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e-flite mini edge 540

Old 09-28-2005, 03:32 PM
  #26  
IMAC781
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Default RE: e-flite mini edge 540

Hi Ken,
I'm using the same equipment in my M-F, soon to be transferred to a new Mini-Edge. I had the same problem and reduced the throttle ATV which helped. What are the ESC setting changes you made? I have also reduced the prop from an APC 11-7E to an APC 10-5E.
Thanks!
Old 09-28-2005, 05:49 PM
  #27  
flyme2dmoon
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Default RE: e-flite mini edge 540

Lee, what's up bud? Let me know if you like it or not...Neil
Old 09-28-2005, 06:44 PM
  #28  
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Default RE: e-flite mini edge 540

The new TP2100 prolites are very nice and hold their voltage well. 10.4V at 27A. The mini edge really is a blast to fly.


Lee- That small battery might make the mini edge tail heavy. It balances in the middle of the range with the TP2100 up against the firewall

Fred
Old 09-28-2005, 07:47 PM
  #29  
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Default RE: e-flite mini edge 540

Hey Neil, We miss you at the field! Hope all is well over in cold Greenland or was it Iceland. How are you doing? All I can say so far is Fred has one and he loves his Mini Edge! I think you should get one to keep you company while you are over there!

I have to get my batteries and I am waiting for my Castle USB programming cable to come to Hobby City. Everything else is done on here except glueing the canopy on (daughter needed some white glue a little while ago and the wife thought it was Elmers ). I think that I will go with the 2100 size battery based on what Fred said since his flies like a scalded dog!!!!

Take care and I will let you know how the maiden flight goes!

Lee
Old 09-29-2005, 08:50 AM
  #30  
ken graham
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Default RE: e-flite mini edge 540

hangercat: some of the changes i made was goto hard start, also i set it up for a soft shut down [no more engine shut down] i called castle creations and talked to joe at ext119. he walked me thru the process. i had the plane all set up and ready to go and he had me program the esc over the phone. GREAT SERVICE!!!!!!
Old 09-29-2005, 09:12 AM
  #31  
staudman
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Default RE: e-flite mini edge 540

I also recently finished my E Flite Edge.
This was my second airframe from E Flite and was a much better experience than the Ultimate I ppurchased last Spring.
The Kit was bought from my LHS (Riders) in SE Mi. and was a very impressive purchase!!
I am amased by the prefab and everything was right.
Covering good,Parts fit Great,hinging was good.and the attention to detail was phemomal.
I have been involved in IMAC for many years so this little electric stuff has been a learning curve...
I am using the Himax 2025 W/CC Phoenix 25 and Apogee 2000ma LiPo cells from TBM.
I did strip the gears on my first flight attempt so I need some info on what gears and prop will work best...I was using a 12-6 APCSF on the standard gear that came with the motor...Now I need a new pinion ...and maybe the big gear as well.
Any thoughts?
The down side was the rarward CG with servos ,battery and linkages installed where they needed to be.
I had to add 2.5 oz of lead to tghe front underside of the cowl to make it balance at the middle of the recomended range....butI am now ready to fly ...
I did get as far as a the take off,but the gears stripped after a few short seconds...but it popped off the ground with style!!
[sm=bananahead.gif]
Old 09-29-2005, 09:37 AM
  #32  
GordonFreeman
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Default RE: e-flite mini edge 540

Anyone planning of going this route?

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Old 09-29-2005, 10:10 PM
  #33  
DrDeath
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Default RE: e-flite mini edge 540

I picked up my programmer and battery from Hobby City today. This little plane has cost me more than I had plan on spending [].

New Castle Creations Phoenix 35 ESC instead of using the Eflite 25 amp I had for my ultimate old rev. $85
New 2100 mAh Thunder Power battery with the balancer plug $85
Castle Creations programer USB cable $22
JR Reciever RS6UL didn't want to use either of my GWS receivers due to range concerns $37
Thunder Power balancer $56
Eflite 400 4200 kv motor $56
2 new eflite servos didn't use one $26
Dean plugs and cables $12

Total spent at Hobby City in the last week $379.00[:@]

Hopefully the fun I will have with this plane PRICELESS!!!!!

The CG has been set at the middle range of the suggested CG, the throws set and the canopy glue is drying. Should be able to maiden her this weekend. Man, this little plane has cost me as much as my Patty Wagstaff 27% .

DD
Old 09-29-2005, 10:27 PM
  #34  
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Default RE: e-flite mini edge 540

This plane flys best with the cg near the back of the range provided, 60mm is a good start. I found it flew badly at the front of the range, it snapped out of loops. I moved the cg back and it was a totally different plane.

Ditch the E-flight gearbox and get a Cobri. It's the last gear box you ever buy. They are quiet, super strong, and will give you the confidence to really fly the hell out of this plane.

