I just love the looks of this plane. It must be the wide stance landing
gear and the
streamlined nose. It brings to mind images of being at the races way
back then,
for me anyway. I happened upon this kit at a club meeting and thought
it'd make
a dandy glow to electric conversion. It was originally designed for
a .10 size glow.
I did some calculations with Aerocomp3 and it seemed that this might
be the place
for a spare AstroFlight brushed 020 that I had. I started out with
5 cells and a
7 X 4 prop. It actually took off and flew this way, but seemed to lack
power at
anything below full throttle. I then switched over to a direct drive
Astro FAI 035.
It was powered by a 7 cell pack of 800AR cells and swung a 6 X 3 prop
20,000
RPM! It sounded almost as noisy as a glow motor, but didn't seem to
pick up much
power. I then added a homade gearbox and a 11 X 11 wood prop cut down
to
10 X 11. This lowered the amp draw from 35 to 23 amps but it still
had the same
apparent full throttle flight speed. I believe that the wing was made
at a thick enough
profile to maintain strength, that it acts like a brake in the air.
The next setup I'll try
will be another ratio and 8 cells. I have been using the Sanyo KR 1400
Ae cells for
some time now and I'm very impressed with the output. I may even thin
the wing out
and strengthen it with a band of fiberglass. The extra power and less
drag should be
just what the doctor ordered to get this plane to fly like it was ment
to fly, FAST!
The specs below are at the anticipated new figures.
Wingspan: | 36" |
Wing area: | 234 sq. in. |
Length: | 28" |
Weight: | 40 oz. |
Wing Loading: | 24.6 oz. / sq. ft. |
Motor: | AstroFlight 035 FAI |
Gear Ratio: | 4.61 / 1 Custom |
Prop: | APC 9" X 10" Sport |
Batteries: | 8 Sanyo KR 1400 Ae |
Speed Control: | Viper Model Products 200 |
Amps: | 21 amps |
Watts: | 168 watts |
Watt Loading: | 67.2 watts / lb. |
Airfoil: | Modified Clark Y |
This is with the 10 X 11 wood prop
The picture was taken at
Court
Lane Open Space and it shows Pete's size.