I picked up a Model Tech Magic while they were on sale for $89.00. It's my first ARF since my Lanier Eyeball back in the 60's. Frankly, I was IMPRESSED! I consider myself a better than average builder and I would be hard pressed to do any better (although I did see some areas where I could have saved a little weight).
Here's the set-up:
Aveox 1114-4Y, L160 controller, 12 CP1700's (or CP 2400s), MiniDemon gb @6.1/1, APCe 18/10 prop. FMA rx, 2 ART 94102 sx for ailerons, ART 94131 for elevator, Fut ? for rudder, Ultimate BEC. Pull-pull rods on rudder (sx mounted on op of fuse just in front of rudder for balance), cables on elevator (for reduced friction). With with 1700s 4 1/2 lbs; with 2400s 4.75 lbs.

Take off in 5 ft without flaps. Vertical until I couldn't see it clearly anymore (-: I'm confident it will hover when I get proficient enough. Rolls at low rate WOW. Loops any size you want (very tight with coupled flaperons). Very positive flying a/c. It does just exactly what I tell it (which isn't always what I meant to tell it )-:}. Essentially no elevator needed for inverted flight. Landings are a ball. I did an almost vertical landing with full flaps in a very light breeze on my second flight. It still had enough power to go vertical (but not hover) when the controller started to pulse! Static amp draw at full throttle on a fresh charge was 39.4 measured by my old Astro Whattmeter.

Flights are fairly short with the 1700s, maybe five minutes, but with that kind of wild flying they are long enough (at least until I can get into LiPolys)

The only "electric" modification I made was to open the lower half of the firewall to allow battery packs to be slid in from the front. Also makes for good cooling (though I will have to make an air exit). I did switch to a dowel and nylon bolts for the wing mounting as I hate rubber bands.

Some of the hardware wasn't up to par, actually two clevises. The lg and pushrod wire is of dubious quality.

I'm very pleased with this plane and hope to really improve my airbatic flying skills.
Walt
Illinois

Hello Walt,

I too am flying a MagicE but with a slightly different setup. As you said, it is thoroughly enjoyable! Mine has a Mega 22-20-2 motor, MEC Monster gear box at 6 to 1 reduction, Phoenix 60 controller, 12-3000 mah NIMH cells for power, and turning a 16-8 or 15-10 propeller, and Ultimate BEC. Sounds like it performs almost identically to yours. I can get 12 or 13 minute flights if I use 1/2 throttle or 6 to 7 minutes at full throttle. Half throttle allows me to do everything except vertical so that's where I leave it most of the time.

I am interested in how you did the bolt-on-wing mod. Can you post some pictures of this mod?

As for cooling, I didn't open up the firewall, but have scoops on the sides of the fuse made from plastic spoons. I'll try to get some pictures for you. They seem to work well and I haven't had any over-heating problems yet. Have flown it in 90 degree temps with no cooling problems.

I too am planning on switching to LiPoly batteries. What size pack are you planning to use?

Later;

D.W.

Hi DW,
I'm not familiar with the numbers on the Mega motors, but it sounds like we end up in about the same place.

I'm somewhat illiterate about how to post pictures; also I haven't taken any of the Magic yet. I don't know if it's me or a curse, but if I photograph a plane before I fly it I almost always crash! )-:

As for the wing. I drilled a pilot hole in the thick former in the fuse at the wing's leading edge. I used a short pointed dowel to mark the wing. I then drilled a pilot hole back through the wing joiner. I had grooved the root ribs before joining them and tried to keep the epoxy out of the grooves. I used a 3/16 dowel which I expoxied in with slow cure. I hardened the hole in the fuse former with thin CA. At the trailing edge I epoxied in a piece of 1/4 inch a/c ply and added some balsa triangle stock for re-inforcement. I used 10/32 bolts and drilled through the reinforcing plate on top of the wing. Simple, really, and easy to do even if you've already gone the rubber band route.

I plan to use the plastic spoon trick for my exit air. I really only have two flights on this great bird so I haven't had time to figure out the best throttle use.

What does yours weigh with the 30o0s in it?
Walt

Hello again Walt,

I don't know how much it weighs. I have small scales for ballancing heli blades, but nothing that will weigh this monster..

It sounds like you just used 1 dowel at the front of the wing. Is that the case?

Later;

D.W.

That's right. One dowel at the leading edge, two nylon bolts at the trailing edge.

Got in a couple more flights today before the mosquitos drove me off. Hovering is fun! Also flying backwards in the wind. Used full down flaperons and worked the throttle and elevator. Actually backed almost the whole length of the field (-: What a difference from the scale stuff I've been flying.
Walt

Hi guys!

