I’VE GOTTEN a lot of mail in the last
couple months, and it really helps direct
where I go with the column. It was
interesting to see the response to do-ityourself
motor kits and data acquisition.
Some of you took me to task for not being
more technical and some couldn’t
understand why I did those articles at all.
You also overloaded the vendors with
orders, so although there were some
problems, they seemed to get worked out.
I’ve also heard that more readers want to see
conversions and some basic information
about how to wire things up from a
beginner’s perspective.
I’ll try to get to all of that, so please keep
your suggestions coming. I’ve got big
shoulders, so let me know what you don’t
like as well as what you do.
How High Do You Fly? Winged Shadow
Systems has brought a nifty little electronic
device to our market that finally answers
the question “How high?”. It is called the
How High Model Aircraft Altimeter.
This little gem is smaller than a postage
stamp and plugs into any outlet on your
receiver, or you can use a separate battery.
It requires anywhere from 3.2 to 12.0 volts,
so your options are wide open.
A friend of mine just hooks it to a single
small Li-Poly cell and drops it in models as
he pleases. I plugged mine into an empty
servo connector for testing.
Simplicity is key here, and the How High
can be a real eye-opener if you fancy
yourself a decent discus-launch glider
(DLG) or Hand-Launch Glider launcher.
You can install the device with the little
LED protruding through the fuselage side so
you can activate the readout and get the
altitude without having to open the fuselage.
I chose to just lay the unit inside the
hatch of my DLG since I have to open it to
arm the radio anyway. And I didn’t want to
add a hole to my fiberglass fuselage.
Once you land, simply wave your finger
over the How High’s LED a couple times
and wait for it to start blinking. You read
the number of flashes, and that tells you the
maximum altitude you reached during the
flight.
It turns out that my “80- to 90-foot
Reader comments support column content
October 2006 105
Electrics Greg Gimlick | [email protected]
Also included in this column:
• How High altimeter
• A cool battery idea
• Update chips for chargers
• Electrics at Joe Nall
• Helicopter Hobbies Quick
QJ18
Winged Shadow Systems’ new How High is small, light, easy to
use, and answers the old question of how high your model goes.
Hacker motor designer/engineer Reiner Hacker of Germany (L)
and Sean Plummer of Aero-Model Inc. man the booth at the Joe
Nall Giant Scale Fly-In.
After installing the new chip in Greg’s
AstroFlight 109 charger, the screen
confirms the upgrade by showing that it is
version 1.7.
The 3S Li-Poly pack from XUS Hobbies
has the wiring diagram printed on the
label. Greg hopes other manufacturers
take note.
10sig4.QXD 8/24/06 12:41 PM Page 105106 MODEL AVIATION
Helicopter Hobbies’ Randy Swann holds the electric QJ18. The
CNC machining is incredible. It has a belt-driven tail rotor,
battery shelf, and uses 550mm blades.
Mark Leseberg’s huge 42% Extra 260 weighs 40 pounds. It has four
10S Li-Poly packs and a Hacker C50 Quad motor system.
launches” are more like 60 and 70 feet—how humbling. It reads
from 50 to 7,000 feet, so you’ll know if you don’t make 50 feet on
the launch. The unit weighs 2.2 grams and draws only roughly 1.2
mA during use.
The unit is available in metric or standard versions, for
approximately $40. I think you will like this altimeter, and it’s fun
to take to the field to see how people misjudge how high they really
fly their models.
Cool Battery Idea From XUS Hobby: I recently needed a Li-Poly
pack in a hurry for a project and contacted Jun Xu at XUS Hobby to
see if he had what I needed. Not only did he have it, but he got it to
me faster than I had hoped and at a great price.
That’s all well and good. But the neat thing is that besides
holding up well under my usage, it is the only pack I’ve ever gotten
that has the wiring diagram of the pack printed on the label!
I think all manufacturers could take a lesson and include the
same thing to make our lives easier. I realize they don’t want us
digging around inside the packs, but the truth is that numerous
modelers modify their packs to change monitoring plugs, etc., even
though they know it will void any warranty.
