ParkZone T-28 Trojan Motor Upgrade
If you want to give your ParkZone T-28 Trojan unlimited vertical flight for under $30, today is your lucky day. Just head over to hobbycity.com, and pick up one of these Turnigy 35-36C motors.
Here’s what you’ll need to do the upgrade:
- The new motor (duh)
- A Phillips-head screwdriver
- An everyday drill and an ordinary drill bit
(not sure of the drill bit size — you’ll figure it out) - A new prop (I use an APC 10×3.8). The stock prop’s shaft is too wide for this motor’s prop adapter
You may be asking:
- Do I need a soldering iron? No.
- Do I need to cut some wood or aluminum for a firewall? No.
Here’s what you do:
- Unscrew the three screws that secure the cowling to the nose of the plane
- Unscrew the four screws that hold the plastic motor mount to the firewall
- Disconnect the three motor wires (red, yellow, and black)
- Unscrew the motor from the motor mount
- Use the cross mount thing that came with the motor to pencil in the 4 new holes you’ll be drilling
- Drill the holes (be sure to use a drill bit that is the same size as the old holes
- Screw the motor on to the mount, connect the wires, and put the whole thing back on the plane
- Hold the plane straight up, power it up to full throttle, and release
- Watch it fly straight up to the clouds like a friggin’ rocket
Here are some photos of my (not so) handiwork:
This is what it looks like when it’s done. The motor isn’t quite as long as the stock motor, so I tossed a nut on the shaft before I put the propeller on. Without that nut, the prop would be rubbing on the cowling.
Here’s the motor bolted to the stock motor mount. I was in the process of screwing in the 4 mounting screws when I took this.
Here’s where I drilled the 4 new holes for the new motor (circled in blue). The new motor has two holes that are perfectly spaced to line up with the stock motor mount, but the other two holes are actually closer to each other, so you have to drill. I opted to drill 4 new holes, but you may get away with using just two of the stock holes, or even drilling only 2 new holes. I wasn’t quite willing to trust that, and after seeing just how much torque this motor provides, I’m glad I didn’t.
You may also notice in the photo above that this motor has a really weird prop adapter. Rather than tightening on to the shaft, it actually screws onto the bell of the motor. Notice that the motor has a shaft that extends out the aft side of the motor (if you wanted to mount it in reverse). I’ve never seen that in a motor before, but I like it. It seems much sturdier with 4 screws on the bell than a single set screw or “clamp” style prop adapter fastened to the shaft.
The Results
I took it out to the flying field today and did my usual hand launch. Except this time I only launched it using half throttle. It flew out perfectly. After a couple seconds, I punched it up to full throttle and aimed the nose at the clouds. It flew perfectly vertical for a good 5 seconds, showing no signs of slowing down. It was awesome. I was flying huge loops, square loops, vertical rolling ascents. It was great.
The Electronics
I used the stock speed controller (ESC), but I also have a ParkBEC because I don’t trust the stock ESC’s integrated BEC at all, having heard lots of horror stories about it. The stock ESC showed no sign of overheating, though it was about 45 degrees F outside. The motor stayed cool too.
I used a new Zippy 2200mah battery from hobbycity.com. It did great too. No signs of overheating. It came down just barely perceptibly warm to the touch. Within seconds, it had cooled to room temperature. This was the first flight of the new Zippy battery.
My Watt’s Up tells me that the 10×3.8 prop makes this motor pull exactly 30 amps. That’s a lot of amps for this ESC, so I also bought a SuperSimple 50A ESC from hobbycity.com, which I have not installed yet. I may wait to see how the stock ESC performs for a while, because I just don’t want to solder all that crap again (including the ParkBEC).
Bottom Line
This motor is awesome. I plan to use the T-28 as an Aerotow plane soon, so this motor will give me exactly the torque I need. The plane is still quite a slow flyer compared to my Stryker, but even though the T-28’s top speed is lower, it has better vertical.
