I recently purchased 10 balance plug extensions. They are used with battery meters and alarms to extend the location. At least 2 of the red metal pins have pulled out from the white plastic housing. Re inserting them does not fix the problem unless the metal barb is bent down to a 45 degree angle. Then the barb will catch into the plastic slot and the pin will remain in the housing. A gentle tug test should be done to each of the pins. So for a 3 cell battery with 8 pins a tug test for each of the 8 pins should be done. Any pin that easily comes out should have its barb bent down to a 45 degree angle then pushed in with a small flat screwdriver connected to motor the metal crimp pin.

If an Electronic Speed Control (ESC) fails in flight there may not be power to the receiver to operate your servos. The result will be a loss of control and possible crash damage to a person, place or thing. If the ESC fails on the ground before or after takeoff the risk of crash damage is still present but is minimized. The use of seperate receiver and servo battery power can be used or a back up pack but you will still be faced with a power off landing that might be cause damage. This is how I usually verify and validate new or suspect speed controls.

1. Measure the amp load (using a Wattmeter/ Current meter) and confirm it is below the rated amp load for the ESC. The amp load can be reduced by changing to a lower pitch prop or a smaller diameter. Reducing the cell count for example from 6 to 5 lipos will reduce the amp load.

2. Run the motor for at least 10 seconds with a prop and measure the heat of the ESC. Use an ingrared thermometer and ensure temps are less than 140 F. If you do not have one you should be able to keep your finger on the ESC for 3 seconds or more. If it hurts at 3 seconds the ESC is too hot and the resultant heat can affect or damage the internal electronic components. Increase ram air cooling and have more exhaust area than intake area. Keep the ESC from being insulated. Don’t glue the ESC to the wood or foam fuselage. Keep the heat sink out in the cooling air flow.

3. For new speed controls or used...Continue Reading

Last week Sean from Horrizon Tecnical walked me through the programming of my Maule 636 receiver so I could use a switch or servo plugged into the ch 5 port. We got the servo working but later that day the ch 5 switch B operated both the servo and SAFE Self Level On/Off. I called Tech today and Joe walked me through the transmitter programming. After 3 or 4 binding attempts and programming changes we finally got it working but had to create a new model. The SAFE switch initially was the A switch and the servo was put on the E switch. I later put the SAFE switch on B where I am used to it. See screen shots of the final set up. Video shows a 12x4 Timber prop backing up.

Maule with Turnigy AeroStar RVS 40A ESC (0 min 16 sec)

I’ve flown the Timber with stock floats from water and grass. Steering on the grass can be done but takes lots of power and is not accurate. To improve steering and reduce float drag on grass I installed two main wheels just aft of the CG and a left nosewheel that is controlled by the stock rudder servo. I use the stock steering servo arm and a wire pushrod. The right nosewheel is a castor design that follows the left nosewheel. I picked the tires that were soft and light with scale like hubs. Music wire axles and brass tubes are used for axle bushings and steering tubes. I am pleased with the tight turning radius on asphalt and look forward to grass operations. Once I activate channel 5 on the stock 636 receiver a two position DX9 H switch will operate a Turnigy reversible electronic speed control. This will allow reverse taxi and reverse thrust for braking after landing. See following video.

Maule M7 with amphibious float mod. (0 min 38 sec)

...Continue Reading

Thanks Lonny for weighing all the parts on your postal scale (ounces):

Landing gear and wheels 5.6
Nose cone and prop nut. .8
11x7 prop. .9
Fin and rudder. 1.1
Elevator and stab. 1.4
Right wing and strut. 8.9
Left wing and strut. 8.8
Fuselage. 27.7
Pushrods. 1.0
Misc. parts. 1.1
Wing tube. 1.4

Total. 58.7

An Thrust 22003S 40C lipo. 6.8

Total with lipo. 66.5 oz. .5 oz over compared to 66 oz. spec on pg 3 of the Maule manual

I put a broom handle on my driveway and placed my Maule on it to find the fulcrum point on the float bottoms. I put my 3200 3S 40 C pack in the battery bay. The fulcrum point turned out to be right where the step is located. So I found a pair of wheels that looked about right and cut out Lite Ply parts. I used 13 min epoxy and a clamp overnight. Measuring the width and length of the “wheel box” I used a box cutter to slice into the hollow floats as close to the step as possible. The nose gear will be a little more complicated as a pushrod will have to be installed to the left nose gear for steering. I would like to make the nose gear swivel forward and up (by hand) for water operations. The mains will stay fixed in place with the additional water drag a compromise. The rudder will be a swivel up and down ( by hand) as well. See pics

I removed the the water rudder and put on 2 layers of clear 20X tape to protect bottoms. Video shows takeoff and landing. Landing rollout is very short!

Horizon Hobby Maule M7 On floats (0 min 37 sec)