Gene:

Congratulations on your EZ* Maiden .. sounds like you had fun .. the Name Of the Game !!!

Sarge:

Very nice photo layout of your camera mount and other mods .. great work!

Russ

Went down to Virginia Beach last weekend and had a chance to maiden my AP EZ Star. I really like to fly at my brothers house. He has huge flat fields all around. The first flight was in his back yard. The second flight was behind a an elementary school 5 minutes away.

It was breezy, especially during the second flight with winds around 10 15 mph. The EZ flew perfectly stable. The sink rate with the motor off was fine too and gave ample time to snap alot of photos. As a matter of fact there was alot of lift that kept the EZ flying for long periods of time with the motor off.

BTW1: My Pentax Optio S5i takes the best shots using settings in the "landscape" mode default. The sports mode works, however, the pics are not as sharp and robust.

BTW2: Be careful using these super compact cameras because it's real easy to put a finger print on the lens and ruin your pictures.

Sarge - you should post those on the AP forum - they always like to see maiden AP shots and the EZ* has quite a following in that forum.

Adam

Originally Posted by Ginger Adam

Sarge - you should post those on the AP forum - they always like to see maiden AP shots and the EZ* has quite a following in that forum.

Adam

Adam,

Roger that. I'll post a link over there.

Tad

Update: 4/17/06: More Beach!!!!

Went to Emerald Isle, NC over a long Easter Weekend. Here are a couple of EZ Star shots taken of this beautiful resort area. In addition to the great weather, there were plenty of entertaining off shore milatary practice activities going on.

The close call:

Actually, towards the end of my A/P flight my radio was going dead (not fully charged beforehand). At about 600' 300 yards out over the ocean the EZ went into a spiral as the receiver connection went dead and the servos froze up. The connection restored as the EZ came down and back into my weak radio range. Stayed cool under fire, whew.....

Remember to charge those radios!

WoW, Sarge ...

Those are some really decent pix .. great job !!

Russ

Sarge,
Nice pics.
Like people told me, wait till the colors come back.
They'll look twice as nice.
Smitty

sargentw

Your pix awesome. Where did you ID the camera and mounting ? Thanks!

Originally Posted by Gil

sargentw

Your pix awesome. Where did you ID the camera and mounting ? Thanks!

Thanks! I'm not sure what you are asking.

I'll try to show you the process so you don't have to buy a bunch of mis-matched and wrong sized props and adaptors.

Update 6/27/06

Props/Prop adaptors for the stock speed 400 2.3mm motor shaft
Adaptors:

http://www.aircraft-world.com/shopexd.asp?id=3276
http://www.aircraft-world.com/shopexd.asp?id=1044

These are nice and have a little hub. Order the 2.3mm
http://www.aircraft-world.com/shopexd.asp?id=2487

Props
http://www.aircraft-world.com/shopexd.asp?id=1057
http://www.aircraft-world.com/shopexd.asp?id=3245 (6x4)

You have to ream these 4.8mm props out slightly to fit the 5mm prop adaptors above. This process is shown in the build thread.

Order more than one prop. They are easy to unbolt and change; so experiment.

Aircraft World. The shipping is only $2.50 and they are quick


BRUSHLESS ADAPTORS

THE MOTOR SHAFT

The Mega 16/15/4 has a motor shaft diameter of 3.2mm. You need to know the motor shaft diameter so you can get the right adaptor. BTW the brushed speed 400 motor usually has a motor shaft diameter of 2.3mm

THE PROP ADAPTOR

I prefer the Collet Type Prop Adapter - 3.2 mm x M5. This fits MEGA 16 motors with 3.2 mm motor shaft - for propellers with 4.8mm-5.0mm hole. Made of strong, aircraft-grade aluminum alloy to keep your propeller firmly attached to the motor. Collet insures perfect centering on the motor shaft.

THE PROP

I have the 6x4 Rigid APC Standard Props for high-powered electric and engine-powered models. I also use the 6x4 APC E -thin Props for electric motors only. The 6x4e are well suited for the EZ because the prop is well protected. The regular 6x4 is tougher and made for electric and gas engines. I have to try a comparison and really see what the performance difference is.

THE ADAPTOR AND PROP FIT

The above prop adaptor has 5mm prop shaft. You have to use one of the spacer rings that come with the prop. This means you have to ream out the prop with installed spacer slightly to get it to fit on the 5mm prop adaptor.

I have some pictures of this process below including which way to mount the prop.

Update: 6/1/09. "The convex side of the prop blades always face foward in direction of flight" per Joe Knight. The "convex' part of the blades should be identified first on any new prop you intend to mount. Once the convex side is known then lettering locations or other prop mounting shortcuts can be used to save time.

