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are these blades any good for cp pro?

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E-Flite Helicopters Discuss the line of E-Flite mini and micro helis including the Blade CP, CP Pro, Blade CX, etc

are these blades any good for cp pro?

Old 06-08-2019, 06:52 AM
  #14776  
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Hello Mark,

I am sure you’ll pass muster and get turned on to the grid and start cranking in some Sun Power. Thanks for the information re your panels. I looked up the Q Cell Panels and they appear to be very good panels, you can’t go wrong with anything from Germany right.

it is so funny that you were putting in your Onkyo sound system, that’s what I have as well. Also like you, when I rebuilt the house after the earthquake and it was down to the studs Iran homerun line from every room for the telephone, TV cable, and surround sound speaker wires and antenna on both sides of the living room giving us the ability to have the couch against the south wall looking north and vice a versa should we ever want to change the layout of the room. Not too many years later we did flip the living room furniture over and all the wiring was there I’m so glad I did it and it appears you are to your home. Congratulations with your forward thinking when you had the opportunity to get inside those walls. Previously the house had a looped system for the telephone which I never cared for because if you get a short anywhere in that wire everything after that on the house is dead. So having an individual phone line TV cable line going to every single room in a home run manifold in my equipment closet keep me up and running forever.

Congrats on the new plane. My friend and neighbor in AZ has a ton of the inducted fan jet planes and they are really sweet and dang fast I might add. Your right, it is a good thing you don’t have an asphalt runway or you would be deep in debt with new jets hanging on your walls. Phil has some 90MM twin turbines and they crank and........sound like real gas jets! Have fun my friend.

I am close to being done with my charger case, I got my fans and inboard power finished yesterday. I also reworked the plywood deck as the box is a bit warped as is the lid together. When I squared the rectangular lower half of the box the lid would not close, it was bound. So I reshaped the deck plywood for now as that will be my plastic decks templet. I had to with a belt sander make concave passes inward from each corner on the front and back side and now she fits like a glove, she is close to being completed.

Enjoy that hat surround sound, perhaps play some Star Wars videos, they are the best! And again, glad to hear you went solar, a good positive move for your future there.

JP
Old 06-12-2019, 08:27 PM
  #14777  
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Hi JPEE,

My F-16's maiden had to be put off a few days as I discovered I had a bad ESC after I got everything all buttoned up. Had to tear the EDF unit and old ESC out to replace it.

But finally got my maiden in this morning - quite a handful to say the least! Had my control surfaces too low and so for the first 20 seconds or so was battling to keep her from nose diving each time I eased up on the elevator. After giving a huge amount of up trim I finally was able to get level flight and had the chance to see the flight characteristics. First - need expo! Very twitchy without it. The roll rate is also very slow so need to adjust to get more throw. This is my first jet I have to over-hand launch it so that was a bit different for me but she took off with just a little drop after release. This jet is fast and gets small real quick! I also noticed the fan has some vibrations so will need to figure out how to balance an EDF. All in all not too bad.

I did get to take out my Stinger jet Saturday so it wouldn't be all lost after discovering that faulty ESC for the F-16. Then I managed to smack the Stinger into a light pole near the end of the flight - in a high speed low pass. Jeez! By some miracle it must have hit in such a way to deflect off the bottom of the wing as there was barely any foam destroyed. I have some epoxying to do but its salvageable.

I did pick up something for myself from Motion, kind of a early Father's Day gift - a new 64mm F9F Panther EDF. This is close in size to my Stinger and can use my 3S 2200 lipo's so that's a plus.

Glad that your charging case is coming along nicely. A belt sander comes in handy doing quick fine tuning work!

A few good movies we've already tried with the surround sound are Jurassic World (the dinosaur fight in the end is great) and The Matrix I - will have to try Star Wars also!

Mark
Old 06-13-2019, 01:07 PM
  #14778  
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Mark,




Boy, you could have done without the extra work on the EDF ESC for sure, but you got it done. I have been there fighting to keep a plane up in the air for the same reasons and I “think” should 8 bring her in and make some trim adjustments or do it while flying. I have done it both ways or in fact yelled at Phil to walk over and give some trim, that’s nice to have a knowledgeable sidekick standing next to you. You prevailed and I am glad it all worked out for you. I “assume” you corrected the trims once you got her flying right down on the ground so you could zero out your sub trims?

