kochj

Saw a question about wether or not this is an all out 3D plane?

For one thing, You would need to make sure you have either good gap bewteen the elevators, or make the bevel steeper..
Either way, in my experience, this must be done or there isn't enough for fantastic 3d......

I have listened and agreed with QQ Somizini that 55-65 deg or elevator throw is advised or needed in most interest....

I didn't find it to be a great 3d plane..... but I have not all the throw I need or perhaps a rearward CG.....

I havn't had time to set it up properly.....6-flights isn't enough....

kochj

Man....

I was soooo close in purchasing a saito 14fg....(.82)
I was hoping I was outbid, and luckly I was at about 10min to spare.....

I have mixed results with the gasoling versions that use the non-walbro carbs.... and I really will not be using this size of
plane all that much to see the beni of gas rather than alcohol/nitro....

THe weight gain is very lean at around 5-6 oz.... so that was pretty good.... but I will be willing to
run a .82.....I have a .91 4-stroke and a st .51 on pipe (current set up) but noise is a issue with were I fly my small planes like this one....
so I want to run a 4-banger in it.....

I do not want electric, so don't try to convert me!
I hate the charging head aches....

TruBlu02

I am actually considering converting my reactor to Electric power. It has never really held up well to being a glow powered model and the covering has taken the brunt of it. I am stealing my Saito 82 for my Extreme Flight Yak 55 while my reactor is in storage, so when it comes back out aagain there may be a brushless outrunner and Lipos waiting for it.

Bob93447

I fully encourage you to convert your Reactor to e-power. Mine is set up with a Scorpion 4020-12 (540 kv) motor driven by a Castle controller and a Turnigy 6s, 4000mah battery. Using a Xoar 13x8 prop I can get 9-10min of reasonably aerobatic flying with no fuel soaked covering to deal with or clean up after flying. If you want to go into full 3-d flying, I would suggest a lower KV motor and a larger diameter prop.

Bob

TruBlu02

It is somethin that I have been considering for awhile. I love my Reactor but it is ALOT of work to maintain with the nitro motor in it. Plus after I flew a EF Chinn Yak with a Saito .82 in it there really was no question where the Saito belongs. I sure do mis my Reactor. It kills me to have it in storage right now. I just don't time or any space to fly it.

As for the motor what would you reccomend for 3D style flying? I am new to electrics so I am still learning how to pick out the right equipment for each individual plane.

Bob93447

TruBlu02,


I am not an expert on 3-d flying but from what I can understand, you need about 200 watts of input power per lb. of airplane to have a good 3-d airship. My reactor weighs about 6.5 lbs set up the way I have set it up, and using a Scorpion 4020-12 motor, a Turnigy 6s1p 4000mah lipo, and a xoar 13x8 prop, I measure 1400 watts of input power on a freshly charged battery. My Reactor is set up for a combination of sport/pattern flying but it will hover nicely. In comparison, I have a U-can-do .46 powered by a Satio .72 and the Reactor, set up as I have it, will pull out vertically from a hover with much more authority than the UCD. If I wanted to go to more of a 3-d setup I would probably change to a 100 amp esc and a Xoar 16x10 or 17x8 prop with a 5s1p 5000 mah battery. For starters, I would stick with batteries for Hobbycity.com until you get to the point that you know enough to buy something with greater performance at much higher expense.

If you are into serious 3-d, you might want to consider the Scorpion 4025 which is rated for about 2000 watts continuous input power. By comparison, this is probably about 50% more output power than you are getting with your Saito .82. That said, I suggest you contact Lucien Miller at Innov8tive Designs. He runs the Scorpion Motors thread on RCGroups.com. Lucien is well versed on all aspects of e-power and can be trusted to give you a good motor recommendation. As far as I can tell, Scorpion motors are the best value on the market today with respect to quality, efficiency, weight and relliability.


As a final note, my Reactor, after about 4 hours of e-power flight, looks great. The covering is staying put and I couldn't be happier with its durability. My UCD, with nearly 100 hours of nitro fllight, requires constant attention with respect to keeping the covering on the airframe and it's covering is of much better quality than that of the Reactor.

Good luck,

Bob

TruBlu02

Bob,

Thanks for the info. I am coming around to the idea of electric flight so I am still learning. I purchased all my equipment for the EF Extra from Hobby city and have been very impressed with the quality and value. One of the main things that has set me back on the Reactor is the cost and the dual battery setup reccomended by GP. How does your plane balance with the single 6S pack? If you get a chance i would really like to see your radio compartment an how it looks with respect to battery mounting and equipment set-up.

As for 3D flying I am not a hard core 3D guy with the Reactor. that is why I have my Profile. But i would like the ability to hover and pullout with some authority, like you described with your model. I appreciate your advice and help!!

