simple storch questions.

mike75

New member
my son and I have a couple of storchs we recently built. I built mine with the power pack c and 2200 mah battery while my son used his old parts from another plane he had which has a 4023 870kv motor and a 5000mah battery. We took them out this morning to do our first flights, the wind was around 10 - 15 mph which seems normal here, we dont get many calm days. My plane did great for 2 whole minutes cuz thats how long the battery lasted (i had to keep it at full throttle most of the time. Then the wind carried it off. My sons plane wouldnt turn right unless he cut the throttle, in which the wind tried to carry his away. Question 1, How windy is too windy for these planes?
2, What size battery could i stuff in my plane for longer flights? Larger motor and prop?
3, Is my sons motor too powerful causing it to not turn right?
 

Merv

Site Moderator
Staff member
My limit is 15 mph. You were in some strong wind. The other factor is how steady is the wind. A gusty 8 mph wind will ground me.

A 2,200mah 3s pack should be ideal for the Storch. In warm weather you should get about 10 min of flight. A cold battery will significantly cut your flights time. I will keep my battery’s under my jacket to keep them warm. Even so my flight time will be cut from 10 to 7 minutes in cold weather (50F). I’ll fly down to about 20F, the colder it gets the shorter your flight will be.

Most planes will turn left better than right. It’s due to how the prop wash hits the rudder. Spin the prop the other way & left turns will suffer.

When you bank the plane try pulling back on the elevator to turn. Some call it bank & yank flying.
 

kilroy07

Legendary member
I was going to ask, 3 or 4 channel?

5000 seems like a pretty big battery to me for that airframe (haven't flown mine yet, so I can't say with any certainty.)
How big of props are you spinning?

I'm just starting out, so I tend to stay under 10 mph winds.
 

Hai-Lee

Old and Bold RC PILOT
Just a heads up for those who fly in strong wind. Always fly in the area upwind of where you are standing so if the battery goes flat or you have a problem which results in loss of thrust you can put the nose down and keep up speed whilst you find a place to land it. OR if time enough you can allow it to run a little downwind and then turn into the wind, nose down, and land it close to you.

If you fly downwind of your location the moment you lose thrust you are up for a long walk at least or even a "Fly away" situation where the wind blows it away out of sight!

Just what we teach here!

have fun!
 

d8veh

Elite member
You should be able to fly in anything up to about 30 mph winds, but it's not very relaxing when the wind is above 15 mph.

To solve your son's plane: First, trim it to fly straight and level at half- throttle if you haven't already done that. Next, consider increasing the rudder throw if that's possible. Bear in mind that it'll make the turning generally more responsive. If you can't increase the rudder throw, you could make the rudder bigger by gluing on some card or even a strip of foam-board.

I think that the underlying problem is most likely that you have insufficient side-thrust on the motor. I would aim for about 3 deg on a plane like that. How much do you have?
 

basslord1124

Master member
On my Storch, 10mph is probably my limit for its current setup. 3S 2200mah, 9x6 prop, and 1200KV motor. At that speed of wind, flying into the wind was a struggle but it could do it. Which sounds kinda similar to your all's setup. 2200 really is a perfect size battery for it...I would think a 5000 would be overkill unless you got the power for it. You could try upping the pitch of your prop on yours to see if that would help or even a larger diameter prop if you got the ground clearance. This should give you a small boost in performance. And doing this will increase amps so just make sure it doesn't go above your ESC's rating.

Now for your son, he can probably use a 4 cell with his Storch, just double check his motor/ESC ratings...maybe even in a 2200Mah as well. I'd do that over the big 5000Mah battery. Going up in cells will give you more power to help cut through the wind better. I have been in the process of upgrading my Storch to a setup similar to your son and plan on going to 4S power as well.

As for turning, I'd look at thrust angle and if it comes down to it, servo travel, throws, and linkage adjustments.
 

CL8N2

Member
If you are getting 2min on your 2200mah id say something is wrong with your battery. Sure wind will make the motor work harder, but i still get at least 15min, in 20°f, with 8/13mph winds. Blasting full throttle...
 

mike75

New member
My limit is 15 mph. You were in some strong wind. The other factor is how steady is the wind. A gusty 8 mph wind will ground me.

A 2,200mah 3s pack should be ideal for the Storch. In warm weather you should get about 10 min of flight. A cold battery will significantly cut your flights time. I will keep my battery’s under my jacket to keep them warm. Even so my flight time will be cut from 10 to 7 minutes in cold weather (50F). I’ll fly down to about 20F, the colder it gets the shorter your flight will be.

