braamn

Well I flew 8 battery packs this weekend, and I love this plane more and more!! Conditions were a lot better this weekend compared with my maiden with not a breath of wind..Managed my first handlaunch too, which is not as scary as I thought..Landings are getting better too, with my front wheel taking a lot less abuse.. I must say after flying a lipo pack the original battery does seem a little weak!! but still fun!!

gravity wins

Ermington was good for me. I like the wide open space and the fact that we are well away from roads and houses etc. The glitching that Toyman was suffering was pretty bad though. I can't see that it was caused by the baseball nets. It would just act as a ground plane and if anything assist with the Tx signals. The couple of twitches mine had I put down to wind. But I am by no means an expert.
Gravity.......

I_Love_My_ABC

So, do you want to make it Ermington then?? I've actually got another mate who ives kind of North Rocks area so that'l be about in the middle for all of us. Mr K has to put in a bit of Wifey-Time this weekend, so it might be a smaller meeting but that's OK with me. What time you thinking?? 7.30-8.00am weather permitting of course!! We're also doing our indoor flight night over at Strathfield this Thursday night if you at all interested in small indoor electrics, helis and rubber powered micro stuff. PM me for the details...

Todd

RC_Kiwi

Hi, I did another static run and got 2min 40sec @ WOT-- same as last time [](approx). It was charged out of a cigg' socket this time @ 1200 mah. For some reason it took over 1hour 45mins to charge even though it should be only one hour (1200mah battery). Chris13... I have an older analog multimeter and I did try testing it, it came up @ 10volts off the charger. Unfortuantly I will probably not be able to get to the LHS until this weekend.[&o] Anyway it has been raining for the last 2 days so no flying (or taxiing even) has been possible. I have cycled it about 9 or 10 times. I am about to email Andrew and see what he has to say. (There was no point emailing earlier as he never seems to check his emails till the working week.[sm=75_75.gif]) Thats about all I have to say at this stage. I might see if LHS has any good quality (cheap/ish) batteries and/or charger if I.. sorry, we can't figure out/fix the problem.
I'm not letting all that get me down though, hopefully patience and a bit of problem solving (aka annoyed emails) will get the good ole cessna off the ground.

Cheers

KIWI [8D]

PS: All this has got me thinking about getting LIPOS again!!! The problem is the cost really[sm=greedy.gif][sm=angry_smile.gif]. Maybe I could save up enough in.........??

I_Love_My_ABC

Hey Kiwi,

Welcome to this money-sucking hobby!!! Try http://www.unitedhobbies.com/ for cheap LiPos. Best prices I've seen...

RC_Kiwi

This might be a stupid question, but how long would the hextronic 1000mah 7.4v lipo give you on stock vrs brushless (2408-21)??

Thanks

I_Love_My_ABC

Not stupid at all KiWi, that's what the forums are for!! Don't know exactly, but I'm using Hextronik 1300Mah 3 cell packs and I'm getting 20 minutes + on the brushless setup, (BM2408-21 + 18 Amp ESC) not sure about the stock motor setup, never flown it with LiPos, but you'd probably get around 12-15 minutes I guess. You'll generally always get longer flight times using a comparable sized brushless system. This is purely because brushless motors & ESC's are far more efficient than the older stock brushed versions!!

Hope this helps Kiwi...

Todd

RC_Kiwi

It does!! If I went brushless, does that mean a lot of interferance aka new radio set????
Thanks

Also, would 11.1v fry the stock motor??

gravity wins

No Kiwi,
The noise and emissions from a brushed motor are more likely to be higher than a brushless system due to arcing from the brushes to the armature. The ESC itself can emit noise but as they are designed for RC applications, the engineers try to keep these emissions as low as possible. IMHO the 2408-21 combo from UH is by far the cheapest mod you can do for your Cessna with the greatest improvement to performance. The LiPos from UH are also very good value. If you want to get the maximum out of this hobby, this is the way to go initially. You can get a basic LiPo charger now and save for a better one down the track. Same for your radio. Look out now for second hand computer radios as many are going 2.4 Gig. It will be a buyers market for 36Mhz FM units.
I recommend you firstly go brushless and LiPo and get a 2nd hand radio next.
You can always go 2.4 Gig later on. Thats what I have done so far. I bought a 2nd hand Futaba 6 Ch radio (not computer) for just over $100.00 and it works supremely with the Cessna. I had a Pokie win and invested in a DX7 purely because I now have a second plane and like the convenience of no shootdowns and no interference.
I hope these recommendations are taken just as my opinion. I don't want to shove things down peoples throats, but simply want to indicate where you can get the best bang for your buck!
Gravity.......