Balancing and EDF, hummm....I have. Or looked that up but I would look at the motor shaft first, then inspect the fan itself. It there were no crack or obvious issues the next thing I would do would be to roll it on the kitchen counter and see if it had any out of roundness or weight issues. In either case in my opinion not substantiated, I would imagine if it was out of round or had a flat place in the plastic that it would roll across the sink like an old car tire with a flat spot going bump hump hump. Lastly if there was a way I could put an axle through it and put it on a blade balancer and see what it does. I’m sure you’ve got it all figured out, that was my unsolicited opinion LOL of what I would do. Yes I hear you well on the expo which I had to put into my P 51 because I was jerking twitching to use your terminology just like you were.

On the wings are use for just dance in missing small pieces lightweight spackle. It’s a real foamy in the area almost like lemon meringue. And it has no real weight and once it dries in a few minutes it’s firm and I’ve used it on airplane wings from hitting twigs or having rough landing losing the wingtips. Of course if you have broken areas then you need to do the epoxy. BTW I have the same stunt with a TREX 500 into the light pole TWICE at the City back in the day.

Wow, $98.00 for the Panther I’d a deal! Love the bright colors too, good luck with her!!!




Now I know why everything on my walls was vibrating the other night, it was the Dinosaurs !

Star Wars......oh yea baby.




Me, I finished my charging station with the exception of the plexi or marine plastic. I got the new 120v intake receptical rated for 20 amps and a 15 amp 120v toggle so as to turn off the box without having to unplug it.

I have had some surgery so I am kinda restricted to hanging out at home for another two weeks. But I am hoping to sneak shoooosh over the plastics store the first of next week to replace the plywood charger deck.
Old 06-15-2019, 10:57 PM
  #14779  
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Hey JPEE,

Happy Father's Day!!

That charging case is looking real good - truly nice work! I do like the installed plug, makes for a clean appearance instead of having multiple cords hanging out (like mine has) and the switch is a great idea. The fans should do a good job of keeping everything cool and gives it a nice finished touch.

Everything you incorporated into your case is exactly what I have to deal with in my sloppy terms. Example, I have a power strip that I have the 2 plugs from each PS plugged into. I can switch it on/off with the power strip. But that just adds to the cords/cables I have laying around the room. So with your setup utilizing the installed plug and separate installed switch you would have only 1 cable running to the in-wall/generator plug. And with the heat of the PS while charging, I have to open up my case to help cool it off. Fans would be a nice addition - do they run off the PS's? Nice work!

I'm sorry to hear about your surgery - hope everything is ok and your on the road to recovery.

Mark
Old 06-15-2019, 11:50 PM
  #14780  
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Now for a little bit of good news and bad news...

We'll get the bad out of the way first.

I was doing a second flight with my F-16 this past week and was still struggling with the trims. I 'believed' I could just use the current settings and get 1 flight in - I wasn't going to fly again for several days so I would have plenty of time to adjust them later. Plus, I wanted to try some loops and rolls and high speed passes with this flight. I was able to get a few rolls and a loop but kept having to add too much up elevator. Did I mention before this jet was fast? I slowed her down so I could look down on my transmitter to my trim button and when I last looked up I saw her going low and behind some trees, kind of far out too. I don't normally get that far to where the trees pose a problem. I applied full throttle and pulled up and saw her head right behind a tree - she was in a banking turn.

I heard the fan spool up to full throttle, then the excruciating crunch of wood, dead silence, and the explosion of foam come through the tree. Ugh, what a horrible feeling. Losing a plane to stupidity. The tree did quite a decent job - tore the wing and elevator from one side and took the tail. The battery got ejected too. There was leaf and twig bits stuck in the fan assembly. The other half of the plane was undamaged. Good thing these 50mm airframes are inexpensive to replace! What a (repeat?) lesson to be learned...

On the bright side I did order a replacement airframe the next day - they went on sale. Talk about timing!

I did get my order for my other 2 planes on Friday - the Panther and a Raptor. The Panther is a 64mm and the Raptor is a 50mm. I already started on the Panther and may be finished by tomorrow. It seems to be a straight forward build.

Mark
Old 06-16-2019, 07:14 AM
  #14781  
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First let’s start with Happy Fathers Day Mark,

Sorry to read of the crash, that’s never fun. When you first wrote about that plane......going out of site in the blink of an eye as she is a fast aircraft......I knew it was something I could never fly, that needs younger eyes and faster fingers. Your looking at the upside, saving the electronics and just needing a new fuse, was great to hear that is was on sale....works for me, congrats! There’s something heart warming and yet exhilarating about hearing that UPS truck arrive out front with RC or tools arriving right? lol.
Sometime today, your Dad Day, get some built time in at the bench.

Thanks for the kind words, I should be 100% in another week or so.

JP
Old 06-16-2019, 07:24 AM
  #14782  
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Happy fathers day to you guys!

