Good tip. I do much the same thing except I keep stuff in my car ( out of the wind, smaller planes, mostly EDfs). The batts get warm after a few passes even if I don't pre-warm them but it sounds like you're not even pushing these batts hard at all.

No they aren't even breaking a sweat.
I am getting 1420 watts and 62 amps static on the ground. The motor is capable of 1800 watts. The ESC is 85 amps constant. The batteries are 20C so they are good for 100 amps.
I am going to try a couple of other props and see what happens.

Bdegan,

I'm using the same motor and batt's but have settled on 16x12 (sometimes 16x10) props. It is a bit higher here in NM than in NY (4200') but I get a solid 8 minutes of pretty much anything I want to do (except KE loops - having a tough time doing them). My batt is only 1" back from the firewall for neutral CG. Maybe its the weight of the servos that I used. I really do like the 5065 motor and the 6 cell brick.

cheers,
Mike

HI Mike,
Our elevation is around 960 feet.
The 5065 on 6S is doing well. I know have over a dozen flights logged. I tried a 16x10. It flew the plane well, lots of forward speed.
Verticle was good, but not out of a hover. It hovered well with that prop but pull out was sluggish.
The 17x8 accelerated out of a hover.
I have a 17x10 I am going to try and see what happens. The props I have tested so far are Turnigy wood 17x8, Xoar 17x8, Turnigy 16x10. I have not tried the Xoar 16x10 yet. Ran out of batteries last friday.
The Turnigy 17x8 pulled more amps than the Xoar 17x8 but I couldn't really notice a difference in the air. But at $5 as opposed to $12 for the Xoar, I can't find any fault in the Turnigy wood E-prop.
Here is a small video from last friday. The Reactor bipe is in there for about 20 seconds at 1:29 doing a harrier down the runway. Then I flopped it on another pass because I was coming in with the wind at the tail and broke the prop
The harrier and pull out was the Turnigy 17x8

http://www.vimeo.com/groups/amac/videos/8527512

Brad

What Hitec servo would guys recommend? I have lots of 5625 but they're heavy. Should I be looking at 5225's? I think my YS 110 has found a new home......
Don

I have 225 plastic gears on the ailerons, 225mg's on the elevators and a 985 on the rudder. I know its overkill, but it came out of another plane and was sitting on the bench, didn't need to buy another

Does the elevator take 2 servos?
Don

Yes, one for each half.

Thanks guys. I just looked at the price of the 5245's and I might be going 225's and 245's as well. I didn't want to spend $200 bucks on servos

Ordered one yesterday with servos. I should have it by the end of the week or early next week. This should keep me entertained for a bit.
Don

Don,
how are you setting it up ? Nitro or Electrons ?

Bdegan, I've got a YS 110 to put in for power and I've got the Hitec 225's for the ailerons, 245's for the elevator halves and I've got a bunch of full sized, (5625's, 5645's, 475's) that I'll use for the rudder and throttle. Will I be able to put the fuel tank on the CG?
Don

If you make your own fuel tank mount you can slide the tank quite far back. The stock mount keeps it all the way forward.
The YS110 will be fun
Does it have pump capabilities ? putting the tank that far back will give you fuel delivery problems.

Brad

YS engines have their own pump built in. Tank distance/location is irrelevent. I think I'll try to rig something up on the CG. The 110 will be a bit of overkill but I'm a real YS fan. I have 5 of them and 1 Saito. The Saito is good as well but if I mount the engine upside down the pump/regulator of the YS is better. The Saito is currently on another plane as well. This looks like a fun plane and I need something to do in the evenings right now so I thought this would fit the bill. Everyone needs a grossly overpowered biplane don't they?
Don

Oh Yeah.....

+1

The plane showed up today. It looks good except it has a small ding and split in the covering in both the left ailerons. It looks like the box must have taken a hit right on the corner. It's a five minute repair and I'm not concerned.
I do have a couple of quick questions:
1) Is the tail wheel acceptable or should I be putting something else on it? It looks a bit suspect to me and I don't want to notch the rudder if it's no good.
2) I have a Hitec 5625 servo for the rudder. Is it over-kill and too heavy? I have a bunch of Hitec 475's that already have extensions soldered to them.
Thanks for the opinions.
Don

I'm not a fan of that type of tail wheel assembly. They don't usually last much more than a season or 2 if your field is rough.
That being said, i Did use the stock tail wheel. Its a very light assembly and super simple. If and when it fails, i will replace it with something else
I used a 985 on the rudder. Pure overkill I know. But I had it and didn't have to buy another servo. This thing will hold KNife edge everything all day long
That and the extra "useful" tailweight helped in the balancing.

I also used 4-40 rod on the tail surfaces. Maybe its more than is needed but they take the most abuse and it makes me feel better

Bdegan, the 4-40 rods are a good idea. I just happen to have some left over from a previous crash.....oops. I've decided to go with a 475 for the rudder because I discovered that I had a second ys110 laying around. (You know you've got too much stuff when....) I thought I would keep the 5625 to matchthe the other 4 I have around in case I feel the need to get another plane.
Don

Bdegan, did you bother to seal the hinge gaps on your plane? That's a job I just hate!!!!!!
Don

I did the maiden today even though it was overcast. What an awesome plane. Axial rolls, round loops, straight knife edge and almost lands itself. The only problem was that it is fast, even at quarter throttle. I changed the prop from a 16 X 6 to a 16 X 4W, but didn't fly it because of the visability.

I used a YS 110, Hitec 225's on the wing, 225MG on elevator, 5245MG on rudder. To get the CG in the middle, I added 4 oz to the tail. I'm thinking of adding a battery compartment near the tail to eliminate that dead weight. I think it also needs more stripes on the bottom to improve visability.

It's a keeper!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dale

No Not yet. The hinge joints are nice and tight. I have a hard time to slip a sheet of paper in between.
So not sure if I need to or not. I might try it on the elevators and see if I notice a difference.
I would like a little more elevator authority for doing "elevators with a bit less throttle input.

You can also contact me on RCCanada by the same name

Cheers
Brad

That's great news dalita. Your setup will be about the same as mine. Sounds like I may be moving my battery back as well. Did you put the fuel tank on the CG and if so was it difficult? So far I'm impressed with how well done the model is. It took me a while to tighten up the covering but I have started construction now. Maybe I should use full sized servos for the elevator and the rudder to add a bit of tail weight. I guess I could use a Saito 100 but I prefer the YS 110. What was your finished weight?
Don

According to my digital fish scale7lbs. 7oz

Dale