This is an area that is best left to the experts, and I beg MA’s
“The Battery Clinic” columnist Red Scholefield to address the
rewiring questions since he is the battery expert. However,
providing this diagram to the consumer just makes sense, and I
applaud XUS Hobby for being the first to do it.
Charger Update Chips: I’m treading all over Red’s turf again;
don’t tell him. I’ve recently updated the chips in two of my chargers
and want to make sure you know it can be done easily. I’m no
electrical engineer, but these are simple plug-and-play changes
anyone can do if he or she can operate a screwdriver.
My AstroFlight 109 got the version 1.7 chip that:
• Increased time-out from one to 10 hours
• Increased amp-hours from 9.5 to 95.0 for doing large parallel
packs
• Stops discharge at 3.2 volts instead of 2.9 for more protection
• Fixes the occasional cell miscount as it goes from phase 1 to
phase 2
I’ll let Red get into the finer points, but for $10 and a few
minutes’ work I think this is worth doing if you have an older
version.
The other charger I use all the time for Li-Poly batteries is the
Orbit Pro. At the Southeast Electric Flight Festival I bought the
update chip to bring mine to version 6.4.
The chip cost $10 and took approximately five minutes to install.
Dave Thacker of Radical RC and gentleman extraordinaire offered
to install it for me, but I hated to take him from his customers, so I
did it. It was no big deal. It increased the Li-Poly charging current
and allows for something called “closed-loop charging” when using
Orbit’s Li-Poly checker.
Red will fill you in on the details about what all this means, but
the point is that it’s easy to update these chargers by yourself.
Electrics and the Land of the Giants: I’m not going to cover what
went on at the Joe Nall Giant Scale Fly-In because Michael Ramsey
has already covered it in this magazine. However, if you’ve never
been, you owe it to yourself to visit.
I’ve read about this event since it began and always said I would
attend “one of these days,” but I figured there wouldn’t be much
there for me in the electric side of things. I enjoy big models too and
fly some large Electrics. I decided that this year I would visit for a
couple days as a spectator. Wow, what I’ve been missing.
It’s true that the really large Electrics, such as the one in the
photo flown by Mark Leseberg, are out of reach for most average
modelers, but there is something to be said for the technology that is
being developed there. It eventually trickles down to us or spins off
into new things for us.
The Hacker C50 Quad system that powers Mark’s 42% Extra
260 is available if you have an extra $2,999, but you’ll also need
four controllers and four 10S Li-Poly battery packs. Once you’ve
invested in all that, though, you’ll have a system that will produce
80 pounds of thrust and put out 10 kilowatts. It was really
something to see.
There were other Giant Scale Electrics at the fly-in that are
available to the “average” modeler. They were powered by motors
costing only $300 from AstroFlight, Hacker, PJS, and AXI. This
brings large IMAA (International Miniature Aircraft Association)-
legal airplanes into our electric world that have excellent
performance and don’t break the bank.
10sig4.QXD 8/24/06 12:41 PM Page 106I was fortunate enough to spend some
time with Reiner Hacker, who was
spending some time with Sean Plummer in
the Aero-Model Inc. (Hacker USA’s US
distributor) booth. Reiner is a true German
engineer and gentleman who spent a lot of
time explaining his new Hacker A60
outrunners and why he felt they were a cut
above the other outrunners crowding the
field.
I haven’t had a chance to test one yet,
but given the quality of the Hacker line I
suspect he’s right. In the coming months I
hope to put some A60s through their paces
and report back to you.
Helicopter Musings: I’ve been doing
work with some helicopters lately. Since
I’m a retired helicopter pilot, it made sense
that I’d eventually model them. And with
the electric versions making huge advances
in performance, it was time. I’ve been
flying a couple small coaxials and will be
showing you some things I’ve done with
the Corona.
The really exciting thing I discovered at
the Joe Nall event was the Helicopter
Hobbies booth. The company is owned by
Harold Little.
