Tyler Key Veteran Location: Chicagoland area
| Cost?I would highly consider going electric with flight performance seen in these videos if the cost was reasonable. Considering the initial setup including heli, motor, esc, batteries, and chargers, it sounds pricey up front. I would really like to see some numbers indicating how many real-life cycles these packs will offer. many have argued that the high entry costs into electrics needs to be compared to the ongoing cost of 30% glow fuel. This can only be a real comparison if the batteries can withstand several hundred complete cycles.
I would like to know how much it costs to get that exact heli in the air:
Heli kit
upgrades
servos
motor
esc
batteries
chargers
power supply/field battery to recharge the cells
connectors
Then I would like to know how realistic field charging these packs would be. Considering the recharge time and power supply requirements, field charging may be out of the reasonable expectations of sport flying such a heli. Then the cost of additional battery packs would need to be revisited.
I typically like to get four full tanks through my helis when I go to the field. This is a minimum of 40 full power minutes of flight. How many packs would that equate in the Joker electric? How much does that cost?
Finally, I am concerned about the safety of such powerful batteries. What happens when the heli takes a dirt bath? Are the batteries easily or even remotely damaged in a crash? What about storage of the batteries?
I have often thought that the electric models had the potential to be smoother running machines by taking away the pounding of a piston, especially now that we are living in the times of big block engines. There is no goo to clean, gasoline to mix, glow plugs to change, ignitors to charge and remember to take to the field, on and on go the potential advantages of electric.
I am all ears as these technologies develop and become more common and affordable. Who can give us realistic and real-time prices on this option of flight?
Tyler
Airtronics, YS Power, Switchglo ignitors, Jersey Modeler filled with Magnum |