motocalc.com/
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/gordon..../Software1.htm
http://www.flyhi.org.il/software.htm
http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~atong/

Good luck and let me know if I can help any.

davidj

What do you use to recharge the LiPoly batteries

I & C Tech

I'm a fairly new mini owner. I'm using the 2-cell li-poly and the GWS "A" drive motor supplied directly from Dan Kreigh at wildrc.com. I personally recommend using a speed controller that you can set up to protect the li-polys from a certain death if you pull them to low. I'm using one supplied from Sky Hooks and Rigging. Castle Creations also makes one. Both have programmable cut off points. Pretty nifty. I think the one from Castle Creations may be a little cheaper. Sky Hooks and Rigging is in Canada. Mine took longer to get here than any other part I ordered. If you have a little extra dough to spend, they make a combo receiver and ESC w/ programmable cut off that will save you a few grams. Its not cheap though. With my set up, I have plenty of power to hover and even climb straight up. I retain enough power to hold a hover until the last few minutes of battery. The li-poly will give you up to 30 minutes of flight. Even full out craziness will run you 20 minutes or more. As for the motor? I haven't hurt mine yet. So what if I do. They're only 20 bucks. I'm not even sure I could burn it out on the 2-cell pack. I'm using the $1.50 heat sink from wildrc on the motor. That should help it a little bit. I've been punishing it for over three weeks and the majority of my repairs have been soldering the wires back to the receiver and/or ESC. I spent 2 hours yesterday fishing it out of a pine tree in my back yard. It "landed" about 40 feet up. Just sat there smiling at me. These things are great. My son is so enamored he is asking for a T-IFO for Christmas. I couldn't be prouder of him.

I & C Tech

davidj-

I'm using the 1,2 and 3 cell charger from wildrc on my li-polys. It's super small but sure works like a charm. I've only charged my 2-cell packs with it. I understand for a 3 cell pack you have to use a 15 volt or higher source with it. It runs about $50. Takes about an hour to charge the 2-cell 950mah pack.

Phat Phreddy

I was going to go with that charger or the cheaper 2 cell charger ($25) as I dont have a 15v line or expect any 3 cell packs yet....

I am glad that you are getting full vert and hover from a 2 cell and the GWS motor and HS combo as thats exactly what I intend to use...

That with a GWS pico flight pack to first get the ball rolling...

This info is gold guys... Thanks a lot... I will check those links for motocalc and see if I can get my head round it...

I & C Tech

One other note/question about my setup: There doesn't seem to be a sweet spot with my power when I'm trying to hover. It's either not quite enough power to hold it or to much power and I'm climbing vertically. Is it characteristic of ESC's to have crappy resolution of power output or is it the Sky Hooks unit I'm using? I think the Jeti ESC I have on my Sunwheel using a Speed 400 does pretty much the same thing. I'm not sure since I hardly fly it anymore.