Castle Creations steps up again!
Greg Gimlick | [email protected]
I have a short intro this month, because space is at a premium and I have a lot of stuff to tell you. Trade shows are finished and flying season has officially begun!
Also included in this column:
- Cannibals are good
- Roadkill isn't just for dinner
- I love a TattleTale!
- Kit bashing is alive
If you’ve read my columns for long, you might know that I’m a big fan of my Castle Creations ESCs. Contrary to rumors, columnists don’t get free stuff from all suppliers. So we try to spend our money wisely, and I tend to write about items I’ve bought and really like.
I love the programmability of Castle Creations ESCs, and the Castle Link USB device has served me well. But what happens when I’m at the field and want to change a setting? I have to go through the dreaded process of programming using the transmitter—something I hate regardless of ESC brand.
The people at Castle Creations must have been listening, because they have come up with a new programming card that does all of that without a computer and is a USB link if you want to use computer software. It’s the Field Link Portable Programmer.
Wow! I am impressed with this card. I can easily plug it into an airplane at the field and quickly see what all the settings are and change them if needed. This is the one thing that has been missing from the company’s line of products, and it stepped up in a big way.
For approximately $30, you can’t go wrong with the Field Link. I highly recommend it if you’re using Castle Creations ESCs.
Cannibalization 101
A couple columns ago I showed my ParkZone Sukhoi and how the radio inside could be removed when the airplane is trashed and transferred to something else. This brought in a fair amount of e-mail and some photos of your projects.
It seems many of you are cannibalizing these little model gems and using the radios in your own designs. Some of you have built a model for the first time! That’s what I’m talking about, and that’s what will give you the thrill of seeing your own creation fly.
Check out the photo of Greg Allen’s little Extra. He sent several photos and a great deal of information. Following are his words, edited for length.
"The pictures of the micro Patty Wagstaff (alongside my Great Planes 25%) was first inspired when I had mostly destroyed my ParkZone Cessna. I loved that plane, but was fairly excited to not feel guilty about ripping the guts out to put them in something of my own design.
"The plane was built mostly with 1/16-inch balsa and was tissue covered and doped. It sported the same weight as the Cessna, had a 13.5-inch wingspan and aileron and elevator control.
"It was a little gutless with the stock power system, so I purchased a 7 mm motor with a 4:1 gearbox and Deidel prop from BSD Micro. With the new power system I was able to easily do repeated loops, rudimentary rolling circles and other aileron/elevator maneuvers."
Greg also passed along the following helpful information, in case you run into a programming problem with your DX6i radio when changing motors. It’s a great tip!
"The problem that arose was when I was programming back to brushed motor operation after some mediocre results with some brushless motor systems. I went to reprogram the darn thing and it wouldn't take.
"After many failed attempts, I just about gave up and then decided to just start trying stick positions. After about an hour and a few choice words, I found the stick positions that I had to use to get my DX6i to program it back to brushed mode. It was to put the throttle/rudder stick in the upper right corner and let the aileron/elevator stick stay neutral.
"I hope this helps others who may have run into similar issues."
Roadkill? You Bet!
Okay, even retired helicopter pilots don't eat roadkill, but I do love the DJ Aerotech Roadkill Series of profile indoor flyers. Don Stackhouse and Joe Hahn are experts in design and execution when it comes to models. Don e-mailed me the following.
"I thought I'd mention some experiments Joe Hahn has been working on recently. He cannibalized the ultra-tiny radio gear, battery and motor from a ParkZone Sukhoi and installed them in one of our Roadkill Series A6M2 Zeros.
"The result weighed about an ounce, ready to fly, roughly a third of the all-up flying weight with conventional equipment. It flies great, no surprise there! He's now experimenting with a similar setup in one of our Corsairs, and I'm going to try it soon with one of our Jennies."
I'll be eager to see the newly reconfigured airplanes fly. I've never seen one of Joe's or Don's projects that didn't end up flying great by the time the experiments were finalized.
