Gens Ace 2200 3S 45C Lipo batteries initial impressions

Hi Everyone -

I recently received three Gens Ace 2200 3S 45C batteries in the mail using up some of the last of my Christmas money😉

 

As most folks who have followed me for awhile now, I have been a huge fan of the Zippy Flightmax 2200 3S 40C batteries from Hobby King for a very long time, some of my batteries are over three yrs old, a bit tired, but still move my planes around pretty decently.  This battery is about a year old and still is in really good shape, no puffing, swelling and still delivers excellent power.

I have also had some pretty decent luck with ZOP Power 2200 3S 45C batteries from Banggood.  This battery is also about a year old.  The ZOP batteries deliver good power, but a couple of them after about 100 cycles are becoming a little harder to balance when I charge them.  They aren't puffy, nor do they come down hot after flying, but this tells me they are starting to break down in some way.

However, Banggood will no longer ship batteries to Canada, nor can I get any batteries from Hobby King's Global warehouse any longer.

Not that I really needed batteries, but I like to pick up a few now and then as my older batteries get too tired to really give me good performance any longer, I like to have some fresher ones to use, especially for field testing of new motors, etc.  After watching rcplanepirate's (RCPP) video below and having a bit of a conversation with him by e-mail, I decided to shop around for some Gens Ace batteries to give a try.

WARNING, you might want to sit down and not take a drink or eat anything until you finish reading this next paragraph lest you fall down or choke at the cost of getting LiPo batteries in Canada!😏😒😧😉😲  Not whining here, just the reality of it😐

After doing a little bit of a cost assessment (I won't bore you with the exact figures of what is what), to order three Zippy batteries from the Hobby King US West warehouse would end up costing me $33.20 USD per battery.  Of that cost, $19.84 was in shipping (Fed Ex), duty and taxes.  Wow😲.  So I looked around and found a local vendor (the link is in the first paragraph of this post) and after the dust settled, it cost me $34.12 USD per battery.  However, the batteries were just shipped right to my mail box in four business days with no hassle and only $6.12 of that cost per battery was tied up in shipping and taxes (no duty or handling charges like I would have to pay Fed Ex to get my packages).  Although I spent nearly 30 yrs serving this country that I love, anytime I can pay less to the government and more to a guy trying to keep a business going in a cutthroat world I will😊.  Plus, Gens Ace has a pretty good name in RC, so I'm feeling confident I got my money's worth😊

More about the Gens Ace batteries, they came well packaged in the boxes you see above in the first picture, wrapped in bubble wrap.  Each battery came with full two sheets of safety information and charging instructions which is a nice touch I thought.

Here is the battery out of the wrap before I cut the tape that holds the battery connector against the battery.  Please note the protective cover on the balance lead which helps keep from pulling the wires out of the clip, I think I'll leave those on, they might weigh a gram or two, but make it easier plugging and unplugging the balance lead when charging the battery. 

I thought this was another nice quality touch, they put a small piece of black foam between the Deans plug and the battery for shipping to prevent any of the sharp plastic edges from damaging the battery. 

A bit more a close up of the front of the battery. 

Here is a picture of the Gens Ace, Zippy and ZOP Power batteries all together.  Please not the leads on the Gens Ace battery are quite long, I will be trimming these back and changing the connectors on them once I know they work well and don't have to send them back for any reason.  The batteries are all about the same size.  The Gens Ace might be a mm or two wider, but a mm or two thinner which really doesn't matter too much to me for use in a park jet as I normally have plenty of room to fit my 2200 size batteries.

RCPP had warned me that the Gens Ace batteries might be a bit heavier, so out came the scale.  The Gens Ace battery as is weighs 190 gr.  I think once an inch or more comes off the battery leads, this will lighten it up a few grams. 

This year old Zippy Flightmax weighs 188 gr. 

This year old ZOP Power battery weighs 184 gr. 