Harold carries the Quick QJ18 electricpowered
helicopter, which is superior to
any I’ve seen right off the shelf. This
model’s CNC machining is stunning! I’ll
be doing a full build and flying report on a
QJ18 in the near future, so be sure to stay
tuned for some rotary-wing fun!
Final Approach: Space runs out too fast,
but that’s the way it is. I have a great deal
of exciting material in the queue that
ranges from new small motors to large
motors to helicopters to controllers to
receivers. The list goes on and on.
It seems that as soon as I get some things
to test, there’s a newer batch right behind
them. Electrics are progressing faster than I
can keep up—and that’s a good thing. MA
Sources:
AstroFlight Inc.
13311 Beach Ave.
Marina Del Rey CA 90292
(310) 821-6242
Fax: (310) 822-6637
[email protected]
www.astroflight.com
Winged Shadow Systems
Box 432
Streamwood IL 60107
(630) 837-6553
[email protected]
www.rcreporter.com
Helicopter Hobbies
Box 123
Pageland SC 29728
(704) 624-6473
[email protected]
www.helicopterhobbies.com
Aero-Model (Hacker USA)
2122 W 5th Pl.
Tempe AZ 85281
(480) 726-7519
[email protected]
www.hackerbrushless.com
XUS Hobby
San Jose CA
(361) 816-1774
[email protected]
www.xushobby.com
Edition: Model Aviation - 2006/10
Page Numbers: 105,106,107
Edition: Model Aviation - 2006/10
Page Numbers: 105,106,107
I’VE GOTTEN a lot of mail in the last
couple months, and it really helps direct
where I go with the column. It was
interesting to see the response to do-ityourself
motor kits and data acquisition.
Some of you took me to task for not being
more technical and some couldn’t
understand why I did those articles at all.
You also overloaded the vendors with
orders, so although there were some
problems, they seemed to get worked out.
I’ve also heard that more readers want to see
conversions and some basic information
about how to wire things up from a
beginner’s perspective.
I’ll try to get to all of that, so please keep
your suggestions coming. I’ve got big
shoulders, so let me know what you don’t
like as well as what you do.
How High Do You Fly? Winged Shadow
Systems has brought a nifty little electronic
device to our market that finally answers
the question “How high?”. It is called the
How High Model Aircraft Altimeter.
This little gem is smaller than a postage
stamp and plugs into any outlet on your
receiver, or you can use a separate battery.
It requires anywhere from 3.2 to 12.0 volts,
so your options are wide open.
A friend of mine just hooks it to a single
small Li-Poly cell and drops it in models as
he pleases. I plugged mine into an empty
servo connector for testing.
Simplicity is key here, and the How High
can be a real eye-opener if you fancy
yourself a decent discus-launch glider
(DLG) or Hand-Launch Glider launcher.
You can install the device with the little
LED protruding through the fuselage side so
you can activate the readout and get the
altitude without having to open the fuselage.
I chose to just lay the unit inside the
hatch of my DLG since I have to open it to
arm the radio anyway. And I didn’t want to
add a hole to my fiberglass fuselage.
Once you land, simply wave your finger
over the How High’s LED a couple times
and wait for it to start blinking. You read
the number of flashes, and that tells you the
maximum altitude you reached during the
flight.
It turns out that my “80- to 90-foot
Reader comments support column content
October 2006 105
Electrics Greg Gimlick | [email protected]
Also included in this column:
• How High altimeter
• A cool battery idea
• Update chips for chargers
• Electrics at Joe Nall
• Helicopter Hobbies Quick
QJ18
Winged Shadow Systems’ new How High is small, light, easy to
use, and answers the old question of how high your model goes.
Hacker motor designer/engineer Reiner Hacker of Germany (L)
and Sean Plummer of Aero-Model Inc. man the booth at the Joe
Nall Giant Scale Fly-In.
After installing the new chip in Greg’s
AstroFlight 109 charger, the screen
confirms the upgrade by showing that it is
version 1.7.
The 3S Li-Poly pack from XUS Hobbies
has the wiring diagram printed on the
label. Greg hopes other manufacturers
take note.
