RE: Electro-stik throws
I used the throws listed in the manual and had no problems. Did you by chance make the old mistake of adjusting the holes in the wrong direction? Remember, using the OUTER holes on the control surface DECREASES throw. Using the INNER holes on the servo DECREASES throw. So, if you have WAY too much throw, try using the INNER holes on the servos and the OUTER holes on the control surface. Then adjust as needed. Cliff
Posted on: 2/24/2012 12:10 PM by Author "lorih" in the forum "Electric General Discussion"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10974083

RE: Will This Work (Big Newb Here!)
Let me add to the above answer. Your choice of esc WILL NOT work because it is only rated at 9.6 volts maximum and a 3 cell lipo will be well over that. A nimh only esc will "work" with a lipo, but your low voltage cut off will be way too low. If you were to fly too long, your battery voltage could possibly drop to battery damaging levels. The esc you will need must be able to be set for lipo battery cutoff voltages AND it must be a brushed motor esc since you are using it with a brushed motor. You will find that with a 3 cell lipo, your 400 brushed motor will work very well with your Slow Stick. Keep in mind that someone MAY tell you that you can't use a 3 cell lipo with a Slow Stick brushed motor. Well, that may be true with the 350 motor, but the 400 can provide a couple hundred flights or so with no problem using a 3 cell. I finally put a brushless motor on my Stick at over 200 flights and the old motor is still being used by a friend of mine on his Stick. Cliff
Posted on: 1/18/2012 7:05 AM by Author "lorih" in the forum "Electric Training"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10915005

RE: Bent prop shaft
I have to disagree with "scooterinvegas". Unless there is something wrong with the bearing, why replace it? When you remove the shaft, check the bearings. I simply insert the lead end of a common pencil and give a carefull twist or twirl. The pencil should just turn silently with absolutely no noise or rough feeling. If you can feel ANY roughness, THEN you must replace the bearing. Cliff
Posted on: 2/17/2011 2:00 PM by Author "lorih" in the forum "Electric General Discussion"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10343585

RE: How I recovered a completely dead LIPO!!!
I have recovered lipos using this method. It CAN work. If you don't like the method or are afraid it can cause a problem...DO NOT DO IT. Now, wasn't that simple? Cliff
Posted on: 12/28/2010 9:35 AM by Author "lorih" in the forum "Park Flyers & Backyard Flyers"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10222835

RE: Help finding Li-po charger
I go along with the Accucell 6. I also have 2 of them and several other chargers. The Accucell 6 has worked flawlessly for 2 years. Cliff
Posted on: 6/29/2010 4:25 PM by Author "lorih" in the forum "Electric General Discussion"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9834644

RE: Need help with Battery and Superfly
It will work, but it is heavy for the airplane you plan to use it in. How much that added weight will affect the flying is unknown. If it flies okay for you, all is good. Just keep in mind that it would probably fly much better with the lighter recommended battery pack. Cliff
Posted on: 6/29/2010 4:22 PM by Author "lorih" in the forum "Electric General Discussion"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9834631

RE: Painting a foamie
Matte gray can indeed become almost invisible in the air, but it does look great on military looking planes. I used the craft acrylic paint from Wal-Mart. The gray covers very well when sprayed on. Thin about 50% before spraying. Cliff
Posted on: 4/10/2010 10:09 AM by Author "lorih" in the forum "Electric General Discussion"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9650672

RE: Lipo Plastic Bags?
Think about this, does your local hobby store keep their lipos in plastic bags inside a metal container? No, they don't. There is a reason for this. Lipos don't "just explode" or catch fire. They can and do if overcharged or crash damaged (shorted out). Think their insurance carrier would allow them to do this if the batteries were that dangerous? If anyone has ever had first hand experience with a lipo "just catching fire" or "exploding" while just sitting there, I'd really like to hear about it. To date I've never heard of it happening. Cliff
Posted on: 4/6/2010 5:49 PM by Author "lorih" in the forum "Electric Training"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9642177