I will catch up shortly. I bought my dream bike yesterday.
Old 06-16-2019, 07:26 AM
  #14783  
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Originally Posted by evdreamer
Happy fathers day to you guys!

I will catch up shortly. I bought my dream bike yesterday.
she’s beautiful just simply beautiful congratulations Nick!

Ride safe and enjoy👍
Old 06-16-2019, 07:29 AM
  #14784  
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Originally Posted by evdreamer
Happy fathers day to you guys!

I will catch up shortly. I bought my dream bike yesterday.
Congratulations Nick, ride safe and have fun you deserve it!JP
Old 06-16-2019, 08:09 AM
  #14785  
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John,

I hope the solar project turned out ok. Your new charger setup looks great.

I got a kick out of you referencing the train that could.

I hope your surgery wasn’t too major. It sounds like you are recovering nicely.

I went on a two hour ride last night. The shifter is still a little stiff, but it should break in after a few hundred miles. It is a 1000cc, so my butt was getting hot after riding awhile. My feet were also getting hot through the metal foot pegs. I love all the power. It is going to be hard to behave. It is easy to get into unlawful speeds in first gear. My Honda would have to shift at every 10mph increment. Cruise control is a nice feature and was helping me stay at the speed limit. It has a up and down quick shifter, so I don't need to pull in the clutch. It as an auto blipper on downshifts which is cool. Then it crackles and pops like modern super cars do. It has all the modern safety electronics which is nice. My Honda had nothing and I locked the back tire up on some hard stops and bad down shifts and stepped the back tire out on gravel. I went an hour away to buy it and there was a high chance of rain. It ended up just sprinkling and turned into a nice sunny day. I test rode a triumph street triple. That was cool, but I didn't have an emotional connection like my bike. I test rode the new zero SRF. It is an electric motorcycle with twice the torque as mine. Holly crap that is quick to accelerate. For the price the fit and finish wasn't there, but the drivetrain was. I test rode a Ducati, but my bike had more features at a fraction of the cost.

Mark,

That is cool you are getting solar panels too. Your system looks cool. I got really interested in solar power during high school and college.

That is cool you have surround sound now. I think my Sony receiver is 11 years old. That is something I don’t like to spend a lot of money upgrading on. I still use my 26in LCD TV from high school.

That is cool you got your F16 finished.

Sorry to hear about the jet crash.

Nick
Old 06-16-2019, 11:57 AM
  #14786  
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Once again Nick, congratulations on your new machine! Thank you for going into great detail as to what the bike has him can do. You really suspect out a nice bike not only for the auto downshifting the power shifting without having to pull the clutch, cruise control but ideally in almost more important in my opinion is how you feel when you walk up and look at it as you so stated in the, fit and finish side. At one point I want to Harley Davidson but I only had enough money for a Triumph 650. I was ready to buy the triumph because I could not afford the Harley when my dad said to me, (God Bless him today) if you buy the Triumph you will regret it every time you walk up and look at it and it is not a Harley! Heck, I was 18 and knew everything so I bought the Triumph. I did custom paint, some chrome and liked it very much but it was not a Harley. I wound up taking it to a motorcycle dealer and letting them sell it on consignment and got my Harley. The pearls of wisdom that fathers set up on their children, if we only would listen LOL I did custom paint, some chrome and liked it very much but it was not a Harley. I wound up taking it to a motorcycle dealer and letting them sell it on consignment and got my Harley. The pearls of wisdom that fathers set up on their children, if we only would listen LOL! That all sad like I mentioned earlier the fit in the finish you love the look you love the feel, I’m so glad you had the good sense to go that way and follow your heart. By the way I test rode a friends Ducati and we both already had Harley Davidson‘s. That motorcycle would bring the front wheel off the ground first second and third gear no problem. I left his house went down and hopped on the freeway, it’s been some years but I do not believe I got out of second gear and was terrified literally of the power. Coming back I was just in the slow lane plugging along listening to that beefy engine and was just afraid if I turn the throttle too far she would BUCK me off. The other problem for me was being leaned over and my size 14 boots made it very difficult to get over and under the shifter, that said I am glad I took a ride on a rocket bike once in my life. I just wish you so much fun and some great road trip’s hopefully you’ve got some guys you can ride with and go places.
Take care and have a great rest of your Sunday, JP
Old 07-05-2019, 05:50 PM
  #14787  
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Hi guys and hope you all had a nice 4th of July yesterday.

Nick,

That bike is very nice and good you got everything you wanted. I never knew bikes had all the electronic features that you named, as you said it makes for an easier and safer ride.

