Inside the eHawk 1500
The eHawk is about ready to maiden. Inside the fuse I have a JR RS70 receiver velcroed to the side of the fuse, a HobbyKing 15-18A ESC to the other side and a Turnigy 1200mAh 3S Lipo in the middle with velcro on the bottom. I haven't checked the CG yet but it looks like I should be able to move the battery back and forth pretty easily. The trusty old Futaba FF7 36Mhz transmitter will provide control. I included pics of the Futaba Tx and JR Rx just because some people don't know that the two brands will happily work together. Why did I buy the JR Rx if I was using the Futaba Tx? Probably because the Futaba Rxs were too expensive (not that the JR was chickenfeed either).
Rcpowers.com extra 300 v2
Version 2 of the Rcpowers.com extra 300 is coming together. This time I'm using 6mm depron as opposed to the 5mm foamcore artboard that I used to build the first one. Turns out the cardboard skin on either side of the foam is just too heavy.
Ehawk build 3
Ok so I've skipped a few steps but I want to try out the wordpress app on the iPhone for some more real time blog updates.
So here's the Ehawk just waiting for the hobbyking futaba 2.4 ghz compatible receiver. Backorders are due to be filled October 15. Soon after this bird can fly.
eHawk 1500 – Build 02
From the manual. "2. Locate the torque rod connector then thread the connector on the aileron torque rod."
A pretty basic step, just make sure to screw the connectors on each rod to an even depth to ensure equal movement of the aileron servos.
Aileron torque rod connector
eHawk 1500 – Build 01
"1. Remove aileron then center all CA hinges in place. Apply tiny epoxy in the torque rod hole then install the aileron. Secure all hinges with thin CA glue. After cures, make sure aileron moves freely."
- The aileron sticks a bit on the torque rod. Patient jiggling will eventually see it loose.
- Sometimes pushing the aileron onto the hinge will force it back into the wing. To make sure the hinge stays centred, use a pin. When the aileron is on, pull the pin out and glue.
- Don't go overboard with the epoxy otherwise it will be squeezed out and bind the aileron.
RC Plane storage
With space becoming a premium in the garage, I've had to find new places and ways to store the planes. Unfortunately the trailer is moving outside and the car is going to be living in the garage from now on. So here's a couple of ways I've made better use of space available in the garage.
1) Vertical rails from Bunnings. Easy to do and flexible configuration. Once the vertical rails are screwed into the wall (making sure there's a stud behind 'em), the arms can be moved up and down to suit all different sizes. Shown here is a little 46 sized sport plane along with a 160 Edge 540.
2) Garage door rails and cable ties. Aah cable ties, is there anything they can't do? The last meter or so of the garage door rail isn't actually used and is crying out to hang something off. Just make sure you mark where on the rail the door actually stops before hanging them. I misjudged the first one by about 15cm so when I opened the garage door, the roller almost crushed one model. Luckily the model just got pushed along the rail.
Thunder Tiger eHawk 1500 – What’s in the box?
So what do you get for your $150?
- Two nicely covered wings. I didn't particularly want blue but it was all they had in stock and who wants to wait when you can have it now.
- One OBL 29/09-07A Outrunner Brushless Motor
- A 10 x 6 Folding prop set.
- Ply pack including servo tray, wing mounts etc.
- Nuts 'n bolts and bit's 'n pieces bag.
- Carbon Tube for the fuse.
- A canopy.
- 4 x metal pushrods.
- Two carbon tube wing joiners.
- The main body of the fuse. Light fibreglass?
- Instruction manual. Looks easy enough to follow.
- A "Safety Caution" manual. Full of useful tips - not.
- Motor manual including mount template.
- Decal sheet for prettying up the glider.
It didn't seem like much taking unpacking it from the box but then it is supposed to be a light glider.
eHawk 1500 build
What a good week last week. The birth of my second daughter the day before my own birthday on which I get to unwrap my present, a Thunder Tiger eHawk 1500 electric glider. Reading up on the forums suggests a few modifications might be worthwhile, like putting the aileron servos in the wing and maybe even some flaps. With the default setup (1 aileron in the wing) I reckon having to connect the aileron pushrods every time would become tedious and probably lead to weakening the connector. I've seen photos of PC connectors being used in the wing and fuse to mate the aileron servo leads upon mounting the wing each time.
time lapse build video – extra 300
What started out as an instructional video on building a foamy, turned into a time lapse video of the build. I used Vegas Pro to capture, resample and speed up the playback to condense a few night work into about 90 seconds video. I built it out of 5mm foam core artboard which overall I think comes out too heavy. During the build, I used a heatgun to remove the cardboard layer from the ailerons and rudder. This came to about 45 grams of weight removed from the plane. Imagine how much I could save if I skinned all the cardboard from the foam and used a few CF rods for stiffness instead.
My suspicions about the weight was confirmed with a maiden flight on Sunday past. It flew ok and would hover but needed about 90% throttle to do so. I think I'll try to lighten this version and build another one without the cardboard skin.
rcpowers.com extra 300 foamy – electronics
Started putting the electronics in today. The 10A ESC is probably too small and will be swapped for a 20A. The motor is a Turnigy 2730 Brushless Motor 1500kv. The receiver is a 4 channel, 2.2gram, 2.4Ghz rx from fly-rc.com.au. 2.2grams!
You can find the plans here;
http://www.rcpowers.com/forum/showthread.php?s=4d581749dd440cbd0dc1285713a8ecd2&t=625
