GAGE308

My Feedback: (4)

OK!...Here I go Replying to myself again..LOL....NAh...actually CRITTER May be able to answer me again...I just want to thank you(critterhunter) and everyone else thats been kicking me the pointers that are keeping me in line..OK...NOW...I Got it all hooked up and it IS working...I followed the directions for the v-tail mixing and it IS DOING THAT....HOWEVER...It is set up so that the right stick is controlling the elevation and the Left stick is the throttle along with the steering. Now I Know that this is the way a lot of systems operate...I mean Ive heard of regular tail systems being operated with the rudder on the left stick...I JUST really was hoping that I could operate it in the single stick mode(like the hobbyzone setup) with still using the left stick for throttle only...so...Can I fix this?....I GUESS I can learn to feel comfy flying like this...I just wish I could have switched to this way of flight control on my own...LOL....Thanks again
DV

RedBullVegas

Made a few more flights with the composite "pro-tail" last night. Never thought I would see an Aerobird Challenger fly so long inverted. I will try to get a video posted this weekend. I can't imagine what this thing would do if you wild throws from the Tx you two are talking about. Well, excited to say the least very happy. I think I will market them.

erauskydiver

I figured out how to stop having to fuss with those damn fishing lines. Take a small pushrod and clevis. Cut the end of the pushrod off, so that you are left with just the threaded portion and about 1/4" of non threaded portion. Now bend the nonthreaded portion back over itself, making a loop. Tie the fishing line onto this loop, screw and the clevis onto the threaded end of pushrod. Now just attach the clevis to the the tail horn as normal. To adjust the tension in the lines, all you have to do now is screw the clevis just as if it was on a normal pushrod control system. No more dealing with those damn spools and knot tieing.

tims880

That sounds like a good idea! Im gonna have to check into that!

critterhunter

Sorry it took so long to respond...haven't flown much lately as I've been killing deer, ducks, geese, whatever I can eat. By the way, as a goose hunter I've observed that when they want to loose altitude really fast to make a landing (like fighting a strong head wind that is keeping them up), they will dip from side to side to loose air under the wings without moving the wings. Tried that with my Challenger and it works great if you have good throw that will allow quick left/right dips of the wings. Some times it works better than pushing forward on the stick to dive and ending up speeding up the plane in the process which this won't do.

OK...on the JR SX600 radio questions...I have stick movement just like the stock Stryker/Challenger/Extreme. That is, the right stick controls up/down/right/left and the left controls throttle. My guess is you have one of the servos plugged into the wrong channel on the RX...or don't have it set for DELTA WING ON mode with all others OFF. If the flap movement is reversed then you can swap the two servo plugs in the RX or you can reverse them in the computer on the radio. I prefer to not reverse servos in the computer unless I have to. Makes setup easier to remember in the event that I have to re-program in the future. I also prefer having the throttle stick at it's lowest position for NEUTRAL or OFF. Remember that most ESCs need to see that throttle at zero when powered up. You can also reverse the throttle in the computer to get things the way you need them should a certain ESC require something strange...allowing you to keep the stick at it's lowest position for OFF. Also notice how far you have to push the throttle forward to engage the motor. If it takes much travel then simply adjust the trim for the throttle to give a snappier response to stick movement. Haven't played with Expotential yet so I won't comment on it. Dual rates are the two switches on the face of the radio at the upper right and left. When in the computer settings at dual rations you can flip those switches and see the values they have.

The battery that came with the radio did not last very long at all the first four or five times I charged it. I maybe got an hour to an hour and a half at charge. That has improved as the battery became conditioned. You can buy higher MA packs for the radio but I can live with it. Problem is the thing takes a long time to charge with it's stock charger. I'm planning on wiring up a charger plug for my Piranha digital peak charger so I can charge it at a faster rate...though you can't charge them as fast you a Nihm plane pack.

RedBullVegas

Hey, geese taste like chicken and chicken are much easier to hunt LOL then you could have more time to post.


Happy Hunting.

