This is the Maiden Flight of my new Parkzone Ultra Micro (2S Brushless) P-51 Mustang that was completed April 25, 2016.

Parkzone Ultra Micro P-51 Mustang (2S Brushless) Maiden Flight (5 min 30 sec)

The project took 7 hours, starting from 7pm and ending to 2am. The receiver is a brand new UMX Beast 3D AS3X receiver (EFLU4864). The new 4-bladed prop is from a UMX P-47 Thunderbolt, The prop adapter is a standard Eflite UMX 2S BL prop adapter. The motor mount is a custom-made Aeromodz UMX P-40 2S BL motor mount that I shaved down to fit in the motor cavity.

What took the longest was switching the positions of the rudder and elevator control horns as well as re-fitting the carbon fiber control rods to work correctly with the EFLU4864 AS3X receiver (Since the rudder servo on the receiver board is on the right side and the elevator servo is on the left). Everything else was fairly straightforward.

All wing surfaces have been reinforced with .050 carbon fiber rod spars and the undercarriage has been reinforced in select areas with Scotch tape (in the event I want to ever belly land this plane). Control surfaces have been trimmed to neutral and binding to the DX6 was a non-event.

For additional prop clearance, I installed Dubro 1-1/4" Mini Lite wheels and raked the landing gears forward slightly for better landing and ground-handling characteristics.

The battery used for this plane was the Eflite 2S 200mAh 45C as it provided the best fitment in the...Continue Reading

This is a flight with my Eflite UMX Sbach 342 V1 that has been upgraded with the same AS3X Receiver that is used on the UMX Sbach 342 3D V2, upgraded Spektrum Servos, as well as a 3000Kv Motor. (More info below..)

Eflite UMX Sbach 342 Upgraded V1 (AS3X / 3000Kv) Flight - Sleeper (5 min 8 sec)

This past week, I completed the transformation of my new Eflite UMX Sbach V1 that has all of its internals upgraded, which included the following parts:

UMX Sbach 342 3D AS3X Receiver (SPMAS6410NBL)
Eflite 3000Kv 180BL Motor (EFLUM180BLB)
Small Parts CNC Aluminum UMX Prop Adapter
Spektrum 2.3 Gram Performance Linear Long Throw Servos x 4 (SPMSA2030L)
Carbon Fiber Rod Spar Reinforcements on Vertical & Horizontal Stabilizers
Dubro 1-1/4" Mini Lite Wheels

What took the longest was replacing all of the stock servos for the Ailerons, Elevator, and Rudder with the Spektrum 2.3 Gram Performance Linear Long Throw Servos. The original stock servos were very "noisy", making some sort of radio frequency chatter upon plugging the battery in. The new Performance Long Throw Servos were silent on start-up. I also took my time to tune and balance the Eflite 5 x 2.75 Prop (which surprisingly gives more punch and power for this airframe as supposed to the GWS 5030) until all that can be felt was the clean spin of the 3000Kv motor itself. With that said, this V1 is now a "Sleeper" AS3X version with an upgraded motor and servos.

For this flight, a Hyperion 2S 240...Continue Reading

This is a Snow Maiden Flight of my Eflite UMX Sbach 342 3D outfitted with the UMX Carbon Cub SS Floats.

Eflite UMX Sbach 342 3D - Snow Floats Maiden Flight (6 min 9 sec)

With 3 days of a Spring Colorado Blizzard blanketing every regional park with fresh powder, I decided to test my upgraded Eflite UMX Sbach 342 3D (Eflite 3000 Kv Motor / Eflite 5x2.75 Prop), and outfit it with the UMX Carbon Cub SS Optional Floats with Custom Attachment Points.

This is the same set of Floats that I used with the Custom .047 Music Wire Front Arm and Rear Keystone Mounting Bracket that I previously outfitted on my UMX Beast 3D as well as my Hobbyzone Champ Crophopper (2S Brushless w/ Ailerons).