RE: Hobby Lobby Sr. Telemaster ARF
I finally got a break in the weather and was able to perform the maiden flight.....plus 4 more. What a beautiful, graceful plane this is. Take off was a half throttle affair with only 1 click of right aileron trim required for trimming the plane. Rolls were slightly barreled as would be expected with a top wing plane. Loops were large and graceful. The entire flight was like watching a full size plane go through its routine. All takeoffs and landings were with a 7-8 mph direct crosswind from a grass runway with no problems. Ground handling required low throttle and full up elevator as the slightest throttle wants to lift the tail, and tail wheel, clear of the ground. That was the only surprise of the day. My plane is way over powered at 900 watts, but that is okay. Seeing the plane in the air almost brought a tear to some of the clubs old timers. The ST isn't a 3-D or a pattern ship....she is just a slow, graceful, majestic flier. You just sit back and relax while watching her fly. Cliff
Posted on: 3/29/2010 2:41 PM by Author "lorih" in the forum "Glow to Electric Conversions"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9621476

RE: bec vs ubec question
Okay, I've got to respond here. I have literly over a thousand flights with linier BEC's and no problems to date. Almost all my planes have 3 cell lipos and 25 amp esc's. Most have 4 servos of the 9 gram size. Most of my bec's have a 2 amp limit and this is within their limit. If the limit of the bec is not exceeded, you should have no problems. HOWEVER, if you are using STANDARD size servos.....yep, an external UBEC is a great, if not required, idea. There is a huge difference in the current draw between the micro, standard and high torque servos. Know what you are using. It all goes back to knowing your system and current draw. Stay within your limits and all will be okay. Cliff
Posted on: 3/23/2010 5:03 PM by Author "lorih" in the forum "Electric General Discussion"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9605831

RE: Wire Size/Type from ESC to Batteries
If you can stand the weight, you can parallel wires. 2 strands of 12 gauge wire can obviously handle twice the current of a single strand. Obviously you will need to double the number of connectors also. Cliff
Posted on: 3/3/2010 9:26 AM by Author "lorih" in the forum "Electric General Discussion"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9551019

RE: 80A ESC w/BEC - Can't find them!
[quote]ORIGINAL: Cub Flyer Fresno Rats!  That one is out of stock too!  By the way, I know what BEC is and what UBEC is, but what is SBEC? [/quote] I suppose that is a switching bec. Most bec's on smaller esc's are liner. They work fine, but produce heat. Larger esc's usually indicate larger control surfaces, more servos and larger servos. The increased loads required by these add even more heat. At that point, manufactures go to the more expensive switching bec's. Cliff
Posted on: 2/26/2010 3:25 PM by Author "lorih" in the forum "Electric General Discussion"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9537853

RE: GWS BN2
Okay, I may have been wrong about the EDF version of the BN2. I can't find one for sale anywhere. I've seen photos though. The EDP version (prop) comes complete with motors and props. You need to add receiver, esc, battery and servos. A 1000 mAh 2 cell fits perfect and gives plenty of power. A 3 cell lipo will burn the motors up quickly.....as in before take off. Cliff
Posted on: 2/26/2010 1:29 PM by Author "lorih" in the forum "Electric General Discussion"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9537609

RE: GWS BN2
You purchase either the EDP (propeller version) or the EDF (ducted fan) version. Which ever version you purchase comes with the complete power units. I know nothing about the EDF version. I really like the EDP one though. This is the version I have. Great power from those tiny motors. I was quite pleasantly surprised. http://www.allerc.com/product_info.php?cPath=2_84&products_id=1151 Cliff
Posted on: 2/26/2010 1:17 PM by Author "lorih" in the forum "Electric General Discussion"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9537580

RE: solder
And one thing that isn't stressed enough, keep the tip of your soldering iron clean. Use an old rag or something similar folded on your workbench. Wipe the tip of the iron any time it doesn't look shiney and clean. Just dragging the tip across will clean it. It will really help. When the tip of your iron gets crusted with black crap, and it will, use sandpaper (cold iron here) to clean the tip and then re-tin the tip. Cliff
Posted on: 2/25/2010 12:26 PM by Author "lorih" in the forum "Park Flyers & Backyard Flyers"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9534644

