Just an old fart trying to get into the hobby

[tuxwing]

Hello,

I've been trying to get into the hobby for quite a while now. I've purchased several plans from RCPowers.com (back when they were pretty active) and some 3D Printed files over the years. This fall I finally/accidentally (long story) found the time to actually build a plane and I started with their F-15 v5. I built the plane out of cardboard from boxes that I thought were fairly sturdy (at least more sturdy than standard cardboard). To me it looks pretty good. In early October, I purchased the electronics from the store based on the requirements stated in the plans.

- 2200kv motor (I got the FT Radial 2205 2300kV Brushless)
- 6x 9g servers
- 6x4 prop (I got 6x4.5 since it was the closest)
- 30 amp ESC (I got a 40 amp)
- 11.1v, 2200mAh, 20C battery (I got 11.1v, 2200mAh, 35C battery)

Yesterday I was working on the plane when I ran into a couple issues. I centered all of the servos (with the servo tester I also bought from FT) and was going to insert the push rods when the wouldn't fit in the holes on either end. It turns out the push rods I have are 1.1mm but the servo arms and my control horns both need 1.0mm (I hope, because thats what I ordered). Since I was stalled on that I decided to move forward with the motor. A while back, I wasn't sure what to do with the motor mount because I wasn't sure the original method was going to work with the motor I had purchased. So I designed on in OpenSCAD, after a few iterations, I finally had one I was happy with, so I mounted the motor on the mount then fastened the mount to the plane. Thats when the next problem showed up. The connectors on the motor are about 1/2 to possibly 1/3 the size of the connectors on the speed control (both of which I purchased from the FT store). I wanted to connect them so I knew how far forward I could mount the controller, because even with the battery in the plane, as far as I can get it to reach, the plane is still WAY too tail heavy. The plane is just over 30g by ltself, which I just realized after looking at the specs this time is 7g heavier than what a plane built from foam board would be, and honestly thats not to bad considering.

Any ideas on what to do about the motor/esc connections would be appreciated. Then hopefully I will be able figure out what to do about the COG.

Thank you.

 

[Mr NCT]

Welcome! You are suffering from the same learning curve that we all went through, so welcome to the club. Good job on designing your own motor mount. The motor you have has 2mm bullet connectors and the esc (speed controller) are 3.5mm. You can change one side or the other but I'd probably change the motor to 3.5mm. They're readily available.

Amazon.com

For the holes in the servo arms and control horns just cut an end of the wire (push rod) at an angle and use that as a drill bit to enlarge the holes. You'll get a perfect fit.

 

[tuxwing]

Welcome! You are suffering from the same learning curve that we all went through, so welcome to the club. Good job on designing your own motor mount. The motor you have has 2mm bullet connectors and the esc (speed controller) are 3.5mm. You can change one side or the other but I'd probably change the motor to 3.5mm. They're readily available.

Amazon.com

For the holes in the servo arms and control horns just cut an end of the wire (push rod) at an angle and use that as a drill bit to enlarge the holes. You'll get a perfect fit.

Thank you for the reply and advise! Do you think the electronics I have would provide a enjoyable flying experience considering the 7oz of additional weight? I was also wondering if the extra weight would also throw off the COG enough for it to not be very stable either. Going from their weight range of 19oz to 23oz at the best case is close to a ~33% weight difference with my "dry" weight of 30oz. I suspect that I will only know for sure when I go to fly it, but thinking back on it, thats a substantial weight difference. I am wondering if the motor and/or battery combo will be enough. Granted at least the motor is lighter (30g) than the motor specs (34-47grams) mentioned in the plane instructions, but I am not sure that will be enough.

 

[Mr NCT]

Thank you for the reply and advise! Do you think the electronics I have would provide a enjoyable flying experience considering the 7oz of additional weight? I was also wondering if the extra weight would also throw off the COG enough for it to not be very stable either. Going from their weight range of 19oz to 23oz at the best case is close to a ~33% weight difference with my "dry" weight of 30oz. I suspect that I will only know for sure when I go to fly it, but thinking back on it, thats a substantial weight difference. I am wondering if the motor and/or battery combo will be enough. Granted at least the motor is lighter (30g) than the motor specs (34-47grams) mentioned in the plane instructions, but I am not sure that will be enough.

