ParkzoneT-28 Trojan Motor Upgrade

Deciding what motor, prop, ESC and battery combination to use when up-grading your Parkzone T-28 Trojan can be a difficult task.

After much research, here is the equipment I decided to put in mine. While not the cheapest alternative, this setup is simple to install and does not leave any question whether the components are capable of handling the task.

For a power plant I chose E-Flite's Power 10 brushless outrunner motor. Weighing in at 122g (4.3oz) it is not so heavy as to make your T28 a flying brick.  Designed for a current draw of 32A and a maximum burst current of 42A the stock speed control might handle the current draw, again I say "might" but a higher capacity ESC is a much better choice. Even though a 45A speed control would give you adequate head room, I chose to use the Castle Creations Ice 50.

If you go this route you will have to do some soldering. The Ice 50 come with no battery or bullet connectors for the motor. It includes a 5amp switching BEC to power your receiver and servos as well as providing you with extensive data logging capabilities. It can also be used with Castle Creations quick link giving you the ability to program the controller via your computer through a USB port. The only draw back to this great ESC is that it's a little on the heavy side.

One reason for using the Power 10 is it's size. It is a direct replacement for the stock motor. You won't need to shim anything or trim the cowl to install. I have read of users having the stock plastic mount break under the added torque. If you decide to use the stock mount, it would be a good idea to reinforce the 4 standoffs with epoxy as this seems to be where the mount tends to breaks. For my T28, I chose to upgrade to an aluminum mount as sold by Custom RC Parts. They make mounts for just about any motor you might want to put in your T28 as well as other Parkzone airplanes. You will not have any worries with this mount and they include all the hardware necessary for installation.

Now for the selection of a prop and battery. I ran several different prop selections through Electric Motor Calculator to get an idea of what prop would work the best and decided to try a APC 10x7. I did some testing and found that the stock set-up produced 216 watts drawing 20.24 amps. The Power 10 with the 10x7 produced 360 watts at 34 amps. With the new amp draw you will want run at least a 2200mah battery with minimum C rating of 20. I still get a good 8 minute flight with this combination giving the T-28 a marked improvement in speed and vertical thrust.

The only drawback to this combination is that of weight. With the added nose weight it was necessary to cut some of the foam from the bottom of the canopy and move the battery back to get the COG right. I also found it necessary to add a wooden support and velcro strap to secure the 2250mah batteries I was using in this rearward position. Checkout this post for more details on the extended battery tray.

Extended Battery Tray for T28

Having upgraded my Parkzone T-28 Trojan with a Power 10 motor, I found it was quite nose heavy. In order to move the center of gravity back, it was necessary to shift the battery aft to a point that it was no longer comfortably held in place by the stock foam sleeve. Not wanting to see what happens when a battery hits the eject button, I chose to install an extended battery tray.

To construct this tray I started with a piece of basswood 1/8"x 1-1/4" cut so that it fit snugly between the fuselage sides. Roughly four inches long. Then I cut two slots into this piece spaced apart the width of my batteries. I then took a standard 6" velcro battery strap and looped it down, under and back up through the slots in the tray as shown below. Then I mixed up a batch of 5 minute epoxy and glued the tray and strap down directly behind the foam bulkhead. It was also necessary to carve out some of the foam from the bottom of the canopy so the battery could be slide back.

Top View of the Extended Tray

End View of the Tray

Bottom of Canopy Showing Foam Removal

I've had over 100 flights with this extended tray and several crashed and the battery has always remained secured in place. Even if your running a stock set-up and don't need to move the CG back, this extended tray is a great added safety measure to keep your battery secure.

Tags:
T28 Trojan, RC, airplane, Lipo battery,

T28 Trojan Pilot T-Shirt

The T28 North American Trojan is one of my favorite RC airplanes to fly. The full scale Trojan was used during by the Navy starting in the 50's as trainer for pilots. Today it's radio controlled little brother is made by Parkzone and is flown by many pilots including myself.

With very sturdy foam construction, mine has taken more than a few beatings and continues to be a blast to fly. This is also a great plane from those that like to tinker. Some have added flaps and retractable landing gear. Mine sports a eflite power 10 motor which gives it unlimited vertical climb. If you don't own one of these jewels, then it might be time to let your better half know that the Parkzone T28 Trojan is at the top your Christmas wish list. Or if you all ready have one, let her know you want a T28 RC Pilot shirt from Poker and Chaos.

Landing Gear Struts On The ParkZone T28

I recently purchased a Parkzone T28 from Horizon Hobby. All I can say is WOW! What a fun model to fly.

As seems to be typical, as soon as I bought this jewel the weather went South as we had nothing but rain and high winds for a month or so. Being as I love to tinker with stuff, I decided while I was grounded I would do some modifications to the landing gear. I started by adding plastic strut covers to the nose and both main gear. They are very easy to install and really add some scale detail to the spindly stock wire struts.

I started by ordering Robart part #106 from Tower Hobbies. These covers  required that I trim a little off the top of the main struts and only a inch or so off the nose gear one. At first I tried to use the original wheels, axles and retaining nuts, but the covers reduced the axle length and I felt there was too much binding and the retaining nuts could not be threaded on enough that I was sure the wheels would not come off in air. Because of this I chose to extend the axles by soldering on a length of 1/8" brass tubing over the stock wires. I then used two round retaining collars to secure the wheels.

To the left you can see the axle extension. I had to take a Dremel tool with a sanding drum and sand down the wire axle slightly to get the brass tube to slide over it. This resulted in a tight fit and with a bit of solder applied to finish things up, I don't have to worry about the axle coming off. Once the axle was done, I mounted the covers. It takes a little finessing to get the retaining rings and cap over the covers, but it can be done where there is very little gap between the top of the cover and the bottom of the wing.

To the Left you see one of the main struts after it has been painted. Also notice the inner retaining collar which helps keep the strut cover aligned and secured. The collar also acts to keep the wheel from binding against the strut cover. For a finishing touch, I added a small strip of chrome tape to the center section of the strut to give it the appearance of a hydraulic piston that you would see on a full scale strut.

I also changed out the stock wheels to 2-3/4" diameter Dubro lite wheels as I will be flying her off a grass runway. One final item I did on the main gear was to apply packing tape over the plastic plates that hold the wire gear to the wing. I've read that these plates are known to pull loose on a hard landing. Many suggest you pull the plates off and re-glue them to the foam using epoxy but as mine seemed pretty secure, I chose to tape them Scotch® Extreme Tape for now.

This stuff has fibers running both directions and is as tough as they come. Great tape for any RC repairs.

All in all I'm quite pleased with this modification. The struts look great and the larger wheels are excellent for use on a grass field.