Zandona

Hey guys I just got an Accipter Badius and I was wondering if anyone knows about any type of modification I could do to it so I can get longer flights and better perfomance on windy conditions . Prop, wing, battery anything helps.
Here's a pic of the plane in case you guys don't no which one I'm talking about
42 in. wingspan
32 in. length
15.87 oz
380 motor

gigelus2k3

Hello,

If you're a beginner, this may be of interest.

A coworker bought this plane and, after some less successful landings, we noticed that the fuselage started to give in (wrinkles and bending) right behind the wing trailing edge. We strengthened it by force inserting a block (about 3" long) we carved from high-density foam. To fit it there, we cut it in two at the pushrods line and placed first the top one (behind the shoulder) and then forced the bottom the right place.

Another thing you need to consider is to get a prop saver.

Serban

hiredassassin

i had the exact same problem, went into a loop, which somehow then became a stall and then a dive, which then became a noseplant at terminal velocity!.. ouch...

now the fuselage is stuffed, motor is pointing to one side, nowhere near enough strength to fly anymore.

the main reason it flew so badly was cos on its first flight, it went straight up, stalled, and then straight back down again, broke the wing[:@] I fixed the wing with tape, but have since noticed that when climbing, that wing flexes sooo much more than the other, it also seems to affect turning- it turns one way much better than the other.

The first thing id fo to this plane is put some form of bracing to stop the wings flexing too much, i tried this with my broken wings, and while it still flew badly cos it was it mostly stuffed it was alot better.

the next thing to work out is some way of bracing the rest of the fuselage (or just dont crash!)

hiredassassin

foreverNight

I cut a groove underneath the wing and installed a bamboo skewer to strengthen the wing. The badius can do loops but, i dont think it was meant for that. The wings bend up so much when you try aerobatics! I like to just go up really high and soar around. I use the throttle just to take off and to keep me up really high. This is a really good plane for the price. BTW are these micro servos on minis in this thing?

Zandona

Thanks for the replies...
Two more things though. Do you guys think that a battery with a higher current (say 900mah) would work fine with this plane? I was also wondering what is the longest time you have been able to keep the AB in the air

foreverNight

yes it will work.. I use my aerobird 7 cell 8.4 900 in mine. longest I've been up is about 20 min. I'ts wierd though the cg on this plane always seems to change! Sometimes it seems taill heavy and i have a hard time with it. Other times it seems nose heavy. Sometimes it wont fly then other times it will. I take my aerobird and my slow stick and the badius when i go flying. I fly the badius last.

Gizzmo0411

Same here! Finally a thread that actually talks about this plane. I'll take some pictures of the modifications I've made on mine.

First off, the cheapest place I've found for spare parts is from www.raidentech.com. They've got all the parts you'd need, particularly the main wing which goes for $7.00.

What I've done to help with control (this was advice given to me by another flyer) is to bend the control rods around the tail so that the action from the servos is straight back. I'll update with some pictures.

Next was to take some thick cardboard (I actually got it from the backing of a legal sized notepad) and tape it to the underside of the wing. Once it's in there you have to force it a bit to get the plastic wing brace on, but it really helps with the problem of the wings bending during flight.

The suggestion about putting the foam block into the fuselage is a great idea. I have the same problem with mine, and have been trying to come up with a good solution.

The plane isn't exactly a proffessional so I didn't expect much when I bought it...BUT...I have found that it is extremely repairable. I can fly it pretty well after having broken wings in half and taping them together agian. Slamming into trees at high speed...etc...etc. Check back for some pictures when I get the chance.

SNoWJackal

My Accipter Badius should be here some time during the next week and I cant wait to get it up in the air.

Gizzmo0411, Cant wait to see the pics of your modifications.

Zandona

foreverNight
I have a question about the aerobird battery? Did you have to change the connector so that it fits the AB or is it the same as the aerobird?

foreverNight

i changed the connector. I used the one from one of my hobbyzone peak chargers. I have like 4 of those. It works great

Gklugie

My Feedback: (1)

There appears to be several issues here. The first issue is to increase AB flight time. I fly one of these planes, and have several thoughts on this topic. The factory battery is a small 8.4v 600 mah Nimh. It fits snugly in the front compartment. I don't know if a AA pack of higher capacity would fit in the compartment, but the flight times should almost double. Weight is another consideration.... this plane is not the fastest riser!

