Vertigo edge 540t 87"

[mpope1]

I received a vertigo edge 540t tonight from airshow r/c. The website has them listed at $229.99. Its A 50-60CC Edge with construction very similar to nitro planes large 50cc acrobats. This is a steal at 229.99, I will post some pix tomorrow and start a build thread in the near future, just wanted to get the word out that this is not a joke, that is a 87" edge for $229.99!

[mpope1]

Snapped some quick pix, I was lucky to get this plane yesterday when airshow announced they had 5 at $179.99. I thought it was a scam to be honest, but checked into it when I realized that airshow is local in AZ. It was personally delivered to my doorstep(long story) by Richard Ruldolf(thanks Rich!). Even my cat was interested! It will be powered with a hacker a60-18l/ spin 99 on 12s. Hope to start in the next 2 weeks on the build. The manual is typical for this type of arf, but its a straight foward build. They supplied robart style hinges for the airlerons, but have paper hinges for elevator and rudder. I will be changing them to robarts also and sealing all the hinge gaps with clear monocote. Landing gear is 2 piece and looks very solid. Wing tubes are aluminum and look real solid also but may consider carbon fiber. At this price I dont mind spending a little extra cash to lighten the airframe. The motor box is laser cut and needs to be assembled and poxied to the firewall, this is the only challenge. I will make sure it is secured because I do not want it to rip off in flight, at 4000 Watts there should be lots of pull!

[lashmett75]

Mike,

That Edge is HUGE!!!! Im 4000 watts will be plenty of power. And at 18lbs thats more then 200 watts per lbs. Should 3D well. Look forward to see it fly. I should have the RV-4 done in 2 weeks. I plane to maiden on Aug. 15th. Wouldnt mind you doing the once over with me. Good luck and hurry and start already.

James

[chalmrast]

Subscribing......

[mpope1]

Cut the covering for stabs and wing tubes to test fit everything together, and it lines up perfectly. I will have to work indoors cause it is way to hot in the garage, it takes up most of my dining room.

[mpope1]

I dry fit the motor box, all the wood is laser cut and lines up perfectly. I will leave the top off until I get the motor mounted so I can get my hands behind it if need be. The mount is tied in to the first to formers of the airframe, should be real solid once everything is poxied together. Should be plenty of room for batteries behind the firewall.

[chalmrast]

Got a message from Richard last night.... I'm going to try and arrange meeting him today for pickup :)

Still on the fence about putting a in a $350 50cc gas motor.... somebody stop me!!!

[mpope1]

Chad you asked me about servos, I am using hs965mg's on the ailerons, and hs5625mg's on the elevators. I still have to order a servo for the rudder. These servos are 130-140 oz at 6v. I will probably go with something closer to 180 oz on the rudder. These will have to do since I am trying not to spend to much and use existing stuff I already have laying around. The poxy is drying on the motor mount, hopefully get a little more done today.

[mpope1]

This is the power set up(hacker a60-18l/spin 99), really looking fwd. to using the spin box for programming and field use. Sevos are mounted in the wings and they are hinged. Waiting for the poxy to dry so I can seal the hinge gap with clear monocote.

[chalmrast]

OK, just met Richard & picked up mine.... helluva deal... too good to pass up.

This is one big plane compared to what I'm used to. I have no components for it yet so it will be some time before it's ready to go....

Here's some pics to put it into perspective:

[MattinAZ]

Oh, thats a funny expensive kids hat.

There were rumors - I cant believe you bought one! : ) Kool.


OK, just met Richard & picked up mine.... helluva deal... too good to pass up.

This is one big plane compared to what I'm used to. I have no components for it yet so it will be some time before it's ready to go....

Here's some pics to put it into perspective:

[Xpress..]

This thing looks sweet. Am looking forward to the flight report :)

[chalmrast]

Oh, thats a funny expensive kids hat.

There were rumors - I cant believe you bought one! : ) Kool.

I got in on the "introductory" deal..... too cheap to pass up... especially when you consider we didn't have to pay for shipping because the vendor is local :) :) :).

Just need to find someone with a Hacker A60-18L laying around that they want to part with!!!

