AXN Clouds Fly

This is a powered remote controlled glider plane. It is balanced, forgiving in flight, has curved wingtips for stability, a powerful motor for steep climbs and ultra fast pass-bys, and characteristics to glide around forever on thermals.

• AXN Clouds Fly Setup

Specifications

• Also called Floater Jet by Hobby King
• Released: 2008
• Type: Powered glider, high mount pusher
• Airframe: Dense glossy EPO (Expanded polypropylene) foam [1] [2] [3]
• Length: 840 mm (measured)
• Wingspan 1280 mm (measured)
• Wing area: 0.23 m^2 / 23dm^2
• Center of gravity: 51.5 mm, range 49-55 mm from LE
• Stock weight: 600-650 grams (Servo, ESC, Rx, Bat)
• Payload capacity: 200-350 grams (at least) [4]
• Reinforcement: Black 750x8 mm glass fiber spar tube in the wings and embedded tube along in the tail section
• Recommended flying area: 300x300 meters
• Product page: http://www.rc-model.cn/802.htm

Kits

• AXN-clouds AXN Floater-Jet with Servo, Motor, ESC, EPO (PNF) - Hobby King 53USD [5]
• AXN-C-MOT Floater-Jet EPO with Motor (ARF) - Hobby King March 2011 40USD
• AXN-C-KIT Floater-Jet EPO (ARF) - Hobby King March 2011 35USD
• AXN-802SET AXN Floater-Jet Set EPO with servo, motor, esc, battery (PNF) - Low Price RC 60USD
• AXN-802 AXN Floater-Jet EPO with motor (ARF) - Low Price RC 40USD

• Similar airplanes:
  • BMI Arrow [6] [7]
  • Blitz RC Works Sky Surfer
  • Xen Skywalker
  • Dynam Hawk Sky
  • Wild Hawk

Manual

• Manual for AXN Clouds Fly
  • Manual for BMI Arrow - Setup is essentially the same
• Manual for Align RCE-BL15X ESC - Programming is the same

Setup

Stock

• Motor: AX-2208N 2150 KV Outrunner 27.7x31.4mm (DxW), 3mm shaft, 40 gram, 18A with 5x5 prop 3s, 9 mm tube motor mount, 16x16 mm bolt pattern [8]
• Propeller: EMP 5x5 Electric propeller, comes in pairs
• ESC:
  • Revision 1: AOXAN AE-20A Brushless Programmable ESC Linear 2A BEC 2-4S 26x50x11.5mm, soldered directly to motor 18 awg wire, battery wire 16 awg [9] [10] [11]
  • Revision 2: AOXAN AE-25A Brushless Programmable ESC Linear 2A BEC 2-4S 26x50x11.5mm, Deans T-type battery connector
• Servos: Blue Micro Digital Servo 9 grams JR-connector

My Setup

• AXN Clouds Fly Setup - My preferred way to set-up the plane and pre-flight procedure.

