JP Easy Pigeon upgrade

[Martin Hickey]

Just got a Easy Pigeon but it comes with a brushed motor I would like to upgrade to a brushless motor and esc would be greatful for any suggestions

[Pete B]

Hi Martin,

Welcome to the forum! I haven't had an Easy Pigeon but quite a few forumites have so I expect someone will be along soon. Meanwhile, if you do a search on 'easy pigeon' in the box top left of the screen you'll find a number of threads which are worth browsing.

Looking at the spec which puts the EP at around 2.5lb, I'd say you'll be needing a brushless which will give you about 200-250W, a 30A ESC and an 1800mAh 3S Li-Po. There seems to be some suggestion that the 2200mAh pack can be a bit big for the EP but it is a more useful size in many other models, so you might be happy to put up with the extra weight for its later versatility.

Whether you need to change the prop will depend on what is there at present - and if your brushless has the same shaft size as the existing prop spinner that will be a bonus.

We need someone with an EP....

Pete

[Tom Sharp]

I have an Easy Pidgeon but don't use it anymore, it's gone a bit tatty. I fitted mine with a bog standard 480 brushed motor linked to a 4to1 gearbox. (heavier than a brushless of equal power)

I used 2200 lipo's which were no problem weight wise. Gave very good performance on a calmish day. I keep meaning to give it away.

[SmarTmartY]

That reminds me, I too have an EP to re-kit at some point. I was considering removing the motor and gluing a spinner to the front for slope only use, but I reckon I'd need a fair bit of weight to compensate for the lack of motor and a smaller battery, so I'll fit an appropriate brushless and lipo (when I figure out which one) instead. I'll post my findings, if there are any.

[John Muir]

I have an old Montana which is practically identical to the EP. I acquired it with a 600 can motor on board. I managed to fit a brushless XYH 3536 1100kv from Giant Cod as was, with a 40A esc. I fitted a folding 11x6 prop and continued to use the 7 cell nimh packs that I already had. My idea was that I wouldn't have CoG problems that way. The motor and esc are probably bigger than really needed for the same reason. The motor shoehorned into the nose ok but the leads needed careful routing to avoid them rubbing on the rotating motor body.

It seems to pull only about 17A, 130W with this setup, which on a 3lb model doesn't sound like much at all, but the performance is excellent and much, much better than the brushed setup which seemed to pull more amps. I get fast 45 degree climbs to height up to six times per flight, no problem. I put it down to the bigger, slower revving prop being a lot more efficient.

Another member at our club has an EP with a similar motor, but a 3S lipo batery. I think he said he has a 12x6 prop on it, but I'm not sure. His climbs almost vertically at high speed!

HTH,

John.

Edited By John Muir on 10/05/2013 11:00:50

[Michael Adams 3]

Hi, I have an EP but the wings will not go forward enough to locate in at the TE, the bolts will not go in properly , has any one else had this problem, what is the best solution? file the fuz so as to fit forward or shave some off of the leading edge.

[Michael Adams 3]

All solutions will be greatfully received,

Mike.

[PatMc]

Not a EP but I have a very similar fuselage that I wanted to fit a spare of 2m span wing but the chord was too broad. I cut a 15mm notch out of the TE the fuselage width, then cut an 75mm x 25mm oblong plate from 1/8" birch ply (not liteply). Drilled the plate to suit the wing bolts, shaped as in photos, peeled some cover material from the wing, glued it in place then painted. The mod has proved adequatley strong as Igor has been flying like this for about two years now without any problems using a power combo that takes it to over 200m within 30 secs.
From what you've posted you probably don't need to remove as much TE material but a similar size ply plate would spread the load nicely.

[Michael Adams 3]

HI, my EP has what looks like a 600 can motor, with a Fusion Airpower 35 amp speed controller 5--12 nicad,

2--4 lipo, runs on a Futaba 6 ch, receiver Futaba servos, the battery is a 3 cell 2200, no problems there but the only thing was how to get the wing to fit properly so as the two bolts would screw in as they should, the fix I did was to file the fuse away at the front so as to let the wing go forward to allow the bolts to screw in properly. not flown yet so will write later to let you know how it went. happy xmas to every one.

Mike.

[Peter Miller]

I had an Easy Pigeon. The only ARTF that I ever really liked.Standard motor, 7 cell NMhi. Best flight was 1 hour 16 minutes and 30 seconds and I could had another climb to height.

[Chuck Plains]

Brushless is definitely better for efficiency, but you will most likely need to add weight at the front. I didn't enjoy the 3 channel only flying so I flew it with 2.5mtr folded foam wings with flaps and ailerons. But that's mostly because I had just learned to fly with a Bixler 2.