RE: Air Hogs Aero Ace!
Sorry for the off topic post. I don't know a better place to find people with good electrical knowledge and experience with lithium batteries, plus I figured this thread could maybe use a post right about now. I am trying to string up an array of LEDs powered by a battery. The specs on the battery say it is rated at 20 Amps, 40 Amps max continuous, and 60 Amps max. This is a LiFePo4 battery with charge controller, so I guess that is the reason for 20, 40, 60. The battery has a max voltage of about 28V and continuous voltage of 27V. The LEDs say that they are rated at 30 mA max continuous, 75 mA peak at 3.2 - 3.8 volts. I am not sure what reverse voltage of 5-6 volts even means. So anyway, I was told that I maybe need a shunt resitor and zener diode to get the current and voltage down to what I need for the LEDs. I have no idea how to build those parts into a circuit. Could somebody please explain this to me - maybe a diagram with component ratings? I know that V=IR, but I don't know how that applies to the circuit in question. I would like to be able to string 20 to 50 leds in paralell onto this if possible, if not I could maybe repeat the circuit several times as I add LEDs. I appreciate any help that anyone can give. Thanks a lot, Cobbler
Posted on: 3/27/2009 3:35 PM by Author "ahaacobbler" in the forum "Electric Indoor & Micro RC Flight"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8622394

RE: Air Hogs Aero Ace!
I was recently reminded of a post I put up maybe a year ago. I still have some 50 mAh lipos if you need something like that for lighter weight AA or other mods. I can ship them out for $5 a piece.
Posted on: 3/23/2009 12:17 PM by Author "ahaacobbler" in the forum "Electric Indoor & Micro RC Flight"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8607374

RE: Air Hogs Aero Ace!
[quote]ORIGINAL: trroadster if that happens then I suggest we all find a new "home". Anyway, I'm also building the pilatus P4 sailplane for AA components from the site sited above. [/quote] I built the Pilatus P4 from those plans. The plane was amazing. It is actually the only ace that I have ever lost. It would climb on the lowest throttle setting. I got it up about 20 or 30 feet and then decided to let it come back down. It had a plan of its own and kept right on climbing with no throttle. I watched it climb, staying approximately over my flying space for maybe 20 minutes, at which point it was just a tiny speck. Then it started heading out to sea. It was sad, but so amazing, it was almost worth it. I have no doubt that it stayed in the air for at least an hour, maybe several hours and finally landed with a nearly full battery. more recently, I built the plane again, but scaled it up to I think 150% with simple photo copier scaling. The wing span is now 40 inches if I remember correctly. This one is also amazing. It flies so smoothly - no porpoising. I like to take it out in a light breeze and just float it in place. A couple of things that I learned about this airfram with the AA electronics are that: 1. You need some dihedral. On the 1:1 scale plane I pulled the wingtips up with a thread streached between. That worked wll, but the rounded shape of the wing was kind of funny looking. The 1:1.5 scale one has some dihedral molded into the center and a lilttle more molded into the wings at the spot where the wing starts to taper. This looks and flies great. 2. You need a lot of weight up front to get the cg right. I guess this makes sense, because the design is taken from a plane designed to have a pilot that weighs as much as the airframe sitting about as far forward as possible. I put the r/x and the battery as par forward as possible and still had to add a lot of weight. I should measure it, but I am sure that it is more weight than the whole rest of the gear. For my next round, I was kind of thinking of extending the nose a few inches and maybe changing the whole rear fuse to CF rod so that I can get the CG forward without adding so much weight. Good Luck, Cobbler
Posted on: 1/26/2009 1:31 PM by Author "ahaacobbler" in the forum "Electric Indoor & Micro RC Flight"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8403446

RE: Air Hogs Aero Ace!
That's a definite problem. The circuitry won't even handle more current than the stock motors draw. Cobbler
Posted on: 1/23/2009 7:11 PM by Author "ahaacobbler" in the forum "Electric Indoor & Micro RC Flight"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8393161

