South Land Aero Modelers

Some pics of my new Edge 540




This is the 40" Edge 540 from 3D Hobby Shop... I'm using a Reaper GR-25 motor, an E-Flite 40amp ESC, a 3S 11.1V 2200mAh Hyperion lipo, and 10x7 prop. I tried to reuse my E-Flite Park 480 motor, but it was damaged more than I thought from my previous crash. Maiden flight should be within the next week... I'll let you know how it goes... hopefully I can keep it in one piece!!

Look for the expiration date. They all have one, its just hard to find. Sure looks good to me.

The Edge 540 had its maiden flight today (Monday from 10:30AM - 11:30AM)... and it is no more.... no just kidding, everything went great... very nice plane. I did have a close call on the first flight though... the elevator throw was set very high, and within the first 10 seconds of taking off I almost stalled the plane (not good). I quickly adjusted to the throw level (which I later changed to 50%), and had a great first flight. The plane climbs fairly well... I may try a larger prop though to get a bit better performance... it rolls extremely easily... inverted flight is a breeze... after a few attempts, I got to where I could knife edge the plane well... never could quite get the hoover down pat (I'll continue to work on this until I get it... it's easy on the sim., not so easy in real life!). The plane is very (and I mean very) light, and the winds were pushing 8-10mph at the field... so this made flying interesting at times. When landing (against the wind), the plane would come down at about 2mph and roll about an inch on touchdown... very neat to watch, but a little stressful because keeping the wings steady was a challenge at times. I flew three times... about 8-10 min. each pack... and went home with the plane in one piece... this is called a successful day!

Question... I just got a Watt's Up meter and I need to know where to place it in the electrical setup... I think I put it between the battery and the ESC, but if someone could confirm this that would be great. I'm using the meter to make sure I'm not pulling too many amps on the motor (this will be important as I try different props to get the most power)... someone let me know if I have this correct - thanks.

Wes

Man after reading that 1st line, my heart sunk a little. Good to hear it was a success.

My Wattmeter goes between the battery and ESC. I use Dean's plugs everywhere, so it's easy to plug it in to get a reading.

I assume the Watt's Up works similarly, but suggest you read the manual.

Thanks Ed... read the manual first, but it doesn't specifically state where to put it because it's not exclusively for rc products... I also searched youtube and the internet but didn't find anything... I've put deans on both ends as well... seems to work just fine... with a 10x7 prop and wide open it's pulling about 23.6 amps... the motor states that nominal amps should be 20 with peak amps at 26... I really didn't think the smaller prop would pull that many amps. I've ordered an 11x5.5 prop which is the recommended size for the motor... we'll see how many amps the larger prop pulls. Thanks for the reply.

Wes