epc

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Hi Guys :

Ok I decided to buy a shockflier for 3d elec. flying but i don't have any experience with electric. aircraft what I have to buy to have unlimited 3d without spending a fortune.

Motor , batt , charger etc.

Thanks

epc.

wind junkie

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EPC,

Well, I spent a fortune on mine and it's a riot.

However, I will tell you my setup, and you be the judge:

Motor : nippy 0808 : Hobby Lobby : $69
ESC : Castle Creations Phoenix 10 : Todds Models $ 51
3 Cirrus 4.4g servos @ $35 each: Aeromicro
RX Antenna : Todd's Models M72 antenna : $12
RX : Berg Micro Stamp : Aeromicro : $60
2 Kokam HD 340 2 cell packs : $29 each

This represents $350 for a $35 foam airplane. Pretty much comparable to any glo sport plane.

I recommend the Astro 109 charger at about $120. If you undestand electronics, and LiPo cells, you can get by with much less. This one is very safe with very little education on the part of the useer. Auto cell count detection-- you just set the current level. Still, Lipos can be deadly if mishandled.

Still listening? Good. With this setup, I can fly 3 days a week and do all kinds of 3D in a very small gym. I view it as excellent winter training for the giant scale plane I aspire to fly someday costing easily 10 times as much.

So, you can save money going with a brushed motor, cheaper servos and GWS RX. About $100 total savings, but the plane will not be outstanding. This is my experience.

Another option I've tried is the Jeff Williams E-sledge. This plane is a little bit bigger, can handle more weight fine, and much more durable. You'll need a 3 cell pack though, which will be $43 per pack.. The shock flyers really want to be light (6-7 oz) and the only way I know to get them there with good equipment is expensive. The E sledge flys well at 10-12 oz.

One more tip: On the Castle Creations ESC, be sure to disable the soft start (we dont' need no stinking gearboxes!) so you get more punch on the throttle when you want it.

Hopefully someone else will post good info here too. I learned a lot over the past month looking in the Ezone RC Groups (www.rcgroups.com).. Also, there is a lot of good info in the Profile brotherhood section here on RCU.

JohnVH

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Hey Wind, Do you have any vids of your shocky? I ordered a Nippy 0508 for mine, hope its enough, I have heard it is and have seen a vid that looks good.

FWIW, mine on the stock system sucks.

wind junkie

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No video of my shock flyer yet. Several guys filmed me with the E-sledge a couple weeks ago, and I posted one here last week.

John, Are you planning to use a 3 cell 340 lipoly for your 0508? I've flown a friends with this setup, and it's very comparable to the 0808 with 2 cells.

JohnVH

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I have to get that battery yet, but have a 2s830, and a 3s830, that is my next purchase.

whackinski

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Hi guys, I'm building a Shocflyer also. I am going with the Nippy 0808 with the Jeti 18 speed control. I ordered a Triton charger but cant find Thunder Power Li-polys in 2C 340mAh pacs on Hobby-Lobby.com. I'll buy Kokams or build my own. I'm going to fly it with NiMh pacs until I get Li-polys. I got a GWS receiver and 3 Hobby Electronic sub micros servos from Balsapr.com. I am trying to get some info on the speed control. I understand Lipoly pacs cannot be fully discharged. The speed control has to have a special cut-off in order to keep the batteries from failing (bursting into flame) God I love technology!
I'm an Electric newbie but have decades of RC experience. I'm Also an EE so it's only fitting I give electrics a try.

Additionally I wonder what props I should use. Are GWS orange props cool? I am looking forward to all the info you guys can provide.

Seb

wind junkie

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Seb,

Don't worry so much about the motor cut off on the ESC. Li Polys have a high internal resistance compared to Nicads, so there is a big difference in their terminal voltage under load and resting load. You'll notice for sure when the power drops off as the batteries get low, and that will be your signal to land. Just be sure the ESC voltage cut off won't be too high so it will be correct for the number of cells (2 cells, or 7.4V in your case, so a cutoff anywhere near 5V - 6V will be good). Some newer ESCs are now made for lithiums and correctly set their low voltage cutoffs at just under 3V per cell. This varies depending on who you talk to. Lipolys don't explode when discharged -- they explode when they are charged and the pack had previously been abused. If you monitor them whcn charging, you'll see them balloon well before they get dangerous. Of course, you'll need a charger specifically designed for lipolys.

