Zagi 400x parts for cheap? Receiver location change?

With Zagis, its a badge of pride to have them held together with bits of epoxy and packing tape, till they resemble Frankenstein's monster. At some stage they get too heavy to fly and you buy another one.

| The main one that could be done at home, I suppose, is replacing my | one elevon which is snapped in half. Do I just need to goto a hobby | shop and get a comparible piece of balsa.. then cover it with the tape | from before? (I cant recall if I put anything on the wood before | covering it).

Yes, that's basically it. Thin coroplast can be used as well.

Covering is optional, but adds strength to balsa wood -- or at least it helps you not lose the pieces so easily when it breaks.

| Secondly, the one stabilizer fin is broke.. it looks like simple flexi | plastic.. I'm guessing I could either order the exact replacement | online somewhere or find material and cut another triangle from it. | What are most people using to cover these, or are you.. mine werent. | (any guides online for this part?)

We'll use pretty much anything for these. Coroplast, blue insulation foam, even cardboard (in a pinch), etc. The styrofoam that you get for bringing leftovers home or the store uses for packing meat works very well.

Again, covering is optional. Really, covering anything on a zagi type wing is optional.

| When I did the 400x, it had the receiver position still in the front | of the plane, followed by battery.. Has anyone moved the receiver to | say the midsection horizontally?

People have done it all.

Put your RX anywhere you want, but buried somewhere in the foam is best as it's better protected. Don't put it directly in front of the battery unless it's also buried in the foam -- in a crash, that battery becomes a missile and many RX's have been smashed by that.

| Is anyone using full size receivers or mini's (issues with range on | minis?)?

Yes, some people use full sized RX's. And servos, for that matter.

Minis don't automatically have lower range than full sized RXs -- but some do. But consider that your Zagi is relatively small, so you're not likely to fly it over 1000' feet away, ever. Range should not be a huge concern, but I wouldn't buy a 500' range RX for any plane.

| Any good sites for getting replacement canopies for cheap?

Tape it up. Personally, I hate 'em. I much prefer the canopy-less design of the Combat Wings XE2, for example.

| Final question is on the canopy.. any good tips for ways besides a | piece of tape to hold it on during flight..

Velcro? Tiny but really strong magnets?

(Most people probably do velcro.)

Thanks again for the suggestions.. Yeah, I'm doing velcro currently, with tape. The tape because even the strong industrial velcro didnt hold once.. so I chose not to take any chances :)

They have replacement parts at Trickrc.com. I never covered my winglets. My 400X was covered in Ultracote over the fiber tape. I destroyed a good rx nosing in with my first 400X. I buried the rx in the foam next to the canopy/tray setup on my second 400X. Its about as safe as it could ever be there. I used a Hitec 555 rx. A full sized rx will be too large to bury in the foam with any kind of foam thickness left for protection. Any micro dual conversion rx will work, no range issues. If you will be flying your Zagi at the limits of visual range, you really need a dual conversion rx. Hitec HS 81 metal geared servos or equiv. are a must if you plan on any combat. I have stripped gears out of the standard servos. You can make replacement elevon easily using the existing for a template (mirror image!) but you need to get some pretty hard balsa. I didnt put anything on the elevons before applying the Ultracote.

Yep, I've got HS-81s in mine.. I guess it would be crazy to fly combat with Lipos right? :D

Also.. I have an older Zagi 400.. I cant see many of these on ebay to gauge, but I was considering selling it.. any idea what it might be worth (hitec SS radio included)? I dont even know how I would ship it, need a 48" long box and all..

| Yep, I've got HS-81s in mine.. I guess it would be crazy to fly combat | with Lipos right? :D

Combat is usually done with slope planes -- no motor at all. | Also.. I have an older Zagi 400.. I cant see many of these on ebay to | gauge, but I was considering selling it.. any idea what it might be | worth (hitec SS radio included)? I dont even know how I would ship | it, need a 48" long box and all..

I've picked up a few similar planes on Craiglist for about $50 locally from time to time. There's just not much of a market ...

Any good alternatives to spending $150 on a Astro 020 and ESC.. ie: getting another plane similar in size / speed as the Zagi 400x with Astro's?

Or is $150 a good price to pay for this level of abilities...

IE: Are there any other planes, I could buy, ready to fly , or close to it, Lipo Ready, that would have performance similar to this?

I did see a Stryker that was selling for about $180, ready for Lipo.

Also.. any experiences with A123 LiFe batteries as of yet.. how do they compare ? (arent they heavier for the same amount of mah?) Should I consider those before I finalize my Lipo battery choices? (going with the CellPro4s, as it does do a123 down the road).

Thanks

In article , markm75 wrote: | On Apr 4, 11:21 pm, "Doug McLaren" wrote: | > In article , | >

| > markm75 wrote: | >

| > | Yep, I've got HS-81s in mine.. I guess it would be crazy to fly combat | > | with Lipos right? :D | >

| > Combat is usually done with slope planes -- no motor at all.

Well, full collision combat anyways :)

Really, LiPos aren't as fragile or dangerous as people make them out to be. But they ARE more fragile, and ARE more dangerous. Just not TNT encased in glass :)

| Any good alternatives to spending $150 on a Astro 020 and ESC.. ie: | getting another plane similar in size / speed as the Zagi 400x with | Astro's?

There's lots of similar motors out there, starting at around $100 for motor+ESC. Astro 020 used to be the only option, but now there's a lot more.

(I've got an Astro 020. It works nicely.)

| IE: Are there any other planes, I could buy, ready to fly , or close | to it, Lipo Ready, that would have performance similar to this? | | I did see a Stryker that was selling for about $180, ready for Lipo.

It's a Stryker F-27C. Already has LiPo and Brushless. It also has 3 wire servos, unlike the F-27B Stryker which has proprietary 5 wire servos. I've no idea if the ESC is seperate and can be used in other planes, however.

I've seen one fly -- it was very impressive.

| Also.. any experiences with A123 LiFe batteries as of yet.. how do | they compare ? (arent they heavier for the same amount of mah?) | Should I consider those before I finalize my Lipo battery choices? | (going with the CellPro4s, as it does do a123 down the road).

They're not very popular. I think they do indeed weigh more for the same mAh ratings, but they can tolerate signifigantly higher discharge rates. So they might be great for a pylon race.

That stryker looks very cool indeed.. i'm book marking that for the future.

Does anyone know where i can find the orginal plastic 5x5 push on props for the 400, 400x zagi?

I can only seem to find the carbon ones and they are $5 for two or $9 for 3 with a prop adapter (not sure if this adapter will work with the standard brushed engine?).

I thought the plastic ones were much cheaper?

Thanks

They seem to run between 4 and 5 bucks. However, at MMGlidertech, they have it for a buck! last item. Its listed as the replacement prop for the Wedgie. I had a this wing for a while and its the same prop that the "classic" Zagis used.

buck!

Very last item. Its listed as the replacement prop for the Wedgie. I had a

Thanks for the tips on finding old parts..

Had a sorta related question, as this has been awhile for me..

When I move the control stick on the transmitter, should the servo not groan at the maximum stick positions (no physical binding is noticed either).

I tried lowering the ATV to eliminate, but I had to go too low to do so (25%)...

You can and should change it on the servo and control horn. To reduce throw move closer in on the servo arm and out on the control horn on the control surface. That way you get the best mechanical advantage from your servo. mk