[wingspan100]

I received a vertigo edge 540t tonight from airshow r/c. The website has them listed at $229.99. Its A 50-60CC Edge with construction very similar to nitro planes large 50cc acrobats. This is a steal at 229.99, I will post some pix tomorrow and start a build thread in the near future, just wanted to get the word out that this is not a joke, that is a 87" edge for $229.99!
Hey Mike,
It was great meeting with you and being able to deliver the plane to you locally,
What luck! I am looking forward to your build.
Thanks, Richard
AirShow R/C Suppliers

[wingspan100]

I got in on the "introductory" deal..... too cheap to pass up... especially when you consider we didn't have to pay for shipping because the vendor is local :) :) :).

Just need to find someone with a Hacker A60-18L laying around that they want to part with!!!
Hi Chad,
I was cool to meet you today, I am very glad that you like and approve of this
airplane. I am sure you will enjoy it. All I ask is for you guys to let me know
when you get them up in the air. I would like to be there.
Thanks, Richard

[mpope1]

Did a little more work tonite, got the landing gear fixed to the fuse and mounted all the servos except for the rudder servo. Motor box is done except for the top, that is where I will run all the wiring. The only snag I ran into so far is one of the elevator servo pockets popped out when I went to drill the servo holes. I was able to re-poxy it and also did the other side to make sure its glued good, actually the servo's fit perfect no dremeling needed at all! Wings fit great, will start on the tail section tomorrow and Wed. p/u the rest of the materials I need.

[mpope1]

Got the motor mounted and finished up the motor box. The landing gear is real unusual, the wheels angle inwards. If it was aluminum I would bend it straight, but it is an epoxy resin. Had the same type gear on my nitro Yak its strong but not bendable.

[chalmrast]

Wow, that is some serious camber on those wheels. :eek: :eek: :eek: I may shim the gear at the fuse with washers or something.

Any thrust angle (down and/or left) on the motor???

Also, no protection for your table????

[mpope1]

I shimmed the motor mount with 2 washers on the bottom feet. This gives it a little more up(not much) and the cowl seems to fit better. I got the wing hardware done, need to p/u longer metal servo arms. I want to get the maximum throw, the short ones that come with the hitec servos just dont cut it. I used some hangar 9 hardware that I had, strong stuff. Tomorrow I will start workin on the tail section. Its amazing how much heavier the the fuse is with the motor mounted. The tables fine!

[wingspan100]

Lookin' good Mike!

[chalmrast]

I am predicting this plane will have a final AUW in the 19-20lb range based on weighing the individual parts and looking up the weights of all the added components (batteries, motor, servos, etc.)

Ben from 3DHS posted a link on another forum as an example of how the exact same setup (motor / battery) handles a 19lb 89" AJ Slick...

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2214146

[mpope1]

Finishing up the tail section, elevator and rudder are done. Control horns are in. After the poxy dries I will get the linkages for the elevator halves and maybe put this thing all together to see what the approx. weight will be around.

[mpope1]

Got the hardware hooked up on the elevators, since the servos are staggered in the fuse I had to mount the servo arms opposite on each side. I wasn't crazy about the design, but I am able to manually get the halves almost perfect without a matchbox, and I dont have to reverse them.

[mpope1]

Almost finished, lots of little things left to do. I weighed it with 11s 5000's , I will run 12s, I still need a rudder servo. My AUW is 17.4 lbs. I think I should be around 18.5 lbs. when I have it complete. Plane is really nice! Can't wait to get it together, hopfully maiden it sometime next month.

[mpope1]

Final AUW is 19 lbs. , with the flight packs mounted behind the firewall it balances at the reconmended c.g. which seems to be about right(I never trust the china manuals). Gonna get some run up tests on the motor and do some taxi tests. I will probably redo my rudder pull pull set up, I only had thin wire laying around and I wouldn't trust it on a plane this size.

[chalmrast]

Great, sounds like you're ready for a maiden... this week??? :)

[mpope1]

Not this week, I want to order new batteries cause mine are getting old. I ran some numbers on the motor(with Bob Ruff's 12s xps 30c's). About 3100 watts/65 amps. That was with a 22x12 apc e prop. Most other guys are running a 25x12.5 apc and getting around 3600 watts/88 amps. I will run to hacker this week and get some larger props, then order some batteris. Its still so hot here so I am not in any rush to fly, just wanted to get the build over with. All in all its a great bang for the buck!

[NumbSkull]

Cant wait to hear the flight report.

Will you be able to post any video?

I've been wanting a 50cc Edge for a while, and like you, have almost all the gear on hand to get it flying. At this price, it would be silly NOT to pick one up!!! :D

[chalmrast]

We'll make sure & get some good video!

