My Great Planes Evader kit arrived today so I am starting my build thread.

Don

First of all some observations and comments. The Wicked 60mm fan will fit inside with ease. I personally think the Wicked 4400 Plus and the Wicked 60mm 5 blade fan will be the best setup for this model. However, a few things need to be noted. The outlet cone is too small for a 60mm fan unit. It measures at a 75% FSA which is a little small for me but may be OK with 650-700 watts on this airframe. Because of the cheater inlet on the bottom, there will need to be some sort of fairing for the 60mm fan unit to get smooth airflow into it. Because of these issues for this build I will use the stock fan unit so all the parts in the kit can be used. I feel that if you are forking out $179.99 for the plane you should not be required to buy a new fan unit and do heavy mods to get more speed out of her.

I tested the wicked 4400 Plus in the stock fan and on 4S I get ~660 watts and 54,300 rpm which settled to 53,200 rpm and ~620 watts. According to the manual in the kit, the stock 4S setup produces 48,000 rpm at about 480 watts. So the extra 5k rpm should be a nice speed and thrust boost. The stock tailpipe is 85% FSA.

I also tried some various lipos in the cockpit and 4S2200 30C pack fit in just fine. Even some bigger ones do as well :-)

Don

Installing the motor into the fan unit was not difficult. I took a few photos showing it. The real issue came with the spinner. With no spinner the fan runs quite well and pretty smooth. So I added the spinner and tried to balance it. After 45 minutes I realized there was no way it will balance too much out of round so I hooked up a 2S lipo and ran the motor fan unit at partial throttle and used a grinding stone and pressed it against the spinner while turning to try to smooth it out./ You can see by the photos how out of round the spinner is. I kept on going until it I would get full marks around the whole OD. So then I used some 320 grit paper and smoothed it some then 600 grit to get it even smoother. i then ran it up and was much smoother on a 2S lio. So I went to the 4S lipo again and at half throttle the fan vibrated bad. So I worked some more to balance, and I got it to run silky smooth up to 50% throttle then suddenly it would always go way out of balance. I finally gave up after about 45 more minutes of messing around. So I balanced it with no spinner on. I then test fit the parts for the outlet and inlet and it fit just fine.

As far as the spinner, I think the trouble is the screw is way down low and the rest of the spinner is unsupported and can flex at higher rpm. So for the heck of it I mixed up some epoxy and filled the spinner with it. I am letting it cure over night and I will see if it can be balanced now as the spinner will be acting as one unit. Worth a test anyhow.

Don

Well the epoxy spinner idea worked. I was able to get it balanced in about 15 minutes. This is still a touchy setup, small changes make a huge difference but it runs nice now! By the way did a new Eagletree test and I gained 1000 rpm being balanced :-)

Don

Wow this is fascinating - I have had a hell of a time getting the hyperflow fans to behave well at higher power levels. I'm going to definitely try this.

I have a few questions:

1. How did you get such a uniform convex surface to the epoxy? Does it do that on its own with surface tension?

2. It seems like epoxy with micro balloons would be good here too. My thinking is that less rotating mass = better. Any thoughts?

Thanks...

Mike

Originally Posted by mbigby

1. How did you get such a uniform convex surface to the epoxy? Does it do that on its own with surface tension?

2. It seems like epoxy with micro balloons would be good here too. My thinking is that less rotating mass = better. Any thoughts?

Thanks...

Mike

1) If you use finishing epoxy it is much thinner and watery so it settles on its own like that. I was pleased with the result.

2) I was afraid adding microballons would make it harder for the trapped air from mixing to get out when curing and maybe not bond as well to the spinner. Not sure really, it was a shot in the dark but it worked!

IMO adding Micro balloons would make it more brittle,I think its better to be a little flexable.Watching this one Don.... Joe

Got some more work done today. The fan unit is installed. Now I just need some ESCs to arrive!

Don

Nice build,i really wanted to see one with the wicked 60mm fan,i really hate the hyperflow units

it will be nice to hear what a hyperflow sounds like that accualy runs smooth....

My Hyperflow runs smooth, with the spinner removed. First time I have had one sound as good as it does. FWIW, I think the composite airframe of the Evader lends itself to the Hyperflow running quieter? I also have a Hyperflow installed in the new foamy F20, sans spinner, and it is quite a bit louder? Granted that a key variable between the two is also whether each fan is balanced or not. My buddy Don also has an Evader and without the spinner, his also sounds pretty smooth and quiet. Nice approach to balancing the spinner Don. Way to go!

Watching to see how your Evader does Don. I always enjoy your threads and your approach to squeezing more performance out of a model.

Originally Posted by kremecheze

Nice build,i really wanted to see one with the wicked 60mm fan,i really hate the hyperflow units

I know what you mean. I may still do a swap after I fly this way first.

Don

Originally Posted by Bajora

My Hyperflow runs smooth, with the spinner removed.

Mine ran well with no spinner also. I am contemplating designing an aluminum aftermarket spinner for this fan unit. I am going to see how it perfroms first though.

Don

Ok, I'm sorry for all the simple questions here, but my epoxy filler has dried. I've done the motor-as-a-lathe smooth-up of the exterior. Now, I am wondering how you balanced the spinner?

My magnetic balancer is 1/8"+ and too big for the hole. I was thinking of using 3mm drill bit (or something smaller that fits the hole closely). Is that what you did? Alternatively I can ream out the hole (yikes). Or did you just go straight to the dynamic balancer and then drill out the spinner instead of adding weight?

- balance-curious...

Originally Posted by mbigby

My magnetic balancer is 1/8"+ and too big for the hole. I was thinking of using 3mm drill bit (or something smaller that fits the hole closely). Is that what you did? Alternatively I can ream out the hole (yikes). Or did you just go straight to the dynamic balancer and then drill out the spinner instead of adding weight?

- balance-curious...

I never balance statically. It has never worked for me. The only correlation I have found with static to dynamic is that there is no correlation :-) Go straight to dynamic balancing. Keep the spinner in one location and add about a 1/8" diameter ball of ballast to start with and move it and 1/8 of a turn until you home in on the correct location. Also pay attention to how tight you secure the screw, it will have an effect as well.

Don