Flying Circus Tractor 90 Electric - Build

[crvgeiro1898]

Hello guys! I'm finishing a project and decided to post it here to share with you.

I have seen that in the United States the electric planes with 20cc-size have become popular. But here in Brazil, gas planes still dominate without threats to their dominance. That's why I decided to build a giant electric plane. I chose the "Tractor 90", from the Brazilian company "Flying Circus". It is a trainer designed for .60 to .90 glow engines. But the most common here in Brazil is the assembly with 15 to 20cc gasoline engines.

Plane dimensions:
Span: 200 cm;
Length 160 cm (including engine);
Wing area: 60 dm2;
Weight: 4600g with .90 glow engine (4800g with DLE 20cc RA)

It is sold as a assemble kit and costs R$508.25 (something close to U$97.65 in direct conversion with the current US dollar rate in my country).

Setup:

Powertrain:
Motor: EMAX GT4030/06 420KV
ESC: Castle Talon 90
Battery: 1x Lion Power 6s 3300mAh 40C
Propeller: APC 16x8

Servos:
Ailerons: Align DS610
Elevator: Align DS610
Rudder: Align DS610
Tailwheel: EMAX ES9257
Flaps: Tower Pro SG5010

Radio System:
TX: Radiomaster TX16S
RX: FrSky X8R
Telemetry: FrSky MLVSS

I started this project on April 16th and finished it yesterday, August 27th. I don't know the American reality, but here in Brazil it is unfortunately an expensive project. Cost increases time.

 

[crvgeiro1898]

Starting with the basic assembly of the kit. Very simple and quick to assemble.

Weight at the end of assembly: 2038g.

 

[crvgeiro1898]

In my kits, I like to make adaptations and customizations. On Tractor, I added a new inspection window, plate for receiver, battery and tailwheel servo, and other details.

 

[crvgeiro1898]

Working on the landing gear.

I used a carbon fiber tailwheel, and built a main landing gear out of aluminum. I bought some 3D printed wheel pants, and painted them.

 

[Flightspeed]

Nice looking plane! Good job!

 

[crvgeiro1898]

The covering.

I started by painting the interior. The cabin was painted white, and the engine area was painted black. For the covering, I used a generic Monokote produced in China, here in Brazil we call it "chinakote". For the details, I used blue and carbon fiber texture automotive vinyl.
All the stickers I designed and cut by hand, it's a job I like to do.

 

[crvgeiro1898]

Finishing the project.

I'm a big fan of Formula 1, and Alpha Tauri's cars look really good this year. It was an easy choice.

Ready-to-flight weight: 4407g!

 

[crvgeiro1898]

First motor test.

Airplane roll-out!

If all goes well, the maiden will be tomorrow, August 29th!

 

[cyclone3350]

I did a large scale Rascal knock off 2.8M WS last year in an electric conversion. It flies so well, that is all I am building. But be warned. Your plane looks so well built that it will fly extremely true and so well behaved, that U might find it boring to fly. Nice to see that I am not the only who hand cuts out his own graphics. I don't enjoy it as much as I used to, so I am considering a Cricut Cutter.

 

[The Hangar]

First motor test.

Airplane roll-out!

If all goes well, the maiden will be tomorrow, August 29th!

Good luck on the maiden, you did a beautiful job on the build!

 

[crvgeiro1898]

Nice looking plane! Good job!

Thanks! I'm working to do the best (the best that I can do LOL).

 

[crvgeiro1898]

I did a large scale Rascal knock off 2.8M WS last year in an electric conversion. It flies so well, that is all I am building.

Rascal is an excellent plane! Very beautiful! It's one of the planes I plan to build in the future. I'm also thinking about building a Kadet Senior.

 

[crvgeiro1898]

Good luck on the maiden, you did a beautiful job on the build!

Thank you very much!

 

[crvgeiro1898]

Houston, we have a problem.

I decided to buy cheap servos for the flaps, and it almost cost my plane.

I took the first flight, and the plane flew wonderfully. There was moderate wind with gusts, but the Tractor remained very stable. It didn't need trimming, and the engine delivers much more power than necessary. I flew for 7 minutes and landed with 3.9V per cell. I believe I can replace the 16x8 propeller with a 16x6 and increase the range without harming the flight.

After a few minutes of relaxing after the tension of the maiden, I started preparing for the second flight, including the camera for the video.
But when I connected the battery to the ESC, I immediately smelled burning components and noticed smoke on the wing. The receiver did not bind.


The flap servo fried! Melted the plastic cover, and the short circuit destroyed the receiver.

I immediately disconnected the battery and all receiver connections. I took a Li-Fe battery to power the receiver, but the X8R was really destroyed. Damn servo! The TowerPro SG5010 servos should theoretically operate from 4.8V to 6V. So I programmed Castle's BEC to send 6V to the receiver. Even so, it burned.



Be warned: cheap equipment can destroy our good equipment and throw away hours and hours of work.

I'm already buying a new pair of Savox SG 0351 right here in Brazil. But the new X8R is expected to take a while to arrive from China.

It should take a few more weeks (maybe a month) to get this plane back on air. TowerPro never more.

 

[cyclone3350]

Houston, we have a problem.

I decided to buy cheap servos for the flaps, and it almost cost my plane.

I took the first flight, and the plane flew wonderfully. There was moderate wind with gusts, but the Tractor remained very stable. It didn't need trimming, and the engine delivers much more power than necessary. I flew for 7 minutes and landed with 3.9V per cell. I believe I can replace the 16x8 propeller with a 16x6 and increase the range without harming the flight.

After a few minutes of relaxing after the tension of the maiden, I started preparing for the second flight, including the camera for the video.
But when I connected the battery to the ESC, I immediately smelled burning components and noticed smoke on the wing. The receiver did not bind.


The flap servo fried! Melted the plastic cover, and the short circuit destroyed the receiver.
View attachment 206239

I immediately disconnected the battery and all receiver connections. I took a Li-Fe battery to power the receiver, but the X8R was really destroyed. Damn servo! The TowerPro SG5010 servos should theoretically operate from 4.8V to 6V. So I programmed Castle's BEC to send 6V to the receiver. Even so, it burned.

View attachment 206238

Be warned: cheap equipment can destroy our good equipment and throw away hours and hours of work.

I'm already buying a new pair of Savox SG 0351 right here in Brazil. But the new X8R is expected to take a while to arrive from China.
View attachment 206241


It should take a few more weeks (maybe a month) to get this plane back on air. TowerPro never more.

Well @ least it is just an electronic remove and replace as opposed to a structural repair. It sounds like it flew just as I predicted. I am sure U R going to enjoy it as much as I enjoy my Rascal.