Air Hogs Aero Ace

[GTO@2]

Don't want to cover up the air intake (if it has one)

[Grasshopper]

Don't want to cover up the air intake (if it has one)

By covering up the holes, I was talking about the holes the props cut in the wings. You're right that you shouldn't cover the motors with anything.

[GTO@2]

oh

I thought he was talking about both:confused:

[heligrom2]

I believe you are correct. I've also had the motors come loose and cut the wing up. I put a piece of clear packing tape over the holes and mount the motors back with a drop or two of low melt hot glue.

thanks, i'm going to go ahead and do that. o guess when you nail the ground on your first flight it'll knock the motors loose. this thing is sooo much different than my bigger foamies. easy to fly but its been to windy here to tell if its me sucking or the wind.

[rahtware]

is anyone else getting this? i've been flying around and i noticed the directly under where the props are there seem to be holes gashed into the foam. could this be from the bottom wings flopping up during a crash and hitting the props?

And yet another reason to go mono!

[GTO@2]

Can I have a video of a mono AA? I would really like to see a video before I cut the bottom wing off.

[lshadow2005]

Hey GTO
Check out post #1299 to see what one looks like and then your hobby knife out and gofor it
You can always glue them back on
Have fun and don't fret
bob

[Dad_Roman]

The thread that brought me here is a motorcycle forum. Its turning into a monster thread over there too with guys runnin to TRU everyday! Some excerpt reading.

Even Dustin cant seem to kill one and THATS sayin alot. Been out in the hanger...er garage, repairin tonight. One thing about the mono wing mod, and the increased speed that accompanies it, is that it becomes possible to do real damage. My little one (20) flew his mono wing in the roman arena tonight (read:backyard) clipped a tree and apparently a twig got in and yanked a motor wire off, right at the engine case! I peeled all the epoxy wire retainer blob off and soldered the wire back together. Since it was flush with the case I didnt have any wire to solder to. Just layed the wire on the end coming out of the case and blobbed away, took 3 trys but I finally got it. New epoxy retainer blob and shes good as new! Damn near killed my nerves!!!http://www.zrxoa.org/forums/images/smilies/pissed.gif

Prop rash on lower wing, a small square of scotch tape will retain any frayed particles and reduce much of the future damage!

The main damages I have seen is from wind or guys messin with em!

My tail boom is cracked so my tail falls out regular but thats it. I let my wings "rash" till they had holes in both sidehttp://www.zrxoa.org/forums/images/smilies/shakinghead.gif ......my bad.

Ry, I also like the starburst, I went with the same, will try to post up some pics later!

BTW, lots of weight go with those stickers RY, remember we are talkin bout a plane that weighs less than 3/4 ounce! Thats why the sharpies!

Windy here tonight also, think I'll fly in the arena a little then post up some pics!

__________________

[Dad_Roman]

Aaaaand the babies!




http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v717/DeadRoman/DCP_0086.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v717/DeadRoman/DCP_0087.jpg

Youve seen El Diablo Narangja
El Diablo Narangja...The Orange Devil aka "Death from Above"
You would not believe the condition of this plane this afternoon, completely disassembled, radio gear and all. Dustin tried eliminating the fuse and going with a "stick"style mono wing. Didnt work so good, might have been attainable but I dont think the design lends itself to that. Flew much better as a "low" mono wing design, even with his trimmed down lower wing.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v717/DeadRoman/DCP_0090.jpg

The Mono wing, fast, smooth, needs more room, still climbs like mad!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v717/DeadRoman/DCP_0091.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v717/DeadRoman/DCP_0093.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v717/DeadRoman/DCP_0092.jpg


Dont forget to put your phone number on the bottom of a wing! Might save your baby someday!

[MegaByte-2]

Hi All;

The full file has been posted. Complete instructions, pictures, commented and schematics.

Installing the Actuator, Mosfets and Connectors

Thanks for all your interest.

Tony
ARS Software & Innovative Solutions
http://www.falcon1.net/~ars/rcmodels.html

[GTO@2]

^^Those planes are amazing! Good job!

[AdamSnow]

The phone number under the wing is a brilliant idea.

I almost lost mine last night at the top of a 50ft pine tree... wind caught it and made it turn... I was able to land safely though... :)

[GTO@2]

I wrote mine (hopefully legible) on my AA's. Thanks for the idea^^^^

[rahtware]

Hi All;

The full file has been posted. Complete instructions, pictures, commented and schematics.

Installing the Actuator, Mosfets and Connectors

Thanks for all your interest.

Tony
ARS Software & Innovative Solutions
http://www.falcon1.net/~ars/rcmodels.html (http://www.falcon1.net/%7Ears/rcmodels.html)

For some reason I'm only getting the first two photos.

[GTO@2]

NOT FOUND


That is what I get

[kenchiroalpha]

hi hank here. im aero ace mad! ive 4 biplanes, 2 jets and the f/16 with more on the way hope to meet some fans in my area clear skies and good flying.

[firemanbill]

Well Hey Hank! We are all a bunch of AHAA!!! nuts around here!

What exactly is your area? We got folks from all over around here!

Welcome!

[GTO@2]

Has anyone dropped an AA from a Firebird Commander in Mid-Flight and hav someone else pilot the AA? That would be really cool.

[AdamSnow]

Hey guys! For anyone in Canada - Toys R Us has the Aero Ace on sale for $19.99 (Regular $39.99) this week...

Toys R Us isn't in town, so I went to Zellers and price matched... bought three more so now everyone in the family as one... :)

Hopefully someone else can get the hot deal!

[Earle]

OOOO-OOOO - I got to try the Commander drop - if I can get my Commander (actually an Aerobird Challenger) to fly right. It's been a real sorry example of a plane for the past month and I can't figure out why except it is probably jeliouse of my AAs. Big issue will be to get enough space between the ground and plane's belly on rolling takeoff.

[firemanbill]

That would be interesting to try!

You guys wanna see something really neat and on a scale a thousand times grander than a ahaa!!! and a commander? Go to

http://www.hodgeshobbies.com/home.html

And watch the giant scale B-29 drop the rocket powered X-15! It is quite a sight to see!

[kenchiroalpha]

hey guys. i hail from west haven ct. this goes to last post. how about dropping the new jet? i can see it now it would be great clear skies and good flying

[Grasshopper]

That would be interesting to try!

You guys wanna see something really neat and on a scale a thousand times grander than a ahaa!!! and a commander? Go to

http://www.hodgeshobbies.com/home.html

And watch the giant scale B-29 drop the rocket powered X-15! It is quite a sight to see!

What a beautiful B-29!! That little X-15 sure comes in hot. And there's something not quite right about a low inverted fly by from a B-29. I was all puckered just watching that.

[reallybaditch]

Just got hooked on homemade micro ducted fans, so the A-10 prototype is on hold while I build a couple working ducted fans to try out.

[MegaByte-2]

Sorry abt the file not found.
My ISP has been doing some upgrading and they were on and offline abt ever 5 -10 min.
I also had some say they couldn't see the pics in the doc.
Found out everyone doesnt have Microsoft Word.
All docs are now pdf files for Adobe Acrobat.

Tony
ARS Software & Innovative Solutions
http://www.falcon1.net/~ars/rcmodels.html (http://www.falcon1.net/~ars/rcmodels.html)

[jfoust]

What a beautiful B-29!! That little X-15 sure comes in hot. And there's something not quite right about a low inverted fly by from a B-29. I was all puckered just watching that.

Same here... That was truly a scary moment! That B29 is an amazing beast... I'd love to have something like that, but I would be terrified every time I took it up in the air :eek:

[GTO@2]

That looks hard to fly...have you guys seen the video of that same X-1 crashing???

http://www.hodgeshobbies.com/gallery.htm

Scroll down to X-1 Dies.

[jfoust]

Hey guys.. I think I'm going to give the turning mod a shot so I can turn with the main power off. I got the directions and everything looks simple enough, but all my soldering has been on wire and never on a PCB. Do I have to de-solder the pads or do I just heat up the pads and slide in the new diodes?

Sorry if it seems like a silly question, but I'm trying to not kill my TX, and I guess it's like they say... The only stupid question is the one you don't ask (or something like that)!

Jeff

[Grasshopper]

Its best to pre tin your diode leades then hold them to the pad and touch it with the iron. Don't try to touch the pad first and then add the wire. I found it helps to put a small bend at the end of the diode wire with a pair of needle nose pliers so it lays flat on the pad instead of sticking straight into it. About 1/32" bend at around 45 degrees is plenty.

[jfoust]

Its best to pre tin your diode leades then hold them to the pad and touch it with the iron. Don't try to touch the pad first and then add the wire. I found it helps to put a small bend at the end of the diode wire with a pair of needle nose pliers so it lays flat on the pad instead of sticking straight into it. About 1/32" bend at around 45 degrees is plenty.

Sounds good to me! That's pretty much what I was thinking I needed to do, but I didn't want to butcher the thing and find out the right way to do it when the damage was already done.

Thanks for the tip! I'll let you know how it turns out!

[Earle]

To Dad Roman - YA -you guys are having too much fun!!!

[jfoust]

Hey grasshopper, I got the turning mod done thanks to you! One more question... While I was in there, screwing around, I got bold and attempted the channel changing mod. Everything works great when I put it on my C channel, but when I hit the switch to go to another channel, the power light flashes. I don't have any way to test the plane since I still just have one AHAA, but it seems like it should probably stay solid. I checked my work and everything looks okay... Is that normal, or do I need to get glasses because I screwed up on a solder point?

Jeff

[Grasshopper]

Hi Jeff,

Glad to hear the turning mod worked out OK. You'll really like it. I can't help you with the channel changing mod since I've never done it. You may be right that you accidentally soldered two traces together. If you have a magnifying glass, you can look closely at it and see. It may also help if you have a second transmitter to compare it to.

Sorry I can't help but hope you get it figured out.

Tom

[jfoust]

Hi Jeff,

Glad to hear the turning mod worked out OK. You'll really like it. I can't help you with the channel changing mod since I've never done it. You may be right that you accidentally soldered two traces together. If you have a magnifying glass, you can look closely at it and see. It may also help if you have a second transmitter to compare it to.

Sorry I can't help but hope you get it figured out.

Tom

Tom,

Right now I'm not too worried about it since my plane works normally, but I would like to be able to fly a friend's spare so we're not on the same channel or whatever... I'm going to test it out tomorrow at work with a friend's channel B and I'll let you know what kind of chaos insues...

I tried to find a magnifying glass when I did the whole thing, but I can't find mine anywhere (of course). I also did the throttle spring removal while i had the TX apart... MUCH nicer, IMHO!

Jeff

[MegaByte-2]

jfoust;

Here is a picture of the easiest points to solder for the Tx Channel change mod.
The red wire goes to the center switch connector and the blue and white go to the other outside connectors for B&C channels.
Hope you can see if you have a bridge connection from the pic.

Tony
ARS Software & Innovative Solutions
http://www.falcon1.net/~ars/rcmodels.html

[jimw1956]

Hey guys.. I think I'm going to give the turning mod a shot so I can turn with the main power off. I got the directions and everything looks simple enough, but all my soldering has been on wire and never on a PCB. Do I have to de-solder the pads or do I just heat up the pads and slide in the new diodes?

Sorry if it seems like a silly question, but I'm trying to not kill my TX, and I guess it's like they say... The only stupid question is the one you don't ask (or something like that)!

Jeff

Jeff, Use a very low wattage iron if you have one...if not you will only need to touch the pads very briefly. If you hold a medium power iron on those tiny pads more than a second or two they may come loose from the board.

[toywizard]

I have a couple of planes that seem to be experiencing "motor drag" that I have read about before.

It means the planes want to pull to he left and will not make a normal right turn even after trimming to the max.

The motors are mounted correctly but you can definatly hear the rpm diff when moving the directional stick from left to right.

I was thinking about taking the one faster motor from one plane and swapping it out with the slower motor on the other plane.

THis way both planes would be equal with one with two fast motors and one with two slow motors.

Unless...............do you guys think its the speed control part of the RX on both planes that is messed up?

The other 7 planes / jets are perfect flyers.

[Joe 1320]

I have a couple of planes that seem to be experiencing "motor drag" that I have read about before.

It means the planes want to pull to he left and will not make a normal right turn even after trimming to the max.

The motors are mounted correctly but you can definatly hear the rpm diff when moving the directional stick from left to right.

I was thinking about taking the one faster motor from one plane and swapping it out with the slower motor on the other plane.

THis way both planes would be equal with one with two fast motors and one with two slow motors.

Unless...............do you guys think its the speed control part of the RX on both planes that is messed up?

The other 7 planes / jets are perfect flyers.

Yep. There are some goofy things that I've discovered with the aero ace. While it works, it is crude. I've discovered:

1. The motors rarely are a patched pair. invariably one motor turns faster than the other. I've only had one aero ace that allowed a neutral trim knob adjustment. Everything is either far left or far right.

2. The plane loses more altitude on a turn when turning right, a left turn will hold atitude much better. This goes hand in hand with what I believe in the next statement......

3. The motors do not perfrom the same right to left. I believe that the rx is the culprit. If you just listen to the motors while it's in your hand, you can hear the difference in motor performance when giving a turn command. I don't have an optical RPM device to verify, but I suspect that one motor remains closer to it's throttled rpm and the other motor has a wider range of operation. They definatly don't have the same speed increade/decrease from side to side. They are counter rotating props, but the performance is not consistant from left to right and it is noticeable. The left motor stays constant, the right one speeds up and slows down according to turning input when the trim knob is adjusted one way, another may be some other random combination. The bottom line is that it is inconsistant.

4. There are issues with rx sensativity and performance. How 7 of my airhogs can each have a different range and different time delay response is amazing. :confused: :mad: Some of mine have killer range 300'+, some are uncontrollable after 150'. The time delay is evident with some, often continueing a full power turn for a full half second after you release the stick.
It's very annoying at times, but for $30 one can't be overly picky.

5. The transmitter/charger eats alkalines for lunch. Buy the 36 pack at Home Depot for $11.99, it's the best deal out there....you'll need them. Replace the batteries as soon as the flight times start to suffer. The batteries will only let the plane perform well when they are fresh. After 10-15 flights, performance drops off quickly.

All in all, it's worth the $30........ it's just some of the quirks tarnish the total rating. It's still a great value, just quirky.

[toywizard]

Overall I am very happy with the Aero Ace bipe and jet.

Tonight, We are working on adapting a 7 cell sub C pack to the TX for charging only.
The TX has rechargable AA batteries from Wally World and we soldered a Tamiya connector to the top right positive wire connector and the negative bottom right wire connector. Check to make sure these two wires give you full 6 cell battery voltage, don't worry bout the middle wire on the battery holders...it just seems to be the charging portion of the unit to take only 3 cells of the pack to do the Li-Po charging.

This way we are able to get faster charging times and more longevity out of the batteries.

We run Sub C battery packs in our trucks so we have tons of em. Recently we got into going to a seventh cell setup. Nice power too.

Now remember we use seperate TX units to charge our Aero Ace planes so our "flying" TX units are always up to par.
Several planes can be charging while you fly your favorite.

[toywizard]

One of the best parts of this setup if it works good is that we will never have to charge the AA batteries again........just the Sub C packs.
:-) and with the 2,000 mah of the sub C packs (ours are 2,000- 3,000) the repeat recharging on the Aero Ace planes will last all day!!

[Delaypat]

I finally found a jet that works. that thing is fast! Love it!

[HoggZilla]

OK, you got me. I picked up my AHAA today and have been flying it in the front yard. Now, what should I do first???

It likes to porpoise and bank right, I can't trim it out of the right turn using the controller. Should I take it back or adjust the rudder? Thanks. I know this is probably answered in the thread somewhere but, 1500 + was alot to go through.

[firemanbill]

Hogg first thing... take the tx case apart and remove the throttle spring. You'll be amazed how much more control you have when the stick isn't trying to return to zero all the time

Then slow down a little. A lot of times you'll find the porpoising comes from climbing and stalling. slow down and it'll level out. If that doesn't do it give a bend to the elevators down just a tick... sounds counter active but it works. Or you can stick a thumb tack in the nose. I have never needed to do that.

as for the right turning check the alignment of the motors, make sure they are tight and true (straight) if it can't be corrected that may be cause for return as one motor may be weak.

[toywizard]

If you have the receipt .....take her back. The porposing is normal to an extent and a little weight on the nose or backing off of the throttle until the battery tires a bit is ok.
The "unable to trim" out like two of mine warrents a return. I don't have my receipts....boaght em as backup months ago and never tried them. Learned my lessons. All that I have read, I have been very lucky with 8 or so Aero Ace planes and having only two bad ones.

These planes are wonderfull.

[MegaByte-2]

HogZilla;

Thats one to return. The trim control is actually just a switch to each side.
I have 7 AA flying and all are in the neutral position.
The AA does have some problems with "One Motor Dying" syndrome.
What you describe is the start of the problem. It could just be a slow motor though. Either way, its not a good way to start off with a new plane. I've returned 3 for the same reason.
I check mine right out of the box now just in case.
At the price they sell for, they can't be beat. But Quality Control isnt the greatest.

