Funtana 125_Assembly, Electric Powered

[Bdegan]

Hello,
Yesterday posted a photo in one of Gary Maker's threads asking about LiPo's.
I posted a picture of my new Funtana 125 that I just recently put together and am flying with an electric set up.
I have received messages and questions from 3 people asking about this particular set up.
With the help of Hobby King, Affordable and economical electric options are now available for the most common size planes. Not just the little ones anymore.
So I thought I would post some of the components used, along with pictures and things I have done to this airframe. With a few more changes to come.
This is doing it a little backwards as I have already completed the plane and have just over a dozen flights on it now.
So i guess we can call it a postmortum report of the findings and changes made to fix things.

I guess I will start with the spec list and work from there.

Hangar 9's new Funtana 125
Motor : Turnigy Sk series 50-65-380
ESC: Turnigy 85 amp with switching BEC
Batteries: Turnigy 6S 5000 mah 20c
Elevator servo's: Hitec 225 MG
Ailerons : Hitec 225 MG
Rudder: Hitec 985
Hardware: a mix of the stock hardware, Dubro and Great Planes.

[Bdegan]

This plane actually came about from a mistake I made.
I had originally ordered a 3D Hobbyshop 57" Sukhoi. I flew that plane with all thesame components. The airframe was beautiful and a great flying plane.
But my mistake was having to much weight added to the airframe with these components. Its slow flight caracteristics suffered greatly from the excessive weight.
So instead of buying all new components and smaller batteries for the airframe. I sold the airframe and purchased this bigger one to match the components.

So Here we go...........

First was mounting the servo's. The airframe has cut outs for standard size servo's. I had new 225MG's and a 985 already. I also have read on other forums how this plane is building tail heavy, almost everytime. So i thought I would try them. I have 6 of them in another plane. That plane has been flown all winter and they are performing extremely well.
Since they are mounted in the tail and I would save almost 2 ozs with them back there, in they went. You can see the space under the servo. I also had to add a small ply plate to reach the servo for it to attach to.
I also used them for the ailerons. I know, they seem small for those large sufaces. But, they do quite well actually. And I don't fly the plane fast, Its a Funtana afterall :p

[Bdegan]

For the rudder install the cut out is also in the tail.
A lot of the people on the other sites are moving the servo up front and doing a pull pull install.
I did the same

I am going to get another set of pull pull cables and move the servo even further forward. I will put it right behind the wing tube. I might even go as far as putting in front of the wing tube by cutting a mounting hole in the plywood battery plate right behind the battery.
I will probably get longer servo extensions for the elevators and move the receiver up there to.

[danorn]

Thanks for doing this Brad. I am on the fence about purchasing this plane, so this might help get the cobb webs of the visa :)

Daniel

[Bdegan]

The battery tray per instructions, slides up into the motor box.
It sits on top of the fuel tank mount and the wing tube. That put the weight of the battery above the wing tube. Not sure if matters or not.
I cut the fuel tank mounts down and put the battery tray below the wing tube. The tray sits on the bottom of the motor box and on top of the former under the wing tube. The battery on the tray now sits with its weight centered with the wing tube.
For CG purposes the battery also needs to be slid all the way up against the firewall. I cut the mounting bolts flush and put a small piece depron up there so the battery doesn't rub against the ply or blind nuts.

[Bdegan]

I forgot to mention something.
In the first couple of posts you will see that I like to use the Secraft Servo arms. These are the 1.25 inch arms.
I get them from ThunderboltRC ( Shameless Plug :mrgreen: )
I also have the 2.5 inch rudder arm on order to replace the Hitec plastic one

You will notice that the control horns are not the ones that come with the plane. These are some Great Planes Giant horns that came from a doner plane. They are easy to mount and use, I like them. They also work well with the Dubro clevis's I like to use.

[rcpilot]

How Much does it weigh ready to take off???
Thanks

[Bdegan]

How Much does it weigh ready to take off???
Thanks

9 lbs 12 ozs with the battery ready to fly.

I do have 4 ozs of lead on the firewall though to acheive CG, even though I moved the rudder servo forward.
Thats why I want to move things forward even further. That way I can peel the lead off and get it down to 9 lbs 8 ozs. Then I also have a Graphtech landing gear and a Carbon spinner on the way. That should reduce a couple more ounces.
I would like to hit 9 lbs 6 ozs or a little less once I am done.

[Bdegan]

Onto the motor.
The kit comes with a motor box extension that bolts to the exhisting firewall.
It is made to measure for the E-Flite Power 110 or other motors the same length.
The 50-65-380 I have is longer than the E-Flite, so I couldn'tuse this motor box extension.
I used a set of nice machined PSP standoffs, also from thunderboltRC.
They have fins that can help disipate heat. Really nice, just wish they had them longer because I then had to use a few more Aluminum spacers to get the proper length.
I could have gone with the Nylon bushings and reduced the weight up front. But I needed the extra weight anyway.

[Bdegan]

The Turnigy ESC is a nice little unit that is in a hard case.
The top if the case is a finned aluminum heatsink and the bottom of the case has holes to allow further air flow cooling.
There is also a programming card available for it for about $5 :TU:

[Bdegan]

I mounted the ESC to the bottom of the motor box at the front edge to have its weight as far forward as possible.
I also mounted it on some 1/4" square balsa to allow air flow over the vent holes on the bottom of the ESC.
The bottom of the cowl had a nice curved line molded in it. I cut out along that line leaviing a nice large opening for air to travel through.
The ESC is positioned right in the middle of that path of air with air able to flow over both sides of it.
Even with my hardest flight I could lay the back of my fingers on the heatsink and it would only be warm, never hot.

