Radian= Proprietary motor mount
The Radian uses a proprietary motor mount to mount it to the fuselage. Thus, you'll need to buy the correct motor for the plane which is large, heavy, overpriced and a bit underwhelming. For the over $40 you'll shell out for the Radian motor you could be into a very nice Turnigy D3536 for about half the money. Is there a way to opt out of the Radian motor?
Radian Motor Mount- Small Parts CNC.
With this motor mount, you'll be able to hook up an aftermarket motor on your Radian. Oh, happy days! There is one thing you have to look out for, the motor has to be front facing. This is very specific. This means that the four holes where you mount the motor have to be on the same side as the longest side of the motor shaft. The vast, vast majority of outrunner motors are sold with the mount side and shaft side on opposite ends. I believe this is because this is how most Drone motors are mounted. This is the proper mounting orientation for pusher aircraft, but the traditional aircraft with a motor upfront like in a Cessna need the shaft sticking out the opposite side of the motor.
Moving the shaft
Update-Don't move a shaft. Buy a motor with wires near the side of the shaft that sticks out.
You could use the standard Radian spinner and prop, but why?
The standard Radian spinner is perhaps the worst part of the plane. The collet is held down by a hex socket head. This alone makes me suspect of the spinner. Time to move to better spinners! The first thing you'll need to know is the shaft thickness of your motor so that you can get the right collet for a new spinner. The proper diameter for the spinner is 50mm. I put a 30mm on one of my Radians and though it works it looks kinda small. So you'll need to find a 50mm spinner. I selected this one from Radical R/C.
http://www.radicalrc.com/category/Spinners-Folding-APC-288
It's the one titled
Aluminum Spinner Folding Prop Hub APC 50mm OD
If you're using a 3mm shaft of you'll need to buy the smaller collet toward the bottom of the page for 3mm and 50mm OD spinners.
To make it easy on you, all you need are Gamfan folding propellers.
https://www.banggood.com/Gemfan-Electric-Nylon-Folding-Propeller-7060-7540-8050-9050-1060-1180-1280-1380-1-Pair-p-983784.html?rmmds=myorder
https://www.banggood.com/Gemfan-Electric-Nylon-Folding-Propeller-7060-7540-8050-9050-1060-1180-1280-1380-1-Pair-p-983784.html?rmmds=myorder
With this larger, heavier motor there won't be a problem driving those large 10x6 propellers, or could there be a problem? See closing notes at the bottom.
Installation
Started with a Fli-Power motor. I would love to say I put a lot of thought into buying this motor. Nope, I bought it when I was placing an order for Carbon Fiber rods. It was on sale. The thing is a huge 5-ounce motor. It's specified as a 2820/4. It has a 5mm shaft and puts out 690 watts. The stock Radian motor is about an ounce lighter and is 960KV. This motor has a KV of 1450 which sounds better, but it can be a problem if not used right.
The motor mount fit
The motor mount fit
As you can see from the photo, the four screws lined up in the motor mount without a problem. The four holes are what fits on the Radian's proprietary mount. The other image is of the motor installed.
As you can tell, there isn't a lot of space between the motor and the fuselage. After my first attempt of installing the motor I got the wires lined up right and things were fine. The motor spins freely. But there isn't a lot of breathing room. Which is another consideration of why I will limit the amount of power the motor gets.
Heavy Duty Collet
This collet is not coming off! I drove the collect nut down with a socket. It's on for good! Not like the original Radian collet where the hex nut gave out and the entire spinner fell off. It may be hard to tell but give a little space between the firewall and the bar the bar the propellers attach to. The entire bar is supposed to spin freely.
Spinner and folding propeller
I have two Radians. The first one I put the Small Parts CNC Radian Motor Mount into was a motor that was lighter than the original Radian motor. That made the plane a bit tail heavy. The motor was fine, it was up to the task and has no problems whatsoever powering the Radian. It made the Radian a bit more of a floater than your normal Radians which isn't a bad thing.
For my older Radian with road rash and a two time rebuilt fuselage I grabbed a motor I had laying around. This one is between an ounce and two ounces heavier. The aluminum spinner also puts on a little more weight. A nose heavy plane isn't the end of the world. What I haven't done is fly it yet with a 3S 2200mAh LiPo. I have opted for the smaller 1800mAh batteries instead.
What I have noticed is that at 25% throttle it will climb into the sky to reach maximum altitude. This is at a comfortable angle of attack, not a 90 degree climb like the Goodyear Blimp. I have 9x5 Propeller on the plane and will move to a 10" prop fairly soon. The motor is way overpowered for this plane. I rarely take it above half throttle.
The Radian is actually a very good value, when you buy it in pieces and build it yourself. I found the best prices were on eBay. The fuselage is less than $30, the wings are around $40 and the horizontal stabilizer is only $12. Throw another $7 for the decal set and for less than $100 you've got a plane without the motor and spinner. As for servos I threw in a set of Hitec HS-81. You will need a longer control arm than what comes with the servos for the elevator rod. You can put in 40 or 50 amp speed controller for your motor. Be sure to cement your servos into the fuselage. I use 30-minute epoxy for this and for repairs to the foam.
Here is the owner's manual.
http://www.parkzone.com/ProdInfo/Files/PKZ4700-Radian-Manual.pdf
Read through the manual, set the plane up right, ask for help if this is a little beyond you. The Radian is a big plane, you'll need some space to fly it.
