Powered Gliders
Hey UTERC folks,
I wanted to say thanks for putting on a great fly-in event over the
weekend. I had a blast, despite the end-of-day death and destruction. RIP
Gee Bee.
I especially enjoyed that amazing Cajun shrimp dinner. I honestly cannot
believe that people left before that meal, it was amazing. Although it left
unlimited portions for the rest of us. I went home stuffed to the ears with
Cajun shrimp, grilled french bread, corn on the cob, and key lime pie.
Kudos to the chef & chefette!
Many people have asked about the green/purple powered glider I was flying,
called the Omei. The second version of that glider, called the Kunlun, has
just come into stock at Nitroplanes and can be found here:
http://www.nitroplanes.com/cmp-kunlun-2000e.html
It's 7" wider than mine and has a rudder. These sell out pretty fast, so
pick one up if you've been looking for a cheap glider. I always get half a
dozen people asking where to get one when I go to fly-ins, so I thought I'd
post the info here.
A few things you need to pay heed to:
1. When flying acrobatics like I do, the wings are NOT strong enough for
that kind of flying. They will fold on you if you jerk the sticks around as
much as I do. Most people flying this plane pull the covering off the wing
and fiberglass the wing top & bottom out to the ailerons.
2. If you land on hard asphalt like I usually do, you need to run a
flexible fiberglass or CF rod down the belly so the fiberglass fuselage
doesn't take a beating.
3. It's wise to run an extra layer of fiberglass on the inside of the fuse
in the cockpit area in order to strength it up a bit.
4. The kit does not come with your folding prop setup. You'll need a
spinner & blades for it, probably in the 12x7.5 to 13x8 range.
So it's not a perfect arf, it requires a little TLC, but it's worth the
extra effort IMO to get a super cheap powered glider.
Thanks All For The Good Times!
Todd
Upcoming events
- UTE September Club meeting(Event)(10 hours)
- UTE September Float Fly(Event)(2 days)
- UVA Cross-Country(Event)(9 days)
- NURCAC: Warbird fly-in(Event)(16 days)
- UVA: Naval Theme Fun-Fly(Event)(16 days)
- UFO Un-Civil War(Event)(30 days)
- UTE October Club Meeting(Event)(35 days)
- UTE October Fun Fly(Event)(37 days)
- RPRC VETERANS DAY 2010 WAR BIRDS OVER ST. GEORGE(Event)(63 days)
- UTE November Club Meeting(Event)(63 days)
Powered Gliders
Hey Todd, It was nice to have you there.? Glad you had a good time-but-Gee Bee destroyed, say it ain't so!? You just about made me an electric convert with that unit.? Rick
Powered Gliders
You feel that way only because you are not aware of the problems we had
trying to get the other clubs to join us for some common events such as the
Warbirds. It was not a good thing -
Get with me some day and I'll tell you the horror stories.
Powered Gliders
On Fri, Aug 21, 2009 at 9:41 AM, Wade Joos wrote:
> The problem I am struggling with on the A-123’s is: In the case of using
> them for receiver batteries (which I am thinking about doing), how do you
> tell the state of charge?
Charge them to full before each flight. It will take 3-5 minutes. You
can do it while you're refueling. A single A123 cell can take a 50A
charge without any worries :)
A123 batteries also handle storage at full charge without the problems
of regular Lipos.
Powered Gliders
Wade,
The common method is to install the battery setup and fly once or twice. Then you charge with a charger which can give you a mah added readout. Fly the thing again for a few more times and see what you get for an average use. On my 50cc bird, it uses about 13-15 mah per minute on the rx pack and almost exactly half that, or 7-8 mah per minute on the ignition pack. That model has a single 2300 mah A123 with dual outputs (standard servo extension type using 20g. wires and gold plated pins) for the needed amperage while the ignition is an 1100 mah (VPX size) with just a single output to the ignition. I use the JR servo leads setup with the balance tap on the signal lead and charge 'em with a lead adapted to my CellPro 10S. The output leads are two wire running through external charge type switches which allows me access to both the Batt/Bind and Batt/Data ports of the R921 (2.4GHz) rx.
My 100cc bird uses not quite twice the mah per minute as the smaller model and it' has two 2300 A123's for the rx pack. Bit of over kill especially if you ask Dick Hanson.... lol, but it makes me feel better.
The only time I ever charge now with the low self discharge rate, is when I get to the field. I put the charger on the model when I get it out of the car and the batteries are normally done by the time I get it put together and ready to fly.
Try 'em, you'll like 'em.
Gary Z.
