FLEXJET SUPER PNP

[Robert Belluomini]

Just priced it, with a 1400kv motor, (closest kv motor to the flexjet for a fair comparison), it comes in at 440 bucks.

It was 390 with VAT which is 21% so once you remove that it’s around €308 not sure what’s the currency exchange is right now To US dollars but that 440 sounds really high

[xviper]

Sounds to me as long as I don't have fan failure, it should increase the thrust significantly.

Failure in a fan will be more dependent upon balance. Where a water impeller can destroy itself through cavitation, the air equivalent of cavitation would be like beginning to pull a vacuum and as such, shouldn't be as dangerous if the fan is properly balanced. In such applications, I believe it's important to precisely balance the fan assembly before its first use.

[xviper]

XViper when I first started flying the FJet I too found it twitchy and not to my liking. It was suggested I load the Expert configuration and found it actually made the model fly much smoother.
Re: the Aura 8 it is one of the best flying gyros
i have ever used. The configuration tool has numerous presets for any model type. A serial connection is the best way to utilize all these functions. my rx have a serial connection std.

Once I lowered the rates and increased the expo, the jet was fine. With flaperons, it was even better.
The Aura 8 is no doubt, state of the art, but I found it's just too complex for my simple mind and too fiddly, having to connect it to a computer to do any programming. Plus, the serial receivers aren't cheap, although had I purchased them, I could have done what I wanted. Like my old Thunder Tiger Innovator MD 500 helicopter that needed to be plugged into a computer, these things are just "ahead of my time".
If I understand correctly, that price is for just the motor and fan (DS51)?. The FlexJet is not cheap to begin with when compared to other of today's popular EDFs, so to add another $440.00 to it, seems to me to be a bit excessive for what you end up with. I got bored with my FlexJet after only a 1/2 dozen flights. I can't say that about most of my Freewing jets.

[Phantom]

Id buy a Schuebeler DS51 for that kind of money

Just priced it, with a 1400kv motor, (closest kv motor to the flexjet for a fair comparison), it comes in at 440 bucks.

[Robert Belluomini]

XViper when I first started flying the FJet I too found it twitchy and not to my liking. It was suggested I load the Expert configuration and found it actually made the model fly much smoother.
Re: the Aura 8 it is one of the best flying gyros
i have ever used. The configuration tool has numerous presets for any model type. A serial connection is the best way to utilize all these functions. my rx have a serial connection std.

[Robert Belluomini]

Just priced the TV upgraded power system, comes in north of 300 bucks before shipping.

Id buy a Schuebeler DS51 for that kind of money

[Phantom]

Sounds to me as long as I don't have fan failure, it should increase the thrust significantly.

[xviper]

Usually, when they go from 6s to 8s, the designers reduce the kv if they plan to use the same fan because of the possibility of overdriving the fan where it begins to lose efficiency (cavitation?). But since the kv is within 50kv, I can see the thrust being much higher so long as the fan speed doesn’t go beyond its efficient max speed. I don’t know the real terms to use so that’s the best way I can put it.

[Phantom]

I've got a 90mm F-100 kit that I'd love to use this power system with if it is indeed as powerful as they advertise, but there is really no factual data like, thrust or watt numbers that they provide.

[xviper]

Ahhh, 8s is likely the reason. This should make it do high alpha and possibly hover, but it will also likely make it fly very fast, thus the warnings. (Not that the original 6s version is a slouch.)

[Phantom]

The motors are within 50kv of each other, they increased the esc by 40 amps, and went from a 6s to an 8s battery, appears to be the exact fan for both setups though...

[xviper]

That's almost double the power. I find that hard to fathom. I must compare the specs to see what they did. With double the power, it might just be able to hover.

[Phantom]

Just priced the TV upgraded power system, comes in north of 300 bucks before shipping.

[Phantom]

Xviper, they are claiming a 90% increase in power with the TV version verses the orginal. That is the only reason I can think of for the disclaimer on the TV version. That's an incredible claim in my mind for a power increase. It's in the first paragraph of the disclaimer.

[xviper]

Xviper,
It's a little concerning regarding the disclaimer, an EDF jet in my opinion should be a high performance, yank and bank, high G capable aircraft. I do feel a little bit better, that I have yet to run across a thread or video about structural failure :Cool:

I don't recall such disclaimers in the original jet. I just checked the manual and it says nothing like that. That makes me wonder why they felt the need to add it to the new version. Did reports come back to Flex about structural failures? When you get the plane, you will see just how much movement there is in all directions and all surfaces. To me, it was downright scary.
Looking at the manual now, I must correct one of my previous statements. In mode 2 and 3, gyro gain is actually increased but that makes for more stability in wind and when doing 3D maneuvers. The manual did confirm, however, that rates get higher in mode 2 and very high in mode 3. Although expo is also increased, it is still easy to over control the plane, especially at high speeds. I reduced the throws in all modes for my comfort and increased gains for the same reason.

[Phantom]

Xviper,
It's a little concerning regarding the disclaimer, an EDF jet in my opinion should be a high performance, yank and bank, high G capable aircraft. I do feel a little bit better, that I have yet to run across a thread or video about structural failure :Cool:

[xviper]

Xviper, I got the original one, without the TV, see post #147, Mtnflyby brought it to my attention.

I see it now. I got distracted by their disclaimer. I wonder why they needed to warn people of all that. I'll look forward to your impressions when you fly it. Just be ready when you flip the switch to mode 2 and 3. It may not phase you but then, it could catch you off guard - do it up high and not going too fast when you switch. The plane was marketed as a "3D" jet, so I guess it needs the high throws and instant response. On the other hand, if you ever flew it fast and then suddenly cranked on it, I fear it would tear itself apart (like in the warnings for the new TV version). I never flew it as a "3D" plane since it doesn't have enough power to hover. I have my Mig 29 with TV to do that.

[Phantom]

Xviper, I got the original one, without the TV, see post #147, Mtnflyby brought it to my attention.

[xviper]

PS, I knew someone at my old field who has the Flex Cessna 170 with the stock Aura 8 and it's a wonderful plane. He loves it and is as Dave described.

[xviper]

The Aura 8 was and may still be a terrific piece of tech when it's configured to suit the plane it goes into. However, the stock configuration of the Aura 8 as it comes in the original FlexJet was inappropriate for use by the average end user (well, at least me anyway) and was more applicable to expert flyers. Once it was re-configured, the plane was fine. Since Phantom got the new TV model, he may never know what I'm taking about. I also could have configured flaperons in the Aura 8 but not without purchasing a very pricey serial receiver (or two if memory serves). Using a standard RX, servos had to be "Y'd". For me, the FlexJet never lived up to all the hype and excitement that Flex Innovations was loading onto the product. This may ring true for others as well since this thread started in early 2018 and posting was off and on till mid-Oct of 2018, then nothing till Phantom saw it lately. By comparison, we typically see the threads about planes that leave lasting impressions go on continuously for hundreds and hundreds of pages. They certainly don't die out or slow down in less than 9 months.
A friend of mine also bought a FlexJet at the same time I did. After seeing mine fly a couple times, he lost interest and to this day, he has not taken it out of the box and he has 2 of those serial RXs sitting there with nothing to do.