GAGE308

My Feedback: (4)

THanks Critter H....Funny thing...I FInally got the sx600 working like I want it last night....I had remembered you commenting in a prior post abou having to put it on Delta...So I fiddled with that and it worked like a charm...BUT....I THought that I would get used to the steering being on the left...LOL>..Bad idea...I took it for a test flight... after I got it all asssmbled I had about 30 minute of time before Sunset...OK...PACK THE Car Up...Race to the Field at the local School...('there shouldnt be any softball of sport practice at this time in the day")...Pulled up...and some HARDCORE DAD had is Daughter Pitching in the field...DAMNIT!!!!...when Im not sure how Things will work...Ilke to be alone...lOL>..ok..No time to waste...Plop the wing on....quick control test and OFF SHE GOES....at a Seemingly FAster Speeed...the plane Burst into the air and made its way all the way across the field where I usuallymake my turn to begin the trip back....STart into the turn and NOSEDIVE Into the ground...EVeryone started laughing...and I killed them,,LOL...Just Kidding,,,,But It seems that when I went to steer....Doing my old Pull back on the stick routine as I turn wont work when the pulling back THrottles down...LOL>..OOPS....By the time I realized what I did and Pulleed back on the right and pushed forward on the left ...LOL..it was just enough to give it ONE MORE BURST of Speed STraight into the ground...LOL....BUT....I took her home...all I needed was a new tail wing...and Set the TX up the RIGHT WAY...and IM in Business...But thanks again for your advice...I just picked up my new GWS SLow STick tonight...Going to start getting that ready....OK....Take it easy guys...I'll ttyl.
DV

critterhunter

The Challenger/Extreme I think use rudder/elevator setups, so you would think you'd need the servos plugged into those two ports on the RX. In my case, I had to use elevator and aerlion ports to make it work right with the right stick. This is also how I have the Stryker setup, and all planes use Delta ON for plane type. Then just make sure the flap movement is right and if it isn't you could probably either reverse the servo plugs or just reverse the servos in the computer. The Stryker flap movement is reversed compared to the Challenger/Extreme in order to fly right. Dual rates is great and I use that a lot. I set low for mild and partly wild flight and high at extreme movement for when I really want to pull some Gs.

RedBullVegas

If you want to see a composite "pro-tail" in action on the ABC go here to the bottom of the page.
www.putfile.com/hottsone the other video is what it looks like and it is alot stronger than the foam
do-it-yourself glue and tape method.[img]

airganism

SHOE GOO!!!!! IT IS SO GREAT! HAS JUST ENOUGH FLEX TO ABSORB VIBES LIKE STYRO BUT HOLDS AS GOOD (OR BETTER)THAN EPOXY. I REPAIRED A ZAGI WING WITH IT AND FELT LIKE A GENIUS FOR HAVING THOUGHT OF IT.
ANYBODY WHO IS ANYBODY...HAS A TUBE OF SHOE GOO.

GAGE308

My Feedback: (4)

so you are saying that shoe goo is good for repairing styro wings?....Just curious...im constantly in need of fixing different wings. I Know the Hobby shop sells it.

RedBullVegas

I like shoe goo. But some good ole' Elmers White Glue works well for me. I have repaired MANY broken-in-half Challenger wings before I finally cut out a channel and put a carbon fibre rod through the top of it. It goes on easy, dries clear and it HOLDS strong. Plus it may be cheaper.....Unless you live in a geographical odity....two weeks from anywhere. Sorry, borrowed that from a movie.

