wkuadam07

I am a nitro junky... i installed an Enya .09, HS-55s in the wing, HS-81s in the fuse...3 of them and a 250 mah battery pack. I ordered a set of wheel pants made for the Eflight mini edge, and a tru turn 1.5 inch spinner. Mine flies GREAT!!!!

MotoEspantoso

I just ordered a Sig Kadet EP42 from Tower and a 2-cell 2000mah lipo. Should I have gotten a 3-cell? Will it fly ok with a 2-cell?

service_dude

That would depend on the motor that comes with the plane. I'm flying a similar model, the Cox Wings EP 380. I'm using the Thunder Power 2 cell 2100 pro lite with a Graupner SPEED 400 6V Electric p/n GR3321 and a 10x4.7 APC prop geared at 2.5:1.

The plane came stock with a Mabuchi 380 motor but the 2 cell lipo did not power it well enough at 7.2 volts. Using the 6V Graupner made a significant difference and it was only $8.90 at the LHS. Good luck with your plane.

mudpuppy

The Sig Kadet EP-42 is a high quality plane that flies very stable. I found that it was under-powered with the stock motor and the battery recommended in the manual provided very short flights. I modified my plane with a Himax 2816-1220 outrunner brushless motor, CC 25 amp ESC, and a 20C 3-cell lipo battery. These mods greatly improved flight performance and increased flight times. I still enjoy flying this model even though I have moved on to more advanced planes. A few have asked how I did the mods so the next few posts will attempt to describe the mod I did.

mudpuppy

My first task was to figure out how to mount an outrunner brushless motor. I did not want to alter the original construction in case I wanted to revert back the stock motor for some reason. I came up with a wood block that slides over the plywood mount for the original motor. It is a tight fit to prevent any slop. The block is about 1-1/8" thick and about 1-3/8" high. Width is as wide as it can and still slide in between the original mount supports. The block is taller above the original plywood mount than below it, to allow the new motor to be mounted so that the prop shaft goes through the center of the cowl opening. I hollowed out a recess in the center of the block to allow the rear motorshaft to rotate freely and drilled 4 pilot holes to mount the motor. The top corners of the block are rounded to allow the cowl to properly fit.

mudpuppy

Next I mounted the motor onto the block making sure that it was centered between the plywood mounts. This block worked out great because it retained the proper thrust angles of the original mounts.

mudpuppy

I can now slide the mounted motor forward or back to determine how much of the prop shaft should protrude out from the cowl. I test fit the cowl to make sure the motor was positioned properly. Notice that the prop shaft is centered in the cowl opening.

mudpuppy

Once I was satisfied with the position, I removed cowl and secured the block in place with 2 screws going up through the bottom of the block, through the original plywood mount, and into the top of the block. The new motor is now positioned in the right place with proper thrust angles and secured.

mudpuppy

I then re-installed the cowl and prop. I choose to use a collet style prop adapter and eliminated the nose cone. This allows more air into the cowl to help keep the new motor cool.

mudpuppy

I then installed a Castle Creations Phoenix 25 ESC and an Apogee 3-cell 11.1 volt 2100 mah (20c) battery. The battery was a tight fit but no problem. I used extra Velcro to secure the battery in place place. I tested a few props until I found one that drew 18-20 amps at full throttle. It wound up being an APC 8x6E. These mods made the plane much lighter, gave it much more power and a lot longer flight times. I can get 10-15 minute flights. It flies like a dream on a calm day. I highly recommend this plane as an electric trainer.

cwrr5

My Feedback: (32)

Nicely done. Thanks!

Curious, what is that wood block? pine? Does it affect the balance any?

(I might copy tour setup for mine, it sounds like a winner )

mudpuppy

The block is made out of lightweight plywood that I found in the balsa wood section of the hobby shop. I glued several layers of 1/2" together with wood glue and sanded it down until I had the right thickness.

