Aeroworks 50cc Edge 540 for first Giant?

[SR22pilot]

Thoughts on the Aeroworks 50cc Edge 540 QB? Any experience with it?

Is this a good plane for my first leap to giant scale? Open to going larger, but costs are huge.

[leepord geko]

Depends what style of airframe your looking for the basic theory I have behind planes is Extra's fly fast and land fast especially the 260, Edge 540's are the kings of High alfa in most areas, yaks have a lot of drag and fly a lot slower, some good brands to look at also are Extremeflight, Wildhare, Aeroworks, Dietrich which I see your already looking at and some others that are similar there are tons out there. Pick something thats got good reviews, and if your going to go 100cc which I don't recommend for a leap in to giants scale they usually run twice as much as 50cc. I'm sure there's a forum somewhere for the aeroworks 50cc edge you just have to find it and you'll probably see some answers there.

[SR22pilot]

Perhaps the Yak is something I should consider. I have a little extra 300 with a .70 4-stroke, and that thing has to come in really hot. Of course, I built it from scratch, and it came out too heavy.

I'm looking to to learn 3D and more advanced aerobatics. Perhaps the YAK (or something slower) would allow me to learn more quickly instead of something that is lightning quick.

[leepord geko]

An edge would be a really nice plane to learn 3d on because you can usually slow them down quite a bit, for the yaks they are airframes that physically have just lots of drag because of the round cowl like a sukhoi but generally are very good.

[hbmtr]

my first gas plane was a aw extra with a da 50. i went from a sig senior kadett to the extra after 3 months of flying along with some good instruction. u will find small differences with all the planes. once u go giant scale u wont look back.your other option is to go with a 85cc.chief still has qq101inch yaks for 600.00.buy a used da 85 send it back to da for a ck up,so u know every thing is ok.

[Cracky]

A 50cc edge was my first giant scale plane and it was a great platform to learn. If you are not opposed to going larger have you thought about the 85cc Extra 260 that they sell? It is a little larger so it present much larger in the air. It still uses single servos like the 50cc would, the airframe is about $100 more and the motor is about $200 more. Besides that you pretty much outfit them the same. Now when you want to go bigger your 85 will fly a lot of the 35% planes out there and you just have to buy a couple more servos.

[SR22pilot]

How does the Edge and the Extra 260 compare in terms of flight characteristics? They seem like they would be similar. LEEPORD GEKO says that you can slow an Edge down a little more to make it easier to learn (I assume).

I wonder if there is an Edge that is a little bit larger than the AW 50 cc Edge 540, but something that would except an 85 cc engine?

[AllBread]

I wouldn't worry too much about specific model type (Extra, Edge, etc). The differences between them are much smaller than the differences between different designs and manufacturers. Just choose a plane that appeals to you that comes from a company with a reputation for quality, easy to assemble, great flying airplanes and have a blast. In that case, the AW 50cc Edge fits the bill perfectly.

In my opinion, Aero-works makes airplanes that are fool-proof to build, easy to fly, and very durable so anything that they make will be an excellent choice for a first-gasser experience. They are also constantly refining and improving their ARF's so I would be more apt to choose one of their planes based on how new the design is (such as the Edge or the Extra 300) than what type it is (assuming your not already sold on a specific type because of the way that they look).

[jamesrxx951]

agreed. call the manufactor and ask them questions on it. there design might have different traits built in that you don't want. like one company may have a edge that excels at 3d and an extra that don't and another might have a extra that excels at 3d and a edge that don't. pick out something you like and call the manufactor. for instance iv'e always heard that yaks 3d very well. i wanted a 3d imac plane and aw told me there extra 3d's better than the yak but the yak imacs better.

[racefreak2002]

Aeroworks extra may 3d better than thier OWN 540. but GENERALLY SPEAKING across the board

the 540 blows all extra's out on 3d.(espically high alpha). extra's do 3d but not nearly as well

as 540's.

