We love our line of Falcon ESCs, so much so that they get run hard. So hard, that a little extra cooling adds a HUGE benefit.
Elite Falcon ESC Cooling Fan
The Elite Falcon ESC Cooling Fan improves air circulation and heat transfer even under less than ideal installation conditions. The cooling fan has a 5-8.4V operating range and consumption of 0.2-0.5A. Easily install the ESC Cooling Fan, with included installation hardware, by mounting the fan directly on top of the ESC.
Simply install the cooling fan to the top of the heat sink on the ESC and plug in a standard JR-type connector to any free channel of the receiver.
The Still is a great introduction to the world of pylon racers. While it is not quite as intimidating as some of the fully hollow molded racers, it is stable and easy for the intermediate pilot to handle. Using the recommended brushless setup, the Still launches with just a toss and immediately climbs up and away. The airplane is a fast model with plenty of power – and what better to control it with than a Jeti setup!
Read more about our pylon racers here and find your perfect Jeti setup here.
Ground Control to Major Tom…Uh, How Does It All Work?
Now that we know where it started, lets take a look at how radio control flight happens. The technology revolves around the use of radio waves. Radio waves are a form of electromagnetic radiation with a frequency that lies between 10kHz to 100GHz1. Radio waves are used for long distance communication2.
Wavelength Size Comparison
Photo from Nasa.gov “Comparison of Wavelengths”4
Electromagnetic Spectrum
Photo from Nasa.gov “What are radio waves?”5
In the hobby, we use a transmitter to send radio signals with information (instructions) to a receiver, located somewhere in your model. The receiver, which is being powered by a battery, then takes that information and passes it along to what you have plugged into it, telling those devices what to do based on the original input at the transmitter. A very basic set-up, would consist of four servos plugged into the receiver, the receiver battery, and your transmitter.
Jeti DS-12 TransmitterKST ServoJeti Recievers
A servo, otherwise known as a servo motor, is a “self-contained electrical device”3 with an electric motor connected to a gear set. You would then connect an arm to one of the gears and then to a control rod to mechanically control your flight surfaces (Rudder, Elevator, Ailerons, Flaps).
Photo from Sparkfun.com “Servos Explained”6
As technology advanced, the devices that you can place into your aircraft have also changed. Now-a-days, setups can range from basic (sport airplane) to a more advanced set-up (turbine aircraft) with multiple devices installed for both functionality and showman ship – and everything in between.
“Details matter. It’s worth waiting to get it right.” – Steve Jobs
Well…Wait no more! Secraft parts are rolling in!
These anodized aluminum parts will add the perfect detail to any project! Made out of aluminum, these products are sure to hold up. Vibrant colors and sleek designs will draw your eye and make for the most excellent finishing touches to your model.
Watch as Mathieu Effortlessly Launches the Ultra 3.5
Watch as Mathieu, from Opale Paramodels, demonstrates how easy it is to launch the Ultra 3.5 Aerobatic High Performance Paramodel equipped with pilot XL Mike with auxiliary motor kit.
Ultra 3.5 Performance Wing
Read the step-by-step procedure Opale Paramodels prepared on how to nail that perfect, easy, take off:
1. Prepare like a classic paramotor take-off.
2. Inflate your kite and guide straight ahead.
3. Give it a good tug towards yourself and wait for the model to stabilize. Then start the engine and take off.
Remember: Make sure the blades have stopped spinning before you land! A good tip is to apply a throttle cut switch to ensure the blades stop turning.
“Silent, powerful, versatile, this kit with a wingspan of more than 5m is perfect for pilots wishing to progress” – Opale Paramodels
Check out our line of beautiful Opale Paramodels here!
Technology is constantly changing, and the RC Industry is no exception to that. With products that need programing, sensors for every possible thing imaginable, “an app for that”, multiple frequencies, constantly improving product specs, and transmitters that might-as-well be mini computers, it is understandable that a new RC pilot may become overwhelmed with information. No worries though, follow our flight school segments to learn the basics of RC.
