RTGmodel adds an electric option to their new F3F design.
With the new F3G category coming up, every model which offers an electro fuselage is now raising the interest of pilots. Not only for competition, but for sport flying, such electro F3F/B gliders can save you the afternoon, and in some situations save your plane.
RTGmodel
recently introduced an electro fuselage for its flagship model, the Orden,
that I reviewed two months ago in RCSD (see Resources at the
end of this article for the link). Consider this new article as an add-on as I
will not come back on the rest of the model assembly, and will focus only on
this e-fuselage.
So let’s
have a look to this new fuselage which brings a smart innovation in the radio
installation.
Molding
quality is, as with the glider version, top notch. The front part, 2.4 Ghz
friendly, is more square to easily host the battery. Spinner diameter is 30mm,
with a nice aluminium part that fits perfectly.
Details of the fuselage and comparison side by side with the glider fuselage.
The
fuselage features a very smart elevator servo tray that you insert by the side.
Two epoxy trays are provided, one for 10mm servos (e.g. MKS MKS HV6100) while
the other one is made for another brand and model of servos.
This layout
frees lots of space on the front side for the battery (I guess that a 4S
battery made of 2 x 2S battery is possible.) On my side, it will be a 3S
1800mAh battery.
- Motor TS 1520–12T +
microEdition 5:1 from Reisenauer
- ESC SunRiseModel 60A BEC 7.4V
(Reisenauer)
- Propeller
GM Competition 16x10
GM
competition line 16x10 folding prop at the bottom, compared to the standard GM
propeller of the same size.
- Accus Tattu 3S 75C 1800 mAh or
Tattu Funfly 3S 100C 1800 mAh
My setup
ready for assembly.
I took the
opportunity of a rainy holiday week to stay in my workshop and complete the
assembly of the electro fuselage.
Simulation
of the power train on ecalc (image: Ecalc.ch)
The
assembly went well but the installation of the elevator servos needs particular
care and attention as it is very, very tight. I had to grind
the opening in order to insert the servos in place once the tray glued with
rapid epoxy (R&G 30 minutes). Below are some pictures of the elevator servo
installation:
Some
pictures of the assembly.
I installed
the antennas on each side of the fuselage at 90° to each other. I think this
should work even if the battery is located between the antenna. On the front or
rear side, antennas are not masked. On the side the battery envelope is acting
as a reflector to the antenna so reception should be fine. Testing will tell if
it works. If you have any doubt you can always exit the antennas, but on my
side I’m always afraid to damage them, that is why I prefer to keep them inside
the fuselage.
The
installation layout, and the position of the antennas.
On the
scale, I’m reaching 2.3kg flying weight with the standard wing (double carbon
C80 wings). This is 150gr heavier compared to the glider version. I needed to
add 30grs in the nose to obtain the 99mm CG. This means eventually you can use
a 20 to 30gr heavier and more powerful motor (i.e EZ1530 instead of my EZ1520).
The
Electro Orden ready for maiden.
I had no
surprises with the maiden flight of the Electro-Orden: With the
same CG and same settings, it just behaves exactly the same. The e-Orden is
particularly silent when the propeller is folded, thanks to the GM competition
folding prop.
I just
needed one battery 1800mAh for the whole afternoon. Good climbing rate, as it
was on the e-Quantum (exactly the same setup).
The
Electro Orden in flight.
More
pictures are available on Google Photos (see Resources section
at the end of this article.)
To
complement the pictures in flight, here is a video. Many thanks to my club mate
Didier for providing all the video footage using his Mavic drone and Osmo
Pocket that afternoon.
A short video showing the Electro
Orden in action.
The
Final Word
The electro
fuselage is the ideal complement of the Orden, and will allow you
to fly the Orden in any situations, and conditions with no
risk. More generally, I warmly recommend you, if you own already a F3x plane,
to buy an electro fuselage if it is available.
©2021 Text Pierre Rondel, Photos Pierre Rondel and Joël
Marin
Resources
- Orden by RTGmodel, Fly
Different! by
Pierre Rondel.
- RTGmodel (Orden manufacturer’s
website)
- Additional photos on Google Photos.