[leepord geko]

Well I can say from the vids on the 540 with the added 100sq" it should 3d better and none of them are a bad choice, I have the new 300 50cc from them which flies awesome once you get the CG fixed! lol and I can see your looking at engines choices in another thread you don't need anything other than a dle 55 dl 50 or da 50 just go with one of those I would recommend the DLE 55 since I was vary linent about getting a Chinese engine but have defiantly surprised and it out performs my friends Da-50 or at least doesn't have the weird low idle inverted issue. Good luck and I'm sure you'll find the right airframe and engine choice check out the gasser threads on how to tune them as well.

[hangingbach]

I think just make sure that plane has a wing area atleast above 1450 sq inches, and weight should be not more then 17.5lbs all up. and i dont mean the manufacturers weight but weight that is quoted by people who have built one.

Lighter planes, with larger wing area would be easier and more comfortable to fly and will give you more confidence.

Ultimately larger planes are usually easier to fly, compared to your little extra 300 any 50cc gaser should be a dream.

btw my first gaser was a Yak 54 with a wing area of 1350 sq inches and weighed in at 19.5 lbs. Was okay to fly, but it use to keep me on my toes all the time. and i never felt comfortable with it enough to bring it down to the deck.

lastly, i know its getting long, work on your set up, C.G, Thrust, Lateral Balance, Control throws. !!!!

[SR22pilot]

The little extra I was flying (House of Balsa) was a box built kit by someone who doesn't have a lot of airplane building experience (me). It was a lot of fun, but it turned out too heavy. I put the OS .70 Ultimate 4-stroke on the front, and it has tons of pulling power, but I had to add weight in the back with a larger battery to get the CG to come out right. I never checkec lateral balance, and that is a great idea. I will start doing that. I'm not sure what you mean by setting up my thrust? Does that mean choosing the right prop for the plane/engine combo?

I'll look for some planes that meat the wing area / weight criteria and report back.

[AllBread]

	Quote: Originally Posted by SR22pilot
	I'll look for some planes that meat the wing area / weight criteria and report back.

His criteria will narrow it down to two planes (to my knowledge), the 3DHS 87" SHP and the Extreme Flight 88" Yak - both great flyers (I have and love the 3DHS SHP). The AW Edge is also going to fit the bill perfectly (although will have a smaller wing and therefore fly a little "heavier"). I have an AW Edge sitting on my shop table but haven't flown it yet. I will say that the AW Quick-builds are as easy as it possible gets for assembly and are durable as can be and that right there goes a long way towards making it a perfect 1st gasser. I have the AW Extra 300 and I expect the flight performance of the Edge to be fantastic. Perhaps not as "floaty" as a plane with 1450 squares of wing, but still able to pull off all the 3D moves with ease, should be fantastic for IMAC, and will be an all around stable performer with no bad habits. For down on the deck 3d, the 3DHS 87" Shp can't be beat and it's ease of assembly is second only to AW for the planes that I have put together.

Again, I would advise not to overthink it too much and just got with a plane that looks good from you from a reputable company with a long history of satisfied customers.

Enjoy what ever you choose.

[hangingbach]

I agree, dont over think it too much, i personally think its a hobby that puts you in a state of constant learning and evolution. Good planes, bad planes and down right ugly planes will teach you, which is important.

As for the thrust, i meant the way your engine points a little to the right. and not straight and centered, most manufacturers will put in right engine thrust in the firewall, based on the recommended engine or what ever they tested the plane with. This is just a good starting point. You would need to tweak it so your rudder is not on trim. and the plane flies straight. As for the up or down thrust of the engine, there are various methods to check this. I mostly adjust it according to how the plane responds when i am hanging. You will find plenty of much more talented people then me telling you how to adjust the thrust line of your engine on the web.

btw i know this might stir up a storm but flying too tail heavy doesnt really help in 3D. a good plane, with a correct setup will do 3D very well with a neutral to slightly nose heavy CG. Infact you will be able to tame it quicker.

Prop to engine combination i feel is more critical when it comes to smaller glow engines. for larger engines stick to the recommended prop sizes by the manufacturer and use decent well balanced props and you wouldn't have to worry about anything there.

You will enjoy what ever you choose.

my two cents worth!!