Official FlightLine OV-10 Bronco Discussion Thread

[T-CAT]

Love seeing how the blades look when the sun hits them.

Bronco blades in the morning, mmm mmm delicious.

[vduniec]

So I ordered some Master Airscrew 10 x 7 props. Both normal and reverse. I wanted the square tips on the blades like the full scale version.

Any thoughts on the 1/2” increase? Will a 1/2” make that much of an increase in amp pull? I fly off of a paved runway so I’m not too worried about the blade clearance. If worse comes to worse, I can cut them down to the 9.5 x 7 size and still have square tips.

[OV10]

So I ordered some Master Airscrew 10 x 7 props. Both normal and reverse. I wanted the square tips on the blades like the full scale version.

Any thoughts on the 1/2” increase? Will a 1/2” make that much of an increase in amp pull? I fly off of a paved runway so I’m not too worried about the blade clearance. If worse comes to worse, I can cut them down to the 9.5 x 7 size and still have square tips.

vduniec Every increase to diameter/pitch/blade count has an exponential increase in power factor demands, even as little as a 1/2 inch.
I don't know off hand what the margins are reqarding the stock 9.5x7x3 blades and the 30A ESC but let's just speculate for a moment.
Lets just assume that the stock power has the standard 15-20% buffer which would mean that max power the motor is consuming 25A.
I just ran the stock power through eCalc. Because it doesn't carry the FlightLine motors I used an equiv E-flite power25(870kV) and FMS 3536-850kV to get a grasp of things.
It indicates that at full power the motors are using 39A and 35A respectively as listed above.
Now don't fixate on those numbers being over the ESC 30A rating because all we are doing here is setting a baseline to show the exponential rate of power increase for the 1/2" larger prop.
Now with the 10 inch prop the numbers are now 45A and 40A respectively. So in each case there was a 15% increase which is where the power buffer for the ESC rating is eroded.
I would venture to say that you'll be close/at the max ESC rating. Motions product page for the motor does not indicate any current ratings for this particular motor.
So in conclusion, as with any power mod and props are definitely a part of the equation, it is a wise ePower modeler that has a power meter as part of their tool box and uses it.
Best regards,

[xviper]

OV, those numbers are still quite illuminating. When I first read the specs on this plane, a little voice in my head said that those 30A ESCs might just be balancing on a thin line. Even though I doubt anyone is going to fly this plane at max throttle for the whole flight, I would be curious if anything bad would happen should it be done. Many of the other twins out there (including other Flightline models) appear to have much bigger ESCs. I simply concluded that due to the relatively small diameter and pitch of this plane's props, that using such smallish ESCs would be adequate. Increasing either may be risky.

[vduniec]

Thanks for the info guys. I have the B-24 and I’ll see if I can test the props out on that with a power meter when I get them. If its too high of an amp draw, I’ll just cut the tips down to 9.5”.

[ronwc]

OV, those numbers are still quite illuminating. When I first read the specs on this plane, a little voice in my head said that those 30A ESCs might just be balancing on a thin line. Even though I doubt anyone is going to fly this plane at max throttle for the whole flight, I would be curious if anything bad would happen should it be done. Many of the other twins out there (including other Flightline models) appear to have much bigger ESCs. I simply concluded that due to the relatively small diameter and pitch of this plane's props, that using such smallish ESCs would be adequate. Increasing either may be risky.

I love the OV-10, flew one of the Hobby Hangar (Uravich) ones with OS 25's for many years, done in NASA scheme (see pic). I am probably going to go ahead and order ones of these, but am also concerned that it only comes with 30a ESC's, which are small. 30a is what I usually run on a 450 or 480 size motor.

Bare minimum I would run on a plane this size and weight would be 45 to 50a. Also sounds like the motors may be a little undersized, which means you would probably need to run a higher throttle setting most the time. It would probably be fine in level flight, but I bet it would be hard pressed to do a nice size loop. JMHO - We'll see. Still a beautiful plane and I want one.

[xviper]

Thanks for the info guys. I have the B-24 and I’ll see if I can test the props out on that with a power meter when I get them. If its too high of an amp draw, I’ll just cut the tips down to 9.5”.

An interesting comparison test. Will be enlightening to see your results. Same motors, same ESC size, same props. Would you the test with 4 props or can you isolate only 2 of the motors/ESCs/props?

[sam51401]

I would like to point out on the the motors as it has been mentioned that IF a motor change might be considered to swing a more scale size prop, the length from firewall to spinner is small. Changing to a MAS 3bl also means finding a spinner that will fit reverse props. I had to cut my own for the Profly to fit my MAS 3bl props using DuBro spinners. Can someone measure the firewll to spinner distance to get an idea on what might fit?