Everyone Needs a TattleTale
Forget what you were told as a kid; being a tattletale isn't bad if you're reporting on the new voltage monitoring device from Xtreme Power Systems (XPS). This is a great little product, and it answers any questions you have about receiver power in your setup.
With the influx of digital servos, spread-spectrum radios, and a host of other current-draining devices that we're putting in our aircraft, I'm hearing more pilots talk about "losing it" in flight. Blame is often placed on new receivers, regardless of brand, and being "hit," although that excuse is weak with 2.4 GHz.
Talking to various manufacturers has revealed to me that 99% of "radio problems" can be traced back to unreliable or undersized receiver battery packs or BEC units. Some receivers, such as the ones from XPS, have LEDs to indicate whether the power dropped below minimums during a flight, but others don't have this capability.
XPS has come up with the TattleTale unit that will monitor voltage levels on any radio system. You simply plug it into an empty slot on the receiver or use a Y cord if they're all full.
The device is fully programmable and can even double as a flight timer, giving a bright white LED indication when the time has been reached. What a great idea, especially for night-flyers.
Weighing less than a gram and being so tiny makes the TattleTale perfect for any model. I bought one and quickly got a couple more to keep track of things in my airplanes and helicopters. You can't buy more peace of mind for $20.
Helicopter Hobbies has had a change in ownership
I've shown photos of my QJ-8 and QJ-10 from Quick of Japan. I've also written about Harold Little's excellent service from Helicopter Hobbies.
Harold is staying on as a technical advisor, but he sold the business to Jude Charles-Pierre, who is completely revising the website and making some changes that Harold is very big on.
By the time you read this, the new site should be up and running. There will be a new shopping cart, new products, and more inventory in stock, along with the usual great tech support and service.
Lance Novak of Savannah, Georgia, sent me a photo of his newly finished Su-27 that he kit-bashed from an Art-Tech Su-27 ARF. Originally painted in Russian Knights air show colors, Lance repainted it to match Soviet Air Force colors.
He also added lots of scale details to trick it out. He installed a machine gun and laser aiming pod, painted engine nacelles, and added aluminum scale-size intakes, a working strobe light, and high-intensity orange LEDs at each engine that light while running and provide a glow inside the engine exhausts.
Another cool addition is a bungee hook that falls off after launch. Rather than using a hook, Lance inserts a rod into a brass receptacle in the bottom of the airplane. When the Su-27 leaves the catapult and begins to climb, the rod falls off, leaving a nice, clean fuselage bottom. Cool idea.
Rich Uravitch has had some articles published in Model Airplane News lately that show how to dress up an ARF with details, and they are excellent. ARFs are a way of life now, but that doesn't mean you can't fix them up and trick them out to make them unique. Great work, guys!
LCAA 11th Annual Electric Fly
The Loudoun County Aeromodelers (LCAA) is hosting its electric fly-in in Leesburg, Virginia, on Saturday, July 24, 2010. The location is the LCAA Flying Field in Banshee Reeks Park.
Registration and flying start at 9 a.m. and go till 5 p.m. An AMA membership card is required; registration is $5 and includes lunch for the pilots. Food and a raffle will be available.
Vendors are welcome to bring tables. Participants, bring your park flyers, slow flyers, sport flyers, helicopters, and electric-ducted-fan aircraft.
Visit the LCAA website for information about the event. You can contact Brian Allen or Ron Anderson for additional details.
LCAA www.lcaa.org
Brian Allen [email protected]
Ron Anderson [email protected]
Greg Gimlick's blog: www.gimlick.com/maelectricsblog
Final Approach
That's it for space and I still have more to write. It helps when you send in your thoughts and photos! I'll be back next time. MA
Sources
Castle Creations (913) 390-6939 www.castlecreations.com
ParkZone (800) 338-4639 www.parkzone.com
BSD Micro (417) 358-9521 www.bsdmicrorc.com
DJ Aerotech (937) 773-6772 www.djaerotech.com
Xtreme Power Systems 2440 N. Kiowa Blvd. Lake Havasu City, AZ 86403 www.xtremepowersystems.net
Helicopter Hobbies (704) 624-6473 www.helicopterhobbies.com
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
