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Author Topic: Need Help Identifying an Electric Motor Suitable for my Stunt Training Fleet  (Read 1003 times)

Offline Brendan Eberenz

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Need Help Identifying an Electric Motor Suitable for my Stunt Training Fleet
« on: November 28, 2018, 11:30:24 AM »
MAIN POINT: I have a series of glow engine planes that I am looking to convert to a full electric setup. I need help with identifying appropriate motors for stunt training.


THINGS TO CONSIDER
I am 5 months into Control Line flying. I have amassed a small fleet of planes and am in the process of building more over the winter. I have been flying with glow engines and have been increasingly discouraged by how finicky they can be (I am a do-it-yourselfer, but not a small engine guy).  Trying to troubleshoot why the plane I flew last week won’t fly at the field today (is it a clogged filter, is it dirt in the venture, is it a plug, is it a break in the fuel line, is my prop starter charged, has the needle valve shifted, etc) has been personally frustrating and very disappointing to my 8 year old who just wants to fly!

I have decided to go electric in hopes of cutting down the list of possible hiccups and increasing our time flying.

With this post, my main interest is identifying a motor that will fit my current fleet of planes. I am hopeful that one type of engine could service all my planes (with simple RPM adjustments), that way I could buy 3 or 4 of the same engine and move them between planes with ease. Also, understand that we are in a training phase, and there will be crashes (my son has already killed a few planes :-). I am looking for forgiving and affordable engines, not top of the line world beater engines. Providing details on a corresponding ESC and Batteries for your suggested engine would also be appreciated.


MY PLANES
So let me introduce you to my fleet (ALL PROFILE PLANES).

My main plane of interest to outfit is a converted Combat wing-styled plane. I currently have 1 almost fully built (SEE PICTURE) and have various parts of 4 identical models in production. These will be our main trainers this spring, and therefore, are the most important to get right. As a quick background to this style of plane, a long-time stunter designed this plane and trained his son on it this past fall. Therefore, the design has been tested and works.

Type: Trainer Plane (Combat Wing Style)
Quantity: 5
Wingspan: 47.5 Inches
Weight: 679 Grams; 23.9 Ounces  (weight based on current picture; weight of motor and electrical setup not factored in)

My other planes are as follows:

Type:  SIG P-51 Mustang
Quantity: 3 (2 finished, 1 halfway constructed)
Wingspan:  38 Inches
Weight (Plane 1): 800 Grams; 28.2 Ounces  (Weight includes the current motor on it)
Weight (Plane 2):  1125 Grams; 39.7 Ounces (Weight includes current motor and fuel tank; not sure why it weights so much more than plane 1; might be related to its age where fuel soakage, glue repairs, and type of paint coating all contribute

Type:  Buster
Quantity:  1
Wingspan:  40.5 Inch
Weight:  845 Grams; 29.8 Ounces

Type:  Lightning Streak
Quantity: 1
Wingspan:  41.5 Inches
Length: 25.5 Inches
Wing Area: 388 Square Inches
Weight:  Unknown. Currently building

Thanks for reading over my post. If you have any food for thought I hope you are willing to share. I have a lot to learn and need your constructive feedback.

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Offline Tim Wescott

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Re: Need Help Identifying an Electric Motor Suitable for my Stunt Training Fleet
« Reply #1 on: November 28, 2018, 12:21:40 PM »
Easy method 1: look at the prop diameter on the engines of the planes you have; get motors whose recommended props match those diameters.
Easy method 2: Weigh the plane.  Get a motor that's recommended for 3D flying for that weight of plane.
Easy (though tedious) method 3: Weigh the plane.  Look in the "List your setup" thread for a similar size/weight plane, & copy that setup.

For a first cut at selecting a battery, get battery that can supply as many watt-hours as there are ounces in the plane.  This is a bit of an over-estimate, so you can shade it down by as much as 10% and still be safe.  The watt-hours a battery can supply is roughly the mA-hours divided by 1000 (to get amp-hours) times the battery pack voltage.  So a 4-cell, 2200mAh pack is good for around (2.2 A-h)(14.8V) = 32W-h, so probably good for a 32-35 ounce plane.  Note the rounding -- it's WAY approximate.

If you're mail ordering batteries it's probably a good idea to not go overboard at first -- get a few batteries, measure how much charge you put back into them, and figure out what you need to get from there.  If you want your batteries to last, you want them to use up no more than 80% or so of their chargeg in a flight.  So that 2200mAh pack should be accepting around 1700 or 1800mAh on recharge -- if you're putting 2200mAh back in, then you won't be getting much lifetime out of it.
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AMA 64232

The problem with electric is that once you get the smoke generator and sound system installed, the plane is too heavy.

Offline Howard Rush

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Re: Need Help Identifying an Electric Motor Suitable for my Stunt Training Fleet
« Reply #2 on: November 28, 2018, 01:35:41 PM »
You might consider using Keith Renecle’s timer if you crash frequently. It shuts off power when the motor stops turning.
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Offline Mike Alimov

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Re: Need Help Identifying an Electric Motor Suitable for my Stunt Training Fleet
« Reply #3 on: November 28, 2018, 06:40:26 PM »
Something in the 3.5 oz range, between 1000-1500 Kv. On the lower Kv range, use with APC 9x6 or similar prop at 9300 or so RPM; for the 1500 Kv, APC 9x4.5 at 10,500 RPM. 3S 2200 mAh battery should last around 4 min, very popular size, widely available. Castle 35A ESC and Hubin timer. 53 ft lines. Works like a charm.
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