Mini 50mm EDF series models from Hobbyking

[mclarkson]

Well, I maidened it today. I'll prolly post a little video later.

It flies like it's STOOPID nose heavy. Manual recommends 6-7mm of up reflex. I must have had a full centimeter or more dialed in and I could barely keep the nose up far enough for level flight.

There's no way to push that 800 any farther back without serious modification of the airframe. It's all the way back and the battery tray actually ends right behind where it's at; there's nothing back there at all.

Stumped again.

[solentlife]

OK .... if you've exhausted all else and no solution ........... maybe this will help :



Yes - its a hardware store metal furniture repair plate. I cut in half, cover with shrink film ... couple of self-tappers and double side tape .... in all the flights I've had and crashes - they have NEVER moved even though not glued in place.





I can remove later if I want.

I hate adding useless weight ... but in this case I had to ....... sounds like you may have same ....

It's better to be balanced and fly at proper attitude than to fight it keeping weight down. With this you can then look at getting decent LiPo power in her as well ... mine balances a 1800mAh 3S 25C pack with the above.

[mclarkson]

You may be right. Here's the video. Each try had much more up dialed in than the previous. Any of my other planes would have been doing backflips!

YouTube Video

[solentlife]

Now here's an idea .... this model has canards .............

Are they in line with wing centreline or slightly down etc. ?

What about cut of the canards ... glue back with slight angle to make nose climb ?

[dahawk]

Wow,

That is strange. On my T-45, I had the opposite problem. Ran out of down trim on the radio and progressively had to mechanicallly lower.

I like Nigels's solution of adding a little ballast at the rear fuse. Worth experimenting.

Good vid !

Hawk

[dahawk]

Originally Posted by crxmanpat

Hyperion G3 3S 850mAh 25C

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

Pat,

Bought the T-45 Red Arrows from BH with no issues so yesterday, I was one click away from ordering the F-16 and tried entering the free shipping promotion code but it had expired. Price is $69.00 Pretty good deal, especially, if I could get free shipping which normally runs $16.00.

See a steal on these anywhere, let me know. I'm hankering for more. Trying to get fellow club members interested in racing.

Meanwhile , I'm starting to build an Airliner from the $10.00 Air Hogs Titan glider airframe. Should be interesting. Twin 66mm edf, retracts, etc. This is not the thread to discuss, I know.

I wonder if there's a Betty Ford type clinic for this addiction.

Happy Memorial Day !

-Hawk

[solentlife]

I contacted HK Support asking where the T45 kits were ........ got a reply that backorder can be 30 days or more etc. etc. etc.

Also as I expected - the advise to buy on backorder because others will get supplied before me if I wait.

I see that -4 stock - indicating that others have ordered on backorder.

I'm so fed up waiting - I ordered a kit .....so now I shall wait till hell freezes over probably, having had my Paypal already cashed ....

There is one area that I am not so happy about .......... the web-site quotes and shows the canopy as part of the kit. But so many say they did not get the canopy ..... my present T45 has a busted canopy held together with clear tape !
I may have to start heat moulding pop-bottle canopies ....

One interesting matter ........ I showed my rear fuselage weights ... at one stage I was flying my T45 with wheels as well ... nose having a servo as well. That was about 24gr added to nose. I never altered the weights and she flew fine. I have now removed all wheels and still no changes ...

I may with the new one not add any weights at back. I will be fitting a 51mm 7 blade EDF unit with 4850KV inrunner motor....35A ESC ... so hopefully she'll have a bit more GO !

[crxmanpat]

Don't wait for HK to get them back in stock. Get them instead from Alex at Toysonics.

RX-ready for $80

ARF (with motor/fan/ESC) for $46

In stock and ready to rock!

[dahawk]

Thanks Pat,

I was not aware of this company. They don't have the F-16 in stock. I'm going to slowly try to collect other models in the series. Wondering if in the ARF version, where they list the parts, if that esc they show has the itty-bitty connectors that go to the Jpowers motor.

Happy Memorial Day !