Tony
ARS Software & Innovative Solutions
http://www.falcon1.net/~ars/rcmodels.html

[Frodo]

Last weekend I was flying my AHAA! with two of my friends. I was flying my new black channel, A which was not flying very well. The motors sounded very loud and I had a hard time getting it to gain altitude. I finally got some altitude and tried to get fancy and fly past the children who were playing on the water slide. As I was doing my flyby my battery was starting to go and before I knew it my plane landed right in the pool at the bottom of the water slide! After a quick save I let it dry out and flew it a couple of times after that. It seemed ok. This weekend was the first time I flew it since then and the motors sound normal and it gets plenty of lift! The dunk in the water seems to have done it some good!

Today I went down to the school to fly my AHAA! mono wing and was having a good time playing with the wind until it got stronger and took my plane away from the field and over the parking lot and some big trees. I kept the nose pointed into the wind but the motors were not strong enough to fight it. My plane continued to fly backwards until I lost sight of it over the school building. I ran around to the front of the school and could see my plane heading toward the houses next to the school. The house that it was flying toward has a big wood fence around it. I managed to bring my plane down before it got to the fence. That was some fun flying but I decided not to press my luck and I went home!

[firemanbill]

probably a smart move Frodo!:D That's sounds like quite a rush trying to keep up with it.

[Frodo]

probably a smart move Frodo!:D That's sounds like quite a rush trying to keep up with it.

You are quite correct! Close calls are the most fun when flying.:D

[HoggZilla]

HogZilla;

Thats one to return. The trim control is actually just a switch to each side.
I have 7 AA flying and all are in the neutral position.
The AA does have some problems with "One Motor Dying" syndrome.
What you describe is the start of the problem. It could just be a slow motor though. Either way, its not a good way to start off with a new plane. I've returned 3 for the same reason.
I check mine right out of the box now just in case.
At the price they sell for, they can't be beat. But Quality Control isnt the greatest.

Tony
ARS Software & Innovative Solutions
http://www.falcon1.net/~ars/rcmodels.html (http://www.falcon1.net/~ars/rcmodels.html)

I couldn't resist, tampered with the alignment of the motors a bit and it flies better. Still up and down a bit more than I would like but I flew it today. Here are a couple of pics. One with me buzzing the kids in the pool and another climbing over the house. Flying in the yard is way cool.

[willmw]

Hello, I'm new here... :D
I just got an AHAA a week or so ago and I'm in love. My question for the experts is: Assuming I may want to "graduate" to something larger, faster, more sophisticated, am I doing myself a disservice by learning to fly this? I mean, are the controls of "real" planes going to be backward/different to the ones for the AHAA?

I love the AHAA and have a jet model on the way (as well as another AHAA for my nephew), but I seem to recall years ago when I once tried to fly a friend's plane that it was MUCH more complicated.

[firemanbill]

Hey Will welcome to WF! Yeah it is a lot different flying a more "proper" r/c airplane, but not entirely different.

You learn valuable stuff flying this bird like left is right and vice versa when it's coming at you for one. you can get your hand eye coordination down and get your brain used to doing the opposite of what it thinks it should do. The best thing is you can fly these into the side of a house or something and not tear them up.

the big difference is the throttle control makes you climb. In a 3 or 4 channel type the elevator does it for you not the motors. What it boils down to on the stick is down is up up is down. right now up is up for you.

Bottom line this little plane can teach you a lot and give you confidence and all the while you can have loads of fun. I've got planes I have over 500 bucks in and I still get out in th backyard and fly in and out of the trees with this marvel!

[toywizard]

In my humble opinion............love the AHAA!!!;)
The controls are a lot closer to what some will define as "real planes".

I have flown what you may call "real planes" and I can sit here and type to ya that the Areo Ace controler is the closest thing to the so called "real planes". Sensitivity will be the diff along with what it controls. But the basics are there.

Trust me. I used to smirk at the posts about the guys that taunted the back yard flyer guys cause they werent flying "real planes". I have always hated that philosophy.
The last few years it has gotten better for the back yard flyer and it makes me feel much better that there are more that don't feel you have to spend $400 to get into the hobby and it has to be nitro powered.

Even the AMA has come around to a better full range of RC then they used to be.

Today I flew the Aero Ace and then while I am waiting for one of the jets to recharge I grab my Rookie and flew that around my yard for a while.

Now the Rookie's controler looks like a babies rattle and lets face it, in a group of masculine guys hanging around a BBQ with a fist full of beer , the last thing you want to be teased about is a baby toy looking controler.

At least the AA looks like a so called "real one".

Now if I get my 7 channel TX with one of my helis out....the beer fisted ego belching cromagnum so called friends will drop thier jaws and if they see the AA.........they are in awe.

YEs

The AHAA will not hurt your future abilitys in controling planes. In fact, it may help you.

I spent a fair about of time on the controllers of the Intruder...(baby looking too) the E Gull, the Sky Vector, the Air Tech Stelth, the Estes Presidential, the Fire Bird and a ton of others.

Point being, fly whatever you can and afford. All experience is realavent.

Most of all enjoy and have fun.:)

[HoggZilla]

I really do like this AHAA. About a week ago I bought my daughter a micro Ultrix. Anyone heard of that? Any good. Anyway, it wont accept a charge so I need to take it back. The place I got it is 1 hr away so I have not been back yet. That was before I knew about the AHAA which I really enjoy now.

[MegaByte-2]

Toywizard;

Just tell your friends its a radio control in a Pocket Fisherman. LOL
Remember those?

Tony
ARS Software & Innovative Solutions
http://www.falcon1.net/~ars/rcmodels.html (http://www.falcon1.net/~ars/rcmodels.html)

[kookaburra]

http://www.wattflyer.com/forums/images/icons/icon1.gif Aero Ace Thoughts
Hello everyone. I'm so glad I joined this forum. I have been flying the Aero Ace since it came out and wanted to share my thoughts. In my mind, its the best electric RC plane in its size class. I have 19 planes including 9 mods and some experimental guinea pig frames! While I'm no expert, I know the answer to many of the posts I see. Everything on this plane is engineered for excellent flight and durability. I have never had a problem that could not be fixed and there are parts you can buy to replace things that get crushed like the tail assembly. I usually never put the decals on and use them only for repairs and to create tension in the wings for ironing out slight bends etc. The mods you can do yourself are fun and easy like removing part of or all the lower wings for faster flight, attaching part of or all of the lower wings to the end of the upper wings for a glider style flight, splicing extra props onto the top of the frame for an extra push, soldering a 1 inch strip of magnet wire to the transmitter for an extra 10-20 feet range and more.

The engineered mods you can buy are amazing! The LED Night-Ops Mod lights up the airframe so you can run it in complete darkness! Two LED's light up each side of the airframe and they are two different colors so you can tell if you are coming or going at a distance! The Landing Gear Mod lets you take off, land, touch 'n go and taxi on smooth surfaces! It also saves your nose from scrapes. The Transmitter Mod (4 modes) lets you choose the frequency so you can run multi planes with one transmitter, let's you set the throttle to wherever you want without having to hold it, lets you turn the plane without any throttle power (great for wind) and includes an AA clip to attach the airframe to the transmitter for storage or transport. I also suggest fashioning a handle for the box it comes in for easy transport without risking the dog or similar jumping on it and crushing it.

I have 1,654.5 flight hours on the Aero Ace and still can't get enough. It is just so fun to run and anyone-I mean anyone can run it. My 6 year old cousin loves it and my elderly friend also has one he loves. The neatest thing is the sturdiness of the airframe. No more exploding airframes on heavy landings. The worst crash I had was when I hit a car doing about 45 and all that happened to my plane was the nose got crushed a little, but get this, it ricocheted off the car and kept on flying!:cool: The plane is so light that when it crashes there is no inertial weight to hurt it. Usually it just bounces and keeps on going if you have enough altitude. It is also perfect for indoor use with room like in a gymnasium or similar area. You can also turn on a small vertical fan and fly it into the airstream for no-travel flying! It really helps to hone your skills. Also, I like to line up a couple of buddies with the same frequency and fly the plane along a line passing off the flight to the next buddy. One flight went for around 1000 feet!

I always keep every part of a plane that I cut for a mod just in case. It is so easy to scotch tape things back together too. I like to take off the bottom wings to fly in wind then tape them back on for indoor flying. Whenever I go to the park to fly the Aero Ace, people always watch it and ask about it.

You don't have to wait the full 15-20 minutes to charge. An 8 minute charge will still get you around 5 minutes flight time. Another fun trick is to set up a stunt course of a hoop, limbo bar and ping pong ball tap. I go through the hoop, under the limbo bar and hit a ping pong ball hanging from a bar! That really gets you honed in on your skills. I have a website and sell the planes and mods, but my real passion is flying these planes and looking for cool improvements. They will only get better and the AA Jet is the latest member of the family. See my other post for details on that. Like I said, I'm no expert, but I am a dork about this plane and would be glad to help out anyone who has questions or wants a good deal on the plane. If you go to my website, there are links to purchase the plane for the best price around and if you type 98618 in the promo code section, you get a FREE AA clip for attaching the plane to the transmitter for storage. I also can do repairs for the cost of shipping (usually $3.85) plus any parts. I'm so glad there are so many others who love this plane. Spread the word!:D

[kenchiroalpha]

wlecome to the forum. i own 6 bipes 2 jets the air hogs f/16. have modded planes and am now working on conversions these are very cool little planes check out my gallery clear skies and good flying .http://www.rchangout.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=11057

[MegaByte-2]

Hi All;
Due to my ISP I'm having to use an alternate email address.
arssoftwareinnovativesolutions@yahoo.com

Sorry for any inconvienence.

Tony
ARS Software & Innovative Solutions
www.falcon1.net/~ars/rcmodels.html (http://www.falcon1.net/~ars/rcmodels.html)

Edit: Contacted my ISP. They decided to filter email without notification. Seems they thought even PayPay was to dangerous to pass. All filters have been removed.

[Dad_Roman]

All has been well...now my charger quit!:mad:

[kenchiroalpha]

one of my transmitters charging electronics started acting funny recently. when not charging plane light stays on very lightly. batteries run down in 6 to 8 hours. charges plane normally and same with controling section. controler is one of my newest. came with the new lime green and yellow bipe. any one else have any problems with newest batch. one red and black plane had to be returned due to a badly warped wing. clear skies and ghood flying.

[kookaburra]

Hey, thanks kenchiroalpha. Wow, nice site you have. Those are some great planes and mods. I'll have to sign up for yours too. There are some really interesting posts on this forum. Lots of people have questions about where to get the Aero Ace, how to fly and adjust it, how to fix it and how to mod it. I'll probably talk about things that have been discussed but here goes anyway.

I've been working on my Aero Ace mods lately. I've found that when I take off the lower wings for more speed, if I add half of the lower wings to the upper wings, the stability gets much better and you get more of a glide out of your flight. I also add a fraction of weight (small paper clip) to the wing tips for more stability. This works great with the landing gear mod I have too. You can do these awesome landings and take offs are so cool. Sometimes in a sweet headwind you can take off from a standstill. With the longer wings you can also carry the LED light mod, that's three mods in one! :D

I also made this mod with Air Hogs Defender motors which are bigger than the Aero Ace and are on the front of the wing rather than on the back. It goes MUCH, MUCH faster and the handling is fantastic!! I couldn't believe it when I finally tweaked it right. It moves along really quick, climbs easily and busts out awesome corkscrews.

The regular Aero Ace wing mod does corkscrews too with a little practice. Sometimes the mod also gets upside down and stays there for a second before diving and then climbing again. Just so cool! :cool: I'm making three more right now. If anyone has spare parts from the Aero Ace plus any Defender motors let me know.

Working on the JET, which is so cool stock anyway, but hey, why not?! Aeroacemods.com is working on an LED mod for the jet which will be awesome. The landing gear goes on it great too.

I also have a cool little Flight Log Book I sell for $5 to record your flights, hours, weather, tweaks, damage, flight/charge times, tricks and a bunch of other parameters. I have one for every plane and me and my friends constantly compete to better each other for everything. Its like role playing RC planes! The Flight Log Book adds that extra fun to your flights. My best stats are with my Aero Ace Kookaburra mod. I call it that because it dives fast like the Australian Kookaburra (Kingfisher Bird) and I'm Australian! It has the bottom wing removed, a dual tail fin setup, and weight additions around the fuselage. Its awesome. It has 27.5 hours on it and still going strong. It easily hits corkscrews and inverts. The Aussie flag is on each wing. I'll post a photo soon.

If anyone buys an Aero Ace from aeroacemods.com don't forget to type 98618 at the promo code box for a FREE mod, an AA Clip that clips your plane to your transmitter. Plus, I'll throw in a FREE Flight Log Book with a purchase of any plane. They really have the best price around on both Aero Ace models and the sweetest mods to the airframe and the transmitter.

Until next time.

[kenchiroalpha]

very nice site tim! ahaa's are what got me back into rc after 25+ years of being out off it. have you checked out silverlit, they make the original and have lots off cool models wish they had them in the states. have ordered online from uk but so expensive. these planes are built as toys but are so much more. i keep one with me at all times as its the only plane that can truly fly anywhere. i will go back to flying real rc, 3+ channels. but i will always have aces. clear skies and good flying

[Joe 1320]

I've been working on my Aero Ace mods lately. I've found that when I take off the lower wings for more speed, if I add half of the lower wings to the upper wings, the stability gets much better and you get more of a glide out of your flight. I also add a fraction of weight (small paper clip) to the wing tips for more stability. This works great with the landing gear mod I have too. You can do these awesome landings and take offs are so cool. Sometimes in a sweet headwind you can take off from a standstill. With the longer wings you can also carry the LED light mod, that's three mods in one! :D

.

I've found that a stock Aero Ace will still carry my landing gear and lights. :confused: It works as a biplane, but moves better as a mono wing. I've even opened up one plane and added an aux charging port so that the lipo can be charged with a standard lipo charger instead of killing transmitter batteries. The problem with adding wing area is the drag. When adding weight, increasing speed will offset that with this type of wing design. increasing the upper wing area can increase glide, but it also makes it more prone to being blown around in the wind. I've experimented with every configuration from mono to tri wing, up to 6 motors and none of the designs except my lighting hog had the same good manners of an Aero Ace converted to a simple mono wing. Everything else was a compromise. Lightning hog was a different matter....... two mono wings made into a psuedo P-38 Lighting with the left one carrying both left motors and the right one carrying the right ones. Fast, quick turn ins and fantastic glides. The only downside is that you have to use equally matched receivers with identical range and response, something that appears to be rather difficult as they all seem to behave differently. When in acceptable range, it kicked butt. The minute one rx was at a fringe reception, the power spiral earthward was spectacular but irritating. Once I find two identical performing receivers, it will fly again.

I've transplanted aero ace componants on other scratch designs too. They work well. The members on here have pretty much taken these to the extreme, it's time for those "in the business" to come up with something new. The Aero Jet is a good start, two extra motors/battery and rx should wake this little jet up. It glides well (fantastic!) , just needs steriods. This jet seems to be a candidate for an experiment with more power and maybe a functioning rudder. :p With more power, it should carry the weight just fine. Of course that would require a re-do of the electronics. The motors could be used just for thrust and the rudder for turns, that would be simple. I've been having a blast boosting it up to a it being just a speck and letting it gently glide down. It performs a gentile left hand circle as it cruises down. It really does that well.

[HoggZilla]

Took back my first one to TRU, best move I could make. I had tweaked it and seemed to be flying pretty good. But just to be sure, I took it back anyway. My new one ... PERFECT. I love it even more now. I definately recommend taking back any AHAA out of the box that does not fly great. I keep this one at 1/3 throttle and it moves straight, nose slightly up and almost no climb. A little more throttle and up she goes. This is GREAT!

I haven't treid any mods yet, I will get a different one to mess with, I like this one too much the way it is.

Yesterday, with my old one that went back to TRU, a friend and I took turns trying to shoot each other with my $16 Soft Air Machine gun from Wally World. That was great too. All of this in my 1 acre front yard with tons of trees. I have only tried once to fly one of my RC planes out there before and it got stuck HIGH in a tree.

This morning my wife got it stuck in a tree, even she could fly it once I forced the remote into her hands. I threw up a stick, hit the branch, and it glided down to the ground with not even a scratch. WOW!!!

[kookaburra]

Hi every one. kenchiroalpha thanks for the nice words, I'll have to check out that site tonight. That's funny what you said, i also keep three planes in my car (1 stock, 1 wing mod and 1 light/wheel mod) for flying when the conditions are right! I have also dabbled in other RC's but the AA is just so great. If they had these when I was younger, I would probably be a pilot by now!

joe1320, nice thoughts and ideas. I agree that the regular mono-wing mod does hit the mark the best. I'm interested in your psuedo P-38, what a great idea, got any instructions/plans/hints? It is indeed time for Air Hogs to give us something more, the time is perfect to release a new design. A fusulage encased turbine fan with a rudder would be perfect. I wonder what their development is working on. I guess its up to us to keep modding and seeing what works best.

Hogzilla, nice work taking it back to TRU. I have not had many problems with any, but I always keep the receipt for exchange. You should definitely try the light mod and do like I did, run some christmas lights around your yard to mark off the trees. I also keep a sling shot and kidney beans for knocking it out of trees. It's not optimum but better than waiting for it to blow down (or worse leaving it at the park for someone else to find!). I've taken 60 shots to get one down and I've taken 4 shots to get one down!

