RE: adding flaps to an arf
2010 I converted it to electric, I used:
Turnagy 5065-350 turning an 16x10 APC-e
Opto – 120A
8s5k20c batteries
This setup worked very well, I used battery placement to get the same CG. With a standard setup, not a pumped engine, you would have to move the CG forward to account for the unburned fuel in the tank after you land. I usually start at .25in forward.
I flew it that way till july of 2011 when at Gilbertsville for one of their Flyin’s it took off with a ton of right aileron so I went high to retrim. Once happy with it, about a minute later, I tried a high down wind full bore pass. Everything was good. Throttled back to half rolled into a split – S and came out on the field for a low full power pass. When I reached full power the plane did not acknowledge. I still had all other controls but no T, and I was hot, so I needed to bleed off speed so I climbed to 20ft as it passed me. That’s when I, and everyone else, noticed the smoke billowing out of the cowl. Well I can’t justify keeping it over the runway so I did a 180 degree turn and landed just off the runway, clean. Once the plane came to rest it continued to smoke as we walked out to it, what ever was burning stopped by the time we got there but it smelled like a electrical fire so I stripped all the electronics off. So I stuffed it in the shed and forgot about it for months. Looked at the components and they all failed, the motor turned like all the leads were grounded together, and the speed control was on fire enough to burn most of the red soldier making away and ash most of the components.
Then one day in the winter I brought it in, it no longer stank, so I stated fitting new motor and speed control to it:
Turnagy 5065-380 that I just replaced the shaft on thinking it was bent.
Dlux 80A and 15x8 APC-e
That setup flew great till the end of June 2012 when I had to remove the true turn spinner to keep it from going ape at full throttle. Then as the time went by it would get picky at full throttle without the spinner. So I tore it down. Found that the die cast turnagy engine mount had cracked, once replaced I put 5 flights on it in nov without the spinner. March or april will be the first flight with the spinner. Even with all the problems it is up to 45hr of air time.
Joe