Say, I'm doing an E-conversion of this plane myself. I have an AXI 4120/14 (no gearbox needed) on order for it. It's suppose to be here any time now, but I'm getting impatient.

Anyway, I'm glad to hear that your conversions went so well.

I too will be using a Phoenix 60 and UBEC. I expect to use 10-12 cells and an APC 16x8E.

I like the idea of converting the wing to bolt down and opening up the lower firewall to slide in batteries. I think I'll make both of those mods.

When everything gets here I'll post some pictures.

Oh BTW, I'll be using Sanyo Nimh cells zapped HR-SC 2600s

Wiz

"Oh BTW, I'll be using Sanyo Nimh cells zapped HR-SC 2600s"

Where did you get your cells?

Later;

D.W.

Gosh.....I really worded that funny!!!! Duh...wud that guy say......

I guess I can hassle myself....can't I?

Anyway, you can get the Zapped Sanyo 2600 here.

http://www.battlepack.com/products.asp

Wiz

How are you assembling your packs Wiz? I checked with those fine folks a couple of weeks back, and found out that the cells don't have solder tabs.. I have soldered directly to cells in the past, but don't want to in this case. I don't want to get the cells too hot.

Later;

D.W.

I just soldered up two packs last night. Each pack consists of two sticks of five cells soldered end to end. That's about the only way I make packs.

I never think of solder tabs as being anything more than a source of resistance so I never use them. Every once in awhile I'll make up a brick pack with Deans bars, but that requires soldering directly to the cell too.

Wiz

Do you use pigtail wires between cells? If not, how do you connect them?

D.W.

I solder them directly to each other.

Howz this accomplished, you ask.

First off, you'll need a 40 watt soldering iron. Weller makes one that sells for about $25 at your local hardware. If you're going to be an electric powered plane flyer you need one of these. Next get a hammerhead tip for it. You can buy these from Hobby Lobby for about $10. Also get some 60/40 rosin core solder.

Now, get yourself a 36" long hunk for 1/2" triangle stock. Cut it in half and glue together such that the halves make a Vee that the cells can rest in and line up.

Pin the triangle stock to your workbench and have some making tape on hand.

Take each cell and roughen up the ends slightly with a grinding wheel on your Dremel..... Be careful not to over do it here! Now clean each cell end with a little acetone or alcohol.

Get your iron hot and then tin (melt some solder) onto the ends of each cell. You wanna make sure the iron is hot for this because you want to get on the cell melt the solder and get off as fast as you can to avoid damaging the cells. Usually 5 seconds or less.

I like to do all the cells on one side and then flip them over and do the other sides in order to let them cool a little before I hit them with the heat again.

Now, take one of those cells and place in it the balsa Vee tray we made earlier. Use the mashing tape to hold it in place so it won't slide easily. Place another cell in the tray and check the polarity + end to - end is how we want to solder them.

Take that hammerhead soldering iron and hold it between the cells and slowly push them against the iron head making sure to contact each cell at about the same time. Watch for the solder to melt on both ends. Once it does, quickly remove the iron and slam the cells together. Hold for a second or two so the joint can cool and your done. Repeat the process as needed. You should wear glasses and a apron while doing this because a little solder usually splatters.

If you have some old cells lying around practice a little on them. If not, just be methodical and you'll be fine. It's not really very hard.

If you have any questions about what I wrote above please don't hesitate to ask. I'm not always as clear in what I describe as I'd like to think.

Wiz

Hello again,

I've been in the electronics field for over 40 years, and will have to say that this sounds like a cold solder connection waiting to happen .. However, I'm not so skeptical that I won't give it a try. I believe that I will take one precaution, and that is to run a separate battery pack for the receiver and servos while I test it out. I worry about this aspect of E-flight anyway, so this seems like a good time to make the change.

Thanks for the information. I'll be going over to battlepack.com right now to order the cells.

Later;

D.W.

...and if you aren't quick enough and you don't use a big iron you will end up with cold joints. A couple more tips:
don't use too much solder and have fast hands.

It's an aquired skill, but it's pretty easy to get the hang of it. I'm fairly certain this is how everybody does stick packs. Even the competition guys.

I will say that I check all my joints by trying to break them with my hands right after soldering them. Every once in awhile I get one to break and when this happens the leverage I get on the cells makes it's pretty easy to break the cells apart. If I have to struggle much to break them I consider them well soldered. I know it's not scientific, but it's all I got and it's served me well.

