Unfair criticism I think.. it's a pilots plane.. you have to fly it all the time. Is it my favourite? No.. I have others I like better.. but it flys nicely when setup properly..

Originally Posted by winndaddy

I'm sorry, but I usually don't criticize. However, this plane deserve every bit of criticism.

+1. The only this plane does good is fly relatively fast. Everything else about it is poorly designed.

Hi everyone
I thought i would share some pics of my edge and info about it

First off i would like to say i have been waiting a long time for a model of this aircraft in this size with this kind of performance
When i first saw it i thought finally a edge that looks like a real red bull air racer not a 3d model or a model that is some where between a extra and laser

Now is where i get nit picky on the details.
I tried to get as close as i could to the look of the real thing so this ment making some decals, a prop change, spinner change and adding a pilot. ( a model that goes this fast needs a pilot)
i also got rid of the bicycle seat spring tail wheel.
When i started looking at photos of the real one in this paint scheme i discovered that hobbyking made a edge v3 in a v2 paint scheme The v3 version of matthias dolderer edge is overall white with VW sponorship
I liked the v2 paint scheme that’s on the model so i decided to go with how it looked during the 2010 Rio de Janeiro air race and not repaint the whole model.

After seeing a few videos and reading about all the problems everyone seem to be having i had a good idea what i might be in for when the first flight came
I had already decided that i was not going to buy a new set of batteries just for this model so i used my TP 2100 3s pro lites
I got it to balance at 45mm with the battery as far forward as it would go
I flew it for the first time last saturday in some gusty winds
It took off just great (it looked like it was going to leave this solar system)
I got it trimed out did a few loops and rolls and started making approaches for landing. I had seen the plane landed well in one of the videos so i knew it was possible. It was getting pushed around a lot despite its weight. After approach number 5 i got it down in one piece. Whew!!!!
After i had some time to think about the flight and decided that it might be a bit tail heavy and i removed some of the foam behind the motor mount and moved the battery up. This put the CG at about 38mm
I flew it today with no wind and it flies great and landed well whoohoo!!
I guess i am one of the few that are a fan of this model but IMHO it looks and flies like a model of a red bull air racer
That being said here are a few suggestions if there was to be any changes made by hobbyking
1. Another inch or 2 of wing span and .5 inch of width just to add a few more square inches to the wing
2. A aluminum sheet type of landing gear instead of wire
3. A pilot
4. Scale 3 blade prop and spinner
Just my 2 cents worth (ya I know and then some)
Best regards
parkguy

Good input, Parkguy.

I've been eyeing one of these aerobatic planes especially just coming back from Oshkosh earlier this week and seeing lots of these types in action. Majority of the negative reports just about had me write off this series but yours is giving me hope. I too want to use the 3S in my inventory. Could you (or someone) show me a picture of the battery compartment? If moving c.g. fwd is the thing to do, I'm looking to use my 3S 1000mah in parallel and have them both on top of each other (think short and thick lipo) if there's room.

Here is a pic from hobbyking that I used for showing the size of the battery compartment
H 35 mm
W 40 mm
L 108 mm
I dont think you could stack them unless you cut the floor out that the battery sits on which would put it right on top of the ESC so you would have to reposition it
Maybe you could mount them in tandem
Hope this helps dude109
Parkguy

Thanks for the measurement. I'll measure my lipo and see what I can do.

There's room. Attached is a photo of a Rhino 1050 and a noname 950 (the one that came with my Skyangel F/A-18) placed side-by-side in the battery compartment. CG works out to 27mm with the batteries full forward, or 37mm if you slide them full aft.

And if the dimensions of your 3S batteries are more short and fat, it should still work. Because the battery compartment widens in front of where the wing LE intersects the fuse...at the extent of the foam sleeve that the wing fits into. So a more short/fat battery can be shoved off to the side there. That's how I manage to combine a short/fat Nanotech 4S 850 battery with a Nanotech 4S 1000...the fat 850 goes full forward and off to the side in front of that wing sleeve (see second photo), leaving room for the 1000 beside it. The 3S batteries shown in the first photo are just a little too long to slide off to the side like that. The 4S 850 that fits in there measures 53mm long.

herk1,
Rhino 3S 1050mah are exactly what I have. Great to know that I can stand both up on its side and parallel them to get 2100mah 3S while moving the c.g. farther fwd. So there's definitely a good chance one of these may end up in my hangar!!! I'll continue following for further user experiences.

