huligan

been lurking here for quite some time, but this is my first post here...

i am going to be purchasing the [link=http://hobbypeople.net/gallery/123739.asp]modeltech magic extra 300L[/link] soon, and i was wondering which receiver i should purchase to put in it? i am running a hitech flash5, and will be using standard servos.

i am also planning to run a [link=http://hobbypeople.net/gallery/210760.asp]magnum xls 52a engine[/link] in this plane.

it's been a while since i've flown a glow plane. i have been flying mainly electrics and slope gliders for the past 10 years so any input is welcome!

JustErik

I wholeheartedly recommend a LightFlight D6 receiver. Go here, go to the "accessories" listing under the "products" tab. It's a 6-channel dual conversion RX for $24 and the crystal adds another $4. They automatically detect the proper shift, so they work with any TX. They have GREAT service and fantastic order processing. I have several of the D8 RXs in service and they are rock solid.

Having said all that, any name brand RX should work fine. What varies is how much you want to spend.

jship

My Feedback: (4)

You have picked one great plane. I had one and it was a great flyer.
good luck.
john

huligan

hey there JustErik, i will call LightFlight when they get back into town. thanks for the heads up!

jship thanks for chiming in with that... makes me look forward to this plane even more than i already am!

Jim Schwagle

My Feedback: (1)

Whatever receiver you choose, the smaller the better. There is very little room in there.

huligan

acknowledged Jim!

does anyone have any suggestions regarding the engine? should i be "going big" with the engine i'm planning or should i put a .46 on it?

jship

My Feedback: (4)

I used a tt 46 and it was plenty of power. The key is to keep it light. My magic extra was my #1 plane for a long time. It will fly slow it will fly fairly fast, knife edge. You are going to love it. On mine I used a standard receiver. It will all fit.
ENJOY.
john
see you at the field.

huligan

thanks for chiming in jship! i was wondering... with the .46 how was your vertical performance?

sowega flyer

I have the magic extra 300 with a GMS .47 and an APC 12.25x3.75 prop. Unlimited vertical! I do believe the magnum 52 would be a great engine for this plane, though.
Be mindful when assembling this plane that it is tail heavy. I put a 6 volt batt. on top of the huge fuel tank, and still came out tail heavy. I used a 2 oz. spinner nut until I got used to it, then took it off as I wanted to move the CG back.
I've got probably close to 100 flights on it now, and this is my favorite plane. So far, its only limitations have been my lack of skill.
I have a an 8 ch. futaba 168 rx in mine, and it is a snug fit. Smaller is better for the weight savings at least.

I hope you enjoy yours as much as I enjoy mine-

Jason

huligan

well i spent yesterday with a friend working on the kit. just have to put the canopy on, install the engine and gear! kit went together very well. there seems to be a little (very little) slop in the wings though so i am going to get some saddle tape and hope that tightens it up.

Jason, i will probably go with the .52. i cant wait to fly this plane, but i will probably be patient and wait till next week.

Jim Schwagle

My Feedback: (1)

Larger is ok but remember the airframe is not robust. Prop down for pull, not speed. I've seen the plane break its back on a moderately (very moderately, stalled at about 24" altitude) hard landing on a paved runway. It likes light. The '53 (52?) should be fine, but keep speeds down and ball bearing servos in the wings. I made the mistake of using Futaba 148's and after several dozen flights, the bushed servos in the wings were getting very sloppy. Try to minimize vibration. To repeat, the fuselage is not robust. Great flying aircraft. This really spoils me for other planes.

huligan

Thanks for the heads up Jim... I could tell from the thin spot in the fuse where the wings and wing pan go on this model that the fuse isn't going to be the strongest i've every flown with... i will definitely have to be careful. i am hoping it slows down for me as well as it slows for others when it comes to landing. what prop/s would you recommend for slower speed but more pull? i was actually planning on using a more pull than speed prop. oh and yes it's a .52 engine, the .53 was a typo and i edited my first post!

got the canopy painted and it's in the process of glue drying on it now. i set it on the plane and took a couple new pics yesterday. i will be getting the engine/rc gear for this plane next week. i can't wait to go flying with it!