Sean

Bob93447

Sean,

I'm on a ski trip so I will not be able to get you a picture of the battery compartment of the Reactor for a week or so. But simply said, the single battery solution using a 6s Turnigy is a lot nicer than using a pair of electrifly batteries as mentioned in the review. There is a big former in the middle of the fuse, the battery straddles that. I use velco to adjust the fore/aft position to get the right cg and its pretty much that simple. I use an arming switch with deans connectors to connect the batteries to the esc and motor with a simple adapter of deans to 4mm bullet connectors to get the battery to the arming switch.

The 3200 mah 3s electrifly batteries mentioned in almost every review of the larger Great Planes aircraft are an artifact of several years ago. They were the largest that you could buy. I have a pair, which cost over $200. The thought was that if you split up your batteries and had a crash there was a possibility that one would survive as would half of your battery investment. The Turnigy 6s 4000mah battery only cost $42 plus shipping; a crash bad enough to damage the battery is going to cost a heck of a lot more than the $42 for the battery. Plus keeping things simple as well as well as firmly secured helps to minimize the possiblity of operator error during setup.

If you stick with the Hobby City stuff, you should be able to get a motor, a pair of batteries, an esc and a charger for less than the cost of a new 4-cycle engine. Get a good charger; I recently purchased the Acucell-8 (150w) charger and it works very well. The one thing I would not get from HC is the prop; I have had much better results with the std. APC and Xoar props than with APC e-props or Turnigy cherry.

Good luck getting your Reactor back in the air as an e-machine; you'll love it.

Bob

TruBlu02

Bob,

I appreciate the advice on your reactor setup. Don't worry about the picture of your battery compartment. If you think about when you get home thats cool. I have been thinking the 6S route would be alot easier than messing wit two seperate batteries. As for the Charger I got a Triton 2 Charger from Tower Hobbies and I have been extrmemly happy with t. It charges everything I could ever need it to and was not as expensive as I thought it would be. One question I do have though is the arming switch you mentioned. What does that entail. My Exra 300 EXP is insanely powerful and makes me a little nervous when I plug the battery in. I was wondering how I could set up some arming switch. Is it something you devised or does someone make one?

All this talk about my Reactor sure makes me miss it. I haven't seen it since July of last year. It is wrapped in bubble wrap and in my storage unit. I think it maybe time to get it out and put it back in the air.

Bob93447

Sean,

Go to www.rcdude.com and they have arming switches set up with both Deans and Power Pole connectors (under the cables and connectors category). I put mine just under the landing gear so that you can barely see it and I use a couple of pieces of dental floss to attach the insert to the plane when it is not in use. I generally walk my plane out to the flight line and then plug in from behind the prop with the plane between my legs. Your local hobby shop may be able to get you one too; I got mine through the local lobby-lobby outlet. About $13. Forgot the name of the brand.

The advantage of the 6 cell pack is that apparently manufacturers make some attempt to balance the internal resistance of the individual cells in a pack. I'm not sure how well Turnigy does this it seems they do better than you would by buying two different 3-cell packs.

Bob

TruBlu02

Thanks Bob. I am defnitely in agreement on the 6S pack. I am a big fan of simplicity anyways. Thansk for the link on the arming switches. I do remember seeing this type of setup in one of the RCU reviews. These electrics can be every bit as dangerous as the gas planes. The biggest difference is that an electric plane will chew off a finger quietly and in a more enviromentally friendly way.

Pegleg1972

Getting mine today.Going to put 55ax in it.Assuming this would be ok for 3d.Cant wait.Sounds like a good plane.

zxxflyer

I'm still waiting on some warm weather WITHOUT 20-30 mph winds.... weather has really sucked for the last month.

I got bored and decided to make a cold air/ram intake for the Reactor..

It will feed the velocity stack via a piece of silicone tubing.

What do ya think?

TruBlu02

Lol! You must be getting bored!! Looks cool though. Kinda reminds me of this old car I once saw. I guess ths guy had a weird sense of humor. He bolted a mailbox to his hood and painted "postal induction" on the side.

Bob93447

Sean,

A couple of pictures of the Reactor battery bay, without then with the Turnigy 4000mah 6S battery installed. The more I fly the Reactor set up with battery power the happier I am with my choice. I had another airplane with similiar covering from another vendor powered by a nitro engine; what a disaster. The covering was always peeling.

Bob

TruBlu02

Thanks for the pics Bob! That looks so much more simple than having to deal with the gas set up. I just got one of the arming switches for my Extra 300 and it works so much better. The covering on my the Reactor just has not held up well to being a glow plane. Mine still looks really good but it has taken alot of work. I have recovered the bottom several times to repair fuel soak. The Saito .82 has a better home anyways in my Profile.

zxxflyer

I got to fly yesterday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu...eoid=103469500

zxxflyer

Had another good day to fly....