10sig4.QXD 8/24/06 12:41 PM Page 105106 MODEL AVIATION
Helicopter Hobbies’ Randy Swann holds the electric QJ18. The
CNC machining is incredible. It has a belt-driven tail rotor,
battery shelf, and uses 550mm blades.
Mark Leseberg’s huge 42% Extra 260 weighs 40 pounds. It has four
10S Li-Poly packs and a Hacker C50 Quad motor system.
launches” are more like 60 and 70 feet—how humbling. It reads
from 50 to 7,000 feet, so you’ll know if you don’t make 50 feet on
the launch. The unit weighs 2.2 grams and draws only roughly 1.2
mA during use.
The unit is available in metric or standard versions, for
approximately $40. I think you will like this altimeter, and it’s fun
to take to the field to see how people misjudge how high they really
fly their models.
Cool Battery Idea From XUS Hobby: I recently needed a Li-Poly
pack in a hurry for a project and contacted Jun Xu at XUS Hobby to
see if he had what I needed. Not only did he have it, but he got it to
me faster than I had hoped and at a great price.
That’s all well and good. But the neat thing is that besides
holding up well under my usage, it is the only pack I’ve ever gotten
that has the wiring diagram of the pack printed on the label!
I think all manufacturers could take a lesson and include the
same thing to make our lives easier. I realize they don’t want us
digging around inside the packs, but the truth is that numerous
modelers modify their packs to change monitoring plugs, etc., even
though they know it will void any warranty.
This is an area that is best left to the experts, and I beg MA’s
“The Battery Clinic” columnist Red Scholefield to address the
rewiring questions since he is the battery expert. However,
providing this diagram to the consumer just makes sense, and I
applaud XUS Hobby for being the first to do it.
Charger Update Chips: I’m treading all over Red’s turf again;
don’t tell him. I’ve recently updated the chips in two of my chargers
and want to make sure you know it can be done easily. I’m no
electrical engineer, but these are simple plug-and-play changes
anyone can do if he or she can operate a screwdriver.
My AstroFlight 109 got the version 1.7 chip that:
• Increased time-out from one to 10 hours
• Increased amp-hours from 9.5 to 95.0 for doing large parallel
packs
• Stops discharge at 3.2 volts instead of 2.9 for more protection
• Fixes the occasional cell miscount as it goes from phase 1 to
phase 2
I’ll let Red get into the finer points, but for $10 and a few
minutes’ work I think this is worth doing if you have an older
version.
The other charger I use all the time for Li-Poly batteries is the
Orbit Pro. At the Southeast Electric Flight Festival I bought the
update chip to bring mine to version 6.4.
The chip cost $10 and took approximately five minutes to install.
Dave Thacker of Radical RC and gentleman extraordinaire offered
to install it for me, but I hated to take him from his customers, so I
did it. It was no big deal. It increased the Li-Poly charging current
and allows for something called “closed-loop charging” when using
Orbit’s Li-Poly checker.
Red will fill you in on the details about what all this means, but
the point is that it’s easy to update these chargers by yourself.
Electrics and the Land of the Giants: I’m not going to cover what
went on at the Joe Nall Giant Scale Fly-In because Michael Ramsey
has already covered it in this magazine. However, if you’ve never
been, you owe it to yourself to visit.
I’ve read about this event since it began and always said I would
attend “one of these days,” but I figured there wouldn’t be much
there for me in the electric side of things. I enjoy big models too and
fly some large Electrics. I decided that this year I would visit for a
couple days as a spectator. Wow, what I’ve been missing.
It’s true that the really large Electrics, such as the one in the
photo flown by Mark Leseberg, are out of reach for most average
modelers, but there is something to be said for the technology that is
being developed there. It eventually trickles down to us or spins off
into new things for us.
The Hacker C50 Quad system that powers Mark’s 42% Extra
260 is available if you have an extra $2,999, but you’ll also need
four controllers and four 10S Li-Poly battery packs. Once you’ve
invested in all that, though, you’ll have a system that will produce
80 pounds of thrust and put out 10 kilowatts. It was really
something to see.