November 25th, 2008 at 7:39 am
Doing aerotowing will be a lot of fun. We started doing it this year with a e-flight pawnee with a motor from extreme flight (Torque 2814/820)pulling a Multiplex Culairs. The Culairs pulls up so nice and flys very easy and stays up real well. We started with a 3cell 3300 mah battery,but it was not enough power. Next we tried a 4 cell 2500 mah and it did much better. Next we tried a 4 cell 3850mah and this works perfect. Last week we got a 1400 foot release. We get 3 to 4 tugs before the battery has to be changed. With this set up pulling the Culairs it takes full power the whole time of about 2 to 3 min. We also have pulled up a smaller sailplane, a foam Fox and it can be pulled almost at a 45 degree angle. We found out that you need a ship with ailerons to keep the wings level. Tried a gentle laddy and it was not easy. Ailerons make it so much easier, all you do the whole time your being towed is just keep the wings level, do not try to stear it though the turns. I went with the power 10 with my T-28 with a 40 amp speed control with a 11-7 prop and would never go back to stock. Give it a try and you’ll be hooked! Allen Young Phoenix,AZ
February 23rd, 2009 at 2:47 am
I have the T-28, and was curious about your statement about the
horror stories of the ESC and intergrated BEC.. Ok, I am new to
electrics, and not sure what you mean.. Been an alcoholic and
nitro freak all these years, but the T-28 is my first electric, and a very
enjoyable flyer!! I would like to see longer flight times, and am
assuming that one with a larger capacity, like a 2200 or maybe
2500 is in order for that. But, please enlighten me about the horror
stories.
Thanks,
Scott Terry
saterry@skywi.com
March 2nd, 2009 at 2:35 pm
I purchased a Super Simple 50A ESC with the motor you recommended and when I hook it up it just beeps at me. 10 sets of 3 beeps with a few second pause between. Any one that could help?
March 2nd, 2009 at 2:47 pm
Try raising and lower the throttle?
March 3rd, 2009 at 11:14 pm
The 50A super simple ESC has no BEC, so you need to install one. It will go to the battery,2 wires, and the reciever 2 or three wires. The setup you now have has no power to the reciever, so the ESC is saying turn on reciever. My best guess, anyway.
March 12th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
Hi, Dave….. Not to talented with this but wondering if you could post this to the RCU and the Wattflyer RC Forums site web site.http://www.wattflyer.com/forums/ Nice T-28 members here.
Very Nicley done….. Al
May 20th, 2009 at 5:16 am
Why you’re suggesting that propeller?
I’m a newbie and I would like to try different ones, which one you suggest to try?
how about a 10×8?
I am using a Turnigy plush 30 amp
Thanks
May 20th, 2009 at 8:17 am
Ianzo: I suggested the new prop because the stock prop doesn’t fit the prop adapter with the new motor that I bought.
A 10×8 would probably pull too many amps for your speed controller.
May 26th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
Which Zippy 2200 Mah Battery did you did you purchase from hobbycity
May 26th, 2009 at 9:28 pm
Kurt,
Click on the words “Zippy 2200mah battery” in the article above, and it will take you right to the battery I used.
June 3rd, 2009 at 6:21 pm
hows that stock 30amp esc working so far?
June 3rd, 2009 at 9:01 pm
Travis:
The stock ESC is running great. I’ve been using it for 6 months with no problem. But … bare in mind that I am using an external ParkBEC, so the integrated BEC in the ESC is not being used at all.
–Dave
June 9th, 2009 at 5:16 pm
Dave,
You did an excellent job on this post,thanks. Just installed your setup but without the park bec. Motor really sounds and pulls awesome. Much better than stock. Wondering if Its worth running it at the field without bec.?
Maybe i should cut out some cooling vents in the foam?
Any thoughts?
-Travis
June 12th, 2009 at 4:46 pm
I’ve done the mod ad described but I can’t get full throttle because of the vibrations, I have balanced the props using a du-bro balancer but it doesn’t works out.
If I raise the power it begins to vibrate very hardly, it seems it would broke
June 12th, 2009 at 8:30 pm
Ianzo: Have you run the throttle up to full? Mine vibrates at half throttle, but stops vibrating at about 3/4 throttle. Also, in flight I can’t hear any vibration at all. I think the vibration is caused by the prop pulling against your stationary plane. That’s just what my plane does though, so be careful. Vibration is very very bad, especially with a rather weak motor mount like this one.