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L82OU3sdgSk[/youtube]


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Xz2TGoVns4[/youtube]


Worked on inverted flat spins while testing different props and C.G.

Here are some pics of my cold/ram air intake for the Saito 91

I'm loving the Reactor more every time I fly it.... soo much that I am going to add a smoke system.

TruBlu02

Looks cool man!! Once you get the inverted flat spins worked out make sure you try a blender. The Reactor wraps itself up really well from the power off dive into a great flat spin.

bird_dog0347

My Feedback: (1)

I finally got to maiden mine today...

Well I bought a GP Reactor over the winter and had not gotten a chance to fly it till today for a couple of reasons. It took me a while to get everything purchased for it and get it ready to fly, and......... I am a great big .

I had been out of RC planes for about 7 years till I saw a deal on a P51 PTS on craigslist last summer. Bought it and flew it about 15 times and decided I don't like to fly war birds too much. I then got an Ultra Stick .40 and transferred the gear into that from the P51 and I have been flying it for about 5 months. I love the crap out of that plane, but yesterday my muffler fell off mid flight and I have not fixed it yet. Well, I wanted to fly today and the Reactor was just sitting there ready to go. I had not flown it yet cause I was afraid it would be too much for me, man was I wrong. I have been flying this plane on RF 4.5 a lot and it is cake there too. On low rates, this thing is easier to fly than the Ultra Stick. I was also spoiled with the crow mode flaps on the stick and how I could land it with ease, nice and slow. The thin air foil had me worried I would need to keep too much speed on landing, again... dumb!

Today was beautiful and had less than a 10mph wind (pretty good for N. Texas in the spring) so I went across the street (about a 70 acre field right beside my house with decently short grass to land on) and flew for about 5 minutes. Since I did not know how much power I drained from the batteries I didn't know how long of a flight I could do. Turns out I ran them down to about 50-55% (Turnigy 3S 2650 30-40C x 2) with no 3D or anything like that, just basic sport flying. I think these would be great for about 5 minutes of 3D flight or 8-10 just flying around. I am waiting on my 3300 batteries to charge, they have been in storage mode so I don't get to fly anymore today. Maybe tomorrow afternoon she will see the skies again.

All in all, I love this plane so far. Next flight, high rates and see what she can really do.

TruBlu02

bird_dog,

Glad to hear you enjoyed flying your Reactor. You will not find many (if any) bad flight reports of the Reactor. It is a very gentle flyer on low rates and can be very wild on high rates. as you noticed the thin wing is not muchof an issue on landing. In fact the wing may be thin but it has alot of surface area which give it a very light wing loading for its size. You will quickly notice how it is the only plane you want to fly. I sure miss mine right now. It is in storage and I haven't seen it for almost a year. [&o] I am having a ahrd time leaving it there. Every time i get in this thread I get closer to dragging it out and putting it back in the air.

kochj

With recent changes in engine prices (Methanal/Glow) I couldn't resist picking up some...
I have noticed that YS engines in particular have risen and even the central hobby has them raised....
and the new line hasn't even arrived yet....

SO.....I picked up quite a range,,,and the Last sale that ended this last weekend
I picked up the saito .82 for a song.... I feel this is one of the best power to weight ratio engines
out today....Ys 63 couldn't match it... and I don't think the new ys 70 (if ever comes out) can either....
THe ys 70 will cost 400$ as well and need 20/20 fuel all the time...

Anyway....I am a proud owner of the ,82 saito and will place it on the reactor....
I have a couple of Magnum .91 4-strokes but they are not even close to the quality of these
wonderfull looking saitos and OS engines I would really like to have the OS .82 w/pump but have a hard
time wanting to drop 350-400$ on a .80 size engine.... especially when I paid 230$ for this new case .81 saito...
hard to best it....

I am in the process of making the neccesary throws for extreme flight by cutting the elevators to have
60+ deg. of throw...I onlt had about 30deg. tops....this isn't nearly enough for 3D...

I will mount the .82 on it's side because I do not want any hassles...
What prop works the best..???

bird_dog0347

My Feedback: (1)

I now have 10 or so flights on the Reactor and I love it. I just need more batteries now...

I did manage to kill the gears in one of my 9650 Aileron servos doing a blender, but $12 later I was back in business. I will be getting a set of the MG's for them so I have them on hand next time I strip them.

TruBlu02

I have always use the 14x4W APC prop on my Saito 82. It seemed to be a good matchfor the 82 in the Reactor. The .82 really manhandles it and mine always got over 11,000 rpm with that setup on 15% nitro. I think some guys run the 15x4W as well I just havent had the chance to try it yet.

rc airplane nut

My Feedback: (5)

I use the 15X4W and I think it is a good combination. But if you fly from a grass strip the 15X4W might be a little long. There is only about an inch of ground clearance on pavement.