[Bdegan]

For the cowl mounting, take your time. Get the prop hub distance from the firewall correct. In the photos you can see once the cowl is on, there isn't much cowl left for screws to attach to if you mounted things out further than planned. That and the inside lip on the intake hole is really close to the motor.
I have a 2.5" Great Planes spinner on there right now. I have a 2.5 inch Carbon spinner coming to match the Carbon landing gear that is also coming.
The instructions call for a 2-3/4" spinner.
The side profile view shows how there si still room for the 2.75" spinner to line up nicely and the lines will still flow with the cowl.

[Bdegan]

A couple more of the cowl

[Bdegan]

Another mod was the addition of quick release latches for the canopy.
I thought it a good idea when using batteries. If something were to go wrong, I would want to get in there quick to unplug the battery.
They were another Hobby King item :rolleyes:
Bag of 10 for around $4 if I remember correctly.

[Bdegan]

Ok, Until I do the changes I have mentioned i will put up some #'s that I have measued with some different props.

Static on the ground:
17x8 prop
56 amps, 1120 watts

17x10 prop on the ground
62amps, 1240 watts

17x10 prop In the air with an Eagle tree datalogger
51 amps
1040 watts

19x8 APC prop
In flight measurements
Peak amps 60.77
Peak watts 1285

20x8 APC prop
In air measurements
Peak amps 64 amps
Peak watts 1482 watts

Here is a graph of the flight with the 20x8 APC prop

[YoungestPiperCub]

Nice work, How is it in 3d it seems to big a plane for 6s???

[OTTERTOK]

That should be one fun plane to fly.

[Bdegan]

Nice work, How is it in 3d it seems to big a plane for 6s???

It looks big, but the weight is low and the wing area is huge.
With 19x8 it hovers at half stick and pulls out and climbs well.
With the 20x8 it hovers with even less rpm and pull out is stronger.
The graph shows that I am not even working the system hard. all the components are warm after a flight but no where near hot.
I could easily go to 8S and use a smaller prop.
I need to do some static thrust tests. I have only done one thrust measurement with a 17x8. It gave me 12lbs 6 ozs of thrust.

I have my timer set for 10 minutes and only turn it on after liftoff and the first turn away.
On average I put back 3300 and 3500 mah's on those 10 minute flights.
I stretched one flight out to 12 minutes on Thursday and put back 3760 mah.
Thats the most i have ever used.
Most flights, I am ready to land before the timer goes off.

Here is a link to a flight I did with a camera mounted just above the canopy.
Its not the greatest. I also have a video of the maiden which is just some flying around and trimming. The fellow filming didn't use the zoom so the plane looks small. I will upload it for fun as well.

http://vimeo.com/10914794

[Bdegan]

Here is the maiden flight.
The video conversion and upload has degraded the quality a lot.
Hopefully I can get someone to film another flight shortly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-sP7aWjzTQ

[Bdegan]

Flew three flights this evening with an APC 19x10
Did lots of hovers and pull outs along with long extended up lines.
Here is what the data logger recorded......

APC 19 x 10
58.23 peak amps
1325 watts

Strange thing though. I got higher numbers with the APC 19 x 8 :confused:
I don't get it

19x8 APC prop
Peak amps 60.77
Peak watts 1285

[shakaka]

those numbers look pretty good only 58 amps with a 19x10 prop you setup must hardly be getting warm.

[Bdegan]

Nothing was hot. Just warm.
I need to try the 3 different props again on a calm day.
Everyday had been windy. This evening was quite windy. I can't give the 19x10 prop a fair assesment with the wind today.

[OTTERTOK]

What do you think about putting the AXI 5320/28 into this plane, I have one left and if it will work well in this plane I was figuring on trying it?


http://www.modelmotors.cz/index.php?page=61&product=5320&serie=28&line=GOLD

[Bdegan]

Looks like a good motor for the plane.


I received the Graphtech gear and have moved the rudder servo up front.
I will post pictures this evening.

[OTTERTOK]

Sounds good then.

[Bdegan]

Here is the Graphtech landing gear. Even though it is the one for the x100, the dimensions are supposed to be the same as the stock gear. They are not.
This new graphtech gear is a full inch and a half taller and about 2 inches wider stance.
the wider stance isn't necessary, but haveing the extra height is nice for the big electric props like 19x10 and 20x8
Oh, it is also 1/2 an ounce lighter than the stock gear even though it is wider and taller :)

I also have the Xoar 20x8 on there now. i didn't want to use it until the new gear was on. My 20x8 APC was getting green tips from shaving the grass.
The light electric wood props are less forgiving to being that close to the ground.
The carbon spinner to match the gear is in transit. Should be here next week.

I also moved the rudder servo up into the battery tray ahead of the wing tube.
It is now a full 6 inches ahead of the CG.
I also moved the receiver further ahead. It sits on a 1/16 ply shelf I installed directly above the wing tube. With everything pushed up front, theinside of the fuselage really looks empty.
I plan to fly it tomorrow and see how much difference everything makes.

[Bdegan]

I might even add a washer or 2 to the standoffs to push the motor forward a little more.
This might also help with being able to remove some of the lead ballast.

[OTTERTOK]

Looking real good, did you order the landing gear from Graphtec or hobby hobby?

[Bdegan]

Graphtech
Took 6 days to arrive.
They marked the value at $10 on the box :D
Came right to my door :checkmark:

[Bdegan]

Here is a quick video shot friday evening.
6S has planty of power with this set up. The prop is a Xoar 20x8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbf0M0XmYsA

[Bdegan]

OK,
For those of you considering this plane, I have something that needs to be addressed.
In typical hangar 9 fashion the landing gear block is only glued in with a
Nose Loogy :mad:
They did improve the block. It is a nice piece of plywood compared to the cheap hardwood block they used to use that would always split.

