Bell Bloke
Key Veteran
Location: England
| Hi stephanuccio, I'm not completely up to date with component costs in the US, so I may stand corrected. The Hacker motor is $200, Thunderpower 3s4p packs (x2) are $230 each and the speed controller is $60 & finally the Li-po chargers (x2) $100 each. So your total is $920! That is a lot of money, but you will never have to buy fuel again, and provided you charge your Li-pos correctly you will have no problems with them. We all fly Li-pos and although some people I knew told me of horror stories they had read, none of us has ever had a pack fail. I've been flying Li-Pos since 2003 still on my original 8000mah packs and still getting full capacity!! In fact let me list the pros and cons for you.
PROS:
1/ No more fuel to buy (there's a saving)
2/ No more engine failures
3/ No more Worrying about engine failures
4/ No more trying to get engine running correctly
5/ No more Bloody Horrible Noise
6/ No more Bloody Horrible smoke
7/ No more oil dirt and mess to upset ones girlfriend / wife / boyfriend / or horse!
8/ 30 mins non-stop flying in back yard without annoying the neighbours!
9/ Wonderful real sounding helicopter with a scale sound to match its scale looks!
10/ No more having to fuel proof your model.
CONS:
1/ It's expensive to start with
2/ 30mins flying with 1hr recharge (This is not as bad as it sounds, because 30mins is a lot of air time. I tend to fly for 15-20mins put heli back on charge for 20 mins and do another 10-15mins and so on. The good thing about Li-Pos is you can top them up as you use them. I do this even when they are warm. Li-pos also spend about 20% of their charge time squeezing in the last 5% of their capacity. This just wastes flying time, so on my 8000mah packs when in the field I pull them early at 6500-7000mah and fly them at that.
If you want to fly all day almost non stop you would need 2 sets of cells which would put your budget at $1320 but then your transmitter would go flat!
I really feel that 1 set of cells is enough, I'm mad about flying Scale helis but even I've had enough after 20mins. A break and a rest + watching other people fly with a coffee and 1.5 hours can just slip by it's surprising. Also you have to let other people use the channel you're on at somepoint too, that's easily 30mins gone)
On fuel proofing, the paint comes in 2 pots, which you mix together and then airbrush on. Make sure you flush through the airbrush after use.
I tried to look at your site but am unable to get it, not sure why.
PS.
One more point electric brushless motors are maintenance free and don't wear out or loose performance.
Hope this helps. Electric may seem a bit daunting but it's not that bad, if you just tell people what you want to convert on this site, you will get loads of good advice, and you will find your answer. I often talk to Ian748 or skeeter pilot about electric and what would we do without it. Both Ian and myself agree that we would not ever want to fly a scale 2-stroke heli. If Li-Pos did not exist I would have to fly a 4-stroke heli they can sound ok. The other option would be to sell Grandmother, hire a transporter, and fire crew and buy a turbine! Skeeter pilot does have a 2 stroke baron 60 with state of the art modifications. He part exchanged his house for this chopper in the 1980s, it's an impressive machine but you should wear ear muffs when flying it! He is now an electric convert too, so much so that he is looking for some Li-Pos big enough to go in full-size Skeeter
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