Hey,

Got a few questions for anyone that has a similar setup or might venture a good guess...

If I upgrade to a e-flite 370 Brushless 4100kv motor, how will that affect flight times on stock batteries? Also with that motor, is it really needed to go to a direct drive tail setup?

With the 370 4100kv if I did go with the DD tail setup (GWS that everyone recommends), what kind of flight time can I realistically expect when those 2 motors on the heli?

I'd go with the 8t pinion on the brushless and have a G90 HH - everything else is stock.

I'd like a little more performance so I'm thinking brushless but I'm not sure if I need a DD after doing that, and how that will all affect flight times. Any words of advice or experience would be great.

One last question, those that went with the DD tail, did you trim your tail boom to compensate for the extra weight of the motor? By how much if you did trim?

I apologize if this is all somewhere already - I just didn't see much on battery life and such with that setup. Any info would be greatly appreciated. =)

THANKS!!
Matt

Matt,

I have all of the above. In fact, I've gone totally separates with the Spektrum DX7 and the AR6100 Rx.
I didn't try the stock t. motor with the Bl m. motor, but I would say that you would need the DD to compensate for the extra power. I have not cut the remaining part of the stock t. motor mount off, (yet), and I don't have a problem balancing. I did not shorten the boom.
Flight times will, of course, depend upon the mah of the lipo. I safely get 12 mins. with a TP910 mah lipo, I could probably go a little more. I actually fly two 6 min flights. I fly the e-flite 800 mah lipo for two 5 min flights.

orlbuzz

Thanks for the information - very appreciated.

You're using the stock tail motor mount for the DD motor setup then? I'll be using the stock 800mAh and I ordered a 1350mAh hoping to keep it in the air a while.

MattMaynard,

Yep, I use the stock t. motor mount. You just have to Dremmel out the front of the hole for the motor to make it round to accept the GWS motor, and then it "bolts" right in using the stock holes and the GWS screws (the stock screws are too small).

I set it up like Nick Maxwells: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=580952 and: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/attac...mentid=1018871

The motor is GWS ED"P"50H also known as GWS CN12-RXC (both numbers are on the package) I couldn't find an "F" motor, I think they are the same, actually.

I used a larger lipo when I was leaning to hover, but I find I like the response of the smaller lipo, and I don't want to overheat the motors by flying too long. Besides, 5 or 6 minutes is enough for my skills at one time.

Hope this helps, there's been a lot of discussion on this, search around.

orlbuzz

when i had that setup i got about 14 min safely with a 1320, 16min was stretching it. i also got 12 min of safe flying with the 910 battery. i usually fly the whole time with my brushless tail without worrying about heat, but when i had the gws dd i needed to land half way through to let the tail cool down. i'd imagine the stock tail would be even that much hotter.

btw, sounds like you have a good plan to go brushless. as far as the esc, i'd get the cc phx10. it's worth the $$$ for the usb programmability, upgradeable firmware, and of course a very useful governor mode. the governor mode will not be useful with the stock tx, but it i guarantee you'll want it if/when you upgrade the tx. personally i like coolrunning heli esc's governor better (they respond lightning fast compared to cc phx), but it doesn't allow all the epa/timing/startup/brake options the phx controllers have.

Thanks, and thanks for the helpful information. =)

Rebuilt it today with the brushless and eflite 20a ESC (recommended in the manual so I was playing it safe. hehe). The GWS motor for the DD has been ordered so I'll install it when it arrives. I was out flying and there was a light breeze and I really noticed how the stock tail motor wouldn't overcome the wind during FFF and fast turns.

Of course ending today with a crash was good incentive to rebuild it. Broke the frame where the landing skids attach, snapped both skids, ripped the nose section off the canopy, and bent the heck out of the flybar. But amazingly - did no damage to the blades. lol