Hawk

[solentlife]

Originally Posted by crxmanpat

Don't wait for HK to get them back in stock. Get them instead from Alex at Toysonics.

RX-ready for $80

ARF (with motor/fan/ESC) for $46

In stock and ready to rock!

Fine - but I don't need ARF or Rx Ready ... I already have a T45 ... it's just that I want a new barebones kit to replace the fuselage and wing. The HK kit is ~$24 ... with shipping to me in Latvia total is $52.

If I go for the Toysonics - I pay a lot more as I don't live in USA and also I don't need the other bits.

If I remermber rightly ........ my Rx ready T45 from HK was about $55 + shipping.... about $85 all in I think.

[dahawk]

Nigel,

Indeed, you don't have as many choices where you are compared to what we have here. We are inundated with suppliers here. I did hear something, maybe here , that HK was planning to fully stock all of their Regional Distribution Centers with the same number of SKUs and stock levels as they have for their Chinese HQ operation. That would be good news for many including myself.

The problem really get exasterbated when you order multiple items. The USA Warehouse may only have 2 out of 4 of what you want, forcing you to place the entire order on their International site, thus, big time shipping charges and 2-3 weeks wait time.

If BH only had free shipping, I'd have an F-16 on order for $69.00 full-up. It's $85.00 shipped. Toysonics looks good though. Big variety.

Cheers,

Hawk

[mclarkson]

Originally Posted by solentlife

Now here's an idea .... this model has canards .............

Are they in line with wing centreline or slightly down etc. ?

What about cut of the canards ... glue back with slight angle to make nose climb ?

The canards would go it two ways and there was no real indication which was which. I put them in the way that seemed to be at a higher angle of incidence than the main wing as the canards are supposed to stall first. It's difficult to measure precisely, especially with those giant missiles glued on the back wing, but the canard slots are definitely at a higher incidence. They should be helping.

[mclarkson]

I'll give it this - it looks smashing in the air.

[solentlife]

Originally Posted by mclarkson

The canards would go it two ways and there was no real indication which was which. I put them in the way that seemed to be at a higher angle of incidence than the main wing as the canards are supposed to stall first. It's difficult to measure precisely, especially with those giant missiles glued on the back wing, but the canard slots are definitely at a higher incidence. They should be helping.

I wonder if they could be activated similar to the F16 idea ... couple to the elevons ?
A bowden cable either side buried in a slot in fuselage linking elevons to canards ...

Would give incredible roll rate and assist elevator function ...

Sure looks sweet in the air.

Have to admit that a model I had many years ago - Mirage 2000 with ST61 glow up front ... similar shape but without the canards also was a beaut in the air, but a right pig to land.

[dahawk]

Mark,

Looks awesome ! Were you able to get her trimmed? Did you have to add ballast or did you discover something else ?

-Hawk

[mclarkson]

Not so far. That's a frame from the maiden flights (video above.) I'm gonna strap about 10 pounds of lead on the tail for the next flight!

[dahawk]

So, my servos arrived and I went about the Nigel mod on the T-45, flipping them so that the servo arm now comes up top side through the wing. Move the control horns to top side. All good except somewhere along the line, I lost one of the servo rods. Does anyone know the mil thickness of this rod? Was thinking I could find something at the hardware store. If not, it's down to the LHS. The other option I have is the plastic golden rod. Have some here and could use I suppose.

Always something.

-Hawk

[solentlife]

Oh dear !! lost a rod ........ did you loose the clevis as well ? They are very very hard to get in that small size.

The rod is just a shave over 1mm ... but don't quote me !!

I did think about swapping mine out for thicker .. I fly helis and flybars are excellent source of control rods after they get bent and no good for heli use anymore. But the problem then is drilling out the servo arm to take the increased rod gauge. But they are sized that normal clevis screw on fine.

When I mounted my servos etc. - I made sure that arm only exited above wing a tiny amount ... I had to widen slot to allow the z bend of the rod to be clear as it is then near level with the wing surface.