[mpope1]

We will get some video soon, I snapped a pix witht the stickers and my wife posing next to it. She has put up with me for the last 10 days at the dining room table working on this plane. I may swap my pull pull wires for thicker wire before the first flight, just have to make a tray for the flight packs with some velcro straps and p/u a receiver 2 cell lipo and its done.

[chalmrast]

Your wife looks so thrilled.......

[lashmett75]

Your wife looks so thrilled.......


Funny...thats how my Gf looks everytime I work on a new plane.

Mike,

Looks like you need a 4-5" spinner huh? Looks good buddy. We still on for thurs am on the RV-4. Pretty much done. will post pics of her on the thread.

James

[mpope1]

Yeah still on, I guess early in the a.m. Your right I need a 4" spinner, I am using the one that came witht the rv-4 for now. I will bring my rv-4 so we can compare the 2 for balance and set up.

[chalmrast]

Funny...thats how my Gf looks everytime I work on a new plane.



That's exactly what I was going to say about my wife too...... :) :)

I think most RC-wives have that "look."

Wonder how bad this could be????

$14.00 Polished Aluminum 4" Spinner. Shipping is $6-$7...

http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=9145



Also, looks like HC just got some 6S-5000 30C batteries in...

http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=9518

[mpope1]

Chad, I will probably wait on the spinner. I am a big fan of tru-turns and also want to look into carbon fiber. The one thats on there will do for now. I am waiting for the epoxy to dry on the battery tray. I basically took some ply, made 2 separate mounts with velcro and spaced them out for 2 6s packs to lay right next to each other. This will keep it light, and open for cooling. I put 5 large holes in firewall right in front of the lipo's. I will run 2 big velcro straps to secure them in place. You can see how much room is in there with that brick sitting on them. I can also fit 4 smaller 6s packs to run more mah's, I would like to get into some Imac competitions, thats where I would need lots of mah,s! I kept the tray long enough so I can slide the packs around to mess with the c.g.

[chalmrast]

hhmmmm.... let's hope that's not some sort of predictor of flight performance!!!!!

[mpope1]

LOL...Thats a good one Chad.

[grimgrinnin]

Looks great!
Gonna have it at FEAR?

[mpope1]

Still working on trying to get the time off for fear. Thinking about maidening next weekend.

[mpope1]

Chad I did some taxi testing in front of my house tonight, handles great on the ground. No problem with the slight wheel camber. I was using some beat up batteries(about 1700 watts) and it was pulling it around nicely. I ordered a 24x12 for the maiden. I just have to order some batteries next week and I am ready to go! Balance is right on with them right behind the fire wall.

[chalmrast]

Just let me know the time & place & I'll be there with cameras in hand!

[NumbSkull]

I've had a few planes with wheel camber like that. After a handful of flights (more specifically... landings) the camber had relaxed.

Cant wait to hear the flight report!

[lashmett75]

Just let me know the time & place & I'll be there with cameras in hand!



Me too. I wanna be there as well.

James

[mike2663]

Subscribed.

[Cessna_Flyer]

Sweet! nice job! Who makes this plane?

[mpope1]

Don't know exactly who its made by, but you can check out airshow r/c. Vertigo is the name, never heard of them before. Just waiting on a prop and batteries and I should have a flight report real soon!

[chalmrast]

http://airshowrc.com/edge_540_t.html

[wingspan100]

http://airshowrc.com/edge_540_t.html
Thanks for catching that one fellas!
Richard

[Cessna_Flyer]

Ok. Thanks guys! I just placed a order for one!

[mpope1]

You wont be disappointed, lots of plane for the money. You may be interested in some of the mods in my thread, otherwise its a straight foward build. Still shooting for this weekend, my batteries are on the way but I dont think they will get here in time. I will check into maybe borrowing some(Chad) in exchange for a nice bottle of wine :)

[Cessna_Flyer]

alright thanks! I cant wait!

[chalmrast]

alright thanks! I cant wait!

N810RG, if you're new to RC, as your profile states, this is not the plane for you. It appears you are a builder of full-scale aircraft & a pilot. Unfortunately this does not translate as well as you might think to successfully flying RC planes.

Since you stated in another post that you are located in the Phoenix area, I invite you to come out to our field some weekend at the Gilbert Rodeo grounds. We have airline pilots and a fellow RV builder in our club. Perhaps they can get you started in the right direction!


