Hello from Northern California. New to large scaleairplanes. I have flown small foam electrics and Ready to fly glow airplanes inthe past. It’s been a while since I was active in RC.
I recently found and purchasedan airplane from an estate. The inside of the plane is stamped AeroWorks behindthe engine area. It has a 76” wing span and a 68” fuselage. Not sure what modeltype it is. It came with everything except the transmitter. The plane has aSmart Fly Power Systems Plus with a Futaba receiver, Zenoah 45cc engine (Ithink) with digital TS-150 servos. None of the instructions were available withthe purchase. I think it’s a Zenoah 45 because of the 20X10 prop mounted on theplane. The plane looks like it was built and then hung up on the wall.Everything is brand new.
I would like to change the receiver to a Spectrum receiverbut not sure how the Smart Fly board works and what receiver would replace theone in place. Does anyone out there have any idea how this works. I looked itup on line and the instructions are not clear to me being new to this stuff.
Hope I am posting in the right place.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks Joe

it is a Aeroworks 35CC EXTRA

HERE THE LINK TO THE WEB PAGE

http://www.aero-works.net/product/35...ra-300-arf-qb/

LINK TO THE MANUAL http://www.aero-works.net/get_manual_file/6131

Thank you for that information. Greatly appreciated!

Smartly board will work with any receiver. You can find the instructions at smartly website.

Mark my words, in about a years time, maybe a wee bit longer, you will look back and say to yourself, that AW 50cc plane is sure small compared to your newly aquired 40% plane.


it happens to the best of us

I checked out the instructions for the Smart Fly. I guess you just plug in the plugs from the Smart Fly into the receiver and them find the corresponding plugs on the board? On the Futaba receiver the leads are plugged in order 1-6 then in 7 is the power plug. None of the Smart Fly plugs cross over each other to plug into the appropriate slot for what ever function that slot on the receiver is for. The directions really are clear. I'll try to contact Smart Fly tomorrow morning to verify how the servo's are plugged in. Thanks for you help. I appreciate any information on getting started.

My wife may have something to say about that 40% plane. I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it!

Aeroworks are nice and well built models. Go on a weight reduction install were u can. You don't need the smartfly in this model and I would replace the Zenoah with one of the lighter
weight 35cc engines. I had one with a 50cc engine and did not like the way it flew with that
weight and power. I believe u will be happy with a 35cc install.

Great information on the engine and weight. I was wondering why the builder also added a ton of weight behind the engine. I was going to check the CG on the plane to make sure it was not super nose heavy. Thank you for pointing out the engine issue. Joe

That is a very nice flying plane. I had one with a DLE 55 on it and I really liked the way it flew. It is not a 3D machine, but it is a great IMAC type plane. Even with that engine it did not seem stupidly over powered. I have another that a fellow club member crashed that I am putting back together. These are the easiest landing planes that I have ever had.

As for the engine, that Zenoah or whatever you have is probably a good match. That plane was designed for a pretty heavy engine up front (I think it was designed around a Brisson 35cc) not a modern DA 35, etc. that weighs a lot less. I found I needed 4lbs of engine/exhaust up front and the batteries on the motor box to balance it. If you go with a smaller engine will need to add a LOT of weight to balance, so there really is no reason go smaller.

Here is a good thread on the plane.

Do check the glue joints in the wings. Both of the planes that I have/had had some poor glue joints and broken ribs in the wings.

I think you picked a great plane for your first large scale model. Enjoy!

Thank you for the link! I was just looking over the options available engine wise. The DLE 55 weighs in at 3.75lbs. The airplane balances with the g45 (4.5lbs) without the prop, spinner and prop nut and cowl. With the g45 it looks like it will need a chunk of led in the tail. With the DLE 35 (2.75lbs) you would need a chunk of lead in the nose. Your post hits the nail on the head when it comes to weight and balance of that particular plane. I really appreciate all the input from everyone.

To help reduce the weight of the airplane and therefore make it perform at its best, here is what I would do:

-Since you stated that you are a Spektrum user, I would ditch both the Futaba receiver and the SmartFly expander in favor of a Spektrum PowerSafe receiver. This will eliminate weight and clean up the setup. SmartFly systems are not really required on this small of an airplane (when you're used to 35-40% airplanes, a 35CC is small to me ). The other advantage is the PowerSafe receiver will let you plug your batteries directly into it and it will handle all of the current loads.

-I would also ditch the Zenoah engine, they are good engines but they are dated and don't have the performance you would want in that airplane, plus the additional weight. The DA35 or DLE35 are good engines to use and will give you more performance than you will need and will allow you to progress with the capabilities of the airframe.

-Eliminate as much dead weight as you can. The PowerSafe receiver will allow you to slap your receiver packs almost anywhere inside of the fuselage to help achieve the proper CG so there's no need for lead or anything like that.

-Use a TechAero IBEC to power the engines ignition system, this eliminates the need for a separate Rx pack/switch and therefore more weight. Plus this will also allow you to remotely kill the engine.

Some other things to check are to make sure the fuel line and tank are both plumbed properly and are in good shape. Only use genuine Tygon tubing (like from DuBro or Desert Aircraft) or Viton tubing, do not use regular silicone tubing like on glow models. Also, check all of the control surfaces to make sure they're firmly in place and that the linkages or servos do not have any slop in them.

Speaking of fuel line, an estate gasser with Tygon (yellow line - usually) will often need new lines - especially if Tygon is used inside the tank. Tygon hardens over time exposure to gas. People will argue over how long this takes, but with an estate buy, usually it's been years. If they used better line for the clunk, or used one of the after market tanks then all this may be unnecessary, but do check because otherwise your clunk won't clunk!

I had planned on replacing the Zenoah with another engine. All the other items in your post I had questioned if they were needed. Thank you for the names of replacement items. All this stuff is new to me. Its great to have a forum for advise. The tank tubing looks discolored in areas. I have most of the airplane apart as it is. It wouldn't take much to pull the tank and just replace all the tubing. I appreciate all the input, It's very helpful and will save a bunch of heart ache in the future.

If you're going to pull the tank out you might as well replace it with a good tank. TailDragger RC makes probably the best tanks and they are what I use in my airplanes.

http://www.taildraggerrc.com/new-tdr...ear-fuel-tank/

If you already have a clear tank then I'd say just overhaul it with fresh internals and you should be good to go