Joe, cheers for the opinion. I was on another forum the other day where the general consensus was that I should upgrade to a better motor (e.g. a brushless AXI 2820/10) and change the ESC to a compatible brushless type, this would all still run on my current packs and apparently would give me much better performance. It would also be a bit lighter as the motor is lighter and there's no need for gears due to the AXI's high torque. This upgrade can be done for the cost of a single Lipo 3 cell pack!! I'm sure Lipos will come down in price within the next 18 months though.

As for now, I think i'm just going to stick it out with the stock set-up...though it is underpowered for a novice pilot. When I can afford to change the setup I will...prob is I have other expensive hobbies! As soon as I've mastered the Magister though, I'm definately going to get on the case with an aerobatic/3D EP model...a parkflyer but not too small though. Keep me informed if you get anything Joe...

I just got through installing a second aileron servo in my Magister. I highly suggest that if you have a 5-6 channel computer radio with flaperon function, that you perform this upgrade. Short of installing seperate flaps on this bird, this is the next best thing. Before this upgrade, my Magister landed prestty fast eapecially if I had to make a dead stick land on short notice. With the second servo and flaperons activated, the Magister lands a lot slower. Very nice!

Yeah I've heard a lot of people have done this with this plane and it makes a massive improvement. Unfortunately, I've only got a 4ch transmitter so can't haver the flaperon feature :-(. Though, I was thinking about having a servo in each wing just to get better/more precise aileron control, do you reackon it would be worth doing this even though I won't get the advantage of the flaperons?? I find the current aileron servo setup is a bit poor really and never seems to return the ailerons back exactly to neutral position when you let go of the sticks...

P.S have you got any pictures of the wing with your new flaperon setup?

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the great review. I have recently started with electric helicopters and I love it, but there is a clear disadvantage with respect to the flying weather ( wind) with them. I am however a newbee nevertheless.

Since I have a 7 channel radio and 3s1p (1600 and 2200 mAh) Lipo's for the helicopter, I was thinking of getting the kit Magister + the Jeti ESC. I was also thinking of installing the 2nd aileron servo while I was at it.

The questions I have are as follows:

Joe, do you have any pictures as to how you did you 2nd aileron installation.

Greg,

Is the Jeti JES030 sufficient, or is a JES045 better? Will the 2200mAh Lipo's I have be OK? I am going to buy another 2200 for my helicopter, and the 3000 are too big/heavy. I also have 1100 mAh for my micro helicopters. Will these work?

I like the Magister because of it's size, but this is an outdoor/park flyer. Do you have any suggestions to an indoor trainer?

carlosk,

Yes and yes. I don't know what brand or specs LiPos you have.

For an indoor trainer, look for a model that has the prop in the back (a pusher setup) so you can hit the floor, walls, or ceiling without damaging the plane.

My Lipo's are from flight power.

Thanks for the info.

Hi Guys,

I'm trying to figure out how to upload some photos for you on the install. Pretty simple. Just cut out an equal size portion on the opposite side of the wing for the other servo. Shorten the linkage and you're all done.

Well as a newb I flew my Mag for the first time today in a slight breeze, it was a dream. I have never flown a 40 size nitro machine so I don't know what the difference is but mine seemed just fine the way it is. I had no real issues fighting the head wind, I am very happy with the purchase of this machine.

Well it finally happened! I crashed my Magister today and it's pretty much unrepairable. I don't know what happened. I had 1 really long flight on it with the stock motor and 3s lipos. 2nd Flight with another lipo pack lasted only about 5 minutes. 3rd flight with a 3300 nimh pack was horrible. Plane just did not seem to have enough power on take off. Plane struggled to stay in th air. I fly in an open field next to a freeway and the plane drifted over the freeway as I struggled to maintain altitude. It was all I could do to keep it airborn across 8 lanes of freeway traffic. Right after it crossed the freeway it went down in a parking lot on the other side of the freeway. Whew!!! I was so lucky it didn't come down in traffic. What a mess that would have been. Plane nosed in and crunched the nose, engine, gearbox, motor mount, and wing retaining bolts. 2 of 4 servos destroyed and elevator assembly ripped from plane. UGLY! Motor just seemed to lose power! Anyone else ever experienced this problem before on these brushed motors???

oh dear...well sorry to hear that joe [] Sounds like your Magi days are over...[&o] I had a friend who had a similar problem to this once, but the motor was quite an old one and it turned out the brushes were worn out. Also my local model shop told me not to run the stock motor on Lipo's as it will knacker the motor...can't remember why but that's what I was told. Or on the other hand it may have just been a fault with the motor, I don't think those permax units are built exceptionally well, mine was a bit dodgy, but hey, what do you expect for 30 quid which even includes prop, adapter, spinner and gears as well!!