Originally Posted by Parkguy

Hi everyone
I thought i would share some pics of my edge and info about it

4. Scale 3 blade prop and spinner
Just my 2 cents worth (ya I know and then some)
Best regards
parkguy

Parkguy... Where did you get the 3 blade prop and spinner and what size? As for the tail wheel too.

I've trimmed my battery tray to slide the 1800 4S just under the wing brace to give a better balance. So far so good. I secure the battery with velcro and things are working out pretty good!
Your plane looks great, good job.

Thanks a bunch putter
The prop is a flying styro 3 blade that I cut about 0.5 inch off the tips of and tried my best to balance. I used the stock backplate and a spinner from an old simprop su-31 I had (which is 40mm BTW). I cut down the spinner till it fit over the backplate. Then I glued the spinner to the backplate. Yes I glued it (not one of my better ideas). One side of the spinner came loose during the first flight. I have since secured the spinner to the backplate using 3 micro screws from a eye glass repair kit
Now it works great and wont be going anywhere (I hope) I still may have to break down and get a tru-turn spinner and MAS 7x6 three blade.

The tail wheel was made from wire that is the same diameter as the stock one (so it would still fit in to the stock holder) I also put a aluminum tube on it to fatten it up a bit. The wheel is made from 3 pieces of aluminum tube with a rubber faucet washer for the tire.
Parkguy

Oh and hey if Scott from hobbyking is still on this thread it would be great if the MXS and the Edge 540 was offered unpainted like the rarebear funfighter

I put some more flights on the Edge today. On one of the flights, I tried it with a 3S battery. Size 1600 mAh, shoved full forward. It flew just fine, except of course for being slower...to the point that I had to use 90 to 100 percent power most of the time, since I don't want to let this bird get too slow. Of course, that was with the stock 7x6 prop on it. I might pick up a 7x8 prop when I get a chance, and give that a try on 3S.

I was going to do another experiment, swapping out the stock motor to the 2826 motor that I ordered as an alternate/backup for the plane. That motor has a higher kv (2200), so it's better suited to 3S LiPo. Only problem is, the plane has an odd motor mount interface. One corner is angled forward. The built-in X-mount on the stock motor base has the corresponding corner bent in the same direction to mate to it. See photo. This makes no sense to me. It would make sense if they angled the whole motor mount base for thrust-angle purposes. But to warp one corner, and then bend the x-mount in the same way serves no purpose that I can see. Plus, it makes it harder to get that one screw on and off. So the upshot of it is: you can't mate the new motor's flat X-mount onto that curved plastic base (unless maybe you put it in a vise and manage to bend it in exactly the same way). And you can't reuse the included bent X-mount because it's integral to the stock motor. I don't see how this design accomplishes anything, except making it more difficult to work with.

So it looks like people who buy the bare-airframe kit are in for a rude surprise when they go to attach a motor.

hello

parkguy or find your driver and decal

herk1,
That's an extremely odd motor mount. Anyone else wanna open their cowl and see if that is indeed a design feature? Certainly adding washer to the mount or customizing the plastic mount would be quicker and cheaper in the long run than to have employees sitting there bending each one...

Saw this new gyro thingy under HK new items: http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...tabilizer.html

This particular plane seems like it might be a good candidate to use with the gyro device, if it really works. For example, it might make flight at more aft CGs less tricky. And it might provide some recovery help in the event of a nasty tip-stall-and-spin like I experienced.

Just a thought. And in any event, the thing is already on back-order.

Nice unit at a great price. However, the HH AS3X required upgraded servos to handle the constant movements that would cause normal servos to die early. Would be good to have a simple on/off switch so that you only turn it on day's when you really need it.