The other issues involve repairs and/or beefing up the plane. I don't recommend adding foam things to the fuselage... replacement fuselages are only 10 bucks. This plane runs a cg that is already pretty far back, and ANY fuselage enhancements can only hurt both c/g and deliver a weight penalty. Since this is a motor glider/trainer, it has not been designed with strong wings. I do think a strip of clear packing tape ( or the old fiberglass fiber impregnated tape ) across the bottom of the wing spanwise along the c/g would help, but keep your loops large so you don't pull a big "g" load.

I have sent pictures of control rod mods in previous posts. It involves "easing" the exit geometry of the rods emerging from empennage to control surfaces. .... just think of reducing friction, and keeping rods parallel.

Gklugie

My Feedback: (1)

OH and one more thing that many new fliers don't know or too quickly forget.

Once at altitude, this plane will fly around level at 1/2 throttle..... this extends battery run time by keeping amp draw low.

Also fellows THIS IS A MOTOR GLIDER.... AT SEVERAL HUNDRED FEET SHUT THE MOTOR OFF !!! You are supposed to glide around now looking for thermals.

Zandona

Yeah I've seen your pictures Gklugie, they were REALLY helpful, thanks.
Looking for thermals huh? That's a though one for me, I've tried with not a lot of sucess so far, this is my second plane and I have never had instructions or tips from someone with more experience, it took a couple of crashes and tons of patience but now the learning curve is going up exponentially again anyway I was just wondering if you know if it is possible to find thermals and therefore increase airtime with the AB. I've had some pretty decent flights where I used very little engine power but during all of them the plane was kept up there because it was fairly wind at least I don't think I found a thermal. I've read in some places that the plane tends to sort of "shake" (kinda like turbulence) as it passes thru a thermal.

Gklugie

My Feedback: (1)

Read RCM Magazine. One of the regular monthly columnists discusses soaring each month. I have seen planes stay up for hours without power.... experienced pilots can "sense" rising columns by watching the plane carefully. A trimmed plane will tend to turn away from the edge of one of these columns upon approach, ( one wing tip is lifted up and the craft turns away)... one trick is to turn back in to the thing and stay with it..... as for myself, I am not good/experienced enough to do this. I do know, however that you need to have some height...perhaps several hundred feet to achieve higher success levels.

Zandona

Has anyone tried to change the CG of the AB?If so, how did you do it? did it help?
It seems to me that the nose is a bit heavy and maybe moving the battey close to where the servos are located wouldn't be a bad idea. I might try that and update later.

Zandona

In correction and response to my own post I wanna say that the AB is tail heavy and that moving the CG foward makes a huge difference. I tried today and it worked pretty well. 10 mph winds and it flew with no major problems , I used a couple of quarters between the battery and the motor and also moved the receiver as close to the nose as I could. I still need to improve my airtime but that is a matter of practice only. If anyone is still interested to talk about the AB please post something up, I know I could use some help with those not so stable wings. I know someone used bamboo but I was wondering how much would that affect the flying characteristics (aerodynamics).

SNoWJackal

There are about 3 to 4 active Accipter Badius threads right now... I have been posting in 2 others I just don’t want to Spam the same post across three threads. MODERATORS’ can we get all the Accipter badius threads merged?

Zandona

Well said

SNoWJackal

Ok so today after breaking the last prop I had I decided to go to my LHS and see what they had for replacements. The only folding props they had where around $10 but there where like hundreds of props for under $2 that did not fold so I figured why not buy a few even if I brake one every flight that would be 5 props for the price of 1. After looking around for about 30 mins I also decided to get a speed 400 motor it was like $9 and man with the 7x5 prop I got it just pulls. Then with the addition of an 8cell 1050mah pack I got from http://www.cheapbatterypack.com for $16. The accipiter will just about take off vertical, I had to just about pull everything out of the inside and rearrange it and make some modifications to the inside of the plane. I will take some photo if it survives its madden voyage later today.


*edit*

Ok so I just took my modified accipiter out and I can't belive how well it performed. There where like 10 mph winds and gust in the 15mph range. my plane was just kicking the winds ass, at one point when I was flying with the wind on my tail the plane probaly hit about 30 mph+ and I was able to clime at about 7+ meters per second not bad when the stock acciptiter dose about 3 meters per second. The only down side it that I only few it for about 7 mins and I noticed the motor was getting realy hot. So I decided to stop flying then and not damage anything on my madden voyage. Overall I think the upgrades will prove well worth the couple of dollors I spent on the modifications. And the speed 400 motor and battery pack can move over to my second plane when im ready.

attached photos of the modifications I have made.

