[wingtipper]

Well as most of you would have read . the maiden day of the YAK 55M didnt go to well , and on the 4th flight . it lost signal in air and gave the earth a bit of a rumble .
i managed to salvage all of the hardware . and my good mate Raptorfly ( George felt sorry for me and offered me a bargain he won on ebay that i just couldnt resist ) a GOLDWING EDGE 540 - SAME AS GARY'S .
Totally different plane and different build . i really couldnt fault the YAK 55M . but it needed more build time and work than the EDGE 540 .
THE EDGE 540 i think will be atleast 500grams lighter in the air . the YAK WAS 5.5KG . I'M HOPING TO SEE THE YAK AT UNDER 5KG . I'M TRYING TO BUILD THIS SUCKER AS LIGHT AS POSSIBLE . the only unnecessary weight i added was a switch and wiring at 64 grams , i'll be running it without the wheel pants and have added light weight wheels , which takes off 148 grams and one less servo which takes off 70 grams .
i set it up with the old switch that failed on the yak . and just gave the switch a wobble and bingo . it lost power .
i fitted an RC heavy duty switch which i got from hobby's in the hills foir $20 bucks . mate i hope it dont let me down . it just needs battery tray nade up and batteries fitted for C OF G , and it will be ready for a weigh in and a maiden . pics to come . i think another days work on it tomorrow and it will be totally ready for flight .

[secant0give]

Good Stuff mate !!
So it's pretty much a certainty that it was the switch you got from Jaycar that caused it to go of the air??
Well done in finding the cause ! Shame it cost you a very nice airframe tho' but at least you know what caused the trouble and can have confidence in the rest of the set up now.

[samste]

Fyi
With switches that are very important such as the one above, I tend to use a double pole switch and link both contacts together so you have two contacts rather than 1.

In high risk enviroment i actually use two separate switches linked Together so i am not relying on one switches spring/sliding mechanisms.

Example Pictures Below Standard left Photo , Linked Right Photo and Double Linked bottom Photo

           


Looking Forward to seeing The Edge 540 Up and Flying as i have been keen on getting one

[wingtipper]

thanks for the info STEVE . . IVE SETUP THE ELECTRICS TODAY . jeez its a chore . ok the 2 cell battery goes to switch input . outlet end of switch has a y lead , which goes to a an LED readout and the other plug goes to the input of the bec , the bec reduces voltage to 6v , which then plugs into the rx . i have plugged the led into both the battery voltage 7.4 volts .( storage charge) and given all the servos a hard workout together by rolling the gimbles on the TX AND THE BATTERY HELD OUT AT 7.3 VOLTS . MIND YOU the bec has a low level led of its own which was flashing during this test . on the other test i connected the led readout to the rx , and did the same . the rx voltage stayed a constant 5.97v , during rigorous testing .
The plane is 98 % complete , and it's now going into the hanger until i have some vested patience once again . I put many many hours into the YAK 55M . I intend to do the same with the EDGE 540 . A little receiver advice with satellite placement wouldn't go a stray . my satelite receiver has 2 aerials. one on each side inline . ARE ONE OF THESE SUPPOSED TO BE BENT GIVING IT A 90 DEGREE DIFFERENCE TO THE OTHER . which would give 3 separate axis of Aeriel ? it's a Spectrum ar 8000 rx with satellite .
also the Aeriel on the main receiver keeps sagging down , should i put a little balsa packing under it to hold it out horizontally ?
heres a pic or two .

[secant0give]

With the antenna's I often glue (with hotmelt glue) short peices of drinking straws in, where I want antennas to go and when I put the reciever in place, I slide the antenna wire up into the straws.

I also use other straws to hold various other wires in place. (never put servo wires in the same straw as an antenna, that is asking for trouble) I find if I glue a peice of drinking straw in place with Hot Melt Glue, then slit it length wise with a sharp blade I can open the slit and push the wires in. That helps keeps every thing neat and tidy and if I want to take the wires out it's easy, you just pull on the wire and it slides out of the slitted straw.

From the photo your reciever possition looks pretty good to me !!

I really like the LED display to plainly show you the actual voltage of the Reciever pack. It's just that little bit of extra insurence that could save you a plane one day. Make sure you check it every flight


It's lookin' good mate !!!

[wingtipper]

total flying weight comes in at 5180 grams . approx .

[gbanger]

Hey Frank
That's a bloody nice lookin' plane you got there champ!!
Looking forward to a litle bit of tandem flying mate!

[wingtipper]

Well Gary . George made me promise that it be different to yours , so i kept the promise . bit of tandem flying might be nice .
heres decals fitted .

[gbanger]

The big blue spinner sets us apart mate... mine is the same colour as the red on the airframe and I've got my big white wheel spats on mine so they will be easy to pick in the air.

[wingtipper]

im in need of some decent battery tie down straps . anyone know where i can purchase some ? i use velcro now . but ive seen better ones .