proptop

My Feedback: (8)

Looks good...
I flew the covering off mine (I think they are using Monokote now?) I really liked mine, but it got so oil soaked that I had to retire it.
Mine had a TT .46 with a 12.25X3.75 or an APC 12X4 (better throttle response w/ the 12X4 ) and will climb vertically, until practically out of sight with either prop.
I will slow down to a walk, so don't worry about that...I used to come down (horizontally ) like an elevator in a 15-20 m.p.h. breeze [8D]

I used a Hitec 555 receiver, and had the battery behind the tank, just over the L.E. of the wing (flat 700 mah NiCd ) and balanced it behind the aft limit and it still flew very well.

It's not a "3D" airplane...more like a "fun fly" type.

huligan

Ok well I finally got the engine and electronics as well as the time to install everything. I'm going to break in the engine tomorrow as well as set the throws, etc. the balance is pretty much right on with the Magnum .52 up front. hobby people had a $20/off special on the engine so it was the same price as the Magnum .46! The only 12x4 prop they had was for electrics and the person helping me at hobby people said that I should try running an 11x5 prop. Any thoughts on this?

Thanks for the comments proptop. The model is covered with monokote now, yes.

Added a couple ore cell phone pics. I will get better pics tomorrow with a camera. I'm really looking forward to flying on Saturday!

JustErik

Nothing like a shiny new plane to get the heart going! It looks great. Nice job. The 11x5 should be fine. As time and availability permits, you could experiment with different sizes and brands until you find the one that best suits the plane and your flying style.

jship

My Feedback: (4)

Plane looks great, You will love it. I found on mine that the APC 12.25X3.75 was the best all around prop. There is not much need for speed with this plane.
john

Ps I see they still don't have a spinner that matches the covering. Still a great plane

huligan

Thanks for the comments guys! I can't wait to fly...

JustErik, that's a good idea. I will have to try some different props for sure...

jship, hobbypeople didn't have a 12.25x3.75 prop in stock? i saw one on their website, but not in store. im going back today so i will look again to see if they missed something yesterday.

Oh and yeah, the spinner is a maroon color and not the bright red color. I was considering getting a chrome spinner today... or maybe I will see about getting a new shiny red spinner...

proptop

My Feedback: (8)

Just get a 12X4 (APC ) then...it will give you better throttle response too. The 12.25X3.75 will give better pull (not a whole lot, but noticable ) but IMO the 12X4 is a better over-all prop.

I used a Higley alum. safety acorn nut instead of a spinner, for the nose wt. and with the battery behind the tank (wouldn't fit in the tank compt. ) it balanced just ahead of the aft limit.

huligan

UPDATE!

I flew the new magic extra 300 yesterday! All I can say is wow it flies great, I'm very impressed with it. Got the engine broken in on Friday, so it was ready to go yesterday. I will post some pics at some point plus my gf caught a video, and I'm waiting to see that. For the most part I just tooled around in circles, but I did do a few regular and outside loops, basic rolls, inverted laps around the field, etc. It definitely goes up and up when i give it full throttle and point the nose at the sky! Coming from a mostly glider background I don't have the skills to hover at this point, but I will figure it out over time I'm sure now that I have a plane where that's possible.

ONE ISSUE:
Ok... My last few flights (all same tank of gas), all ended the same way... I would go into a cut throttle spin from really high up and the engine would die by the time I had pulled out at the bottom, so I was forced to land with no power each time. My question is what do I need to do to get my engine to stay running when doing rolling/spinning dive maneuvers? Should I just not completely back off on the throttle when entering, or is it something that needs adjustment on the engine itself?

Thanks for any help you can provide! i may actually start another thread about this in the glow engine forum....

ps. proptop, I will order a couple of the 12x4's from the hobbypeople website.
pps. proptop, I needed 1oz of weight that is sitting above the front of the gas tank to balance. I was considering doing some epoxy and lead shot in the tip of the nosecone... it wouldn't need much. Is this something that's done or is it a terrible idea?

huligan

Oh one other thing I need to mention is that this plane lands great deadstick or not! The field I fly in has a very rough terrain for the most part, and the landing gear on this plane allow it to bounce softly on the bumpy dirt road we land on.

proptop

My Feedback: (8)

Congrats!
How many turns (spins ) were you doing? If you do more than a few or 4-5 the fuel line (klunk ) can suck air...because the nose is down , and that's probably what's causing the dead-sticks. That also depends on how flexable the klunk line is.