JPEE,

Hope you didn't have any issues with the earthquake that hit near Ridgecrest - we were thinking about you when they talked about it on TV this morning.

My solar panels were activated on Saturday, June 28 and have been producing electricity. I was able to determine that our usage per day last year was between 31 -35 kWh - this was peak during the summer months, winter dropped considerably. Our panels are producing between 30 -38 kWh right now depending on the weather - usually it is clear and sunny until around 3 when the afternoon storms develop. Even with the storms the panels still produce some electricity. This has been very interesting to watch each day the production from each individual panel throughout the day.

For the 4th we shot off fireworks - I had bought $60'ish worth and had a blast. This was one of the few years I had off so wanted to make the most of it. My son had a great time. I made a cheap rocket launcher out of PVC pipe and we shot off most of the rockets with that. I think we finished up around 10:30 last night and spent another half hour cleaning up.

I also used my days off to do some maintenance work on both our cars. Oil changes on both and did my first fuel filter change on mine. I let my car sit for a day so the pressure in the lines would dissipate - it wasn't all too bad. Had a little fuel spill but used a big piece of cardboard and a Tupperware container to catch most of it. And nothing in my eyes or mouth! Overall, I'm glad I got it all done, so nothing to do until the fall. Whew. lol

Mark
Old 07-06-2019, 02:21 PM
  #14788  
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Hello Mark,

Your solar panels look be serving you well. Your right in the cutting line of generating what you need to run the household, thats just super my friend. Yes my panels will throw energy even after dusk, not much but they are still cooking like yours. As I said, I just got mine up late yesterday and my backup batteries have been charging all day. My breakdown is nothing as detailed as yours that records each panel but I see how much I generate live, how much I have generated in a 24hr period for 300 days or so, just a bit below 265. I am still going through the menu and learning everything.

That’s just great you got to be home for a holiday especially with the little guy getting to be with Dad and mom. I so admire you for doing the clean up, for you doing which really....doesn’t surprise me from knowing over many years now, but for your son to learn responsibility, make a mess, clean it up.

Mark, I’ve never changed a fuel filter on the FI system vehicle. I do know they are pressurized as you indicated. Sounds like you did a great job and catching that gas was genius! Glad you got both cars serviced and everyone is in safe and well Maintained car! The kicker is, you enjoy it too!

Me...., I just drop it off at the dealer lol. Even the RZR, we’ve decided when we get to the desert, we’ll run into the dealer and I met the mechanic who worked on the car last year and I will ask for him to perform my work, oil change and checking the car over. I just bought a floor size 7’x12’ double axle utility trailer to take and leave in the desert for the RZR. There are occasions the car needs maintenance and that’s 85 miles each way. Then there are times someone breaks down and needs to be brought back in like me one time, and lastly sometimes we want to go over the hill and check out those trails, so now I will be able to go with the guys. I am the last guy to get one of these trailers.

BTW, as the house was shaking from the earthquake I feared nothing because we have little on our walls, pictures and such. Last time in 1994 we had broken glass everywhere in the house, so now we are minimalist’s lol. I am sitting here enjoying the house sway and taking it all in fearing nothing UNTIL I noticed one 3’x3’ painting on the wall that hangs over the dead space behind a big chair. Then like a ton of bricks it hit me..........CRAP.......THE 700 MD500 SCALE IS TUCKED BACK THERE! Man I jumped into action. That painting would wreck the Heli for sure if it had fallen from the wall.
Old 07-10-2019, 06:54 PM
  #14789  
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Hi JPEE,

Your solar setup looks real nice and professionally done - good job! I'm glad to hear your getting familiar with your system and learning all the parameters it has to monitor. Like you I am still getting used to the different menu options available and what they have to offer. I have to admit I do look several times a day to check on the energy production of the cells depending on how the weather is looking (overcast, cloudy, stormy, sunny, etc). I am surprised that during the overcast days the panels are still producing a good amount (between 140 - 175 watts) verses what they produce on a purely sunny day (240 watts). Only time they are at minimal or not at all is during thunderstorms.

You don't know how relieved I am in knowing I have no car maintenance to do for 3-4 months - what a breather! I checked on my wifes Kia and discovered the fuel filter was part of the fuel pump assembly and the entire thing is located in the fuel tank. What a mess of a job that is - everyone just said not to worry about it until after 100K and then only if a code is thrown. So that's my plan for now.

Congrats on the new trailer - is it a flat bed or enclosed? Sometimes being the last of the group to get something isn't all that bad, at least you get to look at what everyone else has and make your choice as to what would work best for you.