On Saturday my landing gear and block peeled out clean on a slow landing that had a slight crab to it because of a 90 degree crosswind.
There was a tiny bit side pressure exurted when it touched down, and the the whole assembly rolled out.
Unfortunately in the process the gear and wheel pant decided to punch through the wing. Bottom and top and took a rib with it. It also peeled the covering on the bottom of the fuselage like a banana, all the way to the tail wheel.

About 30 minutes later another flyer with the same plane, Saito powered. Lost his gear on a slight bounce on his landing. Same result. The whole landing gear block pulled out clean with little signs of glue.

Here are a few photos of my plane. It is all fixed now. I added some triangle stock around the inside and another hardwood rail on the back side of the block as there was nothing there for it to attach to.

I am also sending the photos to Horizon/Hangar 9 to see what they have to say.

[Bdegan]

A couple more of the wing. This new printed covering looks cool. But if you dork it, it could be hard to repair without looking ugly.
Since I had to open the wing to rebuild the rib, I cut out an entire section of white on the bottom. This gave me clear access to the top covering from the inside. I used scotch tape on the inside to close the hole in the top printed covering. Almost perfect........ I then put a patch of clear Ultracote on the outside over the same spot. Turned out ok. You don't see it in the air, or even 10 feet away for that matter.

[OTTERTOK]

Thanks for the heads up Brad, it's a good thing I canceled my order already on Saturday. Picked up my new 33% Pilot-RC Yak 54 from Ray at the Hanmer swap meet yesterday and it's a master piece the gear won't be flying out of it.

[Bdegan]

Don't get me wrong.
The landing gear block has been a weak spot on numerous hangar 9 products. Not just this one.
I don't understand why they keep to the same design. It has been a problem of theirs in the past as well.

Just make sure to add the extra bracing and epoxy before the battery tray is installed. The area is wide open and easy to get to if done first.

[Gary Maker]

Loved the video Brad. Thanks for sharing. As you know I plan on flying a few IMAC contests with my Funtana electric and your video gives me great confidence that it will have all the power I need to fly the routine!

It looked to pull out of the hovers with good authority. When considering this plane for electric, I was a bit concerned as to how it would handle the up-lines. No more worry for sure! IF it can pull away like yours from a hover, then I will have no problem with any of the up-lines.

Brad, this thread is so helpful! Thank you for doing the ground work and then sharing your findings. That will sure save the rest of us a lot of work and frustration. And it has certainly helped build in me the confidence that this plane will fulfill my needs perfectly!

I'm just waiting for my components to arrive as well as the airframe and then I'll be set to go. So looking forward to getting this awesome setup flying. Perhaps you'll consider joining me/us in an IMAC contest or two (or more) this season. You sure are looking good flying this plane already. Brad believe me, you'll love the dicipline! And I gaurantee you that regardless of where you place in the competition, you'll go home a winner as you can not help coming home from a contest feeling you are a better pilot for the experience.

Thanks again my friend for sharing all your hard work!

[Bdegan]

Hopefully the winds start to calm a bit. Next i want to start working on some mixes. Mostly rudder to elevator. Since it is still a bit tail heavy it tends to wander a bit to the belly or canopy, depending on which direction I am going.
Inverted does require some down or the nose drops.
I haven't been able to try an upline 45 degree inverted to see what happens, its been to windy.
I have well or over a dozen flights on it. Now its time to start the fine tuning :yes:

[darrenR]

Great Video!! that sucks about the damage done from the landing gear tho :(

[Bdegan]

Alrighty.......Everything is repaired :)
The wind finally subsided and I went out flying this evening.
It was an awesome evening. Just a slight breeze from the north.
I only did 3 flights. There was nobody else there....a beautiful evening after days of high winds and nobody was out. hate flying alone :(
Anyway, took a bunch pictures since I have everything now complete.
The Carbon spinner was added today to match the Graphtech gear.

[Bdegan]

A couple more ;)

[Bdegan]

My 3rd and last flight this evening, I put the Eagletree data logger in.
We have been having some discussions over in the IMAC forum about electric competeing in IMAC and if this setup would have enough juice to fly 2 sequences back to back.
According to the datalogger I only ever hit 52.25 amps and just over 100 watts.
I flew the entire 10 and half minutes between half and full throttle.
I did many knifedges and IMAC maneuvers. Some long extended up lines at full throttle. As my timer beeped to land my power dropped as I had just hit low voltage cut off. Its set to "soft cut".
I know this flight I flew harder than I would to do an IMAC sequence.

So Gary, this is for you. There should be no problems at all flying 2 IMAC sequences back to back. The 20x8 prop might not be the right prop.
I will try again with a 19x8, a 19x10 and an 18x10. I just need to pick up an 18x10 tomorrow to add to my collection :rolleyes:

Here is the graph of the flight

Cheers

[Gary Maker]

Again I cannot help but thank you Brad for all the work pioneering of this aircraft.

I noticed in an earlier photo that you have a switch on the side of the fuse. I assume this is a power on/off switch? Would you mind explaining how the hookup is done for us electric noobs?

I picked up my Funtana 125 yesterday afternoon. It is such a nice airplane and I especially like the idea that I will be flying it electric. Not sure how much longer it will be before I receive the motor, esc/bec and 6S batteries from HK. In the intrum, I will get the servos, linkages and AR7000 2.4 Rx installed. Then when I receive the other electrics it should not be too long before I do my maiden flight. Its all coming together and looking good thanks to you my friend!

