I am a experienced glow flyer and thought about trying one of these electrics to see what they are about. Went and bought a flyzone ventura rtf and have had nothing but bad experiences with it. I can not fly electric for some reason. My next thought is to tach it out to see what it is turning but don't know what to look for as far as how much rpm.
Has anyone here been happy with this bird? I find electric flight interesting but not worth this frustration.
Al

Yes, I have a Ventura and am very happy with it. I think it is one of the best RTF's available. I bought mine after seeing someone else flying one, since then at least a dozen more people in the club (mostly slimers) have bought them and all are very pleased with them.

What are you having problems with?

Tom Moody

twmoody..........
I got help from you a couple of months ago but still haven't flown this thing. I admit my flying time for any type plane, this year is unbelievably bad. Other commitments are rough this year. Plus I have been really discouraged at its performance. Anyway I have hand tossed this thing many times and it just glides down like there isn't enough power. I have tried everything " I " can think of. Trim is slightly elev up. Balance is right on specs. Tried a different battery. Wing mounted properly. How much should this attempt to pull out of my hand at full throttle? Are there rpm specs for it at full throttle?
Would like to see if fly before the snow flies.
thanks
Al

It sounds like a fairly simple problem to me, and you are on the right track with the tachometer and observing that there isn't enough power. Balance, elevator trim, and repeatedly throwing the plane into the air only to have it crash down range won't fix the problem.

You have two likely causes:
1. Inadequately charged batteries.
2. Dud motor right out of the box.

What you're charging the batteries with, and how long they're taking to charge is EXTREMELY important. There's no free lunch; if you have a 900mAh battery, and you're charging it at 300mAh for 30 minutes on some wall wart, it's only about 1/6 charged and won't fly the plane for beans.

A peak detect charger that can charge 7 cells at about 1 Amp is best. It will take roughly an hour to charge, and the charger will stop automatically when the battery is full. We need to find out what you've got now, and what the instructions tell you to do with it, before you go spending more money, though.

Dud motors happen, too, especially when you're talking about cheap can motors, though not very often. Let's concentrate on battery charging before we go down this road, though.

Hi Matt
Yes its the 900 mh 8.4 that came with the bird. I am using the charger that came with it also. It is one that has a 30 min timer built in that shuts it off afterwards. The motor seems to run for quite a while (not really clocked) and I used a borrowed battery a couple of times and still no flights. I think I will borrow my brothers charger and try that. Does anyone know how many rpm this thing should turn? The motor is also OE.
thanks for the replys
al

I don't have a tach so I cannot tell you what RPM mine runs. I seldom use more than 1/2 throttle so something must be very wrong with yours. If you have already tried another battery then about the only thing left is the motor.

Tom Moody

I agree with Tom that something is really wrong with your Ventura. I usually fly mine at 1/2 throttle or less because it has very good energy...much like the Graupner Terry. The Ventura really wants to fly!

Al,

At full power, it should want to pull from your hand. Make sure the motor is spinning counter-clockwise when viewing it from the front.

Perhaps a local hobby shop can help you out. Many of these guys are getting more experienced with electrics now. You can also [link=http://www.towerhobbies.com/contact.html]Contact Tower Hobbies[/link] in various ways for support. Use the link I provided for a phone number, etc.

Good luck!

Hmm. Knowing now that it's a timer charger, I'm betting it's undercharged batteries. At best, you might be getting half a charge off that charger.

Definitely borrow someone's peak-detect charger, set it for 1 Amp, and run the batteries through a charge cycle. I think you'll be surprised. If not, call Great Planes, not Tower. Tower is owned by Great Planes, but if you want it fixed, you call the manufacturer support line, or email [email protected]. I've ALWAYS had good experiences with them.

Do you guys know if you need to break-in the motor for this plane? I break-in all mine, but I heard it's hard to do so on a RTF