–Dave
June 13th, 2009 at 3:16 am
Ok I’ve installed the motor on the table with a clamp, only esc receiver and battery conected.
The motor runs fine without any vibration for the whole throttle range.
Now what I have to check? may I check it in fly and forget about vibrations when it’s on the ground?
I also purchased a motor mount wich I read it would be perfect for this Trojan but it’s too long and I have to work on it for replacing the standard mount.
HXT Motor Mount for 35-30 size motor
http://www.unitedhobbies.com/hobbycity/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=4689
Thank you
June 13th, 2009 at 11:28 am
Anyone know where I can get a replacement firewall w/o having to buy the whole fuselage? Thks JTF
June 13th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
Ianzo: It could be that the plane is simply resonating. Did you use the same prop that I used?
About your HXT motor mount, that motor mount works, but you have to reverse the motor (facing backwards).
June 13th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
I have reversed the motor and bought a prop adapter for the 4mm shaft, now it doesn’t vibrates but I don’t know if was the firewall or the prop mount…
The shaft isn’t so long but I can install the prop only cutting a bit of the plastic nose.
I have a lot of prop to try but I want to use a 30A turnigy plush right now, tomorrow I will do some measurements with the wattsup, it’s a pain to enlarge the prop holes ;P
With 10×7 I remember it loads 40A wich I think it would be very funny
June 15th, 2009 at 9:00 am
10×3.8 loads 32 Ap of peak and it goes straight up in the air but I think the esc will burn…
June 15th, 2009 at 9:10 am
My T-28 stock ESC has not burned up after several months of use with lots of WOT flying with that motor/prop. It does indeed pull about 30 amps static at full throttle.
June 16th, 2009 at 9:26 am
Dave, I’m glad to have found your blog. I followed your directions for the motor upgrade, and have my friend with a stock Parkzone F4U corsair green with envy!!! I have a 2200 mah battery, and a Turnigy 40 amp plush Esc. What is the highest output battery I can use with this configuration. I think I’m becoming addicted to speed!!! Thanks again,
Aaron
June 16th, 2009 at 9:37 am
Aaron,
Awesome. I use a 2200mah battery too. Adding a higher capacity battery will not improve your speed. The motor “pulls” power from the battery and if the battery can keep up, it will. If it can’t, you’ll run slower. I imagine you are pulling about 30 amps with this motor/prop, so if your battery is rated at 20C, that’s as fast as it needs to be.
You might experiment with different props (11×5, 10×6, etc) to see what effect they have. Be sure to measure the current on the ground first so you don’t burn up in the air!
Good luck!
–Dave
July 1st, 2009 at 4:16 pm
Mine has a new 40A Turnigy plush esc, 10×7 prop draws much that 40A but it rocks!!!
10×3.8 is the best choice I think, I will use this because I will also turn the T-28 into a fpv model,
Thanks for yours suggestions and have fun.
July 2nd, 2009 at 9:06 pm
lanzo:
Did you solve your vibration problems? I have a problem of my own now.
I tried out a new prop, 11×4, just to see how it works. I powered it up, and the prop began to vibrate a bit. Adding more throttle, the vibrations went away. So I did it again, but this time the vibrations were so bad that it broke my motor mount.
What did I do wrong? The shaft is not bent. The prop was probably balanced.
I’m confused? Why did the prop stop vibrating at high power?
–Dave
July 3rd, 2009 at 7:25 pm
Dave:
My T-28 with the 35-36C motor and APC 10×7E prop acts similar. Up to about half throttle, everything is fine, but past 1/2 throttle, it starts to vibrate violently…to the point where I already broke one motor mount. Without the prop on, the motor seems to spin fine throughout full throttle range. Do I need a new prop?
Kelsey
July 3rd, 2009 at 8:18 pm
Kelsey:
I don’t think it’s the prop, though I think bigger diameter props cause the vibration to be more violent (and break the motor mount more quickly).
I found this thread (see below), and I think we’re getting close to a reason. At this point I blame the flimsy plastic motor mount.
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1067488
–Dave