.46 or .52 for magic extra?
 

i just picked up the modeltech magic extra yesterday. is a magnum .46 enough for solid vertical performance? i'd dont care about "over-powering"
the plane but good vertical performance is a must (be able to pull out of a hover easily). i've heard that the .52 is more than enough and even "too much" for this plane.

so should i stick with the magnum .46 ($79) or go with the magnum .52 ($89)? $10 difference is of no consequence but i was more worried about the extra weight, and modifications to the mount and also why get it if the .46 can give it what i need. also, what prop should i use for the recommended engine?

also, i was thinking about using mini servos for everything except the rudder (standard). is this a good idea? this should save a few more ounces.

this is my "first" glow plane. (i had a .10 glow trainer years ago when i was just getting into the hobby as a kid). since then i've only flown electric.

thanx.

RE: .46 or .52 for magic extra?
 

go with the magnum .52, you can try with the 12X4W APC Prop

RE: .46 or .52 for magic extra?
 

Im gathering that these engines are two strokes. If they are go the 52, you will appreciate the extra power.

I wouldnt try the mini servos, especially on the elevator, you lose that, you basically lose the plane. I would just use standards and a mini on throttle, a guy at my club has one with an OS 50, JR 539 servos all round at there are now power limitations there ;) I just feel that thr 46 might not be enough power. The weight gain between the 46 and 52 is very minimal and the extra power compenstes anway.

Prop size, well I have a 52 2/s, and the best prop I find is the APC 12.25x3.75 you can go wideblade if you want to but I havent and still find it perfect.

Fly-guy

RE: .46 or .52 for magic extra?
 

I have magnum .52 in that plane and it has llots of power. go with .52, well worth extra $10. It is a very good motor and i never had any trouble with it.
Magic is excillent plane, i have put hours on it and its great. The only problem is poor covering in some spots, but nothing major. I think the model is underrated.

RE: .46 or .52 for magic extra?
 

is there a difference b/t different brands for glow engines? for example, does a magnum .46 or o.s. .46 2 stroke have more power, or are they about the same? there's actually a considerable difference b/t brands for same size engines. the vmax engines are really cheap, but i'm not sure about the performance. i'm new to glow so any help would be greatly appreciated.

also, what's a decent fuel i can use that's not too expensive. i'm deciding b/t a .46 or .52 for my magic extra. probably will go with the .52.

thanx.

RE: .46 or .52 for magic extra?
 

Magnum and OS are pretty much same engines. Looks and performance wise. I have gad a couple Magnums and never had any problems. OS are a bit more expensive and they have a better reputation. It up to you. On my Magnum .52 i use 15% nitro and 18% oil mixture fuel. Pretty much any kind around that ratio will work fine. At summer, i drop the nitro to 10 or even 5%.

I am glad you decided on .52. Good choice!

RE: .46 or .52 for magic extra?
 

I have an OS 46AX on my Magic Extra and it is more than enough power. Takes the plane straight up like a rocket. I use standard servos except on the elevator, which has a JR high torque servo.

RE: .46 or .52 for magic extra?
 

I have built three of these and worn them out. The .52 is heavier and can overpower this plane if you are looking for that. The .46XLS with a tower muffler and 12X4 apc prop will hover it at about 3/4 throttle and give unlimited vertical. I was getting over 13,800 rpm's on the .46 with Byron's 15% nitro fuel and the tower pipe. The stock muffler was only giving me about 12,600 rpm's. I used std 3004 servos on a 6VDC battery and had no control issues. This plane is a real confidence builder once you get it trimmed properly. Does well at fun flies, most 3D, and excels on low rates on pattern practice.

It's a little fragile on the landing gear area, may need to beef that up a little, but so are most of the other 3D planes of this size.

Watch out for the fuel tank, all of my OEM tanks split and had to replaced with a dubro or sullivan. I hear they may have solved that problem, just check the seem carefully and don't over tighten the tank seal assy.

Hope you enjoy yours as much as we have ours.