[Bdegan]

Plan your rudder servo install. This bird builds tail heavy.
My rudder servo is up front, infront of the wing tube. And I am using Hitec 225mg's on the elevators.

[AirDog]

Brad: Do you have any photographs of the repairs to the gear mounting plate. I have the same plane but have a 26cc gas engine in it. I haven't flown it yet but if there is some reinforcing that can be done, I guess that now would be a good time.

Thanks

Brendan

[Bdegan]

Hey Brendan,
I don't really have any pics of what I did when I put the plate back in.
But I would start with some expoxy and add some hard balsa or basswood around the inside cornrs to give thelanding gear plate more surface area to be attached to.
The rear edge of the plate is actually attached to nothing.
I did add a piece of Spruce across the rear of the plate and attached at each end to the frame of the fuselage.

[AirDog]

Brad:

I did just as you suggested. It sure looks a lot stronger.

I used some 1/4 inch ply for the plates. Since I cut out the stock fuel tank mount and added rails, I just butted a cross brace up against the front of the existing crossbrace. I also added epoxy to the plate in front of that as I noticed that yours had pulled out (the one with the holes in it). I need a bit of weight in the front anyway from my rough balancing. Once it is dry, I can do the final balance.

Here are a poor quality picture of my efforts.


Brendan

[Bdegan]

Thats the idea. It makes more ofa box with more adhesion

[Gary Maker]

I had talked to Brad and mentioned that I might add some pics and a few comments on my Funtana build, which he thought was a good idea so as to have all the various information and mods in one thread for a reference for others who are/or are considering this plane. So here goes my input:

Funtana 125 ARF
Motor: Turnigy 50-65-350kv
ESC/SBEC: Turnigy 85A w/programming card.
Battery(s): Turnigy 5000mAH 6S 20C-25C Li-Poly.
Servos: Hitec HS645MG, 107 in/oz torque @ 4.8V / 133 in/oz @ 6.0V
.........: 2X for elevators, 2X for ailerons, 1X for rudder.
Initial Prop(s): APC 19" X 10E - 20" X 8E.
Hardware: As supplied!

LANDING GEAR MOUNTING:

The first thing I did when I started the assembly, was to do some beefing up of the landing gear mount as highly recommended by Brad. I cut two 3/4" thick wedges from pine 1" X 1" triangles and glued them on the inside of the fuse over the landing gear mounting plate and to the side of the formers using 30 min. Epoxy. Should make things much stronger!

Next, I did the battery plate mounting as per Brad's suggestion by cutting down the fuel tank cradle so it was level with the Engine box and the former lip just aft of the wing tube. I then glued the mounting plate in place.

Here are a couple of pictures of my mods showing both the gear strengtheners & the cut off tank cradle! The other pic shows the battery plate in place inside the engine box right up to the firewall.

[Gary Maker]

MOTOR MOUNTING:

With the Turnigy 50-65-350kv motor (Not the SK version) I faced the same problem as Brad, in that the motor extention box was too long to have the motor fit inside the cowl, although I opted for a different solution!

After careful measurement, I found that the motor extention box was exactly 1/2" too long to have my motor fit properly. On the rear of the box, I measured and drew a line all the way aroung the box 1/2" from the back.

I used my band saw to cut along the line on each side of the box, removing the entire 1/2" of the box back. I laid this piece flat on the band saw and cut the 1/8" ply side pieces off of the box back end. After touching it up slightly with my bench sander, it fit perfectly back into the rear opening of the box. Again, using 30 min. epoxy, I glued the square 1/4" ply back plate to the motor box.

The beauty of this is that all of the predrilled mounting holes were still in exactly the correct place. I bolted the box to the engine box as per normally would have been done. Perfect!

I now mounted the motor as per instructions and putting the cowl temporairly in place, found that the motor was perfectly aligned as it should be.

ESC/SBEC MOUNT.

Rather than mounting the ESC under the engine box, I mounted mine on the side of the motor extention box, as per the instructions. I use two narrow strips of double sided tape on the rear of the ESC at the ends and stuck the unit to the side of the box. I used two zip ties to reinforce the mounting. I figured it best mounted on the side of the motor extention box for a couple of reasons:

First, mounted this way, the ESC would receive the prop blast air directly through the cowl and over the unit, providing excellent cooling. Secondly, mounted on the side of the motor extention box, the ESC, which has cooling holes on the bottom of the unit, would receive cooling air through the hole that was already cut onto the side of the box, over which the ESC was mounted.

Here are a couple of pictures showing the shortened motor extention box, the mounted Turnigy motor and the mounted ESC/SBEC.

Additional Note: By cutting the back 1/2" off the box, it meant loosing the ply interlocking tabs. When putting the back piece in place there were now NO tabs to help lock it in place. As you can see in the picture, to compensate, I drilled holes in each side and put in servo mount screws to help assure the back would not ever come off.

[Gary Maker]

CANOPY MOUNTING:

I got the idea for mounting the canopy from a smaller electric plane that I have that used magnets for holding the battery hatch in place.

With my last order from Hobby King, I ordered a package of "Rare Earth" magnets. Although somewhat small at only a little over a 1/4" in Dia and about 1/16" thick, these little magnets are unbelievably powerful! A package of 10 pieces was only like $1.29 if I remember correctly!

Looking at the bottom of the canopy and the matching location where the canopy sits on the fuse, you will easily notice that there are as series of small holes in both these pieces. When the canopy sits in place the hole almost line up but with a little tweaking with my rotary tool, I got lined up holes. The holes are about the same size as the magnets.

Besides making sure the holes lined up, I had to cut small squares of lite ply and glue the over the holes on the reverse side of both the canopy and the fuse ledge that the magnets would sit to keep them in place and to have some way to glue them in permenantly.

