T-52: Various Motors & Props
This is the recommended motor & prop setup - a Speed 400 motor with direct drive 5 1/2 x 4 prop:
For some reason, I seem to get better performance without using the spinner. Make sure you break-in the motor before using it in your plane:
I have also used a Robbe 6x3.5 folding prop which, I think works very well - probably better than the 5.5x4 non-folding Tornado prop shown above.
I wanted to add one of these,
a Master Airscrew Gear Drive with 3:1 reduction:
So I did:
I plan on creating a pocket for the battery pack - it's just a wee bit wider than the fuselage, so it should look great when it's done. Careful balancing left the six cell battery pack in this position - in this photo, it's taped onto the fuselage with strips of clear packing tape.
The front-end is just temporary also - later, I'll run the wires inside the fuselage for a cleaner look.
So far, I've tested this setup with 6 & 7 cell battery packs, and it flew well - climbed out with authority & flew with ample speed on ~1/2-3/4 power. Using this gear drive & prop with a better motor, I'm hoping the T-52 will have enough "umph" to carry around one of my digital cameras - the Olympus 450-Z. Based on this first flight, it should be a piece of cake. I'm even thinking of tugging around my camcorder!!! I'm going to try this geardrive with a much better motor - I'm told the performance will be outstanding - we'll see.
Using this Master Airscrew gear drive system with the T-52, the performance
IS quite different - it's much heavier & flys like a plane with a higher wing loading would fly. When flying slow, the plane drops quite a lot of altitude when going into turns, et cetera. It isn't as fun to fly a "heavy" plane - but again, I enjoy experimenting and hope to have a plane which will carry a generous payload (digital camera). Again, I'm hoping that when I replace the stock motor with a better one, performance will be enhanced dramatically.
I'm also considering this propulsion system when I convert the T-52 to a biplane. Stay posted.
Update
June 3, 2000 - here's more:
I tried the T-52 with these changes:
New Magnetic Mayhem reverse motor
8 cell battery packs
Upon launch, the T-52 practically lept out of my hand - the vertical performance was . . . unbelievable. I was laughing & grinning the whole time I flew this thing. It was phenomenal!!! I doubt I'll ever fly the other T-52's with the Speed 400 setup again. Don't get me wrong - the Speed 400 is great for learning, but for some REAL fun go with this setup.
I could easily putter around on less than half power - it climbed to a speck in no time - WOW!!!! I used my 8 cell packs - the performance was unbelievable - nothing like the T-52 using the Speed 400 setup. This thing rocketed up to the sky at a very steep angle and just kept going & going & going. Using the 1420 mAh NiMh pack I was able to fly what seemed like forever, though the performance wasn't as powerful as the 500 mAh AR NiCd's. The T-52, using this combination would fly easily on less than half power and when you want it to climb you can just punch it and watch it go - super dee dooper fun!!!!
Photo below shows initial, temporary setup - I think the Pegasus 35 ESC has enough vents for cooling, eh. This ESC performs very well, has no switch, and is very small & light has a very modest price (it's from Castle Creations).
I "discovered" extra punch from this ESC by setting my throttle trim tab to the highest position. The Pegasus 35 will not allow the throttle channel to be used unless the throttle stick AND throttle trim tab are in the lowest position when the in-flight battery is connected to the ESC.
Photo below shows location for balance using the 8 cell 500AR's:
Photo below shows location of the 1420 mAh battery pack location for balance:
I'm ordering another Master Airscrew drive, a few extra pinion gears and another Magnetic Mayhem reverse. This is how the T-52 should be flown once you've mastered the basics and you're ready for an inexpensive way to keep enjoying your plane.
Hopefully, the biplane version of the T-52 is coming in a couple of weeks using this setup (except w/1500 mAh NiCd's).
