Hacker A60-18L froze up on 3rd flight

[ChopperUp]

Anyone ever have a new Hacker A60(18L) lock up on them? Anyone ever deal with Hacker customer service before?

The motor had 2 successful 4.5 minute flights on it the day before and it came down barely warm both times. 2 minutes into its third flight it completely froze up for no apparent reason. Everything was well within the manufacturer's recommended limits for the motor (17lbs model, 24x12e prop). All flights were very moderate flying.

Not sure what to do about it. Hopefully Hacker has good customer service.

[BoneDoc]

They have great customer service. My suspicion is that you probably overtightened the prop, and the collet crushes the circlip. Is it moving freely when you turn it by hannd.

[ChopperUp]

The circlip looks like new and spins freely. I was careful as always not to overtighten the propnut. The prop couldn't have been TOO tight since when the motor froze it spun the spinner nut and bolt right off the shaft/plane. The prop nut spun loose but not off.

I called Hacker and am sending the motor back. What I find odd it that the can turns about 1/8th of a turn but the shaft is frozen solid.

[3DHobbyShop]

We have had consistently good experiences with Hacker service. Note that it may take some time - I need a couple of A60-18L's and parts for customers with crashes, and supply is apprently low at the moment. The big electric stuff is getting popular, causing stockouts.

[ChopperUp]

Yeah. I found stockouts when I was trying to order this motor at the beginning of the month. It took a good deal of searching until I found one.

I have this exact same setup in my Extra260 without any issues. I would be the first to suspect it was something I did wrong but I have found everything I did to be setup just right. The motor must have been defective.

[danielgpr]

What batteries and speed controller are you using? I'm in proccess of finishing 30% Pilot Yak w/ Hacker A60-16L and I'm using 110HV speed controller and probably 5000mah 12 cell pack. Sorry to hear about motor locking up, keep us posted on it.
Dan

[ChopperUp]

Thanks Dan. I sent the motor to Hacker today and they should have it on Thursday.

I have the following setup in both my Yak and Extra 260. It seems to be perfect as the motor and batteries are barely warm upon landing and there is plenty of power.

Motor Power: 3 x 4s 5000mAh batteries (Zippy-H)
ESC: Castle Creations 110HV
Prop: 24x12E APC
Rx: Ar9100
Rx Power: 2 x 2s A123 (Redundant)
Rx Power Switch: MPI
Servos: 5 x HiTec 7955TG
Motor Kill Switch: Emcotec SPS (installed on the Extra but just on order for the Yak)

[danielgpr]

Do you have 30% or 33% Pilots?
I was considering AR9100 for my 30%ers, but I felt it was a little over kill. I'm using AR7000, 4x 8411s exept rudder 1x 8611, 1x 2600 fromeco and regulator to try and keep weight around 15.5 to 16.25 w/ batteries. What is your rtf weight? I will be using AR9100 on my 35% and larger airplanes though.
Dan

[ChopperUp]

	Quote: Originally Posted by danielgpr
	Do you have 30% or 33% Pilots? I was considering AR9100 for my 30%ers, but I felt it was a little over kill. I'm using AR7000, 4x 8411s exept rudder 1x 8611, 1x 2600 fromeco and regulator to try and keep weight around 15.5 to 16.25 w/ batteries. What is your rtf weight? I will be using AR9100 on my 35% and larger airplanes though. Dan

Both are 30%. You're right that the 9100 probably is overkill. I like the safety of 3 satellite receivers and the dual battery inputs though. I also figured I could swap them out with one of my AR7000s and use them in something larger when I decide to move up in scale or when I get better at flying and want it lighter. I am still a noob so made the choice to build my planes for keeping them flying (redundant rx batts, three satellite receivers, wire weave around every inch of wire, emcotec sps, etc) rather than keeping them light for now.

I just have a digital bathroom scale to weigh on so my numbers are not very accurate. My Extra is about 18lbs with batts. I haven't weighed the yak yet but the math says it should be .2lbs heavier. However, based on the 2.5 flights I did before the motor froze up, it flew as if it were lighter.

You are going to love your Pilot plane. The A60 has more than enough power for it. And Tony at Pilot is a great guy to do business with. Did you get a custom color scheme? Do you have pictures? Here is a pic of my yak design. My profile picture is of my Extra before I applied my custom Extra260 logos. It looks way sportier now but I haven't taken any pics. I am designing some Yak logos now.

[danielgpr]

Your planes both look great! I got a older scheme from Tony on the Yak and the 260 is stock scheme. A buddy of mine here has been dealing w/ Tony for some time and I got to tell you Tony and his planes are awesome. I'll get some pics and get them up next day or two, work has been crazey as I'll on the road all day. Thanks for info and I hope to get them flying soon. Your setup looks good, everyone has a different plan of attack on the setups and that is why sharing here is good for everyone.
Dan

[danielgpr]

Here are the Yak pictures Tony sent me, don't have new ones yet or the 260.
Dan

[ChopperUp]

That looks awesome. I haven't seen that scheme of his before but I think it is one of his best. Congrats.

[danielgpr]

Thanks, Tony sent me an email that he had this 'one' so I took it off his hands as it different than any other I'd seen without waiting for them to do custom covering job from scratch.
Dan

[danielgpr]

Hope to get my servos back soon so I can finish it and maiden it.
Dan

[ChopperUp]

James, the repair guy at hacker, called. He said he had a really tough time getting the motor apart. Apparently, one of the bearings inside froze up due to some interaction with something or other and it basically destroyed the motor. I was on a conference call for work when he called me so all I really heard was "I'll send you a new motor free of charge when we get some in."

Kudos to Hacker's Customer Service. James and Kyle there have both been great.