When this part was complete, I set a magnet in place to test the fit. They were sitting just shy of level with the top of the hole. So, I cut 4 small circles of card stock the same dia of the magnets and glued them to the bottom of each hole. Now the magnet were perfectly flush with the tops of the holes. I used medium CA to glue the paper circles & magnets in place.

That's it! Done! When I sat the canopy in place, man, it stays there, no problem. As a matter of fact, it takes a bit of a pull to break them loose of each other, so I am very confident the canopy will never come off in flight.

Here are pictures of this easy to do, simple way of holding the canopy in place! The first pic shows the 4 magnets glued in place. The second pic shows the wooden squares used to cover the holes.

NOTE: Make sure when mounting the magnets in place, you get the attracting poles matched OR you will have the magnets trying to push themselves away from each other!

[Gary Maker]

THE COWL:

Outlined in the instruction manual is the perfect way to mount any cowl. I have done it this way for years. It is easier when using an electric setup though, as there are no holes to line up for the lever to adjust the needle valve or for engine heads and/or valve covers to clear.

I'm not sure what the criteria is for the air "outlet" hole where electrics are concerned but it would make sense that it would be the same as for glow or gas as the air has to escape efficiently all the same.

It gives the instructions in the manual but again, I did mine a bit different, as the hole shown in the manual doesn't seem quite large enough with the rule of thumb being that the outlet should be approx twice the air inlet for proper airflow, thus engine cooling!

I measure the front inlet, and roughly came up with 10.5 square inches of opening. Therefore, in what I have learned from others and from experience, the outlet should be twice that or approx 21 square inches of outlet air.

Marking a center line from front to back on the bottom of the cowl, I cut an opening of approx. 2" each side of center and 5" deep. 4" X 5" = 20 sq inches of opening, close enough, I would think.

Here are the pics of the cowl and my cutout. By the way, a rotary tool with a sanding drum makes short work of making the cutout.

[Gary Maker]

Well, I hope this addition to Brad's build will be of use and prove helpful in some way if you are assembling or plan on buying one of these beautiful aircraft.

I was racking my brain trying to decide on a larger aircraft to convert to electric and thanks to Brad in sending me a photo of his Funtana and for having the kindness and the patients to answer eleventy seven questions, I am now well on my way.

I am now working on installing the servos, linkages, and receiver. Once having that done, she should be ready for business. I will post a couple more pics once it is finished and ready to fly.

Thank you so much Brad for allowing me to share your thread in this way!

[Bdegan]

Wow Gary,
It looks great :TU:
I thought of cutting the motor box extension as well, but I needed the extra weight up front, so I added the standoffs.

I really like the magnets for the canopy.
If the front had big openings into the fuselage i would worry about the fuselage pressurizing and blowing the canopy off, but t shouldn't be an issue since there are no openings into the fuselage.

If there were a bunch of openings into the fuse the fix would be to cut a hole in the fuse aft of the wing for air to exit the fuselage. That way pressure couldn't build up.

[Gary Maker]

Brad, whenever it is that we can get together to do some flying, I'll let you pull the canopy off.

Honestly, you have to try it to believe how powerful those tiny magnets are. I truly, very much, doubt that even if air pressure could get into the fuse, it would have any affect on these magnets. :)

[Gary Maker]

Well, I finally have the plane ready for its maiden flight. The first day we have decent weather, I will get to getting it flying.

I did the pull pull system exactly as Brad did his with the rudder servo mounted in the back of the Battery tray just in front of the wing tube. The cables line up perfectly in this location. I installed the cables crossed over which gives the best angle to come out the side of the fuse to the rudder control horn.

Everything else was pretty much straight forward as per the manual instructions. I did however make a 2" wide platform which I mounted directly over the top to the wing tube on which to install the AR7000 Spektrum Rx and side mounted the satellite Rx. It's perfect and gives great access to the Rx.

NOW for the moment of truth......!! With everything installed and ready to go, it was time to check the AUW and the C of G. I used my digital scales and balanced the plane on the spinner in the center of the scale platform. It came out at 9lbs, 9.3 ounces Total!!

I don't know what I may have done wrong OR right but the plane balanced perfectly right on the 6 1/2" mark of the C of G location as given in the manual. The manual says to set the C of G at 6 3/8 - 6 3/4" so I got it perfect without having to add any extra weight!

I was very much concerned about this as I did use 2 full sized Hitec HS645MG servos at the rear of the fuse for the elevators, each weighing 1.9 oz. So, like I said, I must have done something right to get a perfect C of G dispite that much weight at the fuse rear.

The only extra that I installed is a Turnigy Voltage Telemetry Transmitter installed again as far forward as I could get it and still be able to plug the balance lead of the battery to the Telemetry Tx.

This neat little device reads the voltage of each individual cell in the battery pack and sends it to the LED Receiver unit which attatches to the Tx antenna. It displays the voltage in real time so you never have to run out of battery power while flying. It also has low voltage alarms to let you know when its approaching max battery usage for that flight...80% discharge! NO more guessing how much power you have left allowing for max battery usage without going too low on the voltage. Ya gotta love it!

So, that's pretty much it. I'll do a final report once I have gotten it out and flying.

Here are a few pics of my setup.

[Bdegan]

Hi Gary,
Post a link to the telemetry thing you have.

Some of the 2.4 telemetry stuff isn't compatible with 2.4 radios. Or messes with the signal.

Do some thorough range checks with the motor turning to make sure you don't get any glitches.

[Gary Maker]

Hi Gary,
Post a link to the telemetry thing you have.

Some of the 2.4 telemetry stuff isn't compatible with 2.4 radios. Or messes with the signal.