Chad

[mpope1]

I am adding an extra wing bolt, this one will be epoxied in the wing and I will use a wing nut inside the fuse to secure it. I wasn't crazy about where I had to mount it but it will work. You can see the difference in size compared to the original one. Probably not necessary, but it will give me piece of mind that the wings dont fall off in flight! Was hoping to maiden on Sunday morning, but I just got a notification from the AMA that our airspace will be shut dow from 6 pm Sat. until 9:45 am Sunday. I guess the pres. is coming to town.

[mpope1]

Ready to go, minus the 4"spinner and pilot head. Hopefully get a maiden in this weekend!

[chalmrast]

Ready to go, minus the 4"spinner and pilot head. Hopefully get a maiden in this weekend!.

Mike,

Looks great! Nice to see some outside pictures!

[chalmrast]

I didn't realize the wings were so high on the fuse but that's the way they are on the real deal. Perhaps you should cut some windows in yours on the sides & bottom like the real thing!

[Firefly T-67]

Ready to go, minus the 4"spinner and pilot head. Hopefully get a maiden in this weekend!

Looking good. I have been following your thread with interest. Planning on my first giant scale and this presents a really cost effective option. Good luck with the maiden flight.

[mpope1]

Nice pix Chad!

[mike2663]

Looking good. Have a great test hop.
Mike

[chalmrast]

I've got two planes in line in front of this one. Plus I need to save some $$ for the rest of the components. I have the new Hacker A60-18L but I need the ESC, Servos, and receiver.

Haven't decided what way to go on the servos yet. Many have good results with the HD servos from Hobbycity / Troybuilt / Wildhare. I have yet to hear / read anything bad about the Hobbico high torque, MG, digital servos. Since I won't be flying this thing like pro 3D hucker I wonder if I really need $90 servos

[mpope1]

Got the spinner and pilot. Spinner is a 4" from extreme flight. Real nice, aluminum back plate with adapters only $15 bucks. Still seems a bit small for the cowling, but thats the biggest they had.

[chalmrast]

Looks Good! Should've ordered 2 pilots! It is a trainer!

[mpope1]

I know! But there $50 a pop!

[chalmrast]

I guess it needs a 4-1/4" spinner?

[Hilde]

What did the RTF weight end up at?

Hilde

[mpope1]

Its right at 19 lbs. with 2 6s 5000 mah lipos.

[Hilde]

Thanks, that’s what I would expect for the size.

I saw 15lbs mentioned earlier and that sounded low.

Hilde

[mpope1]

Was talking with a friend at the field and he mentioned that people are using 2 receiver packs and plugging one into the battery port of the receiver, and the other into an open channel to increase the amperage especially on the bigger planes with high torque servos. Thought it was a good idea and adds that redundancy factor. I am gonna run 2 2s 2000 mah lipos, with 2 castle creations bec's regulated to 6v. I just added another switch, works great!

[mpope1]

Got the maiden flight in this morning. C.G. was at 4 1/2 " from the leading edge. I think the manual has it at 3.88" but that seems to far foward. The balance was good, but I think there is to much up-thrust. Under power it wants to climb, power off it drops nicely! I will shim it for more down and that should cure the problem. Power was incredible little over 4000 watts 75 amps(which I think I must have read wrong off the meter) should be around 85 amps. I didnt fly very long, kept it very tame- maybe 3-4 min. batteries were at 24.45 volts(they were rhino 6s 4900 mah that I borrowed for the maiden). Video should be up soon, thankyou Chad for the video and batteries!

[SunDevilPilot]

Congratulations. Bring it back out Tuesday so I can see it fly!

Phil

[chalmrast]

Here are the still shots from this morning's maiden!

[chalmrast]

Video will be later on today... I've got to go run some errands...

[MattinAZ]

Congrats Mike! She looks real good.

Matt

[mpope1]

Thanks Matt, Chad the pix look great !!!

[wingspan100]

Congratulations Mike!
How exciting!
Wish I could have been there to see her break gravity.
Looks great, waiting for the video, thanks Chad!

[grimgrinnin]

Congrats Mike - looks great!
You need to fly her in IMAC so I'm not the only one with an electric :D

[chalmrast]

Video is up now in the Videos section..

I'll upload it to Vimeo so it can be posted anywhere but lately Vimeo's been taking a while to process videos...

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1096500#post12894727

[mpope1]

Thanks Chad, kinda of boring.... I won't air it out until I feel good about the thrust angle. I reset it with more down and I think that will do the trick! Thankyou for waiting until 10 a.m. and 100 degrees thanks to the Obama airspace shutdown :mad:

[chalmrast]

No problem! I like flying out at the AMA field every once and a while....

