ELECTRIC FLIGHT

“Watts” Up Must Come Down!

Try Electric Propulsion On YourNext RC Model Aeroplane!

Written By Rod Woolley, Founding member of “OREO”, Ottawa’s premier e-flight club

1.0 Introduction

Why not give electric flight a try? Whether you are a newcomer to radio-control models or an expert, electric propulsion has something to offer all enthusiasts in this great hobby of ours!

I have been flying model aeroplanes now for a good few years. In many ways I am still a beginner, and still learning, but I can tell you that some of my happiest moments have been in the past couple of years, flying and experimenting with electric models. I have progressed tremendously since starting with electric models, and they have provided a great deal of entertainment and fun. For a long time I didn’t bother to read articles on electric flight, thinking to myself, “why bother to spend time and money mastering electric flight, if it’s harder and more expensive, and only provides mediocre results?”. I was so wrong! I gained my first taste of the delights of electric flying when I went to see what all the fuss was about at the annual Kingston R/C club electric-flight meeting. I couldn’t believe what a variety of planes were being flown, and the performance and flight durations that many were achieving.

I got a “kick” when a glider-pilot came up to me last summer and said “Hey I didn’t know electric planes could fly like that!” Another high was one day during October ’96 when a friend and I each flew electric models at lunch-time for the first time. We then each went back to work in an office, all in less than one hour! It really didn’t take much effort, or cost very much to get started, and if you follow the tips and suggestions presented later, then you can be just as successful.

Electric propulsion has come of age and is a lot of fun. What exactly does electric flight have to offer? Well, convenience and cleanliness for starters! If you are already a glow, gas or diesel flyer, just think about all the time you have spent fuel proofing and cleaning models. Remember the times when you have had to struggle to start a motor or have had difficulties getting it running smoothly and reliably, or have been bothered by leaking fuel and spills. Not only that, but please also realize that the precautions you have to take to prevent corrosion and damage to an engine after use just don’t apply to electric motors. Yes I know, I am stressing the bad features of internal combustion models, but it is nice to escape from those things at least some of the time. Electric flight is a lot cleaner, quieter and more reliable than glow.

Furthermore, it’s also vibration free, and electric models tend to survive longer and stay in good condition. There is no castor oil goop to clean off an electric model after a flying session and that methyl alcohol in glow fuel gets absorbed through the skin, and eventually makes you blind and crazy (perhaps that’s why I am always crashing!). Flying fields have been lost due to excessive noise and spilled fuel.

On top of all that, with electric propulsion you don’t need a tote-box, at least not one that “wrenches your arm out of joint”. You might need a little box to carry a few spare propellers, a propeller wrench, some allen keys, a spare fuse and a few nylon bolts etc, but you certainly won’t need a starter, starter-battery and fuel, and you won’t need a rigid platform to grip the plane while you start it.

For multi-engine planes and float planes, it’s hard to beat electric propulsion, and there is no doubt that quiet electric-propulsion permits flying in locations that would otherwise be unsuitable.

Before I alienate everyone who likes glow models, let me quickly add that I do too! I am currently building a US40 with an OS46FX. This is the one area where glow motors have the advantage. It’s funny though how this glow model and my older glow trainer keep getting pushed to one side in favour of an e-model !

However, before you make the mistake of thinking electric planes can’t perform as well as glow planes, let me advise you that a well-designed aerobatic electric plane can out-perform a glow plane, specifically in the area of short-term ballistic flight. It just can’t keep up the hot performance for the same length of time, although even this limitation is starting to be challenged with the latest batteries and equipment. (I will expand on flight durations and power-outputs later.)

For several years I struggled with 1/2A Cox .049 models. These are not often seen at some clubs, and are typified by a 36 inch wingspan and two-channel control. The 049 engines were a real pain to start and get running reliably, and being forced to land “dead-stick” when you happen to run out of fuel is no fun at all. Subsequently, with a small inexpensive electric motor in a “Q Tee” that I built for glow, and using 3 channel control, including throttle, I have had a lot of fun!. I have tried different propeller and motor combinations, and learned why and when to use a gearbox. It’s so easy to experiment with e-models and make changes. More recently I tried a Lazy Bee and have flown it summer and winter and had a ball. The good features of “Electric flight” enabled and encouraged me to fly off snow (on floats) even when it was -10 degrees Celsius!

I suggest that, now you are wondering whether to give electric flight a try, you should make a firm decision to attend an all-electric meeting in your area. That is how I first was made aware of just what is possible. For people in the Ottawa area I recommend the Kingston (Ontario) Electric Meeting at the end of June each year. For folks in the Toronto area there is usually a meeting held at Halton Hills that is well worth a visit. Of course the “ultimate trip” for any e-flyer is to the the NEAT Fair held annually in mid-September in Peaceful Valley in the Catskill mountains in lower New York state!

For raw beginners with no RC flight experience I recommend you both join a club and try to spend some time on an RC flight simulator on a home computer. For all visitors, I suggest you next take a look at section 2 where some established e-flyers describe how they got started, their progress date and why they prefer to fly electrically, or take a look at section 3 where a number of proven successful e-planes are described. Alternatively you may wish to scan the “Getting Down to Details” section 4, “Beyond the Basics” section 5 and “Useful Information on Other Sites” section 6. var infolink_pid = 99134;
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