My Seawind just showed up today! Anxious to get it going! I too am going to have to alter the motor mount to accommodate a Head's Up RC 2830-10. The $23 price sounded so much better than $50 for the Rimfire. But before I mount it I am going to put it on my test stand to see what kind of thrust and amps I should see for the Seawind set up.

Richg99, I will see if I can measure the mount tomorrow before I do any cutting to see approximately what angles the stock setup was designed with, maybe even a picture would help you as well.

Eric

Originally Posted by richg99

I'd be interested in the angle ( up or down ) of the stock motor mount. I cut my mount off to mount another motor. My initial flight seemed to show to much down thrust... I had put a bit of up angle on the new motor...

I have now changed that angle to a bit downward, but wonder what the original mount shows. thanks, Rich

Rich,
Referred to the flat foam face of the engine pod that the ply motor mount attaches to, I measure 3.5 degrees right thrust and 1.5 degrees up thrust (the motor shaft propeller end will be up 1.5 degrees from the motor pod end).
(I don't like using the term up or down thrust, as there seem to be different interpretations of it!)
Glenn.

I just wanted to say I had a great season with my Seawind, and it was my "go to" amphibious that I kept on my boat. I finished the season without any mishaps at all, and not once did I have to jump in the raft to go out and retrieve it. I also kept the Multiplex Gemini on the boat, but mainly flew the Seawind, since it flew so well.

The only quirk is the downward pitch when applying power, but once you are aware of this it's easy to compensate. I'm sure any model with it's motor mounted on a tail pod will exhibit the same characteristic. Really not much of a problem.

I also beefed up the motor mount. As a matter of fact I completely redesigned it, using mainly liteply.

Also tapped the wing mount and use a socket head bolt. Very secure now.

Danny

thanks Danny. I think the wing mount bolt is a really poor choice by the manufacturer. I'll be re-doing mine, too. Rich

I've been continuing to have a great time flying my Seawind too. I am still very impressed with how well it flies and have started getting more adventurous with acrobatic flights. However, most of the enjoyment I get comes from making graceful water landings (V. hard to get a perfect nonbounced touchdown) and slow flying on calm days. Have said it before, but it is quite surprising how slow you can come in on final approach without dropping a wing/stalling.

Unlike Danny, I have been out in my kayak a few times to retrieve either the canopy (keep meaning to attach it with a thread to fuselage) or whole plane. Went through a period where glitches got worse and became cut outs upon landing. Finally found the cause - the lead from the ESC to the Rx was stretched and impact from landing caused it to disconnect from the Rx. Having said that, it did happen in mid air once - just prior to landing - thankfully I was only about 4 meters above water, lost all control and my Seawind, with a slight right hand tilt torpedoed straight down into the lake. Funny thing was how it bounced straight back out in the reverse direction as if it was repelled by a spring after having half dissapeared into the drink

Keep us update with your progress Eric and others preparing for maiden flights. Hope you can get your maidens on video if possible?

Today's float fly started out a little cold at 37 degrees, but it warmed up to over 70 degrees before lunch. Here's some shots of the action.
McD

Great shots Hope I can do the same soon. Where are you... I am in Houston. Rich

Richg,
In Kingsland on the Highland Lakes. We float fly at Richardson Park in Llano. I've flown my Seawind off grass at the Rice Memorial in San Antonio and at the 3DHS Fly Low In at Dallas.

Johnnz,
I usually tape the LE of the canopy with a 2" long piece of tape after I install the battery. The canopy doesn't come off anymore, not even if I execute the famous "fishing cork" manuever.

Mike McD

Hmmmm ... I have a Son; Daughter in law and a couple of granddaughter's in Carrolton/Lewisville. Next time we get up to see them, maybe I best bring my Seawind... Rich

Got everything installed in the Seawind last night, it didnt take long (would have been quicker if things had fitted properly!). Had to shave off some foam here and there and bend the linkages for the ailerons as suggested on the thread. Unfortunately my kit was missing the spinner, but no big deal.
Taxied it around on the grass, I was suprised how much pitch down there is. Wonder if this makes it hard to get off the water?
Had to hold up elevator to make it taxi, otherwise the tail lifted.
Will be going to the beach tomorrow, so might maiden it on an inlet closeby.
Glad I found this thread, heaps of helpful hints.

Glenn.

Hopefully, i'll be testing out my new $14 rhino 3s 1250mah tomorrow.

We have 3+ inches of snow on the ground and an expected 4-6 in the overnight

the battery is well constructed (visibly) , but it is terribly long. I would say it is twice the length of a tp1320, and i had to re-arrange some components to get the cg at the spar.


Cool

Cool,
I balanced mine with a 3S 1750 Rhino, hope its not too heavy for it. CG came in with the battery back as far as it would go in nose section.
Hope it ROGs from snow! looks like it would. No chance of snow here, expecting near 100F next week.
Glenn.

Glenn, I think you will be fine with the 1750's. I have some Fusion Pack 1800's that I am planning to put in mine, and maybe even some FP 2200's if all my 1800's are discharged. According to HC your Rhino's are about 15 grams heavier than my 1800's. But either way, several pages back in this thread a bunch of guys were using 2200's as their normal battery of choice and report no problem with it, only noting slightly higher speeds. Good luck, I will be very interested to hear how it goes. I hear nothing but good things about Rhino batts. BTW, what motor are you using?

Eric

Originally Posted by EricJ320

Glenn, I think you will be fine with the 1750's. I have some Fusion Pack 1800's that I am planning to put in mine, and maybe even some FP 2200's if all my 1800's are discharged. According to HC your Rhino's are about 15 grams heavier than my 1800's. But either way, several pages back in this thread a bunch of guys were using 2200's as their normal battery of choice and report no problem with it, only noting slightly higher speeds. Good luck, I will be very interested to hear how it goes. I hear nothing but good things about Rhino batts. BTW, what motor are you using?

Eric

Eric, OK on the weight, looks like it shoud be OK. I am using a HC motor A20-20L. It has a similar Kv to the one originally recommended for the Seawind, maybe a little higher.
http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/s...trunner_20-20L
The Seawind scoots around on the grass OK with that combination. Should be able to try a maiden tomorrow.
The guys here are using a lot of Rhinos and all reports are good so far.
Glenn.

That looks like a pretty good motor. Try to add some pics/video of your maiden if you can! I am going to put my motor on my test stand today (nowhere as fun as doing a maiden flight! ) and will report my findings. I am interested to see what kind of thrust to weight ratio we should see with these replacement motors over the stock rimfire. If you could, let me know what your AUW is with your Rhino mounted.

Thanks,
Eric