Bill Mixon

The ailerons are fairly stiff torsionally so I wouldn't be concerened about using one good servo on each aileron for electric power.
As for it coming out tail heavy with a lighter power system up front.. Just move all the tail servos up to the front. In fact I wouldn't even use two elevator servos. Mount one as far up as possible for the rudder and another with four pull-pull lines going to the elevator halves. That knocks off the weight of another servo.
Another thing to look at is placing the batteries up in the cowling somewhere. They need all the cooling they can get anyway, so why not.
Moving the wing back on this plane wouldn't really be practical due to the bend in the fuse sides, and the socket construction in the fuselage. Not saying that it can't be done, but it would be a lot easier to do other things.

Bill

Greg Covey

Bill,

Thanks for the input.

It looks like I'm ready for a test flight and it is scheduled for tomorrow if the rain holds off.

I replaced my 20x11 prop with a 20x8 and moved two of the 6s3p packs up front next to the PVC adapter. The packs are held in place with both Velcro and duct tape. The last thing I did was to tape the seal between the rudder and vertical stabilizer.

I'll get some current and RPM measurements before the flight.

I discovered that if I have an extra Dean's plug free on each half of my Lithium configuration that I can easily plug the charger into it for convenient re-charging at the field. I need only unplug the main connector to the ESC.

Henke Torphammar

Awsome Greg!! good luck on the maiden!

Greg Covey

We flew the Edge 540 today and had a fair amount of success.

My initial measurement of 85amps and 2500 watts was using only ¾ throttle on the 10s2p Lithium configuration with a 20x11 prop. Today’s measurement was using full throttle on the 10s3p Lithium pack using a reduced pitch 20x8 prop. More throttle and less voltage drop from the 3p configuration provided a surprizing increase to 95amps at 3000 watts!

Since this power level was beyond the motor and ESC specs, we decided to try flying it at only partial throttle. It was windy out but we knew that Winter was just around the corner.

The Edge took off easily at only half throttle and we flew it around for about 5 minutes. We looped, rolled, and vertical stalled the plane all at only half throttle. The vertical stall testing was done to see how much energy was in the plane at our reduced power level. The plane would go vertical for a bit before stalling so I knew that it would have excellent vertical when I could use bursts of full power. What amazed me the most was when my pilot, Lynn, rolled it on its side and knife-edged it for a while at half throttle. The plane descended slowly on its side but remained stabile. The wingloading on these giant-scale planes is very light!

After about 5 minutes of flying, the motor shut off and we were forced to land downwind in a cornfield. Fortunitly, the plane sustained only minor damage from broken corn stalks that punctured the wing covering in a few places.

My feeling is that the ESC shut down from over heating and is simply under-rated for this application. The power system ran fine again after the plane was retrieved. The Actro 40-4 motor was only warm. We decided not to fly again until the ESC was upgraded. I felt that the ESC was the weak link in my power system and that the Actro motor would not have a problem with 80-90amp bursts when needed.

I may have to get a higher rated ESC like the 100 amp Hacker Master Controller. I don't believe that Jeti makes a controller higher than my 77-amp Opto ESC.

I post some flying photos and a video soon.

Mike Parsons

Congrats Greg. Look forward to the media.

-Mike

Henke Torphammar

was going to say "cool" but I think hot is a better word hehe

with the Master 90-O you should be fine I think, it has a hyge heatsink

Greg Covey

Thanks guys.

I'll check with Gary Wright to see what his recommendation is for an ESC. If he likes your Master 90-O suggestion Henke then I'll replace the Jeti 77 with one. I don't know much about the Hacker Master Controllers other than they offer more programmable features and have some really high-current models.

Greg Covey

Here are some digital photos taken by a guy that was helping us out. These are not my 35mm photos as I just dropped them off for development today.

It was a cold, wet, windy day...and we still had fun!

Greg Covey

more digital photos...

Henke Torphammar

I think the 90-O controller became so popular because it uses a flat layout, not the typical stacked FETs, the flat layout is really good for coaping with high amps for long flights

Greg Covey

Henke,

I think you're right. I found the Master 90-O-Acro [link=http://www.hackerbrushless.com/controllers.shtml]here[/link] but it is $400! OUCH!

