Valve floater

I use TP Extreme Batteries 3 cell 2200. I have my time set at 7 min. I am using an E-flight 40 amp esc. It is not great on auto shutoff. Using the thrust motor with the APC 12-6 prop. I have went down with other planes with this setup: and once with the MD but no damage. I like to play it safe because it gives me hardly any warning at rundown. I have 3 batteries and i don`t want to ruin them, they are to costly to replace. I usually have enough power after the alarm beep for two go arounds before landing and decent taxi and still enough for a minute run. Run those lipo`s down to much and you will be buying more to soon. Don`t risk it. Set your timer low first, to get a feel for your runtime. I have never had a lipo burst. I have bought some cheap one`s and found out they were junk.Spend the extra money.

jaihunt

back again, this is LeeHunt, using my sons log in
Well flew the Katana this arvo, wow is all I can say. Had it a long way out of trim??????. I must be doing some thing wrong with the batterys they only lasted a short time and ran down without warning. all i did was charge them up 2days ago and fly them today, I think I have this wrong. Now Iam told I should discharge them and charge them first??????, comments welcome, as I said this is the first electric I have used!!!!. There are 3 wires from the motor and 3 from the ESC does it matter which wire goes where??.
I got 2 props with th ekt and I used the smaller 12x 6, will the battery flatten quicker with the 13x6 and is it better maybe.
I had 2 flights the first the trim was a long way out so trimmed it up and off I went, 2nd flight same thing the trim was all out of whack. Is this just the battery position.
My ailerons hinges were not glued and ai still have some small play in them is this normal or should I complain.

Jeez what is this??? 100 questions??
Not withstanding the above I think I will get to really like this model once I iron a few bugs out.
Thanks again for all your comments
Oh by the way still got all me fingers

Valve floater

Your ailerons not glued in!!? Dude, follow every instruction in the setup book to the word. Do not miss any steps. If you follow the instructions to the book, you should not have any issues.Go through it again. We can`t help you if we don`t have a clue if you missed any steps at assembly. I always charge up my batteries before my flights just in case. Do you have any drag on the motor when you spin the prop by hand without the battery of course. Fly about 4 min. on your first flights. These are not NI-cad or Nickel metal.You do not dischage them or cycle them. This has been mentioned in earlier threads. Read up on the insert that came with the battery,and study up on it. Are you using a lipo type charger. If not you may burn your house down. Sorry to be so direct to the point, but we don`t want you to get hurt by the plane or the battery. Send us some pictures of the plane and what you have done so far. Of the inside and outside. Also with the cowling off. I can see what you may not have right.

aflipz

My Feedback: (10)

How can the ailerons not be glued in? they are assembled at the factory with the most beautiful hinge system i have ever seen! Are you sure you aren't talking about the old Katana?

Not sure what you mean by out of trim; if youre talking about pitch maybe your cg is off. As for your flight times i don't know what's going on; do you fly full throttle all the time? This thing needs like 30% throttle to maintain level flight, can do an entire sequence at 50-60% for speed/stability and hovers at 50% or less throttle! 100% is only necessary to climb a fast vertical.

the 3 motor leads have no importance other than if it spins the wrong way you simply reverse 2 of the 3 wires.

aflipz

My Feedback: (10)

It just occured to me;

did you remove the circlip from around the motor shaft prior to mounting it? (as per the warning ) This could explain unexpectedly short flight as it will cause massive resistance to rotation thus increasing the load considerably because it would be pressed against the firewall and "grab" the shaft.


I know he is using a lipo charger but i don't know how it operates or if it is set right. One thing is for certain, if it's the circlip thing this might have caused much higher loads than the pack is rated for in worst case scenarios. Let's not get ahead of ourselves though. Tell us what you find. Was the pack very warm when i came down?

Valve floater

Wow, Aflipz, could you imagine the heat around that motor shaft would cause? I hope he can send pic`s. I left my clip on, but i hollowed out the hole on the mount a little so it would not hit. That`s before i found out to take it off!

aflipz

My Feedback: (10)

Kinda like a spun bearing... I'm less worried about that than the load on the pack though. That also might be what caused the premature cutouts; not actual LVC but overcurrent/temp protection of the esc.

