Simon UK

I don't want to burst any bubbles here Richard, but are the PP motors just not rebaged XYH/Turnigy many other chinese names? They do look uncannily similar, plus the coding is 99% the same. And if as i suspect these are the same motors, then why would anyone pay twice the price for one? Beyond me....  On a different note, my DVII arrived boy there are a lot of sticks of wood in that wee box. This is my first full build model, and the instructions tell me if it's my first build model to put it away and not try to build it until i have some building experience... FFS! Hmm what to do.  Edited By Simon UK on 29/01/2010 16:26:26

Thanks for the info Pro and Danny, you guys don't realise how mcuh help this forum has been to us Noobs , waiting on delivery of my Fokker danny so no photos for a while, also the above motor mentioned by Timbo is out of stock , plus it's equivalent from GC is also out of stock , so i may have a wait... On the plus note i just bought a 6s1p A123 pack, so now i have both 5 and 6 cell packs to play with, i would like to just stick with one size if possible, so i may add a cell to the 5s pack at a later date. Which will handily enough also allow me to go 6s2p in planes that can take the weight. Thanks again guys and anymore suggestions are very welcome.

Thanks for the Help Timbo.  Will pick one up before i start the build. Edited By Simon UK on 22/01/2010 19:11:23

Looking like it's gonna be a cracker! Balazs... I hope you have plans (sorry) to release your plans in the future   

Instead of buying the Recommended kit for the job Bob, how about sourcing equivalent parts from either Giant Cod or Hobbyking? Believe it or not you will save a small fortune and get the Orion into the air at minimal cost.  

Budget as allways is as tight as i can make it Timbo due mainly to other half. The motor in the link looks good to me Timbo, you have used them in the past i take it? I have a 5s A123 pack sitting here i may try it with the motor and a big prop before buying any more batteries. On the subject of props, never having built this model or indeed even seen one at the club, i have no idea just how large a prop it can swing i would assume it shouldn't be a problem though.  Thanks for your help   

Just bought one of these (shouldn't have but did anyway.... guess this hobby is like a drug habbit by the looks of things). Anyway i need some help in choosing a Lecky motor to fly her. Instead of doing my usual and buying a motor only to find it's not perfect i would like to get a decent motor first time round.  I would also like to run it on A123's either 5 or 6 cells and either 1p or 2p although again i would like this all sorted before i get the model to the building table. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Specs are bellow Specification. Span 60" (1525 mm) Engines  .30-.45 2 strokes,    .40-.60 4 strokes Radio  4 channel Weight  8 lbs (3.6kg)

No "Old Smeller 46" for me thanks

Have a monster under carriage from my Red Zephyr, think i will try it on the Star and see what my prop clearance is like. I think the 2P route is the only way to go with the a123's, i would like 10 minute flights (or as close as pos) and i can't see me achieving that 1P. What ever i do Chris the battery pack has to be able to be used with my Cub aswell as the Star. I think i will take the pack apart and add a cell first before i do anything else. If nothing else it will give me a chance to clean up some of my wiring.  In an ideal world i would like to use A123's exclusively in .40 and larger planes, i do not mind Lipo's in my small park flyers but cost will get excessive in large models depending on how many recharges i get from a pack.  Thanks again for the help Simon  

Argh! Chris - lol now you have put the spanner back in the works (so to speak). I must admit i was really upset at my failure with the a123's, i will aquire another cell and see what difference it makes.  When you say connectors are you refering to my Deans plugs? or the connectors between the cells - which i am pretty sure do get hot!  Yes i was ballance charging my pack - due mainly to my charger being capable of only 5 amp charging (which drops the more cells in the pack). I was planning on getting a more suitable chargewr though if i could get the A123's to function for me.  Main problem i have with the A123's now is not in fitting them in as 2 packs but in removing them for charging purposes, i am aware that i can charge them in situ, but i do not know how to wire them to have a seperate charging plug - any help here? Cheers Simon

Will be a while yet Gerry, got to get more flight time on the Arising Star. I know the 4s would sound the part but i cant stand glow fuel! Happy New Year and cya at the club (if we get any decent weather soon)

Ok Bruce and Timbo thanks for confirming the 4 cell lipo's, i could'nt afford both 4 and 5 at the moment so just wanted to make sure i bought the correct type.

