Magic modifications, which was your favorite?
 

My first Magic has bit the dirt ( radio failure) and it was my favorite plane so I'm ready to start building my second one; so what did you do different to make it a better plane?
I'm already going to change out the landing gear to carbon-fiber.
I'm also thinking of moving a servo to the tail for balance, or lengthening the fuse or.........???

Magic modifications, which was your favorite?
 

I bought a MAGIC arf late last week and built it yesterday. It balances on the 4.5" (115 mm I think?) mark with no additional weight. It's tighter than heck in the fuselage so if it needs weight in the rear, I'll have to add lead. I did no modifications from stock.

Should be able to maiden it this afternoon.

Magic modifications, which was your favorite?
 

Ray, Here's what I've done (magic #1) or would do(magic #2)

Wing bolt(s)
Tail wires (.020 music wire)
Relocating the battery to as far back as possible in the fuse.
Putting the throttle servo as far back as possible (micro or mini).
Triangle stock around the fuse at the firewall for strength.
Seal the hinges with mono/ultrakote (prob clear ultracote, it goes on at a lower temp, and the magic film is low temp.......)
Drill a small hole and feed the antenna wire straight out the back of the fuse, under the elevator linkage (helps clean up the plane, and dont have to worry about snaggin the receiver wire)
I wouldnt bother lengthening the fuse, you wont really gain much there in performance, and would weaken the fuse. Try putting a couple of pieces of balsa on the top and bottom to give it more side area to hold knife edge a lil better (sorta like shark fins)
Try and get as many of the components (motor, radio, servos, battery, etc) in as close to the center-line as possible (draw a line between the wing n tail,try to keep it along that line) Thats going to help keep the plane trimmed in any attitude.

What size motor are ya gonna run in it? Also, plan on having 1/2- 1 oz worth of lead on the tail (in the convenient pocket where the elevator linkage comes out from, to be able to take a lil off on windy days.) Really keeps the plane from balooning, and helps it penetrate better (if a magic can actually penetrate anything at all LOLOL).


Good Luck,
Steve

Magic modifications, which was your favorite?
 

I've been enjoying my magic for at least 60 flights, with an OS 46FX and APC 12.25x3.65, the best engine/prop combo IMO for this plane. I can make a few recommendations:

-Move the rudder servo to the tail, and rig up a Kevlar pull pull setup. (see pic)

-Buy an Ohio Superstar (small) Haighes style tailwheel, and mount it instead of the cheesy wire. (see next pic for details)

-Now that your rudder servo is out of the way, you only have elev. and throt. to worry about inside the fuse. I got rid of the servo tray in favor of rails, (see pic), Now theres more room for the rx, and its neater.

-Use a light battery. I'm using a NIMH 550 6v pack, AAA cells I think. Weighs less than 3 oz, and I get 4 or 5 flights.

-I used HS 225 servos for the tail, and HS 605's for the wing. (HS81 for throttle). Save weight here is you can. I started with JR 517's for the wing, and when I switched to the Hitecs, I noticed a great difference in roll authority and precision.

-I have my balance set at 5 1/2" from LE. I had to make a hatch, and move the battery to behind the wing in the fuse, No lead added!

-Definitely put kevlar flying wires on the tail, During a flatspin my rudder broke loose and it flatspun into the ground. (actually only bent the gear!) It could have been worse, Reinforce it!

-Reinforce the firewall. (I used 6oz CF)

The stock gear has been fine for me, It did break at the axle on the first flight, I repaired it with wire and silver solder, and has been fine ever since. (But I dont beat the gear to death on landing). On my last flight, The stock tank burst, and left 6 oz. of 20% Powermaster in the fuse. Went right through the "fuelproof" layer of epoxy I put in... I can kiss goodbye any possibility of gluing anything back if I crash it now...

I have really beaten this plane up! Cartwheeled it, flatspinned it into a tree, then Dove into the dirt from 40 ft up, fallen on the tail during hovering, broken the rudder, etc, and its easy to fix, Mine still looks like new.
It seems like if you dork it in any way, the wingtips break, I have broken them at least 6 times, I got fed up, and made a 1/4" balsa and 6oz CF sandwich, now its indestructable!

Most of these mods were done over time, Theres no way I could have thought up all this junk during assembly!

Thanks for reading :p:D

Magic modifications, which was your favorite?
 

Heres a picture of the tail mounted rudder servo assy.

Magic modifications, which was your favorite?
 

And the Haighs style tailwheel.

Magic modifications, which was your favorite?
 

