New GWS Beaver Owner
I just bought a new GWS Beaver on September 1. Assembly instructions were a little confusing at times but I am pleased with the end product. It is a great looking little airplane. The battery pack required to fit in the compartment on the bottom of the plane is very hard to find in my area, none of the local shops carry it. So I had some ideas! and they worked very well.
My setup:
speed control: gws 400, battery: nicad 8.4V 600mAH , gws micro servos, Hitec Focus 4 TX, gws micro rx, eps300c motor and gear box
Note!..the speed control and battery i used, were taken from my gws zero which uses the same system as the beaver but gws offers the upgrade for the zero,with the 400 speed control (upgrades from the standard 100 speed control) and the 8.4 volt 600mAH battery (upgrade from the standard 7.2v 600mAH battery) if you want to check this setup, look on horizonhobby.com website at the zero page
The new gws 400(15 amp) speed control fitsright in where the gws 100(5amp) speed control was, with no change in the center of gravity of the aircraft.
The battery: the new 8.4 volt battery, does not fit in the battery compartment and neither do many others ! except the specific battery pack made for the beaver which is hard to find !
I closed the plastic cover on the battery compartment and placed some industrial strength velcro (walmart) on each side of the compartment cover and one small piece right in the middle of the cover. Attached the other piece of velcro to my 8.4V battery and stuck it on the bottom of the beaver over the battery compartment cover.
The battery fits very well, and looks like it belongs there since the battery is sleek and black and curved. It looks like an external fuel tank found on the real beavers and other similar planes.
Run the power wire from the battery into the battery compartment and connect it. Then close the cover and attach the battery with the velcro.
I had no problems with balance and the center of gravity did not change on the beaver since I made sure the battery was centered longways on the fuselage and balanced with the rest of the airplane's center of gravity.
The new battery really improves the performance, take off is almost instant !! about 3-5 feet !! With full power, almost straight up. Landings are about the same as if you would use the 7.2V 600mAH battery since weight is about the same. Flight time is about 11-15 minutes.
I guess i could have cut the battery compartment to fit my new battery but i didnt want to cut my new plane and this setup allows me to use various battery sizes in the same spot.