First of all I'd like to thank Paul Swany for a killer 3D profile design! It made my project that much more bulletproof.
So ,the intro... My name is Jeff Debrosse and I've come to a point in my life (at 45) where I decided to "play" again - i.e. have hobbies. For the last few years I've flown helicopters (up to 600 size electric helis). The last 12 months have had me consumed with fixed-wing aircraft - especially converting internal combustion to electric.
This latest project started with a swap meet a week ago where I met a really nice guy selling this plane. He hated to part with it, but as we all say, "Man! I've got too many planes." So I asked him to remove the motor and throttle servo and make me a deal - it was a real win-win. With an all-up-weight of ~4.5 lbs this plane was a real candidate for converting :)
I've attempted to carefully share the details and pics from the conversion, so if anyone is interested, please stop by and visit
http://www.helishack.com for the full run-down and conversion project images. Here are the key bullets with regard to the conversion:
* Mojo .40 3D profile (http://www.swanyshouse.com/mojo/mojo.aspx)
* 60A ESC
* 12x8 APC prop - a little under-sized, but worked well enough
* Suppo 3520/06 (Axi equivalent: 2826/12)
* 6S1P A123 (2x3S1P packs in series) - the plane balanced laterally perfectly with this setup
* CG @ 4 7/8" (per forum post by Paul Swany the recommended CG for this plane is 4 1/4" - 5 1/2").
*
total wattage: 948 (hot dog!!)
Regarding the CG: am 1/8" past mid-point which I find works well for conversions. I'll do the inverted test next weekend to check the absolute final CG. So far, so good!
Weights:
* 2.5lbs (1150g) plane with 4 servos
* 2lbs (915g) prop, 3520/06 motor, ESC, BEC, rx
* 4.5lbs (2065g) AUW (all-up-weight)
Yesterday's maiden flight went perfectly - almost no trim (and definitely dual rates - lot's of moving surface area!).
Thanks again Paul for a superb platform! I can tell this is going to be one of my favorites - she's nimble and a real sweetheart to fly. Flip her to high rates and she's a beast!
Regards,
Jeff (Helishack on major modeling forums)