RE: GWS BN2
It comes either way. I have the version with props powered by 2 tiny little GWS EDP 50 motors. Don't let the size of those little motors fool you. The BN2 is surprisingly fast. Powered with a 1000 mAh 2 cell lipo, it easily takes off from my grass runway also. Those motors and little props sound great! It is one of my favorite park fliers. While I wouldn't say it is a "learner" airplane, it makes a great 2nd plane. I really can't think of any bad habits it has. Cliff
Posted on: 2/25/2010 11:31 AM by Author "lorih" in the forum "Electric General Discussion"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9534501

RE: ATX power supply for Turnigy Accucel-6
Keep in mind that no charger is 100% efficient. You need a little "headroom". I would think that a 50 watt charger should have at least a 60 watt power supply....or better. Watts = volts x amps, so a good charger would have at least a 5 amp output power supply. That said, my bench power supply that I use for charging batteries often, is only a 2 amp power supply. No problem. I just don't charge a 3 cell pack at over 1500 mAh. Cliff
Posted on: 2/25/2010 11:24 AM by Author "lorih" in the forum "Batteries & Chargers"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9534482

RE: What gives with these lipos just bursting into flames..
This is very interesting. A few things to keep in mind: 1) You can go into any r/c hobby shop around and find dozens, if not hundreds, of lipos on the shelf and hanging on the wall. NO insurance company would allow this to happen if lipos just burst into flames for no reason. 2) Lipos are used in cell phones, computers, GPS units and many other devices. Unless they are being charged by a faulty charger, they don't just burst into flames. Something happened to that lipo. What? I don't know. A sharp object on the floor? Damaged by dropping or crash eariler? I don't know. We will likely never know, but lipos, from all that I have ever been able to read, don't just puff up and burn with no reason. The packaging on them is soft to save weight, but this also makes them somewhat fragile. Maybe you could find some more information about the battery packs condition, history and traveling conditions. Cliff
Posted on: 2/25/2010 11:19 AM by Author "lorih" in the forum "Batteries & Chargers"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9534467

RE: Hobby Lobby Sr. Telemaster ARF
I've finished cutting into the wing to strenthen the hard points. I did find the hard points to be well glued in my wing. I went ahead and epoxied some triangle stock to the hardpoints and soaked the surrounding wood with thin CA just in case. It only required a 3 1/2" by 3 1/2" hole at each hardpoint and wasn't too difficult. Shouldn't have to do it, but that is the way it is. Also replaced the hinges with CA hinges. I reused the screws for the hinges to hold the CA hinges in place while glueing. The original hinges had no glue at all, just the screws to hold them in place. cliff
Posted on: 12/30/2009 11:29 AM by Author "lorih" in the forum "Glow to Electric Conversions"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9371902

RE: Hobby Lobby Sr. Telemaster ARF
Well YumaMike, you've inspired me to take a look at my wing. Sure enough, no glue at all on the hinges. They do seem like strong hinges. Look like polypropolene or similar and each side of each hinge has a screw installed. Still, I think I'll change them all to the same size CA hinges. I'll install the hinges dry, put the screws back into place, then CA the hinges into place. That will give a stronger hinge mount and the CA will soak into the balsa making it stronger as well. I'm also going to cut the covering around the hardpoints and reglue them. It isn't a big deal and has to make things stronger. Really sorry to hear about the loss of your plane. I still cannot visulize what caused the failure though. Maybe control flutter? Rubber bands breaking....something weird to cause the failure in basically level flight. Your loss wasn't in vain though. I'll heed the warning and do some beefing up on the wing. Cliff
Posted on: 12/29/2009 5:44 PM by Author "lorih" in the forum "Glow to Electric Conversions"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9369740

RE: Hobby Lobby Sr. Telemaster ARF
Hi YumaMike. Very sorry to hear about your loss. I am currently putting together a red/white Senior Telemaster and I'm concerned about the strut issue. The one thing I cannot figure out is what stresses could possibly have caused the wing, WITH STRUTS even, to fail in nearly level flight. You said you applied slight elevator, but still, that is near level flight. It would take some serious stress to cause a catastrophic failure such as this. For the struts to be pulled out of the wing, some force must have been transfered to them. At least in my mind I see it that way. Is it possible that there was a loss of some, or most, of the rubber bands? This would have transfered most, or all, of the wing load to the struts. I have witnessed a rubber band break on the ground that caused several other bands to pop off the wing without breaking, so I know this is possible. I also know that the rubber band dowels on the Senior Telemaster are rather short. What are your thoughts? What size and what number of rubber bands did you start with? The reason I'm asking about the rubber bands is that they carry, or should carry, ALL the load in level flight. The struts should just help prevent wing flexing under load. That wing should not have come apart WITHOUT the struts in level flight. Cliff
Posted on: 12/29/2009 10:07 AM by Author "lorih" in the forum "Glow to Electric Conversions"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9368656