Tips

• Center of gravity 49-55 mm from leading wing edge, on wing spar rods, 56 mm minimum drag [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17]
• CG perfect with 3S 2200 mAh battery, a 1300 mAh too light, tail heavy, need to expand the room for the battery under canopy
• First flights, best to set up CG as far forward as possible and a little noise heavy then tail heavy [18]
• Change prop to 6x4E for more efficient flight, avoid going over 18A on stock motor and ESC combination [19]
• Replace stock 20A/25A ESC for a safer more capable 25A or 30A, using a higher rated ESC than necessary will run inefficient, less flight time although cool ESC, now comes with 25A ESC stock
• Get an ESC with +10A over the maximum amperage for the motor [20]
• Fasten the battery and canopy properly to allow rolls and loops without loosing parts
• Add fiber reinforced tape to the bottom of the plane to ease landing on rough surfaces
• On stock motor, re-glue magnets with epoxy or CA glue after a few flights
• Use a rubber-band and mounts, magnets, or velcro, to keep the wings tighter together [21] [22]
• Mount the propeller the right way, the concaved or inward bent curve of the propeller should face the tail, text the front
• The text must face toward the front, or on pusher propellers to the back [23]
• If propeller is mounted the correct way but rotates the wrong way, swap any two of the three motor wires between the motor and ESC
• Cut off excess length of the push-rods to avoid poking holes in battery or ESC
• During launch, use 45-50% throttle, trim elevator down a few clicks or program flap-switch to 15-20% elev up to avoid diving, hard throw 20% up into the air, clear elevator up trim [24] [25] [26] [27] [28]
• Use blue threadlock on push-rod connectors and any metal to metal screws or nuts
• Use threadlock on all screws on the motor and motor mount [29]
• Loosen up the foam on rudder, elevator, aileron hinges, or cut them off and re-attach with packing tape
• Use 3M double-sided tape to fasten and packing tape to cover the aileron servos, easy to remove for later repairs
• FPV: video transmitter on the tail, OSD in bottom of fuselage, camera on canopy, 1800 mAh battery forward
• Pick a small enough propeller to allow the motor to run efficiently, avoid overloading and burning the motor, use WebOCalc [30]
• Change the prop-saver for a collet-adapter, less vibration, prop-saver not needed on pusher plane [31]
• Straighten crooked foam by dipping it in hot 80-90 degrees C water for 1-5 minutes, reform it by hand and use a spoon for any pimples [32] [33]
• Mix 30-50% rudder into aileron on the transmitter for tighter corner turns [34]
• Set-up throttle-to-elevator mixing on Tx, -15% to stay flat on all throttle positions [35]
• Mark the wingtips with red decals/tape to easier identify the orientation of the airplane against the sky
• Always take-off against the wind and the same for landing, against the wind as lower landing-speed requires more lift to avoid stall
• Use the inner-most hole on the wing-horn and the outer-most hole on the servo-arm for maximum throw [36] [37]
• To make the plane less reactive/twitchy for beginners, use push-rod on inner hole of servo and outer hole on the control horn, can also be range/exponential limited on transmitter [38]
• Flaperons can help to make landing and launching easier, more angle of attack for resistance and decrease airspeed, replace Y-cable by two seperate aileron channels, programmed by the transmitter, spoilerons are flaperons inverted up [39]
• Thrust line should pass through both the center of mass and the center of drag [40] [41]
• Motor pod should have a slight 3 degree angle, thrust line, pointing down toward the center-of-gravity point, to minimize elevator pitch down effect caused by the plane pivoting forward when throttling up the motor and also through the center-of-pressure at high speeds, use elevator to compensate [42] [43]
• For prop-saver, attach the o-ring around the prop and to the 2 grub screws straight no crossing, more centered this way [44] [45]
• Change the motor if the motor begins to vibrate during testing and propeller is balanced, motor is unbalanced [46]
• To keep the same ESC current draw, when going up in prop size go down in motor Kv [47]
• Throws: aileron 10 mm up or down, use outside hole of horn, elevator 5mm up or down, middle hole, rudder 20 mm both ways, middle hole [48] [49]
• For maximum aileron throw, adjust travel on transmitter to 140% and cut a dent in the EPO at the edge for the servo arm and push-rods [50]
• Turn the servos around with the head pointing to the rear, frees up servo arm movement and avoids binding on max down, easiest accomplished by swapping right with left servo
• Add a gyro to aileron for more stable flight in windy conditions, will give minimum roll effect on rudder input, use fast servos [51] [52]
• Use a gyro on elevator (pitch) to make landing easier in gusty wind conditions [53]
• On a 45 degree dive and 1/4 throttle, release elevator stick, plane should level back, tail heavy if continuous dive and nose heavy if alternating climb/diving bumping [54] [55]
• The thrust-to-weight ratio is 1:1 when a motor generates the same thrust as the weight of the plane [56]
• Minimum 1:2 static thrust to weight for leisurely flight, 1:1 for aerobatics, and atleast 1.4:1 for 3D and hovering [57]
• Wrap ferrite ring on BEC power lead to receiver to eliminate high frequency current noise from the ESC, 5-7 times round, helps wobbly lines on FPV cameras [58]
• Propeller dimensions, e.g. 6x4, means that the diameter (length) is 6-inches and the total distance traveled for one rotation is 4-inches [59]
• Increased prop-pitch gives increased speed but poorer acceleration, increased diameter increases thrust and current draw but lowers RPM and speed [60] [61]
• Flatten wing tips or shorten them for better rolls, speed and agility, it decreases the dihedral-effect [62] [63]
• Desolder cable between ESC and motor to add 3.5 mm bullet connectors with heat shrink, easier for repairs and to replace ESC
• Enable air-brake on ESC to stop propeller free-turning on no throttle and gliding, will draw small amount of current [64]
• Put the two Y-cable connectors in the square space between the wing halves [65]
• For a more stable elevator, make a groove on the underside and put a 3-4mm carbon fiber rod from tip to tip, use any type of CA glue, perhaps white tape on top [66] [67]
• Balance propeller using a magnetic bearing propeller balancer, add thin tape to the back of the lighter blade of the propeller or sand the back of the heavy side, not the tips [68]
• ESC setup: motor brake ON, battery type Lipo, battery low cut-off, cut-off voltage high (3.2V), start mode normal, timing mode high, govenor mode off [69]

