Official FlightLine OV-10 Bronco Discussion Thread

[Evan D]

Most of us are still reading the thread, just not posting. Putting a BEC output on the MCBe is actually better since it's closer to the servo inputs than the receiver (less connections to go through).

[sam51401]

A successful maiden this evening with no surprises. Flight was just as others have posted with the speed and waggle so nothing different in that respect. Another first was not only the Bronco maiden but i also used my Horus X10S Express for the first time and i got most of the basic programming but i like to ask for some specific help in setting up Flight Modes and setting GV for flaps and such. I found mostly simple setups but nothing given specific for a complex all encompassing step by step thats doesnt say "quad" in the video.
Any way that will be out of thread scope and i welcome PM and ref links to help out.
Now for the almost finished product as this one has some additional first and long time repeats as my first prop job in over 4 years, or longer. I finally used my vinyl cutter for this project and also made my decals. Once i get my S6R setup to add a yaw damper, this will be a great plane for close in flying and give a great presence when kept in close.

[SanExup]

This is a little on topic off topic. I just finished reading the book, "Da Nang Diaries" by Tom Yarborough. Anyone interested in the FAC role of the OV10 will find it interesting. His time as a FAC was spent with SOG, his experiences and insight, in my mind, are of high value. It's a great book that outlines a difficult time. I have always respected people who have chosen to serve, this book continued the elevated admiration I have for those that have endured the hardship of such a choice.

And its about the OV10 and his love of flying it!

[boomer108]

This is a little on topic off topic. I just finished reading the book, "Da Nang Diaries" by Tom Yarborough. Anyone interested in the FAC role of the OV10 will find it interesting. His time as a FAC was spent with SOG, his experiences and insight, in my mind, are of high value. It's a great book that outlines a difficult time. I have always respected people who have chosen to serve, this book continued the elevated admiration I have for those that have endured the hardship of such a choice.

And its about the OV10 and his love of flying it!

I agree it's a great read. I read it after I ordered the OV-10 and enjoyed the insights of their mission. I flew with a fellow who was a fac pilot in Viet Nam before he transfered to the KC-135. He had some interesting stories.

[SanExup]

boomer108 Yeah, I can imagine it was pretty hairy for any fac pilot. I had known about the complexities involved in that conflict, but it's different to hear first hand accounts from the ones that truly had to navigate within that tumultuous situation. It's impossible not to have deep respect.

Were you a KC135 pilot? I have two different neighbors that were air force pilots and flew kc135s in Vietnam. But they both talk more about hunting and fishing with me than anything else. And I have a childhood buddy that flies the OV10 for Cal Fire.

What a cool plane.

[boomer108]

boomer108 Yeah, I can imagine it was pretty hairy for any fac pilot. I had known about the complexities involved in that conflict, but it's different to hear first hand accounts from the ones that truly had to navigate within that tumultuous situation. It's impossible not to have deep respect.

Were you a KC135 pilot? I have two different neighbors that were air force pilots and flew kc135s in Vietnam. But they both talk more about hunting and fishing with me than anything else. And I have a childhood buddy that flies the OV10 for Cal Fire.

What a cool plane.

No I was a boom operator on the KC-135. Best job in the Air Force.

[Evan D]

Just laying down on the job!

[SanExup]

boomer108 Now I understand your profile name. I bet it was the most appreciated job in the air force too. Probably feeding a lot of hungry desperate birds.Thank you for your service!

[MountainRC]

Here it is the new OV-10 been waiting for a ARF I wanted to do been waiting on BlackHorse F4U but think I’m going to pre order the new h9 ov-10!!! Knew it was coming out for a little while now just didn’t know when, and to all the ones who said it wasn’t well it’s here...

[MikeT]

Here it is the new OV-10 been waiting for a ARF I wanted to do been waiting on BlackHorse F4U but think I’m going to pre order the new h9 ov-10!!! Knew it was coming out for a little while now just didn’t know when, and to all the ones who said it wasn’t well it’s here...

2 grand just for the airframe and retracts. Not a complaint just a observation. While I ( and others) questioned it, I never said it "wasn't there". Even their own team admitted they broke from protocol by letting the cat out of the bag at Top Gun. Something that was very unusual.
Mike

[MountainRC]

2 grand just for the airframe and retracts. Not a complaint just a observation.

Mike

Yea I know it’s a little pricey but Ive been saving for a Skymaster jet for about a year now. I would be able to buy everything I need to complete the plane at once and would stretch the build over the winter. But might wait a little long to see if something else comes out before I make the final decision.

[MikeT]

Yea I know it’s a little pricey but Ive been saving for a Skymaster jet for about a year now. I would be able to buy everything I need to complete the plane at once and would stretch the build over the winter. But might wait a little long to see if something else comes out before I make the final decision.

I have a Bates P-40B on the bench for my next build and I expect that to be a pricey build so I understand just how easy it is to pour money into a project. I remember dumping a grand easy in a 60 size warbird years ago. It's all good. I did check on Fastserve ( Horizon's Dealer site) and it looks like they will have combo deal like they did on some of their other big birds.

Mike

[MountainRC]

I have a Bates P-40B on the bench for my next build and I expect that to be a pricey build so I understand just how easy it is to pour money into a project. I remember dumping a grand easy in a 60 size warbird years ago. It's all good. I did check on Fastserve ( Horizon's Dealer site) and it looks like they will have combo deal like they did on some of their other big birds.

Mike

Yes the combo does comes with landing gear and retracts for 2000$. And nice I like a good P-40 there great warbirds. I’m going to hold off for a little longer and pray MRC gets in a new shipment of Black Horses in.

