Finally got the motor removed. It was a pain. Bolts were stripping and it wasn't easy to grab a hold of the nuts behind the firewall.

Stock motor weighs in at 73 grams and is marked 1350kv. Going to try the Suppo 2810/9 1350kv motor and install an APC 9x6 E prop. These motors are very similar in their specs but I'd like to think the 'can' housing vs. the 'bell' housing will perform better. I'll post more information and photos when it arrives.

Thanks for the stock motor details, yarsmythejr.

The APC 9x6 was only just on the limit of acceptable for the BP A2810-11 (1200Kv, 78g), so I think it's a fair bet that it's too much for the Suppo 2810/9 1350Kv. Faster motors need smaller and/or lower pitched props.

As it's similar specs to the stock motor, I'd try a 9x5 or 9x4.5 - and at least a Watt meter.

Ideally, a tachometer too, so you know the pitch speed, but juggling a plane, a tachometer and an LED torch (mains powered lighting is no good), is sometimes more than I can be bothered with. It's not so bad if the motor isn't on the plane, and you can bolt it to something though.

I got the bolts that are into the steel firewall out and replaced them with cap bolts. They weren't tight, so it wasn't too hard, in my case. I had the ones that are into the plastic vibrating loose while I was prop testing. I tightened them as hard as I could, and now I'm thinking i shouldn't have done because I can't get them out again. I'll probably have to take the motor and plastic bit out of the plane to do it. I'd prefer cap bolts (aka allen bolts) on all of them, so they're easier to get at and the heads won't strip.

I tested with the Xoar 9x4 and 9x5. There wasn't much difference in current draw between those two, really, so I'll go with the 9x5 to start with. I got 22.2A @ 10.9V with the 9x5 and 21.7A @ 10.8V with the 9x4 - similar to the stock prop in terms of current, but a lot stiffer, so hopefully more efficient and a bit faster. That's about 5A less than with the EMP 9x5E, which is slightly longer than the Xoar props.

The initial vibration was scary with the Xoar 9x4. I didn't dare give it full throttle on the first run because it felt like it was trying to shake the plane out of my hands and possibly break the shaft. I guess the already loose screws were a big factor but it still did it after I tightened them, unless I increased the throttle quite slowly.

I was using a collet prop adapter sat on the end of the threaded shaft, so cutting the shaft down should help.

I've put 3" wheels on the main undercarriage legs, without spats / wheel pants, and that looks fine. I'm still trying to figure out how to get a larger than stock wheel on the nose leg and have the plane sit level - a 3" wheel wouldn't fit unless it was offset to one side, but a smaller one on forks attached to the nose leg could work, or a pair of thin ones either side of the leg, but on a short extension to the leg, if they're smaller than 3".

The thread on the end of the nose leg looks like M2.5, but an M2.5 nut doesn't quite fit. Maybe it's a BA size? It's a shame it's not a bit thicker, at least M3. I'd have more confidence bolting something to it to hold a bigger wheel.

What happens if I undo the nut at the top of the nose leg, inside the plane? Can I just take the leg out, and replace it if I want to, or is it impossible to put back, for some reason?

I've cut away the middle of the foam shelf behind the battery, so I can slide it further back, for a 2250mAh 20C 3s lipo. Adding more weight to the nose gear will undo some of that change though, unfortunately. Even so, it lets me push the battery in with the wires at the top, instead of having to force them in with the battery on its side, which is an improvement.

Originally Posted by Andy2No

What happens if I undo the nut at the top of the nose leg, inside the plane? Can I just take the leg out, and replace it if I want to, or is it impossible to put back, for some reason?

i Have done it. nothing will shoot out . i did replace the little arm with a new one.

Cool. Thanks, DaxFX. Anything with springs in worries me You can't always put the genie back in the bottle.

Received my Suppo 2810/9 motor today from Altitude Hobbies. They sell these through the classified section here on RC Groups for $21.

As you can see, the motor is a bit beefier than the stock motor. The width is a bit more (didn't measure) but the cowl offers ample room for it. The Suppo motor weighs in at 81 grams, only 7 grams more than the stock motor.

Going off into the garage shortly to install the bullet adapters and figure out my plan of attack on mounting it to the aluminum firewall. More to come!