RE: Air Hogs Aero Ace!
My experience is that you can scale up a lot bigger than the general dimensions of the aero ace. My favorite AA powered planes are a Pilatus 4 with 40 inch wingspan and a turbo air surfer with around 20 inch wingspan. Both fly very well - in most ways better. The Pilatus is a little wide on the turns, but the air surfer turns even tighter than the AA. The point is, there is a lot that can be done with the AA guts beyond the scale of the AA. The AA airframe is incredibly inefficient, so a well designed airframe can be a lot bigger, faster (or slower), and floatier with the same electronics. Cobbler
Posted on: 1/16/2009 3:26 PM by Author "ahaacobbler" in the forum "Electric Indoor & Micro RC Flight"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8365582

RE: Air Hogs Aero Ace!
Just thought I'd let you know that target.com has the full-size storm launcher on sale for $18. Unfortunately, shipping is another $10. Still $28 is not bad.
Posted on: 12/3/2008 6:30 PM by Author "ahaacobbler" in the forum "Electric Indoor & Micro RC Flight"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8209844

RE: Air Hogs Aero Ace!
Does the nose seem to be in an upward attitude? IT is hard to get these planes to fly right if they are not flying somewhat close to level. If the nose up attitude is too great any turn input will induce a spiral. Cobbler.
Posted on: 11/26/2008 4:21 PM by Author "ahaacobbler" in the forum "Electric Indoor & Micro RC Flight"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8186137

RE: Air Hogs Aero Ace!
I picked up the rolling fury last week. ti was on sale at Target for $30. It is amazing how bad some of the AH stuff flies right out of the box. Mine nosed up so much even under minimal throttle that it was completely uncontrolable. Some weight in the nose helps a lot. I can at least get it to fly straight most of the time. Has anybody had a really good experience witht he rolling fury? Is this something I should spend some time with? I am kind of thinking of just returning it. Cobbler.
Posted on: 11/17/2008 2:58 PM by Author "ahaacobbler" in the forum "Electric Indoor & Micro RC Flight"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8156327

RE: Air Hogs Aero Ace!
[quote]ORIGINAL: trroadster You can esily adapt a computer power supply to use as a bench power supply to run your charger. Really simple mod that mostly involves cutting wires and drilling two holes in the case to mount banana sockets. I use a wall plug in ran through the tx to charge the lipo. The batteries only used for transmitting will last a long time. It's the charging that drains them. micro builder mentioned a charger especially for charging lipos. That's the best bet. I've been looking at the Triton Jr. but noticed you need a 12volt battery to use it. Tower Hobbies has for the same price a DuraTrax Onyx 230 charger which is AC as well as DC. So you can use a wall plug also. [/quote] [/quote] I am looking forward to the day when I can get a real lipo charger at a reasonable price - maybe $20. Until then, I am a big fan of the wall wart tx charger mod. I use that all the time now and get several months out of the AA batteries I use only for flying. Cobbler
Posted on: 9/17/2008 8:07 PM by Author "ahaacobbler" in the forum "Electric Indoor & Micro RC Flight"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7964674

RE: Air Hogs Aero Ace!
3 out of 4 bad planes is probably worse than normal, but not unusual. I think that AH has some very poor quality control. I have had 3 out of 4 before, but usually at least half have been good for me. cobbler
Posted on: 9/17/2008 12:02 PM by Author "ahaacobbler" in the forum "Electric Indoor & Micro RC Flight"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7963355

