Originally Posted by Weekend Flyer

jrjr, where did you find the photo of this mount? I'm interested if its already available somewhere.

I just modified Terry's picture.

Originally Posted by Le_optimistic

Hi all,

... so removing nose weights will be the only other mod I'll do to the plane. I'm not planning any others at the moment, just trying to keep it simple as I'm just a beginner learning to fly with the plane.

...

Hi Le,
The addition of a glued-in 4mm CF inner spar for the supplied 6mm wing tube is, I believe, one of the most important mods & absolutely should not be ignored. There are just too many cases of the stock spar breaking in mid-flight under little stress.

Not really a mod, but you'll want a way of securing your LiPo in place also. I recommend a large-ish Velcro patch cemented onto the floor between nose & cockpit, plus wrap-around Velcro straps for the battery. This arrangement makes balancing on the CoG a simple task by allowing fairly fine adjustments forward or back - and as you have discovered (other thread), good balance is an important factor - the difference in flying the plane & fighting the plane!

Originally Posted by StarHopper44

Hi Le,
The addition of a glued-in 4mm CF inner spar for the supplied 6mm wing tube is, I believe, one of the most important mods & absolutely should not be ignored.

+1

You really do want this improvment.

Originally Posted by jrjr

+1

You really do want this improvment.

+2

This was one of the first things to fail on me. Without the rubber band wing retention mod, I would have lost the wings in flight.

Originally Posted by sotog

Thanks. Takes just under 15 seconds to drill all the holes. This motor plate machines pretty quick. Tube takes just a tad longer considering it started from a solid piece of 1.75" aluminum round bar.

Price for the complete set with mounting hardware is $15.95. All parts are machined from 6061 aluminum. No shortcuts with these parts!

With this mount you can move the motor up 10mm in the 2nd position and 25mm in the 3rd position from stock. This is so you can stick a 7" or 8" prop on there.

Terry

I reckon that's great value Terry, just Ordered one. BTW received your servo mounts yesterday Thanks.

Originally Posted by sotog

I've officially released the new adjustable aluminum motor mount for the Easy Star, Sky Surfer / Blixer models.

It has three mounting positions: Stock, (+) .41" for a 7" prop, and (+) 1.0" for an 8" prop. You can run a 28mm outrunner in any of the three positions, or a 35mm outrunner in the top position. Motor mounting slots are 16mm to 25mm spacing.

You simply glue the motor base tube into the plane making sure the flange is nice and square, then you attach the motor to the motor plate and attach the entire assembly to the motor tube at the desired height.

It is CNC machined form 6061 aluminum and includes all mounting hardware. I've attached some photos of the different mounting options. Total weight of base and plate is 20g.

Thanks to the guys on the Easy Star thread for the great feedback and ideas for this new design.

If anyone is interested, send me a PM.

Terry

I want one!! That looks great! The biggest issue I have with my sky surfer now is that lack of clearance for a bigger prop. This would solve that!

Originally Posted by jrjr

+1

You really do want this improvment.

jrjr

While i had full intention of installing the 4 mm rod i got delayed. One of my flying buddies mentioned using a metal tube or stranded wire instead since he had performed the 4 mm rod modification and they both broke after a drastic pull out from a loop. I just read about a similar mishap on the Blixer FPV thread were both rods broke when guy1a's plane his a water sprinkler.

I let him know I had installed a 5 stranded #20 awg wire rod into my 6 mm rod. Made it myself by folding a longer piece of wire 4 times and then twisting the the bundle a couple times. Then wrapped the spare length of wire at both ends to keep the stranded bundle together.

While i haven't put it to the true test the idea is that if the 6 mm rod breaks the stranded wire inside will not allow the wings to fold (flap maybe ) but maintain some rigidity so the plane could be safely landed instead of nose dive.

I will get back to everyone to let them know if this "mod" really works or not.

Vince

Originally Posted by gtoguy

Welcome!

I use the Velcro method and it holds up extremely well. It's inexpensive, quick to install, and lasts better than you might think if you do some surface prep before you attach the Velcro to the wings. Rough up the surface lightly with 150 grit sandpaper where you plan on sticking the Velcro. I also put a narrow strip (1/2" or so) of 3M Extreme packing tape over the outer edge of the Velcro on the wing to keep from pulling it up.

On the fuselage I notch the foam a tiny bit where the Velcro (solid piece) passes through the wing mounting area. That's it. I've done it to four Sky Surfers so far and it is very strong. I've survived numerous crashes and the wings were solidly attached.

Paul

Thanks for the heads up, and that's a lot of Skysurfers you got there Paul! What do you use them for? I think I get the idea now, I think my dad is convinced about the merits of the velcro mod, so I will probably be shopping for some 3M dual lock (and extreme packing tape).

Just realised that my charger doesn't come with leads... Time to shop for some deans plugs and heat shrink tubing as well...

