RE: GP .60 Reactor Bibe
 

I'm sorry, I meant an OS 75 2-stroke.

My bad...Thanks for the reply though.

RE: GP .60 Reactor Bibe
 

Got my Reactor Bipe all done this weekend.
I did it as an electric setup. So far it worked out good. Have not had a chance to maiden it yet. Work has been busy and with the holidays fast approaching, other things are taking priority.

I used some relatively inexpensive components from Hobby King for this.
The motor is Turnigy SK 50-65-380. Similar to the Rimfire 80 but less Kv. So I will have to use a bigger prop than the manual suggests.
ESC Is a new Turnigy 85 amp
Batteries are 6S 5000mah 20c

I ended up using some aluminum stand offs I had laying around to mount the motor. They just happened to be the perfect length with this motor.
Here are a few pics of the motor install.

RE: GP .60 Reactor Bibe
 

The ESC is an enclosed unit. It has a nice heat sink on the top with a plastic case. The bottom of the case is ventilated.
When I mounted it I cut out a hole in the ESC mount to take advantage of the case ventilation.

RE: GP .60 Reactor Bibe
 

I had to modify the battery cradle slightly. The battery had to sit further back to get the correct CG.
The first photo shows the stock recomended location. But since I was using a bigger battery I had to slide it back.
The 2nd photos show how far back it had to go. The last photo is a cradle I made that the tail end of the battery slides into.
The forward half of the battery still sits on the original battery mount with velcro etc. It works good. I can get the battery in and out with the plane fully assembled without issue.

RE: GP .60 Reactor Bibe
 

For servos I used Hitec 225's on the ailerons and 225MG's on the elevators.
For the rudder I used a Hitec 985. Overkill I know, but it was sitting there.
Linkages, I went with Dubro locking clevices and ball links just because thats what I like to use.
2/56 rod on the ailerons and 4-40 on the tail group

RE: GP .60 Reactor Bibe
 

On to the cowl. Mounting it is like any other. Only the cut outs are different.....

RE: GP .60 Reactor Bibe
 

Here it is all done.
I have since added some decals, but I don't have the plane assembled at the moment for a photo.......

All up weight with the battery is 8 lbs 1 oz. A bit heavier than a Nitro install. But my wing loading is still 16.23 oz/sqft.
I plugged in the watts up meter for some readings.
With a 17x8 E-prop this is what I got.
1427 watts at 60 amps
Translates to 178 watts/lb
Digital fish scale tied to the tail gave me 12 lbs 7 ozs static thrust.
I have a 16x10 to try and see what kind of numbers that produces.

Overall I think it should fly nicely. Hover and pull out should also be good.

RE: GP .60 Reactor Bibe
 

Lots of good info. Thanks Bdegan.

My schedule is also getting crowded, but I did pick up that motor while I could (never know the stock forecast with HC these days).

I love the look of that big prop. Wonder if it will make the snaps a little wilder?

RE: GP .60 Reactor Bibe
 

Should make lots of noise during violent maneuvers at least.
It may also require more aileron to counter the torque during hovers. But at the same time there will be lots of air travelling over those surfaces. We will have to see what happens.

RE: GP .60 Reactor Bibe
 

That is a nice looking plane :D

RE: GP .60 Reactor Bibe
 

Did the Maiden today
Everything went well. The plane flew very good. The motor, prop, esc combo give it lots of power. Hover and pull out was impressive.
It took a couple clicks of aileron and elevator to have it go straight. Flew inverted hands off. So I think it is a hair tail heavy....but I am going to leave it. It didn't exhibit any bad habits .

On the second battery another fellow flew it a couple of minutes, then handed the radio over to another who flew it around for a minute or 2.

On the third battery I set the timer to 8 minutes. Did some hovers, some extended up lines. Lots of Harriers and touch and go's to get the feel for how it slowed down and landed. The timer went off and it was time to land.
I ended up with 8 1/2 minutes in the air and it still felt like it had full power.
The battery is currently on the charger re-charging. I will see what those 8 1/2 minutes used.

The 4th flight was lets see what she can do

Flew knifeedges, flatspins, harriers right down to the deck. Some low hovers
Then one guy yells out " Make some snowangels with the rudder !"
Well I didn't go that low.
Oh in case you were wondering. The maiden was done with skis off of snow.

A couple of tail first landing.
One thing that was fun was to take off,turn and come around and land all within the length of the runway.

Overall, I am very very happy with this plane
[8D][8D][8D]

RE: GP .60 Reactor Bibe
 

The Charger just finnished.
The battery took back 2221 mah's. Its a 5000 mah pack.
So in 8 1/2 minutes I used less than 50%

I am going to recharge the other 3 batteries and see what average I come up with.
Some flights were less another may have been close to 8 minutes.

