RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

Getting down to the wire on my buddy's Extra 300 but I'm drawing a blank as to how to secure the fuel tank....you would think with as much room as there is that it would be a piece of cake....

Any suggestions or comments as to how ya'll have done it would be greatly appreciated...

B

RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

I use zipties with ziptie brackets on either side of the fuse (bulkhead behind tank area.) Walmart sells these things cheap.
Or you could go with the standard velcro secured to the bottom and wrapped around tank.

I know your working on the Extra , but the Edge is similar.

RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

I also have the edge, and for the fuel tank i put balsa stick right behind the firewall to "prop-up" the fuel tank. of course wrapped in foam. Then i used a balsa stick and CA'ed it on the former sitting on the tank, which is also wrapped in foam. Works pretty good, if you need to remove the tank i just break the CA joint and pull the tank out. Ill have to find a pic of it for you...

RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

Thanks for the replies on the fuel tank....I still can't get over how much room there is inside the fuselage of the Extra 300 (and the Edge, from the looks of it).

We did a preliminary CG balancing and found we were going to need all the weight we could get up front (even with the Saito 100), so we put the battery right behind the firewall. My buddy came up with the idea of making a plywood base with a lip on the front to slide under the 3/4" "shelf that runs around the forward part of the fuselage. We put a layer of foam on it and then just rubber banded the tank to it. This serves to secure the battery and the tank when the lip is run under the plywood shelf that butts to the firewall, and then we will just screw it down at the rear on the plywood shelf that runs around the servo section. I'll probably make a little padded box for the receiver and just put it in that huge area right in front of the servos (damn, this plane has so much room...I love it!)

We'll now be able to remove the tank and get to the battery anytime we want without having to tear anything up (the inside of the fuseelage on some of my planes look like somebody took a hatchet to them with all the tank removing I've had to do...lol).

It still looks like we'll have to add a significant amount of weight up front to get this thing to balance at 4" CG. How did the rest of ya'll come out on added weight?

Pics of the tank support.....

RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

BShin,

I like the idea of putting the tank on a piece of balsa, I think I'll use something like that to mount my tank. I was thinking of getting a big piece of foam and cutting out some flat sections to put in the front of the fuse to hold the tank in place.

Did you try a heavy hub in the spinner? I have used them before and it's great for putting weight right on the nose of the plane and they don't effect the performance of your engine.

Looking at your pics I was wondering if you have anything that will be under the tank. The balsa with the foam looks like it will ride on top of the tank when you flip the plane upright. Unless you plan on flying inverted all the time; which is fine until you come in for a landing. :D

RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

Go with the DuBro nylon landing gear. No more bending alum on hard landings. Soaks up the shock of the landing very well .
Plus adds enough weight you won't need lead , etc added. I used four 1/4" nylon bolts and tap'd them directly into the gear block.
You can paint the nylon gear as well. I was going to do mine in chrome but have been having too much fun flying the Edge to stop and do alot of cosmetics. I did make a new muffler extention from hydrolic hose and clamped it to my Saito's muffler. Got tired of losing the flimsy grey extensions. Cutout some of the bottom cowl while I was at it. More airflow.
I know I mention this alot,, but the DuBro Low-bounce tires combined with the nylon gear have made this my favorite plane to land.
No wheel pants yet. I'd really like to have them but I can survive without.
[link=http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXNM65&P=0]DuBro Nylon Gear[/link]

RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

I have a Saito 100 on my Extra 300 too. I had to add 3 1/2 ounces of lead to the firewall to get it to balance at 4 1/8 inches back from the LE. I have a Sullivan tail wheel and 2-56 wires all around as tail bracing, however.

I used some rigid foam blocks from old packing material to support the tank.

RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

Mine came out pretty tail heavy when I set mine up. I did have to add weight under the cowl to balance it out. I could elimate the weight if i used a smaller battery pack and place it under the servo tray. I have a pretty big battery pack for the RX which is just a tad to big to place under the tray so I placed it on the rear former just behind the elevator and rudder servos.

So far Im having pretty good luck with my landing gear. I flew my edge a couple more times last week to really start whipping it around. I did notice i have some thrust problems on my up lines so I may tweak that later. For the time my landing gear is holding up really well. Must me im just that good on my landings. heheh NOT!!!

RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

The stock gear is fine I guess. I flat stalled my first flight (deadstick) from 5-feet straight down. Twisted it like a pretzel. lol

RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

Imagine seeing that before taking off!![X(] That must have been a scary ride on that flipped airliner. Wonder if the fin made a really deep groove!

RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

I think the problem is your toe out; just a hair too much. IMO

RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

:D:D:D Good one Salty !! Yup,,, and those wheel pants need a little twisting back into shape. 180 deg.:)

RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

Hey guys,

Guess who isn't dead? I have been tied up into my r/c heli and haven't flown The Edge since February, when I got my heli.

I have made the decision to get out of planes and concentrate on r/c helis. While I thoroughly enjoyed building and flying the Edge, I have discovered that I enjoy r/c helis a lot more. I would still recommend this fine aircraft and company to anyone that inquires.

Good luck guys and glad to hear that everyone has been enjoying their planes.

Later.

RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

I was wondering where you went bud. Heli's are cool. I wish I could fly them better.
So,,,, can I call you via telephone and ask about buying some airplane stuff since your going heli ?[8D]

RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

Couple of questions for ya'll......

We epoxied the belly pan on my buddy's Extra 300 and noticed a gap between the fuselage and the very front of the pan. I couldn't see any way to avoid it, but my buddy is worried it will trap air during flight. Any suggestions?

Also, we never noticed it before, but the ailerons are slightly raised above the level of the wing (maybe 1/16th of an inch or less) for about 2-3 inches from the point nearest the fuselage, then they are perfectly flush the rest of the way out to the wing tips. He paid VF to have the slots cut for the hinges, and when we CA'd them on, we never noticed this slight misalignment. Do any of you think this will be a problem?

ez....as popular as these planes are, you will probably have people lined up to buy it from you.....good luck with the helo's......

Oh yeah, about the fuel tank....we've got it secured to the plywood base with a couple of rubber bands, and the back of the plate is screwed down so it's tight as a drum. It doesn't budge when we turn the plane right side up so hopefully this set up will work.....

B

RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

Hey Gary, how are ya! wondering where you went! Good luck with the helis but maybe you can stop by here with the plane guys sometimes! As you can see your thread has taken off!

BShin, you've got to get rid of that thick wing seating tape. The wing and belly pan will not align properly if it is lifted from the saddle. I dont use any tape and the wing itself seals perfectly. If you have to use something, use a very soft foam which will compress down easily.;)

RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

Thanks guys.

I am in the process of working out a trade for my Edge 540. If everything goes as planned, I will be aquiring a Raptor 90v2 :D. Similar to planes, the 90 size is significantly bigger than my 50 size.

I am really impressed at how much this thread has grown. I can see that a whole new group of pilots has taken notice to these fine aircraft from Vectorflight. I am still willing to help anyone. If anyone has a question, please feel free to send me an email through here and I wll gladly assist you in any way that I can.

Good luck and happy flying...

RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

Still working on putting my Edge togethor. I started making a belly pan, got fed up with it and said I'd use the stock one. Then I got upset with myself for not finishing it, so I'm back at trying to build one.

Here are a couple of pics of what I have so far. Trying to go off what I saw gman doing. I have to get some more CA so I can glue the sheeting on. It looks like it may work out fine. It's a lil warped right now but I can straighten that out later.

I built a try for my tank also. Put a piece of square balsa on top to keep the tank from hitting the firewall, my houses kept kinking. Then I put a piece on teh bottom so I can screw it in. Found out I put the bottom one too far back so I added a small piece onto it and it works great. Put some foam on top and bottom of the tank and it doesn't move.

Broke the Magnum in today and it's ready to go onto the plane. I still have to figure how I'm going to put screws on the back of the wings. I may just go with thread inserts for the 1/4-20 wing bolts. I'm not sure if I can drill a straight shot into a dowel like some have done. My eyes are too crooked for me to even want to try.

The thread seems to be slowing down but I'm not stopping till I get this thing in the air.

RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

Yo Salty,

Hang in there with your home made belly pan. It's got to be better than the stock. My buddy's Extra 300's was a real pain and I'll never be happy with the way it sits.

He was supposed to maiden it today, but he took his radio home with him, to try to learn more about it (it's a JR 8103), and he wound up changing all the settings I had made for control throws. I had to zero it out and didn't have the time to reset everything. He just ran it on the ground for a while (thankfully), so maybe next week.