I just saw that Toys R Us are out of AA's on their website!!! Weird! I'm stocking up with 10 now just in case!! I've been burnt before on a sweet turbine jet by Estes that i waited to buy and now I can't find it! Aeroacemods.com has the B and C freqs ready to go!

If anyone buys an Aero Ace from aeroacemods.com don't forget to type 98618 at the promo code box for a FREE mod, an AA Clip that clips your plane to your transmitter. Plus, I'll throw in a FREE Flight Log Book with a purchase of any plane. Just send me a message with your invoice after you buy.

Until next time

[SigEpSam]

I bought one a few weeks ago after finding out about the Storm Launcher. In the process of looking up info. on it I came across this site and rcmgroups.com and the glowing discussions of the AHAA. I'm now up to 3 (B,C and new A) and I've hooked two guys I work with.

Plenty of space out in your shop to fly these year-round. I guess I'll be playing with these until the SL shows up. I've got the lights, landing gear and clip ordered from aeroacemods.com. I did the spring removal mod out of the box and have switched to NiMH batteries to save the landfills.

I'm hooked!!

[Joe 1320]

I'm interested in your psuedo P-38, what a great idea, got any instructions/plans/hints? It is indeed time for Air Hogs to give us something more, the time is perfect to release a new design. A fusulage encased turbine fan with a rudder would be perfect. I wonder what their development is working on. I guess its up to us to keep modding and seeing what works best.

It's simple really. Do the mono wing mod to two identical Aero Aces on the same channel. Use hinge tape or regular scotch tape to join them at the upper wing. The electronic mod is that you then switch the inner motors on both planes so that the right side plane has two right motors, the left plane will have both left motors. In this configuration all it takes is a blip of the turning stick and it turns great.... kind of a wicked turn rate if you hold it in a full turn. It looks great in the air too. The only problem is in the inconsistancies of the product. With two identically performing rxs, it's great. Anything less and it will do some funky twists. :D

[kookaburra]

It's simple really. Do the mono wing mod to two identical Aero Aces on the same channel. Use hinge tape or regular scotch tape to join them at the upper wing. The electronic mod is that you then switch the inner motors on both planes so that the right side plane has two right motors, the left plane will have both left motors. In this configuration all it takes is a blip of the turning stick and it turns great.... kind of a wicked turn rate if you hold it in a full turn. It looks great in the air too. The only problem is in the inconsistancies of the product. With two identically performing rxs, it's great. Anything less and it will do some funky twists. :D


Nice. Of course that would work! I'm trying it! Do you get much out of the flaps to compensate for a mismatched rx speeds? Bet the Defender rxs would work great on it too, anyone have a couple of Defender rxs? Update on TRU Aero Ace stock-still out of stock and only the one C freq!!

If anyone buys an Aero Ace from aeroacemods.com don't forget to type 98618 at the promo code box for a FREE mod, an AA Clip that clips your plane to your transmitter. Plus, I'll throw in a FREE Flight Log Book with a purchase of any plane. Just send me a message with your invoice after you buy.

[kookaburra]

SigEpSam, I remember that first AA flight feeling! It never really goes away. Every flight is so cool. All my buddies love it too. We have a pretty dorky pilot's club (logs, stunt and performance records, and mini-games. We fly almost every day! I can't say enought about the AA and the mods. I plan to post all my mod pics and stuff. How sweet is that spring mod?! Have you got the mod transmitter with the steering mod? I could never go back to the stock transmitter. Its definitely worth it plus you can run three charged planes in a row with the one transmitter.

Anyone want to start a Log Book for records? I want to broaden the stats/stunt games I play with my friends to others who are interested in comparing cool stats on existing and new stats/records/stunts/mods.

If anyone buys an Aero Ace from aeroacemods.com don't forget to type 98618 at the promo code box for a FREE mod, an AA Clip that clips your plane to your transmitter. Plus, I'll throw in a FREE Flight Log Book with a purchase of any plane. Just send me a message with your invoice after you buy.

[MIG73]

Hey guys, I just dicovered the AHAA's and am already hooked. I bought one last week for "my son", and ended up needing a second one the very next day so that he could actually get any flying time of his own. Funny thing is I've only had the plane 3 days and the AHAA population in my neighborhood has gone from 0 to 5. I'm afraid that in another week I wont be able to even fly mine because of the limited frequencies and the high number of "pilots" on my culdesac. My wife just shakes her head and rolls her eyes. I'm already easing her into the Storm Launcher I plan to buy in October...LOL.
I have a few questions for you old pros... I've read all 1500 plus posts so I have a pretty good handle on tweaking and the such but had a few questions on other things I havent seen mentioned.
#1 Has anybody noticed if they have a harder time charging the Ahaa's when its a really hot day? We had problems with all 3 machines yesterday afternoon at the exact same time, didnt seem to want to charge.
#2 Does anybody know where to get some more of this foam that the Ahaas are made from?
#3 Has anybody tried using stronger motos like what are found on the AH stealth?
#4 Are there any other machines that would be considered a backyard flier that fly as well or better than the Ahaa? I'd love to get one that flew like a foamie but was as small or smaller than the Ahaa...
Anyhow thats enough questions for now, thanks for your time, I hope to be around a good bit.
MIG73

[MegaByte-2]

6" F 16C Rudder Actuator AeroAce Gear
A new one for my getting smaller group.
You'll probably have to watch the vid more than once to catch some of the rolls!

AUW - 8.75gm
Thrust - 6.75gm
Stock AA Motor & Prop(balanced)
Lipo - 90ma Etech
Modified Receiver & Actuator - ARS Software & Innovative Solutions
2mm Depron

The vid
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=556283

Check out the new IRLML6401 Mosfet Module at our site!

Enjoy,

Tony
ARS Software & Innovative Solutions
http://www.falcon1.net/~ars/rcmodels.html

[MIG73]

Oh yeah, one other thing, I have discovered the perfect PORTABLE plane friendly, tree dislodging device, its called a TENNIS BALL. works great and you can carry it with you in your pocket.

[jimw1956]

Well I think I may have just broken the record for getting a deal on an AA. Was walking through a local salvage store called "Dirt Cheap", killing some time on my lunch hour....well actually about an hour and a half at that point, but who's counting?

Anyway what do I see but an AeroAce box! Price was marked $19.99 with 70% off of that...a $6 AA! Just put some batteries in the receiver and it lit up, then plugged the charger into the AA and only got a brief flash of the charge light. So I unplugged the charger, fiddled with the connection a little...still just momentary flash. On a whim I turned the AA switch on and hit the throttle the motors came on, sounding to be at full speed. I think maybe for whatever reason, the battery is possibly fully charged and will probably charge when I fly it some, I hope. A little damage to the box and very minor damage to plane...only a slight crease in the rudder , (easily fixed with packing tape) and a slight dent in the trailing edge of the top wing which shouldn't hurt anything. Even if it won't charge it's still a heck of a deal for parts. I scoured the place over with a fine toothed comb and couldn't locate any more of them :( or I would have stocked up big time.

[HoggZilla]

Finally got to the landing gear. Here is my daughter holder her AA with landing gear. We used hot wheels axle and wheels and the wing struts we took off the bottom wing. I does not take off from the ground, has anyone accomplished that? If so, what can I do to get r done?

Also, any tips on getting it to roll straight?

[keebler]

I took off from the ground 1 time by accident,gust of wind at right time...lol
real hard to roll straight,wants to spin..circles..
hot wheels axles and wheels and fan fold foam



http://pic15.picturetrail.com/VOL602/2858173/5757831/176333679.jpg

http://pic15.picturetrail.com/VOL602/2858173/5757831/176333675.jpg

http://pic15.picturetrail.com/VOL602/2858173/5757831/176333672.jpg

[Joe 1320]

Finally got to the landing gear. Here is my daughter holder her AA with landing gear. We used hot wheels axle and wheels and the wing struts we took off the bottom wing. I does not take off from the ground, has anyone accomplished that? If so, what can I do to get r done?

Also, any tips on getting it to roll straight?

The thrust tends to make the plane turn when on the ground. It is near impossible to go straight. What I do it take off from a basketball court. Go full throttle, the plane will start it's wide circular run. When it picks up speed, turn the opposite direction, it will take several yards but it will straighten out, As soon as it clears the ground you can release the stick and it will fly straight. I've also gotten in the habit of checking the center of gravity and attaching the wheels just behind the switch and charging port. If the added weight it too far foreward, it takes much more speed to rise off the ground. I've not been able to keep a mono wing from tipping over on lauch so the landing gear is relegated to the bipes.

[jimw1956]

I wonder if it would work to build a little "track" for a take off strip? Something the width of the landing gear with enough wall on either side to keep the plane straight?

[MegaByte-2]

How abt using a strip of Hot Wheels race track?

Tony
ARS Software & Innovative Solutions
http://www.falcon1.net/~ars/rcmodels.html

[chaz345]

I really do like this AHAA. About a week ago I bought my daughter a micro Ultrix. Anyone heard of that? Any good. Anyway, it wont accept a charge so I need to take it back. The place I got it is 1 hr away so I have not been back yet. That was before I knew about the AHAA which I really enjoy now.

Just got my son a micro Ultrix. Seems to fly pretty good but, strictly from looking at the pictures of the AHAA, it's not going to be a durable. The wings are a much thinner, styrofoam sheet type material. Doesnt't look all that hard to make new ones out of thin balsa or some other foam though. The other thing is that the control is not proportional. You've got on or off for throttle and full turn or straight. But it does fly pretty well.

[jipp]

Hi, I just would like to say thank you for all your guys experience input in this thread. ( rather long one too, Yes. I read it all... almost a novel. BUt it sure saved me a lot of questions )

So, the other day i was talking to a friend and he told me about this little die hard foam plane he heard from a buddy and how addicted he was to it. So he cought my attection. So i asked what it was he listed me to the aeromod webpage. then i found the link to hear and s tarted reading.

When you see die hard rc guys giving such high praise for what is supose to be a kids toy, it cought my attection. So i read half the thread. that took a wee bit! LOL, learn a lot got way excited. this thing sells it self by making happy customers.

so the following day monday!!! i went and bought one. played with it to get good flight. and was having a blast withi n 15 mins.

crashed it a zillion times no harm done. So then after my maiden flight i went and bought the jet.
I didnt read what the thoughts where on the jet till later that night when i finish the thread. but if i would of I would of bought a second biplane. which i plan on taking the jet back for the biplane since the jet flys sooo slow and sorta hovers. anyhow.

so I havd had the biplane 10 hours at this point. I take out the throtel spring, big improvement. and took off the lower wings. its not even a day old. LOL
and today I did the turn while throtel is off mod. its been to windy so i hope calms down this eve to give it a go but flying around the house sorta it makes a huge improvement.

So yeah you could say im addicted to this RC stuff. So anouther AAPL ( aero ace pilot for life ) memeber had joined your comunity.

Ok, im sorta all over in my thoughts here let me rewind a bit.

6 years or so ago a friend of mine got into rc airplanes. So i went out and bought a 4 chanell controler and it came with a flight sim and corde to hook up to the USB. my friend said was a good deal. the ebay seller didnt mention it didnt have a crystal in it. and then i started pricing planes and my friend was new and just getting into 4 chanells and was excited so he was trying to stear me in that direction. but i didnt like the idea of throwing money away on crashing. So i played teh flight sim for a few months and sorta just put the remote in the closet where it was till yesterday. I dragged it out and hooked up the flight sim and having a ball. Its funny what flying a real plane does to motivate someone.

So, i plan on getting a plane soon after i get better at the AA. its a good trainer and durable.

so id like to say thank you for all the usefull information and storys in this thread. And ill be asking a bunch of noobie questions and will be active in this comunity so hope to get to know some of you regulars. Maybe you can get this kid ( 31 ) up in the air before i get grey hair :)

AAPL
chris C.

[JohnnyC]

Welcome to the club, Jipp. Yeah... I've modded out two biplanes so far and will be getting myself a jet in the near future. You will probably find that the more people see it and play with it, the more of your friends will rush out to get one. So far, just from me playing with my AHAA's, 7 more of them have gone out to various people. In general, they are a blast!

Also, once you get your plane fully tweaked out to your liking, you'll find that you gain a lot of good control over it (or at least I did). I have very little trouble flying mine...

My favorite wing configuration is extended monowing with winglets for stability. Though for some reason I want a plain biplane and a jet too. :D

[Joe 1320]

How abt using a strip of Hot Wheels race track?

Tony
ARS Software & Innovative Solutions
http://www.falcon1.net/~ars/rcmodels.html

Yup, that works. Bipes have a better time, The mono wing likes to tip.

[jipp]

well i have crashed into evey possible cactus known to arizona. LOL, last one did some damage getting it out of. ( remember to avoid that cactus at all cost ) anyhow i thought the tail peice was spinning in the body, but turned out there is a little joint at the tail that broke so just the tail peice would spin so i pulled it out on accident thankfully i dindt break the magnet wire ie.. antena. so line tail up. Drop of super glue adn im in biz again. man these things are so much fun. I think im gonna have to buy anouther one since this one took a lot of abuse the very first day just trying to get it in the air. I think i owe my self a new one so it will last longer? Shrugs i dunno, guess i can make up any excuse i want to get anouther one.

time to search this forum for other newbie planes.

chris.

[kookaburra]

Hi everyone, welcome jipp and nice words on the AHAA. I agree with JOE 1320 about the turn after take off. Just go with the natural turn the plane wants to take and once the wheels rise turn the opposite way and it should get up ok. A lot has to do with the position of the forward wheels. I put the AeroAceMods.com LG Mod right behind the switch perfectly centered. It also greatly helps to take-off into a drop like on an aircraft carrier. The plane will dip initially then get the speed up to get lift. A pair of foam leaning strips also help to get the plane onto two wheels buy now allowing the wings to dip too far. The wheels at AAMods are really the best and lightest for the job.

I'm having crazy fun with my new wing extension mono AHAA with AH Defender motors. I have half the bottom wings added to the top and the Defender tail assembly on the rear. Outed the engines to the exact center wing and they pull from the front rather than push from rear. Runs very nicely after some browsweat tinkering sessions! It really wants to go now! If you have the Defender parts I highly suggest trying it. You do need like a ballfield area to keep it happy though. Very fun.:cool:

[kookaburra]

correction...

"The plane will dip initially then get the speed up to get lift. A pair of foam leaning strips also help to get the plane onto two wheels buy not allowing the wings to dip too far. The wheels at AAMods are really the best and lightest for the job."

[MegaByte-2]

Joe 1320,

On your mono, you could insert a length of CF rod .020 at a 45 degree angle back to the wing and glue it in.
It weighs virtually nothing, very little resistance and is just abt invisible.
It would keep the mono from tipping on takeoff.
I doubt you could even see it unless its in your hand and it won't disturb the flying characteriatics.

Tony
ARS Software & Innovative Solutions
http://www.falcon1.net/~ars/rcmodels.html

[rahtware]

OK you AHAA mad scientists...

How about working up a conversion like this weird one.
15492

[GTO@2]

^That thar plane looks like...FUN!

[neys]

All I can say really is WOW these things are fun.

I bought 2 and had to return one since I did not have enough space in my luggage !! Now I have to go find another one now that I am home.

every one I have seen has been uncontrollably tail heavy (about 6 of them) we found that sticking a dime in the nose is about perfect.

I ended up curving my stab into an airfoil to create a flying tail to compensate without the need of a dime (longer flying time and much higher altitude) still very touchy but controllable.

I finally lost it. flying at home got too high and the upper layer winds took it. the little motors were not strong enough to make headway against the wind and it eventually went out of range. I never found it.

while in Arizona (naramlive.com) I almost lost it to a thermal. George was flying his sailplane and found some lift for his Rocket Flight so I flew in behind him and UP IT WENT !!

should have seen me running across the field on my toes with my hands way up in the air to get it back in radio range so I could guide it OUT of the thermal that was taking it up with the engines off !!

that the only problem with the AA no way to COMMAND it to come down. UNTIL NOW. I found a way.

I never bothered with the "trim" for the steering before. when I set it one way and turn it turns WAY too tight and spirals in. Instant Elevator DOWN :-) gonna have to test that higher up when I get another one (hopefully tommorrow)

Man I wish there were more than 3 frequencies. Any chance of modding this for more frequencies ? having 6 or 10 of these things in the air at one time would be a total riot !!!

I can't wait till I have enough money to buy a bunch of them so I can start gutting them and putting the guts into my own planes !!

I am thinking 2 in one plane to make a B17 or something like that.

a P38 would rock !

Chris Taylor
http://www.naramlive.com/

Check out Friday on naramlive the video page for a short HD video of an AA flying. I will get some more video when I train someone well enough to fly it once I get another one :-)

[kenchiroalpha]

hi chris, before i fly my ahaa bipe's or jet's i set plane to lowest throttle setting and adjust trim while listening to motors. you want to hear a nice harmonic sound . sounds like only one motor.try it. i've found they fly straighter, higher, and the charge lasts longer. i do this before each flight session. i live right on ocean.when i fly winds can from go from 0 to 15+mph in a matter of seconds. i have moded my tx's with the steering with no power mod. makes a world of difference. as you wont gain altitude by using main throttle. instead short pulses of left or right let you steer it down without gaining altitude. clear skies and good flying.

