I am also using example A in Ken's link-- NO crossing; straight servo arm (except that I am using a tiller bar/ bellcrank system), rudder attachment points on hinge line.

Ken,

What do you think about the Gen 1 vs Gen 2? It's so much cheaper

Hey BoneDoc,

You won’t go wrong with the old one as it fly’s great and I absolutely love mine. The new one is lighter and has more wing and that’s usually better as it can give you more time if you screw up. There is a thread in the ARF section of RCU with much information regarding the old Edge.

Ken

Ah yes the powerplant arrives. What a beauty. Everything here weighs 4 pounds 2.4 ounces. Add a battery and switch and I'm at 4.5 pounds. Compare that to a Moki 2.10 setup which would weigh 3.7 pounds. 12 ounces more for a gasser (with quite a bit more power).

Finally completed this ARF. Covered it in a Red Bull scheme,at least on the top...ran out of that cool "diamond plate" vinyl for the underside. AUW is 15 lbs 14 ounces (no fuel tank installed yet) so it should come in close to 16lbs flat which is in the spec given on BME's website of 15 to 16lbs. Not bad, and very close to my EF Yak which was around 15lbs 13 ounces. In my Yak, I didn't use any switches...also used nimh's. In the Edge, I installed regulators/switches and li-ion batteries (5700 for receiver and 2800 for ign.) The li-ion batteries from Troy Built Models are probably heavier than the nimh packs. So, if I had set up the Yak in a similar fashion, it would probably be identical in weight.

One note for those who are still putting it together: The carbon fiber tail strut is a bit of a joke. Try flexing it and it will likely delaminate at the bend. My fix was to lightly sand the strut and wrap 2oz fiberglass cloth around it tightly and then drizzling thin CA all over it, see pics. Seems fine now even if it isn't the best looking fix ever! Could always paint it black (now I know what the Stones were talkin' about!...

Will try and maiden it tomorrow (weather permitting) and let u guys know how it stacks up against the Yak!

Here are some pics...please excuse all the finger marks on the monokote...still have to windex it up for tomorrow.

SydDythers,

Looks great! Good luck and have fun with the maiden.

Ken

Syd,

Whose control horns are those?

Also who's control rods? Central Hobbies CF w/ titanium ends?

Nice work Syd! As I mentioned several posts ago I also had my T/W bracket delaminate on me. I haven't decided how to fix it yet but am thinking about cutting a couple of slots thru the angle/bend with a diamond dremel wheel and glue a couple CF strips across the bend in those slots. Let me know how your fix works as it looks like a lot less work.
Your AUW is very encouraging. Will you be able to fly it this weekend? We're all waiting for your flight report. At that weight I suspect you will be smiling when you get home.
I am still waiting for parts to finish mine; but hopefully will be able to get it done by next weekend.

I'll be going out later this afternoon for the maiden. My stupid birthday lunch with the family is preventing me from going out earlier [:@]

The control arms are the stock carbon fiber rods and ends. I just used JB Weld to secure the ends and then put some shrink tubing around it to squeeze and hold the JB in place. I wish I could remember if it was Great Planes or Hangar 9 (I think it is the latter) who make the HD control horns.

The tail wheel should hold up just fine. I can let the tail drop from way up high and it doesn't crack the cf at all when it hits the ground.

I'll get back to you fella's on the maiden later tonight!

Cheers,

John

Wow! Plane looks great! I might be looking to buy one of these down the road, a friend has the old version and it flys great.
I sure wish they would leave out the rainbow stripes, great looking scheme with out them.
My poor photoshop skills below.[sm=lol.gif]

Got out to the field this afternoon but have no flight report as the DA50 was DOA and I couldn't get it to run properly. Will try again tomorrow when a friend brings his DA to bolt on instead.

Cheers,

John

Can anyone comment on how the Edge II's CG balance with the DA50? I know that one guy used 3 1/2 inch stand off's. Where did the rx battery have to be placed for this? I'm assuming that the person used the stock position for the pull pull rudder servo. Also I'm using the Slimline pitts (adds nose weight). What kind of spinner and prop did you use? Were the choke and throttle servo up front behind the firewall?