-Lee

Snag...

The rear collar on the outrunner is too big for the hole already in the plate. Also, I think I was exaggerating a bit when I said their was ample room for it. Sucker just barely fits.

Obviously, I want to keep the modifications down to a minimum or the upgrade, no matter how significant it may be, won't be worth the trouble for some of you who want a plug-n-play solution.

I was originally thinking I'd want to change the motor almost immediately, but I'll see how it goes with the stock one, and a decent prop first - once I work out what to do about the nose leg.

I was thinking a plywood plate, with a hole drilled in the middle for the back of the shaft, four holes for the X shaped plate that comes with the motor, and three more to attach the plywood to the metal firewall. Some of those holes will have to be quite close together though, which could be a problem.

As the motor probably overlaps the three holes to attach to the firewall, you might want to use nuts at the front end, but access will still be fiddly.

The plywood will mean the motor is moved forwards, adding to the CG problem. I don't see any real problem in cutting a hole in the nose for part of it to poke through though, if needed.

I guess you could make the plywood thick enough for the collar on the back of the new motor, so it doesn't need to go through the hole in the metal firewall. I don't know how thick that would have to be. Maybe 6mm ply?

I completed the installation of the new motor.

- Made a plywood motor mount to attach to the existing aluminum mount
- Drilled holes in the mount for the motor's radial mount attachment & collar
- Drilled holes matching the alignment of the stock motor mount
- Installed blind nuts into the plywood motor mount
- Used 4mm aluminum stand-off spacers to align the motor
- Screwed in the mounting screws from the battery compartment into the motor mount.

Motor is secure and the run up earlier was great. I don't have any measurements yet or an idea of how much nose weight I've added with this conversion. However, the plane was begging to fly out of my hands at WOT!

More to come. Stay tuned.

CG is only slightly nose heavy with a 2200mAh 3S pack and nearly spot on with the 1800mAh 3S pack. WOT was metered at 25 amps. Just need the weather to clear up and then I'll update with a flight report.

I like this plane a lot. It's just a little pricey for me for what you get. I'm hoping Hobbycity comes out with a similar one soon.
I'm used to paying less that $100 for my receiver ready planes and they all fly great.
This is a good thread and you guys are doing a lot of good stuff here.

They already do, Sky_Captain - I assume you mean HobbyKing. It's only listed in the UK and Euro (German) warehouses though, which makes me wonder if they'd discontinuing it. It's over $100 though, but then it's a fairly big plane, and their's seems to have a bigger motor.

On the downside, it appears the pushrods are too flimsy and will all need to be replaced, plus the nose leg tends to break very easily. Still, worth considering:

DE: http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...dProduct=13085

UK: http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...dProduct=25922 (cheaper)

Either way, the shipping is a killer.

Thanks for the link.
Yeh, the other thing I forgot to mention is that I only buy from their USA warehouse. Unless its a small plane or I just have to have it. But since it's $130 and shipping will be around $35 or so, I'm just about at the same price. And like you said, it's a little bigger and doesn't look quite the same. I'll wait it out or have to do without.

Actually, I think it's about the same size, though the stated weight is a bit heavier, for some reason - more powerful setup, for one, I guess. I considered both but decided the ST Model (aka Flyzone) one was probably the better bet, plus I could get it within the UK in days. I can always change the motor if I get bored with it. Motors are cheap.

I still have a few things to work out on mine though. I took that nut off the top of the nose leg hoping to get the leg off (see yarsmythejr's fifth picture), but all that does is let you take the little plastic arm off, which turned out to be very fragile - I broke it, so now the steering is sloppy.

I've started work on a castor front wheel though. I used part of a mostly plastic undercarriage set. It's one of the mains legs from that set, but used as a nose wheel, which gives me a 2" one and I've fitted 3" wheels on the mains (no spats / wheel pants).

It looks like it stands a bit nose down now, and I'm wondering if that's a problem. I'm also wondering if a free swinging castor is okay (like on a shopping trolley / cart). I've got it balanced so it hangs in a straight line with the nose up. I've yet to try it in prop wash - it might not stay straight in air flow. I'll post some pictures soon.

FWIW, here's how it should look - mine doesn't quite look like that.