So not a huge difference in weight, as I mentioned, once I get the battery wires shortened and a different connector on there, I think they will all be pretty close in total weight.

I have no real idea how long ago these Gens Ace batteries came out of the factory, but they were still very close to optimal storage level of 3.8V per cell, about 30-40 minutes on my charger in storage mode and they were all ready to sit for a few days until I can get them charged and start using them at the field.😊

So more to follow as I start getting some cycles through them to see how they perform at the field where it really matters😃

Park Jet noise...the "other" sound of freedom😎

Cheers,

Scott

Initial field test and impressions of the Racerstar BR2306S 2700 Kv motor

Hi Everyone -

I had this little beauty out for several flights today, testing the Racerstar BR2306S 2700 Kv motor I recently picked up from Banggood.😊

Here is the video of one of today's test flights using the 6x4 APC gas prop, Turnigy Plush 40A ESC and 2200 3S 40C battery for consistency.

As mentioned in the video, the motor is fairly light, weighing 44 gr/1.6 oz with prop and hardware.  Like the other quad racing motors I have tested, you need to provide your own X mount and bullet connectors for use in a park jet.

As mentioned, I had purchased this motor to see if it was a inexpensive equivalent to the EMAX RS2306 2750 Kv motor I got from Hobby King which thus far is probably the most powerful motor of all I have tested, but costs $21.99 USD.  This Racerstar motor sells for $8.99.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find anywhere in Banggood's specs what the max amp rating is for this motor, they list 35A as being the max amp draw testing a 5045 prop, creating 490W on 4S generating 1090 gr/38.4 oz of thrust.  When I did a quick test with my wattmeter on 3S with the 6x4 APC gas prop, I saw the numbers of 29A/312W, so I would assume that you could run this motor safely up to 35A.  I will have some of my own thrust numbers once I get my thrust stand I have on order.  By comparison, the EMAX motor is rated at 58A, so if a person planned on really punishing their motor in a park jet using 4S or higher pitched props, better to stick with the EMAX motor I would suggest.

I would say that this motor is not quite up to the performance of the EMAX motor, "you get what you pay for" as the old saying goes😏  However, for it's price, it performed really well, in top end speed and torque not quite as good as the EMAX, but still about mid pack of all the motors I have tested thus far.  In the video, I suggested this motor was about 5-10% as powerful as the EMAX motor, I would say more like 10% as powerful after flying it several more times after the video was shot.

As I mention in the video, the tolerances between the magnets and the stator, the quality of the magnets, the fact the magnets are flat and not curved and slightly further apart than on the EMAX probably accounts for this.  However, for the price, it is the best value motor I have tested thus far from a "power to dollar ratio"😉.  It is the cheapest at regular price, but in torque and top end speed out performs more expensive motors I have purchased from RC Timer (FR2205 2550 and FR2306 2650) and Hobby King (Multistar Viking 2208 2600)  

Compared to the other Racerstar motor I tested, the BR2406S 2600 Kv, it has better top end speed, but not as much torque.

Of course I won't know how durable it is until I put a lot more flights/punishment into it over time, so that factors into whether it is still a true bargain, but from what I saw today, it is definitely the best value for the dollar if a person was on a tighter budget but still wanted some good power for the price on 3S.

Park Jet noise...the "other" sound of freedom😎

Cheers,

Scott

RC Powers T-50 V5 build log - Part 5

Hi Everyone -

My build is starting to look much more "T-50ish" now😊  The vertical stabilizers are dry fit for now and won't be glued on til later on in the build to make installing servos on the bottom easier.  In this current state with no gear, sanded, it weighs 177 gr/6.2 gr which is about what most of my planes weigh at this point.

 I'm very happy with how the vertical stabs turned out, still a bit bigger than scale but I think much closer to the right shape than the stock vertical stabs.

I decided to make the nacelles a bit more scale and lowered them somewhat.  I measured what they would be on the T-50 V1 (which has a 24" wingspan), then converted that number to what it would be on a plane with a 27" wingspan and ended up trimming 7 mm off where it meets the wing plate and also made the rudder less wide as well.  I know you wouldn't know the difference in this picture, but it does lower the profile of the plane considerably.

