Alvin Espley Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 Hi all, i have been flying for a few years now but i have just started getting into electrics, so far i have stuck with basic can motors and nicad or nimh packs,until i brought a het tucano from cosford to wich i fitted a brushless bm2409-12 motor.The plane flies well but is really heavy due to the battery pack ,it weighs over 500 grams itself,(CUT TO THE CHASE) i now think its time i got into using lipos to try and cut down on weight and improve the flight times,i would welcome any advice on best packs to start with also avice on esc`s for lipos and also chargers and charging of battery`s.thanks alv........... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Mackey Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 Hi Alvin. Speaking to an expert such as John at Puffin is good advice, especially as a newcomer, for you could easily make an expensive error, resulting in a poor performance and lack of flexibility for future use. Other electric flight specialists are available as Terry Wogan would say :)Thankfully the use of LiPos in our planes is getting a little easier, and certainly MUCH cheaper than a few years ago, although there are still a few important considerations. Your questions actually require a LOT of information to be dealt with correctly, and I suggest you trawl through some of the many posts made here recently on the subjects. I shall try and link you to some at the end of this post :) However, very briefly....Best packs to start with?Difficult to state here without sounding commercially biased, but my experience shows that the really cheap "Ebay / HK / etc" stuff is poor long term value for money. Several well known brands, handled by UK dealers are available, and will not disappoint. 2 main points to consider are....The pack voltage will generally be higher than your old nickel based ones, ( 8 nickel cells = 9.6V ) whereas a 3s LiPo ( thats 3 cells in Series ) will be 11.1V. This will do 2 things on the same motor, spin it faster, and use more current. Both sound like good things huh? EXCEPT that either or both COULD cause your motor to burn out, so you must match your motor /prop to the type of LiPo pack you are going to use.Speed controllers and brushless motors are also quite different to the older brushed versions, and again, will need carefully matching if you are to avoid the magic smoke :-)Check out the links here to other threads which may help further, and welcome to the world of the modern electric flyer - and be ready for a fairly steep learning curve :-)I hope this is of some help.Timbo.http://www.modelflying.co.uk/forum/forummessages.asp?URN=1&UTN=149&last=1%20&%20SP%20=%20%20&%20V%20=%201http://www.modelflying.co.uk/forum/forummessages.asp?URN=3&UTN=93&last=1%20&%20SP%20=%20%20&%20V%20=%201http://www.modelflying.co.uk/forum/forummessages.asp?URN=1&UTN=77&last=1%20&%20SP%20=%20%20&%20V%20=%201http://www.modelflying.co.uk/forum/forummessages.asp?URN=3&UTN=337&last=1%20&%20SP%20=%20%20&%20V%20=%201http://www.modelflying.co.uk/forum/forummessages.asp?URN=5&UTN=351&last=1%20&%20SP%20=%20%20&%20V%20=%201http://www.modelflying.co.uk/forum/forummessages.asp?URN=8&UTN=43&last=1%20&%20SP%20=%20%20&%20V%20=%201http://www.modelflying.co.uk/forum/forummessages.asp?URN=3&UTN=540&last=1%20&%20SP%20=%20%20&%20V%20=%201http://www.modelflying.co.uk/forum/forummessages.asp?URN=3&UTN=549&last=1%20&%20SP%20=%20%20&%20V%20=%201 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alvin Espley Posted July 26, 2007 Author Share Posted July 26, 2007 thanks for the info guys, i will give john a ring ,its great to know there are people out there willing to help people like myself ,ever scince i joined this site i have nothing but praise to everyone so willing to take the time to share there knowledge and advice .also thanks to RCM&E for a great mag, from wich iv learnt much about this great hobby of ours :) (GOTTA BE WORTH A FEW BROWNIE POINTS) thanks again guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott cuppello Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 Hi Alvin, yes, choose your advice carefully, EF specialists only. I had experience very similar to yours, an older aerobatic job, with a brushed 600 up front, "oh yeah, stick a 3s Lipo in it" I was told, in fairness, they said the motor would burn out eventually but as the motors are cheap, a fiver every 20-40 flights for the performance is worth it.....first flight, motor packs up 20 ft off the ground starting a loop, tip stalled.....don't really need to tell you the rest do I?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alvin Espley Posted July 27, 2007 Author Share Posted July 27, 2007 HI SCOTT,sorry to here that mate, no i plan to use brushless motors from now on,apart from my GWS tiger moth 400 wich flies really well on the supplied motor and an 8 cell AAA nicad pack (really scale like) its one of myfav models ,i have added a few scale features rear pilot, front seat grab handles flying wires, wind screens ,it really looks the part. i based it on a full sise DH82a i was lucky enough to fly in.But from now on i think brushless is the way for me to go , also the price even on well known brands is coming down all the time, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott cuppello Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 Oh for sure, brushless is it, motor prices seem to dropping fast. Although, I think brushed motors with gearbox, driven by Lipo's still have there place, depending on application.....bit like your Tiger Moth, and my DH Mosquito, which is pretty damn near "scale" on this set up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alvin Espley Posted July 28, 2007 Author Share Posted July 28, 2007 HI SCOTT ,what make is your "mossy" i have a bit of a thing for old war birds (the flying type)..I will also try to get some pics of a few of my models on see what you think ,im just finishing a eurofighter typhoon from foamy jets it looks great so far just having a few probs getting hold of some decals for it, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott cuppello Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 The Mossey is Scorpio [Italian], only available I think from Sola Distribution. It's larger [and cheaper] than the Flying Styro version, not as detailed, but fly's really well. Typical Mosquito....the rudder doesn't do a lot....and it would be better with a counter-rotating prop set up [couldn't get one when I built it] like GWS that you can get now. Look's gorgeous in the air, and on the ground, very scale, very good [for a change] under-carriage, twin legs mounted directly to the firewalls [you can also leave it off]. It's a kit, rather than an ARTF really....although fus, wings, etc are pre-moulded and painted.Mines set up on twin 400 motors/MP [1/3] gearbox set up, 2 x 18A brushed ESC, 2 x 10-7 props, powered by 2100mAh 3s Lipo, flights up to 15 mins! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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