Hi Mike,

Thanks. I did give some initial setup parameters above but i'll repeat them again here:
My initial starting point will be as follows:
[ul][*] Aveox 27/39/1.5 motor[*] Planatary gearbox 4.4:1[*] APC 13x8 prop[*] 16 cells of 1950FAUP NiMH[*] 10,000 RPMs at 42amps[*] 80oz thrust, 57mph pitch speed, 600 watts
[/ul]

My folding prop is really closer to a 13" prop so it should work out ok. The nice thing about these brushless power systems is that you can keep adding cells until you reach a limit on either the ESC or motor. Since I am not even close to pushing either, i'll save that option for after the first flight testing.

I will also be testing some new Kokam 2000mAh (2AH) cells in a 4s4p configuration. The pack will deliver 64amps continuous current and have a total capacity of 8000mAh! [X(]

As for the wheel pants, they are beautiful painted fiberglass pants and deserved a better mounting scheme. I completely ditched the stock mounting parts and used the following items below.
[ul][*] Sullivan Wheel Pant Brackets for 5/32" [*] Du-Bro 2" long x 5/32" dia. Spring Steel Axle Shafts (#248)[*] Du-Bro 5/32" Plated Brass Dura-Collars (#140)
[/ul]

I drilled a hole on both sides of the wheel pant for the axle shaft to go through. This helps maintain the pant even over rough terrain. The Sullivan wheel brackets allow you to tighten them as much as you want for either a super firm hold or just enough hold to move the pant in case it gets bumped on the ground. The bracket can either be mounted by screws onto the pant or by using a little fiberglass mesh and epoxy.

My Razor 3D had no problem balancing at the recommended 5.5" initial CG setting using my 16-cell 1950FAUP NiMH pack. The packs will fit in the area originally meant for the glow fuel tank. There is plenty of space for the 25oz pack.

Optionally, i'll be testing a 4s4p configuration of the new Kokam 2AH cells. I create these from 2-cell (or 2s) packs and then parallel 4 of them together. The total 4s4p configuration weighs 30oz and has a total capacity of 8000mAh (8AH). It can deliver and impressive 64amps continuous current.

So, for more money, you can quadruple the flight time with an extra 5oz in weight over the 1950mAh NiMH packs.

Here are a couple shots of my cooling system #1 for the motor.

There are 2 air inputs and one larger output.

My 2nd cooling system is for the ESC and battery packs. I cut a slot on each side for the HLH550 air scoops from Hobby Lobby for my air intake holes and left the bellcrank access hatch off the back of the fuselage bottom for my output hole.

Can you find the receiver On/Off switch?

Well hidden "R" you using a UBEC?

-Mike

Hi Mike,

Nice catch. Now I need to remember where it is when I fly it.

Yes, i'm using a UBEC.

My current measurements with both the 16-cell 1950mAh NiMH pack and the 4s4p Kokam 8AH pack were about 30amps (450 watts).

This is 10amps under my expected number and likely due to the AeroNaut folding prop so I have ordered several sets of bigger blades.

Although the power looked good enough to test fly, at 30amps I'm not taxing anything in my power system so I want at least a 40amp draw to start with.

More soon...

Interesting. Good luck and look forward to the maiden.

While I wait for the right combination of weather and support team to come together during the busy holiday season, I finally found a set of blades that produces the power I was looking for.

The 14x10 CAM prop blades drew 51amps compared to the 30amps seen with the 13x8 blades. That's 765 watts or about 133 w/lb. This should provide my Razor 3D with a very strong aerobatic performance.

Happy Holidays to all!

We finally got a chance to fly the Razor 3D...3 times in fact.

It flies like it is on rails! I suspect that this is due to the strong pattern ship traits of the design. The geared Aveox power system really performed with the 14x10 prop. The fuselage design allowed us to perform solid knife edges that stayed level at full power with only partial rudder deflection. We could hover the plane also to the best of our abilities which is beginner-intermediate level. I recorded about 10 minute flights of heavy aerobatics using the Kokam 8AH Lithium pack which would make the lighter 1950mAh NiMH pack about 2.5 minutes.

The plane is an interesting blend of pattern ship design and 3D control surfaces. The ailerons were hot and so were the landings. The wingloading and thinner pattern-type airfoil made for quick landings when compared to my other 3D planes but the plane is very stabile and comes in straight as an arrow.

