Maidened my Panther today. Replacement 3575 fan is running 750W, so a good improvement on the previous one. Thanks for the advice to change it. Very easy to hand launch and slowed up nicely for landing with full flaps. Very happy with how it flies.

I have the afterburner lights on mine and can offer the following advice. The control box is a bit temperature sensitive so if you set it up in a warm workshop, it probably won't work at a cold flying field. Set the pot at the flying site and then seal it with some soft glue as it's very sensitive. It's a poor peice of electronics, but the effect is a good bit of fun and looks great on a dull, overcast day like it was today. I would also reccommend using a spare channel to control the light with a mixer from the throttle channel, rather than using the supplied Y lead on the throttle if you're using a BEC ESC.

Tean, congrats on the maiden. I really like the performance of my 4s 3575kv ...what lipo did you use?... DJ

Tean,

See, persistance pays off! I'm pleased to hear that your Maiden
was so successful. It should be the first of many. Both you and
DJ will get better performance with a 35-45C pack at around 4000
-5000mAh. And again, using a wattmeter and testing your setups
with different packs will sure be a benefit at the field. Try to get
a minimum of 200 w/lb or more and you will not regret it.

I'm using DesirePower 4s 3700, 33C. I have been using DesirePower cells in helicopters for some time and have found them to be excellent in high power setups. Performance seemed very good with possibly unlimited vertical climbs (it was cloudy and dark so I had to stop before it got too high) and good pick up from low speed. My Panther weighs in at a sniff over 3 pounds, 2 ounces with this pack so I'm comfortably in the 200W/pound zone.

Thanks for all the advice guys. I've been doing electric helis for ages, but the planes are still a bit new to me.

ok guys... just pulled the trigger and bought this.. I'm going to use the 3600kv Fury fan instead of the RClander 3575 which I think it's identical to the fury fan..
going to use a Turnigy 60amp plush . this combo was working great in my LX models F-22 but it was impossible to balance the CG with that metal shroud so I replaced it with a HET6904 and a Hoffman magnetics the beast and a 5S setup.. now that F-22 has even more power and I was left with the powersystem..

I hope the panther does not disappoint me

wowowwowowowow..... I read back that some of you guys are using 5S on the 3575kv... is this possible..?? won't that weaken the magnets and destroy the motor?

also looking for good metal gear servos to use with the retracts and the nosewheel steering
any recomendations?

Originally Posted by pavcon

also looking for good metal gear servos to use with the retracts and the nosewheel steering
any recomendations?

I am using HS 65mg's x 3 on each of my Panthers for the retracts. For steering any 9 gram servo will suffice. This is with the suspension struts and gear doors.

Originally Posted by pavcon

also looking for good metal gear servos to use with the retracts and the nosewheel steering
any recomendations?

JPflyer has a good recommentation for using the Hitec 65MG servos for
his mechanical retracts. But, lately I have gone to the Lander electric
retract system which I believe is much better and saves three servos.
Yet, I still like a metal gear servo for the steering as the nose wheel
sure gets a lot of stress during takeoffs & landings.

thanks guys.. so...
once again and I hope to get a good answer..
is it safe for the motor to use a 5S on the 3575kv ?

Pavcon,

A few pages back I posted this info (post 3685);

"Even with the 3575kv unit, when you get it all hooked up, I suggest that
you experiment with a few different batteries (4S & 5S 4000mAh and up)
and try to get around 200 watts per pound or more (that's flying weight).
Knowing that you plan to hand launch, if you were able to get about 250
w/lb, that would be even better to give you that extra power at launch.

My PC Panther at 4.135 pounds using the Lander 2399kv unit, 60A-OPTO
ESC with 5A BEC and 6S (40C) 4550mAh pack produced @ 1000W / 40A
/ 22.4V for about 250w/lb. Take offs on a paved surface was no problem
and the Panther rotated in 100 feet or so. Also, be sure to set the proper
timing on the ESC for your motor as each different kv unit operates much
better on a diffrerent setting; low / med / high. I hope that this helps."

Since my Panther has the 2399kv fan, I can't speak from experience about
the 3575kv unit, but if you can static test your setup with a watt meter,
you can determine if your setup can benefit from a 5S pack or not. The
Lander speck sheet recommends a 4S pack for the 3575kv unit, but you will
never know for sure till you test it yourself.

Originally Posted by Papajeff

Pavcon,

A few pages back I posted this info (post 3685);

"Even with the 3575kv unit, when you get it all hooked up, I suggest that
you experiment with a few different batteries (4S & 5S 4000mAh and up)
and try to get around 200 watts per pound or more (that's flying weight).
Knowing that you plan to hand launch, if you were able to get about 250
w/lb, that would be even better to give you that extra power at launch.

My PC Panther at 4.135 pounds using the Lander 2399kv unit, 60A-OPTO
ESC with 5A BEC and 6S (40C) 4550mAh pack produced @ 1000W / 40A
/ 22.4V for about 250w/lb. Take offs on a paved surface was no problem
and the Panther rotated in 100 feet or so. Also, be sure to set the proper
timing on the ESC for your motor as each different kv unit operates much
better on a diffrerent setting; low / med / high. I hope that this helps."

Since my Panther has the 2399kv fan, I can't speak from experience about
the 3575kv unit, but if you can static test your setup with a watt meter,
you can determine if your setup can benefit from a 5S pack or not. The
Lander speck sheet recommends a 4S pack for the 3575kv unit, but you will
never know for sure till you test it yourself.

With a 5s I got 880watts and around 77amps. Sure I'm getting increradible amount of thrust.. not emasured yet but it was sure more than 1.5kg in my F-22.
The point is if this will be ok with the motor.. I don't want to end up with a burned motor. they are so hard to find and my LHS has a gallows pole that you need to survive 1st and then buy one..

Pavcon,

Here is a link for your lander fan unit;
http://www.nitroplanes.com/lealaleldufa2.html

Go to the full stat chart and look at the info for your unit
#LEDF68-1A35 and you will see that it looks like the almost
80 amps that you are getting might be a little excessive for
your motor. In addition, you could change your ESC timing
from low to medium and test again, then go to high and test
once again to see if you can bring the amps down to at least
50 or so. Let's see if any of the other guys agree with me or
have another view of this situation.

will do some tests and come back

Originally Posted by pavcon

With a 5s I got 880watts and around 77amps. Sure I'm getting increradible amount of thrust.. not emasured yet but it was sure more than 1.5kg in my F-22.
The point is if this will be ok with the motor.. I don't want to end up with a burned motor. they are so hard to find and my LHS has a gallows pole that you need to survive 1st and then buy one..

In the F-16 thread, Tim has stated that the 3575 can't handle 5s, too many watts. At my altitude for the F-16 the 3575 on 4s wasn't enough, so I stepped up to a Cyclone 4100kv and she moves now!

For my panther I'm going 6s with a 2100kv motor. Just got it all in the mail yesterday so I haven't had a chance to take a look yet.

-swps