On a positive note, I made an exhaust extension for his Saito 100 and it turned out great. I bought some 1/2" aluminum tubing from Home Depot and a set of spring tube benders. Put it in my vise and heated it up with a propane torch and it bent with barely a crimp. Used a metal cutting blade on my schroll saw and cut four slots on the muffler end so a clamp would tighten it up nice and tight. Really saved hacking up his cowling alot. It extends about 4 inches below the cowling, and leaves the whole muffler inside. When he brings the plane back over here next week, I'll take some pics...

B

RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

Yo, Salty:

Here is another idea for holding the T.E. of the wings to the 540..NO Bolts, etc. Cut the dowel into two 1 and 1/2' long pieces, sharpen one end to a pointy shape. Using the original dowel holes in the root rib, make the hole in styrofoam about an inch deep. Epoxy dowels into each wing.
When cured, drill small hole for a screw eye in each dowel, then remove a small section of "eye" so you can stretch a #64 rubber band (looped twice) between the eyelets. This system was used on my 1/4 scale Zimpro Extra 300...and that was ALL that held the wings to the fuselage. Never had a problem.

My 540 is almost finished...waiting for a replacement aileron (the one in kit had a very bad bow in it).
It is powered by an Enya 80 4stroke. I'm sure it won't do an endless vertical, or any 3D- just maybe perform sorta scale. That's about all I can handle anyway:eek:

Gary

RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

Gary41: You know that isn't a bad idea.. You know i would have never thought of that. Thinking of it, it does sound pretty secure, and you dont have to worry about trying to thread bolts into the rear of the wing.

Ive been kinda slacking here with everything with my plane. I maybe flew it a couple of times this month. With work, which is working me pretty good and school havn't really had the time to really take it up. I keep on making promiices that i cant keep. Sounds like a personal problem. hehe. Maybe just maybe if i get up early enough ill probally take it out again.

RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

Gary, that does sound like a good idea. The wings on me SSE were attached that way. Granted it's a smaller plane then the 540. Right now the dowel just sits there, at least this would give it some type of holding power.

I've decided to wash the belly pan idea. I contacted John at VF to ask about covering for the pan, I also sent him a pic of what I had done so far. John said he would send me one of the new pans, I had the old style. He said he would send it out on Mon, guess that's today. So I'm going to hold off on building this one until I get the new one. If it works like the instructions say I think it'll be better. http://www.vectorflight.com/Edge54066Instructions.html

Guess I'll cut my cowl and look for a pilot. I've been using Simpson characters lately but I think they are big enough for this one. Time to raid the kids toy box.


SSShhhhhh, he's sleeping.

RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

Sunday I had an awsome day of flying my edge. Trying to work out some kinks with the motor. I really wrang my bird out to really how well those TE bolts holds. Doing a postive snap and imediatly into a negitive (i think its called) the other direction. That plus a lot of push this stick this way while maybe pushing the other stick this way leads too.... OOOOO pretty!!!
I dont know if its the tune of the motor, but i had to keep a good amount of throttle to keep it moving. I was taching a 15x6 apc at around 9750 - 9780 so that seems fine. My knife-edges seem to have a lot of coupling towards the belly but, nothing a little mixing cant fix.
Since i was at my old field i had to stay away from this power line at end of the runway, I had to make all my landings downwind. Talk about fun. That plus a new saito having a little trouble idleing down low made some pretty hairy landings. Found out how flimsy the LG is and most definatly the tail wheel. I allready made the order for upgraded items. haha
Anyway... Here is some pics of my bird in action!!!!!! me like..

RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

Good to hear you're having fun with your plane. Those letters on the bottom stand out pretty good. I think I'm going to just use stripping on the bottom.

Still looking for a good pilot. Kids toy box didn't have anything exciting like I thought.

I found some wheel pants from a Magic Extra I use to have. They fit great and I don't have to glue and sand them. They're already red so I think I'll get a can of clear coat to put a shine on them.

RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

Speaking of wheel pants, I took someone else's advice and had my LHS order a set from Horizon Hobby..the fiberglass pants from their "Seagull" line of ARF's....60 size Edge 540, work great!! Part number is SEA1030 and they cost just under $7 for the pair. The red color is a pretty good match the the Vector Edge.;)