There were other Giant Scale Electrics at the fly-in that are
available to the “average” modeler. They were powered by motors
costing only $300 from AstroFlight, Hacker, PJS, and AXI. This
brings large IMAA (International Miniature Aircraft Association)-
legal airplanes into our electric world that have excellent
performance and don’t break the bank.
10sig4.QXD 8/24/06 12:41 PM Page 106I was fortunate enough to spend some
time with Reiner Hacker, who was
spending some time with Sean Plummer in
the Aero-Model Inc. (Hacker USA’s US
distributor) booth. Reiner is a true German
engineer and gentleman who spent a lot of
time explaining his new Hacker A60
outrunners and why he felt they were a cut
above the other outrunners crowding the
field.
I haven’t had a chance to test one yet,
but given the quality of the Hacker line I
suspect he’s right. In the coming months I
hope to put some A60s through their paces
and report back to you.
Helicopter Musings: I’ve been doing
work with some helicopters lately. Since
I’m a retired helicopter pilot, it made sense
that I’d eventually model them. And with
the electric versions making huge advances
in performance, it was time. I’ve been
flying a couple small coaxials and will be
showing you some things I’ve done with
the Corona.
The really exciting thing I discovered at
the Joe Nall event was the Helicopter
Hobbies booth. The company is owned by
Harold Little.
Harold carries the Quick QJ18 electricpowered
helicopter, which is superior to
any I’ve seen right off the shelf. This
model’s CNC machining is stunning! I’ll
be doing a full build and flying report on a
QJ18 in the near future, so be sure to stay
tuned for some rotary-wing fun!
Final Approach: Space runs out too fast,
but that’s the way it is. I have a great deal
of exciting material in the queue that
ranges from new small motors to large
motors to helicopters to controllers to
receivers. The list goes on and on.
It seems that as soon as I get some things
to test, there’s a newer batch right behind
them. Electrics are progressing faster than I
can keep up—and that’s a good thing. MA
Sources:
AstroFlight Inc.
13311 Beach Ave.
Marina Del Rey CA 90292
(310) 821-6242
Fax: (310) 822-6637
[email protected]
www.astroflight.com
Winged Shadow Systems
Box 432
Streamwood IL 60107
(630) 837-6553
[email protected]
www.rcreporter.com
Helicopter Hobbies
Box 123
Pageland SC 29728
(704) 624-6473
[email protected]
www.helicopterhobbies.com
Aero-Model (Hacker USA)
2122 W 5th Pl.
Tempe AZ 85281
(480) 726-7519
[email protected]
www.hackerbrushless.com
XUS Hobby
San Jose CA
(361) 816-1774
[email protected]
www.xushobby.com
Edition: Model Aviation - 2006/10
Page Numbers: 105,106,107
I’VE GOTTEN a lot of mail in the last
couple months, and it really helps direct
where I go with the column. It was
interesting to see the response to do-ityourself
motor kits and data acquisition.
Some of you took me to task for not being
more technical and some couldn’t
understand why I did those articles at all.
You also overloaded the vendors with
orders, so although there were some
problems, they seemed to get worked out.
I’ve also heard that more readers want to see
conversions and some basic information
about how to wire things up from a
beginner’s perspective.
I’ll try to get to all of that, so please keep
your suggestions coming. I’ve got big
shoulders, so let me know what you don’t
like as well as what you do.
How High Do You Fly? Winged Shadow
Systems has brought a nifty little electronic
device to our market that finally answers
the question “How high?”. It is called the
How High Model Aircraft Altimeter.
This little gem is smaller than a postage
stamp and plugs into any outlet on your
receiver, or you can use a separate battery.
It requires anywhere from 3.2 to 12.0 volts,
so your options are wide open.
A friend of mine just hooks it to a single
small Li-Poly cell and drops it in models as
he pleases. I plugged mine into an empty
servo connector for testing.
Simplicity is key here, and the How High
can be a real eye-opener if you fancy
yourself a decent discus-launch glider
(DLG) or Hand-Launch Glider launcher.