[kenchiroalpha]

hi chris, before i fly my ahaa bipe's or jet's i set plane to lowest throttle setting and adjust trim while listening to motors. you want to hear a nice harmonic sound . sounds like only one motor.try it. i've found they fly straighter, higher, and the charge lasts longer. i do this before each flight session. i live right on ocean.when i fly winds can from go from 0 to 15+mph in a matter of seconds. i have moded my tx's with the steering with no power mod. makes a world of difference. as you wont gain altitude by using main throttle. instead short pulses of left or right let you steer it down without gaining altitude. clear skies and good flying.

[kookaburra]

Hey everyone, has anyone searched Toys R Us, Walmart and Target lately? They are all out of Aero Aces!! They don't even list them anymore!! Are they stopping selling them you think?? I'm stocking up cause it seems they may not have them for a while. Aeroacemods.com has plenty and don't forget to enter 98618 when you buy a plane or mod to get your FREE AA Clip!! :cool:

[kenchiroalpha]

where are you located kookaburra. where i live west haven ct there are still ahaas bought 2 yesterday.1 jet 1 bipe toys r us had at least 5 of each saw a few at k mart same with k b toys. called spinmaster about my replacement fuselage an they stated they were on back order and should be shipping by the end of month. so the stores will get them soon. and if the stores decide not to carry them. im sure they will end up somewhere for sale. spinmaster knows they have a winner here and wouldnt let them die out.

[kenchiroalpha]

where are you located kookaburra. where i live west haven ct there are still ahaas bought 2 yesterday.1 jet 1 bipe toys r us had at least 5 of each saw a few at k mart same with k b toys. called spinmaster about my replacement fuselage an they stated they were on back order and should be shipping by the end of month. so the stores will get them soon. and if the stores decide not to carry them. im sure they will end up somewhere for sale. spinmaster knows they have a winner here and wouldnt let them die out. clear skies and good flying

[kenchiroalpha]

why are my posts duplicating? clear skies and good flying.

[kookaburra]

Hi everyone. Kenchiroalpha, I guess I should have mentioned that my search was online! I looked to see if Walmart had all the freqs, and there was no mention of the AA, only the Intruder. put in search "air hogs" and they only had a few toys but no AHAA! Then I checked TRU and they only had the Defender

[kenchiroalpha]

yeah i noticed that too. guess we will have find them in person. or at sites like ahaa mods. clear skies and good flying.

[ZXLNT]

The local K-mart here had lots of air hogs, Bipes and a couple others, no Jets though..

[nerys]

Those of you who are reading all this about converting to a monoplane keep in mind that, while I really like the plane that way, you do loose the ability to fly in a pretty limited space - you will need a regular size park - since it flies so fast and climbs so quickly. You do increase the chances of loosing your plane. I'd recommend having a couple of planes - both single and biwing and a couple charging while you fly and a couple for friends and local kids that gather around. I'd not get the new jet again - I'd stick to the monowing conversion.


I don't really agree with this. I removed the lower wing from my Yellow ahaa and its a DREAM now.

Tight space flying has not (for me at least) been compromised at all. I flew it in the local mall last night as well as right inside the theatre before the movie (great fun)

its BY FAR much better with the lower wing removed. I was also lucky this time the model required NO trimming perfect right out of the box (bipe and mono form factor)

I am going to try to capture some video and pictures today.

I wish I could put a video camera on this but even my lightest camera weighs as much as the ahaa does :-(

Chris Taylor
http://www.nerys.com/

[kenchiroalpha]

i own 12 of these fun little planes with more coming in the future. 4 single wing mod bipes, 2 half bottom wing mod bipes, 2 stock bipes and 4 jets. all are fun in there own way all perform differently. i have a jet i can fly in small enclosed places were the others are alot faster and not as agile. one of my mod bipes is nice and slow i walk it like a dog, were one of the others flies like a fighter. just keep getting them and you will be satisfied i am clear skies and good flying.

[smc331]

:D OMG! These little puppies are addictive!

I've been lurking on WattFlyer for a while now - new to RC aircraft (been around private aviation all my life - my Dad owned a J-3 from the early 60's 'til the mid-80's). I fly a Sky-Fly, a Park Zone J-3, a Hobby Lobby Cessna 182 and a Honey Bee 2 - all are great fun - however the AHAA!!! is WAAAAY beyond fun!

I started reading this thread yesterday at work :eek:, and I said to myself, "Self, if this thing is that much fun, you know you just hafta have one!" :D So, I hauls my butt over to the local Wally World for a little look-see. ;)

Lo, and behold, I found them - so I picked out one I liked and boogied up to the register. Dang thing wouldn't scan! Much waiting and patting of foot ensued while waiting for the manager to check things out...finally she determined that the only thing she could find close was priced at $9.97, would that be OK? :eek:

"May I get more than one at that price?" sez I?

This is much fun, but I'll just cut to the chase - I bought 6 of them - and I've already hooked two new addicts!

Thanks, y'all for all the effort you've put into mods and documentation - it made this a really easy decision, and an extremely fun one!

Gotta run, my as yet unmodded baby beckons - there's still lights in the parking lot - even at 1:15 AM! :D

[nerys]

Man oh man took me 5 days to read this entire thread :-) well worth it !

I finally got my 3rd Ahaa after having to return the 2nd (could not fit in luggage) and losing the 1st (wind/thermal)

my third is a B channel Green one where I lopped off the bottom wing (what a difference)

One thing that confuses me is the desire for the throttle mod. I really like the spring loaded throttle. these planes are close quarters and relatively fast because of how close quarters the are. I love knowing I can just let go of the controls before a crash and the motors will stop (reducing damage potential) I guess having to constantly hold it does not bother me.

There is one case where it would come in handy and thats whey trying to photograph it. I might make the change just for that reason. I could set the throttle low and just work the steering while my other hand manages the camera. I could then use a rubber band to turn throttle springiness on and off as I need it :-)

I really want a way to increase the range badly ! anyone tried overpower the TX a little by saying adding one extra cell ? (alkaline) can it handle it ? does it help ? or is the output regulated internally ?

I really want to get another to hack up to build my own plane for the electric guts !! next paycheck :-)

More later ! I am going to go fly and try to get some pics and video.

Chris Taylor
http://www.aeroace.info/

[kenchiroalpha]

Man oh man took me 5 days to read this entire thread :-) well worth it !

I finally got my 3rd Ahaa after having to return the 2nd (could not fit in luggage) and losing the 1st (wind/thermal)

my third is a B channel Green one where I lopped off the bottom wing (what a difference)

One thing that confuses me is the desire for the throttle mod. I really like the spring loaded throttle. these planes are close quarters and relatively fast because of how close quarters the are. I love knowing I can just let go of the controls before a crash and the motors will stop (reducing damage potential) I guess having to constantly hold it does not bother me.

There is one case where it would come in handy and thats whey trying to photograph it. I might make the change just for that reason. I could set the throttle low and just work the steering while my other hand manages the camera. I could then use a rubber band to turn throttle springiness on and off as I need it :-)

I really want a way to increase the range badly ! anyone tried overpower the TX a little by saying adding one extra cell ? (alkaline) can it handle it ? does it help ? or is the output regulated internally ?

I really want to get another to hack up to build my own plane for the electric guts !! next paycheck :-)

More later ! I am going to go fly and try to get some pics and video.

Chris Taylor
http://www.aeroace.info/ you went and got bitten by the ahaa bug bug huh? ive 12 with more on the way. check out my gallery for mods ive done to mine. http://www.rchangout.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=11057 already did all mods to tx's and am starting to convert and build planes for the guts. they got me back into the rc hobby after a 20+ year absence. clear skies and good flying

[nerys]

Well I have made up my mind. No more outdoor flying without tons of nose weight. Performance be darned I am just sick and tired of watching $30 thermal away with the wind :-)

My current AHAA has basically cost me $96 - I added a Dime and its staying there unless indoors or on a massive huge field.

I went to the local elementary school so I could have a large field and avoid a fly away. YEAH right. got it up nice and high the idea being (I trimmed it to circle slightly) I could let go of the controls and take pictures (ALL are blurry except 2) on the 5th climb out it got really high so I let off and then the upper layer air hit (off course the only stinking way to see upper layer air movement is to PUT something in it for at ground level there was hardly a breeze)

off it went. I fought with it for maybe 90 seconds before it was out of radio range and just watch it sail away at least half a mile.

I spent the next 30 minutes driving around the vicinity of where I thought it went down to no avail (probably on a roof or in a tree) I might post a sign at the neighborhood entrance and offer a reward for its recovery. I am thinking $5 reward $10 if its functional.

who knows someone might find it. GRRR should have put my # on the wing like I usually do.

SO from now on enough nose weight so it has trouble climbing a tiny bit. better penetration because of the more level attitude and higher mass. I could care less about flying time now I just want to stop losing the darned things. :-) hehehe

I need to find a silly massive field and have my bike with me so I can give chase. I am thinking of trying to figure out a way to DT this thing.

One idea I have is that if no current GOES to the motors for more than say 10/15 seconds the add on circuit would apply power to one motor in reversse (that should bring it down right quick :-) Alas I have no clue how to design such a thing not to speak of making it light enough to not bother an AHAA.

Any ideas ?

Chris Taylor
http://www.aeroace.info/

[MegaByte-2]

nerys;

300' range not enough?
Ok...make the Rx antenna 12" and you will have a lot more range.
Sounds like you need the Zero Throttle turning mod. 2 diodes in the Tx and you can kill the throttle and still steer it.
You can just spiral it down with the throttle off.

Mod is on the AA TookBox page: www.aatoolbox.no-ip.org (http://www.aatoolbox.no-ip.org/)

Hope that helps.

Tony
ARS Software & Innovative Solutions
http://www.falcon1.net/~ars/rcmodels.html

[nerys]

I think I am getting pretty good range but NO WAY am I getting 300 feet.

based on a football field I would guess I am getting maybe 200-225 feet tops

300 feet would be nice.

the throttle mod - does it turn just one prop ? (I noticed today that the mono wing will not "spiral" with full left or right trim while the bipe would)

I got another and strapped the bottom wings to the top wing. needs a larger tail for sure but pretty nice except I must have something crooked a little as it wants to go right REALLY badly (not spirallying) but very insistant. turns right really well almost no left.

Overall VERY bad turning radius with the extended wing. with a huge parking lot this is fine but useless for close in work.

It does fly pretty nice with the extended wing. glide rate is not improved all that much (offset by higher drag) but it is much more docile. everything slows down (maneuvering wise) though I bet it would certaintly thermal. I think I will limit my flying from now on to either under 30 feet or only during morning and evening where thermals and winds are least likely to cause trouble. Though I wish I could afford to buy a dozen its gonna be hard for me to get another in the next week or two so I have to make this one last.

Back to the Turning while off mod. does this activate only one prop of both differentially like when your moving ? I now have 2 C transmitters and my current plane is a C so I may try the mod and see how it goes.

I did at least manage to get 2 somewhat decent pictures of it before I lost it the rest are blurry. I had to use my tele adaptor to get in close enough and with the tele I can not use infinity lock so its potluck if the AF will grab a solid lock on the plane. in 30 attempted shots only 2 got a clear lock. well a few others did as well but the plane was only half in the frame for them :-)

Chris Taylor
http://www.aeroace.info

[nerys]

Got a question. I want to do the steering mod but I also want to keep the 5 throttle settings.

So I got an idea. since 2 of the diode terminals goto the same place what about putting in a switch so I can turn the mod on and off as needed ? I could even rig a spring switch so the mod is always off until the throttle is at the OFF position at which point it will complete the circuit turning on (enabling) the diodes ?

can this be done ? ie can the diodes be turned on and off while the unit is operating ?

Thanks
Chris Taylor
http://www.aeroace.info/

[JohnnyC]

I don't know if that can be done, but it sounds plausible. I have very little trouble with my monowing with the no-throttle steering mod. Granted, I don't often fly very high with it... I generally keep it flying fairly low flying in my semi-large back yard.

Oh yeah... a shoe works nicely in a pinch if you get stuck up in a tree... but watch out... one day I had two shoes and my plane up a tree. Borrowed a friend's shoe and all came down :D

[MegaByte-2]

nerys;

Yes, both motors run when turning, even at zero throttle.

You could add a switch to the diodes common point, wire it to a switch and the other side of the switch to the PCB point. Kinda like a Failsafe. I really can't notice any difference with the mod on all the time.
I've always found a "happy" speed to fly at.

I have also found that flying on windy days, I can actually fly the plane a long time with no throttle just using then turning mod. Alot depends on the wind and trimming of the plane.

Tony
ARS Software & Innovative Solutions
http://www.falcon1.net/~ars/rcmodels.html

[JohnnyC]

I like to get my AHAA flying up wind and find the perfect throttle to just have it hover in front of me. It's challenging and fun! :D

[Earle]

Nerys - I did the spring off thing on a couple of planes but like you I found I liked the feel of control and two handed coordination with the spring on. i also liked the fact that with the spring on the Tx stops transmitting when you let go or when the plane lands. I had a tendency to accedentally move the throttle a bit going to get the plane or forgetting to manually zero it. I put the spring back on.

[Technodynamic]

I bought some inexpensive small wheels to use as a landing gear. I was going to use a paper clip rebent as the 'wire' that held the wheels in pace, but it's too thick. What should I use to hold the wheels in place?

These are the wheels I have:
http://www.ultimaterc.com/air/tips/air_hogs/aero_ace/060226-003.jpg

[kookaburra]

Hi everyone, man I love seeing so many people into the AHAA. There really is no way around the wind thing. I also have lost many (six) in the time I've been flying them, but one did come back to me-a woman found it on her car's roof! I had my phone # under the wing and she called and I picked it up! Mentioning a reward is a good idea. If noone has mentioned it before, a good tree retrieval device is a tennis ball with a golf ball shoved in it. Just cut the tennis ball 1/3 of the way around and push in the golf ball. It makes the ball heavier, but also gives it that wobble-ball effect and helps it not to get stuck in the tree. Try it.

For anyone wanting to try the Throttle Mod, LED Mod, Wheel Mod go to my partners at www.aeroacemods.com (http://www.aeroacemods.com). Buy a plane or Mod and at the checkout type 98618 in the promo code and get the FREE AA Clip with your order ($4.95 value).

Also, I have a B freq controller that has no plane for it. Anyone want to swap for an A or C, or perhaps a parts plane?

[chaz345]

I bought some inexpensive small wheels to use as a landing gear. I was going to use a paper clip rebent as the 'wire' that held the wheels in pace, but it's too thick. What should I use to hold the wheels in place?

These are the wheels I have:
http://www.ultimaterc.com/air/tips/air_hogs/aero_ace/060226-003.jpg

A pin, like for sewing might work. The head wouild keep one wheel on and a small blob of hot melt would work for the other end.

[RCBilly]

I used some Hot Wheels that I got for a dime at a garage sale and some flower arranging wire that my wife had laying around. It's not as stiff as piano wire but was the right diameter. The finished gear weighs about as much as the normal penny nose weight and adds some drag down low. Flys very smoothly and will rog from a gym floor though it sometimes gets squirelly:)

[MegaByte-2]

kookaburra,

If you can unsolder one place you can make your B Tx an A or C.
I will post a picture with drawings on it showing you where.

The AA has attracted many new people to rc. It is this their first plane. There are no dumb questions. We all had to ask things when we first started and still ask them. No one knows everything and new pilots should not be afraid to ask. Flying models are the hardest of all rc modeling. So many things to learn. RC cars and boats don't fall from the sky and destroy themselves like planes can!

I post information like this for free on my website for those that can do it themselves and offer parts and service for those that haven't learned how yet. Info also at the AA ToolBox www.aatoolbox.no-ip.org (http://www.aatoolbox.no-ip.org/) . I just hope that if they need the parts or service, they will come to me for them.

Tony
ARS Software & Innovative Solutions
http://www.falcon1.net/~ars/rcmodels.html (http://www.falcon1.net/~ars/rcmodels.html)

[jipp]

To be honest if it was not for teh AAH, i would not be flying. Its my first plane. And im very thankful for such a great introduction. Also, was glad to hear even the die hard rc guys loved them too.

I mean most toys are junk so you always get this thing in the back of your head that you have to spend a lot of money to get in the air.

I orignaly wanted to do this a 5 years ago, but with some bad advice, and planes were more expesive then too. wierd.

Anyhow, i did get a futaba TX back then, so im doing research now for my second plane.

living in the desert, i need something durable, since all i haev to land on is rock. Which means 90% of the planes people recomend for there first trainer probablyw ould not servive.

But ill keep reading.

I have a question. One of the motors is louder than the other. Noise wise. Can i put a drop of oil in each motor to make them quiet and also maybe live a little longer?

Thanks.

These AAH are a lot of fun, i own three now. :)

chris.

[kenchiroalpha]

To be honest if it was not for teh AAH, i would not be flying. Its my first plane. And im very thankful for such a great introduction. Also, was glad to hear even the die hard rc guys loved them too.

I mean most toys are junk so you always get this thing in the back of your head that you have to spend a lot of money to get in the air.

I orignaly wanted to do this a 5 years ago, but with some bad advice, and planes were more expesive then too. wierd.

