rodair

Greg using the stock motor/prop must be quite draining on the li-po's?
Very interesting conversion of yours, is this one on your site yet?
Roger B.

Greg Covey

Hi Roger,

I'm still waiting to test fly my latest modifications which moved weight forward. I hope to do this soon since we have a 3 week break in local R/C shows. I will then try replacing the stock motor with a GWS IPS motor (direct drive).

The Kokam 340mAh cell can supply 6amps of current and the plane will fly on partial throttle so it isn't all that draining on the cells...probably in the 3-4amp range.

For an easy to follow conversion of the little Classic Cruiser, the stock motor will work just fine. For a more advanced level of conversion, replacing the stock motor with a direct drive GWS IPS motor will provide increased power with a significant current drop.

Although I will post photos of the GWS motor swap in my review, it is assumed that the advanced micro-flight enthusiast already understands the benefits of doing so, and, that my focus is on a more simple conversion for entry-level enthusiasts.

jboy381-RCU

awsome converson...it seems like you have a go anywhere fly anytime model...what kinda of flight times are you getting on the single cell lipo???what is the smallest area you have flown it in???you think it will be a good choice for indoor flying???we have a local gym in my town that has three basketball courts and 60 to 65 foot celing...it would be great for winter flying...

john

Greg Covey

Hi John,

Unfortunitly, i can't answer your questions yet. My last test looked very successful as I had better control in steering and in pitch, but, just as I was getting comfortable enough to take some flight pictures, the prop flew off into a section of tall uncut grass. The plane landed lightly in the grass but I searched and couldn't find the prop. I was in the Finger Lakes of upstate NY on a hill top and had no other props to use. Needless to say, I was a bit bummed.

I have since replaced the prop and put a spare in my little Classic Cruiser box. Everything is ready for the next time it is calm enough to fly.

jboy381-RCU

Greg,
sorry to hear about the lost prop...i'm sure as soon as you get a decent and recordable flight on it,we'll get the whole scoop on how she really preforms...just keep in mind the ??? i asked

john

Greg Covey

I finally had an opportunity to not only test fly my Classic Cruiser but to photograph it as well.

It simply flew fantastic!

Greg Covey

The Cirrus MJ Flight Pack performed perfectly without any glitching or radio drop outs.

The plane may be a bit hot for indoor gym flying depending upon your skill set.

Mike Taylor

My Feedback: (1)

Greg,

I'm glad to hear it works well for you. With radio gear this light, a whole new range of conversions are opened up.

BTW, I picked up another new system a few weeks ago to go in a 14" micro flying wing. I was pleased to note that there were more changes made to the servos which now have the arms screwed in position (instead of the epoxy or solder joints of previous versions). Their performance is extremely smooth now. Instead of being jittery, they actually seem smoother than the 5 and 6 gram servos I've used in the past...

Greg Covey

Hi Mike,

That is one small wing! Let us know how you make out.

I haven't seen any servo issues yet. The newer ones have a screwed on arm like you said that use a slip-tension to save the control surface when banged. I simply keep my trim settings at neutral and force the elevator or rudder back into position by turning the servo arm by hand. Perhaps it was an unintended "feature".

My Classic Cruiser could play up in the clouds or just above the corn field. During no wind conditions, I could throttle back to about 1/2 or 3/4. Note that I'm now using a direct drive GWS IPS motor on a single cell with a GWS 5x4.3 prop attached via a pinion gear.

Mike Taylor

My Feedback: (1)

I will be sure to let you know what comes out of this. It is a scaled down version of Ron's 'CLiC' 23" wing (from AcesHighRC.com). In the picture, the gear is a little too far aft, the batteries need to be too far forward, and I made the horns a little too short. I'm building some others with the gear and batteries in a little better position. With as light as this gear is, the N-20, even direct drive, is the heaviest part of the gear!

So far, the wing flies pretty well, rolls are scary-fast. It can be throttled back and flown in a basketball court or revved up for what seems like crazy fast hig-speed passes. It uses the 2-cell esc, and even at mid-30 grams, the N-20 pushes it right along. A friend is trying one with a single cell, and either a pager or M-20 motor for a light weight approach...

Greg Covey

Here is the last of my flying shots.

I hope to post the video later this week.

jboy381-RCU

greg,
are you planning on doing a "HOW TO" for RCU magazine???i thank it would make a great article...since you first posted about this converson,i've been looking for a good canidate without copying yours...looks like there will be one in my hanger soon...thanks for the great things RCU does for this hobby...

john

Greg Covey

John,

Thanks. I will be writing a review that closely follows this thread. My main goal here is to promote some ideas and inspiration for using the tiny Micro Joule Flight Pack in your own conversions.

Here is the link to my Micro Joule video.

[link=http://www.gregcovey.com/RCU2/MicroJoule.wmv]Hi-res video[/link] (5meg)

Greg Covey

John,

Thanks. I will be writing a review that closely follows this thread. My main goal here is to promote some ideas and inspiration for using the tiny Micro Joule Flight Pack in your own conversions.

Here is the link to my Micro Joule video.