Powered Gliders
The problem I am struggling with on the A-123's is: In the case of using
them for receiver batteries (which I am thinking about doing), how do you
tell the state of charge? In other words, how do I tell when it is time to
recharge them? Since their discharge curves are so flat - is it hard to
tell (with a battery meter) if it is good to fly or not?
_____
From: [mailto:uterc-bounces@lists.uterc.org]
On Behalf Of Ed Dialogue
Sent: Thursday, August 20, 2009 8:34 AM
To: 'Ute R/C Association Discussion List'
Subject: Re: [Uterc] Powered Gliders
I am currently flying a 35% Extra and a 37% Ultimate with two A123's/2300mil
packs and two heavy duty switches to the receiver. After three or four
flights, they only take about 15 minutes to recharge and only use less than
500 mil each. It adds lots of redundency to the system. No problems so far.
_____
From: [mailto:uterc-bounces@lists.uterc.org]
On Behalf Of Todd Sheridan
Sent: Friday, August 21, 2009 7:33 AM
To: Ute R/C Association Discussion List
Subject: Re: [Uterc] Powered Gliders
Rick,
Well the crash shouldn't turn you off of electric flying. It was a problem
that could just as easily have happened with a fuel plane, the receiver shut
down from lack of power. I'm modifying the way I run power to the receiver
to prevent that from happening again.
To begin with, switches are a bottleneck. It's common practice to run a
switch between your receiver battery and your receiver, but if you have a
lot of big servos, the switch can be a fail point. It's better to use a
plug or just run power direct into the receiver. Switch wires are usually
very thin and easily short under heavy draw. The wires from my switch were
so charred that there was very little plastic sheath left on them, so there
may have been a short.
Second, it's a good idea to have redundancy in your receiver power. In my
case I had a single small lipo, and while it still had 12.2 Volts in it
after the crash, it wasn't fully charged to 12.6 and it's possible that when
I did a tumbler move where all the servos were jammed at once, that the
voltage dropped down too low and the receiver shut down. If you're using a
weak battery, that's a real problem with these high powered receivers, which
is why pros recommend using A123 packs which have huge burst current
capability and can be rapid charged.
I'm putting two 2300 mah A123 packs in the big Pitts M12
so I'll have redundancy, which is important because those tiny servo wires
aren't big enough to drive large amounts of current. With two lines going
into the receiver, you get twice as much juice and each wire has to deal
with half the load - essential when using Digital servos. Digital servos
draw a lot more power than standard servos, and I'm using them on this new
plane.
I've learned a lot since that nasty crash, and hopefully the improvements in
my systems will ensure a good long life in my new set of planes. I haven't
crashed a plane from pilot error in a very very long time (several years),
but if the pilot is the one designing the systems in the plane and they are
inadequate, then I guess all crashes are pilot error to a certain extent.
Either way, I did have a great time. I wish there were more cool fly-in
events like that in Utah. Between the UTE, the UVA, and the RemoteRC clubs
there are really only a handful of events to hit, and I personally wish
there were more of them. I may have to start road-tripping to the Denver
Warbirds and some Arizona events like FEAR. That or I need to build a float
plane and start hitting the float plane events. I flew a buddy's float
plane this week, a first for me, and it was actually pretty dang fun. It
was a 70" Sea Wind. Way cool.
Cheers,
Todd
On Thu, Aug 20, 2009 at 9:28 PM, wrote:
Hey Todd, It was nice to have you there. Glad you had a good time-but-Gee
Bee destroyed, say it ain't so! You just about made me an electric convert
with that unit. Rick
Powered Gliders
You know, along the lines of "get more events in Utah", I keep
thinking it would be a great idea to form an AMA "charter chapter"
(collection of charter clubs) and put on two events a year with
proceeds benefiting member clubs. Initially, a swap meet and some
kind of speed and/or 3D competition seem natural targets for the
event.
Would at least be some more events along the Wasatch Front!
Still mulling the idea over in my head... one of these days, I might
even act on it :)
Powered Gliders
I am currently flying a 35% Extra and a 37% Ultimate with two A123's/2300mil
packs and two heavy duty switches to the receiver. After three or four
flights, they only take about 15 minutes to recharge and only use less than
500 mil each. It adds lots of redundency to the system. No problems so far.
_____
From: [mailto:uterc-bounces@lists.uterc.org]
On Behalf Of Todd Sheridan
Sent: Friday, August 21, 2009 7:33 AM
To: Ute R/C Association Discussion List
Subject: Re: [Uterc] Powered Gliders
Rick,
Well the crash shouldn't turn you off of electric flying. It was a problem
that could just as easily have happened with a fuel plane, the receiver shut
down from lack of power. I'm modifying the way I run power to the receiver
to prevent that from happening again.