I remember when we were testing the NAMC Mig-FA which is a concept design my former NAMC partner Stephan designed, the nacelles were similar in depth to what was on the Mig-35, our first plane.  As we dialed down on more "scalish" looks since it was loosely based on the T-50, when we lowered the nacelles, the plane was faster, more efficient and much quicker in the pitch and roll as the vertical profile had been reduced considerably.

Perhaps because I lowered the nacelles down, when I dry fit the motor with prop attached, it was hitting the bottom of the nacelle.  I had to trim quite a bit off to give the prop clearance.  Starting where the pen is pointing in this picture, I trimmed forward about 1 and 1/4" along the outside, just angling in towards the inner part at an angle so as not reduce any strength and structure around the motor mount area.

To taper the leading edge of my wing and LERX, I draw a line about 3/8" back from the squared leading edge and then use this as a guide to trim the foam off before sanding.  Bottom.

Top

 

I have always done a bit of a "sharp edge" on the leading edge of the wing with the KFs.  I have read and heard arguments that this leading edge should be rounded, and maybe I'll try that sometime and see if it makes a difference, but I have done it this way with dozens of plans, so perhaps a case of stubbornness on my part or "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"😏

Finished product, I know it is hard to see with everything being white, but it is smooth and sleek now😉

Holes are cut out for the servos and I have also cut a relief out of the bottom KF so that the elevon and aileron servos can be installed easily.  In the first picture, from left to right will be the aileron, elevon and rudder servos (same on the other side of the plane)

This relief is cut about 3/4" inch away from the nacelle to allow the servos to be installed easily and also allows for the "flanges" on the aileron servo in the front.

Still a bit more fussy work to do, I will apply the oil-based Minwax to the paper on the bottom of the plane and let it dry overnight, then paint the sides of the nacelles, install all the servos and pushrods so that all the work on the bottom of the plane will be done.  Once that is done, flip it over, glue on the vertical stabilizers and then treat the paper on the top of the plane and ensure that is completely dry before painting the rest of the plane, installing the motor and it should be ready to "slip the surly bonds of earth"😀

Park Jet noise...the "other" sound of freedom😎

Cheers,

Scott

NAMC planes now available at www.parkflyersinternational.com

Hi Everyone -

For those of you who have supported me over the years on the RC Powers forum and through NAMC (North American Mig Consortium), I wanted to let you know that NAMC planes would no longer be available at the NAMC website.  The website is currently being moved to another provider, so it is not available at the time of writing this post, but should be up and running soon with all the information from the blog, etc being made available once again soon.

I touched on this somewhat in this video

At the time I shot the video, negotiations were still on going to have the plans for NAMC planes still publicly available through the Parkflyers International (PI) website.  My deepest thanks to Bimo, Ian and Jeff for allowing the plans to still have a home where people can enjoy them.  The plans are available now at this link.  I am amazed at the job that Bimo and his staff did on the website pages, humbling 😃

The original Mig-35 (the first NAMC design) and the Mig-FA (concept stealth) will continue to be free as they have been on the NAMC website for awhile.  The Mig-35B and Su-27 plans will be available by donation to help support underprivileged children and their families in Jakarta, Indonesia, an initiative Bimo started when he created Parkflyers International.

For those that have built NAMC planes or are interested in building them, I will still be here to support them as I have built and flown them all extensively as the former test pilot for NAMC.  You can always get hold of me through this blog, my YouTube channel or at my e-mail scott.parkjet@gmail.com.

In the video I didn't mention that some of my other projects this year will be to update the blog series I wrote called "which park jet for me" sharing my experiences with what to start with, how different designs have different flight envelopes, etc.  Eventually I will create a shared Google Doc/spreadsheet of parts that I have used with success over the years along with writeups/reviews of pros and cons of them all since I won't be involved with keeping anything current on the new NAMC website.

