Arcfyre
Elite member
I looked up your motor, and some "back of the napkin" math says that your power setup should be adequate. You may try a 6x5 or 6x6 prop, looks like your motor can handle it and it may increase your thrust a bit.
To check your motor shaft straightness, remove the prop. Then line the motor up over a straight edge (like the edge of a table) and spin it at max power. Eye the shaft relative to your straight edge. The shaft, if straight, should basically look like it's not moving at all relative to the edge of the table. The only clue that it's moving should be the sound of the motor spinning. If it wobbles at all, you will be able to see it, as the shaft will appear to grow larger in diameter as it spins quickly. This would indicate a bent shaft.
Now with the prop back on, you should not feel any vibration in the fuselage when adding power. Wind noise from the prop biting the air is normal, but a loud buzzing or rattling noise would indicate a bent shaft or damaged prop adapter. You can also check the plane of the prop in a similar way to the test above with the bare motor shaft, but be careful and wear eye protection. When viewed from the side, the spinning prop should appear as a basically flat, tapered disk, thickest in the middle and thinning towards the tips. If it looks more like a figure 8, you have a bent motor.
2/3 power should be enough for takeoff and a steady climb. At that power, holding the plane up ready to throw, it should feel almost like you could just let go and it would fly. Try a shallower climb out to build airspeed before turning, and avoid if possible making turns until you have achieved flying speed and have some energy in reserve. Keep in mind also that the heavier an airplane is, the faster it will need to fly to avoid a stall. The more repairs an airplane has seen, generally the heavier it is. That glob of hot glue may not seem like that much, but the smaller airplanes especially are very sensitive to weight.
To check your motor shaft straightness, remove the prop. Then line the motor up over a straight edge (like the edge of a table) and spin it at max power. Eye the shaft relative to your straight edge. The shaft, if straight, should basically look like it's not moving at all relative to the edge of the table. The only clue that it's moving should be the sound of the motor spinning. If it wobbles at all, you will be able to see it, as the shaft will appear to grow larger in diameter as it spins quickly. This would indicate a bent shaft.
Now with the prop back on, you should not feel any vibration in the fuselage when adding power. Wind noise from the prop biting the air is normal, but a loud buzzing or rattling noise would indicate a bent shaft or damaged prop adapter. You can also check the plane of the prop in a similar way to the test above with the bare motor shaft, but be careful and wear eye protection. When viewed from the side, the spinning prop should appear as a basically flat, tapered disk, thickest in the middle and thinning towards the tips. If it looks more like a figure 8, you have a bent motor.
2/3 power should be enough for takeoff and a steady climb. At that power, holding the plane up ready to throw, it should feel almost like you could just let go and it would fly. Try a shallower climb out to build airspeed before turning, and avoid if possible making turns until you have achieved flying speed and have some energy in reserve. Keep in mind also that the heavier an airplane is, the faster it will need to fly to avoid a stall. The more repairs an airplane has seen, generally the heavier it is. That glob of hot glue may not seem like that much, but the smaller airplanes especially are very sensitive to weight.