Help with first time electrics

[Stan Waters]

I am building the Ben Buckle mini version of the super sixty, I was thinking of going electric for this but I am put off by the jargon that seems to linked with it. I have always used ic power in the past.

I have to buy all the parts from scratch, esc, motor, batteries and any switches that are needed, I have seen mention of needing capacitors and and maybe heavier wiring, not being used to electrics has made me wonder if I should stick with what I am used to.

Any help with what I should use will be helpful and appreciated.

Stan

[Romeo Whisky]

Hi Stan,

Well if you've never delved into electric flight before, I can understand it might seem something of a black art at first, but if you treat it as an interesting new learning curve which can add a new dimension to your modelling hobby, you may find you'll never look back.

I wrote a basic "starter" article on electric flight for our club website which you are welcome to view and download, at **LINK** and of course there are many other resources you can turn to as well. I'm sure there'll be lots of helpful advice on this very forum.

[Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator]

Hi Stan,

well first of all there is jargon with everything - even IC!

Forget about capacitors and heavy gauge wiring, its all much much simpler than that!

First thing is how much is the Super Sixty going to weigh and so how much power will it require? That determines the motor you choose, and the battery. Those in turn will tell us what speed controller we need and what prop is likely to work well. All of these (motor, speed controller and battery) already come with all the wires you need. No problem.

So what sort of stuff to buy?

Well the SS60 will weight in around 4-5lbs. We don't want too much power - its a gentle aeroplane! So let's look at a target of around 80W/lb, that should be plenty. So at say 5lbs we would need 5x80W that's 400W.

If we use a 3 cell battery (also called a 3s) which is a nice size and can be bought fairly cheaply. Its voltage is nominally 11.1v - so to get 400W we would need 400W/11.1v = 36A. So allowing some "headroom" we can use a speed controller rated at 60A - it will be well within spec.

Also say you want to be able to fly for 10mins - 36A is the max, you won't fly at full throttle all the time, so let's say your average current is 20A, that means for 10mins you need about 20/6 Ah = 3.3 - or 3300mAh. A bit bigger would be good - that's a bottom line.

We can now move on to the motor, it must fit two requirements:

1. It needs to be able to handle over 36A - quite a bit over 36A preferably!

2. We want it to rotate at a max speed of about 10,000rpm - more or less. So with a 3s battery (11.1v) we need a motor that has a "volts to revs ratio" (which we call the kV) of about 10,000/11.1 = 900.

OK lets go shopping! Going to the HK website and based on the figures above;

here is a suitable battery

here is a suitable motor

and a suitable speed controller

All that for just £74.

Hope this is helpful, any questions just ask.

BEB

Edited By Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator on 12/10/2018 17:29:41

[Alan Gorham_]

Bear in mind that the OP says he is building a mini version of the Super 60, ie a "Mini-Super" so the above calculations refer to the full-size Super 60.

[Bruce Collinson]

Or, if like me you have issues with buoying the burgeoning influence of the Chinese economy then go to 4Max and put yourself into George Worleys hands for a complete balanced suite of components including good wooden props. He probably has a setup on his good website for this plane. If I was less technophobic I would attempt a link for you.

He has similarly equipped at least four planes for me. His branded LiPos are closer to their C rating than others, which may be why they’re slightly larger, but I haven’t succeeded in puffing one of his yet. Worth a little extra, surely?

Electrickery is a bit confusing, isn’t it? Much quicker to fly, cleaner etc. BTW his 4 channel charger is the most useful single component I have bought in the 2 1/2 years since my addiction returned and I think the price has just been reduced. I have no connection other than as a customer!

BTC

[Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator]

Ah, missed that! OK, so, Stan your homework is to redo those calculations but for the lighter weight of the mini. Share them with us and we can "check you out" and confirm you are buying the right things.

Its much better to do it this way where you understand why these are the "right" elements, rather than to just "put in what someone else says". This way you learn how to do it for yourself - otherwise you are always just dependent on someone else!

BEB

PS If you can't find the weight of the mini SS look at the power output of the recommended IC - they say 0.1 to 0.15. An OS 0.15 claims 0.4hp, that is about 300W. In practice I would work on 250W

Edited By Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator on 12/10/2018 18:24:51

[Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator]

Yes Bruce - three cheers for George. There is just one small catch, George is a businessman, his interest is not in just selling you a "balanced setup" - his interest is in selling you a 4Max balanced set up. Nowt wrong with that, as long as you fully understand where he is coming from. Checking out his site he has a recommended set up for the Super Sixy -it costs £48 more than the exactly equivalent set up I have proposed! Oh, and yes - you still have the problem that you know nothing about why this is a "balanced set up" - you are just sticking in there whatever someone else says.

BEB

Edited By Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator on 12/10/2018 18:12:03

[Former Member]

[This posting has been removed]

[Stan Waters]

Thanks for your reply gentlemen, it has pointed me in the right direction so I will go ahead with electric as intended at first.

I could well be back for further help when I get lost again, back to the workshop for Know.

Stan

[Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator]

No probs Stan post or PM if you need any detailed help. Always happy to assist if we can.

BEB

[Steve Hargreaves - Moderator]

Is it the Mini Super Stan? The 48" version?

I built one a few years ago so can happily provide details of what I used.....if you type Mini Super into the search box a few threads appear.....

But if you are going down the electric route then the sooner you get started with your own calculations the better......follow BEBs advice & see how far you get...ask lots of questions & before long it will all slot into place....

To paraphrase a famous saying "Give a man an electric set up & he will fly one model....teach him how to calculate his own electric set ups & soon he will have a hangar full...."

[Stan Waters]

Hi all,

Yes it is the mini super, thought I would try this as it as about traditional as you can get, plus should be easy to fly (when completed). some years ago I built a spitfire, only to find it was beyond my flying expertise, 'tragic' results.

I will be in touch again a bit further down the build road, I am pleased with how it has gone so far, the kit is ok. but a bit mean on some balsa I find.

Thanks again

Stan