I would encourage you to have a look around the Parkflyers International website, Bimo has pushed the scale accuracy of park jet design to a whole new level in a very short period of time, just amazing😃  Having flown some of his early designs when they were first getting started, I can tell you they fly really well also.  Again, my personal and sincere thanks to Bimo, Ian and Jeff for helping us out, I hope that some funds will be raised to support the underprivileged families they have supported since PI's inception.

I should also announce that I will no longer be participating in the RC Powers forum supporting the threads of NAMC planes or any other threads I have created, so again, if you have questions, please don't hesitate to email me (scott.parkjet@gmail.com).  My humble thanks to all those who have followed and supported me during my tenure at RC Powers and NAMC and still support me here on this blog and through my YouTube channel.  Much appreciated😄

Park Jet noise...the "other" sound of freedom😎

Cheers,

Scott

Initial impressions and field testing BrotherHobby Returner R2 2205 2800 Kv motor

Hi Everyone -

Yesterday I managed to get out and field test the BrotherHobby Returner R2 2205 2800 Kv quad racing motor in this little beauty😊

Unfortunately, I didn't take too many pictures of it before I added all the hardware and prop to put in the plane, but if you click on the link in the first paragraph there are lots of detailed photos of the motor from several angles.  It just came packed in a simple small box from Banggood, regular price is $20.99 USD, at the time of writing on sale for $14.99.

The lightest of all the motors I have tested thus far at 40 gr/1.4 oz even after adding connectors, mount, prop and prop nut. 

Until my thrust stand arrives in the mail and I have it set up, I don't have any thrust data, as mentioned in the video below, when I hooked it up to the wattmeter at the field, it pulled about 34.5A at full throttle.  Fortunately, rcplanepirate also picked up one of these motors recently and has done a bench test video already.  If you start watching at about 3:30 of the video, you can see back to back tests of the 6x4 APC electric prop, then the 6x4 APC gas prop, interesting differences.😊

In my research, BrotherHobby seems to have a very good name in quad racing motors.  When inspecting the motor before putting it in the plane, I could see that it was finished really well, a very minimalist approach in construction with no wasted weight.  As I mention in the video and RCPP discusses in his, unfortunately there don't seem to be published amp limits for the motor, but I think you might be safe running it up to 40-45A, it has pretty thick wires on the stator compared to some of the other quad motors I have tested.  

The fit between the bell and stator is very snug, little wasted space there which I have discovered is an area to note when looking for higher performance motors.  The magnets are curved and fairly close together, so when I spin it by hand, I can feel that the magnets are strong, but it isn't "bumpy" which will happen if there is too much gap between the magnets where they are attached to the bell.

Here is the flight video I shot yesterday.

This little motor definitely punches above it's weight.  Compared to the only other 2205 size motor I have field tested thus far (RC Timer FR2205 2550 Kv), this BH motor makes up for lack of size with higher Kv, so it feels like it has the torque of a motor with a larger stator which is good, especially since it is so light.  

After thinking about it some more and reviewing my flight test videos of the EMAX RS2306 2750 kv and BeeRotor Z2207 2780 kv motors, I would say this BH motor is close in top end speed, but those two motors are still the fastest I have tested thus far.  Both the EMAX and BeeRotor motors have better low end torque, but weigh 47 and 50 gr respectively.  Again, considering how light this BH motor is though, that is pretty good company for it to keep😉

I do have another BrotherHobby motor on the way to test, the Returner R4 2205 2700 kv.  I'm not sure what the difference is between R2 and R4 other than the R2 is rated for 3-4S and the R4 is rated for 4-5S, I'm hoping to still be able to run the R4 efficiently on a 3S😔, more testing to come😄

Park Jet noise...the "other" sound of freedom😎

Cheers,

Scott

Initial field testing of the Racerstar BR2406S 2600 Kv motor

Hi Everyone -

Had this Arctic camo beauty out for some action in "Arctic like" conditions today field testing the Racestar BR2406S 2600 Kv motor😊