It will probably be tail heavy but you can adjust that by moving the battery forward and/or adding nose weights. Remember that just like real planes an increase in weight without changing the wing area means you have to fly faster to stay airborne. This plane may be a handful if it's your first flying experience. with your electronics you could easily buy a larger motor and fly a larger, easier to handle, trainer type plane. LOL, I didn't, I started with a hard to fly but cool looking plane as my first. The good news is that foam board and cardboard are cheap and easy to rebuild.
suggestions:
[URL unfurl="true"]https://store.flitetest.com/ft-explorer-mkr2/?searchid=0&search_query=explorer[/URL]

FT Tutor MKR2

The FT Tutor is a classic RC plane trainer made with Maker Foam V.2, designed for adaptability from 3 to 4 channels. Taildragger, tricycle, or float-ready.

store.flitetest.com

there are also free plans in the Resources section

 

[Shurik-1960]

Buy a wattmeter and see how much maximum current your motor consumes. I don't think your battery will last long. I have been soldering wires from the motor to the regulator for 10 years now after two serious accidents when the bullet disconnector came loose.
P.S. I am 65, but I'm not an old fart: my daughter is 14 years old on December 3rd. My wife is 45. Everyone is as old as they define themselves to be.

 

[Mr Man]

As for the control rods, I just like to heat up the ends of the rod with a lighter, and then just push it through the servo arm hole, it should melt it to be just the right size.

 

[Mr Man]

Or you could just use a micro drill.

 

[Foamforce]

Regarding the COG, when you build with a heavier material (cardboard vs foam board), the plane always ends up tail heavy because much more of the airframe is located behind the COG than in front. The electronics are usually put up front to compensate for that. So when you use a heavier material for the airframe, most of that extra weight ends up behind the COG. Still, you can likely still balance it by moving that battery forward like Mr NCT said.

Regarding the connectors, I would actually move down to 2mm on the ESC. Since the motor has the 2mm connectors, you know that it won’t ever need to draw more than the 2mm connectors can provide, so you may as well save a little weight and make it more compact. Or… if you’re too impatient to wait for the connectors to arrive, just remove the connectors from both and solder the wires together. Before you do that though, temporarily connect it by twisting them together so that you can be sure your motor is running the right direction. Drone folks solder their motors to their ESCs all the time.

 

[tuxwing]

Buy a wattmeter and see how much maximum current your motor consumes. I don't think your battery will last long. I have been soldering wires from the motor to the regulator for 10 years now after two serious accidents when the bullet disconnector came loose.
P.S. I am 65, but I'm not an old fart: my daughter is 14 years old on December 3rd. My wife is 45. Everyone is as old as they define themselves to be.

While I fell I am descent with soldering, I can definitely see problems with replacing the male bullet connectors which is why am actually leaning towards a different (and preferably stronger) motor which may require different batteries...but one change at a time. But, the question is...which one to get.

 

[tuxwing]

As for the control rods, I just like to heat up the ends of the rod with a lighter, and then just push it through the servo arm hole, it should melt it to be just the right size.

That's a good idea, I wish I had thought of that yesterday.

 

[tuxwing]

Regarding the COG, when you build with a heavier material (cardboard vs foam board), the plane always ends up tail heavy because much more of the airframe is located behind the COG than in front. The electronics are usually put up front to compensate for that. So when you use a heavier material for the airframe, most of that extra weight ends up behind the COG. Still, you can likely still balance it by moving that battery forward like Mr NCT said.

Regarding the connectors, I would actually move down to 2mm on the ESC. Since the motor has the 2mm connectors, you know that it won’t ever need to draw more than the 2mm connectors can provide, so you may as well save a little weight and make it more compact. Or… if you’re too impatient to wait for the connectors to arrive, just remove the connectors from both and solder the wires together. Before you do that though, temporarily connect it by twisting them together so that you can be sure your motor is running the right direction. Drone folks solder their motors to their ESCs all the time.