Do some thorough range checks with the motor turning to make sure you don't get any glitches.

Quote from Advertisement:

This works well. The range is very good, and the display is easy to read. YES - this device will work side-by-side with a 2.4GHZ radio system. There is NO interference.

[Gary Maker]

Couple more pics of the finished plane.

[Bdegan]

Hey I recognize that plane ;)

Looks good Gary :TU:

[Gary Maker]

Thanks Brad. I sure hope it flys a good as your plane does. I just bound the TX & RX, set up the throws and dialed in a bit of EXPO to start with.

I was going to use a "Reversing Y" for the elevators, but for some reason the new one that I have is not working. So instead I am going to use a 2 channel mix for the elevators, which will probably give me a bit more precision anyways.

Darn weatherman is calling Thunder storms for the whole weekend. Actually its suppose to rain for the next 5 days which will really suck. First break in the weather and I will be at the field giving my new baby its maiden flight. I'm really quite excited about this plane, especially being electric and all. Everything aside, I just want to go out and have fun with it. The competitions will be a bonus. After almost two full years of being grounded due to health I am going to get out at every opportunity this year. Most of my planes now being electric, it will be a whole lot easier to manage.

Brad, thanks again for all the help you've provided me to get me going with this project. I'll let you know how it goes once I have a couple of flights under my belt with the beautiful airplane.

[Bdegan]

I was going to use a "Reversing Y" for the elevators,

Good thing you didn't. Spektrum / JR actually warns against it.
DSM receivers don't like reversing Y's

[Gary Maker]

Well, the Funtana is fully completed and sitting here waiting for a day when the @#$@^%* wind settles down. Man, seems every time I plan on going to the field to maiden the Funtana, if it isn't raining, the winds are at gale force!

Seeing that I was waiting for a decent day to fly anyway, I thought I'd try my hand and making myself a set of Custom Wing Bags for the Funtana.

My wife is a seamstress and does a fair bit of shopping at Len's Mill fabric store, here in Stoney Creek, so I decided to go along with her and see what I could find that might be available for a proper material to make the bags. I found what I think is the perfect material. Fairily heavy duty with a good solid weave and is durable and waterproof! Only comes in black but I like black anyway so I purchased a couple of yards of the stuff. I also purchased a couple of yards of plain "Hunter Green" material to use as a lining for the bags.

I cut out the pattern and sewed every stitch myself. I think they look great and should do the job very nicely. What do you think? Here are a few pics!

[Bdegan]

Ooooooohhhhh!!!!

I like, I like :rock:

How much to make another set ? I am interested in a set for my plane :D

A whole new side business for you Gary ;)

[Gary Maker]

Brad, sent you a PM on the wing bags.

Finally got the maiden flight(s) in on the Funtana. Awsome flying airplane. My power system works absolutely great. Lots of power even in vertical up lines, the plane just keeps climbing and climbing.

[Gary Maker]

Well, I'm not sure if anyone is still following this build thread but I will keep posting info on my build if it may be of use to others wanting or have one of these beautiful aerobatic airplanes.

My package arrived from China today containing my new Turnigy SK 50 65 380kv electric motor. After checking it out, it is easy to see it is much more heavy duty than the standard Turnigy I have presently installed.

I think I will switch it over before this weekend's IMAC contest. It is actually heavier too, which means I will probably be able to remove the ounce of dead weight lead needed to balance the Funtana.

[buzzthetower]

Thanks Brad & Gary for all the info, and please keep us updated as you get more flights on your planes. I'm about to start assembling one myself and this thread is an extremely useful resource.

I will be using the same electronics as Brad with the exception of the speed control. Unfortunately the Turnigy 85 amp unit was on back order at the time, so I went with the Hobby King 90 / 100 ESC and separate UBEC. It was cheaper than the Turnigy even after the cost of the UBEC so I hope the quality is ok.

Will do the same battery tray trick with the rudder servo and will be reinforcing the landing gear before installing the tray.

Unfortunately I am very busy with work at the moment so it may take a while to get her done, but I will post pics when the job is complete.

[Bdegan]

Hey Jeff,
Anytime we are at the field at the same time, feel free to poke around and check the plane out.
Lift the hood so to speak ;)

[buzzthetower]

Hey Jeff,
Anytime we are at the field at the same time, feel free to poke around and check the plane out.
Lift the hood so to speak ;)

Will do, thanks Brad.

The batteries were finally in stock today so I ordered 4X Zippy Flightmax 5000mah 6S 20C. Great price at under $50 USD each.

[Gary Maker]

I haven't mentioned yet that I did fly the Funtana at the Flying Tigers IMAC. The plane flies great but the pilot leaves a lot to be desired!

I wish I had have had more time to practice and do a lot more trimming & programming tweaks before the event. But the competition was a great learning experience. One big mistake was trying to fly it like I did my gassers. I flew way too big a footprint, ie. uplines way too long and most manovers way too far away, waisting a lot of battery power.

Although I was able to complete all 4 rounds, I noticed the last couple of manovers during two of the rounds, I was really grasping for power. Of course the winds didn't help either. With better throttle management and smaller footprints, I should really have little trouble but boy, do I need to practice. IT really is quite different with electric vs glow/gas!

Also, something else that should be of great help is a better computer radio. I have purchased a DX7 which will give me 6 mixes as opposed to just the 2 with the DX6i. These mixes will really help cut through some of the inheritent instability that naturally occurs with most aerobatic airplanes.

But when all else is said and done, it's the pilot that needs working on the most! Practice, practice, practice and then practice some more!

NOTE: Even after the hardest flying, when I landed and checked the motor and ESC, they were barely even warm! I was really impressed.