Anyhow, i did get a futaba TX back then, so im doing research now for my second plane.

living in the desert, i need something durable, since all i haev to land on is rock. Which means 90% of the planes people recomend for there first trainer probablyw ould not servive.

But ill keep reading.

I have a question. One of the motors is louder than the other. Noise wise. Can i put a drop of oil in each motor to make them quiet and also maybe live a little longer?

Thanks.

These AAH are a lot of fun, i own three now. :)

chris. hi chris :) put a small drop of 3 in1 oil on tip of toothpick and just touch shaft of motor. enough gets on. then run for minute or 2. clear skies and good flying

[jimw1956]

I acquired another aero ace the other day for six bucks at a salvage store. After a few adjustments, flys pretty well. I'm considering making a monowing out of it but I just have a thing about pulling the wing off a perfectly good airplane...should I or not?

[Earle]

You might try shortening up the length of the landing gear legs and widen the distance between the wheels. My first set looked like yours (using the mono wing mod - the biplane was just too heavy to get off from the ground unless I had a little head breeze - then it was hard to control in the air) and I could never get the thing to roll streight and it would fall over. After I modifiyed it I started getting some good rolling take offs. it was really a pleasure. By the way I had tried to use hot wheels track and even went so far as to make my own track to control the rolling direction but non of that worked for me).

[Earle]

Jimw - YES!!!! keep the wing struts attached to the lower wing. Just winggle them loose at the top carfully so you don't bent or tear them. Then wiggle and pull the lower wing out it's slot on the body. You can always put them back on if you want but I have never known anyone to do it. They ( including me) rather go out and buy a couple more AAs to modify and/or fly stock beacause sometimes I want to fly in the small spaces the stock does well in and the mono mod requires a larger field and turning area.

[Joe Lang]

[quote=kookaburra;97715] (snip)
For anyone wanting to try the Throttle Mod, LED Mod, Wheel Mod go to my partners at www.aeroacemods.com (http://www.aeroacemods.com). Buy a plane or Mod and at the checkout type 98618 in the promo code and get the FREE AA Clip with your order ($4.95 value).

Also, I have a B freq controller that has no plane for it. Anyone want to swap for an A or C, or perhaps a parts plane?
__________________
Tim Bray - Manager:cool:
www.aeroacenuts.com (http://www.aeroacenuts.com/)

Tim, I trust you'll do better timewise than your partners www.aeroacemods.com (http://www.aeroacemods.com) who don't answer their e-mail, answer their phone, or send out conformation that they are shipping. They were plenty quick though to get the PayPal money in their account though, but have not shipped the goods yet. That's a heck of a way to do business.

[nerys]

At the campsite this morning I whipped out the AHAA for some close in flying in a tiny field surrounded by pines.

I have been bending the trailing edges of my wing down to kind olf mape flaps Removed the dime and gave it tons of up elevator.

at lowest throttle this let me fly around nicely at waist to head level without losing any altitude.

NICE !! I got pretty good at it keeping it in the air for 3-4 minutes at times before nipping a branch or something. NICE !!

Amazing how theoraputic these things can be. As soon as I have the cash I am getting another to gut and build a custom airframe for.

I discovered I have a harbor fright local to me so I plan to check them out tommorrow and see if I get lucky.

ANY AHAA flyers close to me ? Levittown PA 19057 ?? I will travel up to 20 miles maybe more if conditions are right.

I REALLY want to get some pictures of these buggers. GOOD pictures but I can't do that and fly at the same time so I need a competant pilot to fly some around while I shoot them.

Any Volunteers ?

Chris Taylor
http://www.aeroace.info/

[jimw1956]

I don't think HF has the AA's...but they do have YellowBees. These are bigger and faster than the AA but have the same two engine setup. If you get a good one these are neat planes for 29.95 but you need a large area to fly them. They will also get very high very quickly if you don't throttle back once you get at a comfortable altitude. They do however have variable throttle and no throttle turning built in.

[nauticalz]

Hello everybody,
I picked one of these up as a goof... a way to kill an afternoon... WOW.
I flew nitro .40+ planes and helis about 10 years ago and finally gave it up due to the expense and heartbreak of banging them up.... ARF and RTF were not as good as they are today...imho, so it was MANY lost $ and hours. Anyway, I got the AA jet at Target a few weeks ago and was surprised at how durable (and fun) it was. I decided to take a look online and was blown away by the AHAA community.. very cool. I picked up the biplane style based on the forum info, did the Tx throttle mod to both, (unfortunately) picked up the Air Hogs F-16 with its awful radio, and now I am researching which electric plane to purchase. Amazing how a $20+ toy could bring back the thrill of r/c to a jaded ex-nitro guy. I must admit that I am totally lost with the current state of electrics.. brushless outrunners?, Li-po?.... 10 years ago was a different world.
Thank you Air Hogs for making such a great little plane, and thanks to the forum for posting all of the cool mods and hop-ups...
BTW a fishing pole with a Rapala lure worked well for retrieving my AA from the roof of my house.

[kookaburra]

[quote=kookaburra;97715] (snip)

Tim, I trust you'll do better timewise than your partners www.aeroacemods.com (http://www.aeroacemods.com) who don't answer their e-mail, answer their phone, or send out conformation that they are shipping. They were plenty quick though to get the PayPal money in their account though, but have not shipped the goods yet. That's a heck of a way to do business.

Joe, I really am sorry that you had a bad experience with my partners at aeroacemods.com. They are a startup company that, in my experience, are very professional and well-run. Before partnering up with them, I received many (12) packages from them quickly and with no hassles. They, admittedly, do not provide tracking or shipping notification, but many online companies do not too. Paypal is an instant payment method so they could not help but receive your money straight away. Have you received your items yet? If not, please send me your details and I will get on it and get you an answer. In the interest in keeping this thread happy-go-lucky please direct any concerns to my private mailbox. While I'm completely devoted to customer service, this thread is not the best place for such personal order matters.

With the recent online shortage of the AHAA, aeroacemods.com and aeroacenuts.com have been super busy keeping up with demand. An insider tip on Spin Master, they are dragging on getting out more fresh stock. That's why we only have the B and C freqs at the moment and they are selling like crazy. The Jet is basically only available through us online and a few other small places. None of the BIG STORES currently sell an AHAA!!! While there are no excuses in business, I can say that limited supply and heavy demand does sometimes create tough situations such as yours and for that I'm sorry. We are both little fish in a big toy pond and doing our best to keep our customers happy.

For everyone else: Now is the time to get your AHAA's. We hope to get in a fresh, full line-up of planes very soon. When we do, this thread will be the first to know. If you have no problem getting them from physical stores, that's great. For online purchasing, save yourself the search (I've looked hard for other sellers) and try aeroacenuts.com/aeroacemods.com and as always, put 98618 in the Promo Code field when you purchase for your FREE AA Clip. :)

[nerys]

My only problem is that $30 is on the edge for this plane especially for how easy it is to loose. I have essentially paid $96 for my AHAA when you factor in the 2 lost planes.

$40 is too much. and then you still have to add shipping. Then the price for the TX and 3 Motor reciever sets is also too steep since I can buy 3 planes and gut them for the same price and have extra parts and 2 extra tx's

I really love the site and the concept but its just too expensive right now.

Chris Taylor
http://www.aeroace.info/

[Earle]

Hay kookaburra - Look at the AirHogs (Spin master) F16 thread and you will see how some of the rest of us feel about what we have come to call the "Lawn Dart". It can be fun. It is always scarry to fly (like you say the controls are cra*!!) But when it flys good it sounds and looks great ( as long as you don'tr loose it)

[kookaburra]

Hi every one, nerys, I agree that the AA should be a low price plane and we are working to keep it that way. Some places want over $50!!..plus shipping. If you can find it at a physical store then you should get it there, but if you have to order it, we have the best price right now(mainly because the big boys are out of stock), plus we are the ONLY online place with the JET!! When you look at, for less than $50 you get hours and hours of fun and once you get used to the bipe, you can go mono etc. Even if they were $50-60 they are still worth the enjoyment and feeling you get. Those of us who remember RC planes 10 years ago gladly pay $40 for a plane that not only flys great but can crash and be ready to go right away. Gotta love technology. Thanks for the comments.

Earle, I will definitely check that out. I'm pretty good at losing them though, so I will have to see if there are any loss-prevention tips!! Until next time.

[jipp]

i dont like the jet. the jets are everywhere around here and very few bips. go figure. only problem i see with buying them online is if you get a bad one you are pretty much SOL. so i hope you guys who sell them on line test them first.


chris.

[nerys]

With a normal airplane you would be right. but these are not normal airplanes.

these are VERY EASILY LOST airplanes

Remember air ia layered so you can not even be carefuly and fly when the wind is low because sometimes its low at ground level but 15mph at 75feet uop :-( and there is nothing really you can do to avoid thermals except to fly at night or indoors.

with those conditions in mind $40 $50 just sucks big time. When I can no longer get them for $30 I just won't be able to buy them any longer. I could not justify the expense. Even at $30 its too much cause you have to add shipping which still keeps it around $40

even with my slow stick once you invest in the airplanes guts if you crash it its only $35 to replace the whole airplane and motor and you simply move your guts into the new plane.

No risk of a fly off or thermaling either as its bigger heavier can penetrate and has 3 channels and can fly can in spaces almost as tight as an AHAa in fact it can fly places AHAA's can't because its three channels with a greater power to weight ration (think high AOA walk under the wing flights)

Now don't get me wrong and I LOVE my AHAA's and an solidly hooked on them but that addiction can not survive at over $30 a pop and even gets strained at $30 big time if I can't figure out how to stop loosing the damned things :-) hehehe

There appeal absolutely depends on there price point.

Can;';t you guys wholesame order them direct from airhogs ? I bet the wholesale price is under $20 (I bet the actual all up cost is under $10 ie airhogs cost :-) Remember other companies are selling the exact same aircraft for $17.95 and they clearly are making a profit (thats where I would get them from if it were not for the $9 shipping Grrrr)

Hope this all makes sense. I think yiour sites a great idea and a great service but unless you can figure out how to retain the appeal of the price point its doomed to failure.

I also have zero interest in the jet. Just don't like it or how it flies. the Bipe with the bottom wing truncated is simply amazing :-)

I can not wait till I can afford to grab a few extra so I can start tearing the guts out of them for my one airframes.

Chris Taylor
http://www.aeroace.info/

[Joe Lang]

:( For those considering buying an Airhogs Aero Ace on-line from a vendor being touted here on Wattflyer, please consider reading the Vendors Discussion,Company Discussion before you plunk down your money.

[DetroitSubway]

Right in the middle of the Chickenplane2 redesign, my copy of Sport Aviation arrived with a feature on flying wing designs, and my entire R&D team instantly set fire to the Chickenplane project, upended the kitchen table, and swore off tails and canards forever. Thus was born the Chickenwing. The original plane was overkill. Spanned about twenty inches and had the turning radius of a 747. http://www.detroitsubway.com/images/originalChickenWing.JPGGood lord did it like the sky, though! I flew it at a big park in too much wind, and despite weighing 7 grams more than the AA, I had to nudge the throttle in bursts just to keep it below 50 feet. It was impossible to keep it in radio range, however. I would lean on the "rudder" for a full 4 seconds before the nose would start obeying at a glacial rate, and by the time I had it pointed the direction I wanted, it would be out of contact and I could only watch it glide to a landing hundreds of yards away. When I got home I lopped about 2.5 inches off each wings and it was still too slow to turn until I drastically cut down the endplates on the wingtips: Chickenwing Clipped. http://www.detroitsubway.com/images/ChickenWingClipped.JPGFinally I could finally fly it on the street in my neighborhood and was thrilled with the awesome glide ratio--I'm guessing at least 6:1, much more when it's trimmed out just right.

I soon trashed the original chicken wing and started over with the aim of making it lighter and tighter, but I misjudged the airfoil and washout I needed, and ended up having to carve it up somewhat to get it flying right. Still heavier than it needs to be because of all the solder and tape and gunk that's accreted to the motor leads. But this one's a real joy to fly, and glides so well that I think I've achieved one of my stated objectives. http://www.detroitsubway.com/images/Chickenwing2Chewed.JPGNext one will be much smaller and simpler--one piece wing with radio and battery set right in, only enough foam added around them to streamline, and I'll mount the motors wherever they need to be for CG, and let the props swing through slots (as much as that offends my sensibilities). So Chickenwing3 will be a true flying wing, no nose or fuselage. The key to a good flying wing, I think, is to shape the wing so it has a nose-up moment in flight. That means carving it somewhat upside down from the familiar flat-bottomed Clark Y style airfoil. You can see how I had to grind some negative camber into Chickenwing2 by scalloping out the underside of the wings. http://www.detroitsubway.com/images/Chickenwing2ChewedBelow.JPG

Yes, the motormounts are broken here. My camera crew/test pilot/focus group/spiritual advisor launched it hard, upside down, to a catastrophic impact. He has been reassigned pending a complete investigation.

Check out the video here: http://www.detroitsubway.com/images/chknwngCranbrook.WMV

Sorry about the awful banner in the middle of the video. I will have to cough up the $30 to get a real video editor someday, but right now, I can apply it to another plane instead.

Karl

[RCBilly]

The Aero Aces bipes and jets really work so much better with the diode steering mod but it's hard to do for us ham fisted solderers! Tony at http://www.falcon1.net/~ars/rcmodels.html has modded transmitters already to go for only $14.95 each including shipping! Sure can't beat that! . He has a bunch of other neat AA stuff there too. Well, back to AA flying while it's calm.. Bill

[Neurotex]

Great thread! Been reading it on & off for months.
I usually post on the other AA forum but it was down this morning so
I finally signed up here.

[jipp]

nice jet :)

chris.

[Joe Lang]

I have the transmitter mod for zero steering but have some questions:

Without getting too technical how does the diode steering mod work? (I take it that this is the same as the zero steering mod).

What does this actually get you in the way of performance. I see where it's stated in an ad that you can fly in much higher winds.

[jipp]

just means you have more control of the plane with out gaining alitude.

you can look for the ultimate list of aero ace mods and see pics of the diode mod. :)

chris.

[MegaByte-2]

Joe,

The mod allows you to steer the AA with the throttle off. So, if its windy you can kill the throttle so no motors running and then when you steer they will allow you to spiral down. In some wind conditions, even the slightest throttle will cause the AA to climb and you can't get it down.

The diode picks up the PCM signal and tricks the microprocessor into thinking the motors are running. It allows nice "dead stick" landings also.

Well.....since I answered the wrong question I think, I guess I should answer the one you asked.

The Steering Mod is a push button switch that adds 2 diodes back into circuit. It causes a wider turning radius. The diodes originally were in the Tx. D7 & D8 and are still marked on the hidden side of the Tx PCB. SilverLit removed them to tighten turning.

Everyone flys different , just like all AA's fly different. Some may turn to sharply, especially modified ones. So putting the diodes back in the circuit "softens" the turning radius.

I have some "early" pictures of the Tx that shows the diodes in the Tx and the switch was used then to "take them out of the circuit" for sharper turning.

Somehow I think there is some confusion between the Zero Throttle Mod and the Steering Mod.

Does that help in making more sense?

Tony
ARS Software & Innovative Solutions
http://www.falcon1.net/~ars/rcmodels.html (http://www.falcon1.net/~ars/rcmodels.html)

[Joe Lang]

Joe,

The mod allows you to steer the AA with the throttle off. So, if its windy you can kill the throttle so no motors running and then when you steer they will allow you to spiral down. In some wind conditions, even the slightest throttle will cause the AA to climb and you can't get it down.

The diode picks up the PCM signal and tricks the microprocessor into thinking the motors are running. It allows nice "dead stick" landings also.

Well.....since I answered the wrong question I think, I guess I should answer the one you asked.

The Steering Mod is a push button switch that adds 2 diodes back into circuit. It causes a wider turning radius. The diodes originally were in the Tx. D7 & D8 and are still marked on the hidden side of the Tx PCB. SilverLit removed them to tighten turning.

Everyone flys different , just like all AA's fly different. Some may turn to sharply, especially modified ones. So putting the diodes back in the circuit "softens" the turning radius.

I have some "early" pictures of the Tx that shows the diodes in the Tx and the switch was used then to "take them out of the circuit" for sharper turning.

Somehow I think there is some confusion between the Zero Throttle Mod and the Steering Mod.

Does that help in making more sense?

Tony
ARS Software & Innovative Solutions
http://www.falcon1.net/~ars/rcmodels.html (http://www.falcon1.net/~ars/rcmodels.html)

Tony, Thanks for your response. That is exactly what I was looking for.

[nocjef]

I'm not exactly sure how you guys are 'losing' them, but I'm guessing I just don't fly these things like the rest of you guys. I generally keep under 15ft and keep a flying area the size of a basketball court. (I actually fly in half a bball court at my condo). I also have the 'luxury' of having high-tension power lines about 100ft overhead, so the suggested flight is much lower than the rest of you.

It could be my non-rc flight backround, too. The whole flying closer to the ground because it makes me feel safer and all...anyways $30, you can't beat it. :>

-Jef

[AdamSnow]

I'm having a problem with my AHAA... It seems like it doesn't take a full charge anymore... :( I wear the battery out, plug it in and the green light doesn't even come on... however, if I come back in an hour and try it it does have a charge... just not very much... no power at all.