gravity wins

ABC - As a said earlier I'm not 100% sure about this Sunday but if I can, the earlier the better 4 me. I would like to be finishing up by 10:30 to be back home by noon. The other benefit is that it's so calm before 8:30. Flying in that still air is the best! So if I can go at all I will be there 7:15 for a 7:30 start.
Gravity.........

gravity wins

Hey Braamn,
Glad to hear your flying is going well. I think the 11.1V LiPo will smoke that stock motor in a short time. But what better excuse to go down the brushless pathway. It's done wonders for my plane and my confidence. Keep up the good work.
PS I must put some more effort into pacticing my landings too...Snapped the motor shaft on my last landing on Sunday[]
Gravity.....

Toker41

Guys, I highly suggest getting a good charger. I like the Auccu Cycle Elite. What you spend on it, you will save in batteries. It will grow with you, as you get more into the hobby. Can not stress enough, the importance of proper battery care. Otherwise, you are just throwing money out the window. I went through 3 batteries in just a couple of months with the stock charger. After getting the better charger, I had batteries last more than a year. They were still good when I finally sold them and went with a brushless/lipo set up.

I also suggest going brushless with lipos on this Cessna. Higly recommend the Jaskel set up with the 2408-21 motor. Real easy conversion. You will eventually, anyway, so just do it and get it over with. You will LOVE this plane with a brushless motor, and a 11.1v lipo. Lipos can be had for around $25 for a 3s 11.1v 1800mAh. Power, and flight time will be much, much better. I can actually hover my Cessna with this set up. Guys at the club are always commenting on how it's the sportiest Cessna they have ever seen.

I_Love_My_ABC

Kiwi,

Toker's right, the way things are now you can get LiPos cheaper than the stock NiMh pack with twice the capacity. We're in a golden age of RC at the moment, FM radios are now chicken feed, cheap high quality brushless setups and LiPos are in abundance and the future is only looking better!!

Hey Gravity,

I'm always keen for an early start, but I can never get anybody else out of bed early enough!! My favourite time to fly is just after sun-up... usually around 6.15am but I'll have a couple of kids with me on the day so I'll meet you over at Ermington around 7.00-7.15am for a calm morning and many flights!!

Will you be maidening the Focus on Sunday??

Cheers

Todd

I_Love_My_ABC

Just as an example,

I just recieved in the mail today a LiPo transmitter pack I bought from United Hobbies in China. The total cost including freight to my door, 2 meters of 3mm shrink wrap and a bottle of medium thread-lock compound was $37.20AU To buy the brand-name replacement 8 cell NiCd TX pack here from a LHS here, it would have cost me between $90.00AU and $130.00AU (Depending on which LHS you go to...)

The big difference is that the stock TX pack is only 550Mah, whilst the one I bought is a 2500Mah capacity pack. Admittedly, it took 8 days to arrive from China, but I've placed orders with LHS's in Australia and the goods have taken longer than that to arrive!!

That's how you get bang for your buck in this hobby!!

Cheers!!

Todd

Toker41

Everyone goes brushless eventually. This bird is simply underpowered in it's stock form, and it does not fly well. The stock ESC is a problem, also. A lot of what newbies blame themselves for is really glitching in the electronics. I converted my Cessna to Brushless, including ESC, and lipo for about $50 USD. Knowing nothing more than I read on this thread, it took me about 1 1/2 hours.

gravity wins

ABC - Only if the receivers arrive this week early enough for me to install one in the Focus. Otherwise it will be just the Cessna.
I gotta say I learned a lot last Sunday. Just getting the thing pretty high and cruising around till I got over the nerves and then I gave it some. I'm now down to 3 or 4 profanities per flight. So I must be improving ! I'll let you know for certain by Saturday if I'm going or not.
Gravity......