In this segment, we will learn the history behind Remote Control Flying. In 1897 Nikola Tesla discovered the use of radio signal as a way to control things wirelessly. He successfully sent a wireless transmission from his laboratory to a boat on the Hudson River – a distance of about twenty-five miles (Tandon, 2021). People did not believe his discovery, so he later demonstrated it publicly by wirelessly controlling a boat in a pool in Madison Square Gardens (Hunt, 2023). The first RC boat was controlled by using radio waves to direct its movements through an antenna on the boat (Tandon,2021).
Fast forward to the mid 1930s. During this time there were several influential people that made important contributions to RC Flight. One important set of men are the Good brothers – Walt and Bill. These twin brothers, with backgrounds in ham radios, built the first radio controlled airplane in 1937, known as the Big Guff (Pete, 2023). Being able to control the planes trough radio was a giant step forward in the modeling era.
Ross Hull and Clinton DeSoto, both heavily involved in ham radios, are another two of the early RC pioneers. Together, they built and flew RC gliders in the first public demonstration (Gudaitis, 2015). By the end of the 1930’s their sailplanes had over 100 flights total. Unfortunately, Hull passed away in 1939 and Desoto passed away in 1949.
Leo Weiss, a young engineering student, built a fourteen foot wingspan RC model and together with Jon Lopus they had created the reed-control system, basically an eight channel system (Gudaitis, 2015; Noll, 2018). The reed-control system used “six tuned reeds that responded to audio tones” (Gudaitis,2015), and became more popular in the 1950s.
An electronic technician named Joseph Raspante is another revered pioneer of RC. He built an RC system that “used a telephone dial to select control functions” (Gudaitis, 2015).
In 1939 Howard McEntee published details for a twin-frequency transmitter and by 1941 Thracy Petrides and Leon Hilman had published a multifunction, single channel, RC system (Noll, 2018).
By the 1950’s FCC was granting permissions to the RC Modeling community and transmitters began selling to the public. Since then, equipment and the radio control hobby has only continued to grow and evolve!
Good Brothers 1939Good Brothers 1940 NATSGood Brothers’ TransmitterGood Borthers’ Rudder DesignRaspente and his transmitterHull and Desoto
Firmware updates have just been released for many different Esprit Elite products. Read below to learn what is new and head over to the MAV Manager to update your device.
PowerBox P2Bus telemetry support has been added. Available telemetry values: Altitude, pressure, temperature, throttle output, off-altitude…
Configurable telemetry slots in S.Bus2 telemetry mode. Use the MAV Manager software to change the configuration. After changing the slot range please choose the “VARIO-1672” sensor type on the appropriate slot in your Futaba transmitter.
Configurable telemetry slots in Multiplex MSB telemetry mode. Use the MAV Manager software to change the configuration.
In the RC-E7 mode you can now change the shutdown altitude. Default shutdown altitude is 120m
PC Configuration support using the MAV Manager software has been implemented. Use MAV Manager version 1.6.0 or later.
Improved compatibility with JETI EX Bus 24-channel mode.
Added PowerBox P2Bus support on Rx1/Rx2 inputs, including telemetry.
Added stabilization gain tuning. Using spare Bus channels, it allows you to assign up to 3 channels to control the stabilization gains of each model axis during flight. After you assign the channel operated e. g. by a potentiometer, the behavior will be similar to a standard gyro:
Potentiometer in the middle (0% ~ 1.5ms) effectively disables the stabilization since all gains will be set to zero.
Potentiometer to the left (< 1.5ms) activates the “Heading Hold” mode. o Potentiometer to the right (> 1.5ms) activates the “Normal” mode.
Configurable telemetry slots in S.Bus2 telemetry mode. Use the MAV Manager software to change the configuration. Available slots: 8 – 15, 16 – 23, 24 – 31.
Configurable telemetry slots in Multiplex MSB telemetry mode. Use the MAV Manager software to change the configuration.
PC Configuration support using the MAV Manager software has been implemented. Use MAV Manager version 1.6.0 or later.
PowerBox P2Bus telemetry support has been added. Available telemetry values: Altitude, pressure, temperature.
Configurable telemetry slots in S.Bus2 telemetry mode. Use the MAV Manager software to change the configuration. After changing the slot range please choose the “VARIO-1672” sensor type on the appropriate slot in your Futaba transmitter.
Configurable telemetry slots in Multiplex MSB telemetry mode. Use the MAV Manager software to change the configuration.
