So I have the Seagull Edge 540 .46 size, being pulled by a K&B .61. The plane flies fairly straight, its really fast on a 12x6 prop. Aileron rolls are straight, inverted flight is predictable, very easy, snaps like a champ, but I'm running into alot of trouble when I yank on the elevator. It stalls out if you pull too tight. John Glezellis flew it for me today to provide some input. He says its tip stalling and is too heavy. We tried moving the CG a little bit aft, but I'm not too happy with the way its flying after that change, and its becoming a little less predictable. Pattern flying and knife edges are pretty smooth, but the minute I try to toss it, it stalls out and is a little more than I can comfortably handle. Of course, John puts me in my place and pulls out some rolling harriers with it, but he agrees it doesn't fly right.

So I pose the question, is there anyway I can lighten the wing loading up on this plane and make it fly right? I don't know if its worth the battle, but the plane was given to me, so I don't mind spending a little to make this a decent plane. I've contemplated finding some lighter landing gear, and possibly going to one servo for the elevator, but that doesn't seem like it would make much of a difference, not enough to fix this. Any ideas? John is also suggesting I switch to a 13.5 x 4.5 prop IIRC.<br type="_moz" />

Oh, and I'll add this is my first plane,  I've kindled the money pit in helicopters so planes I find very easy to fly, land, etc, but I want a predictable plane for 3D.

My suggestion would be to add NOSE weight, not tail weight.

firstly, its over powered. Try a .55 or .57 based on a .46 crankcase. Your cg is too far forward hence the current flight characteristics. Thats why your instructor told you to move it aft.Secondly, small scale aerobats need gentle elevator input. You cannot yank these planes around at all. Maybe soften the expo'on your radio to reduce initial control surface travel.

CCFPILOT, I would agree, but based on what Iknow about airplanes, given my background, I know that this specific characteristic is not purely CG. The plane flies just fine for the most part, its just incapable of being 'tossed' around.

TimBle; I'm beginning to think that this airframe was just too poorly designed. From what I've read on other posts within this forum, a .46 sized engine is not enough power, and clearly I've gained too much weight with the .61 The only option I have at the moment is to maybe get ahold of my friends Evo .52. Either way, I don't think I will be happy with the plane in the end, but I have a hard time believing that you 'can't yank these planes around at all'. I also have an ASP.46 I can try in it....I guess I'd just put a torque prop on it. Thanks for your input, I'll see what I can come up with.

Oh and John isn't my instructor, I just picked up a plane and started flying, no buddy box :P He's just a fellow pilot at the field who offered help.

"yanking around" is misleading. These planes do not responding well to a heavy hand. They fly as if they are bieng yanked around but they are sensitive beasts,. Thin wings, low wing loading and relatively short span with short tail moment makes them rotate in pitch and roll axis very quickly with little help.

I have a Black Horse extra 300s which handles beautifully and flies incredibly well with a GMS 47. Seagull, like Phoenix, is a sister brand to Black Horse so their ARF's come from the same area in Vietnam if not the same factory. Noting wrong with the design of their arf's either. Twictchyness is just a characteristic endemic to small, scale aerobats and gets worse the smaller they become. Some people get around this by offering a 3D version with thicker wings. These are easier to fly and you can "yank" them about.
Perhaps a .46 is not enough power for 3D but it is ample for sport aerobatics and will pull the Edge through everything that a pattern can throw at it. It won't 3D very well no but you will need an expert hand to handle that thin wing post stall anyway.

I know of your arf well as I saw one fly in the hands of a fairly competant intermediate pilot recently  and I tried my hand at the sticks. It was powered by a OS46AX and I liked it so much I ordered one but the supplier was out of stock. (I love the Edge 540 design). I opted for the Extra instead (it was instock). Everyone has warned my about twichy characteristics of smaller aerobats and it is true. Nothing about the brand or the design, its just the way small, scale aerobats behave.

Try a 3D version instead. I know Green Model (Chinese company) makes an edge 540 with a 3D wing in 46 size.

if you want a sweet flying scale aerobat then you should go to around .90 size and bigger


To get your plane to handle well you will need to place your battery behind the wing main tube and check the balance. These birds typically balance around 90-100mm from the leading edge measured along the centreline of the fus.

Point well taken... think a Extreme Flight Yak 54 50cc will do? :P Long story but I might be able to get ahold of one.

Gonna fly the hell out of the edge for now, If I get bored I will try a different motor, we shall see.<br type="_moz" />

the yak in that size is a beautiful flyer. You'll bored with how much easier it flies compared to the little edge But its rewarding to your inputs, tracks much better but dont dead stick. They don't glide well...Any of the 50cc aerobats are awesome. For this type 30cc / 1.60 2s /2.00 4s size is the minimum for anything approaching a low work load.The challenge of scale aerobats is that they are demons to fly. Once you master them, you can fly anything

Haha, I know, this plane in question has been stalled a few times and fell straight down flat.... LoL That's why I know I can get a decent deal on it... It still flies great, I know this, the owner is a great guy but he's just getting frustrated with it.
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