RE: Air Hogs Aero Ace!
[quote]ORIGINAL: RedTwilight Thought I'd post a couple of pics of a flying wing that I made. The electronics were pirated from an AA AcroJet. The wing is made from 1/8" cellfoam 88. This plane is simply amazing. Flys around at only 1/4 throttle and is very, very manueverable. At 1/3 throttle it is twice as fast as a Standard Aero Ace bipe with the lower wings removed. I love flying it in ground effect just inches off the ground and taking it up high then full turn as it spirals (almost a flat spin) fast towards the ground. It is the best mod I have ever done to these little planes and gear. Sorry if it's hard to see the pics. I'll try and get some close up shots soon. [/quote] Just taking another look at this as I start into another round of flying wing models. It looks like you have no dihedral on this plane. Is that right? Cobbler
Posted on: 9/9/2008 7:07 PM by Author "ahaacobbler" in the forum "Electric Indoor & Micro RC Flight"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7937764

RE: Air Hogs Aero Ace!
I think so. I only had one for a short while - never flew it - before taking it back. I thought it was all the same guts as the AA, but with the fans instead of the props.
Posted on: 8/6/2008 6:48 PM by Author "ahaacobbler" in the forum "Electric Indoor & Micro RC Flight"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7816947

RE: Air Hogs Aero Ace!
I think they are all channel a. You will ave to change teh channel yourself. This involves some pretty precise soldering, but certainly possible. You can search this forum or the AAToolbox for instructions on changing the channel on the TX and the RX.
Posted on: 8/6/2008 3:27 PM by Author "ahaacobbler" in the forum "Electric Indoor & Micro RC Flight"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7816177

RE: Air Hogs Aero Ace!
[quote]ORIGINAL: RedTwilight [quote]ORIGINAL: ahaacobbler One of my next ideas is to rig up a big wing with a stripped down one-time-use video camera. Maybe it will be the first time an AA has been used for video flights. I have also been trying to figure out how I can make one with maybe 5 foot wing span that will use my storm launcher guts. The question is how to bend the foam
Posted on: 8/6/2008 1:55 PM by Author "ahaacobbler" in the forum "Electric Indoor & Micro RC Flight"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7815893

RE: Air Hogs Aero Ace!
[quote]ORIGINAL: RedTwilight Thought I'd post a couple of pics of a flying wing that I made. The electronics were pirated from an AA AcroJet. The wing is made from 1/8" cellfoam 88. This plane is simply amazing. Flys around at only 1/4 throttle and is very, very manueverable. At 1/3 throttle it is twice as fast as a Standard Aero Ace bipe with the lower wings removed. I love flying it in ground effect just inches off the ground and taking it up high then full turn as it spirals (almost a flat spin) fast towards the ground. It is the best mod I have ever done to these little planes and gear. Sorry if it's hard to see the pics. I'll try and get some close up shots soon. [/quote] Cool. I have been building a some of these based on the Turbo Air Surfer plans that can be found on the AA Toolbox. I absolutely love these planes. The performance is amazing. I have had one of them in the air for 45 minutes with a 200 mah lipo. I continue to tweek the plan by making smaller and larger airframes and playing with the airfoil. One of my next ideas is to rig up a big wing with a stripped down one-time-use video camera. Maybe it will be the first time an AA has been used for video flights. I have also been trying to figure out how I can make one with maybe 5 foot wing span that will use my storm launcher guts. The question is how to bend the foam that would probably need to be 1 inch thick. Unfortunately, I have been a little distracted by another airframe that has also piqued my interest. It is the Pilatus 4 from the AA toolbox. Lately, I have been flying one with a 42 inch wingspan. It easily handles 10 MPH winds with no porpoising. Most of the time I just turn it into the wind and float it motionless above my head. I have to get some pictures. Cobbler
Posted on: 8/5/2008 1:10 PM by Author "ahaacobbler" in the forum "Electric Indoor & Micro RC Flight"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7811530

RE: Air Hogs Aero Ace!
I got an AA at TRU about 2 weeks ago. They said they had more on the next truck. They just finished a $20 sale. Cobbler
Posted on: 7/29/2008 7:30 PM by Author "ahaacobbler" in the forum "Electric Indoor & Micro RC Flight"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7786075

