I finally ordered my ARF

Keith

Member
Nah you don't use string... Wire is what you want..I get mine from a fishing tackle shop... The plastic coated is best but the other still works... While I'm there I get planty then I can use it on my foam cutters as well (not the plastic coated)...
 

Tony

Staff member
Yeah, this was a thin braded string. Quite strong, but didn't stand a chance against heat lol. I have thought about metal fishing line, hell I have thought about using actual fishing line lol. Just the nylon stuff. I'm sure that some 40lb test would work, and I just happen to have some of that. But, I don't have any more pinch collars to secure it. I will more than likely just install the servo at the rear of the plane, and slide the battery forward a bit.

I do know that I do not need to add any weight to the plane. I'm already at 1570g, and the max they suggest is 1590g. So, I'm right on the limit.
 
Yeah Tony that Fishing trace line stainless steal wire covered in plastic would be great for the Tail assembly servo, or even that line that you use on grass wiper snipers would be good too!
 

Tony

Staff member
what is a grass wiper sniper? Is that like a weedeater? lol. I have thought about using just regular fishing line, but I'm worried about the crimp killing the line. The last thing that I need in the air is the rudder coming loose and crashing the plane because of a friggin string. For this reason, I think the maiden flight, and the "getting used to" flights will be done with a direct push/pull setup with the servo in the tail. I checked balance today, and I only have to slide the battery forward about 1/2" and it's dead on with the CG. cant' ask any more than that. I just know that if I'm going to do any "real" stunts with this, I need to loose some weight lol. I'm right at the 3.5lb mark, and they are calling that the max on that plane. But, if I go over, I'm sure it will still do everything, just a little slower, like me :D
 

Tony

Staff member
I think I actually have a couple for my Fender. I just don't have the lock collars. But that is a good idea.
 

Tony

Staff member
that wire is too thick. I need like .017" or so. Pretty small. I will be making a trip to the hobby store this week I hope. that cold front is here, and the winds are sustained at over 30mph. But, it's only 73 outside, and it's 1100 :D
 

Tony

Staff member
Well guys, I decided what I was going to do with the rudder. I cut the hole in the tail of the plane and installed the rudder servo with a control rod (push/pull) and not the pull/pull setup. Why? Because one, I didn't have the materials and didn't want to wait for it. And two, I had the other parts with me (came with the kit). I just trust the direct setup more at this time. Once I figure out how this plane is going to fly, and how it handles, I will try the pull/pull setup. It's supposed to be much more stable since it has pressure on both sides at the same time.

With that said, I have setup all of the control throws on the plane. They are setup for low and high rate. I figure I'm still out of the realm of 3D throws right now lol. Seeing as the rudder will move 10" at full throws, it will be a while. I have set the ail and ele at 3/4" and 1/2", and the rudder is set to 3.5" and 2". It sounds like a lot, but remember just how long and large this rudder is.

The next thing to do is figure out where the battery needs to be for the CG. Since I put the servo in the rear, it moved the CG, and I have to move the battery forward a bit. Speaking of the battery, I screwed up big time. I was programing the ESC with the program box that I purchased with the ESC, and I left the battery plugged in. For two days lol. This drained the battery ALL THE WAY. I had 0 volts in every cell. Enough that on a normal charge, I couldn't get the battery to start charging even on the 1s setting. It said the battery voltage was too low. Now think about that, this is a 4s battery, and it was saying low voltage on a 1s lmao. Yeah, I thought the battery was dead.

What did I do? I dead shorted it with a 3s battery that I had. This put just enough voltage in the battery to get it started. I started it out for 30 seconds on just a normal charge without the balance lead plugged in. After that, I plugged in the balance lead, and switched over to balance charge. After an hour of charging, and 2501mah later, all cells are equal (almost, 4.19, 4.19, 4.20, 4.20). This was a relief cause I thought I was going to have to replace a brand new battery lol. But, it's back.

So, after I set the CG, the only thing left is to maiden this bad boy. Will it fly? I'm not sure. I'm more worried about my fingers than I am the plane lol.
 

Tony

Staff member
Haha, I just recorded a new video of the Edge 540T to show it off before the horrible carnage :biggrin1: I'm uploading to my computer right now, and I will try to get some of it edited tonight. Hope to upload tomorrow.
 

Tony

Staff member
Okay guys, I just got done recording and editing the video on the Great Planes Edge 540T. This may very well be the last time you see this plane in one piece lol. Lets hope not though. I am going to try and get out to the field later today, but that may not happen seeing as I'm still up at 0300, and I still need to get some sleep (yeah right), then I have to pick my kids up at about 1430. So, at the very least you will get to see the planes and some of the details about it. Hope you guys like it.
 

Tony

Staff member
Just slammed the plane into my barbed wire fence doing camera testing :(

I had forgot that I put the larger prop on it, and I gave it a little blip of throttle to pick the tail up, and it picked the whole plane up lmao. It took off much faster than it did with the 12x6 prop on there. Tore the hell out of the left elevator. Trying to repair it now... Talk about suckage, but at least I know it can take off in about 5' lmao. Yeah, it was that fast.
 

Tony

Staff member
It was the same fence you saw in all of my latest videos. The one that has a magnet in it that draws helicopters towards it. Well apparently it attracts planes as well.
 

coolgabsi

Super Mod & DEAL KING!
Ohh man you must really hate that fence!!! Ghosh !! M sorry man!! But now you know it's real power! :)
 
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