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  • May 10, 2024, 09:27:57 AM

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11
Gettin all AMP'ed up! / Re: Setting ESC for Electric Carrier Plane
« Last post by John Rist on Today at 12:48:43 AM »
Be careful of full power ground testing. We run our motors near there limit.  When in flight the motor unloads some.  So what might be ok in the air will burn out the motor on the ground.  You can trim off a little of the prop diameter.  I created a templet that  lines up with the center hole to keep both blades equal. A 1/4" off each blade should keep the load manageable.  Also I would use EP props.  It will help with line tension at low speed.   Never have done any carrier events.  Does the rules allow electric?  All my contest  flying has been scale with a throttle.  Scale does not have motor size rules (except for 1/2A scale), so electric power is OK. 
12
Open Forum / Re: VP Powermaster 10% Nitro ; 18% Oil Mean & Green
« Last post by Colin McRae on Yesterday at 09:56:53 PM »
Kafin
One other thing you might look into

I had mentioned earlier that I thought you might have an aftermarket venturi on your 46LA. But then you mentioned you got your 46LA from Bob Brooks. Since you got your engine from Bob, I’m confident you have an engine in great condition and it probably has an OS venturi.

I have purchased several engines from Bob. All have been in excellent condition as advertised.

The stock venturi for a 46LA-s is I believe 7.5 mm. But your engine might have come with a smaller 6.5 mm venturi.

If you don’t know you can try to measure the throat ID, or ask Bob what he sold you. Just so you know for your records.



13
Open Forum / Re: VP Powermaster 10% Nitro ; 18% Oil Mean & Green
« Last post by Kafin Noe’man on Yesterday at 09:39:06 PM »
I have been full synthetic oil for years in the LA 46 and B 40 for years and my engines seem to run very well. I have used half castor and synthetic years ago and had the engines get castor gum in them and I crock potted them went to full synthetic never looked back.

Hi Joe,

What brand of fuel do you usually use?
Is that VP PowerMaster Mean & Green?
14
Gettin all AMP'ed up! / Re: Setting ESC for Electric Carrier Plane
« Last post by Brendan Eberenz on Yesterday at 09:05:13 PM »
Thanks for the suggestions. I do like that fixed endpoints doesn't have the preflight throttling process. I also like the advice on doing the test runs and checking the heat for limits. I will probably also throw on my watt meter as I ground test it to see the numbers as I push things at full throttle. All of this at least gives me a starting point to get it in the air and start walking our way towards knowing our limits. We are hoping to get far enough over the next month to have my son try a couple of carrier events at Brodaks next month.
15
Gettin all AMP'ed up! / Re: Setting ESC for Electric Carrier Plane
« Last post by CircuitFlyer on Yesterday at 08:30:25 PM »
Brendan,

(Sorry John) I suggest "Fixed-Endpoints". 

If you use "Auto-Calibrate Endpoints" your procedure would be: connect the battery, hold on tight to the airplane and advance the throttle stick to full power, then bring the stick back down to minimum, now you are ready to start your flight.  You must do this prior to each and every flight.  Besides the obvious safety concern this is just plain dumb for control line.  RC guys can get away with it as they can do a quick full power ground check before taxiing out to the runway or they may opt to always make sure they hit full throttle during the takeoff run.  Why would an RC guy want it?  It helps reduce the 'dead zone' at the top end of the throttle stick movement.  It makes things more consistent when switching from one airplane to the next.

For Castle Creations (the Edge series anyway, the Talon is likely the same) ,"Airplane" and "Fixed-Endpoints" means the ESC is setup with a 1.3 millisecond pulsewidth signal as the lower endpoint.  As the signal pulsewidth rises above this point the prop will start to move, below this and the prop is stopped and the brake is on.  The upper fixed endpoint is set to 1.8 milliseconds pulsewidth (100% power output).  Below this and the power to the motor will start to drop, above this nothing more will happen as you are already at 100% power output.

I'm guessing your transmitter will have no issues using these fixed endpoints.  Castle likely choose those numbers as they are sure to work with 99.9% of the RC transmitters out there.

A 60A ESC is overkill for that motor/prop.  Don't worry about burning it out (although, make sure your current limiting is set the way you prefer).  How much heat builds up in the motor is your only concern.  Do some ground runs and test increasing lengths of full throttle bursts.  When the motor gets too warm for your liking then you know the limit.  Do the same tests in flight.  If you do all that then you should have a good understanding of your system and how far you want to push it.  It sounds like a good combination of components and I think you will find it more than adequate for the task.

I like quatifiable data.  I use wattmeters, ammeters, voltmeters, tachometers and temperature sensors, but that's just me.
16
Gettin all AMP'ed up! / Re: Setting ESC for Electric Carrier Plane
« Last post by John Paris on Yesterday at 07:11:18 PM »
Brendan,
I would use the "Auto calibrate endpoints".  Should just need to turn things on, go to full throttle and then back to 0 throttle and then the esc learns what the transmitter is sending.  Please do this with the prop off.  Run the throttle up and down a couple of times and I would expect that you are ready to go.  As a hint for how to fly this set up, I recommend that you learn to get the airplane nose high with full up elevator hanging on the up line and use the throttle to keep it out of the water.  Extra tip weight might help as well.