Hmmm, next time out I might have to up the timer to 10 minutes and see what that uses.

RE: GP .60 Reactor Bibe
 

Do ou guys think a YS110 would be too much for this plane?
Don

RE: GP .60 Reactor Bibe
 

That's what I was planning to use until Bdegan showed me this electric combo

RE: GP .60 Reactor Bibe
 

Battery numbers from all 4 packs....

Batt 1: 870 mah ( First maiden and trim flight ) Kept it short
Batt 2: 2405 mah ( No timer, 3 of us flew it )
Batt 3: 2221 mah ( Timed 8 1/2 minutes in the air )
Batt 4: 2542 mah ( No Timer ) Just felt like a good flight

So I have plenty of mah's left to stretch the flights to 10 minutes easily.
The 17x8 prop worked well. But I am going to try a 16x10 then a 17x10.

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/m...0/IMG_0208.jpg
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/m...0/IMG_0210.jpg
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/m...0/IMG_0205.jpg
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/m...0/IMG_0219.jpg

RE: GP .60 Reactor Bibe
 

The ailerons are ridiculously effective.
I want to get some more elevator deflection. It did elevators really good, but I want to try what a little more throw will do.

RE: GP .60 Reactor Bibe
 

Couple of quick low rez videos from the first 2 flights
Nothing compared to Jason's :)

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v6...1220135930.flv
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v6...1220135842.flv

RE: GP .60 Reactor Bibe
 

Great job Bdegan. Thanks for the info. You have a bit more snow than we do now.

I'd like to try to get away with not opening up the bottom because I want to drive the plane around when the snow is still fluffy, and I know it would stick to the ESC and freeze. Maybe for summer months, but I think (and hope) the cheek cowl holes will be enough to cool the motor and ESC in the winter months. What do you think about leaving the bottom closed?

RE: GP .60 Reactor Bibe
 

The ESC and motor were barely warm to the touch, even when my fingers were a little cold.
The battery was just luke warm coming out of the plane. If I get a chance next time and remember :eek:, I will put a temp gun on everything as soon as I land.

The hole in the fuse behind the wing could easily be covered with a piece of monocote or left closed until the spring when warmer weather comes.
The big opening at the front could be left smaller until the warmer weather rolls around. The opening on the bottom could be a bit smaller as well. But there should be some air flow through the cowl.
The motor and ESC staying cool is a good thing. But you do want the battery to warm up a bit, or it won't give you full power.

The temperature yesterday was around -2 C or 28 F at the first flight and about -7 C or 19 F by the 4 th flight 2 hrs later.

RE: GP .60 Reactor Bibe
 

When Flying electric in the cold, you need to keep the batteries warm.
In the photo, on the back of the starter bench I had a red cooler. No Beer, sorry [:o].
Thats what my batteries are in. I preheat the cooler with the batteries in it by placeing it on the floor of the van as I drive to the field.
I have hot air blowing under the dash directly into the cooler. The internal of the cooler ( or warming box ) for now is warmed up as well as the batteries. Then when I arrive at the field I drop in a couple of those hand warmer packs you can use inside your gloves when you do stuff outside in the winter.
One of the guys I fly with buys them in bulk because he raises snakes. Uses them when he transports them.
Anyway I get them from him for about .10 cents a piece. They last up to 7 hours. Home depot sells the same thing in pairs or boxes of 12 pairs.
A couple of them maintain the internal temp of the cooler. The batteries go into the plane at just above room temperature.

RE: GP .60 Reactor Bibe
 

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.

RE: GP .60 Reactor Bibe
 

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.

RE: GP .60 Reactor Bibe
 

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

RE: GP .60 Reactor Bibe
 

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 :eek:
The harrier and pull out was the Turnigy 17x8

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

Brad

RE: GP .60 Reactor Bibe
 

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

RE: GP .60 Reactor Bibe
 

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 :)

RE: GP .60 Reactor Bibe
 

Does the elevator take 2 servos?
Don

RE: GP .60 Reactor Bibe
 

Yes, one for each half.

RE: GP .60 Reactor Bibe
 

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

RE: GP .60 Reactor Bibe
 

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

RE: GP .60 Reactor Bibe
 

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

RE: GP .60 Reactor Bibe
 

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

RE: GP .60 Reactor Bibe
 

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

RE: GP .60 Reactor Bibe
 

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

RE: GP .60 Reactor Bibe
 

Oh Yeah..... :D

RE: GP .60 Reactor Bibe
 

+1 :D

RE: GP .60 Reactor Bibe
 

The plane showed up today.:D 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

RE: GP .60 Reactor Bibe
 

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 :D
That and the extra "useful" tailweight helped in the balancing.

RE: GP .60 Reactor Bibe
 

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 :)

RE: GP .60 Reactor Bibe
 

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