If I try to fly, it will fly straight (no climbing) for about 3-4 seconds, and then it just slowly drops altitude and crashes...

Anyone have any advice on what to do? Can I change the battery inside the AHAA at all? I've tried new batteries in the controller, but still the same thing...

Sucks - I've only flown this thing maybe a dozen comes, and I don't have the receipt to take it back or anything... :(

[MIG73]

Adam,
sounds to me like you plug isnt connecting to your plane very well, and that the power you are seeing after a little bit is just latent power that is released once the battery rests. Mine can be kind of grumpy as well. I find that if I pull it in and out a few times, eventually it will connect right and the green light will come on and charge fully.

[MIG73]

Has anybody tried to "roof proof" their Ahaa? By that I mean has anybody else tried to find a way to allow their plane to propel itself off the roof in case of an unfortunate roof landing? I got the idea when I put a little clear tape on the bottom of my Ahaa and discovered that it would then slide across the floor of my house like a Storm laucher, it also worked well on the asphalt on the road in front of my house. My next Idea was to make 2 little landing skids from paper clips and poke them into the body of the Ahaa. That worked fine for "downhill" problems but it would still hang up on the lips of the shingles if I was trying to move uphill on the roof. I suspect that with wire of the proper length and bends you could create some skids that would allow the Ahaa to slide up and over the lips of the shingles and off of the roof...Any suggestions or ideas?

[Earle]

Adem - I agree with MIG73 - I also have had my charger act as though the plane has a charge with one of my "B" chargers.As I plug the plane in the green light will flash but not stay on. Sometimes it fools me and think the plane is chagred (if I have not flown for a few days I may forget). But sometimes I know for a fact it is not charged because I flew it to exaustion the day before. If I plug it into one of the other chargers ( I have 6) it charges fine. So I have learned to plug it in and out several times until it lights and stays on. Good luck on having this help you.

[Saint James]

These little cuties often get 'lost' because pilots fail to kill throttle and kiss turf when they should under whatever condition exists during the particular problematic flight - winds, loss of sight, loss of orientation.

I lost sight of one for three seconds when a gust wind took it behind a tree. Knew I could bring it back. Didn't know the tree had eaten it already.

Wind's fault? No.
Tree's fault? No.
Ace's fault? No.
Pilot's fault for not grounding craft when conditions exceeded ability to control or track craft? Yup.

Good thirty buck lesson in flight discipline, 'specially since it was my wife's Ace... fortunately, the beatin' lasted longer than the banshee wailin'...

[Saint James]

As for roof-proofing - enclose the beast in a 'ball' made from a couple pieces of .5 mm cf rod?

[Rhondas]

Yeah, people over at RCU told me there is markings on the front of the box and the frequency that is inside the box is checked. So hopefully they will have a couple different frequencies there so that I can pick up a few for my friends and I to mess with. I might aswell get the $5 insurance on it because I know that I am bound to fly it straight into a tree at some point. :)

Thanks for the replies guys and hopefully I will have some pictures of it today. I will try a video but it may be hard if I am flying by myself...

P.S. I see you did the radio mod (removing throttle spring)... how easy was it to do? Any tips before I tear it apart?



22222222222222222@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
whats the channel number

[mjswider]

Hi, I am interested in getting exposed to RC electric planes, and someone on this forum suggested the Air Hogs as a good intro. I have a couple of questions I hope someone would be kind enough to answer

What is the range of this setup (how far away will the plane fly before loosing reception)?

How long does the plane fly on a charge?

How long to recharge?

[MIG73]

Aero Aces are advertised to have a range of 300 ft. but that is somewhat optimistic. It tends to vary from plane to plane, but 300 ft would definately seem to be the cap. Flight time on a full charge is somewhere around 10 minutes on a new set of AA batteries in the controller, and when fully drained should take about 20 minutes to charge. ***Older planes may not fly as long due to some aging of the LIPO battery inside the plane itself and Charge time depends on the strength of the batteries in the controller. Older batteries will take longer to charge the plane, newer ones may charge faster***

[mjswider]

So the plane gets charged from the batteries in the controller? That seems like it could be very nice. Are rechargable NiMh a good choice for the controller?

[MIG73]

NiMh dont seem to be preferred because the overall voltage output is only 1.2 v per battery as opposed to disposables which are a true 1.5 v per battery. They should still work, but the effect will likely be like using older batteries as opposed to fresh ones, meaning it will take longer to charge...etc. STILL, for the money, the Aero Ace is an amazing toy. I'd say its the best $30 I've ever "wasted".

[Mike Freas]

If your looking to “really” get into flying R/C (electric or Nitro) I would look at getting another type of bird. There is nothing wrong with the AA but it’s more for fun in/around the house. The range is only about 300’ give or take and depending on weather (thermals) 10 min is about the flight time you will get. Charge time is about 15-20 min on fresh batteries. If you have a bit more money I would look into a Slow Stick or similar aircraft and find a local spot/AMA field to learn to fly. If you only have 30 bucks to spend then by all means the AA is great. Also, my 4 year old can fly it no problem so it’s great for kids. One last thing….there are several birds like the AA even some from Air Hogs that aren’t nearly as good fliers and don’t have the lipo battery included.

[mjswider]

@ MIG73, I use rechargable NiMh in my DAP, and fresh out of the charger they run closer to 1.4V. I thought they would be good because they are good at delivering peak power better (I thought) than alkalines. My camera seems to work better with them anyway. I thought the range might be affected by the lower voltage.

@ Mike, I am very interested in getting into a "real" plane. This is something I would like to do with my boys, and I don't want to plunk down $200 for something we use only 4 or 5 times. I also don't want to be overprotective about expensive gear with them and drive them away. I figure if we try this and it lasts for a while, or they are looking for more, then we can "graduate" to the real thing. We are already fooling around with FMS and the RealFlight Demo, to get a feel for flying RC.

BTW, thanks for the tip on the battery and such for the Aero Ace versus the other Air Hogs, definetly good to know

[MIG73]

Mike is right, if you are looking to get into full blown R/C flying, you will want to get something else. but for something to play around with or for younger kids or people just getting their toes wet, this plane is hard to beat. I have landed mine on (can also be read as "crashed into") virtually every surface in my neighborhood, and its still going strong. For the price, you could get a couple and have a spare charging while you fly one, or use both to dogfight. My 4 year old flies his plane, and actually does quite well considering. VERY fun plane, WELL worth the small investment. But be warned- They are addictive. We now have 5 in my neighborhood, and I know of 2 or 3 others who now on them all because I bought one for my son (can also be read as "me")...LOL.

[mjswider]

Done, I just ordered one from Toys R Us. Where I live the nearest store to buy one is about 45 minutes away, so spending $5 for shipping and knowing I will get it (eventually) is well worth it. Meanwhile, I will keep thinking about bigger and better as well.

[MIG73]

These can also be found at Wal Mart, Target and K Mart...if you wanted to buy one in person.

[mjswider]

thx, we do have a Kmart local, I will go by and see if they stock the Aero Ace. :cool:

[stevecooper]

These little rascles ( the planes not my nab's kids;)) fly so well I've got 4&5 year olds fly'in em!!!ya'lls bub steve

[mjswider]

Thanks for the Kmart tip MIG. I did manage to find some of the jet versions of the AA in my local Kmart today after work. After a bit of going back and forth, I decided to commit the $22 + tax they were asking. I knew it was a deal, but since I had just ordered the biplane, I was hesitant to buy a jet also. I had heard the jet was hard to fly.

I took my 7 and 10 year old up to the school when I got home, and we flew it. I used NiMh batteries in my controller, and it was charged in less than 10 min. Not exactly sure how long we flew, but it seemed like a really long time. Definitely more than 10 minutes. By the end of my first charge, both boys had flown the plane with a fair amount of control. They, that is we, loved it. Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention when the checker scanned my AA, the price came up at $6.45 with tax. I may go back and buy the other two left on the shelf tomorrow. The one charge we flew thus far was worth $6.45.

It would be nice to have elevator control of the plane, as I would like to try to execute a loop. I got close in the few minutes I flew today, but never got there. But in any case, we are learning the basics, and having a great time.

Good stuff.:D

[bobOflyer]

the jets seem to fly beter then the bie planes because the jet can glide, but, if you are going to fly by assphalt, you better be prepared to possably lose a prop, i learnd the hard way, it slid just one time, and it snaped the prop, ive been lucky with my new one, any way, the bie plane is the best for flying by assphalt. but the jet can do tuch and gose if you time them right and it is a little more fun to fly.:) :D :)

[Rhondas]

@ MIG73, I use rechargable NiMh in my DAP, and fresh out of the charger they run closer to 1.4V. I thought they would be good because they are good at delivering peak power better (I thought) than alkalines. My camera seems to work better with them anyway. I thought the range might be affected by the lower voltage.

@ Mike, I am very interested in getting into a "real" plane. This is something I would like to do with my boys, and I don't want to plunk down $200 for something we use only 4 or 5 times. I also don't want to be overprotective about expensive gear with them and drive them away. I figure if we try this and it lasts for a while, or they are looking for more, then we can "graduate" to the real thing. We are already fooling around with FMS and the RealFlight Demo, to get a feel for flying RC.

BTW, thanks for the tip on the battery and such for the Aero Ace versus the other Air Hogs, definetly good to know

:p Are you saying the Nimh ae better ,I hope so I like the act I can refresh them in the Ace airhof transmitter and charger. Thanks my direct email is ronplanes@optonline.net. (ronplanes@optonline.net):cool: please let me know ASAP Im going to the mart store and Ill pick up another 8 pack of Nimh duracell now has a 2650 MAH output.AA battery

[mjswider]

Hi Rhonda, I don't know if the NiMh are better or not. I only have one charge/discharge cycle of experience. I was very surprised that the plane charged so fast. I only really know that it charged more than about 2 minutes and less than 10 minutes. The flight time was at least 10 minutes. I will try again this am and post a result, by the watch. I have never used alkaline, so I don't know the time for that with this plane. I am using 2500mAh energizers.

OK, I am doing my second charge cycle off these batteries which were charged this past weekend. It took 24:43. maybe I got my time messed up for the first charge inthe excitement of it all, but I know it was way faster the first time. I may not have connected the battery very well this time, Iam not sure. I am sure the fresher the batteries, the faster the cycle. NiMh self discharge over time. I have heard alkalines take anywhere between 10 and 20 minutes. I really like the fact that I won't throw my matteries away after I use them for a few flights though. I will be curious to see how fast the charge is on a really fresh set.

Flight time was roughly 20 minutes. My stopwatch is kind of lame, and I started and stopped a few times. I did not fly at full throttle, as I was in the dark under a street light near my house. Spent a few of those minutes retrieving the plane from hitting trees, etc. It is nice to have a rugged plane to learn on.

I would be curious to hear if anyone others are using rechargables also and what their experience is.

[stevecooper]

Their partly charged when you get em, It can take up to 20-30 min, to charge normaly, I only use alkaline an get about 20 charges, ( I think they mention not to use nicad's) I've don't think they have enough ummff for heavy draw, your bub steve PS as for the 300' range, it's more like100-150' but ya hold the tranmiter up over your head when she get's squrliey for more range ( not kidd'in it works) good luck!

[kenchiroalpha]

hi :) i use rayovac 1.2 v 2500 mAhin rechargable nhm's in both my ahaa and picoo tx's. charge times between the 2 are comparable it takes about 15 to 25 minutes and i get about 12 very good charges. after that i noticed it still charges aircraft fine but range suffers on the tx. since i have a few of each model i have started using a dedicated tx as a charger and one for flight purposes. the charge tx's now last 15 to 20 charges and i have'nt had to charge the flight tx's till about 25 to 30 flights. hope this helps :D clear skies and good flying.

[Rhondas]

Hi Rhonda, I don't know if the NiMh are better or not. I only have one charge/discharge cycle of experience. I was very surprised that the plane charged so fast. I only really know that it charged more than about 2 minutes and less than 10 minutes. The flight time was at least 10 minutes. I will try again this am and post a result, by the watch. I have never used alkaline, so I don't know the time for that with this plane. I am using 2500mAh energizers.

OK, I am doing my second charge cycle off these batteries which were charged this past weekend. It took 24:43. maybe I got my time messed up for the first charge inthe excitement of it all, but I know it was way faster the first time. I may not have connected the battery very well this time, Iam not sure. I am sure the fresher the batteries, the faster the cycle. NiMh self discharge over time. I have heard alkalines take anywhere between 10 and 20 minutes. I really like the fact that I won't throw my matteries away after I use them for a few flights though. I will be curious to see how fast the charge is on a really fresh set.

Flight time was roughly 20 minutes. My stopwatch is kind of lame, and I started and stopped a few times. I did not fly at full throttle, as I was in the dark under a street light near my house. Spent a few of those minutes retrieving the plane from hitting trees, etc. It is nice to have a rugged plane to learn on.

I would be curious to hear if anyone others are using rechargables also and what their experience is.
hi , just bought duracells now 2650-MAH, Ill try them:p

[mjswider]

Yeah, that is good info kench. it makes sense since you are using twice as many batteries, you get about twice the life out of your batteries. Also good to know that 25min for a charge is not abnormal, although I liked the 10 or so for my first flight. With two controllers, you can nearly always keep one plane in the air, that is nice.

[MIG73]

Curious about the 2650 MaH batteies myself, let me know how that turns out.

[MIG73]

MJSWIDER,
I dont know if you are still planning on gettign the AA biplane or not, but in my experience, its much more enoyable to fly than the Jet. So I'd recommend going ahead and buying it if you still have it ordered. I'd also suggest the wing mod and the throttle mod, as both are excellent improvements. Once you've flown with the lower wing removed, you suddenly understand why everyone does it. I was reluctant to do so with mine, but once I flew one with the mod, I instantly ripped my wings off too. Have fun.
MIG

[Rhondas]

Hi Rhonda, I don't know if the NiMh are better or not. I only have one charge/discharge cycle of experience. I was very surprised that the plane charged so fast. I only really know that it charged more than about 2 minutes and less than 10 minutes. The flight time was at least 10 minutes. I will try again this am and post a result, by the watch. I have never used alkaline, so I don't know the time for that with this plane. I am using 2500mAh energizers.

OK, I am doing my second charge cycle off these batteries which were charged this past weekend. It took 24:43. maybe I got my time messed up for the first charge inthe excitement of it all, but I know it was way faster the first time. I may not have connected the battery very well this time, Iam not sure. I am sure the fresher the batteries, the faster the cycle. NiMh self discharge over time. I have heard alkalines take anywhere between 10 and 20 minutes. I really like the fact that I won't throw my matteries away after I use them for a few flights though. I will be curious to see how fast the charge is on a really fresh set.

Flight time was roughly 20 minutes. My stopwatch is kind of lame, and I started and stopped a few times. I did not fly at full throttle, as I was in the dark under a street light near my house. Spent a few of those minutes retrieving the plane from hitting trees, etc. It is nice to have a rugged plane to learn on.

I would be curious to hear if anyone others are using rechargables also and what their experience is.:p

im going to try Duracells are 2650 MAH I Ihave no Idea what an Alkaline produces in MAH:o

[Rhondas]

Mike is right, if you are looking to get into full blown R/C flying, you will want to get something else. but for something to play around with or for younger kids or people just getting their toes wet, this plane is hard to beat. I have landed mine on (can also be read as "crashed into") virtually every surface in my neighborhood, and its still going strong. For the price, you could get a couple and have a spare charging while you fly one, or use both to dogfight. My 4 year old flies his plane, and actually does quite well considering. VERY fun plane, WELL worth the small investment. But be warned- They are addictive. We now have 5 in my neighborhood, and I know of 2 or 3 others who now on them all because I bought one for my son (can also be read as "me")...LOL.:p

Please post some pictures of your bottom wing of
ace, does it realy fly better how about landings
:cool:

[kenchiroalpha]

hi :) heres some pics of bottom wing removed and half wing bipes http://www.rchangout.com/gallery/showgallery.php/cat/500/page/3/ppuser/11057 :D clear skies and good flying

[MIG73]

Dont have any pics of my ace, but there are plenty of others who have pics of their modded aces in their pic galleries. As for the difference in flight, its amazing. Its much more peppy without the lower wing. Some people say it takes more space to fly because its faster, but I find I can fly mine in the same space as before. As for landing, its no trouble at all, with the props being mounted on the upper wings, they are pretty well shielded from impacts even in the most violent of landings. Like I said, I was reluctant to pull my wings off, but after seeing what a difference it made, I was more than ready to do so. As much fun as the biplane is stock, the lower wing mod is even more fun, as it makes it more nimble and adds to the flight time because you are dragging around less weight. It also seems to help a bit in windier conditions.

[mjswider]

I went back to Kmart today to see if I could purchase the other two Jets they had. I was less in a hurry, so I found even more planes than I saw yesterday. I picked up another Jet and also the only biplane they had. Today, they were $9.99 each. not sure why the price went up from yesterday, but still much cheaper then the tag that was on them.

I now have one of each channel, and one biplane. I cancelled my order for the Toys R Us biplane I ordered, as I thought 3 was enough for now. Had I know the biplanes were so much "better", maybe I would have kept it. I figure if I want to I can always order again. For now, I will go back to Kmart periodically and check the selection and price.