Control rod sources :

Bicycle wheel spokes
If you have a Helicopter flyer friend - ask him for old flybars

there's loads of sources out there .....

[dahawk]

Thanks Nigel,

No big deal. I can get dubro micro-rods with z-bend and ez connector. Just wanted to avoid driving all the way to LHS - ~ 10 miles. Really just need about 70mm of piano wire.

I do think this is the way to go for Skyangels edf jets that don't have servo clearance on belly landings. Should have listened to Nigel in the first place. I don't think the F-16 has this issue though. Also, when I removed the horns, it did cause a little gouging of the foam but I think I can fill in with some light spackle.

Cheers,

Hawk

[solentlife]

I was very wary of the horns to ailerons ... with no keeper plate other side. So I created pits and grooves for epoxy to really get a hold into the surfaces and also create a layer over the horn base.
With all the crashes and mishaps - not one has come loose.

With various that I have learnt with the first - when i finally get my replacement kit - I shall incorporate the mods from day 1.

I haven't decided fully yet whether to shoehorn the 51mm EDF in the new or just swap the 50mm over ... putting the 51 in the old frame.

Flying buddy gave me a set of mini electric retracts .... mmmmmmm

[dahawk]

Thanks Nigel,

Off to the LHS today to get some piano wire for the rod(s). Retracts would be a very cool mod to the Skyangel series. I do have some servoless electric retracts on order for a foamie twin 66mm edf airliner I'm making: http://www.valuehobby.com/accessorie...ng-gear-a.html

USD $36.00 No steerable nose gear though. Point and shoot. Figure if they don't work on the Airliner, I can putz around with them and find a home for them somewhere. Oh well. Ill bet you're 'chompin at the bit' to get home.

Salutations,

Hawk

[solentlife]

They look very similar to the ones I have .. and also mine are non-steering nose wheel ... in fact all 3 are same without different design for nose.

The thickness of main body is similar to thickness of the wing .. so if I use them, will need careful installation.

[Brick]

Originally Posted by dahawk

Pat,

Bought the T-45 Red Arrows from BH with no issues so yesterday, I was one click away from ordering the F-16 and tried entering the free shipping promotion code but it had expired. Price is $69.00 Pretty good deal, especially, if I could get free shipping which normally runs $16.00.

See a steal on these anywhere, let me know. I'm hankering for more. Trying to get fellow club members interested in racing.

Meanwhile , I'm starting to build an Airliner from the $10.00 Air Hogs Titan glider airframe. Should be interesting. Twin 66mm edf, retracts, etc. This is not the thread to discuss, I know.

I wonder if there's a Betty Ford type clinic for this addiction.

Happy Memorial Day !

-Hawk

i have been buying alot of planes lately from BH.....using the free shipping option. i just stock up on batterries for the plane i'm buying !

what sucks is they have no replacement parts for most of their stuff !!!

[solentlife]

Originally Posted by Brick

i have been buying alot of planes lately from BH.....using the free shipping option. i just stock up on batterries for the plane i'm buying !

what sucks is they have no replacement parts for most of their stuff !!!

BH like many others - most of their gear is same as HK or other labels. So replacement parts can be had form HK etc. if you can identify.

In terms of these Skyangel / Jpower EDF's - they are all listed as MINI 50MM in Hobby King.

I know it's not much consolation but given that a Mini EDF is about $50 at HK ... $70 local etc. - what parts can they carry and profit ? Stock costs and unless selling - is dead money.

[dahawk]

Not sure if HK sells a kit only version whereby if you just need a new airframe, you can get one sans electrics. But yeah, $50.00 for the whole shabang? What's not to like? I'm awaiting the day that the USA Warehouse ramps up with equivalent inventory.

Brick, as I understand BH, free shipping is only on orders of $100.00 or more, right? Still pretty good when you buy some lipos. Saw where they had 11.1v 850mah 40C's for $ 10.00 each. 1300mah 40 C's for $14.00 That's a pretty darn good deal if their lipo's are any good. So, an F-16 + 3 lipos gets me to $100.00 delivered.

-Hawk