RE: Air Hogs Aero Ace!
Does anybody know whether there is any charging circuitry ont he r/x board of an AA? Can I plug a lipo directly into the t/x to charge it, or do I need to go through the r/x? Cobbler.
Posted on: 7/10/2008 1:14 PM by Author "ahaacobbler" in the forum "Electric Indoor & Micro RC Flight"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7715182

RE: Air Hogs Aero Ace!
Thanks, guys. That is good news, because it was going to be pretty damaging to dig the r/x out and attach a new antenna. Shortening it will be a lot easier. Cobbler
Posted on: 6/16/2008 12:44 PM by Author "ahaacobbler" in the forum "Electric Indoor & Micro RC Flight"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7624920

RE: Air Hogs Aero Ace!
Question for the experts. I disected a brand new powerhawk to put the gear in an airframe that I built myself. As I was aranging things, the antena somehow broke off where it wraps around that little plastic anchor thing that is part of the black plastic case that holds the r/x. I figured no big deal and soldered on a piece of wire about 2x as long as the original to the 1 cm or so that was left of the wire. When I took the plane out to fly, I found that I only get maybe 20 meters of range or less. Any ideas about what I did wrong? Does the antenna have to be copper? The wire I used was some silver colored wire that I got from Radio Shack and have been using successfully for all types of other electronics. Is the antenna wire insulated? If so, would that just burn off when soldering or do I have to do something different? By the way, this new plane is, except for the short range, awesome. It is the Pilatus 4 from the AA toolbox scaled up 150% for a wingspan of 42 inches. I wondered whether the AA gear could push such a large frame, but even after adding quite a bit of weight to balance it, it climbs on the second throttle setting. Its very stable and floats on a light breeze. I'll get some photos and maybe a video up soon. Cobbler
Posted on: 6/13/2008 2:35 PM by Author "ahaacobbler" in the forum "Electric Indoor & Micro RC Flight"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7615422

RE: Air Hogs Aero Ace!
It could be the batteries in the t/x. They could be depleted after the winter and no longer able to charge the lipo, but can still powere the green LED.
Posted on: 6/13/2008 1:59 PM by Author "ahaacobbler" in the forum "Electric Indoor & Micro RC Flight"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7615317

RE: Air Hogs Aero Ace!
I saw that at my target on my last round, but there were none in stock.
Posted on: 6/4/2008 12:04 AM by Author "ahaacobbler" in the forum "Electric Indoor & Micro RC Flight"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7577660

RE: Air Hogs Aero Ace!
Get them fast. I just got mine. I went to one of my local RS stores. They didn't have it, but they found one for me several miles away. There were only 3 in the district. I am not sure what a district is. I was hoping to grab maybe 3, but apparently the clearance price is working. I took the plane out for a quick spin at lunch. it was way too windy to be flying, but I can tell this one is going to be fun. It is very fast and has one motor at a time turning with no trottle, so it possible to trow it into a dive or a spin. Cobbler
Posted on: 5/20/2008 5:14 PM by Author "ahaacobbler" in the forum "Electric Indoor & Micro RC Flight"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7520133

RE: Air Hogs Aero Ace!
[quote]ORIGINAL: trroadster IMHO it actually looks pretty boring. Hovers on a full charge and flits around at an outrageous angle of attack. Doesn't seem to actually "fly", just looks goofy. Kinda like a small kite for windless days or indoor. Infrared controller too. I'd rather have an airplane. [quote]ORIGINAL: Garrett1234567 Does anyone know how long it takes Air hogs to get a siverlit plane? The silverlit Stingray comes out in a week or so and id like to know how long it will take to get to the states. This plane looks really cool. Heres the youtube of it, http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=qAV_bzB-6cA&feature=related . Really cool semi 3d in your living room [:D] [/quote] [/quote] I would say that this plane has its place in the well-stocked hangar of the mini electric RC plane enthusiast, but agree that it is better when a plane actually flies. I'll buy one of these when I see them on sale for $10, maybe 15, but until then, I think the nano hawk looks like more fun. I assume that it can't do the rolls and regular flying in the same flight. Probably requires adjustment between the 2 types of flight. Cobller.
Posted on: 5/8/2008 5:03 PM by Author "ahaacobbler" in the forum "Electric Indoor & Micro RC Flight"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7472354

