General i need some advice on my next plane setup please

J

Johnnythaboy

Member
i have been getting pretty confused about motors, servo's and stuff.

i am thinking about buying these bits from hobbyking as shipping costs to New Zealand seems to be the best from them.

Turnigy Aerodrive SK3 - 3536-1200kv Brushless Outrunner Motor

Hitec HS-65HB Micro Karbo Gear Servo 1.8kg/11g/0.14sec

Skywalker 1680 V6 FPV Platform EPO Kit

i think i have a 100A ESC, i dont have a UBEC as far as i know, (i dont even know what that is)

the servo's from my old plane are ok i think, but these ones here are meant to be the bee's knee's from what i have read. i would hate to break my $640 gopro because i bought a cheap bits.

any advice and opinions would be appreciated.

Cheers

John
 
Derek

Derek

Well-Known Member
hey there, Johnny!

So you plan to buy your parts and pieces from Hobby King. Personally, I see nothing wrong with that at all. I've made about a dozen orders to Hobby King and I've received everything that I've ordered and everything still works. However, there are gonna be some people that are really gonna talk bad about Hobby King because they have had negative experiences with them...so just be warned.

The "Skywalker", eh? I don't own one, myself, but I have flown one and it was an awesome plane. Very cool! Those servo's you've selected should work really well. I would go with something a bit less expensive...maybe something with metal gears, but this is your plane and your choice.

I think your motor that you've chosen will work really well in the Skywalker but you really don't need that 100A ESC. If that 100A ESC is something that you already have around and you don't want to buy another one, then I can understand that. However, you said that you aren't even sure what a bec is. The external bec is a little unit that takes power from your battery(s) and powers your receiver and servos by dropping the voltage down a bit. Here is a link to an external bec from Hobby King:

TURNIGY 8-15A UBEC for Lipoly

If you get one of these, you will unplug the Red Wire from your ESC and just tape it down to the side of the wires (I recommend unplugging it versus cutting it. You may need it at a later date). Solder the positive and negative leads from the bec to the positive and negative leads of your ESC. That's pretty much it. Then, when you are plugging everything in, you plug your ESC into the Throttle Port on your Rx and then plug the external BEC into the BATT/BIND port on your RX and you are good to go. However, to help save a bit of weight, as well as a bit of room, on the Skywalker...possibly look into a ESC that already has an internal BEC:

HobbyKing 50A ESC 4A UBEC
TURNIGY TRUST 55A SBEC Brushless Speed Controller
Turnigy dlux 55A SBEC Brushless Speed Controller w/Data Logging

These are only suggestions because they have the internal BEC. I have never used any of the above, but I have used the Turnigy Plush 40amp and Plush 60amp ESC's. Both have an internal BEC and they also have a really nice and easy to use Programming Card (sold seperately, $8-$9) and I love the Programming Card. It just makes the setup simpler.

I hope I was able to help out a bit and not make the confusion worse. I'm sure someone from the forums will chime in and add their two cents.

Good luck buddy!!!
 
Derek

Derek

Well-Known Member
lol...thanks for filling that in, Tony! I didn't even think to actually explain the name. I was just really hoping to be able to help this guy out and not confuse him further.
 
J

Johnnythaboy

Member
ok, so a BEC is used to power the radio gear, i dont have one atm, the only cord coming out of the ESC is for the throttle plug of the receiver so im guessing the receiver gets its power there atm. what are the benefits of having them? is it so the radio gear can be run off a separate battery to the motor for longer flight time?
 
Derek

Derek

Well-Known Member
Well, double check your ESC to be sure that it doesn't have an internal BEC. Since you are planning on using that 100amp ESC, it probably doesn't have an internal BEC.

If you have an ESC that has an internal BEC, the Rx will get it's power from the ESC. If the ESC does not have an internal BEC, you will need an external BEC (or an Rx LIFE battery) to power the Rx and servo's. External BEC's are used alot with bigger rc planes and heli's that will have bigger and more powerful servo's. Smaller craft, your Skywalker, probably really won't "need" the external BEC but it surely isn't going to hurt anything if you do decide to use one.

For you appliction, personally, I would look for an ESC that has an internal BEC. It would help save space in the cockpit and it's just a matter of simplicity.
 
Derek

Derek

Well-Known Member
Yeah man! Those servo's will work very well with your Skywalker.

If your ESC came from your Easystar, then yes, it probably has an internal BEC. No worries there. You just need to make sure that your ESC will handle your motor. The motor that you listed above is going to require at least a 40amp ESC. I just checked the spec's on the Easystar and, Horizon Hobby, says that the ESC from the Easystar is 17-27amps.