During today's testing, I was using my standard field test setup - 6x4 APC gas prop, Turnigy Plush 40A ESC and Zippy Flightmax 2200 3S 40C battery.  During the video, I misspoke several times about the price of the motor (getting old is not for the weak😒)  If you click on the link in the first paragraph, I bought mine on Ebay for $13.93 USD, it is currently available on sale at Banggood for $10.49 (regular price of $12.87), so an every better "bang for the buck" than I mentioned at the end of the video😏

I have already written a "first impression" blog post, on this motor, I would disregard my thrust numbers, these will be redone in the future when I get my proper thrust stand, from what I saw at the field, I would estimate the thrust numbers to be much closer to 30 oz/850 gr.

Here is today's flight video 

So as I said in the video, I would compare this motor's performance closest to the Multistar Viking 2208 2600 Kv motor that I tested already.  Now that I have had a chance to think about it more and review my flight video of the Multistar Viking 2208 2600 Kv motor field testing, I would say that the Viking motor has e a bit of an edge at the top end, and this Racerstar motor is a bit better for low end torque.  However, we are not talking huge differences here and it is my interpretation under different flight conditions, etc, so take that for whatever it is worth😏.  I suppose the biggest difference is the price, $12.87 for the Racerstar (at the time of writing on sale for $10.49) as opposed to $28.14 for the Viking motor (although I got my Viking motor on sale for $16.10 thanks to rcplanepirate😎.)

As mentioned in the video, I have read and watched mixed reviews on the Racerstar motors, they are certainly quite inexpensive compared to other motors around, but lots of folks use them and I can see why.  I was very pleased with the performance of this motor today, perhaps even pleasantly surprised, it certainly has a good "power/torque to dollar ratio"😉.  It is also quite a bit more efficient at full throttle than the Viking motor, pulling 26.9A as opposed to 29.5A.  

Don't get me wrong, I like the Viking motor, it is a very good quality motor, the Racerstar BR2406S 2600 from what I saw today might just be a better value.  Will it be as durable as the Viking motor?  Only time will tell, I have heard people say that the "paint" might come off over time and folks have reported seeing corrosion on the inside of the bell over time.  I would certainly feel confident running the Racerstar motor with a slightly lighter 30A ESC regardless of the temperature, whereas I would feel safest running the Viking motor with a 40A ESC.

Park Jet noise...the "other" sound of freedom😎

Cheers,

Scott

Changes coming to my motor testing protocol

Hi Everyone -

Quite the haul of goodies showed up from Banggood today😊

After considerable discussion with rcplanepirate and some input from one of my new followers Jim L., I decided to use the last of my Christmas money to buy myself a proper thrust stand from Banggood, this RC Lander Outer Rotor Motor Thrust Stand Measuring Table Tester   Is it just me, or does that sound like a very confusing name for something?!😖

There are certainly better test stands out there, but this is within my price range and since Banggood sent me a coupon for $4 off any purchase over $50, it worked out in my favor😉  It is regular $61.59 USD, I paid $57.59.  It is certainly better than this very crude setup I have been using😏

Both Jim and RCPP pointed out that big hunk of lumber is more than likely blocking a lot of airflow to the prop, which probably helps explain a larger part of why my recent test numbers have been so low compared to RCPP's with the same motor and prop.  At least the RC Lander thrust stand will allow a much better flow of air to the prop and won't be "starving" it of air😒

So once that arrives and I get it set up properly, I will redo a bunch of my motor testing and streamline my current motor test spreadsheet considerably since many of those motors I don't use now and probably won't ever use.  I will save the older motors to a separate spreadsheet as I know some folks still use some of them.

Still a few more quad racing motors to show up in the next several weeks, so there will be lots to test before spring😊

Park Jet noise...the "other" sound of freedom😎

Cheers,

Scott