RunRyder - Electric helis

rrTV-PHOTO

New HD TV

HOME rrTV-PHOTO GALLERIES MY GALLERY HELP-FAQ

myHOME PM pmRR MEMBERS 751 ONLINE 20 EVENTS SEARCH REGISTER START HERE

1 page

1335 views

POST REPLY

Esprit Model	.	Thunder Power RC	.	Mikado Modellhubschrauber
	.		.

e-Electric General Discussion > Electric helis

Tongue
Heliman
Location: Fayette County, KY

I am interested in knowing what your thoughts are on electric helis... Is the technology mature enough? Or does nitro still have many days ahead of it? I am interested In particular in the .30 sized (1.2m approx. diameter rotor) machines.
My main questions deal with:
1) Are they more expensive than a nitro powered heli?
2) Flight characteristics?
3) Flight time?

11-22-2002 Over year old.

edg
Senior Heliman
Location: San Francisco, CA

I have both types. Nitros still have many days ahead of it. To me, it's not either/or anyway. I like them both.

You can get electrics that will perform on par with nitros.

I think the electrics tend to be more expensive. I think mostly this is because the market is smaller. But, no gas costs, although you can end up sinking a lot of $$ into batteries.

Flight times are probably the biggest issue. I'd say an overall average is about 8 mins on a charge +/1 a couple mins.

As an example of what an electric can do: I have a Joker inside a .60 sized Century 500D fuse. With the 30 Cell 2400 NiCd packs I have I can hover it for about 6 mins on a charge. The all up weight is probably around 12-13 lbs which is pretty damn good for an electric. I'm going to be trying some 3600 NiCd's in it this weekend. More weight, but I'm expecting to get about 8 mins.

If you're looking to get a .30 sized, the Logo is the way to go. A .60 sized, get a Joker.

-edg-

11-22-2002 Over year old.

HOMEPAGE

Tongue
Heliman
Location: Fayette County, KY

So I don't get ripped off, what do you think a .30 sized logo should cost on the market these days? (everything except gyro and radio equipment)

Anybody else have any comments?

11-22-2002 Over year old.

Avropilot
Senior Heliman
Location: Nashville, Tennessee

Check out this thread http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show...?threadid=64035

They seem to be having pretty good luck converting Raptor 50's.

11-23-2002 Over year old.

edg
Senior Heliman
Location: San Francisco, CA

If he's got it in stock, Fitz Walker generally has great prices:

http://www.fxaeromodels.com/logo.htm

I've ordered lots of Eco stuff from him and his service ie great.
Not many Logo dealers that I know of so you'll likely be paying the
same everywhere. If Fitz has them stocked, rest assured you won't be paying any less anywhere else.

Final cost? Well, by the time you're all said and done, I'm sure you're looking at over $1000. That's for kit, Brushless ESC & Motor, servos, Rx, Gyro, Battery pack(s), charger....

-edg-

11-23-2002 Over year old.

HOMEPAGE

CopterDr
Senior Heliman
Location: Mountain View, MO.

Tongue,

I'm with Avro on this one. I've owned gas, glow, and now my first 60 size electric. I like'em all and feel this e bird is kind of a "poor man's turbine". The lack of mess, and mostly gear whine, lend it's self to scaIe. I think I'm really going to like this thing.
Should have her done by next month, I hope, and let ya know how it goes.

Barry

12-18-2002 Over year old.

HOMEPAGE

rscamp
Veteran
Location: Ontario, Canada

There are some good, unbiased comments here from people who fly both electric and glow.

I have a Logo 20 and I love it. For me, it doesn't matter which flies better or longer because the loud noise of glow engines bothers my ears when I'm close to them. Come to think of it, I suppose hearing loss is something we should all be concerned about as we get older. In any event, I have found you don't have to give up anylthing but flight time with a Logo 20. It is a bit bigger than 30 size. My Shuttle is significantly smaller.

I've been flying electric powered stuff for quite a while and as time has passed the biggest area of improvement has to be helis. Incremental improvements in batteries have helped, but brushless motors have really made the difference. Now that Mikado and Minicopter are making really good kits designed for electric, E-helis are really taking off. Pardon the pun...

Brushless motors are terrific in helis. The controllers even have built-in governors. The battery is the bottleneck. As someone once said when asked why we all don't drive electric cars, "It's the battery, stupid!" Hopefully, LiPoly or something similar will address any flight duration concerns in the near future. Some recent experimentation has provided major excitement in this area.

Rob

12-18-2002 Over year old.

HOMEPAGE

CopterDr
Senior Heliman
Location: Mountain View, MO.

Hi Rob,

That is good insight for me my friend. I'm new at e ships and trying out this new Graupner 3300-7H ( 30 cell, 36 volt, brushed) motor and their MOS 60 Power controller, in a 60 size JR fuse kit. Can't wait to get it finished,
Hopefully in the near future, Graupner will have their new technology batts available to the public. I understand it's fantastic.

Barry

12-18-2002 Over year old.

HOMEPAGE

rscamp
Veteran
Location: Ontario, Canada

Hey Barry.

Hope your E-heli project works out. Two of us fly Logo 20s at our club and another heli pilot at the club has recently caught the e-heli bug. He's going to convert an Ergo.

It seems quite a few people are trying out conversions of helis these days. The 50 size Raptor is a popular candidate - there's even a conversion kit available for it.

I started out with a Shuttle conversion two years ago and learned to fly on it. The Logo is a better heli, but the biggest difference in the way they fly is the gyro. I put a GY401/9253 in the Logo and I'm amazed at how well it works. Anywho, I'm rambling...

Rob

12-18-2002 Over year old.

HOMEPAGE

CopterDr
Senior Heliman
Location: Mountain View, MO.

Thanks Rob

I really think I'm gonna like this darlin'. I've seen several vids, and a bunch of scalers. The sound is fantastic and from what I'm gathering, plenty of power.

You guys are light years ahead of me, but that's a good thing......helps guys like me learn the easy way...!

I'm using a CSM 360 that I had in a Starlet 50. It did great there, so I'm sure with less vibes in these E birds, it outta be fantastic.

Looks like some of the guys in my area (south central Missoui ) are more curious that anything about this bird..................man, like you, I believe once they see it fly, they'll be sold on'em.

Later my friend.

Barry

12-19-2002 Over year old.

HOMEPAGE

edg
Senior Heliman
Location: San Francisco, CA

FWIW, I've recently tried the new CP3600 Sanyo NiCd's. Now, these things aren't for everbody since they are full C sized, but they worked out fine for me because I have a lot of room inside my 500D fuse...

So, I got 3 packs of these at 10 cells each for a 30 cell in-series total (from Hill's BattlePacks). After some more timed tests on my CP2400 packs, I found I was ranging from about 4.5-6 mins. These CP3600 packs so far are giving me a pretty solid 7 mins.

So I now have 3 more 3600 packs

Verdict is, although these cells are heavier, the extra capacity more than makes up for it. Good for scale use on larger electrics.

Just for grins, I strapped one fo these packs onto my Eco8 which I also use 10 cells on. Too heavy. It flew but it was straining.

-edg-

12-19-2002 Over year old.

HOMEPAGE

1 page

1335 views

POST REPLY

GrandRC	.	CanoMod	.	Futaba-RC
	.		.

e-Electric General Discussion > Electric helis

PRINT TOPIC

Advertisers

Subscribe to This Topic