NEW CASTLE CREATIONS ESC
 

By now, many already know that Castle has a new, soon to be released "Edge " and "Edge Lite" series of speed controllers. There will be an 80 version and I believe both will be rated for 12S. They were on display at the WRAM Show and are up on their website. The design seems to have several function upgrades that are specific to the heli group ; although they are suitable for fixed wing .

As far as weight goes, I believe that the Edge 80HV is heavier than what we now have.

Does anyone know if the current Phoenix HV 80 is being discontinued ?

Has anyone done product testing for F3A purposes ?

RE: NEW CASTLE CREATIONS ESC
 

Hi Frank,

Missed you at WRAMs.
I have flown the Edge 50 on 4s in my Vanquish and loved it until I dumped it. It worked very well compared to the Phoneix 45 and CC bec it replaced. Throttle response is very good and it was great to have the logging and built in BEC for that plane.

The original Phoenix has been discontinued for a while and I believe this will replace the Ice line. For plane pilots it isn't that different. It is slightly heavier than the Ice in standard form but there will be a lite version with a smaller heat sink. These will save about an ounce. I have run an Ice lite 80HV with no heat sink very successfully, but they were not put into production.
The Safety Key and Plane Locator are probably the most useful functions but I haven't tried them all yet. The big changes are rpm output and gyro gain for helis. Internally, it has some cool protections that I don't quite understand yet. Apparently, it can sense motor problems and give a warning before you fry the ESC. I had this problem a few years ago with an Axi 5330 and a CC85. The motor had a small short that would run perfect for about 30 flights and fry the ESC. After wrecking a few ESC the motor was replaced and problem solved.

From what I have heard the Beta testing of the HV units has gone well and I looking forward to getting mine. Should be a nice update to the Castle line up.

RE: NEW CASTLE CREATIONS ESC
 

Hi Anthony,

Thanks for the info. After re-reading the specs on the Edge series, I can't think of a reason that I need to wait for the product release.

The Phoenix Ice 80 HV has worked just great in my Brio and I'll pick up another for my new Griffin.

If I can get enough practice this year, I'd like to fly at the Pocono meet( if there is one). Now that my competitive flying juices are satisfied with an abundance of U/C Stunt meets , most practically in my backyard, I'm kinda on overload. Electric U/C is a hoot and very satisfying as the likes of Chip Hyde and some other pattern notables have discovered.

See Ya,
Frank

RE: NEW CASTLE CREATIONS ESC
 

Pocono is on.