RE: .46 or .52 for magic extra?
 

Had my plane for almost two years. 46 TT has been plenty of power for anything that the plane will do. You will love ;) the way the plane handles wind.. When it's to windy for every one else, you will still be flying, and they will be looking in envy. Go with a APC 12.25x3.75 .. I thought my was a little fragile on the landing gear-- moved CG back And the lady lands like its on rails. Have had tank problems, keep a eye on it. standard servos a must. This is a very under rated plane.
john

RE: .46 or .52 for magic extra?
 

I had a Magic Extra, since retired, and originally flew it with a Magnum 46 (the motor was on sale) and then with a Magnum 52.

The 46 is not a bad engine and will certainly fly the plane, but the 52 gave it an extra bit of punch. Although it sounds like you're leaning towards the 52 anyway, and I say you go for it.

I second jship's recommendation for the APC 12.25x3.75 prop. It is a great fit for the 52 and this plane.

Now, in reference to OS vs Magnum... personally, I think the Magnum motors are great values for the money (especially their 4 strokes). However, the Magnum 52 is notorious, both on the forums and at my field, for bad midrange transition. The low-end needle is difficult to get just right, it is either too rich (blubbery transition) or too lean (dies) and sometimes the difference is 1/16th of a turn! After break-in, turn the low-end all the way in, then out 1 turn... lean from there. My low-end needled ended up about 7/8ths of a turn out. As a side note, the Magnum 46 did not seem to suffer from this problem.

Another option you may want to consider: A fellow at my field with a 52 replaced his Magnum stock carb with one from an OS 46FX and the transition was MUCH better with hardly no fiddling. This has also been reported by others on the forums. If it drives you nuts, this may be a solution.

The Magic Extra fuse tends to break easily right in front of the wing and behind the tank. You may want to try to reinforce that area, although my attempts were met with limited success. It is a great flying plane, and you'll enjoy it.

RE: .46 or .52 for magic extra?
 

thanx for everone's input. i've been to the field twice and had about 6 flights on it. the power of the .52 is way awesome, esp. for someone coming from electrics. the transition is a little rough, like some have commented, and it takes a while to start up (i have to leave the starter plugged to the spinner for a good 5 seconds or more to get it started). after it's warmed up, it will start by hand. only one "serious" problem: the 2 screws that hold the carb to the rest of the engine came loose. when i tried to tighten them, i accidentally stripped the holes in the carb (i keep on turning but it doesnt get tighter and eventually got completely loose). i cant believe how soft the metal is! i wasnt even using a lot of force tightening the screws. hopefully they'll just replace the carb for me.

i'm also having some problems trimming the plane. it's been very windy my first two days out (about 15mph). although the plane is very stable in the wind, it makes it hard for trimming. one very annoying habit the plane is displaying is a tendency to continue rolling left when i'm doing a left knife edge (enter k.e. by rolling left from upright). right knife edge seems to be ok but still requires minor corrections to keep straight (unlike my rock solid queit storm (electric)). is it just the torque of the motor doing this or is it something else? i'll try to mix in a bit of right aileron to right rudder to try and fix it.

when i use right rudder when upright, the tail just goes to one side but the plane acts like it just wants to continue going straight and there's a very slight tendency to make it roll the plane LEFT also. really weird.

also the rolls are not very axial (they look more like barrel rolls).

how much right thrust and down thrust do you guys have? also how much aileron differential do you guys have dialed in?

hopefully it'll be calm on monday and i can make some headway trimming this plane. but as of now, it doesnt fly nearly as nicely as my electrics. although the power is way better and it's 10 times more stable in the wind.

brian

RE: .46 or .52 for magic extra?
 

good choice on the engine;)

RE: .46 or .52 for magic extra?
 

Noaileron differential used. BALANCE is critical for super knife edge. Mine is 4-7/8 back from leading edge. "the 2 screws that hold the carb to the rest of the engine came loose. when i tried to tighten them, i accidentally stripped the holes in the carb" I have 4 Magnums, every one has had this same problem. Just goes with Magnums. Just be patient, wait for a day when there is not much wind, get it set up right and you will fall in love with this plane.;);) You did not say anything about prop? APC 12.25x3.75 will make the plane fly like it's on rails! Be sure an check lateral blance too.

