Pattern out runners in the 300.00 range
 

I entered a pattern contest last weekend with m Reed Falcon. Flew in the Intermidiate class and did better then I was expecting. Pretty much renewed my interest in pattern. I bought a second hand Symphony, while not cutting edge by today's standards it will do well for me in intermediate. It was originally set up for YS power but I am leaning to convert over to E power. I know there will be some rework involved to remove the unnessesary weight. Right now I am leaning towards the AXI FAI motor and the Jeti advance controller. Any thoughts?

Are you asking with a $300 dollar range because of a limited budget??? I just bought a motor out of the classified section. It was used but gently used. I bought a Hacker A60-7Sv2. I know it is not a newer style motor and they make one that is lighter. However I picked it up for $150.00 and that thing is a monster. I too fly the 402 sequence. So far it feels excellent. I would suggest looking in classifieds.

I have looked in the classifieds here and at RCG. Nothing there. I'm not really budget limited but would really like to keep the power package including 3 sets of batteries and a good charger in the 1,000.00 range. It makes justification a little easier when the wife looks around and sees a 40% IMAC airplane, several 3 meter sailplanes, a race airplane and half a dozen sport planes. I would love a geared setup as I understand they are less torque and a bit better on effeicentcy however out runner is less expensive.

This is exact same as I purchased off from RCG.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/market/ite...itemId=1075762.

Interesting, can you give me more information? What prop are you running? Airplane weight? Battery setup? Amperage used per flight ( on average consumed during your particular sequence)

I will give that some serious consideration based on your data.

thanks much

$299.99 .... Under $300
Very nice motor for F3A
http://www.f3aunlimited.com/himax-hc6330pro

Ditto. I have 2 and they run cooler than my Hacker A60-7Sv2, and around 50 grams lighter. Great power.

Big_G is correct. The hacker motor does run a little hotter than most. But with that being said. I am using a 20x12 apc prop. Pulling 78amps. I am still breaking brand new packs in. Have only been flying 5 mins. The cells have been coming down at about 3.82 to 3.84. Been putting back around 5000mah combined on two 5s packs. The packs are Turnigy 5S 25c 5000mah. They are on the heavier side for most pattern flyers. But perform just fine for me. I won't be going to Nats anytime soon. And most of our local contests don't weigh the planes at all. I have not put my plane on any scale yet. I just put 3 flights on it tonight which now makes a grand total of 7 flights since I got this Vanquish 2m finished and flying.

The power is amazing. And it is really quiet...

sorry 20x13 prop.

SpeedRacer
Check your RCU PM

Woodie

With the Himax previously mentioned and Castle Creations 80HV ESC you will have a pretty good combination for a reasonable price. I have a flying buddy that uses this combination on his Vanquish and it works very well. He actually had to adjust his throttle curve to detune the motor to keep from overpowering his plane and accelorating on the level and uplines, if you can believe such a thing.

Sheldon

Looks like I have come to a decision. The Hacker motor that is currently listed in the classifieds is one choice, I am just waiting for the member to log on and accept my offer. I also have a flying buddy step forward with a good deal on a Himax. I will be picking up both motors and trying them and sticking with the one that works best and hold the other for a backup or future project. I have also selected the OS 1100 speed control after talking to a couple guys who have been using them. One has a couple extra and has agreed to sell one to me. Looks like I am pretty well covered on the power system. Now to figure out the servo situation. It looks like the airplane has been set up for a single elevator servo with dual pushrods. Not a big fan of that. I would like to mount dual elevator servos in the tail if I can easily get the correct CG that way. What I imagine my need would be is a mini digital servo HV in the 75-100 oz torque range with good centering. I'm not married to any brand. So now time to study up on servos.

The Himax is a great motor, I'm using one, tons of power, I had to reduce the inpoints, making to much power

Either motor will do just fine.. Its just a preference things. Glad things are coming together for you... Good luck with the servos. A ton more options now a days. But again just about any brand will work just fine.

Well a couple of thoughts here; I'm not familiar with that particular Hacker motor, but be aware that OS speed controls and 28 pole Hacker motors do not play well together. Also, since Aero-Model went out of business and that Lee Estingoy who used to be with Castle took over the import/distributor/repair stuff for Hacker, it's just not very good service at all.

That said, if the Hacker is a 28 pole motor, you'd be much better off with a Jeti ESC.

After two days the owner of the Hacker had not accepted my offer so I retracted the offer. Granted we all are busy during holidays but why post an ad if you are unable to check on it at least once a day. I will be going with the Himax.

I'd say that's a good choice. After having experienced issues with Lee myself as well as friends having issues, I got rid of my Pattern size Hackers and went to Pletty's. The smaller Hackers I'll keep but won't be buying any more of them, too many other good options now.

I thought an update was in order. I had gone and picked up the Symphony. Built very straight but the quality of finish is mediocre. Still very happy with what I got for 225.00. The first task was to strip out all the unnessesary structure to convert from YS power to E power. Luckily the prep work prior to bonding all the parts into the fuse was not really done properly so everything pulled out easily. At the end of the day I had a 3 lb box full of junk. With the help of a couple local pattern pilots I had a Himax 6330-210 motor and the OS HC1100 speed control in hand and set out to get them mounted. I bagged up some ply/CF laminate and started making templates. Once the new firewall, battery tray and gear plate were cut they were epoxied into place. Next was to use the same material to make a rudder servo tray and mounts for the wing adjusters. In all it was a fairly easy job. The airplane flew a couple weeks ago and was really showing some potential. First I tried an APC 20x15 due to the gear being a little on the short side. No lack of performance but speed was a bit difficult to control. Next was a 20.5x14. Much easier to control speed and showed that a little more right thrust was needed. When installing the firewall I simply matched up the nose ring knowing that small adjustments would be needed but felt it was a good starting point. It also became apparent that it was a bit tail heavy. I had expected this as I installed elevator servos in the tail. First round of adjustments was to make a tray to mount the RX battery behind the motor and to add 1 more degree of right thrust. I also bolted on a 21x14 prop. Today the airplane was flying contest worthy. I will however go back to the 20.5x14. Today I was able to run through the Intermidiate sequence twice per flight however I will stop that practice as upon recharge I replaced on average 4700 mah into each battery. Previous flights that I would fly for approx 10 min had me putting an average of 2700 back in. In all I am very happy with the result. Next weekend will be its first time in battle, I will post results.

More.

At $225 I'd say you stole that airframe. If I could find such a deal I'd jump on it with both feet. Not literally of course. LOL How much of the three pounds did you put back converting to electric?

Ken

Ken, I should have weighed the new structural peices but I did not. My guess would be 6 to 8 oz. of course there then comes the motor controller and a pair of 5 cell 5,000 batteries. I still need to weigh the airplane as a whole but I do not think I have exceeded 11 lbs. I drove up to Reno today and flew at 5,000 ft. The airplane flew through the Intermidiate sequence with ease. The plan at this point is to fly the remaining 3 contests this season and then do a full refinish. The fuse is painted with Lusterkote which is heavy paint. During the repaint the wings will be covered with.2 oz CF veil as per MTK's method and the airplane painted with DuPont Chroma base/clear.

So how was flying in Reno???

The flying was good but the wife says the wine was better.

The wife is always right.