Yea, your COG comments make sense, but when building the plane I didn't think there was going to be that much different in the end...but, in the end more weight here and there made a considerable difference. I may try to add a temporary extra weight in the nose while keeping the same battery that way I can maybe remove the weight if I get bigger batteries down the road.

I may consider getting (male and female) 2mm and 3.5mm barrel connects, that way I can create extender/convert wires. That way I'm also not altering the ESC or the motor wires. Just in case!

 

[Bricks]

I have built most of the RCPower planes out of foamboard instead of depron, they are an interesting build one of the best and easiest high alpha flying planes. Since it uses two servos for the elevator I programed a switch to coordinate ailerons and elevators together, a high speed pass flip the switch and the rolls are just a blur. I always get the holy shit when someone sees it rolling that fast, next is how did you do that.

 

[Houndpup Rc]

Been thinking of doing a video on what to get if starting out on a budget or what to get if you have a little bit more of a budget...What do you guys think, make it all one video or as a series, one for foam board, one for RTF ect (After that, a series one how to wire up your planes 👍 )

 

[Shurik-1960]

The Russian website has a theme for "Beginners".Therefore, there are no constant questions, BUT WHAT? AND HOW? This topic should be in the header of the site, and this is for the moderators : http://rc-aviation.ru/modelizm/397-aviamodelizmdljanachinajuwih

 

[Houndpup Rc]

The Russian website has a theme for "Beginners".Therefore, there are no constant questions, BUT WHAT? AND HOW? This topic should be in the header of the site, and this is for the moderators : http://rc-aviation.ru/modelizm/397-aviamodelizmdljanachinajuwih

True, but this forum is to help people with those things and to get them involved 👍

Flite Test Forum Rules

No one likes rules, but here's a few we can all live by. (Pre rule) There are no "warnings". If you have done something that demands moderator action, the temporary ban IS THE WARNING. 1) Be nice. This is a beginner friendly community that gives opportunities to the more experienced pilots to...

forum.flitetest.com

 

[bisco]

i think a video series on how to get started, what parts work on what size/weight planes and etc. is a great idea, but would be a ton of work to get right.
if you think you can do it, more power to you, it would be a great help to beginners. i went through all those questions when i began, and still have questions 4 years later.

 

[Houndpup Rc]

i think a video series on how to get started, what parts work on what size/weight planes and etc. is a great idea, but would be a ton of work to get right.
if you think you can do it, more power to you, it would be a great help to beginners. i went through all those questions when i began, and still have questions 4 years later.

I agree that it will take a LOT of planning and research, but I think it would be worth it! 👍

 

[bisco]

it will definitely be worth it for all the people you would be helping, and great feeling knowing you are helping others.
so much in life is passed down from those with knowledge and experience to those just getting started or coming along in any process.

 

[Bricks]

Just to many variables in a series to get everything right and correct, searching YouTube asking in forums for specifics and even then there are variables. The whole being a beginner ends up being a learning experience with some good and not so good. I learned electrics and programmable transmitters still a long way to go. Trial and error is just going to happen seems some want it all on a silver platter, isn`t going to happen. Just My Two Cents.

 

[Houndpup Rc]

Just to many variables in a series to get everything right and correct, searching YouTube asking in forums for specifics and even then there are variables. The whole being a beginner ends up being a learning experience with some good and not so good. I learned electrics and programmable transmitters still a long way to go. Trial and error is just going to happen seems some want it all on a silver platter, isn`t going to happen. Just My Two Cents.

Oh, for sure! But there are a lot of things like: What voltage? What brand of transmitter? What Prop? What kind of plane ect ect ect. and those are more generic questions (I plan on having it like "If you plan on doing ect ect consider going with ELRS if you have afford it but if you never plan on going long range or doing any crazy mixes the Flysky FS-I6X is a great option and has served me well)