ESC Setup

• Air break: On (Hold propeller still)
• Battery type: Lithium-ion Polymer (LiPo)
• Cut-off type: Soft-cut (Gracefully lower motor power)
• Cut-off voltage: High (3.1V)
• Start mode: Normal (Instant acceleration)
• Timing mode: High (12+ pole motors)
• Lipo cells: Auto detect
• Governor mode: Off (Heli only)

Swap 2 of the 3 motor wires to reverse the motor rotation to go clockwise seen from the tail.

Glues

• Polyurethane (PU) - Light, foams, some filler, humidity activated, slow curing, must be pressed during curing - Best for fixing any type of foam, deep cracks [70] [71]
  • Gorilla Glue Quick Cure, Loctite SUMO (less foam)
• Cyanoacrylate (CA) - Flows into cracks, brittle - Fasten plastic parts together, e.g. servo horns, sizing ring propeller, carbon fiber rod to foam
  • Super Glue, Krazy Glue
• Epoxy - Structural, filler - Any structure, undercarriage, FPV camera-mount
  • Various curing time and brands available
• Contact adhesive - Flexible, sticky
  • Shoe Goo, Zap-A-Dap-A-Goo [72] [73]
• Silicone adhesive - Flexible - Mount plastic to foam, e.g. motor mount to foam [74]
  • Loctite, Liquid Nails
• Hot glue - Heavy, could melt foam - Fasten plastic to foam, e.g. position servos or plastic motor mount
  • Try thin, medium warm glue

Upgrades

This is a list of possible upgrades. Most of the parts should in theory fit and work with the Clouds Fly. To find the product, search for the listed name.