Update 5/15/07: Here is a list of props at the APC prop website with their intended function. Take a look around the site there is lots of good information about prop design/engineering.

http://www.apcprop.com/v/index.html

Wow, great thread! Sarge, your pictures and explanations are awesome.

I have been convinced of now ordering and trying to assemble one of these, due to testimony and wealth of information.

I plan to use it with a buddybox setup to train several interested parties of diverse age brackets.

My planned setup will be:

8cell unknown amp hours >=1150 minimum from CBP
400 7.2v motor (wanted a brushed to last longer)
stock prop
GWS pico's (not sure on this, if they are strong enough?)
20amp ESC

I'm excited, but nervous about construction (I'm an obsessive builder about not about getting things "just" right) Still debating what I'm reading about taping vr. glueing.

I'm kind of confused about the foam-safe glue. Is the foam-safe glue I use on BluCor foamies the same thing I use on this type?

Also, what is appropriate for motor connectors? I use Anderson\PP for my batteries.

It seems like there is endless possibilities with this plane from AP to Parachute dropping.

Since you are gluing Elapor (EPS/EPE mix) you can and should use regular CA with kicker. Epoxy is NOT a good choice. What I would use is UHU Creativ or UHU Por since both work well on styrene. More set up time though than CA and kicker.

Use bullet connectors for the motor or if you aer not swapping out the ESC or motor anytime soon, hardwire it.

Originally Posted by rutat

Since you are gluing Elapor (EPS/EPE mix) you can and should use regular CA with kicker. Epoxy is NOT a good choice. What I would use is UHU Creativ or UHU Por since both work well on styrene. More set up time though than CA and kicker.

Use bullet connectors for the motor or if you aer not swapping out the ESC or motor anytime soon, hardwire it.

Thansk rutat,
Ahh, that explains all the regular CA bottles in the pictures huh?

Next, I get to order my batteries (man every month I check CPB they are out of serious stock) and hunt down the 3m tape and glue.

On a side note, one wonders what it was like in this hobby w/ building anything before digital camera & forums.. I shudder to imagine I think I show my (lack of) age.

One more E* in time will be born - and soon terrorizing the roaming cattle of rural IA.

Hey guys, anyone tried a 2S Lipo (2100-3500ma?) with the stock motor & slightly larger prop in the Easystar? My guess would be it needs more weight in the nose to balance but not sure? (I like light/floaty planes, the E* may not be happy about this )
Thinking about it, maybe a different voltage brushed motor for a 2S?

thoughts....

Oh BTW ....AWESOME thread SARGE!

Originally Posted by Dampy

Hey guys, anyone tried a 2S Lipo (2100-3500ma?) with the stock motor & slightly larger prop in the Easystar? My guess would be it needs more weight in the nose to balance but not sure? (I like light/floaty planes, the E* may not be happy about this )
Thinking about it, maybe a different voltage brushed motor for a 2S?

Why? No reason for a different motor. 2s is well within parameters of stock Permax 400. Several threads indicate people using 2s, adding weight of course. Experimenting of this type wouldn't cause irrevocable damage in seeking CoG before flight. So just play with it in seeking balance.

I am quite new at this, but with a stock motor and 2s I doubt a different prop would help?

Whatever you do, in the spirit of the build thread - post pictures of where and how you add weight alt. batteries.

This statement is not specific to the Easy Star.

If you go to lithium batteries, I presume you are doing this for higher capacity. That is great, but consider the balance of your plane or it won't fly right. Before you buy the new pack:

* weigh your current battery pack. A food scale or a postal scale is fine. Many post offices in the US have self service scales. Great for weighing stuff.

* See if you can get a 2S pack that weighs the same as you current pack. If you can, and you can afford it, you will probably have twice the capacity giving you longer flights.

* Now look at the space. Can the pack go in the same place as your current pack because that is where it will have to go to balance the plane.

* If it won't fit, can you modify the space to make it fit? If you remove foam, consider reinforcing the space with tape or glue/lite plywood as you have removed some of the structure of the plane. BTW, the tape and the glue/ply add weight so you may not have to cut as much foam. Take these into account.

*Move things forward. If fitting the pack won't get it done, then see if you can move other things in the plane to shift their weight forward. some people have the receiver under the wings. Move it forward and it will help to balance the plane and you won't have to add as much weight to the lithium pack. Also see if you can move the ESC forward. Move any excess wire that you have bundled to the forward area. Wire has weight.

The goal here is to add battery capacity while keeping the balance right. If the CG moves back because you put in a lighter pack, the plane will be hard to handle, or it my be unflyable. You MUST properly balance the plane.

If you can move stuff forward to balance the plane then you can have higher capacity in a ligher plane. Lighter planes generally fly better.