I finally finished the work on the new and improved Sniper 3. This is the third iteration of this plane having gone from the initial Cox Conquest 15 built in 2002 then on to electric power in 2007 and finally to this configuration with a new electric motor and 2.4Ghz control. It's not too pretty as it has had it's share of take-offs an hard landings but I think it is still up to the task. The change to RC control has lots of potential. Reduced the all up weight by a couple of oz and now have a two line bellcrank. Just need to finish the line set and it's ready to test.

The handle is now completed with leadouts for the lines and a wrap around the grip, Thank You Charles for providing the leather grip material. I also added a rubber band return for the trigger to force it to full low throttle, thanks Mike for the tip on that one.

Tested the motor, esc and controls and they all seem to work as planned. The new motor is a Cobra to replace the Axi that was the original electric power. This new motor seems to have a lot of go in it. I'm very anxious to see how it pulls the old plane around. I expect it will easily make the 70mph limit in 15 carrier.

Test flights this weekend.

Mission accomplished!
Made a couple of flights with the 3rd generation Sniper today. First off the pilot, after 5 years of inactivity, was able to control the airplane. I was a little anxious about that. Secondly the new 2.4 Ghz control worked flawlessly.  It had excellent throttle response and ease of use. I really like it. The new Cobra motor is great, it really pulled well. Only got one timed run but it was right on the money. 4 laps from release with a less than full throttle takeoff was 13.1 seconds. Now that I have confidence in the plane and myself sub 26 second high speed should be a piece of cake.  Low speed was acceptable but there is room for improvement. Practice, practice, practice!

Now on to a few balance adjustments and more practice and I think I have an excellent rig to fly.


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Eric
I think you run out of power because your low speed is so long. I should have that problem.
The new motor is a Cobra 2826/6 with a 9/6e prop. The batteries I have are either TP 3s. 2200 or Turnigy 3s 2200 (Hobbyking). I still don't know how either will last however today on my second flight I ran about 6 laps hi and another 3 or 4 minutes at lower speed. Afterward the battery took 1200mah to recharge. I think that indicates I could get a full high speed and at least 3 min of low plus landing. It will take more tests to really understand if it's enough capacity. It could be close.


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