If you are in the Santa Barbara / Goleta, CA area, it is the Kmart out on the corner of Hollister and Storke Rd. There were three more jets there I believe when I left.

If it is not obvious, if someone could point me in the direction of where one makes the mods that MIG73 mentions, I will check it out. In the short term, I am really busy, so it will probably be awhile before I even take the ones I bought today out of the box.

OK, so I opened the box for the biplane. It looks like removing the lower wing is a few simple cuts with an exacto knife. But the other throttle mod, being a newbie I don't know what you would do for that one. Would it help flying the jet as well?

Also, kench mentions a half wing biplane. How does that fly? I think with only one biplane, I would stick to a single wing for now.

[kenchiroalpha]

hi :) the half wing is between the the full wing and the no wing mod in flight performance. not as fast and still very stable. please do not cut your wing. they are held on by a sticky substance, not sure yet what it is. but the point is by gently pulling you can remove the struts and the bottom wing. a bonus is you can put it back on when the mood strikes you. as for the mods just use the forums search feature. type ahaa mods and see what comes up. just wait till you see a light mod in action. perfect for nite flying. hope this has been of help :D clear skies and good flying

[mjswider]

Thanks kench, you saved me from getting out the knife. The light mod sure would have helped me this morning. I have not looked yet, but it seems like at least two lights would be nice, one for each wing. that way you can tell what the wings are up to. That is what I have been watching in my limited flying time.

[kenchiroalpha]

Thanks kench, you saved me from getting out the knife. The light mod sure would have helped me this morning. I have not looked yet, but it seems like at least two lights would be nice, one for each wing. that way you can tell what the wings are up to. That is what I have been watching in my limited flying time. hi:) your most welcome. if you want an inexpensive light mod. try to find rod and bob lunker lights there small glow sticks used for fishing. i tape 2. 1 to each wing as there very lite. pics of them in action are here http://www.rchangout.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/5812/cat/500/ppuser/11057 and this is what they look like in the dark http://www.rchangout.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/5813/cat/500/ppuser/11057 you can find them at walmarts in the fishing section 4 for $1.99 please check out the rest of my gallery as there are other mods and conversions there.:D clear skies and good flying.

[flightstar]

I've been following some of the threads dealing with power issues on this and other forums, and mostly following issues on recharging the AeroAce. I have also seen that the LiPo actually is being charged by the AA cells at above 1C, so this has naturally raised a few questions. So far, I probably have 40-50 flights on mine, and have been getting diminished flight times on my mono-wing (12-14 minutes, down from 16-19 minutes) and it doesn't charge as fast as it used to. I am using 2500 mAh NiMh cells to charge, and have recharged those about 4 or 5 times to keep the cell voltage up. My NiMh cells are "rated" at 1.2 v per cell, but after charging, they are all around 1.47 - 1.49 v each. This is good, but the cell voltage drops pretty quick after a few cycles of charging the AeroAce. Once, I monitored the cell voltage (on the AA NiMh batteries) at between 1.18 to 1.24 volts. I would really question my transmitter range at this voltage. Upon viewing a schematic of the AA transmitter at R/C Universe's forums, I found that the six AA cells in the transmitter are split up. 3 of them power the charging circuit, and the other 3 power your transmitter, giving you around 4.5 volts (with alkaline cells) on each side to play with. You can prove this by taking out 1 of the batteries toward the bottom of the transmitter with the power on, and it still has power for controlling the plane. I have seen a post or two about adding an additional cell at both ends of the transmitter pack when using NiMh to compensate for the voltage difference. It would almost be easier to have an external power pack to handle this, but keep in mind, you still have to split up the voltage from 6 cells. It is not looking for 9 volts, rather 4.5 volts to each side (transmitter and charger).

My question is, will adding another NiMh cell (not alkaline) to the charging side overtax the LiPo battery on the AeroAce when charging? Is anyone else doing this?

My other concern is that on one occasion, I found my AeroAce had been charging for around 2 1/2 hours straight :eek: when my NiMh batteries were really low. Did this cause a problem? I felt the LiPo (I have my plane split open for easy access) and it was not even warm, but am wondering because another AeroAce I fly takes more charge in it's battery for the same amount of charging time that this particular AeroAce does. I just hope I didn't cook my cell.

Also, I am looking into getting a bigger capacity LiPo since the plane climbs so well at the lowest throttle setting anyway. Anyone have any feedback on flight times vs. charge times with a larger capacity LiPo?

I love how this thing flies without the lower wing. Hands down, this mod alone makes this plane worth owning!

Thanks!

[mjswider]

So many things to explore on the Aero Ace. I look forward to when I have some more time to check this out. I am definitely interested in night flying, but no Walmart near where I am. Maybe I can find that at kmart also. Thanks for the photo links kinch

I am also interested in the various chargin issues flightstar asks about. I am an electrical engineer, which is probably why I gratitated to the electric planes.

[mjswider]

Well, I just found out that the AA I ordered from TRU did not get cancelled before the plane shipped. I guess I will have to suffer through having two jets and two biplanes.

[91sleeper]

does anyone know where i can order an AA from? Every website says out of stock and i live in hawaii so it's hard to get things locally. if anyone knows where i can get one please let me know or if you have some for sale i would pay $100 for 3 of them. thanks.

[mjswider]

I ordered one two days ago from Toys R Us. The stock on one of the models came and went. As of yesterday, I was able to put either an A or C channel in my cart.

I go there now and I get the temporarily not available online message. Put one on your wishlist and they will notify you when they are available, maybe as soon as a couple of hours.

Highly recommended!

[91sleeper]

^^awesome. thanx! wonder if they ship to hawaii?

[toywizard]

;) Hello all

My son and I have been having a blast with the AA Bipes plus the jets.
DId most of the mods including removing the lower wing and yes! its better.

Here is what we do. Use Wally WOrld rechargable 2100 mah batteries.
I soldered a 7.2v nimh battery plug ends to the AA controler battery pack at each end so you have full 6 cell voltage.

Then while we are charging, I plug in the 7.2v battery to "keep the AA batteries up".
So far this has worked flawlessly. WE have 7 planes and go through them in rapid order throughout and afternoon and just keep recharging the fleet as we go.
I find each plane has its own personality (characteristics) in flying behavior and flight time.
We setup seperate controlers for just charging too.

All I need to do is swap out the AA batteries within the pack from time to time to keep em all happy.

Oh, we use the 7.2v pack to recharge it because we run electric trucks and have tons of batteries and a couple of big chargers setup for it.

[kenchiroalpha]

hi :) toy wizard thats neat. can you post a photo of the tx so i can see exactly were to solder. as i have other rc vehicles. trucks, cars, boats, and the batteries and chargers i could do as you did. its funny you should mention that they all fly differently ive 12, 4 mod bipes, 4 stock bipes, and 4 jets and there all totally different flyers. some are slow and lazy flying. some are quicker and more agile i love them all and plan to keep getting more to mod and convert. :D clear skies and good flying

[toywizard]

http://twwrc.homestead.com/aacm.html

My wonderfull wife did up this page for ya.

[toywizard]

What I like about this setup is a lot of us have TX / Charging units that we don't use cause we have more than one plane.

I got the fully modded TX with all three channels, so they all are extra.
SOme of us have had "blow aways" or escapees and have extra TX / Chargers.

This way the "extra" tx can be modded for this charger setup.
If you use Duracell batteries in your primary TX and not use it for charging, the cost has dropped tons and your TX will have great power/range for a long time.

I also like the fact that battery packs of this size last a long long time for recharging the AA batteries that charge the aero ace.

I find the Wally World AA 2100mah batteries are very good quality and its great I don't ever have to recharge them with the charger I got with them. ITs quite slow.
I did buy a newer set of batteries and charger for my workplace and the "quick charger" is very quick, like 15-20 mins.

But then you need to pull the batteries out of the tx (screw driver access) and put them in the charger or swap em out.
I like just plugging in my battery 7.2v. I think the battery being kept up to snuff all the time will allow the AA TX to charge the AA fast.

No drag time after 3 or 4 charges. Always the fastest charge.

[kenchiroalpha]

http://twwrc.homestead.com/aacm.html

My wonderfull wife did up this page for ya. hi :) toy wizard thanks a lot.:D be sure to thank your wife for me too, she's a pip. i too use dedicated tx's for charging and control. i find my battery life on the charging tx is almost double and the controling one nearly triple. this mod will really extend my flight times. thanks again :D clear skies and good flying.

[metatr0n]

Wow. This thread is "enlightening" to say the least. I picked up the AA after work yesterday and got about 5 flights in before dark. After the 4th run, the left motor began to spin a bit slower than the right, causing a death spiral upon launch. I started to worry that I'd have to return the plane, but after applying some sewing machine oil to the each of the prop shafts the plane actually flies straighter than it did out of the box.

This is my first plane and truly a childhood dream realized for me. My parents would never spring for a plane (plenty of rc cars though), and I can't currently afford something expensive to crash. That said, I'm loving the AA. I feel like a kid again :)

Whats the lifespan of these little pager motors? I'm thinking about picking up a few spares just in case, but I'd still like to know how long they last.

[kenchiroalpha]

Wow. This thread is "enlightening" to say the least. I picked up the AA after work yesterday and got about 5 flights in before dark. After the 4th run, the left motor began to spin a bit slower than the right, causing a death spiral upon launch. I started to worry that I'd have to return the plane, but after applying some sewing machine oil to the each of the prop shafts the plane actually flies straighter than it did out of the box.

This is my first plane and truly a childhood dream realized for me. My parents would never spring for a plane (plenty of rc cars though), and I can't currently afford something expensive to crash. That said, I'm loving the AA. I feel like a kid again :)

Whats the lifespan of these little pager motors? I'm thinking about picking up a few spares just in case, but I'd still like to know how long they last. hi :) meta this is one of my first ahaa's http://www.rchangout.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/5730/cat/500/ppuser/11057 it has over 100 charges on it and the motors are as good as the day i got it weekly lube jobs extend the life them. :D clear skies and good flying.

[91sleeper]

went to tru this morning and was able to order two of the blakc and gold and one red AA! can't wait till they get here and i can have some fun. my friend in okinawa has one and when i went to visit he let me try it and i'm hooked.

[91sleeper]

well tru canceled my order saying they didn't have any but the one i ordered from ebay came and i was able to find one AA jet and one biplane at walmart lastnight. gonna do some flying today. took the jet for a test run last night and it flew amazing! it is much faster than the biplane but the biplane seems to handle better and is a little easier to fly.

[Earle]

The Jets I've had fly about half way between the biplane and it's monowing mod. I did need some nose weight on the jet (as well as the biplane) to get them to fly without porpousing. I have had the biplanes for about 6 months and everyone still flys great though I may not use them as hard (and having 6 allows a rotation of evening flying). I suppose I have about 30 flights each.

[Pconn5]

Ok im sure this has been anwsered before and i tried looking through the thread but can't find it..i mean 68 pages!!

ok i just got an aero ace biplane and when i plugged it into charge for the first time the light came on but went off in like a mintue not even. when i tried to plug it back in i had to shake the plug a little to get the light on and then plug it fully in but it goes off again. does this mean it is fully charged? does it come with a good charge on it already?? I hope it isn't defective.

also when i turned the plane on it would go tofull throttle so i no it does have some charge.

thanks for any replies! Had to get me one of these things to see how it is!!

[mjswider]

My first charge took less than 10min. I have also had a minor incident with one plane where it kept turning off before the plane was charged, but it that has not repeated again.

You will like flying them, no doubt. I like flying the biplane with the lower wing and strut removed much better than the stock biplane. I think the stock plane would be good indoors though.

[mjswider]

I've been following some of the threads dealing with power issues on this and other forums, and mostly following issues on recharging the AeroAce. I have also seen that the LiPo actually is being charged by the AA cells at above 1C, so this has naturally raised a few questions. So far, I probably have 40-50 flights on mine, and have been getting diminished flight times on my mono-wing (12-14 minutes, down from 16-19 minutes) and it doesn't charge as fast as it used to. I am using 2500 mAh NiMh cells to charge, and have recharged those about 4 or 5 times to keep the cell voltage up. My NiMh cells are "rated" at 1.2 v per cell, but after charging, they are all around 1.47 - 1.49 v each. This is good, but the cell voltage drops pretty quick after a few cycles of charging the AeroAce. Once, I monitored the cell voltage (on the AA NiMh batteries) at between 1.18 to 1.24 volts. I would really question my transmitter range at this voltage. Upon viewing a schematic of the AA transmitter at R/C Universe's forums, I found that the six AA cells in the transmitter are split up. 3 of them power the charging circuit, and the other 3 power your transmitter, giving you around 4.5 volts (with alkaline cells) on each side to play with. You can prove this by taking out 1 of the batteries toward the bottom of the transmitter with the power on, and it still has power for controlling the plane. I have seen a post or two about adding an additional cell at both ends of the transmitter pack when using NiMh to compensate for the voltage difference. It would almost be easier to have an external power pack to handle this, but keep in mind, you still have to split up the voltage from 6 cells. It is not looking for 9 volts, rather 4.5 volts to each side (transmitter and charger).

My question is, will adding another NiMh cell (not alkaline) to the charging side overtax the LiPo battery on the AeroAce when charging? Is anyone else doing this?

My other concern is that on one occasion, I found my AeroAce had been charging for around 2 1/2 hours straight :eek: when my NiMh batteries were really low. Did this cause a problem? I felt the LiPo (I have my plane split open for easy access) and it was not even warm, but am wondering because another AeroAce I fly takes more charge in it's battery for the same amount of charging time that this particular AeroAce does. I just hope I didn't cook my cell.

Also, I am looking into getting a bigger capacity LiPo since the plane climbs so well at the lowest throttle setting anyway. Anyone have any feedback on flight times vs. charge times with a larger capacity LiPo?


@ flightstar, I am certain that charging the AA with NiMh versus alkaline makes no difference. The charger is based on the charging voltage of the lipo. So long as the voltage into the charger is greater than the voltage required to get to max voltage on the lipo plus the drops of the charger, it should work fine. I bet you could charge the lip with a 7.5 alkaline source and the lipo would not see the difference. I am also certain you could add another NiMh battery and not overtax the lipo. You may overtax the charger, but this I doubt also, so long as your 7 NiMh are not much more than 9.6V.

So then why six cells instead of 5? My guess is that in the world of high volume, no one makes anything with 5 cells. Also a six cell unit allows you to use rechargables as well. Even though the instructions tell you use only alkaline, I am certain there are no ill effects of using rechargables.

Also, I would guess that you did not cook your cell, let us know. I bet your charger never supplied sufficient voltage to fully charge the lipo.

As far as high capacity lipo cells go and charge time, it should be directly proportional to what you have now. A cell with 2x capacity will fly nearly 2x as long and take 2x as long to charge.

[kenchiroalpha]

hi :) i read some where, im just not sure where. that the six are split 3 for charging and 3 for control. i will try to find where i read it but theres so much info on the ahaa's thats its easy to lose track of some:D clear skies and good flying

[mjswider]

kench is basically right. Three batteries are used to power the transmitter. Those same three, plus the other three are used to power the lipo in the plane.

So three of the batteries are used exclusively for charging, while the other three do double duty, charging as well as powering the transmitter.

[kenchiroalpha]

kench is basically right. Three batteries are used to power the transmitter. Those same three, plus the other three are used to power the lipo in the plane.

So three of the batteries are used exclusively for charging, while the other three do double duty, charging as well as powering the transmitter. hi :) thanks for the explanation im going to have to get a bigger hard drive to store all the info on the ahaa's ;) :D clear skies and good flying.

[mjswider]

your welcome, the only reason i know is because you pointed me to the schematics in one of my other question posts. Have schematics, will figure out, or at least try to :D

[Pconn5]

So i took my ace out for its first flight tonight. Not much wind a little breeze every so often but not bad. I flew it and it flew great but went a little left into a circle. I trimmed it using the knob and it flew relatively straight. started making a few turns and it didn't do that bad. Not very reactive at all but did turn most of the time. I am very impressed with this plane for only $30!! Well i love the plane.

Also does the mono wing help steering a lot? Is it a great increase in performance?? Also should i try using the penny to stop the porpoising or just try a thumbtack first?? Is it possible to get level flight without the up down and will that help turning??

thanks for the help. Its hard to search through 68 pages.

[stevecooper]

You should have gone to page 69 first!!!!use a small (SMALL) screw just under the nose , try start'in lite an work up, I've got a bub, who got one thats tail heavy! talk about a bear in the air !! but a-bit-o-finishing nail got had her a-soar'in, your bub, steve

[mjswider]

Hi Pconn5, here is my two cents. I assume you have the biplane. I have both the biplane and the jet. Prior to removing the lower wing from the biplane, I was not really all that crazy about it. It was fun, but I thought the jet was much better. After taking the lower wing off, I now prefer the new mono wing plane. I still like the jet, but I would pick the mono most every time.

As far as the porposing goes, I think that speed control works fine for me to try and eliminate that. I have not tried adding weight. Prior to removing the lower wing, I did consider trying to add weight, but removed the wing instead. If you don't want to remove the lower wing, then try adding weight.

Enjoy the thrill of flying a plane!:)

[Joe Lang]

Hi Pconn5, here is my two cents. I assume you have the biplane. I have both the biplane and the jet. Prior to removing the lower wing from the biplane, I was not really all that crazy about it. It was fun, but I thought the jet was much better. After taking the lower wing off, I now prefer the new mono wing plane. I still like the jet, but I would pick the mono most every time.

