Hey all,

I've been flying glow and gas airplanes for quite a while and I recently purchased E-Flite's Mini Edge 540 and when it comes to its setup, I'm pretty clueless.
First off, I have E-Flite's 20-Amp Sensorless Brushless ESC and after receiving it I learned that they suggest to use the updated version (the "B" version) as it will handle the 4 servos required for the plane. My question is can I use this ESC without any problems during flight? I plan on pushing this plane to the limit so I want to make sure it will work. I'm also a little foggy on what the difference between the two is...
This may seem like a dumb question, but again I'm clueless about this...I have an 11.1V 2100 mAh 3-cell Li-Po battery. Can I get away with just one battery? Or will I need multiple batteries if I'd like to fly multiple times?
I've also read the 10 page thread on this plane and I was considering going to an outrunner motor... the only thing is I'm clueless as to what to look for.
Well, that's all for now. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
Shane

Hi Shane,

The good news is that these little electrics fly exactly like the big gas and glow as long as there isn't much wind. I recently went the other way and tried glow 3D after several years of only electric. No problems except the Twist flies better in the wind.

You need at least a 20 amp set up for your plane. Your ESC is good to 25 as long as you don't hold WOT forever. I've been running a Mini Funtana peaked for 25 amps on the same ESC for several months with no problems.

Plenty of good outrunners will work with the Mini Edge. The 2808 series AXI or the PJS 1000 work very well when set up for 20-25 amps. Make sure you borrow or buy a Wattmeter to confirm your amp draw so you'll protect your ESC. The battery and the motor can take quite a bit more, so you won't have a problem there.

If your glow experience was with similar designs to the Mini Edge, you'll have no problem landing the little electric. That's where guys have trouble with inrunner/gearbox set ups. Since I learned how to land my planes, I haven't had any broken gearboxes, bent shafts, or broken props which are real common. The gearboxes generally can't take many prop strikes and inexperienced pilots blame all their problems on bad gearboxes, weak shafts, weak armatures, etc when it's their own fault because they keep on smacking that prop on the ground. If you land your plane without prop strikes and buy a gearbox designed to take the load you're going to subject it to, you'll have no problems with inrunner/gearbox set ups. The advantage to them is their flexibility and increased (slight) efficiency.

You'll want at least two batteries. your 2100 battery will take at least one hour to charge providing your lipo charger can carge at 2.1 amps. Lots of 'em can't. I use a one amp charger so my 2100 batteries take 2.1 hours to charge

The up front cost of these small, high performance electrics is horrendous. In order to preserve your batteries, you must be careful not to discharge them faster than their C rating. Therefore, when shopping for lipos, read the C rating on the battery or make sure your dealer knows what he's talking about. When I've observed the rules, I've found that real world discharges can be done about 150 times if you're matching the C rating of the cell. On my bigger 2000+ mah batteries, It's no problem but the smaller 900 or 1350 may have discharge ratings that won't sustain the draw the uneducated are subjecting them to. So study up and learn how all of these ratings work and buy accordingly or you can ruin a battery after very few charges.

Good luck and have fun with your Mini Edge, Randy