***Warning*** Do not fly your Sabre until you resolve this problem. You will likely lose control of it in flight if you attempt to fly it.

I've been enjoying electric flight for about a year now, and hve lost several airplanes for the same reason. The twitching that occured when I flew brushed airplanes, became even worse when I started flying with brushless power on 2 cells, and even worse on 3 cells. Though magazine articles mention routing of wires neatly and using capacitors on brushed motors, no one does a good job of explaining how to avoid this problem.

First, on the ground with the aircraft secure, power-on the system and look for glitches at idle. Try moving your wiring to see if there is more interference, i.e. battery wires near speed control-receiver wire, battery near motor leads, speed control-receive wire near motor leads. You may see minor twitching of the servos when these wires are moved closer.

Second, repeat this test with incremental increases in power i.e. low, mid, high power. The problem likely worsens as power increases.

If this is happening to your Sabre, what you have found is severe interference as a result of the high current flow from battery to esc, and from esc to motor.

The remedy that I have found to work for me is simple, and costs pennies. I cut 1" strips of regular aluminum foil. Before installing the esc, I wrap each group of wires (esc-receiver, battery, motor) with the foil at a 45' angle along the length of wire. I then tape the foil in 2-3 spots. Install the esc, and fold lengths of excess wire taping it to hold. I ensure each wire group is as far from another as possible. Though I've used Heavy-duty for more protection, it isn't quite as flexible. Regular duty foil should work since it is being layered. I then range-check my radio to ensure that I have no more interference. I also switched to using dual-conversion receivers for added protection. Though this may not be neccessary if the foil wrap takes care of the problem.


Fly safe!