peanut chomper

hi all
Not had the ABX long ( 4 mths),but soon discovered that the tail was very weak, had a look around the web and saw all the alternative tails OR the "how to strengthen" ones.
The main thing with me is that i`m as tight as a ducks rear end, so eventually thought i`d make my own instead of shelling out every time i so much as looked at the tail.
The material i chose is a type of corragated plastic called coraplast OR correx (uk) all i did was basically draw around the original on to a piece then cut it out with scissors, made the matching cuts and installed it on to the ABX just like the original one.
Took it out today and flew it for 2 batteries worth ( with lots of motor off using wind) and it worked GREAT the correx cost me nothing , they use this stuff for FOR SALE signs in the UK( so get friendly with an estate agent for your free tail replacement, (btw i`m not the best at landing and have to belly it in on the grass , even when the plane went rear over front the tail was in perfect nick, so it really is a MASSIVE improvement over the original)
best thing now is that i can experiment with my own designs for even more control !!(or less??)
i`ll get some pix ULed later cheers PUT A COUPLE OF PIX IN GALLERY

GAGE308

My Feedback: (4)

OH YEAH.....Thats an awesome Idea dude. Ive been Doing that for about a year now...The coroplats works well...But Ive found luck using that Strong xacto fiberboard.....I Guess pretty much anything will work well as opposed to paying that CRAZY Price that Hobby zone charges for them.

peanut chomper

cheers Gage
it really is tough, and worth the five minutes it takes to make, my next "project" is the flimsy control horns (broken a few of those too) of course i`m not wanting to just go out and buy stronger ones , i NEED to source and make them as cheaply as possible .....i`ve noticed that the trim adjustment mechanism also gets a little loose after a while , so thats on the improvement list too.
Just out of interest do you guys think it would be possible to make a WING for the ABX using correx???or for that matter an entire plane , i have the remains of a 2 CH ,twin motor pusher type plane which i totaled a while back and was thinking of putting it (the remains that is) into a correx based model for my son to fly (12yo) ..the gear works from just 2 sticks ..left =rev(climb) right=L&R revs 1 of the other motor more to provide steering.

GAGE308

My Feedback: (4)

well as far as a wing goes./...I Doubt it,....I actually dont use the stcok ABX anymore...Ive since gutted mine and filled it full of premier Rc parts...such as a Jetti Brushless motor...JR reciever and a Castle creations brushless ESC...I also converted to Control RODS as opposed to the lines and rubber band method...all it takes is for a rubber band to break in midglight and GOODBYE...you loose all control and all everything hooked onto it..LOL.
I actually made a slow stick TYPE Plane with a balsa Frontal fueslage and an Twin aluminum tail connected to a Rudder and elevator made from the black xacto fiberboard...Ive designed the Front to Carry a Digital cam On TOP...and I Use an ABX Wing/....I Think its just great for use in alot of applications.
Good luck with the ABX...But as far as Long term use...Please take my advice,,,,If you wanna keep your Cameras and so forth...The Extreme as a stock Bird is OK...But it WILL...repeat WILL Fail at some point...Im not sure of the exact cause...But you Will Lose power at some point and need replacement...something just fries itself in the all in one cuircuit board there....a FINE PLANE...Dont get me wrong...Just not designed to last Very long.
Good flying
Dv

peanut chomper

gage

Looking to get a new fuselage now,about £10 crunched it today, the tail was still intact though.
Got it up for about 20 mins looping and all but did a hardish cartwheel type landing ( getting good at these now)... anyway checked everything for alignment , all seemed ok ,launched it again and it pitched up and hard right ending up nose diving into the ground, rubber nose hanging off,battery came flying out of the cockpit and concertinaed the front , the boom is also turning in the fuse and moving out of the slot ( not tie wrapped straight...next will be). i`m hoping the twisted boom was the cause.
i had some control but obviously not enough!!![&o]

hey BTW have a look here
[link]http://www.mugi.co.uk/[/link]
you may find this interesting , if i start building i think i`ll be using a lot of this stuff (guess people will probably not be able to sell their house for a while either..LOL)[>:]
GAGE any chance of some pix esp of the push rod setup, i`m still using stock radio gear tll i trash it.