I'm tellin ya, 46FX is where its at! :D:D:D

Magic modifications, which was your favorite?
 

great mods dean. I am soo tempted to move my rudder out back. I've got some pull pull wire hardware available to use on that.Ive got my battery (720 nimh) stuffed about 1/2 way back in the fuse. I've got a stock TT 36 heli motor with the stock fat pipe, and the thing pulls awesomely. I cant wait for the cold, dense air of fall and winter. For servos, I think I'd also go with Hitec 225s all the way around, keepin a mini or micro on the throttle. I only went to lead on the tail to help on windy days. I think I've got about 1/2 oz on there right now, and take that off on windy days.(I keep tellin myself that, but I only did it once, and that was 15-25 mph winds. dontya hate it when youre jonesing that bad to fly on a day like that)
I've got a tail wheel from an old extra that would mount up nicely
The magic does an awesome spin, either way, and will climb spinning as well. I love headin straight down, 2/3- full throttle, rolling, then slam the sticks over into a wicked blender. The plane just stops dead, very violently. Definate show stopper with the peanut gallery.

Keep the mods comin.....

Magic modifications, which was your favorite?
 

I am currently abusing magic #3. I think most of which have helped in some way or another. Necessity was definitely the mother of invention on some of these.

O.S. 46fx / APC 12.25x3.75 / Tower Hobbies 46 muffler (Truly wicked combination!!!) :D :D :D

Aluminum front gear. Not much of an explanation needed here!

Sullivan tail wheel on pull-pull back to rudder servo. I fly off grass.

8 oz Sullivan tank. More flight time! :D And the stock one split on magic #1

Cut out the throttle servo tray and stood the receiver up vertical next to it. (accidentally mounted servo tray upside down & when I cut out the slot for the throttle servo there was all this empty space)

Extended the vertical stab forward at an angle all the way to the trailing edge of the wing. :D Just to try it. It did make the rudder much more responsive.

Go ahead an knock the ends of the wings. They will eventually break anyway! :D

Magic #4 will be a magic extra. Should be here by the end of the week! If that doesn't work out, magic #5 will be just like #3.

If you do a search on the magic I am sure you will find post with pictures of some of these mods.

Oh BTW I moved the CG WAY WAY back!!! Just to keep me on my toes.

Most importanly...

Fly it like you stole it!

Magic Mods
 

You have to keep the original gear and tail skid. Yea they're a pain in the ass but anything else is blasphemy.

1) Move tank to CG - Cut out servo tray where throttle servo would go. Open up the center former just enough to slide the tank back to the fwd servo.

2) Move Battery aft - Mounted a flat pack to the bottom of the wing as far aft as possible, with servo tape and a rubber band mount. It will clear the servos by 1/4 inch. (Actually had one of the club "ancient ones" complain that it was Jun. If the wing came off I would loose control of the radio..... riiiiight, back to your nap)

3) Throttle servo - Micro 55 zap goo'd to the side of the fues ahead of the tank.

4) Reinforcements - Thin CA'd every piece of bare would I could get to. My first magic fues broke in flight. Don't worry about the firewall. The vert could use some wires but I am too lazy, no problem so far. Used stock pull-pull rods they work fine. Pull on a rod or pull on a wire, can't see any difference.

Started with Rossi .45, too heavy too much power. Wouldn't hover, lousy throttle response at 1/4 throttle. Went to OS .32sx. Perfect.

Click on gallery for pics.

Magic modifications, which was your favorite?
 

Do ya notice that theres a different response for every person, and they all fly great? :D Isnt this lil plane an absolute blast? jnjackson, I went the opposite direction with my tank, I'm running a 4 oz, and can get 15 minutes or more doin 3d flying. Then again, im runnin a 36. I used 3m outdoor double sided tape to mount my micro servo for the throttle, and its held up well.

My next one will be a magic extra as well. I am salivating at the mouth waitin to see one. Do you know if it has the asymetrical wing like the magic, or did they go with a fully symetrical airfoil?

Steve

Magic modifications, which was your favorite?
 

I don't know :(

I am hoping for a fully symmetrical airfoil, I will let you know as soon as I get it!

Magic modifications, which was your favorite?
 

I honestly don't think there is any mod which could be done to this airplane that would hurt it.

After watching all 3 of jnjackson's Magics and reading all the posts of other people's mods, there just is no limit to what can be done.

The only mod I would add on top of all of the ones already mentioned is to put a 1100 Nimh 6 volt battery as far back in the fuslage as possible. Increases the flight time and helps move the CG back.

Mine has flying wires on the tail feathers, OS 46 FX w/12.25 x 3.75 and an 8 oz Sullivan. I am currently waiting on a Tower muffler to arrive for the motor.

Move the CG back and Fly it like you stole it.

Magic modifications, which was your favorite?
 

Are you notiding slugish response from your OS 46FX and 12.25x3.75 prop? I'm running 20% YS Powermaster, It kinda has to "spool up" to get to the high rpms. A real bummer, I've been using a Zinger 12x4 wood prop, it had instant response. I think the APC has more thrust though!

With the slugish response, I cant do my picnic table 2' takeoffs! :p

What do you guys think?