LeeHunt

Hi, followed every step in the book, took the circlip off, but no, the right aileron had 2 hinges not glued, quality assurance? was able to get some thin CA in with an applicator, but there is still a small amount of movement at one end, however I cant see that the hinge is loose. will fly this again tonight after work and see if the batterys improved from there last charge, this will mean that they have sat around for about18 hours since being charged. After they were charged they had 12.5volts each I think.
I will let you know what happens after tonight.
I have only been flying for 2 years but we get in about 20- 25 flights a week every week, so Iam quite confident of my ability to build a model ( i have built heaps).
Could the tempreture here have a bearing on the batteries at the moment the days are 40C ish just getting into our wet season.
I will try some photos but dont hold your breath, tech and me dont really go together
Again thanks for the comments and advise

LeeHunt

WEll flew it last nite and all I can say is CofG, Had it to far forward, moved the battery back and presto flys really really great. The batteries last about 7 mins, can you get bigger and if what would you suggest. I will have to buy more batteries so I can fly more than twice between rechargers. I have the PA supplied lipos at the moment.
Hey how do you chaps line the battery up each time for the exact Cof G, any niffty hints???
Forgot the camera will take it tonight
Hey starting to love my KATANA, KE loops, far out never thought I could do them!!!!!
Going to try the 13x6.5 prop tonight any comments on battery life??

Lee

aflipz

My Feedback: (10)

WOW!

You must be extremely throttle happy especially if 7 minutes brings you to the cutoff! What are you doing up there? Full throttle pattern sequences all the time? If you maintain the same throttle behaviour your flight will only shorten with a 13x6.5. If flying at that speed is all you want to do you won't mind whatever weight the extra capacity batteries you could possibly fit in there but you'll be missing the whole point of this lightweight marvel of 3D flying technology. Ease up, stall a little

Shaun once got 18 minutes out of your setup. I get a good 10, cut it to 8-9 if it's real windy and i have to waste power to track straight.

LeeHunt

Ta, point taken, I was spending that long trying to get it to fly right till I worked on the CG. 7 min was not cut out time and I could have gone on longer, I was being careful??!!
Are the batterys supplied by PA good and should I buy more of these or are their other types that are better

aflipz

My Feedback: (10)

So far it has not made economical sense for me to have PA packs shipped 1/2 way across the globe, but from what i hear they are fine packs indeed.

Oh, i was under the impression that squeezing every last bit out of the pack meant only 7 minutes takeoff to landing. What was your resting voltage at when you landed vs 30 minutes later?

Valve floater

Sounds like your on the right track.

aflipz

My Feedback: (10)

Yeah! It sure does.

LeeHunt

Ta again,will collect a bit of data tonight and post this, ill try to get photos too

LeeHunt

Took your advise and slowed down a bit, Iam only a novice at this but I must say these are really fun.
Got 8.5 min with 13x6.5 with first battery, 9.56volts just finnished, cool 1/2 hr later 10.1 volts
Next battery with a 12x6 8.5 min, 11.3 volts 1/2hr later cool, 11.6 volts.
I will try and post some pics that I took, could you tell me about battery placement, do they always move around abit or do you have any niffty ideas to stop them, I have a small strip of velcro under them but this seems to make no difference.
Cheers

aflipz

My Feedback: (10)

i glued a couple of strips of latex foam (receiver foam) on the battery tray, with the strap tightened it does not slide around due to the "sticky" nature of the latex foam.

Looks to me like you can set your timer on 8 minutes with the 13x6.5 (10.1 is a bit lower than i'd like) and a good 9-10 minutes with the 12x6 but again the higher your throttle stick is the more electrons are drawn from the pack and the shorter the flight.

Planes looking real nice too!