Sorry to resurrect this thread again guys, but after much thought over Crimbo i have decided to buy myself a couple of Lipo's i reckon they will make my life easier reagarding getting my Arising Star to perform (yes Timbo you where right)  Couple of questions before i purchase  Just to recap and save anyone having to read from the top of this thread my setups are Arising Star AUW 6.8lbs in order to get proper CoGMotor fitted Turnigy Sk3548-900 Prop 12x8 apc-E can lose diameter but not gain (maybe gain an inch if i really had to) H9 Piper Cub 80" spanAUW as above around 7lbs Motor Turnigy 4260-500Prop can go to atleast 13" diameter (should be able to go to 15" i hope)   Need to know wether to go 4s or 5s Lipo, ideally i would like the batteries to be useable in both planes, and i would like to buy two to start with to allow more flight time at the field.  Shelving the A123's for the time being, may suit my future project (Flair Magnatilla) i hope. Lipo's will be either from GC or HK so if anyone see's some suitable for both planes that would help.    Edited By Simon UK on 31/12/2009 00:51:02 Edited By Simon UK on 31/12/2009 00:51:47 Edited By Simon UK on 31/12/2009 00:53:32

Well Andy if read back a page or so you will find a post about a test i tried, 3 minutes on full power then voltage dropped like a brick along with rpm. So the Motocalc software was spot on if it gave you 3 minutes. Will pick up a few props of varying sizes, what about a 3 blader out of interest? Havent looked at them yet but they may be an option.  Andy your probably spot on with the, it would'nt have made another RoG statement, wish i had thrown the battery on the charge at the time just to see how much juice was left. On a different note have any of you tried the Fusion Smart Guard on Life cells yet? Looks like it could be a handy gadget.  Hope your mail box is sorted now Timbo, your presence is required around here :Pwill pick up a Leisure Battery in the new year, looks like it will be needed for Lecky Flight Edited By Simon UK on 20/12/2009 17:45:17

Well as they are supposedly good for 1000+ charges i dont mind cycling them a few more times to see if it makes a difference. On another note during my first test flight i was definetly airbourne for more than 3 minutes, more like 5 ish, and when it was landed a power was applied it would have still had enough juice for another Rog. Will look into the Motocalc Andy thanks for the advice 

Super news Timbo on my choice of motor for my Cub, that was a main concern tbh. I am also glad to hear about the Leisure battery, how high AH is yours by the way? I see different sizes available but would like to keep it affordable, would the 110AH be ok do you think?. Andy could you elaborate on the "Estimation software packages", name of software, and ease of use? And thanks for the tip's btw  Stephen had'nt thought of hand warmers, but at this time of the year, i reckon i could make the I.C guys at my club jealous using lipo hand warmers - lol  On a last note about I.C, how come guy's that use Real (sarcasm intended) engines allways have to roll their eye's when i tell them i'm going Lecky!   Edited By Simon UK on 20/12/2009 15:10:25

Posted by Stephen Grigg on 20/12/2009 14:23:38: Go on Simon buy a Lipo you know you want to,although reading your thread you dont.Im surprised about the weight thing I suppose its due to it originally being IC,.Why have you become fed up with I.C.   I.C well i wont completely bore you with a very long post, but i will tell you this. I have spent a good few minutes between flight's with a rag taking oil of my plane. I have spent 10 minutes plus at the end of every session cleaning up the plane to make it look semi respectible. Two saturdays ago i was helping a fiend start his Prangsters Irvine 46 because the prangster is basically made of floppy foam, i was holding it at waist height. Due to a previous crash the fuel tank had a hole in it, i was covered in glow fuel and not happy. It wasn't his fault of course but no the less it made an allready strained relationship with I.C snap! Also on saturday past i was up at the club to test my Lecky setup and see if she would fly (she = sexist i know), my buddy had a plane with him fitted with a .90 FS, the glow plug had died and as he hadn't brought a spare so had his day.Lastly, i have literally laughed at the site of 5 planes in the pits all struggling to start there engines, whilst the one or two Lecky members at my club  have had a flight and are in the club house (Hut) having a cuppa. I want to be one of the cuppa guys I could droan on forever but i will leave it there. Edited By Simon UK on 20/12/2009 14:43:04