Greg Covey

To all,

What is the deal with the reversed flag on the rudder left side? It appears correct on the right side with the stars to the left of the stripes. This is how it was on the Edge 540 box as well. Could it be an aviation thing or just an error by our UK friends?

I thought this was a bad thing.

Darrell B.

Greg,
Esprit has them for $389. I hope this helps. Here is the link.

http://www.espritmodel.com/

Darrell B.

Matt Kirsch

My Feedback: (21)

What you see is INcorrect. On a vehicle, the star field should be towards the front. It simulates the flag "flapping in the wind" as the vehicle moves forward. If it were the other way, the flag would look like it was hung backwards!

Courtesy R. Lee Ermey, "Mail Call," on the History Channel.

This is kind of spooky. Some show/commercial I watched yesterday had an R. Lee voice over, and that voice over was running through my head just before I popped over here to check things out.

Matt Kirsch

My Feedback: (21)

Now that I think about it, Greg:

You put the flag decals on the wrong sides!!! :O

Both flags are flying backwards.

Greg Covey

I just followed the sticky side of the decal and the used the box as my reference. It wasn't until Paul Weigand yelled at me before the maiden voyage that I knew something was wrong.

Even if I reversed the decals onto the other sides, one flag would still have the stars on the wrong side. Oh, I see your point now. I think that they are just coming off all together and i'll replace them with some RCU decals.

gwright

the hacker 90 acro controller will be your best bet,.. and put a gearbox on that motor so you can spin a real prop instead of the little toothpick, and you should be OK
2500 to 3000 watts in bursts should be enough for docile sport flying, but you're going to need a real prop. Find a gearset that will allow the 26X15 or 27X13 APC "E" prop and you should be much better off.

Darrell B.

What about the Hacker 135 Amp controller? Does the 90 have that many extra features that the 135 isn't a consideration? My rule has always been to have not just enough, but extra room on the ESC for unexpected current spikes. If this system is going to pull atleast 95 Amps, wouldn't it make more sense to go with the higher rating. The 135 is also lighter, and less expensive.
Just a thought!

Good Luck Greg,
Darrell B.

Greg Covey

Darrell,

You have a good point. Henke conveyed that the 90-O is good for coping with high current for long periods but the less expensive 135-O should easy handle 80-90amps if it is rated for 135amps continuous. I also plan to move the ESC outside the motor mount box into the cowl so it gets forced air cooling like the Actro motor does now.

My cost is already dropping to $329 at Esprit from everyones help. Thanks!

Gary left the short answer above in a post and sent me the long one via e-mail. In short, he is a proponant of efficiency and is a fantastic 3D pilot. His terms "toothpick" and "docile sport flying" are friendly pokes at my current focus on reducing cost, maintenance, and complexity. He does like outrunners for smaller projects since the efficiency is much closer to geared high Kv motors then. Be sure to check out some of his latest designs at [link=http://www.gwmp.net/]Gary Wright Model Products[/link].

gwright

the 135-O-F5B (glider competition) is a competition controller, designed for very high power,..i.e. high current, full throttle, in bursts. The master-90-ACRO was designed for aerobatic planes, long flights with LOTS of part throttle at high efficiency while staying cool. The F5B controller is setup for extreme fast startup (what you want f5B use ). There's lots of headroom in both controllers as far as current is concerned, but the 90-acro is the appropriate choice for this application, the 135 is not.

Darrell B.

Thanks for clarifying that for me. It just looked like an option!

Darrell B.

Greg Covey

Thanks, Gary.

Ok, I'm back up to $389 again but with a confident choice.

rm

My Feedback: (27)

$329.80 from Nippon Dave.

http://www.aircraft-world.com/

I got great service from him.

Sean Plummer

Hi rm,

Please note Hacker Brushless USA, will not warranty any Hacker products purchased form Aircraft World in JAPAN.
Others have received Great Service from a Purchase stand point, however if they ever have a problem things are not so Great......

Best Regards,
Sean Plummer
Hacker Brushless USA, Inc.

Matt Kirsch

My Feedback: (21)

It wouldn't be the first time a big outrunner was geared down.

A gent over on Ezone put an AXI 4120 with a belt reduction drive on a 10lb Lanier Stinger 120 a while back:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...+belt+tom+hunt

Here's the source of the belt drives:
http://www.modelairtech.com/