STLPilot

My Feedback: (21)

Videozzzzzz ?

Greg Covey

Yes, a video will be done on the Icepoint as well as a formal review write-up.

First, I want to test my new 17" prop out, take some measurements and give my pilot a bit more stick time.

jfitter

FAI F3A limit for electric is 5.5 kg (12.1 lb).

xrboss

Would the Actro 40-6 be a better power plant for this type of aircraft?

Erik Johansson

I´d say the 40-5 would be the best choice from the Actro line, running on 10s if you plan on competing.

/Erik

Greg Covey

Erik is probably right about the Actro 40-5 choice.

I tend to pick the higher Kv motors like the 40-4 because they use thicker wires that allow for greater burst current. I haven't seen my 40-4 wince yet so I will likely push it further when I can get a second Jeti 90-amp ESC.

Still waiting for better weather to test my 17" prop on the Icepoint.

Greg Covey

We flew the Icepoint three times yesterday with the 17" prop and it was noticeably stronger. In fact, it climbs on a knife edge so we could do a knife edge circle. I measured about 1900 watts at 78amps with the 17" APC prop. Upon landing, the motor and battery packs were slightly warm and the ESC was cool. Although an 18" prop may work as well, I will leave that for a future test when the new Jeti 90-amp ESCs become available about mid-May.

On our third and hardest run, we flew the Icepoint in heavy wind performing knife edge loops and strong vertical runs. Under these conditions, our flight duration would not meet the 10 minute FAI routine. For people thinking about a competition setup, the Actro 40-5 motor on a 10s Lithium configuration would likely provide a longer flight duration.

Video coming soon!

Greg Covey

The new Skyvolt packs arrived for my Icepoint. The 4-cell, 3.2AH Kokam packs are pre-wired to a special connector so that each cell can be monitored during charge and discharge for optimal safety, longevity, and investment security. This new approach in Lithium cell safety and protection will be available soon from [link=https://www.fmadirect.com/site/home.htm]FMA Direct[/link].

The Cell Pro 6s Discharge Protection Module (DPM) can monitor up to a 6s Skyvolt pack to provide a warning when the voltage gets low and use any ESC to cut off the voltage to the motor. There are two dip switches on the DPM but Switch #1 currently has no function. The units will work out of the box without doing any setup, but they perform optimally when you tell the units which way low throttle is using Switch #2 and use the learning procedure mentioned in the manual.

Note that two DPMs can be daisy-chained for up to 12s configurations.

The Cell Pro Charge Protection Module (CPM) is used with any Lithium charger to monitor individual cell voltages and disconnect the charger when the first cell reaches 4.3v. This extends pack life by preventing overcharging. Note that this does not balance all the cells in the pack, only the Skyvolt Charger (not shown) provides true cell balancing during a charge.

luc-RCU

yep, not a perfect balancer system which could be used on any charger....
personally , I still use the perfect free balancer: xP packs, hooked in serie for discharge (and mostly charge) and in // for the end of charge.

Greg Covey

Here is my Skyvolt system installed in the Icepoint. The packs are mounted as before but they now connect to the Cell Pro 6s Discharge Protection Module (DPM) instead of directly to the ESC. The ESC control line is then routed through the DPM to control the motor shutoff. Since everything is mounted with Velcro, I can easily swap back to my non-Skyvolt packs and continue flying. The ESC simply reconnects as normal to the receiver.

Setup was easy since everything was plug-n-play. The DIP switch #2 is enabled the first time to learn the off position of your transmitter so that the DPM can properly pulse the motor when the first cell goes below either 2.55v or 3.0v depending upon the DIP switch #1 setting.

The optional LED/Speaker module appears to be quite useful as it relays visible and audible problems. It will be interesting to check if I can hear it in flight but I will most likely rely on the motor pulsing feature. If you leave accidentally your battery connected for an hour with the transmitter off, the audible alert will let you know about it. The LED/Speaker module has many other alert features like checking to see if all the batteries are properly charged and testing for brown out conditions that may mean a loose connection.

Greg Covey

Here are some videos of my UltraRC Icepoint. The winds gusted from 10-15mph so you can see the pilot, Scott Miller, correcting the flight pattern at times. One the second video (which was actually flown first) my belly pan blew off due to the air vacuum created so my hold down technique of using #4 screws and T-nuts was insufficient. We found the belly pan unharmed and I taped it in place for the second flight.

[link=http://www.gregcovey.com/rcu3/Icepoint1.wmv]UltraRC Icepoint Video[/link] (10.2meg)

[link=http://www.gregcovey.com/rcu3/Icepoint2.wmv]Icepoint - Lost Belly Pan[/link] (7.4meg)

xrboss

Does your new setup give flight duration for the full P-05 pattern schedule?

This is very encouraging for us pattern folk sick of oil soaked aeroplanes.

Greg Covey

Hi Ross,

I've been away vacationing for a while so we haven't had any further testing of the Icepoint. My feeling that I submitted with my review is that a better choice for making the 10-minute pattern schedule is to use an Actro 40-5 with a 10-cell pack instead of my 40-4 with an 8-cell pack. This is an untested hunch.

Regards.

Greg Covey

I had an opportunity to beta-test the new FMA Skyvolt system on my Icepoint. The Discharge Protection Modules (DPMs) are wired in series for my 8s configuration. Since each DPM can provide protection for up to a 6s pack, I needed two in series which can handle up to 12s packs.

In addition to protecting the weakest cells in the pack during flight, my Skyvolt system pulses the motor 60 seconds before the cutoff point so I am never stranded in a bad position without motor power. These two main features of the Skyvolt system provided valuable protection for your Lithium pack, plane, and overall investment.

[link=http://www.gregcovey.com/rcu3/Icepoint3.wmv]Icepoint - Skyvolt System Testing[/link] (5meg)

Flying photos by "Papa" Jeff Ring.

Greg Covey

Flying photos by "Papa" Jeff Ring.

Greg Covey

Here are some recent shots of the Icepoint flying at a local show. The Icepoint was piloted by Scott Miller of the local RCCR Club on the left.

PatternPilot

My Feedback: (58)

Just my 2 cents.. I have a Focus II that I converted and using the AXI 5330/18 and using a APC 18x12E prop and the new Castle Creations HV110 drawing 69 amps and 2200 watts no problem with power or time.. The 2 Eplanes placed at the Pocono PA contest last weekend. I have started a thread on the conversion and will write more soon and also for th K-factor.

bike44

It seens that Ultra rc are out of stock of the Ice point. Does anyone know who else sells the unit?


Larry