RE: .46 or .52 for magic extra?
 

jship, so what did you do about the stripped carb retaining bolt holes?

with no aileron differential, my plane has a huge amount of adverse yaw and the rolls are way too "barrel-like". do you have any aileron to rudder mixing? my cg may be too far forward. it's about 3.25" from the leading edge as recommended by the instructions. i'll try setting it back to about 3.75 or 4.00 and see how it flies.

i'm going back out tomorrow. i'll let you know how it goes.

RE: .46 or .52 for magic extra?
 

Went to Lowes and got larger bolts. [>:] When the Magic Extra first came out there was a thread on RCU about the factory c.g being wrong some said that they had done the math? and that the c.g was wrong and that the c.g should be back about 5!QUOT! or so. Even after reading that I set my c.g by the factory. This met adding a lot of nose weight. When I first flew my magic extra I was very disappointed. There was a huge amount of adverse yaw and the rolls are way too barrel-like. In the last two years I have slowly been removing lead. Slowly the adverse yaw has disappeared. I use no mixing on my computer radio-don't need it. At the factory setting the plane flew bad, even the landings were hard. Take your time, remove lead a little at at time. This will take time but the Magic extra 300l is worth it. :D:D If yours is anything like mine when you get back to about 4 7/8!QUOT! it will fly more like a dream. I must be honest, after two years I'm still moving the c.g back a little every couple of weeks or so. The more the c.g moves back, the more this plane is capable of. I love the adventure, out of seven planes this one goes to the Field every week. Good luck, remember to have F>U>N[8D]

RE: .46 or .52 for magic extra?
 

I had a similar problem with the .52 mid-range. Found an old .46 OS SF carb, bolted it on, and instant success. Also, the notorious Tower muffler bolts on the .52 and adds many 100's RPM's on the top end. I had the CG way back on the two I had, and they flew like they were on rails and landed like butterflies. The .52 is heavier than the .46, so the plane tends to be nose heavy with the .52. I put a square pack battery back by the servos, packed in tightly with foam and it balanced with no weight on the tail. My first one with the .46 and tower pipe balanced with no problem and a AAA pack by the tank. Neither of mine would knife edge very well, as the fuselage is not very tall on this plane, but it did everything else great! I am considering getting another one, as I hear they are now coming with monocote, instead of that horrible oracover stuff. On my second one, I used MG Hi-torque mini sevos for the rudder and elevator, with no problem. I used std hi-torques on the ailerons and a std mini on the throttle and AAA NIMH battery pack. When you take nearly 6 ounces of weight out of the equation on a plane this size, you reap great flying dividends.

If you are not sure of where your balance should be, the plane should fly inverted with only light forward stick pressure for straight and level flight. If you have to push forward on the stick too much you are most likely nose heavy. Once you get it properly balanced, it flies awesome! There are some great threads here and online on perfoming thrust line and lateral balance flight trim checks. This plane is definitely worth the effort to get these things right. It taught me allot before I started bigger and more expensive projects. You can also mix adverse tendencies out, with a good computer radio.

Happy landings!

RE: .46 or .52 for magic extra?
 

i finally had a calm day to fly in today and it does seem like the cg was too far forward. also, my thrust lines were way off. another guy at the field has been flying the same plane for quite some time and is a very good pilot. taking a look at how his plane is set up really helped me. i'm gonna change my engine thrust tonite (back to stock, which is NO down or right thrust), and put the cg back to maybe about 4.00 and go from there. right now it's at 3.75 from the l.e.

it's been taking me a lot of time to get things right on this plane but hopefully it'll all pay off. i knew that nitro was going to be more of a hassle than electrics but i didnt expect it to take this much of my time! well it's worth it. the power, realism, sound and larger size!

brian