You can install the device with the little
LED protruding through the fuselage side so
you can activate the readout and get the
altitude without having to open the fuselage.
I chose to just lay the unit inside the
hatch of my DLG since I have to open it to
arm the radio anyway. And I didn’t want to
add a hole to my fiberglass fuselage.
Once you land, simply wave your finger
over the How High’s LED a couple times
and wait for it to start blinking. You read
the number of flashes, and that tells you the
maximum altitude you reached during the
flight.
It turns out that my “80- to 90-foot
Reader comments support column content
October 2006 105
Electrics Greg Gimlick | [email protected]
Also included in this column:
• How High altimeter
• A cool battery idea
• Update chips for chargers
• Electrics at Joe Nall
• Helicopter Hobbies Quick
QJ18
Winged Shadow Systems’ new How High is small, light, easy to
use, and answers the old question of how high your model goes.
Hacker motor designer/engineer Reiner Hacker of Germany (L)
and Sean Plummer of Aero-Model Inc. man the booth at the Joe
Nall Giant Scale Fly-In.
After installing the new chip in Greg’s
AstroFlight 109 charger, the screen
confirms the upgrade by showing that it is
version 1.7.
The 3S Li-Poly pack from XUS Hobbies
has the wiring diagram printed on the
label. Greg hopes other manufacturers
take note.
10sig4.QXD 8/24/06 12:41 PM Page 105106 MODEL AVIATION
Helicopter Hobbies’ Randy Swann holds the electric QJ18. The
CNC machining is incredible. It has a belt-driven tail rotor,
battery shelf, and uses 550mm blades.
Mark Leseberg’s huge 42% Extra 260 weighs 40 pounds. It has four
10S Li-Poly packs and a Hacker C50 Quad motor system.
launches” are more like 60 and 70 feet—how humbling. It reads
from 50 to 7,000 feet, so you’ll know if you don’t make 50 feet on
the launch. The unit weighs 2.2 grams and draws only roughly 1.2
mA during use.
The unit is available in metric or standard versions, for
approximately $40. I think you will like this altimeter, and it’s fun
to take to the field to see how people misjudge how high they really
fly their models.
Cool Battery Idea From XUS Hobby: I recently needed a Li-Poly
pack in a hurry for a project and contacted Jun Xu at XUS Hobby to
see if he had what I needed. Not only did he have it, but he got it to
me faster than I had hoped and at a great price.
That’s all well and good. But the neat thing is that besides
holding up well under my usage, it is the only pack I’ve ever gotten
that has the wiring diagram of the pack printed on the label!
I think all manufacturers could take a lesson and include the
same thing to make our lives easier. I realize they don’t want us
digging around inside the packs, but the truth is that numerous
modelers modify their packs to change monitoring plugs, etc., even
though they know it will void any warranty.
This is an area that is best left to the experts, and I beg MA’s
“The Battery Clinic” columnist Red Scholefield to address the
rewiring questions since he is the battery expert. However,
providing this diagram to the consumer just makes sense, and I
applaud XUS Hobby for being the first to do it.
Charger Update Chips: I’m treading all over Red’s turf again;
don’t tell him. I’ve recently updated the chips in two of my chargers
and want to make sure you know it can be done easily. I’m no
electrical engineer, but these are simple plug-and-play changes
anyone can do if he or she can operate a screwdriver.
My AstroFlight 109 got the version 1.7 chip that:
• Increased time-out from one to 10 hours
• Increased amp-hours from 9.5 to 95.0 for doing large parallel
packs
• Stops discharge at 3.2 volts instead of 2.9 for more protection
• Fixes the occasional cell miscount as it goes from phase 1 to
phase 2
I’ll let Red get into the finer points, but for $10 and a few
minutes’ work I think this is worth doing if you have an older
version.
The other charger I use all the time for Li-Poly batteries is the
Orbit Pro. At the Southeast Electric Flight Festival I bought the
update chip to bring mine to version 6.4.
The chip cost $10 and took approximately five minutes to install.