Just do some checking around. You'll find what you are looking for. If you still need further help...we'll be here for ya.
 
J

Johnnythaboy

Member
thank you for all your time, Derek.

the guy i bought the plane off said he thought it was a 100 amp ESC but there is nothing written on it so im not sure. the 3rd ESC you listed for idea's looks pretty sweet w/datalogging, so if i need to buy a new one i might as well have that for the extra few dollars.

and i will need to buy a pair of antenna for the RVOSD, there were some homemade clover leaf design things on the plane and video receiver when i bought it and i broke the one on the plane so i think i will buy some with better range if possible. i would rather not have the hassle of directional if that can be avoided.

its way easier to crash the planes than it is deciding what parts to buy next haha
 
Derek

Derek

Well-Known Member
Very cool, buddy! I'm glad that I was helpful. If you need anything further or just have some questions..be sure to ask. We'll get ya taken care of.

and yes...sometimes it is much easier to crash the planes than deciding what parts to buy, lol
 
J

Johnnythaboy

Member
the order has gone through :)

the motor, 4 servo's, the ESC and programming box, and of course the skywalker.

hobbyking didnt have any 1.2 GHz antenna listed so that can wait til after i have had a good sleep to find some of them.

Thanks again.
 
J

Johnnythaboy

Member
the skywalker arrived from HK, well packaged and no damage :)

here is where i am up to with it so far.
i have been flying a axn clouds fly. have got a bit of video with the gopro on my head watching the plane and with the camera taped to the plane, i got really nervous with the gopro up in the air, but it survived the couple of minor crashes that happened :) i want to edit the footage i have so far into a hopefully not so boring wee film before uploading it.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
J

Johnnythaboy

Member
cheers Lee, im pretty excited about it too. im thinking a UHF setup for my transmitter would be a nice upgrade, maybe even a necessity? and i think that means a HAM licence at almost $100 a year i believe.
 
Tasajara

Tasajara

Active Member
Sorry I missed your question a few weeks ago, but if I can help in any way let me know...

I used 5000mAh 4s setup with a Power Up 15 Sport Outrunner Brushless Motor
with a 9x6 prop... Aeronaut Propellers CAM Electric/Glow very smooth running props.
I had an APC at first, but like the Aeronaut better. The amp draw was somewhere around 32 to 35 amps at WOT. Cruising speed was under 12 amps.
I have flown mine for 28 min on this setup with throttle on all the time close to half way.. I could have flown way much longer if I did some climbs and gliding around.
I added some silk span to my wings and to my fuze with Minwax Polycrylic ( water base). Just gives it a little extra strength with a lot less flex in the wings.
I used the EzUHF system on mine with a 8 Channel Diversity Receiver
Also on all my FPV planes and Multi-Rotors I use a Discovery Buzzer.... it is a must have where I fly. If for some reason it goes down you can trigger this little buzzer
and it will help you find what ever you lost. I have used it to find my stuff over 8 times. Hunting for a downed plane in high brush is a whole lot easier.
I know of 4 times I had walked past my Quad then heard the Buzzer.

Skywalker FPV.jpg1 SkyWalker.JPG2 SkyWalker.JPG
This video was done before I changed the prop on my skywalker..
Still a good flying plane....


Skywalker FPV.jpg

1 SkyWalker.JPG

2 SkyWalker.JPG
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Derek

Derek

Well-Known Member
Hey there, Johnny! Glad to see that you got some parts in and you got your Skywalker! That's awesome! Thanks for the cool little video you put together. Looks like you are making progress. As far as your motor mount...I'm not for certain, because I don't have a Skywalker, but i would imagine that you could take some epoxy, or foam-safe glue, and mount the motor mount in place. Then, after the glue has dried/hardened thoroughly, use some screws to attach the motor to the motor mount.

Keep up the good work and I hope to see some aerial footage from ya sometime!!!

- - - Updated - - -

Hey Tasajara!!! I like the custom look that you have on your Skywalker...it looks great! I watch the video, too. That's a very nice flying field that you have there. Very nice!!!
 
Tasajara

Tasajara

Active Member
hey Johnny I just put some blind nuts on the back of my wood motor mount around a 4-40 size.maybe even larger.
that way my screws had something to grab to and they wouldn't end up pulling out.
the screws don't have to be that big because all your force will pushing against the motor mount
I just used a epoxy to glue it to the body.. I screwed the screws in most of the way so glue didn't get inside the threads. once it started setting up you can remove the screws to mount the motor when it dries
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom