Air Hogs Aero Ace: The most fun I have had with RC in months!

[Smokescreen38]

On my lunch break yesterday I picked up one of the new Air Hogs Aero Aces and I have yet to wipe this stupid grin off of my face.. ( :D <--see?) Its a typically simple Air Hogs offering in that it uses the thrust differential style steering... but dont be fooled. This thing rocks.

This little bipe comes with a built in LiPo and because of its lightweight and tiny size (I think the wingspan is about 8") it can almost be flown in your living room! I have been flying this in the very obstacle filled space of my backyard and have found it to be extremely manuverable!!

The steering is well tuned so that it steers sharply but doesn't lose altitude. The little (pager?) motors hum along nicely and they each have a heat-sink which will hopefully mean a long life.. but they certainly make more than enough power.

The run times for this sort of "toy" are stunning. The box advertises ten minutes.. and I would say that this is right if you flew at high throttle settings but the plane actually flies best if you keep the throttle stick at about 1/4 - 1/3. I have been shocked at what I can bounce thisthing off of and still have it just fly away from it. I hit a branch, then off the trunk, then off of the tail of my very confused dog and still recovered from about one foot off the ground!

One down side is that the charger is built into the (nice looking) transmitter. I Imagine that this will be hard on the 6 AA's but I have done about five or six charges now with no signs of weakening.

I am also skeptical about the range of the radio. The Tx antenna is quite short... but its just not that kind of plane. You would probably speck it out at 200 feet! :p

Its just so smile inducing to see this tiny little bipe wandering around your back yard. I cannot reccomend it strongly enough. $30 at Toys R Us...

[MustangP51]

Can we see some pictures?

[StCalvin]

The Indoor/micro forums has a long thread on this one,.

[Smokescreen38]

http://www.rcgroups.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=27862&sort=1&cat=500&page=1

http://www.rcgroups.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=27861&sort=1&cat=500&page=1

It comes with some colorful stickers that I opted to leave off. They were a bit childish ;)

[im-sad]

Ur right, Its a blast to fly, A freind likes to bring one to the field and we all take turns trying to land it on our hands :D.

[eran_k]

is there a place to get on-line?

[Leo L]

I believe RCUniverse has a long thread on this plane. You are right that it is a blast to fly, especially considering its size and cost. I initially bought one for my wife, but my 24 year old son, who never flew RC, tried it and there was no getting it away from him. So I bought a second one for my wife. However, i decided that it makes a great pass-time while I'm waiting for my batteries to charge, so I took it away from her and ended up buying a third one for her. So we are now a three AeroAce family. I think that this little plane is a great way to introduce someone to this fun hobby, yet it is also a great paasstime for more experienced flyers, at work during lunch break, just in the back yard when wind and time permit, etc.

Hope that you enjoy your AeroAce as much as my family is enjoying ours.

[Gomless]

You can get 'em online at (Edited - removed link)

Todd pointed out I had the wrong plane - thanks Todd!
There is another Airhog plane at ToysRUs called the Defender, but it's NOT the same thing - probably not near as good a flyer as the Aero Ace - not a bipe, either.

Steffen

[Matt D.]

How slow does it fly?
Thanks,
Matt

[savydad]

gomless, that link is for the defender plane, nowhere near what this plane is...amazon/toysrus doesn't have it listed on their site yet. Only thing I can think of is to search for the x-twin online, or even the aeroace on ebay. Being in Israel, you might not be able to get one shipped for cheap. I think the x-twin coming from europe would be cheaper, and it's the same plane. Ask in the thread smokescreen linked, someone should be able to help you out.

Todd

[Smokescreen38]

How slow does it fly?
Thanks,
Matt


It flies more than slow enough to fly in a back yard.. I would say that its just slightly faster than walking speed.

I have found that a little nose weight makes it fly more smoothly but might add another 1/2 mph or so to its airspeed.

[Smokescreen38]

I have heard that some people have successfully modded up the Defender (with their own gear) and made it into a pretty decent flyer... but its not the same thing. IIRC it comes with a *yawn* NiMH battery. ;)

[Tres Wright]

I have one as well, and at 30 bucks it's got to be the best value in R/C. Mine didn't fly worth a darn out of the box, but with some tweaking it flies excellent now. I had to add a 1/2" screw to the nose for some nose weight (also helps to protect it when it bounces into something). I also had to put a tiny bit of down elevator and right rudder trim in, and had to remove the left motor, reposition it and glue it back in place (both motors should angle slightly). Now it gently climbs under throttle, maintains level flight at half throttle and gently descends at low throttle. Turns take about a 10' diameter. I time all flights and consistently get 12 minutes outdoors. The one drawback, and it's a big one, is the range is about 60' max. Every single flight I fly it out of range several times and have to stick the TX antenna up over my head to regain control. It is difficult to keep it within 60'! In the below thread some people have modded their TX to add two more cells to increase range, I'm going to have to try that.

There is a giant thread of mod's to these here:

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=401484

[Smokescreen38]

Yikes.

I just removed the lower wing as so many have reccomended in the other threads... and it climbs no matter what you do!

You cant steer without throttle.. you cant throttle without climbing :(

Technically speaking, it flies even better than it did before though.

What's the best solution to this problem? Adding weight sounds like a bad idea.

[oldcoot88]

Hi all

As a result of this thread, i went out to Toys be Us and bought one of these little buggers. Haven't had a chance to fly it yet because of high wind. Being a retired electronics geek, i had to investigate the Tx unit a little bit.

With the unit off and the charging cord disconnected from the plane, there is about 100 microamps of current being drained from the batteries. I took the reading at every cell, and each one shows the same drain. This is equivalent to a slow leak in a tire, and will certainly flatten the cells over time. So i gotta take the batteries out except when using the unit, sort of a PITA. Dunno if this is a fluke of this particular unit or if they're all that way, but it'd be worthwhile to check 'em for sure.

I made a little insert consisting of two thin brass strips stuck on either side of an insulating strip, to insert at the end of each cell, which breaks the circuit. Connecting the ammeter (milliameter in this case) to the strips re-makes the circuit to give the reading.

Will submit flight reports as the weather gods permit.

Bill(oldcoot)

[Smokescreen38]

Whoa. Good tip about removing the batteries! About how long would it take for a fresh set of typical AAs be completely depleted at this rate?

Have you had a chance to fly yet?

[Smokescreen38]

I had recently cut the lower wings off and I was impressed by its new found speed and climbing ability but this made it less flyable in the small open area in my back yard... so I tried attaching the lower wings as extensions of the top wings... and it strangely seems to climb even more readily and it does glide better.. but there is still no setting low enough to just put around.. .

So I glued the wings back on and I am thrilled with it all over again. The lower wings basically just allow it to make lift at a lower speed while adding enough weight/drag to allow for steady cruising w/out climb.

This is the greatest toy I have come across in as long as I can remember. If only these were around when I was a kid!

[oldcoot88]

Howdy Smoke

Yup i just got back from flying it (along with my other planes) and grinning from ear to ear. The little bugger flies surprizingly well right out of the box. It's a little 'porpoisy' between power off and the first throttle setting and acts like it might need a little bit more nose weight. Didn't time it, but duration felt like about 10 minutes. Very nice. Then the wind came up.

The 100 microamps (1/10 milliamp) is not a big drain, and would probably take a few weeks to pull the cells down. I just don't like the idea of *any* drain when something's turned off.

Bill(oc)

[poulsbobill]

Here is a video of the aeroace off my deck...what a kick it has been.

aeroace ( http://www.rcgroups.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=25111&sort=1&cat=fav&page=1)

I have 2, a mono (self made...just pull the lower wing off) and a bipe. The mono actually flies better than the bipe in wind and lasts longer with the battery. To slow it down i soldered homemade 2.4 ohm resistors in line with the motors so it will slowly sink on lowest throttle setting. Otherwise it just climbs and climbs.

Best $30 i ever spent in r/c.

Bill

[houfek]

And this wonder toy is available online at.............???
I can't find it anywhere....

[houfek]

Ahhhh......nevermind......found it.

http://flyingtoystore.com/

[JamesD]

Hi all

So i gotta take the batteries out except when using the unit, sort of a PITA

Bill(oldcoot)

Do you have to remove all batteries, or is just one enough?

James

[JamesD]

Sounded like way too much fun, so I went out & got one. Charged it up, and went out to the parking lot, at night. There was enough light for a good first test session. Bounced off a few cars, and spun in once, no damage.

Mine wants to climb too much. I tried a little "down" elevator trim, but that didn't seem to make much difference. May have to add a little weight to the nose.

Still it was grin all the way!

Somewhere I saw a question about the different channels. I spent a while in the store looking at the boxes, and there IS a way to tell on the box what model & channel is inside. The channel (A, B or C) is on the front of the box under the photo of the tx. And on the bottom front, there are little photos of all 6 models, with a checked checkbox next to the one inside. Bigger photos of each one are on the back.

James

[Tram]

Hmm.. I may have to check one of these out.. :)

[oldcoot88]

JamesD:

I take all the batteries out since they're not all in series. With some removed, the remaining ones still show the same drain.

Bill(oc)

[Bfly]

Just bought mine at ToysRUs. Now the delimma... do I put it under the tree, or is a gift to my self?

[TheLost]

Just bought mine at ToysRUs. Now the delimma... do I put it under the tree, or is a gift to my self?

:) .. My wife hid the one we bought for the 9 year old.. I kept picking up the box and saying.. 'He won't like it, i better just have it' and 'I should test it before xmas'... :p

~Brian

[Block]

I'm in the same boat. My wife has it hidden in our closet for the kids, but I don't think they'll use it much anyhow...


Just bought mine at ToysRUs. Now the delimma... do I put it under the tree, or is a gift to my self?

[kansascloud]

I just had to try one after reading everyones post. I've just come in after playing with mine for about an hour. My first attempt at flight was with the airplane bone stock and a 15mph wind. Lets just say it wasn't great but I could definently tell it had potential. :) I already knew enough from the information you guys had posted here to know that it was probably going to need a little down elevator and a little weight on the nose.

I used my exacto to free up the elevator, bent it down a bit and taped a dime to the nose. Then back out into the 15mph wind and 23 degree temps. (brrrrrr) :D

This isn't the most fun I've every had flyin RC but it is kind of a kick and definently hard to beat for 30 bucks, and oh what potential the electronics have for some really neat tissue and balsa flyers! :)

I flew one complete charge out of the airplane without landing. I think I probably got up to about 75 feet high. It was getting kicked around by the wind a bunch but remained very controllable. I cut the next flight short do to frozen fingers but I was in the air a good 10 minutes on that flight.

I believe this airplane has great potential for some fun indoor flying this winter. I am going to build a little landing gear for it and see if I can ROG off the gym floor? Just one note. The dime I attached to the front is probably too much weight. I was about right considering the ridiculous wind I was flying in, but it made it pretty fast. I think about half the weight of a dime would be about right in calm conditions. I'll try to make my new landing gear about that heavy and ditch the weight.

Mike

Here a few photos.

[t-turley]

I just bought one myself...amazing how such a "toy" can grab the imagination of us so-called grownups. :)

Tony Turley

[Smokescreen38]

I am so glad to see that you guys are enjoying ours as much as I am mine.

Any guesses as to motor life? Has anyone used one up yet? What did you replace it with?

I have some microsizer motors kicking around.. how do they compare?

[Martin Hunter]

Man, I wish we could find these up here in Canada. I'm playing the waiting game.

Martin

[ghee-grose]

Hmm.. I may have to check one of these out.. :)


Tram, I saw them at Toys-R-Us in Florence a couple weeks ago. They're like $25 or so.

[thomer]

I picked one up at my local Toys R Us for $30. What a blast! I've doinked mine into walls, trees, cars, ground at least 40 times so far, and not even a scratch! It is so light, there is no damage when it hits hard on impact. EPP and lipo battery is what sold me on this little guy.

It's a hoot to fly. Too fast to fly in my house, so I just fly it in the front yard. It's a better flyer than the Wattage Micro Flyer, IMO. It does have a porpoising effect that I was able to fix with a slight steering trim adjustment, and moving the elevator tabs in a downward position. It flies even better with a paper clip taped on to the nose. It does need a little bit of nose weight to fly better as it flies tail heavy out of the box.

2nd best $30 I ever spent on a plane. Best $30 was my Ace R/C Simple 400.

[Tram]

I guess I should have swung by WeBToys today, but I didn't.. I'll throw it on the Crimmus list.. :)

[e-goose]

I'd like to get an Aero Ace, but I want to buy more than one battery pack for the plane I get so I can get as close to continuous fly time as possible. If I can't charge one set of batteries while I'm flying, then I would have to wait for the entire charge period to fly the plane again. My six and nine year old sons would definitely get very bored waiting around for batteries to charge. Does anyone know if you can get an extra battery pack for this plane?

[thomer]

It looks like you would have to cut the plane to take the battery out. The charge jack, on/off switch, and battery all look to be connected together. The thing really can fly for about 10 minutes on a single charge, and it only takes about 15 minutes to charge it up. Bring some Guillows balsa planes for them to toss around while the batteries are charging.

[MKMotorsport]

I am so glad to see that you guys are enjoying ours as much as I am mine.

Any guesses as to motor life? Has anyone used one up yet? What did you replace it with?

I have some microsizer motors kicking around.. how do they compare?


the motor is coreless.. ive researched some similar type motors from Asian suppliers and most are rated in the 500-600 hour range (avg), some alot more... :eek: Thats a heck of alot of 10 minute aero ace flights.

the micro car motors are likely too high a rpm, not enough torque to swing the prop.

I have one aeroace with nearly 100 full 10-12 minute flights- no signs of slowing down yet..

[EpowerFan]

Wow, coreless motors and a little lipo battery.. i'm getting one tomorrow.

1 for my brother/nephew for Christmas, and maybe a spare ;) I checked with my local ToysRus, and they have em for $29.

Martin, that link on p. 2 of this thread for flyingtoystore.com might be a possible ship to canada for a little more.. Odd but i couldn't find on the airhogs.com site a list distributors or 'where to buy'.

[Smokescreen38]

the motor is coreless.. ive researched some similar type motors from Asian suppliers and most are rated in the 500-600 hour range (avg), some alot more... :eek: Thats a heck of alot of 10 minute aero ace flights.

the micro car motors are likely too high a rpm, not enough torque to swing the prop.

I have one aeroace with nearly 100 full 10-12 minute flights- no signs of slowing down yet..

Thanks.. this is good to know.

I am detecting that one of my motors is working a little harder than the other...as it tends to turn a bit to the left and has to be compensated for by rudder trim. This also shows up when I run the motor up and letting off the throttle. The "harder working" motor spins more freely-- and spins a bit longer off power. Hmmm... Any ideas on how to fix this? some kind of lube perhaps?

[Smokescreen38]

BTW, does anyone else find that the trim on the Tx just messes the plane up? When I tried to adjust for this motor issue, it merely made it worse, no matter which way I turned the knob. Basically, the plane will only fly with the trim in the middle. :confused:

[rutat]

Airhogs parent co. - Spinmaster lists distributors, but alas, not specifically for the AeroAce. http://www.spinmaster.com/spinHq/customerCare/customerCareAvailability.jsp

Martin, they are not available in Canada. No idea why. Maybe my next trip north I oughta bring a couple extras up? :)

[TheLost]

Ok.. i explain this to me.

I'll have a brand new 'bling-bling' TREX450 XL under the tree this year... But im more excited to play with the kids little aeroace.

I think i have a case of Todd Long's HobbyPox (http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4682059&postcount=7).

~Brian

[rutat]

You are twisted man. But I can help - send me the Trex 450. I'll send you a SECOND AeroAce. :)

[jkruta]

Listen to the "Beat" made by the different musical pitches of the two motors. Adjust the TX trim until it is (or almost) eliminated. The motors should then be turning at the same rpm. Works for me.
Jim K.

[thomer]

Aero Ace vs. Trex? No contest!!!

Everytime I crash my Aero Ace, I laugh. :D
Evertime I crash my Trex I curse. :censored:

When I fly my Ace it brings a smile to my face. :)
Flying the Trex makes my face look like I'm constipated. :o

Best thing about the Ace......it's got no stinkin' Align swashplate!!!!!!!!! :p

[TheLost]

Well.. i think it boils down to the fact that i have other Heli's... I don't have an AeroAce :p.

[DaJudge]

After reading so many posts about the AeroAce, I ran by Toys-R-Us on my way home from work yesterday. They had 6-7 of them in stock.

The power system on these little buggers is more than adequate and the little Tx/charger is pretty nice for a $30 system.

My one and only problem has been porpoising. Out of the box, it was really awful. So, I adjusted the elevator trim tabs down and stuck a plastic push-pin in the nose. Not quite as bad, but still porpoising like Flipper. :confused:

Any ideas to help solve this?

[MKMotorsport]

My one and only problem has been porpoising. Out of the box, it was really awful. So, I adjusted the elevator trim tabs down and stuck a plastic push-pin in the nose. Not quite as bad, but still porpoising like Flipper. :confused:

Any ideas to help solve this?


lay off the throttle :D mine does this too if you excessively fly at higher throttle settings. I have two- the one needed significant down elevator trim to fly level, the other was perfect. I think the differences are due to where the battery gets placed when they glue these things together. i've had both of mine apart, and the cell placement was slightly different- accounting for the different flying characteristics.

[DaJudge]

lay off the throttle :D mine does this too if you excessively fly at higher throttle settings.


I forgot to mention that I tried that too (this afternoon), giving it just enough juice to keep it aloft. That does decrease the porpoise effect some, but doesn't eliminate it.

I'm beginning to suspect that the way in which the motors are angled (props point slightly down toward the rear) might have something to do with it.

[thomer]

I put a small screw in the nose for nose weight and some down elevator tabs, and mine flies perfectly. I had the porpoising effect as well, but the nose weight helped out tremendously.

[helifann]

Got mine today,flew great out of the box!!! Picked it up at toys r us,last one. There was an older gent walking around w one in his hand, i could tell he was a RC addict like me. I fly helis and have just about every one,now ive picked up a slow-stick and the aeroace,what a habit,worse then drugs!!!

[Tram]

Well, looks like I have to wait until 12/25/05 to open it.. :) I heard I was getting one.. :)

[MonkeySee]

Well, looks like I have to wait until 12/25/05 to open it.. :) I heard I was getting one.. :)
I bought one for my two boys and in the name of "testing and setting up" I have been flying them around the office. I haven't read all this thread yet but I will add that I had to add two servo screws to the nose of mine to get them to fly right. Otherwise they'd porpus all over the place. Now they glide really nice.
I guess I'm going to have to buy me one of my own after Christmas time now.

[t-turley]

I flew mine for the first time tonight under the light of a large mercury vapor lamp on our garage. Bitterly cold but with no wind, depth perception was kinda screwy on the fringes of the light. I managed to find quite a few tree trunks & limbs, the flag pole, garage doors, and even bounced it off the garage roof once. What a hoot!

Tony Turley

[Gil]

What's the best way to increase range of Aeroace transmitter...or receiver ?

Removing internal throttle spring (easy) makes flying more relaxing.

[poulsbobill]

You can pull the tail assembly off and the antenna is there. Solder on another 35cm of light gauge wire and my distance has doubled.

Bill

[Charles in Indy]

Where do you put the added 35 cm antenna? Just let it hang down from the tail?

Charles

[kansascloud]

What's the best way to increase range of Aeroace transmitter...or receiver ?

Removing internal throttle spring (easy) makes flying more relaxing.


Thats a great tip!

[GoatZilla]

You know, at a couple of ounces, one of these could easily be a payload for a larger parkflyer.

I have visions of strapping one of these to the underside of my Slo-V, flying it really high up, and then releasing it...

[sideburn]

is it better than a watt-age rookie?

[thomer]

Don't know about the Rookie, but it flies better than the Micro Flyer

[poulsbobill]

Where do you put the added 35 cm antenna? Just let it hang down from the tail?

CharlesI solder it on at the tail ( it hangs out about a 1/2" from the boom)and put a piece of tape over it on the elevator to add support and yes it hangs just off the back of the tail.

Bill

[Tram]

Hey guys-

I recently picked up a few of these... I got myself one and two for two of my cousins, well.. We've decided we can't just get 2 of the boys airplanes, so the other 2 have to have airplanes to..

Went back to TRU today and they are.... ALL GONE...

Does anyone know where I can pick up some of these on the net?

[GoatZilla]

Oh man. I finally picked one of these up tonight.

Greatest.toy.evar.

It's even got authentic get-your-pole-out-because-it's-stuck-in-the-tree action. What more could you ask for?

[ncb]

I've been in Little Rock Arkansas babysitting an airplane going through a big inspection and bored out of my mind. So last night I decided to take a trip to Toys-R-Us. They had 20 of them on the shelf so I bought two of them. I flew one in the parking garage of the hotel. What a blast it was. Thanks for all the info on this plane.

[SaMx]

Is it just me, or are there NONE of these an E-bay at all? Where do you get them online.

[rutat]

I had to try 4 TRU stores. Last one had JUST got a shipment in. I raced over to find about 18 on the shelf . Was really hard not to scoop them all and eBay them. :)

[Bfly]

I coudn't stand it. I finally reasoned a purpose to buy one for myself, in addition to the one under the Christmas tree. I'll fly mine in the presence of my little girl to gauge her interest in having her own plane. If she's not interested, I can always take the other one back.
That will be hard to do, though. This thing is cool! Sounds like two mosquitos taped to the wing.
Now, if I could only remember to watch for my little girl's reaction when I'm flying it...

[MKMotorsport]

is it better than a watt-age rookie?


JMHO, the aero-ace blows the doors off the rookie/micro flyer... no silly actuator wires to fail and cause the rudder to stop working. from what ive seen, its overall flight characteristics are better- I know, go figure, I'd have never guessed either a Toy's R Us toy being better than something supposedly "hobby quality"

[Bilbobaker]

Is it just me, or are there NONE of these an E-bay at all? Where do you get them online.
I saw one on ebay but it was marked up to $45 and the shipping was high too.
Bill
I'll check after work and see how many are left at our Toys R us and buy them but you have to pay the exact shipping.
They are $29.99 and shipping will be from zip 97424 so you can calculate.
I don't really know if they have any more left but I will stop after work today. 3:00 pm pacific standard time here in western Oregon.
Don't know if they will make it by Christmas or not.
Bill

[frvrngn]

They are getting more in pretty regularly at most TRU. My local one was out for only a few days. I went back 2 days ago and they had 10 on the shelf! Of course I "had" to buy two more :) I now have 3 of these little guys. One of each channel so we can get 3 airborne at once. Just be sure to check them out as soon as you get home. I had to take 2 back immediately, 1 for bad range and 1 had a bum motor.

[Bilbobaker]

Well I stopped at TRU tonight and they were sold out.
Pretty popular rc package.
Bill

[RMac]

I got one for my son for his birthday. It has been riden hard and put away dirty.It survived the first day, numerous crashes inside due to rain outside, a broken tip of the antenna, the props have taken chunks of the foam out on the lower wings due to the top wing flexing down , or the supports weakening with the repeated crashes into the walls. I called the number on the box and they said spare parts would be available. I would like to have a spare set of the horizontal and vertical stabilizer, any ideas where I could get foam that thin for replacement pieces. A fun little plane.

[m00se]

My almost-5-year-old son got an Aero Ace for Christmas. He LOVES it. We usually fly it in front of the house. So far he's "landed" on the neighbor's roof once, the other neighbor's tree once, and my tree about three times. The neighborhood cats will never be the same. He likes to buzz them :D

I'm really impressed by how well this plane flies. But... this one turns left with the steering trim centered. Even with the trim all the way right it still bears left (and won't turn right with that much right-trim). I cut the rudder and elevator surfaces. With alot of right rudder and some right roll from the elevator, and a little right steering, I can get the circle to be less severe and the plane is much more flyable. Are they all like this or does this one have a problem?

[Tram]

I am having a blast with ours..

We bought 6 and gave them out to members of the family for Crimmus.. We're talking about getting 4 more.. :)

My mom, sister and brother-in-law who have never TOUCHED an r/c airplane all flew them in a matter of minutes..

This is the best $30 you will EVER spend in this hobby..

[HarleyDog]

If it seems to always want to turn left or right or more one way then the other, and the trim doesn't seem to help, try adjusting the motors left or right to compensate. They are just barely glued on with contact glue and are easy to adjust. But sometimes one motor just runs better then the other.

[Bigster]

You read my mind, HarleyDog. I was just browsing here because I have that exact problem. Didn't know if it's common, or what. Might take the sucker back to TRU - as soon as they get more in! :rolleyes:

[Flyboy03051]

I think my Aero Ace motors needs to be replaced. A have several AA's and they fly great. Now my orginal AA with full battery charge will just barely climg even with full throttle.

Has anyone found a replaced thier motors and found a place to buy good replacement motor?

[Bilbobaker]

m00se
I think they all tend to fly that way.
You can adjust the motors and rudder trim to kind of compensate.
I just got used to the way they fly and I bump the tx right turn stick every now and then to correct it.
Bill

[Bigster]

Mine did not start in this condition (turns left despite trim) but developed it after 4-5 flights. My neighbor's flies nice and straight.