Balance is easily controlled by the moving the battery forward or back until you have the correct center of gravity. The instruction manual outlines how the set center of gravity.

cwrr5

My Feedback: (32)

Cool.
Well versed in shifting equipment around ( ), should have asked "How much did that block wiegh" instead. Of course it affects balance. (laughing at myself)

I think I'll probably do away with the rails, and build a ply motor mount box. I hate adding weight if I can avoid it.


Thanks for the setup suggestion(s).

mudpuppy

A box mount would be great! I just didn't know how to build one with the proper thrust angles.

My plane now weighs just under 24 oz. which is less than it was with the stock motor.

DanAt2ndStory

My Feedback: (10)

Hey all, I bought the Sig EP-42 with all stock components and two Great Plains 1100 mAH batts from Tower. When I charged the 1100 mAH NiMH battery I found I only get about 4-5 minutes of actual flight time and when I pull the battery out of the fuse it's HOT HOT HOT. Has anyone else had these same experiences?? I'm really frustrated with the short fly times on that motor as I was anticipating 15-20 minute fly times considering the mAH ratings. I had a Slo-V prior and with a 650/750 mAH NiMH I was getting about 15 minutes. I know it's lighter, but I went from a 370 geared to a 400 Super direct on this Sig, so I figured with the extra power I'd pick up more or as much fly time. I know it's not weight as I set up the plane in my shop, strapped down the tail, and let the plane run 50-75% throttle on a timer and the motor shuts off after 5 minutes OR LESS. When I charge the battery back up at .5-1A and I get between 750 and 800 mAH charge before it peaks. Does that mean the ESC is stopping the motor at about 300-400mAH remaining for landing? I called Tower today and after speaking with the Tech, the CS rep said that 5 minutes is expected fly time. Are they being real??[:@][:@][:@] I'm calling Sig next. I'm also really let down that this ESC doesn't have the feature that the Parkzone Slo-V had that gives you one extra burst of motor for landing...

mudpuppy

I had the exact same issues when I first flew my Kadet. I went to brushless/lipo to solve the problems you are describing. The difference was like night and day! The plane now has plenty of power and 10-15 minute flights.

DanAt2ndStory

My Feedback: (10)

Thanks for helping me understand I'm not going nuts! I COMPLETELY understand your reasons for going lipo and brushless. I've done some homework on GWS stuff and the outrunners and ESCs are VERY reasonable. What I don't like is the cost of the lipo batteries. I guess I feel that I didn't pay the ARF price and the cost of the two NiMH batteries just to sh*t can the motor, esc, and batteries to go brushless. If they knew we'd only get 5 minutes of fly time, they should have equipped the plane with a good quality outrunner and ESC and install an ESC that is compatible with both NiMH and Lipo for fans of both. I suppose my only choice is to call Sig and give them a piece of my mind, then start looking into brushless/lipo if I want more than 5 minutes of airtime. [][]

mudpuppy

I'm sure this is a small consolation, but I sold the stock motor, esc, etc. on ebay to help fund the upgrade.

I will be glad to see more manufacturers offer kits that take advantage of modern technologies.

DanAt2ndStory

My Feedback: (10)

--WARNING: Truth and fact below--
Wow. I just got off the phone with Sig located in Montezuma, IA. Their tech support confirmed that this plane (Sig Kadet EP42) is designed to provide fly time of 5-6 minutes at MOST if running at low throttle. They market it as a "trainer" and feel that is appropriate time for a learner and that by 5-6 minutes any beginner would be "dry mouthed and knee sore" apparently in utter fear?? So did Sig price this ARF through Tower Hobbies at $160, once you're done with parts less TX, well over $200, probably closer to $225 or $250 just to be a THROW AWAY plane?? I explained that I saw MANY posts where folks are converting these units to outrunner and lipo. He said they have documentation on how to conver it over to brushless and lipo if people would like longer flight times. I asked why they don't provide a brushless setup to begin with and he said they would have to raise the price of the plane. REALLY? Ooooooh. A big whopping jump in price difference of what? $15?? I explained that I was a very dissatisifed customer and let down with the fly time and frustrated that I must put $75-$100 more in parts just to convert this to something that gets 15 minutes of needed flight time. Their technical support rep said that they have thousands of happy customers. No "we're sorry for your dissatisfaction" or "we would be glad to take your product feedback and forward that to our design team to improve our product." Instead he argued with me that I was giving it too much throttle and just like driving a car with your foot on the pedal, you don't go very far. How much training, let alone value, can be provided with 5 minutes of time in the air?? Can ANYTHING be learned in 5 minutes? This plane should have NEVER been advertised as an "intermediate" flier unless it comes with the brushless/lipo. Any intermediate that would fly this plane for 5 minutes would put it down and move on. After trying to prove some sort of point about the value of brushless and being an important customer (ever tried to argue or convince a BUSINESS that YOU are important to THEM??), he said if that was all he had other important issues to deal with. Customer value. Wow.