GAGE308

My Feedback: (4)

HEY PEANUT CHOMPER-
Cool site that was...It looks liek its Coroplast and then maybe some Thinner of a variety. Pretty neat.
Well Anyway Dude, I Found the Original Post when I Made My First Brushless Conversion of an ABX...Called MONSTER ABX BRUSHLESS Conversion. I LOVE THIS Plane....It is VERY FAST ...and can Climb ALMOST Vertical.....But you cruise along at HALF throttle Its about how a STick ABX Flies at Top speed...Then Slam it....Whatch that Sucker take off....Ive had quite a few Know it alls on here that tell me I should have used a different combination of this,....and a different combination of that...and that I Should have Prayed While it6 Flew...LOL...Just Kidding....It flew fine...I DO However want ti Construct a TALLER Landing assembly....to better house a Gimble of Camera Gear...Since it has the Power to Lift a bit more than what I use in it.... Here Peanut Check it out ( The Post That is)

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_36...tm.htm#3655738


Its just a rough Slam together....But Im prouid of the way she flew...and it maqde things a TON Easier by cutting the roof out for access.
D

peanut chomper

yo Gage
Got the new fuse today £9 ( don`t know what that is in dollars , bout $15 i guess) at least theres no fear with this plane regarding spares, and i can throw it about reasonably roughly without too much worry.
I`ve got to make a start on swapping the guts over , this time however i`m going to incorporate all the mods mentioned previously.
I`ve had a think regarding the horns and have put a pic in the gallery; see what you think?? the horn itself will be a light weight threaded bar drilled at each end , the tension set a little loose so that i`m always tightening to set the trim.
I`ve also seen a large polystyrene glider that will probably take the gubbins from my wrecked "slow stick" for $10.

peanut chomper

HI all
[:@]Maybe the tail isn`t working out to be a big money saver, took it out again ( in a big way ).
Theres got to be something I`m missing here (probably a brain!!) today managed to get a reasonable height then it just peeled off to the right and straight down into the ground nose first (bang goes fuse no 2) if anything the electrics are pretty sturdy coz when i got them out they worked ok.[]
Just starting to get a little wracked off now......is it the mod tail?.... is it the trim set up? .....is it the wind (very little at the time of impact)..or am i just crap?..... if any thing i`d like some tips on setting it up trim wise .....PLEASE HELP..at the moment i do it as follows,
1 turn everything on
2 centre the trim sliders on the TX
3 centre the flaps using the wheels on the control horns (still original)
4 check everythings flapping
5 hand launch , struggle to gain height/control then CRASH
NB i tend to "fly" in pro mode as recommended by the maj of posters

GAGE308

My Feedback: (4)

dude Its hard to say....I mean I Could guess a ton of stuff but Doubt any of it will help...LOL....Im assuming you are still using the hobbyzone electronics and so forth?...One thing that I had to get straight was the fact that when I put the JR servos and rec onboard and tried to fly...I had to set my Dual rate feature WAY DOWN....in other words...I couldnt just allow the Flaps to SLAM Up and DOWN all Fast and full....I lowered the Exponential I Thuink its called just so after a turn a correction to the toher way was possible.

peanut chomper

yeah gage
i think i`m gonna but the abx to1 side for now and get myself a 4 ch cessna i`ve seen with the "proper radio gear", then later on i `ll maybe put a rx and servos in the ABX.
The abx may be a little soon for me? (5 mths exp) in the meantime am also gonna have a look around for a club....its ok doing things on your own but there comes a time when you run out of answers......thanks for the help

D

clovus

Gage,

How do you rate the ABX as a AP ship? I would think it is stable, easy to fly and able to slow fly??

clovus

Oh, yeah,

Sorry to hi-jack the thread and go off topic.

gditeam

This seems like a very old post but it has a lot of useful information. I hope there are still a few of you aerobird extreme flyers in here as I have a few questions on locating some mods for this bird.

I want to change out the fishing line (why would they do that!!!) to a control rod system and was wondering what parts people have used with the stock electronics. I just bought a du-bro pushrod system BUT it is too short 30". Before I go and buy a larger one I was wondering if someone already knows exactly which thing to get to get the entire setup looking good.

Also on the batteries, I heard of someone being able to get about 40+ minutes of flight out of a mod and I was wondering how that was actually accomplished.