As far as the porposing goes, I think that speed control works fine for me to try and eliminate that. I have not tried adding weight. Prior to removing the lower wing, I did consider trying to add weight, but removed the wing instead. If you don't want to remove the lower wing, then try adding weight.

Enjoy the thrill of flying a plane!:)

mjswider, When you say remove the lower wing, are you adding a piece of the removed wing to the top wing, or just flying with the top wing "as is"?

[Pconn5]

Ok thanks for all the responses. I don't want to take off the lower wing just yet but probably will soon. I will just add a little weight up front and see if it helps.

Thanks.

[Rhondas]

mjswider, When you say remove the lower wing, are you adding a piece of the removed wing to the top wing, or just flying with the top wing "as is"?
no just remove the bottom wing tr to pull it out its hot glued in ,so you can put it back if you dont like the way it flys,without it of course,always adding the weight helps ,if you wanted to add the wing to the top , just about an inch and tapper it upwards like a real glider .:cool:

[mjswider]

I removed the bottom wing only, nothing else added.

[Rhondas]

Weelll How Did The Weight Help?

[kenchiroalpha]

your welcome, the only reason i know is because you pointed me to the schematics in one of my other question posts. Have schematics, will figure out, or at least try to :D hi :) your gonna love this. its for the x-twin but the info pertains to the ahaa too. http://www.webx.dk/rc/xtwin/xtwin.htm be sure to check out his version of a light mod.:D clear skies and good flying.

[mjswider]

wow, you're not kidding. I just glanced at it quickly, but there is lots of good stuff there. THANKS! :)

[Pconn5]

Ugh i added the weight and everything today but then right when i went out to fly it started pooring!! then it stopped but it was really windy so i didn't fly hopefully tommorrow but i have soccer so i dunno. Can't wait to fly this thing again!!
Thanks for all the help everyone.

[ZXLNT]

Pconn take it apart and carefully cut the foam on the inside so you can slide the battery farther foward. That helps and does it without adding weight..

[pvflier]

Is there a good way to reglue the motor on the wing ?Mine keeps falling offMost of mine have had the same prob...always the port engine too?

[kenchiroalpha]

Is there a good way to reglue the motor on the wing ?Mine keeps falling offMost of mine have had the same prob...always the port engine too? hi:) i use foam safe ca on mine :D clear skies and good flying.

[Grasshopper]

Is there a good way to reglue the motor on the wing ?Mine keeps falling offMost of mine have had the same prob...always the port engine too?

I use a drop or two of hot glue.

[serval]

Got the jet a week ago. Really enjoyed flying it, but decided to add a screw to the front to keep the nose down. I wanted to keep some cushion, so I decided to put the screw in the slightly thicker part right under the canopy. Turned out to be a pretty dumb idea since the screw punctured the lipo battery.

Where is the battery on the jet.? I also wanted to add some nose weight in the form of a screw, coin, etc but I don't want to puncture the lipo ... could you describe where the battery is in the plane or does anyone know of a picture showing the internals of the Aero Ace Jet? Thanks! PS - first post, just got the jet tonight, already did the "no spring" mod, what to do next?

[ZXLNT]

Look under the plane right behind were the nose is at. Look for a seam in the foam, that is where the battery is at. You could pry the foam apart and put a small coin like a dime in there to weight it down..

[kenchiroalpha]

Where is the battery on the jet.? I also wanted to add some nose weight in the form of a screw, coin, etc but I don't want to puncture the lipo ... could you describe where the battery is in the plane or does anyone know of a picture showing the internals of the Aero Ace Jet? Thanks! PS - first post, just got the jet tonight, already did the "no spring" mod, what to do next?
hi :) heres some pics of the inside of mine. http://www.rchangout.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=12366&d=1155728030 http://www.rchangout.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=12367&d=1155728954 :D clear skies and good flying.

[serval]

hi :) heres some pics of the inside of mine. http://www.rchangout.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=12366&d=1155728030 http://www.rchangout.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=12367&d=1155728954 :D clear skies and good flying.
Thanks, that was just what I needed. I was starting to pry the two parts of the body apart but I saw that the paint was peeling ... I understand that for the biplane you can gently separate the two parts to get access to the internals and then you just push them back together and the glue will still be sticky and there's not need to tape it back together or use more glue. Is it the same for the [u[jet[/u]? Just gently separate then push back together and it will re-stick?

Thanks again! Any other mod's that are jet specific? Or better yet, a link to a post or thread about mod's the the jet?

[kenchiroalpha]

hi :) yes its held together just like the aha bipe. heres a mod thread for the jet http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_4462628/tm.htm i have some more but it will take some time to find them :D clear skies and good flying.

[Pconn5]

So i let my dad try and fly me aero ace and he flew it pretty good. He got it up pretty high and i thought he was going to loose it but luckily he didn't. He brought it down and went into a left hand corkscrew. somehow he saved it about a foot from the ground. He flew a little more and eventually landed it. We went home and then the next day he comes up the stairs with a huge box. I looked up at him and he is holding a HobbyZone super cub RTF. I couldn't believe it. I guess i have to get my wattage cessna a battery, charger and prop to fly when my dad tries to learn on his plane. Only problem is it looks better then mine and easier to fly. This should be fun. The Aero Ace is just amazing. He flies it once and immediately wants to get into flying. should be fun. I might need to get myself one of the super cubs if they go on sale. Still haven't had a chance to try the weight yet!!
thanks for all the help here.

[mjswider]

GReat story PConn. I have a similar one that happened to me yesterday. I took three AA up to the school with my two boys to fly. We had been up there the previous week when there was a 2nd grader soccer practice. The little guys chased our plane around for a long time, and even stepped on it once. No damage done though. When they saw us show up yesterday, a few came over to see if we were going to fly again. It did not take them long to start asking if they could fly also. Last week I said no, this week I said sure. I had half a dozen of them lined up to fly my plane. The best part was, my sons were also letting the other boys fly their planes as well. This seemed to go on for quite a while, and eventually the soccer kids all had to leave. We got our planes back, got to fly for a few minutes until they were all out of juice. A great time was had by all!! A few of the kids did not get flying the plane, but most took to it quite well for a first time.

Someone on this message board recommended to get an AA rather than just fly a simulator in training for a bigger plane. I am so glad he did. This is a great recommendation to any person interested in getting into RC planes.

[Kevin from FL]

Hi all, I'm new here and have a problem.

I accidentally left my power switch on for about two weeks and now my AA won't take a full charge. It only charges for about 2 minutes and stops. I tried the charger from my other AA and get the same thing. Is the battery gone?

Thanks

[makg]

just keep trying

[Rhondas]

maybe lipos need some charge in them,I dont know ask on the battery post

[Grasshopper]

Hi all, I'm new here and have a problem.

I accidentally left my power switch on for about two weeks and now my AA won't take a full charge. It only charges for about 2 minutes and stops. I tried the charger from my other AA and get the same thing. Is the battery gone?

Thanks

Hi Kevin and Welcome! I had a friend that did the same thing. He put fresh batteries in the transmitter, charged it, flew it and did that several times. It did eventually come back. It didn't at first when he didn't have good batteries in the transmitter. His even sat in an oak tree for a week through 2 thunder storms.

Good luck with it.

Tom

[Pconn5]

So here it is the new addition to the family!!

[skierbum101]

hey guys, i just purchased an aero ace online on thursday. I heard about them earlyer this week and found them online. I ordered it from toys r us online. this was thursday. i then recieved a email stating that they are on back order. i am soo disipointed. i really want it soon. anyone have any idea how long it will take?

[Kevin from FL]

I used the charger to charge my other AA and it worked fine. I think the battery just gave out for some reason. Oh well, I have spare parts for my other AA now:)

[jimmi]

For 30.00 you can't go wrong and my helis have sat for 2 days now because this 2 wing foamy is a blast. I will be buying a single wing tommorrow to see the diffrence in the double wing. If you havn't gotten one there easy to fly and take alot of abuse. Jimmi:cool:

[serval]

You can order these from Toys R Us (http://toysrus.com) for $30 plus $5 shipping and tax (comes to $37 and change in california) but it can be a little troublesome.

The best way to find what they have in stock is to search www.froogle.com for "aero ace" (no quotes) then limit by store to Toys R Us.

About 12 links should come up for all the different colors and channels (and some duplicates that actually have different titles and different stock levels). Open all these and some will say "temporary not available" but others will say "Add to cart" ... try adding it because sometimes it won't let you. But when it does go ahead and order it ... but I got three "sorry, it's not in stock any more" emails after confirming my orders but the 4th time was the charm.

Easier if you open all the links in "tabs" on Firefox then save all tabs in a folder of bookmarks ... then you can open them all at once from your bookmarks in Firefox.

Hope that helps, there are some white/blue A channel planes avaiable right now!
(http://toysrus.com)

[Lowburb]

Does anybody know where I can get a replacement Prop for an AA?:confused:

[toywizard]

Hey is anyone else having probs getting stuff from AeroAce Mods.com ?

We ordered the light mod back on the 14th and we have emailed them twice on the status but no reply.....seems odd cause on our other orders in the past they were extreamly promt.

Hope nothing has happened to them, I need stuff.

[toywizard]

:) My shop foreman and I spent today's lunch time flying our AA bipes and jets in a 24' high room that was 148'x78' and its so realxing and fun.

All the electricians were googling or ogling the AAs flying around. We had a ball.

Its amazing that so many people don't know about this stuff. I must have sent at least 4 guys to Wally world today.

[davereap]

Just to let you know they are called xtwins in the uk and fly just as well over here.. really amazed how well they perform.. just add a 5p piece under the nose of the biplane for better ballance. then go fly.
Mine has excelent range and the kids can fly it without any worries. When the body finally does give up the gear can be used in any number of projects.
Dont know how long I will have to wait for that to happen though.. the kids have had loads of rougher landings and has crashed into the flats where we live 3 floors up fallen from there, and it still no signs of damage.

GO AND BUY ONE ......

[diablo]

I just got an AHAA!!!! About 3 days ago, It is so much fun! 30$ is great ;) I wanna stock up on them, just incase they stop selling them. LoL!

Mine is a Red/White 27mhz B channel. I've probably gotten about 40 flights on it already! It's been pretty windy since I got it tho, But I still manage to get some time in flying ;)


I first found out about PiccoZ Helicopter thru digg. So I got one of those from Radioshack ;) I figured I'd like it more than an airplane, but since I got an airplane I LOVE it :)


I did get that stealth type airplane awhile back (Air Hogs) It was slow and didn't fly well, my mother flew it better than I did LoL!!

I took the bottom wings off my airplane the night I got it, I love it! I wanna get another and keep it stock. Then by more and keep hahaha!

[CheapBastid]

Hi,

I got an AHAA yesterday for a neighbor's son's birthday, and of course I picked (a green) one up for myself.

=)

Having a blast with it, found tying twine to a roll of duct tape is a great retriever from the local AHAA eating trees. Toss and pull gets it back every time!

I went through all 70 pages of this thread and while there are multiple references to the mod to put LEDs on the AHAA I couldn't find any instructions on how to do it. I saw the recommendation to put on mini fishing glowsticks and while that's kinda cool the glowsticks aren't going to last very long. Are there any detailed instructions on how to wire in LEDs to the existing electronics?

I'll let you know in advance I'm new to both RC flight and to any electronic mods, so be gentle...

[davereap]

As far as I know they can be wired directly across the motor terminals. however what ones to try and how much of your power they take I dont know..

[davereap]

try also the rcgroups forums .. for mods

[Joe Lang]

Hey guys take a look at this site. If you're having problems getting the Aero Hogs at the Target stores and Wal-mart's this on-line supplier may be a good alternate.
While recently looking for a supplier of the Aero Ace bi-planes on-line I ran across this supplier of what looks like the same bi-plane and a mono-wing R/C airplanes.
The only thing that looks different are the shape of the Tx and the prices which are about 1/2 the going prices at the retail stores.
Does anybody have experience with this supplier or flown these airplanes?
http://raidentech.com/mircai.html

[CheapBastid]

As far as I know they can be wired directly across the motor terminals. however what ones to try and how much of your power they take I dont know..I was readling something about putting in a resistor, which lead would it go on, and what size resistor should I get.

Will this help reduce the draw and lengthen the flight time over not having a resistor? Is there even a significant concern about reduced flight time?

[Pconn5]

I was just flying my aero ace and it was working great finally. I was flying around trees and in big circles and stuff. I then turned off the plane and plugged it in to chargefor a little bit. When i turned it back on one motor wont spin anymoe. what can i do to fix this????

[skierbum101]

hey guys, i just picked one up at toys r us after they cancelled my order. i think i might be having prolems because i cant get it to clime, it just flys around a few feet above the ground. im kinda bummed

[zerts]

I just bought one recently at Wally World. I did the TX throttle spring "removal", cut off the ends of the lower wing with an Exacto blade (just outboard of the wing struts), and got it trimmed perfectly (no porpoising) by adding 3 layers of electrical tape over a bit of solder wire on the nose.

Perfection. Fun to fly.

[kenchiroalpha]

Hi,

I got an AHAA yesterday for a neighbor's son's birthday, and of course I picked (a green) one up for myself.

=)

Having a blast with it, found tying twine to a roll of duct tape is a great retriever from the local AHAA eating trees. Toss and pull gets it back every time!

I went through all 70 pages of this thread and while there are multiple references to the mod to put LEDs on the AHAA I couldn't find any instructions on how to do it. I saw the recommendation to put on mini fishing glowsticks and while that's kinda cool the glowsticks aren't going to last very long. Are there any detailed instructions on how to wire in LEDs to the existing electronics?

I'll let you know in advance I'm new to both RC flight and to any electronic mods, so be gentle... hi :) check out this link http://www.webx.dk/rc/xtwin/xtwin-night.htm its an x/ twin light mod. the material will apply to the ahaa. :D clear skies and good flying.

[CheapBastid]

hi :) check out this link http://www.webx.dk/rc/xtwin/xtwin-night.htm its an x/ twin light mod. the material will apply to the ahaa. :D clear skies and good flying.Thanks for the link, but the site appears down. The GoogleCache of it goes over some of the detail, but without the pictures, I think I get a general idea from that.

[kenchiroalpha]

Thanks for the link, but the site appears down. The GoogleCache of it goes over some of the detail, but without the pictures, I think I get a general idea from that. hi :) thats strange its working fine for me. i see the pics. i wonder why you dont? :D clear skies and good flying.

[Pconn5]

OK, I have a dilema here. I was flying my air hog and it was finally flying really good and i was flying around trees and stuff. I crashed it and then put it on the charger while i went to go get a camera to tape me flying it around trees and stuff. When i came back out one motor wouldn't spin any more. I thought a connection came lose so i fiddled with it a little and it still wouldn't work. I tried again and the motor fell off of the plane. It had been falling off before and i kept sticking it back on but this time the wires snapped right near the motor. Since i have no way of soldering them the plane is done i guess. So i was wondering do i try to get another one of these things and use this one for scraps or is there a way i can fix it with a bit cheaper way??? thanks for any help

[Mike Freas]

There is a place that sells parts for the AA. I think you can get both motors with props for like 10 bucks. I don't remember the exact site but it's in this thread.

[CheapBastid]

Since I am my handle I bought a few from this site:

http://www.raidentech.com/wolircbitwrc.html (http://www.raidentech.com/wolircbitwrc.html)

Turns out they're in driving distance from me, so I drove over and picked up a few (to save on shipping).

The controller is different (cheaper) and the throttle seems to 'click' up (for 'high' speed/lift) and down (for 'low' speed and level flight). Interestingly the motors spin when I move the left/right controller without using the throttle. The charging is done with a similar but slightly smaller sized connector cable, so the plane's not swappable with the AHAA controller. I have two models with two different frequencies (they're listed on the box - 27.145Mhz and 40.680mhz.

I'm charging one up now and going to give it a whirl. I'll post pictures and more insight when I get a chance.

****Edited to add

Well, they suck.

=(

I've not been able to keep any of them aloft for more than 20 seconds. Per the instructions sheet you get 4 minutes of flight time. I've not been able to get that much yet. After about 3 minutes the engines slow down significantly.

The Green models - Tail skewed and glued so there's a perpetual turn on both of them. Doesn't seem to fly well at all, turns and dives with throttle applied. Also I failed to notice that there's no way to synch the motors with this TX controller. I'm going to have to mod it just to get it to fly. Looks like they use tape (instead of glue) to hold the body together. The turning control puts power to both motors, so imagine an AHAA with full throttle and the turn control on.

The Blue models - Better, but no cigar. I can force them to fly straight if I turn left, but they don't have enough power to stay aloft for long. If I turn right it goes into a dive.

Here's a link to my gallery and the pix I have taken:
http://www.wattflyer.com/photoplog/index.php?u=9693

AHAA - sadly there is no substitute.

[ZXLNT]

GRRRRR I was flying my A channel Aero Ace tonight on break in the parking lot. About 3-5 mph wind maybe more. Lost it up on the roof at work. I work at our Police Department in the dispatch center, so its not going to be easy to get up on the roof to get it down. Hopefully my friendly maitainence man will get up there and retrieve it for me.

Bummed.....