Official FMS 1400mm Votec 322 Thread

[Jerry's Flying Circus]

I really love flying this plane and the look of the orange and black is spectacular. I am flying it 100% stock. Last week on a simple straight and level pass there was a large puff of smoke and my motor was no longer functioning. I was able to land safely, but the motor is toast. So if I buy a replacement stock motor and use the same stock prop, Am I going to be safe or should I do something else? I am asking for any advice on different motor prop combos for this plane.

[Hemidoo]

Right you are indeed, preflight for this weekends flying found one wheel nut close to falling off. Bolts replaced and crisis averted.

Unicycle landings can sure be tricky !! :-)

[Wildcard]

The only thing I've found so far that needed modifications was the wheel axle bolts were to short to grab the loc-nut , i just replaced them with ones 5mm longer .

Right you are indeed, preflight for this weekends flying found one wheel nut close to falling off. Bolts replaced and crisis averted.

[Wildcard]

This is for anyone that is assembling the plane for the first time and I’m just sharing what I experienced to help someone else avoid the problem I encountered. First time putting on one of the wings I slid the the wing into the saddle and the fit was perfect so I went ahead and dropped the first screw into the hole for the wing and began to run it in. The screw had a little resistance going in but not like it was cross threading. The screw was going thru the wing mounting block on the fuselage and apparently picking up some plastic material in the threads. The mounting block is not threaded the screw should just slide thru it until it reaches the plastic wing pocket where it does thread into. The result was that the plastic on the thread of the bolt acted like a nut and would not allow the bolt to either screw into the wing pocket or pull back thru the block. After some time of holding up pressure with needle nose plies on the bolt was I able to remove the bolt. Had I not been able to grab the head of the bolt short of drilling the screw there would have not been a way to remove it.

If your screws do not pass thru the block on the fuselage freely use the appropriate size drill bit and clear the holes out and it will save you a big headache. 2 of mine were ok but I had to drill the other ones.

[Wildcard]

Got a scan done today for paint match. The numbers are a bit different from yours hemidoo but looks like it will be close enough for me. Here’s both scans side by side.

[Hemidoo]

Good idea with the pliers, I've done some of those dings.... thinking mostly because I was a little clumsy !:-)

[Wildcard]

Glad you like this plane , I take it rolls on your grass runway well ?

Yes rolls out good even on rough ground and with as much power to weight ratio it does not need allot of ground to get up lol. Yes I’ll definitely be taking one of the wing tips in to have paint match done. The battery compartment has been taking a few hits unhooking the ec5 connector but as someone else had the idea of using a pair of angled snap ring pliers to disconnect them it’s made the task very easy.

[Hemidoo]

Got back to the field this morning and got 3 more flights in and happy to say she is dialed in perfectly and a dream to fly. The only issue I would like to find a resolution for is removing the forward wing mounting bolts. The bolts unscrew from the internal anchor point but remain recessed where it is difficult to grab and remove them, having to use a small pair of forceps to grab them. I already see replacing all wing bolts with a higher grade bolt. I’m seeing wear on the heads which tells me that it’s only a matter of time before they start rounding out the hex slot. I’ll have to go into detail another time on the issue I had on first assembly of the wing so others might be able to avoid the incident I had.

Glad you like this plane , I take it rolls on your grass runway well ?

[Hemidoo]

Well I took this photo to Lowe’s and the first mix the guy hands me pink lol. He tried again and ended up with peach color. I’m guessing he had absolutely no clue what he was doing. Either I gotta try a different store or just take maybe one the pieces in for them to scan.

Oh wow .... ugh ! I brought in the clip on wing tip side force part

[Hardway]

Better try just taking a stab or wing and letting them scan it.... It should be close then...

[Hardway]

:Confused::(

[Wildcard]

Here's a paint code from Lowes , near perfect match for the orange ! I've picked up a little hanger rash transporting this big bird .

Well I took this photo to Lowe’s and the first mix the guy hands me pink lol. He tried again and ended up with peach color. I’m guessing he had absolutely no clue what he was doing. Either I gotta try a different store or just take maybe one the pieces in for them to scan.

[Wildcard]

Got back to the field this morning and got 3 more flights in and happy to say she is dialed in perfectly and a dream to fly. The only issue I would like to find a resolution for is removing the forward wing mounting bolts. The bolts unscrew from the internal anchor point but remain recessed where it is difficult to grab and remove them, having to use a small pair of forceps to grab them. I already see replacing all wing bolts with a higher grade bolt. I’m seeing wear on the heads which tells me that it’s only a matter of time before they start rounding out the hex slot. I’ll have to go into detail another time on the issue I had on first assembly of the wing so others might be able to avoid the incident I had.

[Wildcard]

Got the Votec out to the field today, very light breeze clear skies and extremely humid. Set my flight timer @ 5 min and lined her up pointing down the runway and gave full throttle and within 20’ she had taken to the air. She was very squirrelly when using the rudder because of the insane throws she has but I’ve now got that dialed back . Spent most of the flight trimming out. The elevator trim is really sensitive. One click up it climbed and one down she nosed down. I think I have this solved as my transmitter has an option to decrease amount of trim per click.

The votec is a pleasure to fly. It tracks very well, extremely responsive and can slow down very well without stalling. Landing was almost like landing a high wing trainer, she set down ever so softly without any bad tendencies. I got 2 flights in this morning and she’s back home in one piece. I call that a good day. 5 min flights conservative flying on admiral 6s 4500mah resulted in the battery being at 83% charge, not bad at all and looks like an 7-8 min flight will be what I’ll shoot for.

Overall my opinion on this plane is it’s a great choice for a 3D capable airframe. It’s fun to fly and can be tamed to sport fly or untamed to be a 3D monster.

[Wildcard]

Glad to see the prop performed well, thanks for the report back on that. Received my bird on Thursday and kudos to MRC getting it to me lightening fast even with free shipping. All goes well and weather holds out should get the maiden in on Sunday. Only need to mount my receiver And neaten up the battery compartment and I should be ready to go. Looking forward to getting her up in the air.

[Hemidoo]

Yeah my flying field at current state is really bad. Past 2 weeks 2 balsa planes have had their gear ripped out of the fuselage. That’s one reason I’m being really careful on my next choice of aircraft. Looks like the votec can really slow down allot before stalling, coming in for an approach hot is always risky on a rough field. Thanks for the info about the ease of disassembly of the wings and great idea for bubble wrap wing bags. If by chance you try the alternate prop you have let me know how that works. Still hoping to see MRC list a 15x7 wood prop on their website.

Tried the spare prop today , performed great. Had a nice sound maybe a little less noise than the wooden stocker .

[Wildcard]

What batteries did you order Wild card ?

I went with the admiral 6s 4500mah, figured maybe that might be a sweet spot for sport and 3D.

[Hemidoo]

What batteries did you order Wild card ?

[Hemidoo]

Sweet ! I'm still really love flying mine . A few days ago i brought a few 3300mah Admiral 6s batteries with me to the field try . One of the 3D guys helped me out by flying it for a few mins. and re-trimmed it . Wow !!! this thing zipps around and hovers so quick now . I'll still fly with the 5000's as its a super fun sport flyer as well with the extra weight. It's like having 2 planes for me at this point :-)

[Wildcard]

Well placed the order today for the votec And a couple batteries thru MRC. I seen horizon is back ordered until October. When I receive it I’ll add my input to this thread for anyone else considering buying one. I’d still like to see MRC pick up the stock wooden prop on their site.