I'll post some flying pics soon and the video will be available when the review gets published. My video guy didn't show up so we litterally pulled a new DV camera from the box and I was learning how to use it as we walked to the field. Although it was stressfull at the time, it makes me laugh now. Gotta keep it fun!

Hello Greg,

Sounds Great! I'm almost finished with my latest project, so the Razor may be next. I took a quick look back at this thread but didn't see what the final weight turned out to be on yours. I know what Lanier claims, but kit manufacturers always seem to fudge a bit on the light side... Be sure and let us know when you get the video posted.

Later;

D.W.

D.W.

My Razor 3D was RTF at 67oz without battery. That made it 92oz (5.75lbs) with the 16-cell 1950mAh (2AH) NiMH pack and 97oz with the Kokam 8000mAh (8AH) LiPo pack.

Also, I was a bit nose heavy on my balance which helped to make land faster.

Overall, she flies like a dream and is a keeper.

Greg,
Do you know when the review will be posted? I am interested to see the video. I flew Saturday and Bubba from Lanier fly's out at my field. I had a chance to see the Razor 3D up close (although it did not fly), but did get to see a couple of other upcoming projects fly. It is a good looking plane.


Mike

Mike,

So Bubba lives down in Atlanta, huh?

Although I am not happy with the video, i'll post a link to it. We had three flights and my poor (first time) video skills caused me to miss much of the good flying that was piloted by my friend Lynn. I ditched the hovering scenes because the auto-focus kept going in and out. The only landing I got video of was the second one when he started his approach too early and came in quite hot.

I'll post some photos this weekend too. Overall, I was impressed with the performance of both the plane and my geared Aveox motor setup which you can see from the knife edge pass.

[link=http://www.gregcovey.com/RCU/Razor3D.wmv]Razor 3D Video (8meg)[/link]

Yeah, just north of Atlanta. Super nice guy, with some great flying thumbs. I meant to talk with him about your razor project, but was having quite a few issues of my own that day (took a radio hit on my [link=http://www.stevensaero.com/cap40e.html]beta StevensAero Cap 40e[/link]). As well as maidening the Sukhoi.

You did a great job on the plane. It looked like it tracked very nicely and Lynn did a good job on the sticks. This might have to be my next project. Good job.


Mike

Mike

It's great to finally see a video of this plane.I purchased one last week and can't wait to get it going.
I bought the other red,white, and blue one.
I'm thinking of using the new OS70 pumped motor on it.
Your looks great with the electric.

Thanks

Thanks, Rick! Show us a photo of yours when you finish it.

Here are some flying shots of the maiden voyage. I only brought out my 35mm camera for the first flight...just in case. As it turned out, it was our best takeoff and landing of the three flights.

We had a great day flying the Razor 3D. No snow and 55 degrees was hard to believe for us New Yorkers at the end of December.

I was nose heavy after putting in my Lithium packs so it made for difficult hovering and faster landings. The flying stabilizer really makes this plane track well.

I went and picked mine up today.
Every thing looks good no dings or bad wood.
I've working on my son's Avistar all day but it's
back in action now so I can start on mine now. I'll get
some shot's of it soon.


Rick

Man you sure make me want one with that video. (Sorry, but I had to turn the volume downafter a couple minutes) I lost my Seduction Freestyle and I sure would like to have not said "One more flight" that day. This looks like it would save the trouble of building another. It would be electric also.

Kirby

Thanks, Kirby.

I'm still bumming a bit from not capturing the best parts of the 3 flights. I need to become a video expert now for when my usual guy doesn't show up. I was a complete "newbie" on a brand new camera right out of the box. I had so much crap footage that I made a bloopers video that my buddies watched and got a lots of laughs.

You gotta keep it fun!

One modification I did to my Razor 3D after the maiden flights was to add a MaxCim Charging Harness to allow me to re-charge while keeping the wing on and the batteries installed.

I have found this feature to be invaluable for full day events. You can set up your planes in the morning and keep flying or recharging all day. You simply taxi into the pits and plug in your charger after a cooling period.

So far, only MaxCim Motors seems to offer this convienience. SR Batteries also sells the PowerPole-style fuseholders but not as a complete assembly for charging.

These pictures show my modified MaxCim Charging Harness for using Dean's Ultra connectors. I simply plug the harness in between my controller and battery. The 40amp ATO-style fuse can be moved from a "RUN" position to a "CHARGE" position that disconects the controlled while charging.

Plug-n-play! Yeah, that's what I like.

Greg,
What do you think is the largest prop that will clear on the plane?
Mark