Never flown RC. Not new to C/L. Just a retread with lots of old planes that will require fuel, no matter if I decide to attempt to delve into electric or not.
I'm really just wondering if I need to consider breaking out of my Luddite mindset.
No, you don't really. Not if what you are doing is satisfying and fulfilling to you. I am like yourself, a gear head and love engines. Over the past 30 years, I had a busy and demanding job that left me not a lot of free time. I could leave a I/C powered model (actually , about a dozen models) hanging in my garage, each with their own handle and lines, ready to fly at a moments notice. As you mention, sometime an opportunity to fly came unexpectedly, so all I had to do was grab a model, equipment bag, starter box, fuel, then fuel, flip and fly! My starter box is only used for driving the glow plug, so the 12 volt, 7 amp battery inside only needed to be charged once or twice a year and is always ready. I have a cordless starter when needed, and the same for that. I know my engines well enough that one or two flips are the norm, once I get things sorted out and a model set up and trimmed. If a flying circle were right outside my back door, I could pick a model, have lines hooked up, tank filled and engine primed and ready to start in about 15 minutes. One of the things I love the most is getting the model fueled, prime flipped through, hook up the glow plug, then pull the prop through once to feel that bump, know it's alive and ready to go, then quick flip and it's off and running. Solving any engine issues is something I enjoy, and I'm pretty good at. It's part of the attraction to me. Getting a model trimmed out and squared away to a point where I can do things this way is what I strive for.
Where I fly we are about half and half, glow and electric. We help each other out with things, trimming issues, and other technical problems. I came to the conclusion a long time ago, while watching my friends fly electric models through a flite, that if that were all that was available to me, I would pursue the hobby in some other way. I have flown free flight models, of all kinds, and R/C sailplanes before, and still dabble in them and have a collection of kits and plans for each. They give me a specific pleasure that C/L stunt does not, but stunt gives me specific pleasures that R/C and free flight do not. But for me, a stunt model has to have an engine for me to get that enjoyment. I have been involved with electric R/C models long before the technology came to stunt. The local sailplane club that I was a member of early on put on and held a successful team trials for the first ever US FAI F3E team to the first world championships in Belgium in 1986. Then we lobbied for and succeeded in putting on the second ever electric World Championships here in St. Louis in 1988. So I have been around the technology and growth of it since that time and participated in the competitions, and enjoyed the hell out of it and made friends from all over the world in the process. And I could go back to it, because it is something all together different, a different set of disciplines and skills. So I am NOT anti electric! But again, if that were all that was available to me to fly stunt, I would move on to something else.
As far as which is best, one over the other, that depends on the person and their ability to grasp the concepts of each. There are guys out there that have difficulties with engines and what it takes to get performance from them, so they make the switch to electric. But that takes a certain set of skills and understanding of technical knowledge at a certain level to get the most out of a system, and pretty importantly, keep things safe. Like I/C, there is nothing automatic about it. To build an I/C model, we just look at the plans, or the kit box, and we know what engine to use. The instructions also usually point out a starting point for tank and props. I already "speak" that language, so no problem, but a new comer has the find his way through that, but it is pretty simple. For an electric model, it's more complicated. As some one has already pointed out, the initial lay out of cash to get equipped is higher., The learning curve for the technology, if you do not "speak" that language, is pretty steep. So a guy just getting started has to make that decision, but they more than likely already understand that engines can be finicky and will take some study and work to understand and master. But they also need to understand that the electric systems are NOT like a Hoover vacuum cleaner where you just plug it in and flip a switch! At our field I have seen batteries come flying out of airplanes, motors seize up and come to a smoking stop, motors quit suddenly due to a component failure, connectors melt down, batteries with bad cells, and even just not work at all!! I lost count of how many times a programmer module was left at home, or the device for checking battery condition. Electric models have their pitfalls and problem areas, and again, it depends on the person and their level of understanding and grasping the technology.
When the electric technology first started coming in and progressing, I watched the classifieds on the stunt forums and saw a lot of movement of equipment like chargers, batteries, speed controllers, timers, props and such as guys tried to find their way through it and find what was "best" or what worked the best for them. There is a LOT, if not almost all of that equipment, that isn't used any longer because the technology keeps evolving and trends keep changing. I think the electronic stuff has a finite useful life span before it can't be used any longer. I have engines from the last 6 decades that can be mounted on an airplane and used successfully. If treated properly, engines can have a very long and useful lifespan. Spare parts can be a challenge but those can be located and even parts engines can be cannibalized for parts. For your average Joe Bellcrank and engine can and have lasted a lifetime. I don't know if the same can be said for timers, speed controllers, motors, and the required support equipment.
So as to which is better, it just depends on "things". It depends on the person intellectually, their skill levels, likes and dislikes, and what they are going to do with it. At the higher levels of competition, I think it's still 50/50, and again, depends on the pilot and his ability to get the most out of his "power plant". Who knows what the future will bring. I have collected enough stuff to keep me flying at my skill level, or maybe even above it, with what I have in "stock" now for glow engines. Electric may have an advantage in that respect, but then again, they may not depending on how technology goes and the supply chain thing goes.
Type at you later,
Dan McEntee
PS to add; Miotch! I like the purple taildragger Shark! I'm not a big fan of purple, but that looks pretty cool, as does the Shark 45 as a taildragger.!
Topic: Electric vs. Internal combustion: your experience/preference (Read 9738 times)