The Hawk Sky is a great plane and is an even better platform for upgrades and modifications to the motor, control surfaces, etc. You can make this plane perform just about as well as you want to. There are tons of things that can be done like upgrading the stock motor and ESC to the Microjet V3 motor sold by Grayson Hobby, extending the control surfaces, cutting down the length of the wings to make this more of a sport plane and highly maneuverable. The sky is the limit...literally.
I knew that I just had to do away with the stock motor on this plane. If you are a beginner, this plane/motor is fine and will teach you all of the fundamentals and then some. You can even do some mild aerobatics with the stock motor. However, once you get to that point where you are completely comfortable with the plane, the power is going to be lacking. Especially if you decide to cut the wings down on this guy, you will need to upgrade the motor as the reduced lift will need the added thrust from the Microjet V3 motor.
So to get this motor installed on your Hawk Sky, you simply need to visit Grayson Hobby and pick up the ready made kit to upgrade the Hawk Sky powertrain. For just under $60 as advertised you will receive:
- Microjet V3 motor
- 20 AMP ESC
- 6x4 prop
- 1800 MAH 25c (The pack I was sent included a 30C) battery
- 1 Deans extension for the ESC (if you aren't familiar with Deans, take a look at my battery connectors post here.
- Motor mounting kit with laser cut motor mount
The kit arrived for me (via free shipping USPS) in about 5 days. Everything was in good order. The only complaint I have with the kit is there were insufficient screws supplied. In fact, the only screws the entire kit came with were the 4 screws that bolt the X bracket to the back of the Microjet 3. There were no screws supplied to secure the wooden cut mount to the stock motor mount housing. This didn't make much sense as with any type of kit, you would expect to get EVERYTHING you need. However, I had screws handy which worked well for fastening the wooden mount to the housing.
Aside from that little setback, the kit worked as expected and everything lined up perfectly for the upgrade. Take a look at some of the steps taken in order to remove the stock motor, mount the new Microjet V3 motor, and secure the new motor to the stock motor mount housing.
- Loosen the two hex screws on the side of the stock motor mount to slip the stock motor out
- Pull the stock motor out and then remove the two phillips head screws securing the mount to the housing
- Attach the Microjet V3 X brace to the back of the motor using the supplied screws
- Using screws, fasten the wooden plate provided in the kit to the motor housing and then attach the X brace to the wooden plate. Again, these screws are NOT provided.
- Attach the provided 6x4 prop to the shaft using the connector and screw.
- I cut out an indentation in the top of the plane to house the new ESC on top of the plane.
- I then cut a notch out of the canopy to run the receiver wire and battery wire from the ESC to the inside of the plane.
Final Thoughts
All in all, this was a great upgrade and only took about 30 minutes to complete, and would have probably taken less if I would have had all of the screws and not have to look for ones to attach the mount to the housing. After connecting everything up, I took the new improved Hawk Sky up for a test flight and MAN what a difference! This thing went from a semi-dog to a rocket. The Microjet V3 motor provides more than enough thrust for this plane turning it into a real badboy and along with other customizations, the Hawk Sky goes from a powered glider to a true aerobatic speed demon.