[m00se]

I think my issue is both motor alignment and one motor stronger than the other. It's OK though... the left turn keeps it from getting away from my son. He's not very good at the steering thing yet :)

His favorite thing is to loop on launch. If I throw it straight up at full power it will sometimes finish the loop. Other times it rolls out at the top. And if it's not at full power... SMACK! :) Nose first into the ground. Oops.

[Bilbobaker]

Swaping motors is really easy and will solve any motor mismatch.
Just a matter of simple soldering job on four wires.
All three of mine turn left far easier than turning right.
Bill

[ananachronysm]

Today was my 1st try ever with RC planes. After reading all those threads on the aero ace I decided, what the heck, only $40. went to the park & took it out of the box, followed instructiuons, first 3 flights ended in a sharp nose down left spirale 6Ft from my feet,using 1/3 power. Not too encouraging. Had a close look at the thing and saw that the fuselage/boom was slightly bent to the left & the tail assembly was not perpendicular to the wings, straightened it out with a bic lighter , much better. Further adjusts with rudder/elevators made it fly staight, but like a purpoise with hickups no matter the power setting. Taped a penny just in front of the on/off switch & it FLEW. After 1/2 hour it would land next to me(mostly.) lessons learned: look at it closely 1st thing, don't despair, 0 wind : the plane is so light than the slightest breeze, like today, will mess up the flight. Also,it's tough. I had to laugh, I picked a spot with no obstructions for 100 yards beside a young tree & of course the plane made a beeline for it & hit the 4" trunk dead center. Bounced off ready to fly. Thanks to all the folks here for the advices & lots of fun...next a slo v?

[Lobo]

Folks,

I've got 3 Aero Aces, and fly them at NIGHT in the cul-de-sac and out in front of my house. I was in Albany, GA and went into a CVS Pharmacy store. There, on the front counter, by the checkout, was a plastic container full of ugly, stretchy rubber rings for $0.99 with a flashing set of three LED lights inside it. I went through the container and checked for the those that worked (flashed...they work with a press "on" and press "off") and bought about $5 worth. I went home and cut open the ring and pulled out the LEDs...battery included....as one unit. In a minute, or less, I had taped in on the top of the nose of the AA (it acts as the ballast needed to correct the CG on this plane perfetcly). You have to try a time or two to locate the optimum spot to get the CG right. Simply push on the lights through the tape, and off you go into the night!! :D :eek: :D Wonderful!! The LEDs are red, blue and green/yellow.

It's called a "GLOW RING" "LITE UP FLASHING FINGER RING" "SQUEEZE ON/OFF". Made in China, of course. If you have a CVS near you, hurry down and look for them before they quit selling them. It's a great, cheap, and very easy way to have LED's and fly the AA at night! Best time for "no wind" conditions too.

I love it on my single wing/top wing AA. Way too Cool!!

:) Good luck, and happy flying! :)

Lobo

[CRASH GORDON]

pics,lobo?

[Darkdevil_725]

go to the indoor micro plane forums and theres 2 thread called post your Aeroace Xtwin mods thers a regualar one and theres part 2 part 2 is most recent cause there was over 1000 post in the last one and it became hard to search the forum for certain items i even have a mod in ther but the Aeroace is origionally called the X-Twin and theres a new Aa comming out soon that looks like a jet.

[Tom Korn]

I found them at TArget last night, but haven't tried to fly it yet. It sure is cute!

[Gil]

Hi,Guys.

Anyone tried extending the receiver antenna even longer (several inches) to inprove range ?

[Lobo]

Crash,

Here's some pics and a short video. All sorta poor quality, but you get the idea. One pic is of the "ugly" ring, as bought, beside an LED pulled from inside the ring, and a penny to give you scale. Another pic with one LED taped on the nose of the AA and another LED beside the plane. And, another pic with the same layout, but with the LEDs light up in the dark.

The video is of a couple of my AA's in a dark room....poor,grainy, video (due to trying to get it <100Kb to post here), but shows the general idea.

Simple, cheap and fun LEDs. Hope you can find some!

:) Lobo :)

I hope this works....it's the first time I've uploaded pics or video.