It's a great plane, becoming my favorite out of 7 others.
Old 09-30-2005, 04:23 AM
  #35  
staudman
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Default RE: e-flite mini edge 540

I am new to E Flite and bought an Edge from them I have yet to Maiden...What is a COBRI gearbox?
Whaere do you purchase them?
I set my cg forward as the forward cg is supposed to be more stable...less likely to snap...your post reflects the oppoisite???
Any other info on the Edge that may come in handy?
Mike S
Old 09-30-2005, 06:27 PM
  #36  
DMACK
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Default RE: e-flite mini edge 540

To be safe I usually set my cg at the front of the cg range for my maiden. Normally a little nose heavy makes for a more stable predictable plane. Not so in this case, at least in my experience. The plane was squirly with the cg forward. It snapped out of loops, and snap rolls even at high speed were more like tumbles. It was really wierd, it acted like the cg was really really far back in the plane. I landed it and moved the cg back to near the back of the cg range, about 60mm and all the bad habits went away. It tracks like its on rails, loops are straight with no correction needed. Snap rolls were now fast, even violent but predictable and controllable. Knife edge had almost no coupling just a touch of aileron to keep it straight, just a touch. It's become my favorite plane!

As far as Cobri gear boxes you can find them here. http://www.e-flightline.com/

I am lucky to have a dealer locally. Just throw out the E-Flight gear box, it's not worth the headaches. The Cobri fits perfectly with no modifications, has a ton of gearing choices, is nearly bullit-proof, and is super quiet. I won't use anything else. I've put 300 watts though mine without any problems.

Other thoughts. On the pull pull setup, the white double sided control horn that goes in the rudder had some little ridges inside the holes drilled in it. They made the rudder click when moving it back and forth. I took a real small round file and gave it 1 or 2 real light strokes. This smoothed out the holes and the rudder is like butter now.

Also be careful on the amount of elevator throw you have on your maiden. This plane has a ton of control surface throw, and you can over due the elevator if your not careful. Go easy on the elevator until you get a feel for it. Mine is cranked up to nearly 45 degrees up and down, great for hovering but really aggressive for normal flying. You can't have enough rudder or ailerons in my opinion. Both are very predictable even at extreme throws.

Good luck on the maiden!
Old 09-30-2005, 07:04 PM
  #37  
staudman
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Default RE: e-flite mini edge 540

[:@]Thank you for the timely input.I am off this weekend and will be flying the plane tomorrow.
Mike S
Old 10-01-2005, 09:59 PM
  #38  
DrDeath
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Default RE: e-flite mini edge 540

Flew Mine today, only one flight though. The plane flew great! I was able to take the plane off from our grass field and trimmed the plane out. couple of clicks for right trim and a couple of down. I flew the plane at about 1/2 throttle for most of the flight. CG was right in the middle of the suggested range. Definitely a keeper. I did drop the battery on the ground [:@] so I will have to watch it when I charge it again.
Old 10-02-2005, 07:08 AM
  #39  
elenasgrumpy
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Default RE: e-flite mini edge 540

Wow, I feel pretty lucky after reading some of you guys unfortunate experiences with this new plane. I just got back from Carmel after spending a couple days with my father, building this Mini Edge together. We had a great time, been about 40 years since we've had the chance to do a plane together, not since I was a little boy! Anyway mine went together great! I was able to open the box @ Sheldon's Hobbies in San Jose, Ca. to hand pick mine so to speak. So there were no issues with wrinkled covering. It was beautiful right out of the box! Wings lined up perfectly, hinging was a breeze, all hinge slots were lined up correctly ( but I do chase them a little with the x-acto before I test fit them as I do with any ARF). Vertical stab was perfect with no sanding needed. wing & tail feathers lined up perfectly. I did opt to tackle the pull-pull and am glad I did! It is very smooth and puts that servo forward. I have Hitech 55s on the ailerons and the new e-flites on the pull-pull & the elevator. They are a little loud but they seem strong & fast. Went with the E-Flite 400/4200kv and the stock gear box for now. They go on pretty addamently about properly meshing that gear box, so we took our time & got it right, if it becomes a problem I will go to the Cobri that DMACK mentioned in the other posts. Haven't set the CG yet as I am waiting on a 3 cell in the mail. I only have a 2 cell apogee wich I used to set everything up with. It feels like it wants to hang on the prop with the 2 cell! So I have to say I am extremely pleased with the purchase of this plane. My dad has been building model airplanes for 60 years now, as well as being a real pilot for almost as many years, & he was amazed at the quality & attention to detail that was put into this ARF. This plane came out absolutely Gorgeous! Will post some pics later this evening. So in conclusion, I either got very lucky & ended up with a real nice one, or the original poster unfortunately happened to get a bad one. I do hope you are able to get it all straightened out & still end up with a nice little airplane when it is all said & done. Mark T.
Old 10-02-2005, 08:08 AM
  #40  
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Default RE: e-flite mini edge 540