I was happy to hear you guys fared well with the earthquake and that your house is as quake proof as you can make it. Good quick thinking on the painting above the MD500 - fiberglass is tough but I don't think it would have fared well with that dropping on it from several feet up.

Not too much to report over here. I did order new servo's, ESC, and some GenAce's lipo's for my jets. My F-16 is just about done so I'll be redoing its maiden soon. The F-22 I should get started on later next week depending on how the maiden goes.

Mark
Old 07-14-2019, 06:46 PM
  #14790  
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Well guys,

The maiden of my second F-16 was a huge success! This time I made sure to adjust the control surfaces before and after the flight. So far I've gotten several flights to get used to the flight characteristics and I do like this plane. She looks great in the air doing low high speed passes and vertical is unlimited only by how far I can see. I sometimes feel I'm at a Thunderbirds airshow with how realistic she looks.

I did a few things different this time around - I used polyacrylic to cover the entire plane so to give it some added strength. The foam is a bit weak in a few areas (discovered with the first plane/tree crash) so I was able to reinforce that area. The polyacrylic also gives it a nice shiny finish and helps to protect the stickers from peeling off. The other thing I did was remove the entire cowl section so I could secure the ESC in the air flow much better - last time I had issues with the ESC peeling up and impeding the airflow. So in hindsite, the crash did give me the opportunity to experiment with the old airframe so I could use those new techniques with the new airframe.

Plus I was able to epoxy the old airframe back together so my son now has his own F-16 to play with.

Mark
Old 07-17-2019, 05:46 PM
  #14791  
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Originally Posted by Aframomum
Hi JPEE,

Your solar setup looks real nice and professionally done - good job! I'm glad to hear your getting familiar with your system and learning all the parameters it has to monitor. Like you I am still getting used to the different menu options available and what they have to offer. I have to admit I do look several times a day to check on the energy production of the cells depending on how the weather is looking (overcast, cloudy, stormy, sunny, etc). I am surprised that during the overcast days the panels are still producing a good amount (between 140 - 175 watts) verses what they produce on a purely sunny day (240 watts). Only time they are at minimal or not at all is during thunderstorms.

You don't know how relieved I am in knowing I have no car maintenance to do for 3-4 months - what a breather! I checked on my wifes Kia and discovered the fuel filter was part of the fuel pump assembly and the entire thing is located in the fuel tank. What a mess of a job that is - everyone just said not to worry about it until after 100K and then only if a code is thrown. So that's my plan for now.

Congrats on the new trailer - is it a flat bed or enclosed? Sometimes being the last of the group to get something isn't all that bad, at least you get to look at what everyone else has and make your choice as to what would work best for you.

I was happy to hear you guys fared well with the earthquake and that your house is as quake proof as you can make it. Good quick thinking on the painting above the MD500 - fiberglass is tough but I don't think it would have fared well with that dropping on it from several feet up.

Not too much to report over here. I did order new servo's, ESC, and some GenAce's lipo's for my jets. My F-16 is just about done so I'll be redoing its maiden soon. The F-22 I should get started on later next week depending on how the maiden goes.

Mark
Glad to hear Mark that the cars are done and now for the summer it will lift some pressure off of you! Yes I would not want to face dropping the tank or not.... to get the fuel pump out either, sounds like a real knuckle buster to be sure!

Thank you, the trailer is a tandem axle with ramp . The floor spec, ID: 7' wide and 12" long plus tongue. Used longer trailers are cheaper believe it or not, but out in the desert long is not good if your towing back in country as they say.

Finished the solar this very day, July 17. I had to sledgehammer down an 8' long ground rod. My brain is 20 and my body is every day of 71 1/2 LOL! It took me three days with a little here and there hammering but last night after the sun got low so I was not standing in it I got it done. Today I ran another conduit from the controller to get the ground wire outside and hooked up, Bingo! With out the ground I did a beta run my my 1000 watt big shop vac and all held well. As soon as the Controllers sensor felt the drain on the batteries she kicked on the panels. With a minute or two the roof was sending 1100 watts. It was blistering hot at the time so there will be loss of watts being delivered. My max is 1220 watts with my 4 panels under best light of day. But like you said, even at 6:00 a.m. with the slightest hint of light I see 30-75 watts already cooking!
Gonna jump down to next post on the new plane and how she flew, so happy for you!!!!