PC Configuration support using the MAV Manager software has been implemented. Use MAV Manager version 1.6.0 or later.
MicroVario PropertiesMicroVario Actual TelemetryMicroVario SettingsMicroVario
Configurable telemetry slots in S.Bus2 telemetry mode. Use the MAV Manager software to change the configuration. After changing the slot number please choose the “T125” sensor type on the appropriate slot in your Futaba transmitter.
PC Configuration support using the MAV Manager software has been implemented. Use MAV Manager version 1.6.0 or later.
T125 PropertiesT125 Actual TemperatureT125 SettingsMicro Temperature T125
Multiplex Connectors w/Solder Couplers are great for any project!
Our solder coupler sets provide a larger area for solder contact than soldering directly to the connector pins. They also provide strain relief for your power leads (or servo leads) at the connector. With the servo leads, you can easily connect up to four independent signal servo wires. If space is an issue, consider using the vertical solder couplers! Vertical solder couplers are a great addition to the straight power solder couplers for multiple connection.
Best part – they are easy to install! Check them out here!
Multiplex Solder ConnectorsWing Harness made w/Multiplex Solder Connectors
In a search for Emcotec’s DPSI Ampere and magnetic switches, (since battery redundancy was a must for these helicopters) I was lucky enough to have an opportunity to chat with “Chappy” of Chappy’s Hobbies, and he was kind enough to share with us this photo of his beautiful Helicopters, including two giant turbine helicopters. According to Chappy, “These… are the only turbine helicopters in state of Iowa,” which is quite a neat fact to know – let alone be the one to have them!
The large blue helicopter on top is a Vario EC120, modeled after the Eurocopter (now Airbus Helicopters) EC120 Colibri. The EC120 is a multi-purpose helicopter that runs a single engine and can seat up to five.1 The EC120 by Vario Helicopters is a 1:4 scale model designed to run either electric mechanics or turbine.2 Chappy’s runs a Jakadofsky Pro5000 Turbine Engine. With massive rotor blades (1050mm according to the manufacture), the EC120 has an eight foot rotor diameter, and weighs in at about forty-two pounds.
On the bottom and to the left, we see a XLV Benzin by Vario Helicopters. Another large helicopter, the XLV Benzin also has an eight foot rotor diameter. Its cabin is constructed of GRP (fiberglass) with a carbon glaze3, and the entire helicopter weighs about thirty-six pounds. For this helicopter, Chappy has chosen to run a Jakadofsky Pro5000 turbine engine as well.
The smaller orange and white helicopter (on the bottom to the right) is an Agusta A-109 running Align mechanics. It is modeled after the Agusta Westland AW109 – another multi-use helicopter developed in the late 1960’s as a commercial helicopter.4
EC120 Vario HelicoptersXLV Benzin Vario HelicoptersAgusta A-109 Align
Sources:
1“Eurocopter EC120 Colibri.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 02 February 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Statistical_hypothesis_testing&oldid=1090223185.
2“H120 (EC120) 1:4 – Fuselage Kit”. Vario Helicopters, 02 February 2023, https://www.vario-helicopter.biz/be/Fuselage-Kit/H120-EC120-1-4-Fuselage-kit::200477.html#horizontalTab1
3“XLV Benzin Pod & Boom Kit”. Vario Helicopters, 02 February 2023, https://www.vario-helicopter.biz/us1/Pod-and-Boom/Pod-Boom-for-Hobby-Use/XLV-Benzin-pod-boom-kit::35466.html#:~:text=The%20XLV%20Trainer%20is%20a,with%20a%20special%20silencer%20system.
4“AgustaWestland AW109”. Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 02 February 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AgustaWestland_AW109
Ever wonder what makes up those high quality parts? Well, wonder no-more. We can show you!
Top Model designs their scale wings to be sturdy, light weight, and easy to transport. The wings have a foam core surrounded by obechi sheeting with carbon fiber reinforcement. The wing is then covered in Ultracote. Both the wing and fuselage have pre-installed wiring harnesses that also include multi-pin connectors for fast, trouble-free setup at the field. Due to Topmodel’s ingenious retention system, the wings are easy to remove and transport, yet kept secure when in flight.