Don't put shot/epoxy in the spinner cone...it will be virtually impossable to get it perfectly balanced, and will put additional stresses on the crank and bearings during manuvering. I've seen it done, and I've also seen the results of it comming loose[X(] when the spinner cone shattered and the wt. flew off during a run-up in the pits...good thing it didn't hit anybody.

The Harry Higley Brass "Heavy Hub" (looks like a big Acorn nut will ) work...and it might fit under the spinner? If not just ditch the spinner...all plastic (cheap ) spinners almost always cause vibration. The heavy hub is right up close against the prop hub, so while it puts a little more stress on the bearings, it's not like the wt. at the tip of a spinner would...and it's balanced.

huligan

I was doing quite a few spins, and doing full low throttle when entering (should I not go to full low throttle before entering?). The engine seemed a little "weak" at throttle transition, and after doing some reading here on the glow engine forum it seems I may need to adjust my low needle a bit. Next time I am able to fly I will definitely mess with it. Maybe after the adjustment the engine will run stronger.

Noted on the spinner cone trick. A friend I grew up flying with suggested it. I actually ended up putting about an ounce of weight right above the front of the tank. After flying a bit, I may start removing it. The plane flew on rails for me so it definitely has plenty of weight in the nose... Maybe too stable? heh

I don't think I need enough weight for a heavy hub, but I will check them out next time I am at hobbypeople.

Yet another question... Has anyone used one of the Magnum fueling valves? It is kinda a pain to fuel this plane up due to the rear needle valve placement. I was wondering if it would be a good solution... Here is a link to what I'm talking about...
[link]http://www.hobbypeople.net/gallery/237500.asp[/link]

proptop

My Feedback: (8)

After flying mine for a while, I got to balancing it about 1/2" behind the white stripe...and with about 35-40 degrees of elevator, it would snap and tumble well.

You can tell it you're nose or tail heavy by how much down elevator you need to use when inverted...(not mentioning up or down thrust for now, because this airplane is built without any up or down thrust )

I like it when I just barely have push forward when inverted.
If it takes substantial down elev. to hold it inverted, then it's nose heavy.

Don't know about the Magnum fueler?
I tend to stay away from them if at all possable, because that's just one more potential leak point...

huligan

Well I had the chance to go flying again yesterday, and once again this plane impressed me with its smooth flying and handling that makes me comfortable throwing it around. I read a thread about the Magnum .52 engine here on RCU and found that I had the low end needle set too open. I made and adjustment and now it is around 3/4 to 1 turn open, and the engine is running strong! I had no deadsticks yesterday, except the first flight where I needed to adjust the throttle servo so the engine would idle lower. I had to run the full tank because I couldn't get the plane to slow down enough at low throttle due to the end point being too open of a throttle position. BUT the next flight I was able to land under power.

I haven't messed with my initial balancing yet, but I am guessing that I can pull some weight out of the nose. I can probably up the throws a bit more than the manual suggested as well... Maybe next time I fly, I will do some messing around with that. I can't seem to get the plane to flat spin! It's frustrating. I got to spend some quality time trying to hover yesterday though, which was very cool. I can only hover for a short time. Coming from slope glider flying, my right thumb is fine, but the left one needs some work... It's great that even at a low altitude, when I fall from a hover, this plane/engine combo allows me to gas it and escape hitting the ground!

In other news, I did purchase and install one of the DuBro easy fueler valves, and I have to give it a big thumbs up! It is MUCH easier to fuel up the plane than removing gas lines.

A friend took some movies yesterday, and as soon as I can get a disc, I will upload some here.

huligan

Oh! One more question regarding the engine... Is it possible to put silicone tubing on the muffler to deflect the exhaust away from the plane? If so, where would I find the appropriate tubing? The plane was REALLY dirty after flying yesterday.

Thanks for any advice!