JP
Old 07-17-2019, 06:25 PM
  #14792  
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Hello Again Mark,

Glad to hear the the maiden came off well for your new F-16 and that it was a huge success. I see you took your time which really paid off for you and the little guy getting his own jet :-) That's great to read that the scale is really there for you, that's what we all want when we fly, to feel that we are in the cockpit, right? Sure sounds like she handle nicely too, slow passes again...... the being in the cockpit.
The poly acrylic, man that was gutsy to spray ( I assume ) that on the plane and hope the foam didn't go nuts and that the decals did not all curl up YIKES! But clearly you did your homework and it is a real plus for you to use the product. I mean, it clearly makes sense that is a plus in both ways you mentioned. Kudos on moving some of the cowling to let the all important ESC breath mo-bet-tah. Once again your photo really showcases off the plane, sweet and congrats now on multiple flights!!!!!

JP
Old 07-19-2019, 08:27 PM
  #14793  
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Hi JPEE,

I think this is going to be year of the jets for me, even though we're already half way through!

I picked up another little 50mm jet - an F-18 in Blue Angels theme. My son told me that since we already had a Thunderbird that we now need a Blue Angels. What a kid aye? Good thing these BlitzRC 50mm jets offer airframes only for a good price. I have a spare ESC and a pair of servo's ready to go, now I just need to get a receiver as I'm all out. Thinking about trying a 6 channel Lemon Rx for this plane.

I am looking at another jet - slightly larger and in the 64mm fan size. I liked the F-22 so much that I'm planning to pick up the Freewing version that Motion is selling. They come in both the 3S and 4S versions and I am going to get the 3S version. Its a bit less expensive and gives me some flexibility. I plan to pull the 3S motor/fan/esc and put that in my old Stinger 64 since all that equipment is a few years old and rather beaten up. After all, the Stinger was my first EDF and has seen some better days, plus she flew on 3S with no problems!

I plan to get a 4S motor with 11 blade fan and combine that with a 60 Amp ESC and use that on the F-22. I have been wanting to get into the 4S power range and try out a larger fan blade count since all of my jets so far use 5 blade fans only. I hear the higher blade count gives a nicer jet whoosh sound over the screaming, ear-piercing 5 blades, and the 4S gives more power, which is nice too. lol So this jet will be my first attempt at building my own power system so the hope is it will be more powerful then stock.

I want to do a nice slow low pass down the runway then go full throttle into straight vertical. Which right now, sadly my 50mm F-22 can't even begin to hope for...

I finished the maiden of my 50mm F-22 this morning. It wasn't the greatest maiden but I did get the plane to fly. It took 3 failed attempts to correct the CG so she wouldn't nose dive to the ground. When I did get the plane flying it was like in slow motion. Much different then the F-16 which took off like a bullet. This plane moves really slow and is agonizing to watch it climb oh so slowly. I only got one flight but am taking it out tomorrow morning to get more flying time. Despite the current lack of power she does look good when flying.

I have discovered that I do lean towards hand launch planes as my options for runways is limited and changes too often. Plus my runways (roads) often have sewer/manhole covers which makes for takeoffs and landings challenging. I discovered a new field just down the road from my last flying area (my last area began residential construction after a 5 year hiatus). The new area is totally open and has a nice large open retention pond section that appears to never get filled with water. There is one short stubby tree to one side that I make sure to avoid at all costs!

The polyacrylic that I use is a liquid version, not a spray. I'd imagine the propellant of the spray would not agree with the foam. I use a foam brush and cover one side, let dry and do the other. This stuff dries fast and cleans up with water. I can usually do one full coat in about a half hour. The results are amazing and very strong, as my F-22 maiden proves!

Mark



Old 07-22-2019, 05:24 PM
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Hi Mark,

So your becoming a jet man are you, that great news, I am sure you will be very happy taking this path. That's great the little man knows what he wants and is keeping Dad in line so to speak lol. Funny, we have a Blue Angel and we need a T-Bird..... Ah ha, back to the spare parts drawers for the electronics, cool! Whats a Lemon RX?? New words to me?

Your a hoot! I am reading that you buying the new Motion 3S 64 mm plane and the stripping it for parts..HUH. Nex paragraph explained it all, what a great idea to save the old F-22 with the 3S parts and go big on the new plane. I can't wait to see the slow pass of the 4S jet then make her disappear into the atmosphere!!

Mark you've been around the block, in my humble opinion, we do what we can re CG on the bench but after that it is a must fly and see how she handles, and that is fun, scarry, and take talent all of what you have! When my P-51 kept crashing it was two things, under powered and they upgraded to the bigger motor I put in last October and....the CG. I flew the darned thing right where they said and the stand said but n the air NOSE HEAVY and handfull to TRY and keep her in the hence the crashes. Hey you can always use the F-22 to warm up with as it is slower and easier to track I do that with my planes, I fly the T-28 which is friendly and then I take the P-40 which is a bullet and try to keep her under my thumbs. She is fast and light and leave your eyesight in moment.