NCQ3

SNoWJacka


Cool mods. Just when I was thinking to gut my badius's electric gear and buy a (slow stick electrical transfer)
You make me want to tinker Mr Badius into "frankenstein badius" . maybe u can add a$4.00 landing gear so it can land without breaking props.
I was also thinking of changing motors. Do you have the poly deherdals wings?
I was at LHS today and was looking at the aerobird extreme wing replacement and thought about hmmmmmmm If I can modify the wings and put the aerobird's extreme wings in Badius Fuse and a beefier motor and somehow add a landing gear. This thing would really blow the slow stick into sticks.

SNoWJackal

NCQ3, The landing gear is not that bad of an idea I thought about it too. But if you get you prop lined up before you land its not a problem. I few it twice today with the standard prop and did not have any problems. If you have the money a slow stick is a really good plane. I wish I had started with it but I have to live with my choices and decided to give my AB a little more power! I have the strait wing version with lots of strapping tape on them. Also I don’t know how well the AB hardware would transfer over to a Slow Stick.

hiredassassin

heya snowjakal, nice work.

a few questions tho...

first one is, how do your wings hold up to this extra power, dont they just rip off, or have you done something to them for extra strrength??

next, this battery pack: im not too clued in on how all the different batteries are, welll, different! is this new pack heavier/lighter, more/less powerful, longer/shorter flight time?? if you change the battery pack wont this affect the radio gear (as it all runs off 1 pack), could you fry the radio by putting a higher voltage pacvk in?? Same question with the motor, im guessing its the same size, for it to fit in the nose, but does the increased powewr put a bigger strain on the esc and the radio gear??

thanks in advance for your help!

cheers,

Kriss

SNoWJackal

Assassin,

I have the standard strait wing and they do flex a lot when I come in from a 200-foot dive at 40+ mph but Im going to fly till I brake it! Also to strengthen the wings I have ran strapping tape along all the edges and down the middle of the wings this keeps them from flexing so much and they take a lot of abuse. As for the battery pack the new back is something like 2 times as heavy but with 8 cells at 1050 MaH the power provided is 3 times what the added weight is. The difference in the battery pack does not make much if any difference on the ESC or Radio Gear, that I have noticed. The Electric Speed Control ESC regulates the voltage fine and the servos and rx all seem to be ok. The new motor I put in is a Speed 400 motor the standard is a 380 turbo the 380 is not even a standard motor to my knowledge, some cheap POS IMHO. The speed 400 is actually just about the same size as the standard motor maybe about 1mm smaller but the power and efficiency of the 400 is probably something around 40% better. I also went with a standard non-folding prop due to the price difference. Overall the improvements are IMO a successes. My longest flight with the new set up is something around 20 mins with almost 3/4 to full throttles most of the time. The power difference is amazing my AB will just about clime at a 40-degree angle. There are only three down sides to the upgrades. One due to the extra weight the plane is about 30 % less efficient as a glider. Two the motor gets really hot running it at 3/4 to full throttle for more then about 15 mins. And Third and most important is that with the non-folding prop if you don’t land perfect with the prop parallel with the horizon you will been the motor shaft. I am about 60/40 on good landings but when you don’t land right it really tweaks the motor shaft. I was able hand bend the shaft back to normal or close enough anyway while I was at the park. I have now pulled everything out of my AB and started on a Pink Foam Delta Wing. The gear will transfer over but I have had to make some modifications. I will post some pics of my progress later when I get home.

Zandona

Hey guys I need some help here. This morning I took my AB to fly and as I launched it I realized something was wrong with either the transmitter or the receiver. The farther it got from me, the less ability to control it I had and also the farther it got, the less responsive the engine became it not only stopped responding to my throttle commands but it also failed instead of simply staying on full throttle, it varied. Within a short interval of time the power fluctuates from full to no power at all and it keeps going like that until I completely shut it down (if the command works) luckily I didn't crash because I was able to shut down the motor and just glide back down but the way it's going makes me wanna tear it apart [:@]. I checked the crystals by placing them on a different radio and receiver of a park flyer I have and could almost say it's a crystal problem but then again I started on the hobby three months ago so I'm could be wrong .
If anyone has had this problem or at least understands what's wrong PLEASE help me out.
Thanks