I now have an Eagle Tree Data Logger and shall get some readings next time I go out flying so I'll be able to see what the system is actually doing during flight!

[buzzthetower]

Here are my 2 cents on the build...

I used Gary's method of cutting back the included engine mount. After careful measurements I also came to the conclusion that the box needed a 1/2" trim. Only difference is I used small dowels to reinforce the box and glued it to the firewall with triangle stock and small dowels for extra strength.

[buzzthetower]

I cut a hole in the fuse to allow some cooling for the battery. I will remove some covering film from each side under the wings to let the air escape.

[daveyboycfs]

WOW! Thanks guys for all the great info on building the Funtana 125! I just bought the airframe and I have moved the rudder servo ahead of the wing tube but have run into a problem with the pull-pull wires. No matter what I seem to do I cannot clear a path for the wires exiting the fuse at the tail. They rub on the braces inside the fuse! I am using a hangar 9 3" servo arm on the servo and Du-Bro pull-pull set up on the rudder. I started to hog out some of the wood under the elevator servo but had to stop because it wasn't getting me anywhere. This is my first pull-pull set up and I am starting to consider going to the rudder servo in the rear but that would be last resort! Could I just be using the wrong hardware? Please help?
Thanks for all the build info so far it has been very helpful. I do recommend one thing not mentioned, before I reinforced the landing gear I decided that I still wanted access under the battery tray so I thru bolted the battery tray into the motor mount box and added 1/4" basswood strip across the rear support and used screws to hold the rear of the tray. I also reinforced the battery tray lengthwise with 1/4" basswood underneth just in side of the slots for the hook and loop straps.
Below is the setup I will be using. Any thoughts would be helpful.

Scorpion 4025-12 440 kv rated for 85amp and 2000 watts cont.
Castle Creations Ice 100 esc
Hitech 5485's on ele & ail
Spectrum A6020 on rudder

Thanks for all the info guys it has been a BIG help! Now I just need to figure out the pull-pull!

[Bdegan]

3 inch is a big arm for this plane.2.5 inch I found was more than enough.
Also, did you cross the wires for the pull pull or did you go straight back?
I crossed them. I found they lined up better to exit the fuselage.

[daveyboycfs]

I am crossing the pull-pull wires but I will run down to the local hobby shop and pick up a 2.5" arm and see if that gives me the geometry I am looking for. Thank you for the input.

Dave Clarke

[Gary Maker]

I don't know how others set up their pull-pull but I have found that the system works best if you install them at exactly the same width on both ends of the cables. Example: IF you measure the width center to center of your rudder control horns and you get 2.5" then your servo arm cable attatchments should also be 2.5" center to center.

I do cross over the cables as Brad mentions and even with the best setup you will still get some rubbing of the cables on the side of the bulkhead that is just before the exit holes. It has never caused a problem.

The only problem you may encounter with this arrangement of the cables is that if you are using a 72mhZ Radio system, you could get radio noise with the cables rubbing against each other where they touch at the cross causing servo glitching etc. I know this from personal experience.

IF this may be a concern to you, shoot me a PM and I'll give you an easy fix for this.

One more point. DO NOT adjust your cables so that they are too tight but rather with just a slight amount of tension. Too tight can cause other problems like undue stress on the servo center post causing premature wear and servo failure.

Anyway, all the best to you my friend. You are going to love flying this beautiful airplane.

I'm sure Brad wouldn't mind if you keep posting to the thread. IF you need any help along the way, just ask. I'm sure everyone here would be happy to lend a helping hand when needed.

[Bdegan]

I'm sure Brad wouldn't mind if you keep posting to the thread.

The more the merrier :D

[Gary Maker]

Opps sorry guys, wrong post.

[daveyboycfs]

Hey what do you guys think about using pull pull tubes instead of wire for rudder? I am not to keen on using the wire and allowing it to rub on the fuse.
I saw a guy using them on a funtana 125 and it looked pretty good. Has any of you used pull pull tubes on a plane?

Thanks
David Clarke

[Bdegan]

What do you mean by tubes ?

[daveyboycfs]

Here is the link to the install I saw. Let me know what you think. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t67AFniJ088

[OTTERTOK]

Here is the link to the install I saw. Let me know what you think. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t67AFniJ088

I like this idea.

[Bdegan]

That looks simple enough to do. Should work fine. Both sides are the same so any expansion and contraction with temperature change shouldn't be a big deal. Maybe a tiny bit of less throw on a hot day if the rods expand.

[daveyboycfs]

Does anyone have problems with aileron flutter above half throttle? I have flown 2 flights and the ailerons have fluttered first using Hitec 5485 servos and then with spektrum a6020 servos and it appears the slop in the servo drivetrain is amplified using 1.5" arms? No slop in linkage! Is this normal?
Thanks
David Clarke

[truevine77]

Thanks for all the build info on the Funtana. I wish I had seen all the landing gear mods before I glued in my battery tray. I'm using a Rimfire 1.20 with is also a bit longer than the recommended motor. I just simply epoxied some wooden tabs on the firewall where the cowl is usually attached. I just wanted to KISS - hope it works well. The Rimfire's has been bomb proof for me over the years - on 6S it's been tested to output up to 1900 watts burst on 19x8 6S 5000 at 81amps.

How are the Funtanas featured here doing now - how are they holding up? I'm trying to figure out how best to install the triangle block to the landing gear plate with the batt tray already installed. I reenforced it with thin and medium CA.

[Bdegan]

An easy way to get at the landing gear block once the tray is glued in, is from the bottom. Cut out the covering between from the front of the gear block plate back to the next former. Somwhere under the wing tube.
I used a couple of bass wood rails epoxiedto the landing gear block and along the plywood plate the gear block sits in. I had it the full length of the ply plates to spread the load.