That grassy area looks very nice for a hand launch and land area. Thats nice to belly in and not be tied to a runway and have to get her just right to not crash and come in one piece, yeppers and hand launch and grass landing it great!

Thanks for sharing the Polyacrylic photo and the how too as well. That it like decals and paint with no problems is HUGE in my opinion.

Solar, I finished it yesterday finally.............geee I loved doing it and I thought I was a wise man solar wise after having my other system for three years. This was day and night and difference and I have had to fall and skin my knees so to speak to learn so...much. Thank goodness I have a very good friend who is a top of the line computer tec who came over and logged on to the controller and did the final settings on the charging, floating etc last night. Been paper and pencil logging info all day and it looks like we are here. My laptop plugs in for a view and 28 day history. The good part is yet to come. I have to pull 60' of of ethernet cable from our home office here over to the garage wall and drop it down to the controller. Then it will be added to my network so........I may see it online from my phone, tablet, laptop etc and make adjustments IF needed while I am not here. That's gonna be too coolName:  1f60e.png
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Good luck my friend, my very best to you and the wee guy out doing Father and son flying.

Life is good! JP
Old 07-23-2019, 04:59 PM
  #14795  
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Hi JPEE,

I completely missed the earlier post about you finishing up with your solar and installing the ground pole and conduit from the controller to ground. Did you have to stand on a ladder to start that 8 foot pole? That's some serious hammering for sure - good job on getting it in there! I'm sure crawling around in the attic running conduit and cable was lots of fun - NOT! But at least your almost done.

Back later...
Old 07-24-2019, 09:35 AM
  #14796  
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Hello Mark, I am sure you have seen those post drivers, they are around pipe with the handle on each side and you pick it up and drop it down on the fence post to drive it in the ground. I made something like that that I could stand on the ground and beat and over those three days I got the rod down within 30 inches of being completed. On the third day because it is next to the stucco I put a 2 x 4 behind it to space it out and took a three-quarter inch socket from my toolbox and laid that over the top to give me a little wider surface the sledge hammer against. It took everything I had the third day to get it down about 5 inches off the ground where the wires come out of the vent and make their connectivity.
Here are the final photos.


Old 07-24-2019, 11:42 PM
  #14797  
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I'm back now...

JPEE,

I didn't know that the grounding rod had to be 8 feet deep - I will have to check that for my house just to make sure since I know the solar installation had to tie into the grounding system during their install. You had yourself quite a job and I can imagine you also had several sore days after everything was over and done with. But at least its finished and you can sit back and enjoy the fruits of your hard work!

You have yourself a very impressive solar and battery charging system. For some reason I thought the batteries took up more space, but yours looks like maybe 8ft X 3ft footprint? Last thing and most important - you did all this yourself. So that in itself is quite the accomplishment!

Me - I went ahead and pulled the trigger on the bigger F-22 I was looking at. My current F-22 I have gotten several more flights and it does get small in a hurry and can lose orientation easily. I've learned to keep it close and it does well in slow, nose up orientation - guess the large wing surface helps keep it stable at slow speeds.

If and when I find a decent place to fly with a nice, smooth, and long runway (not road with potholes and man hole covers) I may spring for a jet with retracts. You can bet I've already got several in mind! But if I'm going to shell out $200-$300 for a nice scale 70mm or 80mm jet I first want to have the right place to fly. So for now I'll do with my belly landers. At least the polyacrylic does a great job at protecting the bottom finish so it doesn't get worn too quickly.

One thing about my current selection of jets - my son has seen each one personally at the airshows we take him to. The most recent (this past April) was the Blue Angels so he is very excited to see that one get finished and flying. And did I mention that he has the plastic models of each one too? The Thunderbird and Blue Angel were the plastic snap tite model kit. He was able to put those 2 together himself, then I went over it and super glued it so it wouldn't fall apart when he was playing with them. The Raptor was a much more difficult model so I had to do most of the assembly and painting of that one. I even put up several wooden shelves in the hobby room so he can display / store all his models. He's getting quite a collection going - F-16, F-18, F-22, P40, Zero, Huey, USS Arizona, USS Oriskany, Titanic, USS Dallas - yeah, dad went a little crazy...

Mark
Old 07-28-2019, 06:41 PM
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Here's a few shots of his model shelves:
Old 07-28-2019, 07:19 PM
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Once again MotionRC came through with flying colors! They used FedEx to ship (instead of UPS) and my Raptor arrived on Saturday instead of having to wait until Monday. Terrific company to deal with!

