Model Airplane News

FLIGHTLINE CHAT Mark Ronge is a longtime reviewer of planes and helicopters for Model Airplane News and Backyard Flyer.

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How long have you been flying RC?

I got involved with RC airplanes when I was about 11 years old. I started with a .40-size nitro Thunder Tiger trainer that saw many flights. School, sports and other activities became a priority and I took a break from RC until I was in college. I then found some extra time and really

got back into RC. I picked up the old

Thunder Tiger again and realized it was time for something new when I crashed the trainer while doing inverted circuits. I was lucky enough to have most of my father’s aircraft to use and then got the hang of low-wing sport airplanes. The next step was into 3D aircraft and I found mastering hovering a fun and challenging experience. Meanwhile, I had also been having a lot of fun flying RC helicopters as well.

the airplane, I could balance it without adding any weight. The fiberglass wheel pants are “self-aligning” and do not have to be measured and altered in any way. You’ll get a perfectly straight wheel pant every time. Like the cowl, the hatch comes with magnets installed. With all of the hardware and great instructions, it should only take a few evenings, if that, to complete.

I recommend that the ElectriFly 42-50- 800kV motor and 45amp ESC be used on this airplane. The Edge 540T has the motor mount assembly already installed on the fuselage. It’s set up specifically for ElectriFly’s Rimfire motor, down to the blind nuts. The motor is spaced to give proper clearance between the cowl and spinner backplate. No measuring or guesswork

Any special interests at the moment?

Electric jets—particularly scale military jets. I like trying different setups and making the jets very fast, because nothing looks better to me than a fast jet tearing up the sky. I also am interested in pylon racing and plan to pursue this in the future. I started racing radio control cars for the first time with the RC Car Action editors at a local track, and did quite well for my first year. I find many of my airplane experiences have translated over in the RC car racing world.

required! The Futaba S3115 servos were a perfect match and performed well during flight. You also get insane power and performance with the Electrifly 4-cell LiPo battery.

CONCLUSION

The ElectriFly Edge 540T is definitely one of the best electric airplanes in its class (50- inch wingspan). It’s an expert class of

aircraft, but any intermediate flyer with sport aerobatic experience should have no problem flying this plane on the lower control throws. It goes together so smoothly with no surprises, and was truly a pleasure to build. The assembly, coupled with the amazing performance, allows for extreme 3D maneuvers. This is one aircraft that I take along with me to the field whenever the weather allows.