LeeHunt

Thanks Mate. Will try the latex foam, I have a small bit left somewhere and will post my results
Hey did Born2fly get his red plane yet????????
Does your rudder kevlar cord rub against the fuslage exit hole sides a bit mine does !!??
Going to buy 3 more batterys this should help with the addiction, 2 just aint enough.
I will set my timer for 9 mins now with the 12x6 and maybe 8 with the 13x 6.5
I thought the plane flew better with the 12 prop anyway,what are your thoughts.

Thanks for the compliment.

Lee

aflipz

My Feedback: (10)

Well, PA has to get most of the credit for the compliment :P

The kevlar pull pull glides ever so slightly on the edge of the fuse where it exits, it's fine as it is though, it outlasted my last kmd and was reused on this one. I did however, in my usual obsessive compulsive ways gently pressed and rocked a small cylindrical object against the edge to give it a smooth bearing surface. This can easily be done with the rudder pull pull fully assembled. Simply take a screwdriver with a shaft the same diameter or a bit smaller than the slot itself, press with the shaft at an angle on the corner where it touches while rocking the shaft back and forth a bit. Work gradually and gently! It's maleable enough to get a nice rounded corner but be careful not to break your plane. (if you even bother doing it)

As for "friction" material for the battery pack, someone posted this trick but i don't remember where or who it was... He uses a couple of rubber bands simply wrapped around the pack. Two elastics, one at each 1/3 of the pack's length should do it provided when you tighten the strap they get pressed on the battery tray.

I think the 12x6 delivers the best mix of everything on this plane/power system. Some like the 13x6.5 for extra punch out of a hover but i have never really felt the need for it. I have tried many props on it, 11x5, 12x6 12x7 13x6 13x5 13x4 and i still think 12x6 is the best mix of everything. If you feel like it, you could try a 11x7 and see how you like it (if you don't 3D at all, i mean not even a hover) You will need less throttle to get the same speed in level flight so your flight times might improve. (no guarantees)

Valve floater

I have a strip of velcro the full length of the battery on both sides(the wide seating part) of the battery. Then a very long strip on the battery base of the plane so i can move it for CG if i want. Then i still have the two straps that wrap around the battery, like yours. The strip of velco on the top of the battery help hold the wrapping strap better. I have a layer of opposite velcro on the inner side of the strap. It` won`t budge. You don`t want it to move in flight. Then again, if you like a challenge to guess where the CG may be every 5 seconds that may be your cup of tea. HA![X(]

Born2Fly

My Feedback: (21)

Unfortunately not. It took Atlanta Hobby some time to prepare a shipment (its not their fault, my order is a bit complicated), but according to the package tracking info is suppose to be here tomorrow. Do you think I will be able to put it together in 1 day? I am noshes to fly it on Sunday.

LeeHunt

I hope you get it soon mate, nothing worse than waiting past a deadline. 1day I dunno, hey but go for it!!!!!, Its a bit fiddly but very easy to do, mind you I had a few things not right at first which made me wait. Hey try let us know how you go?????????
Some things are worth WAITING for though.
Lee

Texas_Flyer

My Feedback: (15)

Lee,

My kevlar cords also rubbed against the fuslage exit hole sides. If you look inside the air exit hole, I'll bet you'll also see that it rubs some balsa on the inside, too. To fix this, I used about 2 inches of control rod tubing and glued it from about 1/4 past the exit hole to about 1/4 inch past where it was rubbing on the inside. Since I already had the kevlar crimped when I noticed it, I cut the tubing lengthwise, spread it open a little with a tool, and gently slid it over the kevlar cable. Works great now!

Alan

LeeHunt

Ah Har, Clever little chap?? Ill give it go. Thanks mate
Lee
Having been humbled by the chaps that fly these models on the vids, could anyone direct me to a site that explains the basics to the manouvers they fly
so prehaps one day I can be as good, and it give me things to try. we tend to be isolated here.

Texas_Flyer

My Feedback: (15)

Lee,

Here are two overviews of the maneuvers in the Internet:
http://www.troybuiltmodels.com/AwesomePilot.htm
http://www.blaineaustin.com/3d_tips.htm

If you want more in-depth knowledge showing actual stick movements, etc, I highly recommend this book by Scott Stoops:
http://www.rcpilotguide.com/

Alan