The Freewing Raptor is huge - much larger than I was expecting. The details are very nice and I was able to put her together in a little over an hour this morning. No glue!! Everything now is designed to be screwed together. It seems Freewing is moving towards this type of assembly to make changing airframe parts after a crash much easier. My Stinger also has this design and I really like the ease of assembly, and disassembly if needed. I was a little hesitant with the screws at first but after doing a tightening check as part of my preflight I've never had any issues with them coming loose. So I am comfortable with my new Raptor having this screw-on design.

I pulled the fan and checked all the motor/ESC connections, and also ran the fan up to check balance and direction of rotation. Had to go into the ESC to change the direction as it was blowing air out of the air intakes - can it fly backwards? lol I was pleasantly surprised that the fan was nicely balanced, I didn't need to do any tweaking at all. I did put the fan back into the plane so I could do a bit of taxiing around. It does have some power but I'm still not going to fly until I get my 4S power system in there.

I did take my mini Raptor and Thunderbird out to get a couple flights this morning. My son had a great time watching the jets fly, plus it wasn't too hot this morning so that was a plus. With my new Freewing Raptor and the mini Raptor and Thunderbird, my car is getting packed! When things cool down this fall I'll have to decide what to take with me once I get my long awaited Goblin 570 heli completed and finally flying. My Mustang is just too small to fit all these planes and the heli at one time!

My other issue is I've run out of receivers. I did mention that I was going to get a few Lemon Rx, but a little more researching found that the antenna's are very brittle and break easily, so I've scrapped that idea. I'll stick with my Spektrum receivers, there's always some for sale over at HF and RCG. Never thought I'd run out of receivers...hah!

I don't think I mentioned what ever happened to my F9F Panther...I decided to make it a static display model. It turned out to be a very difficult model to fly - the reviews were mixed and some did mention it was a hard model with some issues. I only had a handful of flights but each one usually resulted in a less than stellar landing and required the use of epoxy afterwards. So currently it is a non flying model that I gave to my son - I had to epoxy more parts after its last outing. Its alright as on those rare occasions you come across a plane that you just don't like to fly.

Here's a few pictures of my new Raptor side by side with my mini Raptor (I need to do the boiling water for the mini's nose as it had a rough maiden )
I'll also be taking off the landing gear but for now they do look nice.

Mark
Old 07-29-2019, 01:04 PM
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Hello Mark,

Lets start from the top, what a wonderful collection of planes and ships! I see and RC small controller there, are any of the ships water worthy? Your Little Man has followed Dad and jumped in with both feet it appears, you are so lucky. A wonderful thing for Father and Son following the ages of aviation. Love the Dads Mustangs too! I have assume??? the ships all had to be built from a kit?

Mr. Motion RC Guy, yes they are the Best Game in Town these days. That's where I bought the P-51 and more. Their ADMIRAL Batteries are not bad either. Again, as you noted the screw and lock into place is like my 51 and it's real nice to be able to go on line and buy parts and get back up in the air fast and clean.

Holy Cow........you proved very clearly that Pre-Flight Checks are so so important. Fans spinning the wrong was could have been disastrous just trying to taxi and find out then! Glad it was an easy fix for you. Yeppers, you hang loose until the 4S comes in, a plane that size needs all the power she can hold. It is for that reason that I struggled so with the 51 as it was under powered and the V2 had a new motor and a bigger ESC and since I did that upgrade she flies nicely.

Just pop out the back seat back rest and slip and slide planes and helis in from the trunk clear up to the back of the drivers seat LOL. Seriously, I do hear you. We are blessed in AZ with the trucks with my slider and upper 5.5"x8' upper second shelf for my chairs and my big Radian Glider. The red heli rides in my back seat for safety, JUST in case I had to hit the brakes.

I think I asked you about the Lemon? Rx's, are you speaking to the Hobby King kind yellowish Orange ones? That all Phil uses and I too being mostly on Airtronics but am slowly moving everything over to my DX9 had to buy some. Are we on the same page re receivers of whats what?

The Raptors do not even look related with one on the landing gear and the other not. I also hear you on the soft grass landings until you can find a blowing alley perfectly flat landing strip.

Solar: Thanks for the complements :-)
She is done and yesterday I got the battery box back in it's pocket. Each battery weighs 65 pounds X's 8 = 520 pound with out the plywood and cables within. Here's how I get it back in place. After thinking about it, I'll send those in an email to you, I am embarrassed to post that. I just kept moving the truck closer and moving a bit further each time. The box is 6' x 16" with 8 electric cart batteries for a 48vt system.

I am so happy for you and now with the new planes and a new heli in the future you and your Junior Crew Chief are going to be uptown!!


Take care

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