[link=http://www.gregcovey.com/RCU2/MicroJoule.wmv]Hi-res video[/link] (5meg)

AcroJo

My Feedback: (1)

Greg, your experience with the Pigi and now micro flight, make you the perfect candidate for my projects questions. Due to the small amount of EPP foam laying around, I ended up building a Mini Pigi. 45% smaller than the original. 22 inch wing span with 176 sq. in. wing area. 3.6 oz. with control horns, linkage and motor mount stick only. Initial trial runs were with scavanged GWS gear. 350, narrows, stock esc. It flew, but like a typewriter. I think it totalled out @ 10 oz. creating an unforgiving wing loading. Now stripped of gear, I've been reading your review and researching the Micro Joule flight pack, which seems well suited for a considerable weight loss. When searching for a motor, the smallest I could find is Astro Flights, Fire Fly Coreless motor with gear box @ 14 grams. It is listed under brushless, which is what I'm looking for. It states that it will draw 7 amps @ 7000 rpm on a Gunther 5/4 prop. Is this motor compatable with the Micro Joule flight pack? I see that the pack has been upgraded to brushless esc in an add, but cannot confirm that on the web site of Hobby People. I appreciate any help you can provide, or from any other graduates of the 'school of hard knocks' out there. Joe

BTW, would one of the new Kokam HDR LiPo's be a consideration due to the light weight/increased power?

V2PLUS10

Greg,

Can you tell me if the micro joule throttle channel can be used to drive a third servo for a CO2 motor with an in-line throttle valve? Would I still need to use or adapt the speed controller to power the system?

Thanks,

Randy

Greg Covey

Hi Joe,

The AF FireFly is best suited for a 3oz plane and it does need the special high-impedance ESC for coreless motors.

Personally, I would try the MJ Flight Pack with the 2-cell ESC due to your application with a mini 3D plane.

An inexpensive brushless alternative, if you ditch the MJ ESC is to use a Nippy Black 0808 and Jeti 8-amp ESC.

Good luck!

Greg Covey

Hi Joe,

The AF FireFly is best suited for a 3oz plane and it does need the special high-impedance ESC for coreless motors.

Personally, I would try the MJ Flight Pack with the 2-cell ESC due to your application with a mini 3D plane.

An inexpensive brushless alternative, if you ditch the MJ ESC is to use a Nippy Black 0808 and Jeti 8-amp ESC.

Good luck!

Randy,

Yes, the third channel is standard output so you can ditch the MJ ESC.

Greg Covey

Randy,

The third channel is a standard output so you can ditch the MJ ESC if you like.

AcroJo

My Feedback: (1)

Thanks Greg, I see in Model Airplane News, in an ad from Hobby People, that they are now offering an MJ flight pack for a brushless application. Would that work with the Nippy Black 0808? And would I still use a 2 cell lipo? I have a 3 cell, 720 mAh available, but would be willing to buy whats required. Thanks, Joe

Greg Covey

Yes it would work with the Nippy 0808.

In fact, I have just completed my Mini-Shock Flyer using a 4-amp Jeti brushless ESC from [link=http://www.hobby-lobby.com/jetiblue.htm]Hobby Lobby[/link] and the LensRC 17T from [link=http://www.toddsmodels.com/lensrc.htm]Todd's Models[/link]. It uses the same Cirrus MJ Flight Pack with 3 MJ servos. My Mini-Shocky weighs 5.2 oz using a 2-cell Kokam 340 pack and has 10oz of thrust. It should be fun! It is slated for a Fly RC article but may become joint with RCU. If so, i'll start a new thread on it soon.

Here is a link to my [link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/article_display.cfm?article_id=416]Cirrus MJ Airborne System Review[/link]

Dre

My Feedback: (2)

RE: Cirrus 3.0 Micro Joule servos.

I wanted to post this information to prevent what happened to me from happening to someone else.

I purchased 3 Micro Joule servos for use in a ultra light-weight shockflyer project. Upon installation of these servos, I found their resolution to be totally unacceptable for this kind of application--that being precise control. The Cirrus Micro Joule servos do not have near the resolution of the Cirrus 4.4's due to the different design. My guess is that their resolution is +/-5 to 10 degrees.

I did a fair amount of "internet research" on these servos before purchasing them ($50/unit!), and did not find any reference to this issue.

Buyer be ware.

Regards,

Dre

Greg Covey

Dre,

Thanks for the heads-up!

I should be able to confirm (or deny) your findings soon as my mini-Shocky is finished and awaits a test flight.

My intent is to fly it indoors but if I get a no wind day, i'll try it outdoors.

Mike Taylor

My Feedback: (1)

Dre,

Was that with the motor running or not? Brushless motors seem to give some of the light RXs and servos problems. If it was running and a brushed motor, add supression caps, even if it is a small motor. These servos are not as smart as some. They appreciate you turning the power on with a switch instead of just plugging in.

What ESC and RX are you using? The Cirrus MJ ESC provides 3.3 volts to the radio and the servos. Under these reduced voltages, the MJ servos that I have, all purchased within the last three months, perform flawlewssly, very smoothly and repeat their setting fine. Other people have found that both these and the Falcons tend to jiggle as they continuously overshoot at higher voltages. The servos are sort of optimized to the rest of the system.

If you don't have a full MJ system, see if you can find one somewhere and test yours. If they are funky, can't be made to work with the rest of your gear, or just don't work up to your expectations, they will swap them or refund your money. BTW, the whole flight pack with RX, 2 servos and ESC is now $130.

Dre

My Feedback: (2)

Mike,

You make a good point--voltage requirements. However, the specifications listed on AeroMicro's web site (whom I purchased from), indicates 3.0-7.0 V operation. I am using a Castle 10 ESC and a Skyhooks RX72 PRO Rx. The voltage with this system is 4.8V--I have measured it. Unless the spec's. are wrong, I should be OK. For what it is worth, AeroMicro acknowledged my observation concerning the servo's resolution.

Regards,

Dre