Introduction to Electric RC Flight
“Electric Rules…Glow Drools”
The Good and the Bad of electric flight
The Bad News
· Electric RC is NOT cheaper than glow. At least not yet
· Electric planes do not automatically make you a good pilot. Left is left, right is right, up is up and down is still down if you can’t fly you still can’t fly
· You can’t build/assemble like you normally do, you must build with weight in mind
· Electric props hurt as much as glow props
· No noise. You’d be amazed how distracting it is NOT to hear your plane sometimes
· You’ll need to learn to solder.
· Yes you will have to learn a new vocabulary and read if you want to really get into E-planes. How long did it take you get the hang of glow engines, props, fuel, needle valves, etc….?
· Every review you see in a RC magazine for an electric plane you will need to reduce the running time by at least 20%.
· Buyer beware! There is a tremendous amount of junk out there….just like glow!
· 85% of online electric chat rooms are filled with idiots as opposed to 40% of glow chat rooms that are filled with idiots
· And most of all there are no absolutes just like in glow. There are always exceptions to the rules.
The Good News
· Electric planes are as fast, as powerful and as exciting as glow…OFF THE SHELF!
· No messy oil to clean up! No paper towels. No Windex to drag along.
· No engine vibration. Makes your plane and gear last a long, long, time
· No more deadsticks if you pay attention to time
· Use any paint you want to paint your aircraft
· No noise
· Fly anywhere…almost
· No needle valves or carbs to adjust….ever!
· Computer systems, websites, manufacturers, magazines and hobby shops are making the electric experience easier to manage every day.
What you will need different than what you already
have.
If you really want to get into electric as much as glow you’ll
need the following
· A very good charger – This is critical
o Astro Flight
o Jeti
o Graupner
o Kokam
o Multiplex
o Great Planes - Triton
o Peak Electronics - Sirius
· 12v Power Supply – So you can charge at home on the bench not from a battery
o Astro Flight
· A Whatt meter – Think of this as your engine test stand. I use on all my planes before I fly them
o Astro-Flight
o FMI
· A good Marine (deep cycle) battery – Charge a few times a summer and you’re done
o Sears
If you aren’t planning on getting into electric big time then all you will really need is a good charger
The Basic Set Up
· Plane
· Motor THE ENGINE
· Electronic Speed Controller THE THROTTLE AND KILL SWITCH
·
The Plane
Electric planes are built to fly not to crash. This paradigm
is changing everyday with new and better power setups but it’s still the first
law of electric….KEEP IT LIGHT!
· Glow to Electric conversion – 1%
· Electric Sport - 5%
· Electric 3D - 5%
· Gliders – 10%
· Parkflyers – 70%
· Indoor/micro flyers - 5%
· Ducted Fan - 4%
· Helicopters in every size and shape you can imagine
The Motors (THE ENGINE)
· 280, 380, 500, 600, 700 “Can” brushed ferrite motors – 1-2 Cost Rating
o Maribucci
· 500, 600, 700, Cobalt brushed motors - 5-6 Cost Rating
o Astro Flight
o Velkom
· Brushless in all sizes - more expensive - 6-10 Cost Rating (require specific ESC)
o Astro Flight
o MP Jet
o Mega
o Himax
o Hacker
o Jeti Phasor
o Nippy Black
o Aveox
o Krontronic
· Brushless External Rotor “outrunner”– swing a bigger prop, basically a built in gear reducer - more expensive 6-8 Cost Rating (require specific ESC)
o Axi
o Nippy Black
· All can be set up with or without a gearbox except the outrunners
o Inline or Offset or Belt
Why a gear box? Swing
a bigger prop at slower speed for more power.
· Quickie 500, OS .46 FX two stroke or OS .72 Four Stroke?
· Top Flight P-47, Super Tiger .60 two stroke or OS 1.20 Four Stroke?
Match the motor/gearbox to your application just like with a glow plane.
95% of all Electric Parkflyers either have a can motor/gearbox set up
or a Brushless Outrunner motor
Electronic Speed Controllers ESC (THE THROTTLE)
This is basically your throttle and arming on/off switch in many cases. DO NOT BUY CHEAP!
· The good ones like Astro Flight and Jeti have built in safety programs that won’t allow the prop to spin until you’ve pulled the throttle back to zero and it gives you the go ahead to throttle up via audible alarm.
· Must determine if you will be using LiPo or not because of different voltage cut off monitors needed for LiPo opposed to NiCad or Nimh. If you have a Whatt meter you could do a bench test and time it takes to drop to the cut off voltage. Not wise but can be done.
· Cheaper Speed Controllers tend to run hotter, less efficient and can cause very bad things to happen to your plane…like unexpected landings….in trees. Almost all have ESC have a thermal cutoff point.
· Brushed applications rated by amps
o Astro Flight
o Krontronic
o Castle Creations
o FMI
o GWS
· Brushless application rated by amps
o Astro Flight
o Jeti
o Krontronic
o Castle Creations
o FMI
o GWS
You need to match the
ESC rating with the motor output with the battery output
· If the motor is rated to run at 7-10 amps at 9.6 volts you need an ESC that is rated equal to or just higher in amps
· If the motor is a 9.6 volt motor then you need to get a battery pack that is rated equal to or just higher. You can’t run a 9.6 volt rated motor very well on a 8.4 volt pack. It’s like running a trainer on a .35, 2s. It can be done but why bother?