• Battery:
  • Hyperion G3 VX 3S 2100 mAh 35C
  • Moxie 3S 2200mAh 30C
  • ZIPPY Flightmax 2200mAh 3S1P 20C
  • Turnigy 1800mAh 3S 20C Lipo Pack [75]
• ESC:
  • Turnigy Plush 30amp Speed Controller [76]
  • Turnigy Plush 40amp Speed Controller [77]
  • Turnigy Plush 25amp Speed Controller - gets hot
  • Castle Creations Thunderbird 36 ESC
  • TowerPro H40A Brushless Speed Controller [78]
  • HobbyKing 40A BlueSeries Brushless Speed Controller [79]
  • HobbyWing Pentium 25A Programmable Brushless ESC [80]
  • Misc:
    • Turnigy BESC Programming Card [81] [82] [83]
    • Turnigy 5V/6V 3A UBEC with Noise Reduction [84] [85]
• Motor:
  • Grayson GH Micro Jet V3 2200 KV Brushless Outrunner Motor - Light 34 grams, powerful [86] [87]
  • Hoffman Magnetics Super Sport Series Outrunner 2470kv - Powerful, try 4.75x4.75 or 5x5 prop [88] [89]
  • MicroDAN 2505 Speed 2800 Kv Bright Finish - Pricey, mounting tube 8 mm, new mounting plate needed, 6x4E Sport prop S3 [90] [91]
  • Suppo 2212-06 2200KV motor [92] [93] [94]
  • BP A2212-6 - Same as Suppo 2212-06
  • Grayson GH Super Mega Jet V2 2550 KV Brushless Outrunner - Try apc 6x4e prop [95] [96]
  • TowerPro 2409-12T Brushless Outrunner 1600Kv - Powerful, try, 6x4e, 7x6e prop, silent, mounting tube 9mm, direct drop-in, soft steel, use collet-adapter [97] [98] [99] [100] [101] [102] [103] [104]
  • RCTimer BC2826-6 2200kv - Powerful, try TGS 6x4E/6x5E prop [105] [106] [107] [108] [109]
  • RCTimer 2212-6 2200kv - Same as RCTimer BC2826-6 [110] [111]
  • Emax CF2822 1200 KV Outrunner Brushless Motor - Mounting tube 10-11mm [112]
  • Emax CF2812 1600 KV Outrunner Brushless Motor - Mounting tube 10-11mm [113]
  • FC 28-12 Brushless Outrunner 1534kv - Clone of Emax CF2812, try 7x6, mounting tube 11mm [114] [115]
  • A2208/9 17A 2200KV Outrunner Brushless motor V2 - Try 5x5 prop [116] [117]
  • Moxie MOX-X2208N-2100 Brushless Outrunner Motor 2100KV - Try 5x5 prop, mounting tube 8mm, direct drop-in, very similar to stock motor [118] [119] [120]
  • Scorpion SII-2212-1850KV V2 - Try 5x5E [121] [122] [123]
  • Black Mantis B2836 2200kv Inrunner Brushless Motor - Silent [124]
  • hexTronik HXM2730-3000 Brushless Outrunner 3000kv - Light 24 grams, try 4.1X4.1 prop, mounting tube drop-in, HK comment [125]
  • Turnigy TR 28-26 16A 1900Kv Brushless Outrunner, HK comment [126] [127]
  • Turnigy TR 35-30A 1700kv Brushless Outrunner - Try APC 7x5e prop [128]
  • Misc:
    • MicroDan GBx Motor Mount - For converting backplate motors to 8mm tube style motor mounts
    • HXT 8mm Alloy Motor Mount 2.5g [129]
• Propeller:
  • APC 6x4E [130] [131]
  • TGS Sport 6x4E Precision propeller - Less noise, climbs steeper, flies easier [132] [133] [134] [135]
  • APC 6x3E [136]
  • Master Airscrew 6x3.5 prop [137] [138]
  • TGS 6x5E - For 2S battery [139]
  • APC 6x4 Sport [140]
  • APC 7x5E prop - Adjust motor pod angle
  • APC 7x6E style
  • Master Airscrew 6x6 3-prop [141] [142]
  • Misc:
    • Shaft adapter to suit 3.0mm motor shaft (collet) [143] [144]
    • Ultralight Collet Prop Adapter for 3mm Shaft, M5 [145] [146]
    • Spare Rubber Ring for Prop Saver [147]
    • KD Colet adapter for 3mm shafts [148] [149]
    • Extreme accuracy Prop/Rotor balancer [150] [151]
    • Top Flite Power Point Balancer [152]
• Servo:
  • hexTronik HXT900 - Great value, same as Towerpro SG90 [153] [154]
  • Towerpro SG90 micro servo 9 gram [155]
  • Hitec HS-65HB Micro Karbo Gear Servo
  • Hitec Micro Servo HS-82MG metal gear - Bit heavy
• Receiver:
  • AR6110E DSM2 Compatible Parkflyer 2.4Ghz Receiver [156]
• Transmitter:
  • Spektrum DX7 DSM 7CH
  • Turnigy 9X 9Ch Transmitter
  • Hobby King 2.4Ghz 6Ch Tx & Rx V2
  • Futaba 7C 72MHz or 2.4GHz [157]
  • Futaba 9C
• Gyro:
  • Turnigy TG-380 - Light, channel switch for on/off, gain by travel adjustment [158] [159]
  • E-Sky EK2-0704 - In rate mode [160] [161]
• Camera:
  • Mini DV MD80-AEE [162]
  • 808 Car Keys Micro Camera #3 - 720x480 resolution [163]
• Misc:
  • Spektrum trainer cable 1/8-inch mono jack - For PPM out, EzUHF later on
  • Light weight horn set - Same horn as stock horns
  • Ultra Thin Foam Glue 40ml
  • Evotite CA460 Foam Safe Super Glue (Medium)
  • Turnigy High Density R/C LED Flexible Strip-White - Mount inside the foam
  • XT Lipo Monitor 3S
  • Turnigy Pure-Silicone Wire 16AWG Black
  • Turnigy Pure-Silicone Wire 16AWG Red
  • Turnigy Pure-Silicone Wire 18AWG Black
  • Turnigy Pure-Silicone Wire 18AWG Red
  • Turnigy 4mm Heat Shrink Tube Red
  • Turnigy 4mm Heat Shrink Tube Black
  • 3.5mm 3 wire Bullet-connector - Between motor and ESC
  • Nylon T-Connectors Deans - For ESC
  • JR Y Servo Lead 30CM Length
  • 15CM Servo Lead Extention (JR) 26AWG
  • High stength fiber tape 20mm x 50mtr
  • Nylon Snap-Click style clevis - For rudder and elevator pushrod
  • Pushrod Snap Connectors 1.5mm - For servo arms
  • Dubro Servo Arms Micro XL
  • Gorilla glue amber - To fix foam [164] [165]
  • HXT900-G HXT900 Replacement Gear Set
  • Aileron horn low-profile 18x16x1mm - For holding wings together with rubber band
  • Carbon Fiber Tube (hollow) 3x2x750mm - For elevator strength
  • 5 Spoke Wheel Shock Absorbing D60xH18mm [166] [167]
  • Turnigy Watt Meter and power Analyzer [168]
  • Quality Epoxy Glue 30 minutes
  • Double Sided Tape Pack 110BS - For aileron servos