If you're into hassle free flying you can buy the premade kit that is "Bind and fly" Though it's a bit pricy its a very nice kit. But, sooner or later you'll be addressing the motor, spinner, propeller. If you like to build your own planes the idea of buying a kit isn't appealing. For my second Radian I painted the plane and put my own decals on.
On both Radians I put lamination on the wings. On the red white and blue one it's all over the plane. Part of the fun of the hobby is putting the pieces together and making a plane truly yours.
Here's the list of parts I used for the latest motor modification. I can say that all these pieces will work together.
The Motor
Fli-power
Model Number: 2820-4
Weight: 136
KV: 1450
Max Watts: 690W Shaft
5 59.5mm
Max Current: 47.6A
No Load Current 10v 2.1A
Mine was a closeout. It's most similar to this model
http://www.rcfoam.com/rc-model-airplane-engines-and-rc-electric-motor-mounts/fli-power-brushless-motor-2820-1450kv-p-676.html
I would also check out this Turnigy motor.
https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-d3536-5-1450kv-brushless-outrunner-motor.html
You will need to push the shaft forward.
This mount from Small Parts CNC
http://smallpartscnc.com/index.php?route=product/product&filter_name=radian&product_id=97
The spinner from Radical RC
http://www.radicalrc.com
SKU/Part No: MPIPA50
Folding Propeller
Select either a 9050 or 1060
https://www.banggood.com/Gemfan-Electric-Nylon-Folding-Propeller-7060-7540-8050-9050-1060-1180-1280-1380-1-Pair-p-983784.html?rmmds=search
Other thoughts
If you go the route of buying the parts and putting in your own motor it's either slightly to very much more expensive than buying the kit parts. That's the bad news. The good news is that you shouldn't have to mess with your Radian that much.
The Radian is a great plane, people seem to really love it. I love mine. BTW, original my motor, spinner and two sets of props are for sale. They are fairly new.
Flight characteristics
I have two Radians. The first one I put the Small Parts CNC Radian Motor Mount into was a motor that was lighter than the original Radian motor. That made the plane a bit tail heavy. The motor was fine, it was up to the task and has no problems whatsoever powering the Radian. It made the Radian a bit more of a floater than your normal Radians which isn't a bad thing.
For my older Radian with road rash and a two time rebuilt fuselage I grabbed a motor I had laying around. This one is between an ounce and two ounces heavier. The aluminum spinner also puts on a little more weight. A nose heavy plane isn't the end of the world. What I haven't done is fly it yet with a 3S 2200mAh LiPo. I have opted for the smaller 1800mAh batteries instead.
What I have noticed is that at 25% throttle it will climb into the sky to reach maximum altitude. This is at a comfortable angle of attack, not a 90 degree climb like the Goodyear Blimp. I have 9x5 Propeller on the plane and will move to a 10" prop fairly soon. The motor is way overpowered for this plane. I rarely take it above half throttle.
Tips on building your own Radian
The Radian is actually a very good value, when you buy it in pieces and build it yourself. I found the best prices were on eBay. The fuselage is less than $30, the wings are around $40 and the horizontal stabilizer is only $12. Throw another $7 for the decal set and for less than $100 you've got a plane without the motor and spinner. As for servos I threw in a set of Hitec HS-81. You will need a longer control arm than what comes with the servos for the elevator rod. You can put in 40 or 50 amp speed controller for your motor. Be sure to cement your servos into the fuselage. I use 30-minute epoxy for this and for repairs to the foam.
Here is the owner's manual.
http://www.parkzone.com/ProdInfo/Files/PKZ4700-Radian-Manual.pdf
Read through the manual, set the plane up right, ask for help if this is a little beyond you. The Radian is a big plane, you'll need some space to fly it.
Options for the Radian
If you're into hassle free flying you can buy the premade kit that is "Bind and fly" Though it's a bit pricy its a very nice kit. But, sooner or later you'll be addressing the motor, spinner, propeller. If you like to build your own planes the idea of buying a kit isn't appealing. For my second Radian I painted the plane and put my own decals on.
On both Radians I put lamination on the wings. On the red white and blue one it's all over the plane. Part of the fun of the hobby is putting the pieces together and making a plane truly yours.
Here's the list of parts I used for the latest motor modification. I can say that all these pieces will work together.
The Motor
Fli-power
Model Number: 2820-4
Weight: 136
KV: 1450
Max Watts: 690W Shaft
5 59.5mm
Max Current: 47.6A
No Load Current 10v 2.1A
Mine was a closeout. It's most similar to this model
http://www.rcfoam.com/rc-model-airplane-engines-and-rc-electric-motor-mounts/fli-power-brushless-motor-2820-1450kv-p-676.html
I would also check out this Turnigy motor.
https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-d3536-5-1450kv-brushless-outrunner-motor.html
You will need to push the shaft forward.
This mount from Small Parts CNC
http://smallpartscnc.com/index.php?route=product/product&filter_name=radian&product_id=97
The spinner from Radical RC
http://www.radicalrc.com
SKU/Part No: MPIPA50
Folding Propeller
Select either a 9050 or 1060
https://www.banggood.com/Gemfan-Electric-Nylon-Folding-Propeller-7060-7540-8050-9050-1060-1180-1280-1380-1-Pair-p-983784.html?rmmds=search
Other thoughts
If you go the route of buying the parts and putting in your own motor it's either slightly to very much more expensive than buying the kit parts. That's the bad news. The good news is that you shouldn't have to mess with your Radian that much.
The Radian is a great plane, people seem to really love it. I love mine. BTW, original my motor, spinner and two sets of props are for sale. They are fairly new.
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