[gbanger]

I use Align Velcro straps from ZJ Hobbies.... it is the best you will find.

http://www.zeejayhobbies.com.au/tools-ac...ml?sort_by=&brand=1&brand=1

[secant0give]

5.180 Kg is really pretty good as far as weight goes
My Yak 55 M from Super and cheaper is about the same
You'll notice it flies really well at that weight !!

[Flying fisho]

Gaz gave me some of that velcro strapping, good stuff.
I have also bought a 5m roll of 25mm 2 sided velcro from Bunnings (Velcro Reusable Wrap) strong enough to hold a house brick.

[gbanger]

Mine weighs 5.36 kg ready to fly. Thats with 2 x 5S 5000 35C-65C Nanotech batteries.
What batteries are you runing in your Frank?

[secant0give]

I'm guessing that Wingtipper's lipos are a fair bit lighter than the ones your using Gazz but his motor is heavier.

I think he's using 12S 3000s

[wingtipper]

i'm using 2x 6s 3000mah 20c turnigy packs . and also 2x 6s 3300mah 25c zippy compact .
. i cheated a bit with the weights as i weighed it with the lighter 3000mah packs .
now with the zippy compacts the weight will be 5.38kg as those battery packs are 600g each .with a genuine flight time of 5.30 min versus 4.30 with the 3000's air time ( landing approaches etc not inc )
my 12s 63 x 74 2800watt 192kv AERO SK3 motor is a big heavy motor . but it is underrated and can take 3000 watts . some people are doing 3500wats with this motor . as long as cooling is there . but thats another topic .
with the 12s setup and 20x8 prop its pulling static 3000 watts at 71 amps static. motor is rated at 80 amp . the yak was weighing in at 5.6 kg with the 3300 batteries . and that was flying great .

[Raptorfly]

Looks great Frank let us know when and where is the maiden.

[wingtipper]

Will do .

[gbanger]

I had another 3 flights with mine at Penrith on the weekend mate.
I moved the C of G back 5mm from standard for the first flight and then another 5 for the last 2 flights and it almost hovers hands off, and it still flies magic.

[wingtipper]

thats good to know . cheers .

[wingtipper]

well today seen 4 flights at P E M A C .
THE 1ST FLIGHT .
took off without any issues whatsoever and just needed a couple of clicks of uptrim . It lifted off at 1/2 throttle and flew very stable , took it up high and inverte3d it and it was neutrally balanced from the get go . 4 minute flight and landed on 1st approach , probably the easiest plane to land i have ever flown .
2ND FLIGHT
bit of full throttle flying and try out dual rates , very aerobatic 3d plane , not really suited for inya face harsh sport flying like the MX2 and YAK 55M is . it prefers to just dance around in the sky and do whatever its asked . it can put on a show at 3/4 throttle whilst stall spinning and snap rolling continually in the air with minimal fuss , and it can fly level at 1/2 throttle and just go verticle without adding throttle in a gracefull way . it's happy to hover , not like the mx2 which is looking for the quickest way to the ground . landed withput incident and made me look good as it touched down .
3rd flight
gave it some g forces to see what it would do and i could not get this bird out of sorts . i did have some MOTOR faults though with fasat acceleration i had prop lock a few times ( esc timing error ) or something there abouts . this needs to be fixed cause coming out of a DIVE AND THROTTLING UP stalled my plane on a climb due to motor lock and squeel lucky there that i wasnt low .
also my prop seemed a little out of balance why i dont know . i spent time balancing it . i'll have to re check that .

4th flight . stall charactoristic and slow flying test both level knife edge and also inverted .
knife edges great at full throttle and full rudder right across the sky , can be hovered on knife edge which looks great , inverted at idle it just held level and floated down and along the field . looked great . nothing like the commanding mx2 and yak55m . I NOTICED IT WAS SLIGHTLYTAIL HEAVY . WHICH PROBABLY REALLY SUITED IT .
came in for landing throttled off and it just hung there sloap soaring about 200 feet up , it was an eery feeling as i didnt understand why it wouldnt come in. almost thought id lost signal or battery or something but it just wanted to stay there in the air not coming down. i had to put it into a dive and down she came , levelled out and hung there again,. i was waiting for tip stall but it just simply didnt happen . so i throttled up put nose down and flew over the strip thinking that my C OF G had changed had another approach at speed and down she floated into the strip like it had feathers
this thing is like a light eagle soarer . nothing like my mx2 . the mx2 wants to be thrown around , so did the yak 55m like missiles with flaps on them, the edge 540 makes light work of 3d ,doesnt show any sign of stress at fast rolling, is dragey and floaty , and lands like a trainer . just have to sort this motor problem with prop lock out . which i'm a little concerned about cause its already on its high timing and frequency . this K FORCE 120 AMP ESC doesnt have more than 2 choices for those doesnt have very high timing . but the motor is only a 190 kv
any suggestions appreciated .its on 12 s .

i probably prefer the harsh flying and authority of the mx2 . BUT THIS EDGE 540 IS DEFINATELY A KEEPER

[secant0give]

What size prop are you running on that Frank and how heavy is it?
You might be able to use a softer start on the ESC.
A lighter prop might be the answer as well, probably a better one if you can go that way.