Mine is balanced close to 5.5 inches. The 2cell 2700mah li-ion ign. battery is up on the side of the engine box along with the electronic ignition and smartfly ign. I am using a DA50 with Slimline pitts. I added 1/2" worth of washers behind each standoff to get the engine forward. The total added weight of the spacers is probably two ounces. The receiver battery is velcroed underneath the aft part of the fuel tank tray (just ahead of the wingtube) and is a 4 cell 4800mah li-ion. I cut out a hole to mount my throttle servo on the bottom of the engine box. I am using a manual choke made from a ball link and carbon rod that extends to the front of the cowl. Everything else is in stock position.

Guys:

Here is a fifth grade way to calculate engine offset. Using a 50 cent protractor, take a piece of paper, lay lengthwise in front of you and draw a right angle somewhere towards the edge of the paper, with the vertical line representing the firewall, and the horizontal line representing 0 degree thrustline. Measure the distance from the firewall to the back of the spinner, let’s say 6 inches. Measure six inches from the firewall on the horizontal line and place the protractor on the line. Select what offset you want, ( 0 to ? degree) and draw a line back to the firewall. The distance between that line and the center line is your offset and your spinner backplate will be on exact center of the thrustline. simple.

P

Thanks for the info. That's a nice covering job there. Did you ever get to flying it? I still have yet to hear flight reports.

Unfortunately, it never got in the air due to the fact that the darn engine wouldn't start. Off to D"O"A it went today [:'(]

A club member may loan me his DA50 this weekend just so I can get a flight on the darn airplane


Cheers,

John

When did you purchase your engine? From DA direct? I just bought one last week, hopefully no issues. Maybe I should make an engine stand to run it before winter sets in. That way it will be ready to fly in spring.

I have two of them...one I bought used and one new. I bought the new one from an online store here in Canada. Both worked great initially but then I started to experience problems with them after about 2 gallons. I sent the first one in but DA couldn't find anything wrong with it and sent it back. Didn't take me long to send it back to them again...it ran on the first try and then nothing after that.

Cheers,

John

I was able to assemble my Edge and do weight and balance estimates. I did this without a muffler. I have the Standard DA50 muffler but am waiting to receive the JTec "muffler" that I ordered last week hoping to minimize the cowl opening required. The plane balanced at 5.5 inches from the LE with both batteries in the motor box. It would be very difficult to make that balance point with the servos in the tail. I am using a single elevator servo (5955) and a pushrod/bellcrank system of my own design. The elevator and rudder servos are midship; the throttle servo is just behind the firewall. I used the standard DA50 standoffs and didn't do anything to lengthen the nose moment.
The weight with no muffler, no wheelpants, and no spinner is 14.9 lbs. The pants are 3oz the muffler will be about 5oz and a CF spinner is ?oz; so I should be right around 15.5lbs as I add that stuff. I'm not sure I will go with the pants or the spinner; but just in case, does anyone have a recommendation for a good CF spinner?

Bob

I didn't seem to have too much balancing mine at 5.5 with two elevator servos in the tail. In fact only my ign. battery is on the motor box. The receiver batt is under the aft part of the tank tray. About the only CF spinner manufacturer out there seems to be Pete Models and you can find them on RCShowcase, Troybuiltmodels etc...

Bisson does a nice fiberglass spinner which I actually prefer (I've tried both of them) because it seems a bit stronger to me.

John

WooHoo! Looks like I will be able to get mine built at 15 lbs even with an MVVS 45. I was starting to wonder!

John-- I probably would have been able to balance mine with servos in the tail if I had not exchanged the 8 oz firewall supplied with a 1.5 oz firewall I made out of carbon fiber laminate; also you moved your motor forward about a half inch with spacer washers which weighed about 2oz thereby adding to the nose moment ( and adding nose weight). You probably have the equivalent of a pound more in the nose than I do; that's why I went with the single elevator servo mounted near the wing tube while you were able to use two elevator servos mounted in the tail.

Bob

True enough. I did trim about 3 ounces off the firewall by cutting out quite a bit in the middle. So it's a wash with the added spacers. That dang thing is heavy though isn't it?!! Was going to go the light ply route but was eager to get flying. Might do it over the winter.

John

The firewall is total overkill. Instead of figuring out a way to lighten the tail the designer decided to sort of take the easy out and add a small brick to the nose. I have never seen such dense plywood. On the other hand light ply firewalls can be nasty in their own way. I have had a couple delaminate on me over the years. If you do use a light ply make sure to do something at the corner joints to incorporate all the plys into the joint. My favorite method is to cut thru the corner joints with a fine saw and then cut triangles from medium thin carbon mat (.0125) and glue them into the saw kerfs. Very light and very strong.

Bob