Eflite UMX Beast 3D Snow Floats Maiden Flight - Snow Beast: https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show....php?t=2634090

Hobbyzone "Champ Crophopper" (2S Brushless w/ Dual Servo Ailerons) Snow Floats Flight: https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show....php?t=2564877

The Custom .047 Music Wire Front Arm that I made for my Hobbyzone Champ Crophopper (2S Brushless w/ Ailerons) also happened to fit correctly on the UMX Sbach 342 3D, and all that was left to do was create a Mounting Point for the Rear Arm holding the Keystone Bracket. This was accomplished with a small square piece of Scotch Tape on the Rear Mounting Area of the Fuselage, followed by a square piece of Industrial Velcro. The Velcro itself can be removed (when it is applied on top of the square Scotch Tape-surfaced part of the...Continue Reading

Today is my Birthday! To celebrate the occasion, last week I picked up an FMS T-28 Trojan V2 800mm PNP, a Spektrum AR400 4-channel receiver, and 2 Eflite 3S 1300mAh lipos. My LHS was also kind enough to switch out the stock 2S power lead for an EC3 connector for the 3S lipos. This is the Maiden Flight footage.

FMS T-28 Trojan V2 (800MM) PNP Maiden Flight on my Birthday (5 min 12 sec)

Aside from my first plane (the venerable Hobbyzone Champ), the FMS T-28 Trojan V2 800mm is my first non-AS3X plane in my fleet and despite some of the gusting that was present at the park, this T-28 was solid and predictable. I noticed however that on take-off there was a significant amount of torque steer to the left, which I had to counteract with some right rudder. I also noticed that on hard throttle punches, the T-28 would slightly attempt to roll left due to the amount of sudden torque.. All of these sudden little movements that I probably never noticed before since any of my AS3X-equipped planes would have most likely absorbed those outside forces. After some light trimming, this FMS V2 T-28 800mm flew great with a jet-like presence. Landings are also a non-event with the robust gears. This plane comes in on approaches beautifully! With the timer set to 5 minutes on my Spektrum DX6 transmitter, I was able to easily hit my target flight time with plenty of power on reserve for landing approaches. Voltage left on my 3S battery read 11.44 volts.

Something tells me I'll need to stop by my local hobby store again. I'm going to need more batteries.

MODIFICATIONS / UPGRADES
EC3 Power Lead Connector for 3S Lipos

SETUP / EQUIPMENT
Receiver: Spektrum AR400 4-Channel Receiver
Transmitter: Spektrum DX6
Battery: Eflite 3S 1300 mAh 20C
Timer: 5 Minutes
Battery Discharge: 11.44 Volts out of 12.60 Volts

Control: 100% Rates
Expo: None

Camera: iPhone 6 at 1080P / 60 FPS
Headmount: http://www.amazon.com/Mount-Smartpho..._detailpages00

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This is a Landing Practice Flight Video of my UMX Yak 54 with my Custom .047 Music Wire Landing Gear Set.

Eflite UMX Yak 54 Landing Exercises - Turbulence (6 min 36 sec)

I had noticed that with the UMX Yak 54, the balance point of the Landing Gears towards the fuselage and its ground height relative to the 5.75x2.25 Stump Puller Prop may tend to lend itself to more Prop Strikes and Noseovers. Factor in wind during Landing Approaches and the chances of these issues increase.

Using the Landing Gear design of the UMX Beast 3D, I made my own set of Custom set of Landing Gears for the UMX Yak 54. The material used was .047 Music Wire, which is just as light as the stock Landing Gears, but is thicker and stronger. This Custom Landing Gear Set is also 1/2" longer on the legs, providing extra clearance height for the 5.75x2.25 Stump Puller Prop. The legs of the Landing Gear are also slightly raked forward, reducing the chances of the tail lifting up and causing a Noseover or Prop Strike.

Additional modifications include the use of UMX Pitts S-1S Foam Wheels mounted on Dubro Mini Lite Hubs. The foam is very soft and allows excellent shock absorbency on impact. The plastic motor mount has also been replaced with a Small Parts CNC Aluminum Prop Adapter. The original Canopy Hatch that had the chalk-marked “3D” sticker has been replaced with a new Canopy Hatch that is unmarked for a clean look.

Field conditions were ideal for the Landing Exercises and Test,...Continue Reading