Shops

• Hobby King / hobby city / United Hobbies - Great prices, large inventory
• Giant Cod - In UK, similar inventory to HK
• ThrottleStore - Spare parts for Clouds Fly
• Low Price RC - Propeller and motor selection
• Grayson Hobby - Quality motors and adapters

Guides

• venquessa, how to glide forever
• Webocalc motor and prop calculator
• DriveCalc
• MotorCalc
• Batch1/jtl gti, how to remove motor
• Spanish Clouds Fly build instruction video
• Carbon rod installation in foam
• mount motor using x-mount
• easy glider fpv project
• ajbaker, wheels on Floater Jet
• Clouds fly vs Arrow
• gc9n, GoPro mount
• gc9n, fpv, changing canopy
• smaerd58, video covering the basic setup
• Aircraft Center of Gravity Calc

Threads

• AXN Floater-Jet (aka Cloud Fly) - Huge thread

Terms

• LE - Leading-Edge of the wing
• WOT - Wide-open Throttle
• CG - Center of Gravity
• COG - Same as CG
• CL - Center of Lift
• AUW - All Up Weight
• TOW - Take-Off Weight
• LG - Landing-Gear
• EPO - Expanded PolyOlefin
• EPP - Expanded PolyPropylene

Builds

• hallstudio, Motor benchmark with 5x5 and 6x4 prop
• g00bd0g, AXN Floater Jet + GoPro HD FPV
• EasyStar, EasyGlder, Minimoa and AXN Floater Jet
• jbc, AXN Floater jet By HobbyKing
• nakelp86, ANX opened
• venquessa FPV build
• rodrigov, detatchable wingtips
• smaerd58, video of setup
• medvikek, esc under battery
• saucisse, fpv setup with ezosd
• yellowcolorado, 365 watt/32A with 40A esc [169]
• flatbus, rctimer 2212-6 motor mount
• pghern, rctimer 2208-12 motor mount
• gc9n, glassfiber reinforcement
• rightthere, complete CF fpv kit
• victapilot, water floats and inrunner
• icaq, hobby king tx and rx
• mookieman, install a x-mount motor
• tankd0g, cf-28-12 and bc-2212/6, 6x4 prop
• eyeinsky1, wheels, gopro hd, 1800 mAh, 6x4 prop, camera mount, slow speed stall fix [170]
• nyc863, great go pro hd video
• smaerd58, nimh batteries, 25a esc, turnigy tx and rx
• cholo, fpv setup, tilt&pivot, base station
• theothercliff, detailed airplane setup and flight tips
• nakelp86, fpv setup
• LittleG, orange paintjob
• beautox, build with Hoffmann 2470KV, TowerPro 40A ESC

Gallery

Stock

The photos below show how the default configuration of the Clouds Fly package, as of February 2011.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Final Setup

The preliminary setup. See the AXN Clouds Fly Setup for details.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
•