[MikeT]

Yes the combo does comes with landing gear and retracts for 2000$. And nice I like a good P-40 there great warbirds. I’m going to hold off for a little longer and pray MRC gets in a new shipment of Black Horses in.

I think they might be coming up with a combo deal on 30cc gas motors also but there's nothing on that yet. Not sure if they will do a combo price on electrics but ya never know.

Mike

[boomer108]

boomer108 Now I understand your profile name. I bet it was the most appreciated job in the air force too. Probably feeding a lot of hungry desperate birds.Thank you for your service!

Thank you! Yes those hungry birds loved seeing us especially over the ocean. I used to say where else could an enlisted guy in the Air Force get three officers to fly me to work every day.

[sam51401]

Well not much of a heart beat left here but i took my new plane and new radio a further step to a second and a third flight with the S6R stabilization programmed. I retrimmed and then went to stabilize and it settled down just fine. Granted there wasnt as much wind as on my first flight but with it off, it was much smoother than the first. Flying this as its meant and keeping it smooth with and without the help, really made a nice flight with multiple comments from the pit area. Liking this each time i take it up and im still using stock motors/ecs on 4000ma and getting 11mins. Now to move back onto the Nexus Bronco to finish up the bigger brother.

[pb12]

Hello folks! I received this wonderful plane as a Christmas gift and was able to fly the maiden today in beautiful 32 degree Oregon weather. Well....at least it wasn’t raining, which it is expected to do for the next week straight. It is my first plane from Motion RC, and I have to say I am very impressed with it! From big things like how great it looks, and how well it flys (it’s like a fast cub! So forgiving!) to little things, like the wing servos being mounted with screws(!) instead of double sided tape!

I did want to mention that there were a lot of questions in this thread regarding flying it on one 6S battery, with not much in the way of answers. Well, I think I can actually contribute something here. I replaced the stock ESC’S with two Spektrum Avian 45A’s so that I could receive telemetry when using a Spektrum 8360T, Smart batteries along with my iX20. (If anyone wants info on how that went, I’m happy to go into detail. It was a bit of trial and error, that took some doing to get it all to work). On the maiden I flew it with two 3200 4s smart batteries, and it flew great, but could have used a little more nose weight. On the second and third flights I flew it on a single 5000 6S. It flew beautifully! I was watching the esc temps, and they never got above about 130 degrees F. Amp draw on full power was 53Amps, but I limited that to very short periods to keep it within the Avian specs of 60A burst capability, 45A continuous. At 3/4 throttle it draws about 32A, and flys about as fast, perhaps slightly quicker than when it was on the two 3200 4s batteries.

I hope that helps someone out. I absolutely love the plane, and can’t wait to get more flights in when the weather improves.
Thank you to everyone who came before me, and all that was contributed. It really helped me get this thing in the air, and flying well right away.
Michael

[SanExup]

Thanks for the info! And congratulations! To respond, I am curious about how you set it up and any complexity. It seems like a great idea to have telemetry for this plane. It's good to hear flight reports with different packs. This thread has been quiet for a while. I have some other projects going but I have the bronco in a box waiting for me. So I am eager to hear what other setups people are using.

[pb12]

Thanks for the info! And congratulations! To respond, I am curious about how you set it up and any complexity. It seems like a great idea to have telemetry for this plane. It's good to hear flight reports with different packs. This thread has been quiet for a while. I have some other projects going but I have the bronco in a box waiting for me. So I am eager to hear what other setups people are using.

‘thank you for the kind words, much appreciated!

as for the “Smart” setup, it took some trial and error, as this was my first attempt at it from scratch, and it being a twin, only complicated matters. The long and the short of it, is that Spektrum is incapable of displaying data from two ESC’S simultaneously. Or two of any identical data sources for that matter! It is also nearly damned impossible for it to display voltage data from two batteries simultaneously. I only know that it is possible because Spektrum has a picture of it being done in their marketing material. After 5 or 6 hours of trying to get that to work, including a back and forth with RCG’s resident Spektrum expert, who was also unable to describe the process, I gave up. I only know that they are not the exact same source of data. So, what I ended up with is being able to see data from one esc and one battery. This gave me the feeling that it was actually safer to use a single 6S batter instead of two 4s batteries if I was going to rely on the voltage telemetry to determine flying time. I made a parallel esc/single battery adapter cable, including the data wire using ic5 connectors. To be able to see data from the single esc, you can not use a “Y” cable for the pair of ESC’S, each esc has to have its own channel. Make sure to remove the power wire from one of the ESC’S. To be able to do this I needed a receiver with more than 6 channels, hence the 8360T instead of a 610T or 637T.

This was also my first attempt at programing AS3X from scratch using the iX20. There is NO WAY I would have been able to do this had it not been for the absolutely excellent YouTube series Spektrum put together that walks you through every step of the process.

In the end, this was a project based more on “want” than “need” for sure. But, it was a fun challenge, even if it was a bit frustrating at times.

hope that helps. Ask away if I missed anything, I’ll try and help if I can!
Michael

[SanExup]

Ah ok, yeah, you have me convinced to admire your setup but that it might be a bit much for me to try, right out of the gates. Though I do think the 6s pack sounds worth the while. Now that you have it, the telemetry data is probably worth the trouble you went through. I probably have enough channels with a 9ch Tx. But some pages back people talk about motor and prop upgrades that sound worthy. I think that may be more my speed to start out with. I know I'll have to upgrade the esc's as well, but I should try a telemetry setup on a single motor plane first. I know once I start putting the Ov10 together I will want to get it in the air as soon as possible. Thanks for sharing! It's good to hear someone else that is happy with their bronco! A few guys have said it's their favorite plane to fly, that's what made me want one!