Originally Posted by Lee

The trick is to mount the prop and bench test it and see if it is within the recommended amperage and running temperature. You adjust the amount of amperage a motor uses by changing the size of the prop and the number of cells in the lipo battery.

There are a lot of 480 motors out there in part boxes. I have never tried one on a Reaper but am curious to know if you like it.

I like my Albatross and Widowmakers as my small park planes and my favorite small park night planes. I think I have 4 of each set up for night flying with different light set ups. If I am flying bigger spaces I fly the Storm Chaser Reaper and Titan too.

so far i like it, and it works fine its just,.... the damn things so loud....... its got more then enough thrust just one 10x7 or 10x5, just if i prop it down a inch or so, it might get a bit more speed out of it, and lower amperage wich that somthing im not rally worryed about with this motor ( 60amp esc, More then enough) its just trying to get it quiter thats all, and maby a bit more speed so it cruses better. just since its only 1024kv im just unshure if its enough to swing the 9x5 fast enough thats all im concerned about.

P.S. So ive done a little reseach and here are some numbers on the motor i have

E-Flite Park 480 1020Kv:
Kv: 1020 (rpms per volt)
Io: 1.1A @ 8V (no load current)
Ri: 60 mohms (resistance)
Continuous Current: 22A*
Max Burst Current: 28A*
Watts: up to 275
Cells: 6-10 Ni-MH/Ni-Cd or 2-3S Li-Po
Recommended Props: 10x7 to 12x6 ‘Electric’
Prop: 11x7E, 10.4V, 26.1A, 271W, 7381rpm
Prop: 12x6E, 10.4V, 26.2A, 272W, 7320rpm

What this tells me is, i can prop this more down to a 9x6 and still use it on the wing, and maby get a little more speed and i can use one of my 20amp escs i have, cause i dont run this thing wide open all the time, so at around half throttle ( just gussing on numbers here) it should maby pull 7-9 amps, and still have plently of thrust to climb, since this motor has been used in other aircraft, of diffrent design. and the claims have been they things just climb. but since the grim reaper is a highlift airframe, it should be perfecly happy with this setup. ( just guessing on that dont take my word for it.... yet) so in therorie,,,,, u can get away with a park 480 and a 9x6 prop. just gota test it first. and u will get more runtime.... i think.

Originally Posted by Parke_ParkeFlyer

I know it's a little like asking the candy store owner how much candy he owns, but I'm real curious how many planes you (Lee) have in your hangar ready to fly? Do you switch receivers around? How often do you get to fly?

(I've been bogged down at work/life and haven't flown in a few weeks... so I guess I'm longing for stories from those who are prolific.)

I have 3 DX6i transmitters that are full... That would be 30 planes plus another 20 planes or so just laying around with radio and servos in them not counting all the half finished prototypes that come and go. I am always building and testing and building some more. It's a compulsive disorder. I need therapy. In all the flying I do I rarely have a plane wear out or break.

Originally Posted by Lee

Most of the 100+ Grim Reapers I have heard of are using 4S or 6S lipos.

You will be pushing 50A plus so I like to 1.5X the amps to pick an ESC and battery. So an 80 A ESC and a battery that is rated for 80 A. (ie 20C x 4000 mah lipo or bigger) the ESC will need to be rated for the 4S or 6S and have a BEC or you will need to get an additional BEC to get power to your radio.

Ok Lee all set. How does this look for a set up for previously mentioned Grim Reaper. If I pull from my already owned bag of goodies. Will I be good to go for decent high end without burning things up? Looks pretty powerful and within the scope of what she can handle. Any thoughts or concerns greatly appreciated.

Considering a 6 x 5 prop

Phoenix Ice lite 100 ESC -
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...P?I=LXXXU0&P=8

MAXHC3514-2900 HIMAX 3514 2900KV 800 WATT BRUShLESS OUTRUNNER MOTOR
http://www.gravesrc.com/HIMAX_3514_2...c3514-2900.htm

3300mah 3s 40c Battery
http://www.gravesrc.com/BLASTER_RC_3...300x3bla40.htm

I have never used that motor and ESC and prop set up but the 800 watt and the size of the ESC sounds like it has potential to go fasst. You will have to do some bench testing before launching and check the amps and see if the battery and ESC are running hot.

Have you had this motor on a plane before? How fast did it go? How much did it weigh? With a 6x5 prop on 800 watts put your earplugs in.

My buddy used to have a CTH Grim Reaper a while back and he flew the heck out if it. He'd try something, ram it into the ground, then toss it back up into the air again. I have wanted to build one for a long time now so I bit the bullet and built two of them. One for myself and one for him. This was my first foam wing build ever. Should be able to maiden them Sunday. They are pics from my phone, sorry for the lack of clarity.

Well I've been flying my Grim Reaper for a about a year with the it being a little tail heavy. It flew fine but with the quirks of any tail heavy aircraft. I finally got around to putting it on my balancer this afternoon and set the CG spot on at 10.5", then I went out and flew. The correct CG smoothed out the flying and at lower speeds no balloning or tail wag. The funny part was the landing. I'm used to gliding it right to my feet. Well today it kept gliding, and gliding, it almost clobbered me. Now that would have been hard to explain.

Originally Posted by HansAuf

My buddy used to have a CTH Grim Reaper a while back and he flew the heck out if it. He'd try something, ram it into the ground, then toss it back up into the air again. I have wanted to build one for a long time now so I bit the bullet and built two of them. One for myself and one for him. This was my first foam wing build ever. Should be able to maiden them Sunday. They are pics from my phone, sorry for the lack of clarity.

I'm so ready to maiden this weekend. Thanks hansauf for a solid build. A blast from the past picture.

I'm about to go build my 6s setup and repair what I can from my water landing last weekend.

Originally Posted by E1Allen

I'm about to go build my 6s setup and repair what I can from my water landing last weekend.

Bummer on the water landing--did it fry some of the electronics?

Originally Posted by 1fullbird

Bummer on the water landing--did it fry some of the electronics?

No, my cam and vtx sank though. Everything else is fine

Originally Posted by E1Allen

No, my cam and vtx sank though. Everything else is fine

I've seen suggestons to put the electonics in container with uncooked rice to draw the moisture away. Not sure have effective it will be in the end. Here's a link (ton of suggestions out there). http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how-...fully-s-107945

I've been following your build/flying of the DR XL. Eventually I want to go that way for longer distance. I did talk one of my flying buds into one. Well it was more like, hey, you're always flying my Grim Reaper why don't you get your own. You should get the one that's a little larger I heard it flys better. As soon as he gets it built it will be my turn to fly his aircraft.

So frustrated now.. I wired up both my batteries in series, plugged it into the esc and it fried both capacitors, and melted some of the wires. The neg wires from the esc to Dragonlink, then Dragonlink to sbec. And also my servo wires. I was powering sbec/servos/dragonlink from one of the batteries balance port.

Ouch! To borrow Bruce's line "Magic smoke is bad."

Getting there, I hope to maiden on the weekend. Lee, that supplier we talked about never bothered to reply, I guess sending out to Australia was too hard. Anyway, found a local substitute, doubtfull about the UV protection but any laminate in a storm.

I love the lights on your plane. I really like night flying. That plane will be great.

How much does it weigh with the lights and tape?