· Underrating your ESC will overheat the ESC and fry it and can lead to burning up your motor. Always error on the HIGH side of the amperage, but not to high because you will only be adding unnecessary weight.
Batteries – (THE GAS TANK and YOUR NITRO LEVEL)
Your battery pack is basically your gas tank and your Nitro level in one
Volts equals the
nitro content (these are not actual
but for example only)
· 8.4v equals 5% nitro
· 9.6 v equals 10% nitro
· 11.1v equals 25% nitro
· etc
maH equals your gas
tank size (these are not actual but
for example only)
· 500 mah equals 4oz
· 1000 mah equals 6oz
· 1500 mah equals 8oz
· 2500 mah equals 12oz
· 3400 mah equals 16oz
· etc
The higher the maH the more the pack weighs. So you must decide what the best set up is for your plane/style of flying and how much more or less weight your plane can tolerate or use. Just like a glow plane. You wouldn’t put a 2 oz tank in a trainer or a 16 oz tank in a combat plane. A high wing loaded plane like a Mustang can’t tolerate too much extra weight where as a Cub with light wing loading might be able to.
So when you buy a pack you need to know how many volts you need to run at (determined by motor and your flying style) and you need to determine how long you want to fly for (determined by you).
Types of Batteries
· NiCad – Horse and buggy
o By voltage
o By Mah
o By Discharge rate
· NiMh – 55 Ford
o By voltage
o By Mah
o By Discharge rate
· LiPo – 2005 BMW
o By voltage
o By Mah
o By discharge rate (the higher the rate the higher the $)
Where and how to Buy?
#1 Determine what type of plane you want to fly first.
#2 Buy from a name brand electric dealer on line (see below)
#3 Buy from a hobby shop you trust
#3 Buy a “bundle” at first until you figure out the systems and get the feel for electric. Just like they offer “Combos” for most glow planes they do the same for electric. This will have the plane, motor, gearbox, battery, ESC all tied together for one price. Just add a micro Rx in most cases and your good to go.
Retailer Websites
These are all really
good companies and places to buy from. They know electric inside and out
and will offer their trusted opinions on the set ups and equipment. By far Hobby-Lobby is the best, the
biggest, has the biggest selection and knows more about electrics than anybody
else. They also offer EVERYTHING you need from an afternoon flyer or a full
fledged gonzo electric ducted fan jet! START THERE FIRST!
http://www.castlecreations.com/
Communities Websites
These are all really
good sites to learn about electric flight. E-zone magazine is the biggest
and best site for electrics. Tons of archived articles and reviews of nearly
all well accepted e-planes on the market. The review articles are much better
than the discussion groups as I’ve said before. Beware of the electric chat
rooms.
http://members.aol.com/KMyersEFO/
Bob’s e-planes
Ryan Corsair
· Jim Ryan Corsair kit (Original Specs)
o 30” WS
o Built up construction with sheeted foam wings
o Designed
for speed 400 direct drive, 18oz with 8.4v, 500ARmaH NiCad battery with 2 micro
servos and Hitec 555Rx and 8 amp brushed ESC running a 6 x 4 e-prop
AS FLOWN
· Fiberglassed with ½ oz cloth and ZAP Finishing Resin
· Astro-Flight 020 Brushless with 3.1:1 Offset Superbox Gearbox with factory installed ESC
· 10 x 6 Graupner Speed Cam racing prop
· Kokam, LiPo battery – 3cell, 1500 mah/15C discharge
· Flys 16 minutes wide open with no problem or 2 eight minutes flights on one charge
· 40 amp burst reading at peak
· Max speed 60-80mph
Ryan Bearcat
· Jim Ryan kit (Original Specs)
o 30” WS,
o Built up construction with sheeted foam wings
o Designed for speed 400 direct drive, 18oz with 8.4v,500ARmaH NiCad battery with 2 micro servos and Hitec 555Rx and 8 amp brushed ESC running a 6 x 4 e-prop
AS FLOWN
· Fiberglassed with ½ oz cloth and ZAP, Finishing Resin
· Axi 2034 External Rotating Brushless motor
· Jeti 20 Brushless programmable ESC
· 9 x 6 APC electric slowflyer prop
· Kokam, LiPo battery – 3cell, 1500 mah/8C discharge
· Flys 18 minutes wide open with no problem or 2 9 minute flights
· 18 amp burst reading at peak
· Max speed 20-35mph
Hobby-Lobby P-38
· Czechoslovakian Electric Kit
o 48” WS
o Built up wings, Fiberglass gel coated fuse/booms
o Designed for 2 speed 400 direct drive, 48oz with 9.4v, 2000maH NiCad battery with 3 micro servos and Hitec 555Rx and 35 amp ESC
· Velkom 2021 Brushed Cobalt Motors
· Jeti 50 Brushed programmable ESC
· 6 x 4 APC electric racing props
· LiPo battery – 3cell, 2000 mah/20C discharge
· Flys 5-8 minutes wide open with no problem depending on ambient air temp
· 51 amp burst reading at take peak
· Max speed 60-70mph