Magic modifications, which was your favorite?
 

Coulter_Dean;

Have you tried making flat plates that are about 1/2 inch larger than the wing cross section and attaching to the ends. Allows much slower flight, like it wouln't fly slow enough already.

I tried to keep mine light.

Have a 32SX on mine, using Hitec 85MG servo's on everything except throttle which is another small one, brand unknown. 11 x 4 APC prop. 300 mah NiMH placed behind servo's. Kept the rubber bands so the wing could shift on impact. If you fly the heck out of it, there will be impact.

Ed M.

Magic modifications, which was your favorite?
 

It seems to me it does take a second for the motor to spool up, but not that long.

The biggest difference I've seen on this motor is the addition of the Tower Muffler. It really adds a faster response time IMHO.

Magic modifications, which was your favorite?
 

Bentgear: I am having a hard time visualizing your plates. You mean they are airbrakes?

I too kept the rubber bands, Out of 4 impacts, two of which destroyed the nose back to the middle of the wing, My wing is still in one solid peice, looks like new still! I love this thing!

-How much heavier than stock is the Tower muffler? What if I just took out the stock OS baffle? Would I have fuel draw problems? :)

Magic modifications, which was your favorite?
 

I am currently flying with the stock OS muffler without the baffle. Removing the baffle will help improve the performance of the OS46FX.

When I first removed the baffle we had to do a minor adjustment on the carb. Since then it has ran flawlessly (the motor has run for several hours since the baffle was removed).

I borrowed a Tower Muffler this weekend and flew with it for two flights. No adjustments were needed to the carb. The increase in power was very noticable. The motor spooled up much quicker.

I'm not sure about the weight of the Tower Muffler, but my Magic is tail heavy anyway.

New to the Magic
 

OK guys make room for me *nudges and pushes his way in*

I should be getting mine real soon and am glad that I have reviews and ideas for mods on this plane. I already have an engine thats just dying to find a home. OS 46 FX, I had this engine sitting on an H9 Aristi which found his faith at the hands of Walt Disney's character Goofy flying :rolleyes:

Yeap Goofy, plunged that sucker straight down into the earth leaving a 3 inch divot. The engine was taken apart, gone through and cleaned with lite weight oil. The shaft was checked for bends with a meter. The engine has yet to be started since the crash I just hope all is good. If not I have a source for a new one.

Randy

Magic modifications, which was your favorite?
 

I went from a 1600 nimh pack stuffed under the radio tray to a 720 AAA nimh pack in the tail. I saved over 2 oz total weight, more if ya count the ballast weight i could take off. I cant imagine running a futaba 600 nicad under the fuel tank like they say in the manual. It is realistic to get this plane down to 3 1/2 lbs with the right combination.

Magic modifications, which was your favorite?
 

Steve am I mistaken or do you have the AW edge 540 T 90 size?

Randy

Magic modifications, which was your favorite?
 

My 1100 Nimh 6 volt battery is mounted at the back of the radio compartment on triangle stock above the elevator servo. The pack is trapped between the wing and the triangle stock.

Magic modifications, which was your favorite?
 

Coulter,
Cut the end of the wing tip off flat. Attach a plate that is about 1/2 inch larger than the end of the wing. Holds the air on the wing.


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Ed M.

Magic modifications, which was your favorite?
 

I built my new MAGIC on Monday, during a rainy windy Labor Day in Chicago. I maidened it last night. This is a great little plane that did everything I expected it would. A friend and I have been in search of .40 size fun fly's, having been through a couple of them. This one looks like a keeper and we will wring them out for awhile.

My plane needs the CG moved a half inch or more aft of the recommended 115 mm. I'll have to either add weight or move the rudder servo up to the top of the fuse to do it. My battery is a 600 mah square pack, sitting next to the throttle servo. Wow, it is TIGHT in there.

And I really should replace the pull pull music wire crap that came with the kit. It really is trash. It has alot of friction in the system and more weight than it needs.

I am flying on a cheap old chinese made .46, the ASP .46. It flies really really well.

-Cheech

Magic modifications, which was your favorite?
 

Cool Cheech, I am at about 5 inches back on the cg. maybe 5 1/8 on those aggressive days. I went to 5 1/4 or so, and scared the poop outta myself several times, I dont know if I was just rusty, or it was a windy day (gusty, nothing steady). I am thinking of replacing my linkage with spiderwire, just to ease some binding. Like you said, it can be a lil sloppy in spots, tight in others.

Hook up flaperons, and on high rates, it will waterfall within a fuselength, repeatedly. As it starts to fall over to one side, counter with a lil rudder and aileron, and it will climb, in sort of a knife edge spin.

Blackie,

I unfortunately am not an owner of an Aeroworks Edge 540, but if someone would be willing to give me one, I definately wouldnt complain about it :).

Steve