Mini 50mm EDF series models from Hobbyking

[solentlife]

Well ..... not a good site .... no 50mm's on there at all .... they list 50mm , but when you click on it - nothing.

Have gone back to Skyangel and see what they say.

[soarrich]

I've been flying the F9F-1 setup with 3 cell 850 lipo. Perfect balance as it comes, very forgiving low-speed handling, reasonably fast ~50mph. I had the left wing servo stop working on the last flight, still flew OK, but you could feel it was different. I'm very pleased with it.

[solentlife]

First thing to dio with these 50mm jobs is to up the LiPo C rating ... to let the motor get the amps it really needs.

My T45 flies brill on a 3S 1800 25C .... 100kph easy .... up to a 4S 1300 25C and you get 120kph ...

[dahawk]

soarrich,

Glad to hear the positive news about the F9F-5 Panther. It's on my bucket list. Beautiful airplane.

Off topic but ironically, a few weeks back, I visited a park in of all places, Bowling Green, Ky. www.aviationheritagepark.com. They have on display the Navy F9F-5 Panther, an F4D and a T-33 (T-bird) . Their airframes all fully restored. They are getting an F-111 next year and later a T-38 from the USAF boneyard.

I sent the President of their association an email of appreciation and he replied with a nice letter explaining what they are doing. It turns out that Arnie" Rooster" Franklin was mission commander for the April 1986 F-111 retaliation raid on Tripoli called Operation Elderado Canyon.

Sorry for the ramble but when you see these full-scale birds up close, it adds some richness and fantasy to the RC versions.

-Hawk

[solentlife]

Earlier jet years produced some beautiful designs .... not like todays overloaded squared of projectiles. I think that's one of the reasons I like the T45 and Mig 15 ... they have shape and style.

I have to balance 2 wishes .......... appearance and speed. With EDF - I don't want to just fly ... I want to scorch the skies, and the really nice looking models like the F9F are the slower of the range.

I wish Jpower would produce an EE Lightning ......... now that I would break the bank for ...

One of my all-time favs is the Hawker Hunter .... but sadly not available in our 50mm ...

Talking full-size .. I was involved in Gulf War 1 ... and had experiences that included the Old lady of the Skies ..... the Buccanneer. It was basically the last flights of the Bucc. Last take-off of a flight of 3 I saw was at Bahrain ... and I think the guys knew it was probably last ... they sped down the runway in front of the terminal building ... lifted wheels staying just feet of the deck ... WOT .... then the three split and did beautiful climbing turns out, grouped up and dived into a WOT low pass just of the deck together ........ The applause in that terminal was tremendous.

[dahawk]

Made it to the field today. 85 deg F 4mph wind and not a cloud in the sky, The kind of day us N. Texans live for.

So I got my Red Arrows T-45 launched without incident and she flew very nicely in general. Wanted to make sure my Welders glue Aileron repair would hold up. It did. Except I ran out of down trim so I couldn't really give her the berries like I wanted. Will have to make a mechanical adjustment to the elevator throws. I mean I had minus 120 on the Futaba. Flew some circuits relatively slow so I did learn she does a nice job flying slow. This is a great edf trainer IMO.

Here's where I needed to listen to Nigel. After a routine approach and slightly flared landing I went to retrieve her and heard a noise as if the motor was still running though the throttle was cut on the TX. Low and behold, I stripped one of the servo gears on the aileron. I think it's a 8g micro. So while I wait for another servo, I'm going to run the servo linkage to the top side of the wing as Nigel suggested. Nigel, I get it now ! Well, not that I really didn't listen. I did understand. Was just too damn lazy to make this mod and paid the price.

Suspect that many planes in this 50mm Skyangel series have this same issue. The little foam guard that hangs down in front of the servo arm is not enough to prevent this stripping no matter how good you are at landing. The horn on the aileron actually hangs down lower so that contact will be made from any kind of belly landing, even if you"grease it".

Oh well, no big deal. She will fly again soon !

-Hawk

[dahawk]

Okay Skyangel flyers,

Can I subsitute a HTX 900 9g servo for the 8g stock servo that comes with the T-45? Same size body? If not a direct fit, where do I get the direct replacement? Is it a turnigy ?

Thanks,

Hawk

[solentlife]

Originally Posted by dahawk

Okay Skyangel flyers,

Can I subsitute a HTX 900 9g servo for the 8g stock servo that comes with the T-45? Same size body? If not a direct fit, where do I get the direct replacement? Is it a turnigy ?

Thanks,

Hawk

Which servo ? The elevator ? Then yes - why not ? You may have to enlarge the slot it fits into - but that's no problem.
The Aileron servos - if it's one you need - it's always best to have paired servos of same size / model / brand .... and 9gr will go in with a little work on the wing slots.

I usually use a soldering iron to open up / create slots - this way you do not remove foam - it melts and creates a stronger skin.

If its aileron servos ....... you may conisder changing out for these :

DS65HB Digital high speed servo 6.5gr / 1.5kg from HK .. cheap and cheerful ...

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...5kg_07sec.html

[mclarkson]

My Gripon showed up today. Yay!

HK recommends an 850mAh battery. I know lots of y'all are running bigger than this, but I think that's about all I can squeeze in there and keep the CG anywhere close to recommended.