Originally Posted by StarHopper44

Hi Le,
The addition of a glued-in 4mm CF inner spar for the supplied 6mm wing tube is, I believe, one of the most important mods & absolutely should not be ignored. There are just too many cases of the stock spar breaking in mid-flight under little stress.

Not really a mod, but you'll want a way of securing your LiPo in place also. I recommend a large-ish Velcro patch cemented onto the floor between nose & cockpit, plus wrap-around Velcro straps for the battery. This arrangement makes balancing on the CoG a simple task by allowing fairly fine adjustments forward or back - and as you have discovered (other thread), good balance is an important factor - the difference in flying the plane & fighting the plane!

Originally Posted by jrjr

+1

You really do want this improvment.

Originally Posted by the_vagabond

+2

This was one of the first things to fail on me. Without the rubber band wing retention mod, I would have lost the wings in flight.

Alright guys, thanks for the update. I will definitely shop for some 4mm carbon rods. Will 5 minute epoxy work to get the rods secured within the spar?

I saw the flipping wings video, I never would have thought that the spar can split like that. Maybe someone should tell the flitetest crew about it since it's a product that they stand behind and they never mentioned it as a problem.

To be honest, I'm starting to feel that the Skysurfer might not be the best first plane a total beginner can get. Without checking out this thread, I might be in for a tough maiden or end up with broken wings. Maybe this hobby needs more foolproof begnner rtfs other than the parkzone offerings. I'm just thankful that I like to learn about the technical stuff that goes into electrical rc planes.

It's a fine beginners design if properly manufactured. Then it's called the Multiplex EasyStar.

Seriously, it's a shame that in the race to bring the price down, they cut just a couple too many corners. The shoddy spar and the flimsy control horns being the two obvious ones. The rest are probably not a real problem, provided all the servos do work when you try them.

Originally Posted by Le_optimistic

To be honest, I'm starting to feel that the Skysurfer might not be the best first plane a total beginner can get. Without checking out this thread, I might be in for a tough maiden or end up with broken wings. Maybe this hobby needs more foolproof begnner rtfs other than the parkzone offerings. I'm just thankful that I like to learn about the technical stuff that goes into electrical rc planes.

Originally Posted by Le_optimistic

Thanks for the heads up, and that's a lot of Skysurfers you got there Paul! What do you use them for? I think I get the idea now, I think my dad is convinced about the merits of the velcro mod, so I will probably be shopping for some 3M dual lock (and extreme packing tape).

Just realised that my charger doesn't come with leads... Time to shop for some deans plugs and heat shrink tubing as well...

I have four pilots: myself, my son, my son-in-law, and and my brother-in-law... I manage the fleet. Pretty cool when we all fly together. No mid-airs yet with the sky surfers, but we've had a few with our Yak55's. You'll like the Velcro setup.
Paul

My son learned to fly RC with this plane without any of these mobs, it is a great 1st plane. Granted once he got to where he could fly eights in a tight pattern I had to put some rubber bands on the wings. By that time they where moving around quite a bit.

If you plan on doing acrobats and speed flying, yes you will need to do these mods; spar and wing attachment mods at the very least.

Originally Posted by Le_optimistic

Skysurfer might not be the best first plane a total beginner can get.

Vietnamese bought a tractor kit from Russia.
They clamed that they had a problem assembling it after a month time. So the Russian expert goes there to check things out.
- We tried to assemble the tractor a number of times but it always came out to be a tank.
- OK! Did you read the instruction?
- Yes every time we strictly follow the instruction.
- Well, you always do not read to the very end. See what it sais here in the very last line: ‘Finish it up with a rough file after assembly’

Originally Posted by jj604

It's a fine beginners design if properly manufactured. Then it's called the Multiplex EasyStar.

Seriously, it's a shame that in the race to bring the price down, they cut just a couple too many corners. The shoddy spar and the flimsy control horns being the two obvious ones. The rest are probably not a real problem, provided all the servos do work when you try them.

I wonder what it is about these Chinese model manufacturers who disgrace their products with clevises and control horns - parts that are SO critical to the success of these airplanes - by using such cheap and flimsy parts on them. I truly do. And that is something that seems endemic among them. I've been building my new Phoenix 2000, and the clevises that are supplied would be stronger if they were made of cheese, quite frankly. One arrived with the pin already broken off, two others broke before I'd turned them one revolution in removing them, and the last of the four was warped beyond any ability to fasten onto the horn. Oddly enough, it came off in one piece. Warped, yes, but still intact.

It's disgusting, really. If they're gonna cut corners to keep the price down, why on something that costs mere pennies, anyway? It just doesn't make sense to so cheapen products that they crow about being so proud they designed and built. No sense at all!

Well said. My thoughts EXACTLY. It's beyond why they do it.
Wish there was a way of finding someone along the production line to explain why they do it.
Almost all of my Phoenix's clevises were already broken or broke when I tried to adjust them.
Needless to say I have 100 of various sizes to replace the crap ones that too many planes come with.
-B!LL!