[mpope1]

Gonna replace the aluminum wing tube with a carbon fiber from Graph tech rc. The tube is 1" thick by 26". They custom cut the length at no extra charge! http://www.graphtechrcshop.com/product.sc?productId=124&categoryId=25

[muidaq]

How much weight do you expect to save with the CF?

[mpope1]

Not much, but I am not crazy about the aluminum tube. Had one in a 70"yak that would bend a bit under stress. This one probably won't, but I want to be able to beat on it and not have to worry.

[FlyBoyTha1]

That's Looking Pretty Huge Mike :D

[chalmrast]

Some pics from today's flight......

Working on video.

[mpope1]

Thanks for the video Chad and Tei-kei! Looks great! Music is choppy, this is a song I wrote before I got into r/c planes. Ironically it was called fly... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtqP9F8c1fw&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ercgroups%2Ecom%2Fforums%2F showthread%2Ephp%3Ft%3D859010%26page%3D28&feature=player_embedded

[chalmrast]

Well my video editor froze and I lost the entire thing... even though I saved the project before I published it.

Shouldn't take long to redo it..... perhaps tomorrow...

[mpope1]

Chad I wouldn't worry about it, for the 3rd flight it wasn't bad. When I get more used to it maybe we can do another one :D . Thanx again!!!

[chalmrast]

If you watch closer, you'll notice the music skips only when the scene changes. What happened was when I put the song in the video I had to trim some of the clips because the video was a little longer than the song. When you trim the video it trims the audio as well, even imported audio.

But, I noticed this and thought I fixed it.....

[wingspan100]

Thanks for the video Chad and Tei-kei! Looks great! Music is choppy, this is a song I wrote before I got into r/c planes. Ironically it was called fly... [/url]


Awesome! Thanks, Mike! :D

[mpope1]

Richard, got a few flights in yesterday. Had a couple of bouncy landings(my bad), I think I am gonna swap out the landing gear to c.f. , probably the tail wheel also. Plane flies real nice, I am starting to get more used to it. Have another set of flight packs coming, this way I can get more time at the field flying, and not charging!

[chalmrast]

I just tried to re-edit the video again and the music still skips in places... at the transitions.

Can figure out why. I'll try again and use different transitions.

I also think I'll upload the raw video file to You Tube.....

Chad

[mpope1]

Chad, maybe we will do another vid soon, I am getting used to the plane, just having difficulty landing. There was no wind the other day. I think I am so used to landing in a head wind I was mentally having issues. The landing gear is showing wear(hair line cracks on the bend off the airframe). I am gonna measure what I need and order some c.f. Mostly due to a couple of bouncy landings! Also have to replace the tailwheel, the one I am using is to light for the air frame(aluminum keeps bending), Flying though is getting better. I still have to dial out some pitch issues.

[chalmrast]

Here is the raw video from today...

Unfortunately I taped over the takeoff so we join Mike mid-flight....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHTcGFcVDQo

[mpope1]

Chad you taped over the flaperon take off!! lol It does look clearer you were right! Thanx

[chalmrast]

Well, when I had you tape James & I, I didn't rewind the tape far enough and it went over the first part of the stuff I taped for you.

Time to get a new tape!

[hondaboy92hatch]

Hi all,
I am not a 3d fier, but I was wondering what would be a good 10s motor combo for this plane. Thanks in advance.

Joe

[mpope1]

I know you said you were interested in the scorpion motor, I am not familiar with them, I am a hacker guy. For sport flying you would probably want a motor that is capable of 2500-3000 watts. The plane would be a little less weight on 10s, so you would be around 150watts per lb.

[chalmrast]

Hondaboy,

I'd go with one of the new 55mm series Scorpions. I don't have the most recent Scorpion calc here on my work computer (on my lunch break now!) otherwise I'd check it out for you.

I think the 5535-160 would work well on 10S. You'll want to prop it for 2700-3000 watts for pattern flying.

You might be able to go with one of the 5525 series and save yourself $60.00

The 5525-225 is a 2975 watt motor and weighs 10oz less than the motor Mike is using.

[mpope1]

Got some flights in today, on the last flight a young kid had a dead stick, I taxied off the runway, he slammed into the side of the edge like a missile. Fuse is damaged real bad, probably fixable, but the kids dad said he would pay for a new one so I took him up on it! Luckily the batteries and electronics were untouched... :)

[grimgrinnin]

Ouch! Awesome that the Dad is buying a new one.