Ok Guys, I finally figured out how to add some pics of the finished the model. I have a feeling this little plane is going to start popping up at the local airfields all over pretty soon so I added some homemade decals so we know this one is mine & not yours The build pics with pops have to be scanned on the other puter but Momma's still sleeping so I will do that later. Mark T
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Old 10-02-2005, 08:46 AM
  #41  
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Default RE: e-flite mini edge 540

DMACK, You're right! I just went to the link you put up for that Cobri gear box, it definitely looks bullit-proof. I don't even see any reason to wait till I strip out the stock plastic E-Flight box. Your Cobri is now my to buy list. Thanks for the great tip. Mark T.
Old 10-02-2005, 09:29 AM
  #42  
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Default RE: e-flite mini edge 540

The other guy at my field that has one has the Cobri box also. He says it is great. Not sure if I mentioned that mine lined up also without issue. Took me about 4 hours total to put it together. Most of that time was fiddeling with the servos, motor mount and radio installation. The plane went together without a hitch. I plan on flying mine today at a local park that no one really goes to. Don't feel like driving the 20 minutes to the field, when there is a little park about 5 from my house. I may go to her schoolyard which is 5 minutes also. Anyway, battery is charging and I have to check on it. later

DD
Old 10-02-2005, 05:17 PM
  #43  
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Default RE: e-flite mini edge 540

Cobri, definately the way to go!

I've got almost 50 flights on this plane and it just keeps getting better. There are some planes that are mediocre, some that are cursed, and some that are lucky charms. This one is a golden lucky charm!
Old 10-02-2005, 07:46 PM
  #44  
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Default RE: e-flite mini edge 540

Man, i just got all my gear today, i still ned a battery, planning on a 3s2100 li-poly.

Reading all this gets me very excited!!!
Old 10-03-2005, 09:52 AM
  #45  
Robert Simmons
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Default RE: e-flite mini edge 540

I have about 20 flights on the stock set up and I must say this plane rocks. I also fly the mini funtana and it to flys good. I am using thunder power 2100 3 cell. I get about 2 10 min awesome flights. I ahve had to replace stock gear box in Mini funtana but so far so good on mini edge. It is rock solid and can do just about anything your capable of.
Old 10-03-2005, 10:59 AM
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Default RE: e-flite mini edge 540

About those flight times. I flew mine on Sunday and used about 700 mAh for about an 8 minute flight. Like Robert said, I probably would get about two 8 - 10 minute flights on a battery. I still need to spend the 70 - 80 dollars on another battery. I was rushing out of the house this morning so I didn't put the plane in the car to fly during lunch. My field is about 5 minutes from my office.

DD
Old 10-03-2005, 11:25 AM
  #47  
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Default RE: e-flite mini edge 540

ORIGINAL: DrDeath
I was rushing out of the house this morning so I didn't put the plane in the car to fly during lunch. My field is about 5 minutes from my office.

DD
Hey, where do you work at? You're pretty close to me. I work in Gaithersburg at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Nice big fields there!
Old 10-03-2005, 12:30 PM
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Default RE: e-flite mini edge 540

I work in Beltsville, MD not to far from Free State Aeromodelers Konterra Airpark which is where I fly. Man, If I worked at NIST I would be flying eletrics everyday during lunch! You guys have fields for days! Do you still have that heard of dear on your grounds? I would worry about a buck chasing a doe running over my nice new Edge .
Old 10-03-2005, 03:19 PM
  #49  
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Default RE: e-flite mini edge 540

Man, If I worked at NIST I would be flying eletrics everyday during lunch! You guys have fields for days!
What do you think I've been doing for the past month??! One flight at lunch time, and then one after work, everyday the weather's good!

Do you still have that heard of dear on your grounds? I would worry about a buck chasing a doe running over my nice new Edge .
Yep. Quite a bit of wildlife to look out for. Heards of deer. Doe's and 8pt (or more) Bucks! Not to mention all the blasted Geese. They've overtaken "MY" field several times. But usually when they see me coming, they run for the woods. Haven't had any deer or geese charge at me yet. But I'm always careful just in case!!
Old 10-03-2005, 10:14 PM
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Default RE: e-flite mini edge 540

I have an edge with the stock toasted gearbox, and eflite 400 4200 kv motor setup. Assembly was easy, setup with the pull-pull rudder setup. Cg was way tail heavy. it took lots of lead in the nose, even after moving everything up as far forward as i could to get the plane reasonably flyable. Before i spend a few more bucks on oem replacement gearbox, I am reading about the cobri gearboxes here. What pinion and spur setup is best? Also, as anyone tried an outrunner motor setup on one of these yet? I may would rather go that route, as it seems to be relatively maintenance free, but I don't have a clue as to what motor to get. any input on either setup would be greatly appreciated!

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