Dave Thacker of Radical RC and gentleman extraordinaire offered
to install it for me, but I hated to take him from his customers, so I
did it. It was no big deal. It increased the Li-Poly charging current
and allows for something called “closed-loop charging” when using
Orbit’s Li-Poly checker.
Red will fill you in on the details about what all this means, but
the point is that it’s easy to update these chargers by yourself.
Electrics and the Land of the Giants: I’m not going to cover what
went on at the Joe Nall Giant Scale Fly-In because Michael Ramsey
has already covered it in this magazine. However, if you’ve never
been, you owe it to yourself to visit.
I’ve read about this event since it began and always said I would
attend “one of these days,” but I figured there wouldn’t be much
there for me in the electric side of things. I enjoy big models too and
fly some large Electrics. I decided that this year I would visit for a
couple days as a spectator. Wow, what I’ve been missing.
It’s true that the really large Electrics, such as the one in the
photo flown by Mark Leseberg, are out of reach for most average
modelers, but there is something to be said for the technology that is
being developed there. It eventually trickles down to us or spins off
into new things for us.
The Hacker C50 Quad system that powers Mark’s 42% Extra
260 is available if you have an extra $2,999, but you’ll also need
four controllers and four 10S Li-Poly battery packs. Once you’ve
invested in all that, though, you’ll have a system that will produce
80 pounds of thrust and put out 10 kilowatts. It was really
something to see.
There were other Giant Scale Electrics at the fly-in that are
available to the “average” modeler. They were powered by motors
costing only $300 from AstroFlight, Hacker, PJS, and AXI. This
brings large IMAA (International Miniature Aircraft Association)-
legal airplanes into our electric world that have excellent
performance and don’t break the bank.
10sig4.QXD 8/24/06 12:41 PM Page 106I was fortunate enough to spend some
time with Reiner Hacker, who was
spending some time with Sean Plummer in
the Aero-Model Inc. (Hacker USA’s US
distributor) booth. Reiner is a true German
engineer and gentleman who spent a lot of
time explaining his new Hacker A60
outrunners and why he felt they were a cut
above the other outrunners crowding the
field.
I haven’t had a chance to test one yet,
but given the quality of the Hacker line I
suspect he’s right. In the coming months I
hope to put some A60s through their paces
and report back to you.
Helicopter Musings: I’ve been doing
work with some helicopters lately. Since
I’m a retired helicopter pilot, it made sense
that I’d eventually model them. And with
the electric versions making huge advances
in performance, it was time. I’ve been
flying a couple small coaxials and will be
showing you some things I’ve done with
the Corona.
The really exciting thing I discovered at
the Joe Nall event was the Helicopter
Hobbies booth. The company is owned by
Harold Little.
Harold carries the Quick QJ18 electricpowered
helicopter, which is superior to
any I’ve seen right off the shelf. This
model’s CNC machining is stunning! I’ll
be doing a full build and flying report on a
QJ18 in the near future, so be sure to stay
tuned for some rotary-wing fun!
Final Approach: Space runs out too fast,
but that’s the way it is. I have a great deal
of exciting material in the queue that
ranges from new small motors to large
motors to helicopters to controllers to
receivers. The list goes on and on.
It seems that as soon as I get some things
to test, there’s a newer batch right behind
them. Electrics are progressing faster than I
can keep up—and that’s a good thing. MA
Sources:
AstroFlight Inc.
13311 Beach Ave.
Marina Del Rey CA 90292
(310) 821-6242
Fax: (310) 822-6637
[email protected]
www.astroflight.com
Winged Shadow Systems
Box 432
Streamwood IL 60107
(630) 837-6553
[email protected]
www.rcreporter.com
Helicopter Hobbies
Box 123
Pageland SC 29728
(704) 624-6473
[email protected]
www.helicopterhobbies.com
Aero-Model (Hacker USA)
2122 W 5th Pl.
Tempe AZ 85281
(480) 726-7519
[email protected]
www.hackerbrushless.com
XUS Hobby
San Jose CA
(361) 816-1774
[email protected]
www.xushobby.com