Hi all,

We have finished the Rev-Pro just in time for this past weekends pattern contest here in Phoenix. Sean Plummer and I worked on the plane all last week, while sick, adding to the "excitement" of finishing the plane for the weekend.

Here are the specs:

Airplane: Composite-ARF Revolution-Pro
Weight: 10 lb 13 oz
Motor: Hacker C-50 14XL Acro 6.7:1
Controller: Master 77 3P Opto
Batteries: Thunder Power 6100 10S3P HD (prototype pack)
Radio: Futaba 9ZAP
Servos: Ail: 9252's, Elv: 9650's, Rud: 9151
Prop: APC-E 22x12
Rx battery: Duralite 1900 2S2P Li-Ion with 6V regulator

Everything was mostly stock. The firewall and landing gear/parts were not glued in per my request. I had changed them a bit for the Hacker set-up. The landing gear was mounted further down in the belly pan area rather than in the fuselage. We did eliminate 1 former for the landing gear, but it was "replaced" by the battery floor. It still needs a slightly taller gear as I only have about 3/4" prop clearance. We used the same nose ring assembly as in the Rhapsody, but had to make a smaller rear mount. I mounted the 9650's in the stabs instead of the 1 servo under the canopy area. The Rx pack was at the rear of the canopy, with the rudder servo. The TP pack was also mounted up against the wing tube to help get the CG in the correct position.

The plane weighs 10 lb 13 oz, with no unnecessary modifications. This is about a 6-ounce heavier set-up than what the Rhapsody was. The batteries (High-Discharge over regular) are 3 ounces heavier and the motor (C instead of B) is 3 ounces heavier. I also am using a Tru-Turn spinner instead of the stock carbon one, which is about an ounce. So I could have it down to 10 lb 6 oz if I wanted to, but the way it flies...there is no need.

I have a total of 8 flights on it now, counting the contest flights. It has no aileron mix and 5% and 2% rudder/elevator mix. I still have to do somemore set-up with it to get it "perfect", but it's fairly close right now.

Here are a couple of pics, courtesy of Kyle Mashima. The 1st one shows the plane together. The 2nd is a forward looking shot showing the battery and motor area.

Here are some links for the above products:

Composite-ARF: http://www.composite-arf.com/ar/Pag...rame.first.tmpl
Hacker Brushless: http://www.hackerbrushless.com/
Thunder Power: http://www.thunderpower-batteries.com/
Futaba: http://www.futabarc.com/
APC: http://www.apcprop.com/
Duralite: http://www.duralitebatteries.com/

Jason,

After seeing your and Tony's posts I am convinced this is what I want to do next. I have been practicing Masters this winter with a brushless/Li-Po GWS Formosa and really am impressed with the "tractor-like" pull and instant response. This little plane flys with more authority than my YS 140 and Webra-powered 2-meter ships.

One question. I have gone to the Hacker site and there is no mention of a C-50 14XL, only reference to 14v monster truck versions of the C-50. How do we find information on the product and ordering?

Thanks,

Don McCullough
NSRCA 1520

Real nice Jason and the recent price reduction on the Rev Pro is nice too. Will Composite-Arf be doing a electric version, by that I mean formers and motor mounts for electric? What kind of life cycle do the Hackers have? It seems like battery's are going the way of the computer, things are changing very fast, when will these battery's be available to the public? I'll probably wait a couple of more year to see how everything last and what is coming down the road, but you have proven the electrics are here to stay.
Thanks
Steve Maxwell

Hey Jason,

The plane looks great im thinking bout going to the electric 2.But the only problem is i have a little problem with batteries(i dont watch them to close)post more pics if u have any.

Thanks ,Ac Glenn

OK, finally found the C-50 aero burried under the C-40/50 truck section in the Hacker site. Does anyone know the specifications (other than Kv) for the C-50 14XL?

Hello Jason.
I have a question regarding choice of batteries.
I see that you are using a battery with a 6.1 Ah capacity in your new model. I was following the day to day reports from last years WC (congratulations, you did a fantastic job.) and got the understanding thay you were flying the 8Ah capacity TP packs in the contest, although somebody reported that you had tried lower capacity batteries as well in practice. (The cause for going back to 8Ah was given as overheated tabs, I have no idea of this information is correct.) Your model weight is quoted as 10 lbs 13 oz, which actually is comparatively heavy. As far as I can gather from information on the internet, the Germans (for instance) are flying models like the e-factor at weights like 3600 gram (8 lbs.) with 4 Ah batteries. (Typically 10s2p (2 x 2000 mAh cells)
I am currently finishing an own design F3A model (1980mm length, 1880mm WS, all built up) and expect the total weight to be approx. 3800 - 4000 g (8.5 - 9 lbs).
Do you think that the new generation TP cells would be suitable in a 2p configuration (4 Ah) or do you think that the 3p (6Ah) is required?
I currently have a slightly smaller (F3A style) model which weighs 3800 g (8.5 lbs) with a Hacker C-50 12 XL. In this model I use 10s2p Irate cells (4.4 Ah) which gives me both sufficient power and flight duration (15 minutes, which is more than enough.)
To save weight I would hope that 4 Ah TP batteries would be suitable. Provided that the batteries can take the load, I would be happy with a flight time of not more than 11-12 minutes. (In my current F3A model with a YS 140 engine, I empty the 16 oz tank in about 11 minutes.)
Your advice would be most welcome.
Thank you, and best regards from Norway.
Magne

The Hacker website will be going through some revamping in the coming weeks. We are working on getting the application chart up for the C-50 series in the meantime.

Comp-ARF now has the former templates that we made while putting the Rev-Pro together. I don't know when they will offer the E-version, but I would imagine with-in 2 months. They are releasing a bunch of planes at this time so this is where it falls in line. Don't know the life of a Hacker, but the one in the Funtana flown at the 2002 TOC is still flying on its original set-up. If you treat it well, it will treat you well. The new batteries are going to be available with-in a month or 2 if I remember correctly.

I had flown the 8A batteries, but only before the competition. I could not make weight with them, that is why we used the 6A ones. I only flew 10 minutes or less because I knew that I was pushing the limits on the batteries running this set-up. I did fly a few 12-minute flights, and everything was fine, but I didn't have a need for many of those long of flights. I never did have any problems with any of the packs (8A or 6A packs) while I was at the Worlds. I did "weaken" a Worlds pack a couple of weeks ago. We were testing the Funtana and I shouldn't have flown it soo long and I think I ruined a pack. Expensive lesson learned.
The model is heavy by electric pattern plane standards. Remember though, this is a glow plane that was converted. The E-Factor is a great e-pattern design, but the original is not a competitive F3A machine. I have not seen or flown the new version so can't comment on it.
As for the battery questions, I would ask Charlie at TP about that. I don't know enough about it to comment on it. I know that in my F3A rounds, I was using anywhere from 4200-4400mAh each time. We had talked about trying a 2P pack, until we remembered what we were using each round.

Hey Magne,

Don't know if Magne is a very common name in Norway but are you the one that used to fly F3A with us here in Scotland? Are you still flying F3A?

Regards

Malcolm Harris

Hello Malcolm, long time no see.
Yes I am, I will send you a private e-mail.
Best regards,
Magne