Well,

3 weeks after my crash, I've finally rebuilt another Magister. I upgraded the motor to a AXI 2826/10. ESC is a CC Phoenix 45. I kept the second aileron servo and also installed a set of inboard flaps. Place also has a FMA Co-Pilot installed. To windy to fly today, so I'll try it out tomorrow. Here's some pics.

Few More!

Joe:

What li-pos are you using and what is their capacity. I purchased two GP3300s from you a month or so ago and am going to move to li-pos as well. I didn't even use them. I flew the maggie once on the stock battery and decided to go lighter with more voltage. How did the stock motor work with the li-pos added voltage?

By the way, I like the air scoop on the nose. Did you use a plastic spoon?

As a general note to anyone reading this post, I have two relatively new GP3300SCR NIMHs for sale. Contact me by PM if interested.

Danny

Danny,

I'm using some Kokam 3s 3200mah like the ones Greg recommended in this thread. I don't know if it's such a good idea to use those on the stock motor for any length of time though. I have a sneaky suspicion they burnt out my original motor over time. I also may need to switch to a 4S2P setup on this plane if it doesn't have the power I want. I should know tomorrow. Air scoop is actually the top half of the spinner that came with the stock motor package. Just cut it half with my dremel and mounted it for extra cooling for the AXI.

Joe:

Could you post some pictures showing the configuration of your flap servos? I am thinking about doing flaps on my Maggie using HS-55s. What servos did you use?

Danny

Hey Danny,

Here's some photos of the set up.

Great pictures, thanks Joe. Interesting that you covered the servo bodies with tape. I assume you did this for aerodynamic and/or dirt control. What hings did you use?

Please report on how she flys.

Danny

Hi Danny,

The tape was just for asthetics. I had some lying around, so what the heck. Hinges are Robart size 307 hinge points. 3 per flap. As far as flying is concerned, I don't anticipate being able to fly anytime soon. I showed up at my regular place today (vacant office building with a large parking lot) and there was a fence erected all around the place. I don't have access any more. I spent a few hours driving around trying to find a suitable place, but no luck. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and it's quite developed and crowded. My advice to anyone wanting to live here...Don't!!! It's very expensive. Average home price is over $600,000, crazy! Very few open areas in which to fly that are away from people. I did the club thing for a while, but got tired of the fees and rules. Plus it's crowded on weekends too. My company is moving me to Sacramento next month and I'm hoping I can find more open space there. Here's a pic of my flying spot...pardon me, former flying spot. I love Google Earth!
Good Luck Danny!

Sorry to hear about your loss of flying space. That sucks. I lived in the Monterey area for a short while in the early 80s and the cost of living was bad enough then. The cost of housing in some areas is just obscene.

I hope you find a place to fly close to your new work location.

Take care.....Danny

Anyone know of anyone doing a nitro version?

It says it will take a .25 to .40

I dont think my .25 would pull it, but what about a .36?

Hello everyone,

I have put a scoop in my magister to cool the ESC because it keeps cutting out mid flight for no apparent reason, but I think it may have been because it was over heating...does this sound right? However, it is still cutting out from time to time but I can't understand why...has anyone experienced similar problems?
I am using an AXI motor and a 40amp esc with an 8cell 3300 pack...

thanks

Is it cutting out at full throttle or soon after a full throttle run? How many amps are you drawing? It could be heat or it could be that you are exceeding the amp draw momentarily. Other than those situations, I don't know whatelse to suggest.

Danny

Not sure how many amps I'm drawing but using an 11x7 prop and the ESC should be able to take up to 60amps momentarily and 40amps continuous...How do I find out how many amps I'm drawing? It really is a big problem as motor cuts out on each flight at some point and the ESC beeps. It's causing a lot of hard dead stick landings...and the magister is looking rather worn out.

Thanks for help

You would need a watt meter or an amp meter. What size AXI are you running? It could be that your motor is pulling the voltage down to the LVC and the ESC is cutting the motor off. If this is happening, the batteries that you are using just may not be able to handle the load. Are the batteries old?

Danny

Ok, the complete set up is AXI 2810/10 running from a GP3300 8 cell pack and I have a brushless 40amp ESC BEC. All of which are only a few months old. I also have four servos on board (1 rudder, 1 elevator, 2 ailerons).
I have cut more holes to provide even more venting to the ESC just in case over heating is making it cut out. I noticed in the ESC instructions that the BEC is rated at 5V/4Amps, which seems quite high to me...would this be affecting it by cutting in too early?
A recent modification was to install a second aileron servo, which I think has made the problem worse...[&o]

Many thanks

Sam
P.S is the LVC the same as the BEC??