Hi All,
Let's post our grocery-list of necessary equipment, both in-air and ground support.
As always, there will be several ways of doing this, and more input is better.
We are doing this with an eye toward giving the E-newbie a look at the entire territory.
If you have cost estimates handy, put 'em here.

Dean

Dean,

Here is what I have been using in my Stock Brodak ARF P-40, and will use in my Vector 40:

AXI 2826/10  .................................................................... $98.00

Castle Creations Phoenix 45 ESC ............................................109.00

Contact:  Randy Smith @ Aero Products, He knows CL and Elec. :-)


Thunder Power  4S2P 4,200 mAh, 14.8V, Slim, Battery ............... 200.00

Charger, Multiplex HT9253, Very good unit ............................... 100.00
          The BEST is the Thunder Power 1010C @ $190

Contact:  Hobby Lobby  (nice people, Elec. experts)


JMP Timer, excellent product .................................................. 30.00

Contact:  bsdmicroc.com  great people to deal with :-)

Radio Shack 12 Volt 24 Amp Switching Power supply .................  85.00
      (This is a small, light weight unit with fan, but quiet)

Contact:  Any Radio Shack store

Props: Please Read the excellent answers to my Prop question on this forum :-)


Please do not be shocked by the cost of electric flying. It is really not much more than a well equipped IC wet set up.
 
     When we buy our batteries, we are just purchasing our "fuel" in advance. At approx. 350 flights per $200 battery, that comes to $0.57 per flight. The Power Master CL fuel I use is $19.00 per gallon. This comes out to about $0.148 per oz, or $0.67 per 4 1/2 oz flight. There are some variables in the above est. but over all they should be very close to our relative costs. ...... Of course, your milage may vary. ;-)

I have used most of the above Electric equipment for more than 3 years in Electric R/C flying. It all is perfect for CL. The Multiplex charger is an excellent charger, and is a great "bang for your buck". This is all we really need for our batteries. But, the Thunder Power charger is a jewel and combined with the Thunder Power Balancer and it's data link, it is perfect for our large CL batteries.

If someone wants to get into Elec. CL flying, all they need to do is buy the parts listed above, buy their favorite Brodak ARF (or build their own) and they can be flying Elec in a few days. NO special knowledge is required to just fly the stunt pattern with elec power for 95% of us. The above system is the one tested and used by Will Moore who writes the excellent Electric column in the PAMPA NL. Will wins contests in the Expert class with this system. Will is the one who recommended this set up to me, and helped me get it up and running. I think that Bob Hunt also uses a similar system. ..........  Kim uses a larger system, but his is still no more expensive than a good quality modern .70 size IC piped system.

Test equipment is a "nice to have" item, but with many others creating "turn key" systems for us, you don't really need test equipment. If you stick with a "tested" plane and system, a tach and temp gauge is enough for most flyers. :-)
     
Please remember, in Electric, we just buy our "fuel" in advance. The batteries cost less per flight than glow fuel. This is true for small and large CL planes. :-)

Thanks to Dean, Will, Kim, Ron, Mike, Linheart, and many others, it is schockingly easy to get quietly into Elec. CL flying. I hope many CL flyer's try it in 2007 :-)

Dean and others,
I would like to know your opinion of the system that Rudy is using. Iam interested in getting  flying electric. My interest is in comparably .40 size ships. I cant transport (without removable wings and such) anything larger. This puts me in the 570 to 600 sqaure inch wing area range. For IC power, I would estimate 46 to 50 oz max. Is Rudys system being taxed by this size aircraft or is it comfortable, or is it just loafing? Thanks for the input.
Rucy... The plans will be coming your way soon,,,,

No more expensive than a good piped 70 cu IC system.

But yes I think it is. Because someone who is serious enough to go with a piped 70 IC system is finished with the hardware cost.

So you have to be serious enough to plunk down $400 + for the power train Now if you are at least as serious as the IC guy with that hot Piped setup, you add to the cost all of the test equipment (that you don't need) and the last I saw a Fluke Digital multimeter with a DC current clamp and another couple hundred bucks, next is the notebook computer to program the motor controller, Heck on ebay you can get (if it is not doa) one for about 200 or 300 bucks. Now Ebay PC's rarely come with software installed, legally they should' not, anyway so add 80 bucks for windows XP and say other odds and ends cost you another 150.

By the time you are done with an electric set up that is as serious as that 70 piped carbon fiber prop set up you have spent roughly twice the money.

Other stuff the IC guy still needs to get are pretty much common to both with the single exception of liquid fuel.

When an entire elecric power train with the same performance as a OS LA arrives that costs no more than the same OS LA 40 on sale then and only then will electric CL be as attractive as IC CL.

Oh did I also mention that it would help if you had a degree in electrical or electronic engineering? Just to be as serious as that high quality piped 70 IC guy.

In the end some one who is running hand made billet high end 70 sized piped internal combustion engines is into control line in a very serious fashion. Unless they are independentally wealthy. From what was said here is the just the cost of a preconfigured entry level electric system costs as much or nearly as much as the 70 hand made billet piped motor.

Seems to me that, electric is still for serious experimenters or those for who the complexity and the high cost of entry is not a factor. Heck I see photos of entire tables full of stuff or lists a page long.

What hardware does the IC guy need? Engine, tank, fuel tube, filter. and ........... every other thing the IC guy needs is pretty much common to both. Heck and I did not even get into the electrical cost of charging those big batteries, backups, computer controlled fast chargers etc. etc. etc.

Hi Dean thank's for the contact, I spoke to Bob Hunt the other day and he recomended coming on this site and in particular talk to you. My equipment is Graupner 380 out runner 14volt. Jeti speed controler, the reciever simulator or timer is very basic it just cut's the motor at 6min 15 sec and also incorperates the on off button. the timer was built by a friend of mine here in the UK. The lipo's are 4 Kokam2000 m amp 7.4 volt 2 in series and 2 in parallel, the Lipo's weigh 4oz each, the motor 6oz and the odds and sods another 2oz, total 24oz. The model without the power pod is 30oz and 60 ins span so the model weight could not be improved------I think.
The prop i am using is an APC 11x5 ic. Having aquired a huge amount of experience over 50 plus years of flying f2b in would equate the power to be about the same as fitting an OS max 40 in this model.
The charger I use for the lipo's is a top of the range Schultz.


                                                          Regards Ray