Cheers

Wiz

Hi,
Where do you obtain a UBEC and how does it work? I know most bec's in speed controls don't go over 10 cells. Also in the Magic E where do you put the cells. This has been a stumbling block for me. The fuse is not very high, Also what configuration are the pac's in? I have a Hacker B50 13g.
Thanks

This being my second Magic, I knew in advance that it would need tail weight to balance at 4" to 5" behind the LE. I also knew that I wanted a stearable tail wheel. With this in mind, I mounted a leaf spring tail wheel unit and installed the rudder and elevator servos at the rear of the fuselage. The only electronics in the front are the receiver battery pack, receiver and switch. This leaves plenty of room for the flight pack. My flight packs are each made of 2-6 cell flat packs (3000 mah NiMh) held together by velcroe. There is just enough room between the firewall and fuselage former for them to fit comfortably. I used plywood to make a shelf about 1/8 from the floor of the fuselage, and passed a strip of velcroe under it. This is wrapped around the pack and fastened at the top. There is still enough room at the front of the fuselage to lay the controller on top lf the battery pack. Cooling air comes in through a 3/4" hole in each side of the fuselage just behind the firewall. I mounted scoops over these holes to help force air in. Three more holes just behind the fuselage former (one on each side and one in the bottom) allow the air to escape. I bought my UBEC from:

http://www.modelelectronicscorp.com/

However, I usually fly until the battery can't provide enough power to climb before landing, so have went back to a separate battery pack for my receiver and servos. Just makes me feel a little safer.

Later;

D.W.

Mine died on it's second flight this past weekend.....hit a tree....

Oh well, I still have all the expensive bits. I think I liked it enough to get another.....but I really didn't fly it enough to know for sure.

Wiz

Sorry to hear that Mike. My first Magic is glow powered using an OS 52 4 stroke. It's a lot of fun also but hasn't seen much air time since I got the Magic-E going .. Too much trouble to clean it up after flying..

What do you mean by "Mine died"? Did you loose control, or was it the old "pilot error" thing?

Later;

D.W.

It was kind of a combination of both. I had an aborted take off that ended in a nose over in the tall grass on the side of the field. After that I put her back upright and took off. The minute I leveled off I noticed that I needed full up elevator to keep it aloft. I assumed and still think the battery shifted in the nose over incident.

So, I set up for a short downwind and then the mistake came. When I throttled back just a touch....it started a descent that I couldn't recover from before it went behind a tree......the rest is history.

Anyway, I thought it flew very well on it's first flight, so I really think I'll get another.....at least I think I will....other planes are calling my name too.

One thing I did learn is that having a big rudder like the Magic does requires a good servo. I had bought 4 Hitec 225MG servos for it. None of them would return to center very well. Three or four degrees one way or the other depending on which way the rudder was deflected. Out of the four one 225 was significantly better than the others, so I used it on the rudder. It's a tight fit area on the top of the fues in front of the fin but behind the former in the fuse.

I replaced the other three Hitecs with JR 4131s.... I already had them on hand and they worked very well.

Wiz

Hi D_wheel,
Thanks for the info. Now I can get started on the Magic E.

Sorry to hear about the demise of your Magic Wiz. Do get another one. It is a ball!
I lost a front bearing in my 1114/4Y and took out the hall Effect sensors. I replaced it with a 1010/2Y. No other changes. Amps dropped to 32, rpm went up about 300 and the power is outta sight! Vertical hand launches!
I've managed a couple of hovers and had enough powwer to fly out vertically!
I recently added cross braces between the front and rear legs of the landing gear. I put the about 2/5s the way down from the fuse as that's where the rear leg always seems to bend. By the way, I don't know what the gear is made out of, but when I tried to re-align the end of the rear leg it broke off before it bent.
Walt

Hi guys,
just picked up on the end-to end soldering discussion. that's the only way I have built packs for the last ten years. I've only ruined one cell and my packs last as long as anybody's. You do have to check for cold solder joints though. No matter how hard I try, I usually get one or tow a pack building session.
Walt

That's how I solder mine. Also the way I check for a good joint.

I'm ready to try LiPoly power on my MagicE. Currently, it uses a 12 cell pack of 3000 mah NiMh cells. What do I need to buy to convert it to LiPoly? My math shows that at 1.25 volts/cell, the NiMh cells are providing 15 volts. At 3.7 volts/cell on the LiPoly that would be about 4 cells. I get an average of 10 minutes/flight, so that's about 25 amps of current draw on the average. Where can I get LiPoly packs that will provide that kind of power?

Later;

D.W.

Really what you want to do is figure out how many amps you draw as a maximum and go from there. That way you won't be over working the pack when you go to high throttle. I'm betting you'll want a 3s4p pack and then prop to suit, but maybe a 4s4p pack would be better. Ask the LiPo dealer you choose to help you out on that.

Esprit carries the Thunder Power line of LiPos. That's the brand that Jason Shulman is using in his pattern planes.

Here is a link to Esprit. http://espritmodel.com/

You'll need a charger capable of handling LiPos. Only a few of them out there are good at it.

Wiz