[claybuster]

After reading all the posts about the aero ace I went out yesterday and got one. I'm interested in some of the basic mods to help with better flying, I want to keep it a biplane and not really change the basic look . I would like to lighten it a bit and maybe better reception, but I see there is about a thousand posts, I really don't want to have to read through all of these. so any help on the basic mods would be appreciated.
Mike

[Larry3215]

Hi Mike.

Your not related to one of my teanagers are you?

They hated doing their homework too :)

Larry

[claybuster]

Larry,
No I'm not related to your teenagers, as a matter of fact I'm probably old enough to be their dad. I'm in the middle of building a Dare design Fokker D-VII right now and it is taking alot of my time, I've done alot of research on this plane and building this plane,when I do a project of this caliber I do my homework. For a toy I really don't want to read over a thousand posts. If you're interested in seeing my thread you can look under scale electric planes "Dare Design or Aerodromers". By the way thanks for the help.
Mike

[Hepdog]

Clay I just picked up 2 of these myself. Out of the box they fly just fine indoors, but for outdoors it seems they are a little better at handling light winds with some nose weight, about 1/10 ounce or so. The plane only weighs 17 grams so go easy!

Some guys get more weight balance forward by replacing the plastic tail boom with a CF one and/or cutting away some of the foam on the back of the fuse. EPP doesn't cut very clean for me, but the CF tail boom is an easy mod. Another clever way to add "useable" weight is landing gear up front, looks cool and is practical.

Don't know anything about range increases and can't see why one would want to. Its too tiny to see as is, let alone farther away???? I've had mine out to around 300' no prob except figuring out which way its headed :eek:

Duration on mine is great - easy 10 minutes with good power still left. I'm leary about the charger though, I think it's a timed unit instead of peak detect, although I can't see how they would be allowed to sell the later :eek:

Don't put the stickers on, wasted weight. Sharpie markers make for better designs and lighter too.

That's about all I know if you don't want to start cutting. Me, I'm going to sacrafice one for parts to build something "else"...

[DaJudge]

I would like to lighten it a bit and maybe better reception, but I see there is about a thousand posts, I really don't want to have to read through all of these. so any help on the basic mods would be appreciated.
Mike

#1 good and easy mod -- Open the Tx and disengage the throttle spring.

We've got three AA's. Mine and one for each of my two teenage sons. We've had to take a few back due to faults where the Tx either wouldn't charge the plane or the motors kept on going full even after throttle was cut. One out of the two we bought yesterday will go back to Target because of the throttle issue. It flies fine on my old Ch. B Tx, but won't shut down w/ the new one. Pity, it flew better than my original AA which is getting a little weak and beat up.

Both of the ones I got for the kids flew great right out of the box and still do. Mine porpoised when new, but I trimmed the lower wing even with the struts and that seemed to help some. One of the keys is to fly it at 1/2-2/3 throttle on a fresh charge. The throttle spring mod will help with that.

Enjoy :D

[Gil]

Nice innovation, Lobo.

Thirty five mm seems to be the optimum length for better receive antenna length. Now to test the transmitter's antenna length extention...

I use rechargeables in one TR to recharge plane, but alcalines in another to maximize transmit range. Significant difference.

Looked for the flashing rings in CVS here. No luck. Anybody seen the Jet Ace yet ?

[Solcat]

I just picked one up yesterday for $29 at Target. Put a small screw up front, and flew it in 5-10 mile an hour winds. Flew better when the wind stopped for a bit, but still an amazing starter plane. Also a fun keep in the car at all times plane.

[ncb]

I had to buy a new AA today because my old one was looking bad and the motors seemed to be loosing strength. The new one climbs rapidly compared to the old one. I set the props so they are paralel with the trailing edge of the wing and it seems to still turn as well. The silver and black paint scheme looks cool too. These things are great to have at the hangar to get that daily fix. Where can I find a picture of the new AA that resembles a jet?

[claybuster]

Looking at the new areo ace I just got it looks to me like the struts between the wings could cause alot of drag.Has anyone tried removing them? are they really needed for support between the wings? if they are needed has anyone tried replacing them with thin balsa? Thanks for the mods guys
Mike

[Gil]

At the speed the bi-wing flies, struts probably don't amount to much drag. Removing them does make retrival from trees easier, as it is less likely to get hung up. Making it into a mono wing increases speed which lets you fly with better control in a breeze.

The new "Jet" is pictured in a full page ad in latest Backyard Flier.