DanAt2ndStory

My Feedback: (10)

After contacting Tower Hobbies, since I'm outside my guarantee time and of course it's a used item, they can't take it back. There were kind enough to listen to my feedback, be willing to forward my concerns and frustrations up the chain there to get it over to Sig, and were also willing to send me a couple additional NiMH batteries for my plane as a consolation for the poor treatment I received from Sig and to keep my business. I can't say I'll use the plane often with a fly time of 5 minutes and they couldn't offer me free brushless or lipos, yada yada. It was just a nice gesture on their part to make something good. Is the morale of the story "check with flight time before buying?", "read the minds of the mfgr when specs are not provided?", "scour forums to see if stock parts are obsolete at the time their pulled out of the box?", or "Tower good, Sig bad". The world may never know...

MotoEspantoso

Just an update, I finished building my Kadet and maidened it last week w/ 2000mah 2-cell lipo. Flies great! Took off from dirt in about 25 feet and climbed with authority. I actually had to back down to about 1/4 throttle to keep it in level flight, anything more and it would get out of sight FAST. Flew for about 20 minutes on the lipo before landing(scared to over-discharge and light something on fire[X(] ) Overall this is a great ARF, I highly recommend it along with the lipo I got from cheapbatterypacks.com.


pic:

DanAt2ndStory

My Feedback: (10)

Hey, are you coupling that up with the existing 400 Super motor and 30A ESC?? Or did you change out the motor and ESC?? Thanks!!!!

MotoEspantoso

Yup, stock motor and esc.

DanAt2ndStory

My Feedback: (10)

Which battery did you get from cheapbatteries?? I see they have a ton of selections. How much did you pay?

Slo-V Flyer

Dan,

Sorry to break it to you, but I think I'm correct in at least assuming that most planes of that weight range (~24oz.) that use 400 motors and 1100mah batteries do last only about 5-7 minutes tops (well, most rtf and arf in stock form regardless of motor type hold true for that matter). I know, I've have had a Great Planes Mini Super Sportster, which used a speed 400 and the very same Great Planes 1100 mah 8-cell pack. In case you didn't know, most cheap brushed-motors are only about 50-60% efficient as compared to 75-90% efficiency for brushless motors, which means your flight times are gonna be crap with brushed motors. [] But then I thought 5-6 minutes for my plane (an intermediate sport plane) was a satisfactory flight time so that I could bring it down and let things (and my nerves) cool down before another pack went up in the air.

Just try to think this way, the ARF includes that motor (just as with my MiniSS) just so you can get you plane up in the air without spending too much (relatively speaking.....) without the additional concern about finding/buying a motor for it (unless you already know what you want). And I don't think that Sig (or any company) would charge only $15 or even $20 more if they were to offer a brushless motor instead of the 400, considering the inflated prices we pay in this hobby for "fun and value," you can expect a $25-50 markup as more greed..I mean reasonable. But then again, for a complete newbie, or "not-so-beginner" like me, the green stuff $$$ often decides what I (can afford to) buy.

Moral of story? Not really one, but just try to enjoy your flying experience, and don't be bothered by having to go brushless and lipo and all that fancy jazz until you know you are good enough (haha I could have really used that advice 4 weeks ago.....) and 2 or 3 battery packs worth of flying (that's a good 15-20 minutes) are becoming not enough. Be glad you can at least fly your plane, whether 5 minutes or not.