RE: Air Hogs Aero Ace!
I recently completed the Pilatus 4 AA project from the AA toolbox. It is amazing. I will post photos soon. It can easily ROG. In fact, under acceleration, it pitches forward on the faux wheel so that it is sliding on its nose with a slightly downward attitude and still it rises in less than 10 feet on a gym floor. While flying it climbs very fast on the first throttle setting and glides like a dream. I am going to have a lot of fun flying this one - if I can get it to fly right. The problem is that as soon as I put it into a turn, the wings bank and it is impossible to get it to right itself. I am assuming that this is because the wings have 0 dihedral. I am thinking I will pull a piece of thread between the wingtips to create some dihedral. Can anyone confirm that this it likely the problem? In the plan directions on the AA Toolbox, it talks about taking a string from one wing tip to the other under the body of the plane. I figured this was to prevent the long wings from over-extending upwards. My wings (3mm depron aligned along the grain) are pretty rigid with a slight camber in them so I figured I didn't need that. Does anybody know what this string under the fuselage is all about? Thanks, Cobbler
Posted on: 4/24/2008 1:28 PM by Author "ahaacobbler" in the forum "Electric Indoor & Micro RC Flight"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7414088

RE: Air Hogs Aero Ace!
I would say that you probably lost one of wires to the batteries or something like that. Open the T/X up and look around for a wire that came loose. It is not all that likely that something happened to the small parts of the circuit boards. If you don't find anything, then maybe its time to buy a new AA. You can always have more aces. The PicooZ t/x is definitely not going to work. It is an IR controller, not radio. Any of the AA controllers should work and a 3-channel modification is pretty easy - not a bad beginning soldering project if you don't know how to solder - so even if you get an ace on a differnt channel, you can still use one controller for both.
Posted on: 4/24/2008 1:13 PM by Author "ahaacobbler" in the forum "Electric Indoor & Micro RC Flight"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7414040

RE: Air Hogs Aero Ace!
I would love to have it if it is still availible. Cobbler
Posted on: 3/31/2008 6:10 PM by Author "ahaacobbler" in the forum "Electric Indoor & Micro RC Flight"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7312434

RE: Air Hogs Aero Ace!
You definitely have to read the description and not look at the photo. Their photos are all mixed up. Cobbler
Posted on: 2/20/2008 7:48 PM by Author "ahaacobbler" in the forum "Electric Indoor & Micro RC Flight"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7109446

RE: Air Hogs Aero Ace!
Try TRU.com. They have the ace on sale for $22.50. With shipping, you are probably still under $30. Cobbler.
Posted on: 2/20/2008 12:04 PM by Author "ahaacobbler" in the forum "Electric Indoor & Micro RC Flight"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7106951

RE: Air Hogs Aero Ace!
Guys, Take a look at this: http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1071676/laser_guided_marshmallow_blaster/ I am thinking a couple of AAs and one of these could bring a whole new dimension to the indoor micro RC hobby. Surface to air combat. Cobbler
Posted on: 1/31/2008 2:02 PM by Author "ahaacobbler" in the forum "Electric Indoor & Micro RC Flight"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7002161

RE: Air Hogs Aero Ace!
Usually you only have to buy 2 or three hogs to find one that works well. QC is not a high priority for Spinmaster, but they make some pretty great stuff when everything works out right.
Posted on: 1/17/2008 7:54 PM by Author "ahaacobbler" in the forum "Electric Indoor & Micro RC Flight"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=6924647