[sam51401]

Just FYI, im gearing up to repaint mine per 1991 Desert Storm VMO 2. Considering doing my own vinyl with my cutter but may have to print the smaller RESCUE, PROPELLER and such on a clear decal film. As for colors, FS30279 and FS30219 for sand and brown but for the bottom color, what was the most prevalent color, light sky blue or the gray FS36440?

[OV10]

I would like to point out on the the motors as it has been mentioned that IF a motor change might be considered to swing a more scale size prop, the length from fw to spinner is small. Changing to a MA 3bl also means finding a spinner that will fit reverse props. I had to cut my own for the Profly to fit my MA 3bl props using DuBro spinners. Can someone measure the FW to spinner distance to get an idea on what might fit?

sam51401 I'm drawing a blank on the two acronyms. I'm guessing MA is Master Airscrew which is normally MAS and the FW is firewall.
If this is what you mean I can do the firewall to back of spinner measurement for ya. Just give me till tomorrow.
I wish Motion would get back to providing the dimensional specs on the motor product pages

[sam51401]

Your right Charlie, thanks. I wish that the motors can be added to eCalc to play with and see some theoretical testing.

[vduniec]

During Desert Shield/Storm, the USMC aircraft arrived in country in the then standard USMC Land Camouflage scheme of Green/Gray/Black. Once in theater, individual squadrons took it upon themselves to repaint their aircraft to a more appropriate camouflage for the desert environment. That is why, you’ll see a plethora of Marine aircraft camouflage schemes in country. Here is an example of a pattern for an OV-10. I don’t know what squadron it was. I do know that VMO-2 had OV-10D’s by the Desert Storm timeframe, but I’m not sure if they had a A’s in the squadron as well at the time.

Just FYI, im gearing up to repaint mine per 1991 Desert Storm VMO 2. Considering doing my own vinyl with my cutter but may have to print the smaller RESCUE, PROPELLER and such on a clear decal film. As for colors, FS30279 and FS30219 for sand and brown but for the bottom color, what was the most prevalent color, light sky blue or the gray FS36440?

[sam51401]

Im working off the two model kits, Revell 1/72 A and Academy 1/72 D for ref and as Revell calls for a very light blue gray(mixed with no FS call out) and Academy is gray no ref to the blue was noted. I like the blue, its different and will be unique but didn't look in the right places to find a FS code. You found it so im good to pick up at my LHS. No on to doing the vinyl and maybe decals.
Not sure but was there ever a supplemental issued for desert camo that might have listed the "authorized" color codes for the nomenclature?

[vduniec]

There was no directive that I am aware of in theater. I’ve heard that some squadrons even mixed their own colors with what they had available and there is no associated FS number.

I believe there is a Detail & Scale on the colors of Desert Shield/Storm that might help.

Im working off the two model kits, Revell 1/72 A and Academy 1/72 D for ref and as Revell calls for a very light blue gray(mixed with no FS call out) and Academy is gray no ref to the blue was noted. I like the blue, its different and will be unique but didn't look in the right places to find a FS code. You found it so im good to pick up at my LHS. No on to doing the vinyl and maybe decals.
Not sure but was there ever a supplemental issued for desert camo that might have listed the "authorized" color codes for the nomenclature?

[OV10]

sam51401 I know it's not tomorrow but I hate having someone wait on me for info so here it is.

Here's a direct look into the cowl and as you can see there is no solid firewall
but 4 tabs that extrude from the sidewall that the motor X mount fastens to.
*click to enlarge pics*



Here's a rough sketch to show the xmount / firewall hole spacing



And the dimension from the back of spinner to the back of Xmount is 56mm

[Beeg]

During Desert Shield/Storm, the USMC aircraft arrived in country in the then standard USMC Land Camouflage scheme of Green/Gray/Black. Once in theater, individual squadrons took it upon themselves to repaint their aircraft to a more appropriate camouflage for the desert environment. That is why, you’ll see a plethora of Marine aircraft camouflage schemes in country. Here is an example of a pattern for an OV-10. I don’t know what squadron it was. I do know that VMO-2 had OV-10D’s by the Desert Storm timeframe, but I’m not sure if they had a A’s in the squadron as well at the time.

VMO-1 and VMO-2 had a few OV-10A's painted in desert scheme..

https://www.dstorm.eu/pages/en/usa/ov-10.html

[MCVAVT]

Une idée de decoration ,voici le mien !

[Hardway]

MCVAVT Votre OV-10 semble merveilleux! Merci de partager! Jerry

[MCVAVT]

Le même en vol il y a 2 ans!

[Mikkelb]

Re-painting the airframe is a piece of cake. However, masking the clear portion of the canopy is a real BEAR!

Old Dawg

Theres a plastic modellers trick I use for painting the canopies or screens and that is using a liquid paint mask. Flat tip and fine tip brushes to apply can make it fairly easy and you're not spending ages cutting up small strips of tape and going cross eyed. Once you're done you just peel it off.