blnk00
May 07, 2009, 06:02 PM
I had been looking for another large project when I ran across the Ultimate which nitroplanes has for $330.
http://www.nitroplanes.com/ul45giscrare.html
What really caught my attention is that it was tail heavy. The gas guys claimed they had to add 3 pounds in the nose just to make it balance. A light bulb went off in my head, PERFECT ELECTRIC! I was planning on using a123's which are heavier then lipos so a tail heavy plane was exactly what I needed.
The build was smooth and the plane has already flown 8 times. My setup:
-Turnigy SK 230kv motor from hobbyking.com
-two packs of 10 a123's in parallel to make 4600mah
-23x12 Xoar prop
-Sentillion 100amp 12 cell speed controller from hobbyking.com
I get a 70 amp draw with this setup. The plane flies but scale, not enough power for hard aerobatics. Stall turns, rolls, decent knife edge, that's about all you have power for with this setup. 5 minute flight. I went with this setup because I had everything at home already. Tried a 24x10 Xoar prop but she flies better with the 23x12.
She is still tail heavy. Even with the batteries placed in front of the firewall. I did not add have to add any dead weight however, wanted to keep her as light as possible. I have to tell you though, landing this thing is a joy. She settles in nicely and flares beautifully. Graceful in the air.
I am ready for more performance though so this is what I will be upgrading to:
-13 a123's
-Turnigy SK 170kv motor
-apce 24x12 prop
I ordered a Mastech variable power supply so that I can charge both packs together in 15 minutes. Who needs gas anymore when you can recharge every 15 minutes, I love a123's. During testing on my other planes I found that the apce prop gives me MUCH better performance then the Xoar props. The Xoar props give me more static thrust but the performance of the apce blows them away.
The quality of this plane is great and the wings are strong, well built. My only complaint is that the canopy came completely smashed in during shipping. I immediately called Nitroplanes and they told me that they have gotten many calls with the same problem on this kit and that they would send me a replacement when the canopies came back in stock. That was 2 over months ago. I've called 3 times since then with nothing. "We'll email you.." "We'll get back to you.." Nothing. Not even a record of the canopy order in their system. Ordering kits from nitroplanes sometimes is like russian roulette. And their customer service..
Let's just say you have a higher probability of making contact with a ufo then with a human at nitroplanes. I don't think I will ever order from them again because of this last experience but as for the plane itself, I am happy.
As for the canopy, I reinforced the inside with fiberglass and painted it black inside and out to cover the fiberglass work.
Will update this post with the performance gained using the upgraded motor and 3 cells.
http://www.nitroplanes.com/ul45giscrare.html
What really caught my attention is that it was tail heavy. The gas guys claimed they had to add 3 pounds in the nose just to make it balance. A light bulb went off in my head, PERFECT ELECTRIC! I was planning on using a123's which are heavier then lipos so a tail heavy plane was exactly what I needed.
The build was smooth and the plane has already flown 8 times. My setup:
-Turnigy SK 230kv motor from hobbyking.com
-two packs of 10 a123's in parallel to make 4600mah
-23x12 Xoar prop
-Sentillion 100amp 12 cell speed controller from hobbyking.com
I get a 70 amp draw with this setup. The plane flies but scale, not enough power for hard aerobatics. Stall turns, rolls, decent knife edge, that's about all you have power for with this setup. 5 minute flight. I went with this setup because I had everything at home already. Tried a 24x10 Xoar prop but she flies better with the 23x12.
She is still tail heavy. Even with the batteries placed in front of the firewall. I did not add have to add any dead weight however, wanted to keep her as light as possible. I have to tell you though, landing this thing is a joy. She settles in nicely and flares beautifully. Graceful in the air.
I am ready for more performance though so this is what I will be upgrading to:
-13 a123's
-Turnigy SK 170kv motor
-apce 24x12 prop
I ordered a Mastech variable power supply so that I can charge both packs together in 15 minutes. Who needs gas anymore when you can recharge every 15 minutes, I love a123's. During testing on my other planes I found that the apce prop gives me MUCH better performance then the Xoar props. The Xoar props give me more static thrust but the performance of the apce blows them away.
The quality of this plane is great and the wings are strong, well built. My only complaint is that the canopy came completely smashed in during shipping. I immediately called Nitroplanes and they told me that they have gotten many calls with the same problem on this kit and that they would send me a replacement when the canopies came back in stock. That was 2 over months ago. I've called 3 times since then with nothing. "We'll email you.." "We'll get back to you.." Nothing. Not even a record of the canopy order in their system. Ordering kits from nitroplanes sometimes is like russian roulette. And their customer service..
Let's just say you have a higher probability of making contact with a ufo then with a human at nitroplanes. I don't think I will ever order from them again because of this last experience but as for the plane itself, I am happy.
As for the canopy, I reinforced the inside with fiberglass and painted it black inside and out to cover the fiberglass work.
Will update this post with the performance gained using the upgraded motor and 3 cells.