Thanks Timbo for the advice, with a bit of surgery i could make another pack fit in the Trainer. What do you think of 5s2p on a prop 1" bigger or same diameter but higher pitch say 13x10 cut down to 12x10. Do you think this would provide slightly more power.  Good news also on the Cub, the ground clearance should be better than my trainer so i would think a 14 or 15 inch prop would fit comfortably.I would be looking to use the batteries from my trainer, (really just my experimental plane) so i would be wanting again to run 5s2p on it. I have the Original information from Hangar 9 that states they recommend the E-Flite power 46 and 4 cell lipo. So i guess what i'm asking is this, is the motor i linked as capable as the power 46 on the same cells?  I will get there in the end! You stated something earlier that i have wondered about, and that is the accuracy of the Watts-Up meter. I think it cost me about £30(ish) and it gives a lot of info for that money, i doubt it is 100% accurate myself, but it does take the guess work away for me. I would love for the Magazine to one day do some testing and a round up of these meters though, that would be very helpful to us non educated types  Could i also ask one more question Timbo, what sort of battery do you use at the field for recharging? Is it a Leisure Battery and if so have you ever drained it at the field?  

This is my first foray into what i call serious electric power (.40+ size aircraft), i only have to hand the equipment that i am using. I do however have this on the way http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=6231bought for my Hangar 9 80" wing span Cub (please tell me it will work!), i am also planning on a Turnigy 60A plush esc when they get back into stock.  Well tbh i was wanting to stick exclusively to A123's for me they have a couple of major advantages. One pack needed per plane, wont explode and burn my house down, will last longer than a lipo pack before needing replaced. The negative of a 5 minute flight IMO was worth the trade. BUT i am starting to appreciate Lipo's are getting to decent prices (GC and HK only btw), and they do have much higher mah. I am using a couple of Lipo's in smaller aircraft and i am happy with the performance.  Maybe Timbo as you are knowlegable about these thing's you could tell me how long on average your lipo's tend to last before needing replaced? I can see why the I.C guy's stay away from lecky by the way it's a steep learning curve, unless your buying flight packs (at rip-off prices)

I did read somewhere about ESC efficiency, and maybe my setup could be losing some voltage through my El cheapo ESC?

I really didn't want to go down the lipo route Timbo, I would rather get myself a decent A123 setup, and know i have a couple of solid years of use rather than the lord knows how many charges i would get from budget Lipo's. £100+ pound lipo's are unjustifiable to me im afraid. I am having to put 260 grams of useless wieght near the front to get cog, so i have wieght to play with. Also fitting a different UC and making it a tail dragger would give me more ground clearance up front for a bigger prop.  Would you be able to suggest a setup for 5-6 cell A123, maybe sourcing the parts from Giant Cod or HK? It would be a great help honestly.  As to wether i'm happy or not with my 5s pack, tbh i do not have anything to compare it against, except my old I.C setup. And i would prefer rubber band power to getting covered in glow fuel again.

Now maybe this will put the cat amongst the pigeons. Bellow is a graph i found on the net, while trying to figure out these M1 cells and why i'm losing so many volts under load.As you can see from the graph 1 cell putting out 40 amps will drop to 2.6 (ish) voltsMultipy that by 5 and you get 13 volts!     So guys tell me if this looks right to you, would save me buying more cells to find i get the same results. Lastly if i did make the plane a tail dragger and put a 13" prop on her, the amps would increase. But this would create more power, and mean i would nead less throttle therfore maybe giving me better longevity. Is there any logic in my thinking or am i of mark again? Cheers  Edited By Simon UK on 19/12/2009 23:34:10 Edited By Simon UK on 19/12/2009 23:36:06 Edited By Simon UK on 19/12/2009 23:37:09

3 minutes flat out constant 36 amp draw and constant 460 watts of power, voltage remained over 12 for the full 3 minutes then fell away drastically in seconds to 9 ish. This is the 4th charge of these batteries.  At end of test batteries and motor where hot to the touch, is this normal? If not what would cause it? Edited By Simon UK on 19/12/2009 23:06:27

The thought had crossed my mind Dusty, but i would like to keep the amps as low as possible to give me a decent run time.