I am by no means a carrier guy, but have dabbled a bit with a gas version and this flying technique as worked well for me.  Good luck and let us know how it goes.

John
17
Gettin all AMP'ed up! / Setting ESC for Electric Carrier Plane
« Last post by Brendan Eberenz on Yesterday at 06:02:39 PM »
We have a SkyRay that has been set up for Carrier. It was running on a glow engine, but we converted it to electric. We fly electric stunt, so adjusting to an electric carrier setup is a little challenging (given my limited technological understanding). My biggest issues are 1) programming the ESC correctly to run off the transmitter/receiver and 2) setting limits that make sure I don't burn up the electronics.

I am using a Cobra 2814-12 1390kv motor with 3s batteries. We prefer to use a 9x6e prop because we have a lot of them. You will find the Motor Prop Data chart at this link (https://www.innov8tivedesigns.com/images/specs/Cobra_2814-12_Specs.htm).  The data chart says a 9x6 prop "can be used, bull full throttle should be kept to short bursts (80 to 100% power)." We are using a Talon 60 ESC, which I believe is oversized for the system, but all my others are Talon 35s and I wanted to make sure I don't burn out my ESC.

When I go to program the ESC in Castle Link, I marked the "Vehicle Type" as "Airplane." My main confusion for programming the ESC comes from the "Throttle Type." It offers the ability to "Auto Calibrate Endpoints" or "Fixed Endpoints." I am not sure what to choose here. Also, given my motor and prop size, I am not sure which option is the best to make sure we don't burn up the power system. The two "Throttle Type" settings are shown in the picture below and explain what each of them do.

If it is important to know, my transmitter/receiver is 2.4GHz radio system with the actual product listed here (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RR81GSB?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details).

Thanks for taking a look at this post. Hopefully I can find some folks that know their way around these issues.
18
Open Forum / Re: VP Powermaster 10% Nitro ; 18% Oil Mean & Green
« Last post by Brett Buck on Yesterday at 04:08:38 PM »
I had ordered a gallon of VP Powermaster 10% Nitro 18% Oil (Air — which is a castor/synthetic blend 20:80), but unfortunately they didn’t have that anymore and just sent me the Mean & Green one which I believe this is a full synthetic.

I’m going to use the fuel for my LA-46.

So the question is, can I use that Mean & Green fuel as is?

I’ve also been thinking to add some more pure castor oil (I can find Merlin Castor Oil MA-220) in order to increase the % of oil to 22%. If my math is correct, I need to add 194 ml (6.5 oz) of oil and doing this will make a 22:78 castor/synth blend.

What do you guys think about it? Should I return it or just proceed with adding more castor oil?

    The oil content is sufficient if you are sure you can almost always hit the needle setting. As Joe mentions, you can usually run straight synthetic, again, you better be sure you don't miss the needle and have an otherwise reliable system. I would be slightly more concerned about an LA than the more typical AAC, which are pretty much bulletproof.

    What I am more concerned with is some reports I have heard about "Mean and Green" specifically. I have been told by people whose judgement I trust that they have had a lot of problems with PowerMaster Mean and Green, specifically, something green getting deposited on the piston and causing the engine to tighten up over a few flights.

 In one case, to the point the engine couldn't be started after about 4 flights, and the modeler having to *sand the piston* with 600 grit sandpaper to get it loose enough to start!!  I would categorize that as disastrous, you cannot accept that as a sport flier/beginner, and while this individual was certainly qualified to work on engines, under no circumstances should anyone reading this actually do this.

   So, the problem I see is not the quantities of anything or not enough or the wrong kind of oil, just that whatever is in Mean and Green may  very well cause a problem.

    Brett

p.s. I would recommend Powermaster "Air" or Powermaster "Heli". I use "Air" all the time and while I sometimes add oil, that is to adjust the run quality slightly based on conditions, not about reducing or caring about wear because the base fuel is plenty good enough. David uses "Heli" with has the same or very close proportions, but I think is straight synthetic using low-vis synthetic oil, and maybe some Randy "Aero-1" additive.

p.p.s to the original question, if you are worried about the oil quantity, I would certainly suggest adding synthetic instead of castor. If I want to add, I use Klotz KL-198 which is a low-viscosity synthetic.
19
Open Forum / Re: Price of castor oil
« Last post by Dave_Trible on Yesterday at 03:37:06 PM »
That depends these days on shipping cost.  $25 sound quite reasonable on it's own.   What I mix is pretty close to that.  One difference though is if you mix your own you can experiment with different brews and in my case I have many different kinds and types of engines that require different fuels.  I think right now I have three or four different mixes in my vehicle for whatever I'm flying.   Very hard to do if not making it yourself.


Dave
20
Engine set up tips / Re: Prop suggestions
« Last post by frank mccune on Yesterday at 03:02:18 PM »
      Hi Dennis:

      Thanks for the reply!

       Frank
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