Most planes will turn left better than right. It’s due to how the prop wash hits the rudder. Spin the prop the other way & left turns will suffer.

When you bank the plane try pulling back on the elevator to turn. Some call it bank & yank flying.


Ok, I didnt know the cold would do that, it was only 38 outside.

Would angling the motor to the right help with my sons plane?
 

mike75

New member
I was going to ask, 3 or 4 channel?

5000 seems like a pretty big battery to me for that airframe (haven't flown mine yet, so I can't say with any certainty.)
How big of props are you spinning?

I'm just starting out, so I tend to stay under 10 mph winds.


His plane is a bit heavier with that battery but he has a larger motor, he has a 10x7 prop. It had no trouble getting in the air just wouldnt turn right.
 

jaredstrees

Well-known member
Ok, I didnt know the cold would do that, it was only 38 outside.

Would angling the motor to the right help with my sons plane?

It will help for sure. Also make sure the rudder and ailerons move the same amount in both directions. If something is binding and not allowing full movement that could also be an issue.
 

mike75

New member
You should be able to fly in anything up to about 30 mph winds, but it's not very relaxing when the wind is above 15 mph.

To solve your son's plane: First, trim it to fly straight and level at half- throttle if you haven't already done that. Next, consider increasing the rudder throw if that's possible. Bear in mind that it'll make the turning generally more responsive. If you can't increase the rudder throw, you could make the rudder bigger by gluing on some card or even a strip of foam-board.

I think that the underlying problem is most likely that you have insufficient side-thrust on the motor. I would aim for about 3 deg on a plane like that. How much do you have?


He shifted the centerline of the motor about 5 degrees right. he did that after his first flight so we will have to see how it works. Ill have him check the rudder too.
 

mike75

New member
On my Storch, 10mph is probably my limit for its current setup. 3S 2200mah, 9x6 prop, and 1200KV motor. At that speed of wind, flying into the wind was a struggle but it could do it. Which sounds kinda similar to your all's setup. 2200 really is a perfect size battery for it...I would think a 5000 would be overkill unless you got the power for it. You could try upping the pitch of your prop on yours to see if that would help or even a larger diameter prop if you got the ground clearance. This should give you a small boost in performance. And doing this will increase amps so just make sure it doesn't go above your ESC's rating.

Now for your son, he can probably use a 4 cell with his Storch, just double check his motor/ESC ratings...maybe even in a 2200Mah as well. I'd do that over the big 5000Mah battery. Going up in cells will give you more power to help cut through the wind better. I have been in the process of upgrading my Storch to a setup similar to your son and plan on going to 4S power as well.

As for turning, I'd look at thrust angle and if it comes down to it, servo travel, throws, and linkage adjustments.


Do you have videos on youtube? I think I may have watched them. My plane has a 2215/10 motor and am running a 10x4.5 prop, I tried the 10x7 but it ran the amps up and the motor got warm. I'm not sure what this motor can handle amp wise.

My sons motor is a B4023 that came off of his old trainstar and originally used a 12x6 prop with a 30 amp speed control. i may have him put the 12x6 on and try it that way to see if theres an improvement over the 10x7 he has now.
The 4s battery wont produce more torque will it?
 

mike75

New member
If you are getting 2min on your 2200mah id say something is wrong with your battery. Sure wind will make the motor work harder, but i still get at least 15min, in 20°f, with 8/13mph winds. Blasting full throttle...


Did you have to keep your throttle at 100% the whole time?
 

mike75

New member
Thanks everybody for the tips, I really am a noob with electric planes, so far the storch flight i had sunday was the most successful flight i ever had, got the plane back in one piece at least.
 

Merv

Site Moderator
Staff member
Would angling the motor to the right help with my sons plane?
Yes, I agree with @d8veh, a bit of right thrust (2-3 degrees) could help.

@jaredstrees makes a good point about binding. There could also be some adverse yaw involved. You want to make sure the up aileron goes up more than the down one goes down. You want the up one to create more drag to help pull around the turn. You can program this into your Tx. or adjust your aileron servos. If your ailerons are on the bottom of the wing, you want the servo horns slightly forward (1-2 splines) of 90 degrees. If on the bottom slightly aft of 90.

Cold battery's (38F) will cut you flight time but @CL8N2 has a point, you could have a bad/old pack.
 

mike75

New member
I'll try a few more charges on the battery, coulda just been the cold. It had 3.79 v on each cell before I charged it on a balance charger.
It probably wouldnt hurt to get a new battery anyways, the battery I have is the one you could pick from on the options for the storch, maybe get a turnigy brand battery?