sporn

Hi Gravity,
I' m also flying the Dynam Focus 400. It's a great plane. I even like the stock set-up incl. the RX/TX very much. Try the APC 8x6E prop with the towerpro 2408-21 and it will just get amazing speed with all kinds of aerobatics. I alternate between the Focus and Cessna and fly them about an hour each every day. Great Combination of two different planes!
sporn

RC_Kiwi

I've actually got the brushless gear already[sm=red_smile.gif] (I ordered it first) so all I need is a LIPO. I'm looking closely at the Hextronic 11.1v 1000mah or 1300mah at United Hobbies. And, maybe...[sm=71_71.gif] the swallow 2 charger.

P.S: What is the best way to mount the 2408-21??
I would like to maiden on stock gear just incase I...you know.......BANG CRUNCH!!!

gravity wins

Kiwi - I used the aluminium bracket that someone posted on this forum some time ago. There was a detailed plan with measurements which was extreemly accurate.
I cant remember what page it's on. you will have to search a bit for it unless someone has bookmarked it. The other method is a balsa block which seems simpler, however I decided to go with the bracket. I'm a bit slow with constructing things but I guess I had it all done in about 3 hours. I modified the bracket slightly to provide a plate at the front to cable tie the ESC to which keeps it rigt beind the cooling vents on the cowl.
As stated there are at least 3 methods I have seen in this forum. You will just ahve to search for them.

Sporn, its great to hear you enjoy the Focus. I was just a little concerned lookiing at the control surfaces compared with teh Cessna and also the throws are much higher.
I am still a novice and felt it better to use a radio where I can reduce the throws for the first few flights. I am just waiting for 2 receivers AR6100 Spektrum micro's to come in from Hong Kong. I hope they will be here this week. If they don't I may be tempted to fly it with the stock radio.
Gravity.......

chris1379

I like the aluminum bracket idea that Jaskel and some others used. I was going to do it that way but I couldn't find any aluminum of suitable thickness. There is also a method which uses part of the 480 motor casing with the brushless mounted to it. This is what I did. It keeps the motor in the same axis as the original. You may want to mount the ESC under the cowl to make up for the lighter weight of the brushless. That way you won't need to add any useless weight to get the CG right.

Chris

sporn

Kiwi,
Post #2094 page 105 is my brushless set up. It's probably the most simple one and takes minutes to convert to. It has worked great for me with no problems. All you do is screw a 1cmx1cm wood stick (available at any LHS) on top of the plastic motor mount.
sporn

RC_Kiwi

Thanks sporn. That looks pretty easy which is good!

ssuterus

RC Kiwi, see my engine mount on pge 98. I used some 2-3mm ply and then i screwed a 30mm x 30mm block of timber (not balsa, too light) 30mm long onto the ply and then used the original holes in the firewall to mount the complete setup. Just mark your centres for horizontal and vertical axis from original motor and transpose onto new mount to ensure shaft lines up with cowl. You will probably find that if you have the 30 x 30 block butted against the foam at top of firewall you will be spot on. This way you have the complete stock setup undamaged for re-use later if needed. Here's some more pics

littlejv25

That looks like a very good deal, and I'm extremely interested! What charger would be the best, or work for that battery. Or what charger do you use? The reason is, after looking into lipoly batteries, the chargers where more then I expected and wanted to pay now. But for a NiMh battery that gets the same fly time, I'm sure a charger would be much cheaper. If you or anyone else could point me in the right direction of an inexpensive but quality charger that would work (and possible even throw out a link to eBay or something) that would be great!

I_Love_My_ABC

littlejv25,

You can use just about any decent peak-dection charger with those packs, I've personally used this one...

http://www.redrockethobbies.com/product_p/hbz6519.htm

...which is the stock charger that comes with many of the Hobbyzone/Parkzone RTF kits and it works very well, (Got one with the Aerobird Challenger, Slo-V & Super Decathlon) The part number is HBZ6519 so you should be able to order it in through your LHS or get it online from Horizon Hobbies.

Todd