Bixler - thrust reverse?

[emdeex]

Hi, my Bixler build continues. I've got it glued together, motor, servos working etc.

But on a stationary test with the prop, the prop wash comes towards the front of the plane. Like the motor is running in reverse. Is that something easily fixed or to be expected?

I've got the motor wires to the ESC all connected red-red, yellow-yellow, black-black.

[pmullen503]

Swap any two motor leads. Don't worry about color.

[hayofstacks]

X2, not a big deal, and won't cause you any greif.

[mclarkson]

What they said. Just shows someone at the factory wasn't paying attention that afternoon. (Here's a post I wrote on why this always works.)

[Beemerider]

I've come to realize that on both motor and esc leads the wire colors mean absolutely nothing (except for power in to esc). Many of my motors have black leads on all three.

[dahawk]

Also, make sure your prop has the numbers facing forward.

[hayofstacks]

Originally Posted by dahawk

Also, make sure your prop has the numbers facing forward.

I did that once on my slow stick. Still flew fine, but felt like it had no power at all. The prop was also very noisy, but still flew normal otherwise.

[squidger]

I built a bixler last week and the esc wire colours matched. While it is true that reversing any 2 wires to the motor will reverse the direction of rotation you should also be hearing alarm bells.The bixler comes as a setup and so you would expect the wire colours to correspond. Bearing this in mind you may want to check if your prop is on backwards.If it is indeed on backwards then reversing the motor direction will give you thrust in the right direction but not as much as if you reverse the prop instead as the prop is designed to work one way.

[emdeex]

Originally Posted by squidger

The bixler comes as a setup and so you would expect the wire colours to correspond.

Thanks, but mine was a PNF build, so the motor was with the Bixler, but the ESC I had to buy separately, so maybe that was why.

I haven't flown it yet, but power seems to be pretty high with the leads swapped around.

I've reinforced the body and belly with some nice clear 3M cloth-reinforced tape, should I tape the wings as well?

Do I need to glue the wings in? It says to in manual, but aren't they supposed to be removable, so you can transport the plane? They feel pretty snug just shoved in there.

Do I need to find the centre of gravity before flying? Where exactly should the battery go, up near the nose? Its a 2200mah 3S 30-40C Turnigy.

[squidger]

Mine is a bixler 2 and the wings are held in with 2 screws. I think there was a problem with wings coming loose on the original bixler so I would tape them to the fuselage. CofG is all important and must be sorted before flight. Put it where the manual says it should be and you can adjust a bit at a time after flying it to get it to your liking.I always stick some protective tape along all leading edges of wing and tail to minimise damage should you hit a tree or bush. They fly really well so you should have no problems. Enjoy.

[JetPlaneFlyer]

Originally Posted by squidger

Bearing this in mind you may want to check if your prop is on backwards.If it is indeed on backwards then reversing the motor direction will give you thrust in the right direction but not as much as if you reverse the prop instead as the prop is designed to work one way.

Squidger,
It doesn't matter which way round the prop is insomuch as that providing the motor is pinning the normal way (clockwise when viewed from the rear) then the thrust will propel the plane forward. Only if the motor is spinning backwards (or you have a pusher prop) will the thrust be reversed.

Putting the prop backward will drastically reduce the amount of thrust but what thrust there is will still be in the normal direction, so reverse thrust in no way indicates that the prop is on backward.

To the OP....
Bottom line as noted a few posts back.. The colour coding of the wires is meaningless, just swap two across to give you the correct rotation and don't give it another thought.

[squidger]

You're right you do still get thrust in the right direction, just not alot.