RE: Sig Komander electric conversion
Lawrence, It has been a long time since I built my wing, but I can tell you that the wing comes out VERY strong. I don't think the sheeting added much weight. Please post how things come out. Cliff
Posted on: 11/7/2009 10:17 AM by Author "lorih" in the forum "Glow to Electric Conversions"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9235137

RE: Sig Komander electric conversion
Wow, a Sig Kommander! I had one of those in the mid-70's with a Fox 45 on it. Fantastic plane. Wish I could find a kit today. I don't know when they quit making them. A quick look around leads me to a motor like this one. Jeff at HeadsUpRC gives lots of good advice here. I would think that if you build light and don't use too much paint, this should work fine. My Kommander was a lead sled, but still flew fantastic. The biggest problem I see is battery access. Taking the wing off every flight is a bit of a pain, but that would be the simplest solution. http://www.headsuprc.com/servlet/the-1434/4248-dsh-08-Outrunner-Brushless-Electric/Detail I'm thinking an 11x7 prop and 4 cells. Some serious power there. Cliff
Posted on: 11/4/2009 8:41 AM by Author "lorih" in the forum "Glow to Electric Conversions"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9227244

RE: Mounting prop on slow stick
I'm sure you have solved the problem by now, but for others that may look to this thread for an answer....here it is. I had the same problem. GWS just makes all their props with 3mm holes. You will just need to drill the hole a little larger for your use. The Slow Stick 400 will require a 5/32" drill to make the hole the proper size. The drill will self center when you start the drill down since there is already a hole. Drill a couple while you are at it. Have fun! Cliff
Posted on: 10/12/2009 4:58 PM by Author "lorih" in the forum "Electric Training"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9167341

RE: MICRO TELEMASTER HELP
This is the motor I have on my Micro Telemaster using a 2 cell lipo and a GWS 8043 prop. I mostly fly at about 1/2 throttle with this motor and for less than $10.....WOW! http://www.unitedhobbies.com/UNITEDHOBBIES/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=6311 You will love this plane if you are looking for an easy to fly, slow, fun plane. By the way, it pulls 5.8 amps at full throttle with this setup, but you won't be at full throttle much.
Posted on: 11/20/2008 11:49 AM by Author "lorih" in the forum "Park Flyers & Backyard Flyers"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8166014

RE: Anybody install a whistle on their plane?
[quote]ORIGINAL: RCKen We have a guy at our field that did that to a plane. It was cool............... for about 30 seconds. And after that it was the most annoying thing I've seen in a long time!!!!! [:@] IMHO, you'll wind up making enemies at the field if you do it. Ken [/quote] Same thing at the field I fly at. The most ironic part is that the guy who put the whistles on his plane CAN'T HEAR THEM! His hearing is bad! Most of the rest of us find them very annoying.
Posted on: 10/3/2008 11:57 AM by Author "lorih" in the forum "Beginners"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8015273

RE: Slow Stick Myths
What motor do you have on your Slow Stick? You could have a 350 or a 400. The 400 WILL handle a 3 cell lipo, the 350 won't. A 2 cell lipo is a much better battery though for a Slow Stick. After watching your video, your problem is pretty obvious, not enough power supplied by those old cells, and only 6 of them to boot. 6 cell nimh is a real weak power pack for that plane. 7 cell nimh is okay, 8 cells is great! Oh, and make SURE your prop is on correctly....the lettering goes FORWARD. Many new flyiers have installed the prop backwards and the result is a big lose in power.
Posted on: 2/5/2008 4:02 PM by Author "lorih" in the forum "Park Flyers & Backyard Flyers"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=7028787