[truevine77]

Thanks for the tip - I've got to get more comfortable with recovering. I've got the tools - got to learn how to use them :-)

How's your plane holding up? I haven't even maidened mine yet. I'm waiting to get my radio back from Horizon Hobby - repairing a broken menu scroll button.

[Bdegan]

It was holding up great. But I was having an issue with the new printed covering on mine.
I ended up sending it back to Horizon for warranty. At the time, they couldn't replace it. Out of stock for a couple of months. I took an equivalent credit in exchange with Horizon.
So I moved on to a 30cc S-Bach :)

[truevine77]

Did you electrify it? What did you do with your motor, esc, and lipos? Hope you're enjoying your new plane.

[truevine77]

I haven't mentioned yet that I did fly the Funtana at the Flying Tigers IMAC. The plane flies great but the pilot leaves a lot to be desired!

I wish I had have had more time to practice and do a lot more trimming & programming tweaks before the event. But the competition was a great learning experience. One big mistake was trying to fly it like I did my gassers. I flew way too big a footprint, ie. uplines way too long and most manovers way too far away, waisting a lot of battery power.

Although I was able to complete all 4 rounds, I noticed the last couple of manovers during two of the rounds, I was really grasping for power. Of course the winds didn't help either. With better throttle management and smaller footprints, I should really have little trouble but boy, do I need to practice. IT really is quite different with electric vs glow/gas!

Also, something else that should be of great help is a better computer radio. I have purchased a DX7 which will give me 6 mixes as opposed to just the 2 with the DX6i. These mixes will really help cut through some of the inheritent instability that naturally occurs with most aerobatic airplanes.

But when all else is said and done, it's the pilot that needs working on the most! Practice, practice, practice and then practice some more!

NOTE: Even after the hardest flying, when I landed and checked the motor and ESC, they were barely even warm! I was really impressed.

I now have an Eagle Tree Data Logger and shall get some readings next time I go out flying so I'll be able to see what the system is actually doing during flight!

Hey Gary - how's your plane holding up? Thanks for your previous input.

[Bdegan]

Did you electrify it? What did you do with your motor, esc, and lipos? Hope you're enjoying your new plane.

I still have the motor and batteries. Sold the esc.
The batteries are being used in another plane ( my winter plane )
The SBach is powered by a DLE30 gasser.

[harttvboy04]

Hey Guys!

I just also received my Turnigy 380KV 50-65SK from China as well!

I purchased 2 HS-5245's for the elevators and 1 Power HD DS090M for the rudder. I will be using JR DS821's for the ailerons-should work well.

I want to THANK EVERYONE WHO HAS POSTED! All the info on this thread has truly effected my purchasing and setup of this aircraft- IT HAS BEEN A CHORE TO KEEP EVERYTHING IN THE BOX UNTIL I GOT ALL THE PARTS! :)

I will also be using a Smartfly Equalizer II for matching my elevator servos easily. I have read over on the groups that people have easy success with this device!

I have both an AR7000 and an AR6200 and I am not really sure which to use...no difference I guess. I will be re-inforcing the LG and relocating the rudder servo for Pull-Pull. What else should I look at?

I like the idea of just bolting on the motor and extending the cowl forward-definitely should help with CG...Let me know what you guys think!

Also, I am on the fence with regards to a power source for the radio. Should I go Ultimate BEC @ 20AMPS or LiFe? Thanks!

Thanks again everyone!

Best,

Chris B.

[harttvboy04]

Hi all again!

Just wanted to filll you in on some of the nuances with this plane.

So far, my Hyperion is holding up well. I plan on cutting up my cowl (I have been flying it without cutting the cowl which looks nice) to allow a lot more air through the motor box. After a 6 minute Hard flight, the motor comes down just about untouchably hot. That seems to be one of only 2 drawbacks so far-

The setup
Castle Ice 100
Hyperion LiFe, 3000mAh mounted via velcro under gas motor box for CG
Hyperion 4025-14 370KV motor
2 Spektrum a6030 Titanium Gear servos in ailerons - MPI 1.5 in aluminum arms
2 Hitec HS-5245 Digi MG mini servos on tail- MPI 1.5 inch arms
1 Power HD ds090m on rudder - 3 inch MPI aluminum arm connected to Dubro GS pull pull setup- servo mounted on lower half of battery tray, just under the wing spar tube (barely fits, mounted cables on underside of arm and had to trim bolts short
SmartFly Equalizer for elevator sync
2 6s batteries so far, one 3 season old Hyperion 25c and one new Turnigy 6s- almost the same weight. I am afraid of going higher 'C' rating due to motor heat- will see how cutting the cowl works out cooling wise.

All the work for relocating CG on 6s and I am still shy of where I want to be. The only thing left I can do is cut the motor screws short and make them flush with the blind nuts so as to put the battery ON THE FIREWALL... May try the heavier Turnigy/Zippy 5800MAH 6s batteries if motor cooling allows.

I may consider going the Hacker a50 route- it is a heavier motor with higher KV.

http://www.aero-model.com/Hacker-Brushless-A50-16S-V2.aspx

I have heard nothing but good things about this motor and I think that this will swing 19x10 all day long without overheating. Let me know what you guys think!

Best,

Chris

[gazzazh]

guys,, i am currently in the final stages of the funtana build.. I noticed that
1- the pushrods are quit short..
2- the clevis hole is too small and will not thread into the pushrod.. do i drill the clevis to enlarge the hole or did i get the wrong size clevis..

Thanks a million

Cheers,