[wingtipper]

ok thanks Jason . i might use a softer start , and try and get a light electric prop instead of the beechwood "D" type 20x8 105 gram prop i'm currently using . thanks for the suggestion .

[secant0give]

ok thanks Jason . i might use a softer start , and try and get a light electric prop instead of the beechwood "D" type 20x8 105 gram prop i'm currently using . thanks for the suggestion .

Just remember that a softer start will make the spool up time slower and you might want to keep that as fast as possible.

Going for the lighter prop would be the better option in that case.

Usually timing errors occure when the motor gets out of sink with the ESC. If you jam the throttle open wide and the motor can't spool up as fast as the ECS expects it too then it can get out of sink and just lock up andmaking a nasty noise.

I have got timing errors when I've been askig too much from a motor / ESC combination. A smaller prop can often fix things, So you may want to try a prop that doesn't load the power system up as much ??

[Claudius]

Did it only do it ramping up from throttle off?

One trick I've taken to doing (borrowed from the competition aero guys) on the 3D planes is using a mix/slider/whatever to set a throttle idle.

That way, the prop is always turning at low RPMs (thereby providing a nice hunk of drag which is often useful at zero throttle for this style of aircraft), and provides much better throttle response when punching out from the "zero" throttle position.

[wingtipper]

OK GUYS . WHAT I HAVE DONE IS change the timing from 26.5 degrees to 22.5 degrees . it has 8 timing options 8 being 26.5 degrees and 7 being 22.5 degrees . this isnt a 500 kv motor its a 190 kv on 12 s . so thats what ill try 1st .
i then tested it at home . full on full off 1/2 on to full on etc etc it hasnt missed a beat static . and if you go from full on to full off and full on static it takes about 2 seconds to spool up and this is on normal start mode .
i read about soft startup , and that takes 3 seconds to spool from idle to full throttle on initial startup only then auto switches to normal start anyway during operation so i figured its only good for initial heli spool up on soft start . not practical and wouldnt change a thing on the plane once you take off ( unless you were to set the brake ) which could be an option .

CLAUDIO . THE BRAKE IS NOT SET SO WHEN THE MOTOR IS AT LOW THROTTLE OFF THE PROPELLER IS BEING DRIVEN BY THE WIND ( FREE SPINNING) AND THATS WHEN IT DOES IT WHEN I THROTTLE UP AFTER A DIVE AT IDLE OFF .
are you suggesting i set a low idle at off position rather than an off ( free spin ) in the air ?
and also if i were to do this , wouldnt the prop speed over take the idle speed of the motor anyway causing an implemented timing error ?
actually this would act as a break and provide low rpm like you say and the synch should then stay timed , and also provide quicker ramp up . i think this is the fix claudio . i will do this anmd report back thanks . also i think i will leave timing at position 7 out of 8 for now -- incidently ( default timing is position 5 15 degrees ) . cheers .

[secant0give]

That is also good advice. I might just try that my self !!

Thanks Claudio !!

[gbanger]

Hey Frank, happy that the maiden went well, they are a pretty terrific aircraft
Gazz

[wingtipper]

today seen some further development , as i took it out for an early morning fly .
with it's new timing and giving it an idle instead of off on down throttle the motor performed great . no squeel and no lock under any circumstances , it actually aided landing as well as you are flying in .
prop was good and plenty of pull for hovering and verticles , great for 3d .
on the 2nd flight i thought i'd change the prop and fitted a light electric 18x8 @ 61g over the 20x8 wooden @105g . ok the thing had atleast 1000 more rpm and instant throttle up which completely changed the flight charactoristic . it now became a challange to hover and pretty much needed 3/4 throttle to do so which kind ve spoils the hover as torque interferes with it , the other prop sat fat at 1/2 throttle and hung well . i guess thaT WOULD BE THE ONLY DRAW BACK .
Because of its higher revs and throttle response i was able to threow it around the sky causing a fuss like i do with the mx2 . i dont know what one would call my style of flying , but it isnt 3d conformity , its more like full throttle spins and rolls and dives .
so it does rip up the sky with the 18x8 and struggles on knife edge etc due to high revs , however it still does knife edge and hover , just not gracefully like the 20x8 prop . the 20x8 prop has a faster verticle speed climb and easier hover . but the 18x8 has the quick i'm not messing around here feel about it .
if that makes sense .
stats 20x8 wood type "D" 105g 71 amps 3000 watts @ 42 V
18X8 light electric 53 amps 2300 watts @ 43.4 v motor rating 12s 80 amp 2850 watts
2 TOTALLY DIFFERENT STYLES WITH 2 DIFFERENT PROPS . UNDECIDED AS TO WHICH ONE IS THE MORE FUN
perhaps i should try an 18x10 or 19x8 lightwood .