Newbie - HK Bix3 Trainer

Hi,
This my first post to this forum. I am in Canada but have the same issues as the US newbies. ;)
I purchased a HK Bix3 ARF. I selected the electronics based on HK recommendations and to my disappointment couldn't get the plane off of the ground.
I went with the 2728-1000 kv motor with an 8x5 prop. The original Turnigy AE-25A ESC started on fire as soon as I hooked it up to the battery :mad: so I purchased a Turnigy 40A programmable ESC. All this is run by a OrangeRx 6 channel Rx with an internal gyro for corrected flying.(which doesn't work) :confused:
My question is does a pusher motor need more power than a puller? What should I look at for a motor that will give some speed as well as control?
How do you decide on a motor for a plane?? :confused:
 

Foam Addict

Squirrel member
Hey Bill, welcome to the forum!

Hmm, the classic question: Is the prop on correctly? Are the numbers on the propellor facing the front of the plane?
Also that orange RX stabilizer is known to have very short radio range, so I would be careful with it. Lastly, are you using a 3 cell battery?

These should help diagnose the problem pretty quickly.
 

stay-fun

Helicopter addict
About your ESC catching fire, are you sure you didn't reverse the polarity of the battery? It sure sounds like it... ;)

For the receiver and gyro, I have one of those :rolleyes:, and on mine I can set it to activate or deactivate the gyro by a switch on my transmitter. Check your settings! And be VERY careful with programming it, you have to be certain the gyro corrects in the right directions, otherwise that'll be an instantanious crash (if you get off the ground at all).
 

tyoho

Member
About your ESC catching fire, are you sure you didn't reverse the polarity of the battery? It sure sounds like it... ;)

For the receiver and gyro, I have one of those :rolleyes:, and on mine I can set it to activate or deactivate the gyro by a switch on my transmitter. Check your settings! And be VERY careful with programming it, you have to be certain the gyro corrects in the right directions, otherwise that'll be an instantanious crash (if you get off the ground at all).

Dito on the careful programming! First flight on my FT Spitfire I had the ailerons swapped, luckily it didn't get too high before I cartwheeled it. I found it very hard to tell for sure if the surfaces were reacting properly using throws and correction rates that I would actually be flying with.
I suggest TEMPORARILY cranking up the sensitivity with max throws, test your setup by making sure that the surfaces move in the right direction when you are holding the plane and rolling, pitching and yawing it. It is a lot easier to see if it's right with exaggerated control surface movement. Of course knock everything back down to normal before you fly.
Also, remember, this is only a stabilizer and just corrects against wind effects. It won't auto level or heading hold, it just smooths things out. If you want to start throwing your plane around you should set up the switch as Stay-Fun suggested or it will actually fight you and make your aerobatics sluggish if you don't turn it off.
 
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quorneng

Master member
The fact that the ESC burnt out as soon as you connected it to the battery means that something is very wrong. As suggested it could be wired up incorrectly. If it is the new ESC will burn out just the same!!!!

Your motor should fly the plane although 1000kV is a bit slow speed. Do the numbers on the prop must face the front? If they don't the prop will only generate about half the thrust.
I note the motor installed in the PNF version is a 2620 1400kV turning a 7x5 prop.
What battery are you using?

As the others have said my advice would be to switch off the stability function (or set the gains to minimum) to start with. It does require a bit of setting up for it to work well which is a bit difficult if you don't know how the plane is supposed to fly in the first place.