[dahawk]

Let us know how the Gripon performs. Yes, the Jpower/Skyangel series sold under different names all seem to use a stock 850mah 3S. One came with my T-45 Red Arrows. On my T-45, I was able to carve(soldering iron) out around the forward bulkhead and can now drop in a 1300 with no problem at all. Might try a 1.3 4S nanotech but afraid it might fry the esc. Not sure. I think they only supply a 20amp esc's in these little birds.

Good luck on the maiden !

-Hawk

[mclarkson]

Thanks!

I can definitely squeeze a bigger battery in there, but unless the manual's CG is off, I don't think I can do it and maintain a good CG. 800mAh all the way back seems to balance about right.

[solentlife]

Zippy Compact 4S ..... I get a 1500mAh 25C 4s in my T45 ....

Yes - had to carve with soldering iron to fit it in ...

[mclarkson]

I've had to do considerable carving to wedge my 800 in there!

I got it all together. I have a weird 2" metal rod left over. No mention in the manual. Not sure what it's supposed to be. Hope I got the canards glued on right way up!

[solentlife]

2" ............ strange !

Probably find out when it's too late ............

Seems that some of these 50mm jobs are a tight squeeze on the batt packs ... shame as they really come alive with better C rating or 4S ... the spec'd 800 20C is a poor power pack really. The stock EDF in these gives about 250gr thrust on the 20C ... up to a 25C and you get nearly 100gr increase to 340gr ... up to a 4S and it keeps on trucking up into the mid 450's ............

To be honest - I have a couple of 800 packs and they haven't been used for months now. In fact they are wasted space in my field box. Even my parkjet is not interesting on them. I may convert them to Rx power packs for big models by strapping BEC onto them .... making them equivalent to a nearly 1600mA Rx pack ( 11.1v 800 mAh 3S supplying 5V ...)

[mclarkson]

800 is my go-to battery.

[solentlife]

Originally Posted by mclarkson

800 is my go-to battery.

Sorry ... I don't understand ..

[mclarkson]

I mean it's sort of my default size. I use more 800s than all my other battery sizes combined.

[dahawk]

Yep, those are good. My stock T-45 came with a 850 3S 20C. Works okay. Not a speed demon.

For better performance, I'm using 1300 3S 20 C but have some 1300 30C and a nanotech 1300 4s 30 C I'm about to try. They all fit inside the cabin on mine.

[crxmanpat]

I use Hyperion G3 3S 850mAh 25C packs in all my 50mm jets. Works out good as that's the same size I use in all my mini pusher jets too.

The F-16 is my favorite. My club is pylon racing these jets and I always blow the doors off the T-45s, even the ones that have been upgraded to 4S. None of the others are as slippery in the air as the F-16. It was the first one I ever owned, has been crashed and repaired too many times to count, and flies more than any other one I own.

[dahawk]

Pat,

Are these 50mm that you guys are flying the Jpowers/Skyangel/Blitzworks series? I would not doubt the F-16 out performs the T-45. Sleeker airframe. On my bucket list. BH has em for $69.00 right now and they throw in a battery.

Want the T-33 and F9F Panther too. I think the C rating is key here. My little unmarked bugger (3S 850mah) that came with the T-45 I know is not 25C. Might not even be 20C. It scootes along okay and since I'm still a newbie to the edf world, it performs nicely I'm ready to take on more.

My Radjet kicks it's but in terms of raw speed.

Best,

Hawk

[crxmanpat]

Yes, it's that line of planes (made by J-Power, marketed mostly as Sky Angel). We have T-45's, F-16's, AMX's, T-33's and F-8's racing right now. I personally also have the F-18, F-22, A-4 and had a T-33 that I crashed.

For the money, these are great flying birds!

[dahawk]

Thanks Pat,

What batteries are you running in them?

I'm tempted to go for another one while the sale is still going. I was leary of BH but threw the dice and they did ship the T-45 in 3 days so I can't really complain. I think they have still have a free shipping code. Thus, I can get one to my door for $69.00 ( A round of Golf)

F-16 ? F9F ? Mmmm. Hard to decide.

Hawk

[crxmanpat]

Hyperion G3 3S 850mAh 25C

And go for the F-16. It's the best!

[solentlife]

Originally Posted by dahawk

Yep, those are good. My stock T-45 came with a 850 3S 20C. Works okay. Not a speed demon.

For better performance, I'm using 1300 3S 20 C but have some 1300 30C and a nanotech 1300 4s 30 C I'm about to try. They all fit inside the cabin on mine.

If you stay with 20C ... you have to up the capacity to get the resulting amps. The stock motor will take all the amps you can throw at it ... literally.
The best is to up the C rating ... as I said before going from 20C to 25C added near 100gr thrust ... even just the sound of the motor running was evidence of increased power ... as another said in email to me after he swapped out the 20C ... it changed from a banshee wail to a SCREAMING BANSHEE wail !

[solentlife]

These 50mm jobs are really good imho ... they look the part in the air, they are compact enough to throw in back of car ... pricing is not so bad ...

I really love my T45 ... and I agree with another - that the F16 is faster ... along with the F18 ...

I chose the T45 because I could repaint to Red Arrows to create a BaE Hawk - the original version.

I just still waiting that replacement barebones kit ....