As far as props, I'd stay away from the GWS orange props cause they flex a lot compared to the APC slow flyers.

Joe

whackinski

My Feedback: (2)

Thanks for the advice Wind. I went with the Triton Charger for the Li-Polys. I also ordered the Nippy 0808 combo with jeti 18 speed control from Hobby-Lobby including a couple of Kokam 2C 340mAh pacs.
I am wondering how this motor gets mounted on the plane. I also am curious about prop mounting. I am trying to get everything together before I start building my ShockFlyer. If you can pass this info and maybe a few .jpgs it would be greatly appriciated.

ckoerner

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I know everyone is putting brushless on theirs, but we have found a cheap alternative that works great for indoors. We run a GWS dual IPS 4.8V B gear box set-up. We wire the motors in series and run 3 cells. So far a 12x6 works the best. We hover at 1/2 throttle or a little less. Climb out is good. We get about 25 minutes with 640's. The motors barely get warm. I was going to put brushless in it because it is the cool thing to do, then I saw this set-up fly. I also fly mine outside with no problem. A couple of guys I fly with have over two months with this set up and flying two nights a week without burning up the motors.

zibobman

hi,

well what about the AXI brushless on the shocky, no one is talking abt it lately,is that because its out of stock?

zibobman

wind junkie

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Seb, I will post some pics tonight of my nippy mount. I just made another for a new project and a pic before installation will look clearer than what I did for the e-sledge on the other thread I posted.

ckoerner, that sounds really good. I will look into this as a low cost alternative for another home brew design I have cooking. Hey, how can you put a 12x6 prop on a Shocky? A friend who uses an 11x4.7 with the 0508 setup barely has any ground clearance. I imagine a 12x6 needs to be launched and landed "harrier style?" Who's 640 battery are you using? (or is that a 3S2P Kokam 340 pack?)

I've seen the Axi's on shockys, and if you never crash, they're awesome. However, because of their need for a firewall type mount, nearly any front end impact will almost always rip the motor and mount off the plane (unless it's made very sturdy -- heavy). That's the chief reason I went for the Nippy on the "shock" type of fuselage, as it readily accepts a tube mount which spreads the load much better. This way a small impact won't need so much glue. Not sue why others have not talked much about Axis and Shockys here. There is quite a bit of traffic on them on RC Groups however.

wind junkie

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weight as pictured is 1/8 oz. Use any small bolt you like, and tap the 1/8" aluminum strip to fit. CA in place and wrap with kevlar thread and more CA.

[img]both1.jpg[/img]

wind junkie

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another view

wind junkie

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last one

whackinski

My Feedback: (2)

Thanks for the info Guys, I will deffinately be building more of these little electrics in the future.
I have a GWS IPS-A and tiny 2 amp ESC I want to build a small foam 3D 2 channel plane.
Their stuff is very good especially for the budget minded.

As for the motor mount for my Shockflyer. You are awesome Wind. I still have not received my Nippy from Hobby-Lobby I'm hoping for a Thursday delivery so I can assemble it this weekend.
I will use your setup, I'll have my machineist Tig the extra tab on the mount tube instead of glueing it.


For everything GWS try www.Balsapr.com Bob had every little part in stock!

whackinski

My Feedback: (2)

Wind... one more thing can you post some shots of your motor mount attached to the ShockFlyer? Maybe a few pics of the onboard gear installation. I am finding the instructions a little vague.

zibobman

hi,

well i d like to ask if the hitec HS 50 will work on the shocky?
thanks!

wind junkie

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Here ya go. I forgot to mention the tube is 7/16" k&S aluminum, but I needed to drill it out slightly to clear the flange of the Nippy.

wind junkie

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prop saver rubber band. It's a #64.

wind junkie

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side view showing the Cirrus 4.4g servos. Hitec 50's would work fine.

wind junkie

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These guides stop flexing. I really notice the improvement in KE flight as the push stroke was bowing a lot under load.

wind junkie

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I had a mid-air with a friend and broke my elevator push rod at the horn, so I modified it this way and got some more throw in the process.

wind junkie

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I velcro the battery to the top side so it will balance better in the vertical dimension. I don't care about the looks so much if it does rollers better.

wind junkie

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Another showing the mount with epoxy/microballoons smeared lightly into the joint. It's been fixed a lot using foam safe CA. Note the creases in the foam.

wind junkie

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1/32" ply instead of the rubber grommet on both sides