To begin with, switches are a bottleneck. It's common practice to run a
switch between your receiver battery and your receiver, but if you have a
lot of big servos, the switch can be a fail point. It's better to use a
plug or just run power direct into the receiver. Switch wires are usually
very thin and easily short under heavy draw. The wires from my switch were
so charred that there was very little plastic sheath left on them, so there
may have been a short.
Second, it's a good idea to have redundancy in your receiver power. In my
case I had a single small lipo, and while it still had 12.2 Volts in it
after the crash, it wasn't fully charged to 12.6 and it's possible that when
I did a tumbler move where all the servos were jammed at once, that the
voltage dropped down too low and the receiver shut down. If you're using a
weak battery, that's a real problem with these high powered receivers, which
is why pros recommend using A123 packs which have huge burst current
capability and can be rapid charged.
I'm putting two 2300 mah A123 packs in the big Pitts M12
so I'll have redundancy, which is important because those tiny servo wires
aren't big enough to drive large amounts of current. With two lines going
into the receiver, you get twice as much juice and each wire has to deal
with half the load - essential when using Digital servos. Digital servos
draw a lot more power than standard servos, and I'm using them on this new
plane.
I've learned a lot since that nasty crash, and hopefully the improvements in
my systems will ensure a good long life in my new set of planes. I haven't
crashed a plane from pilot error in a very very long time (several years),
but if the pilot is the one designing the systems in the plane and they are
inadequate, then I guess all crashes are pilot error to a certain extent.
Either way, I did have a great time. I wish there were more cool fly-in
events like that in Utah. Between the UTE, the UVA, and the RemoteRC clubs
there are really only a handful of events to hit, and I personally wish
there were more of them. I may have to start road-tripping to the Denver
Warbirds and some Arizona events like FEAR. That or I need to build a float
plane and start hitting the float plane events. I flew a buddy's float
plane this week, a first for me, and it was actually pretty dang fun. It
was a 70" Sea Wind. Way cool.
Cheers,
Todd
On Thu, Aug 20, 2009 at 9:28 PM, wrote:
Hey Todd, It was nice to have you there. Glad you had a good time-but-Gee
Bee destroyed, say it ain't so! You just about made me an electric convert
with that unit. Rick
Powered Gliders
Wade,
Oh yeah, I love horror stories. I know that in every club there are a few
fat-heads that like to piss & moan about every little thing... except ours
of course. :) No fat-heads in the UFO group that I know of, but we have no
property, rules, or dues, so I guess it's not the same. And our presidency
changes every time somebody brings food to a combat session because the
person who brings food is automatically elected president.
But I LOVE a good horror story, so long as it's not something I had to
personally experience.
Any of the UTE folks who want to attend another fly-in should build a foam
combat wing and join us for our annual Uncivil War event in the spring. Our
last event we had 36 pilots launch combat planes AT THE SAME TIME. After a
couple hours of combat & limbo flying it's open flying at the sod farm.
Gary,
If you'll forgive the harrassment, would you mind answering a few questions
about your servo draw measurements?
Are those servo amp draw measurements for analog or digital servos?
Is that 13-15 mah per minute on your 50cc plane for all of the servos?
If so, how many servos are in the plane?
I have yet to rig up a method for measuring servo draw on a plane. My 27%
Pitts M12 that I'm getting ready to maiden is probably about the same size
as your 50cc plane. Do you think two A123 2300 packs is way overkill? I
guess I could use a y adapter and just split the current so I've got two
lines going into the receiver.
Todd
Powered Gliders
Rick,
Well the crash shouldn't turn you off of electric flying. It was a problem
that could just as easily have happened with a fuel plane, the receiver shut
down from lack of power. I'm modifying the way I run power to the receiver
to prevent that from happening again.
To begin with, switches are a bottleneck. It's common practice to run a
switch between your receiver battery and your receiver, but if you have a
lot of big servos, the switch can be a fail point. It's better to use a
plug or just run power direct into the receiver. Switch wires are usually
very thin and easily short under heavy draw. The wires from my switch were
so charred that there was very little plastic sheath left on them, so there
may have been a short.
Second, it's a good idea to have redundancy in your receiver power. In my
case I had a single small lipo, and while it still had 12.2 Volts in it
after the crash, it wasn't fully charged to 12.6 and it's possible that when
I did a tumbler move where all the servos were jammed at once, that the
voltage dropped down too low and the receiver shut down. If you're using a
weak battery, that's a real problem with these high powered receivers, which
is why pros recommend using A123 packs which have huge burst current
capability and can be rapid charged.
I'm putting two 2300 mah A123 packs in the big Pitts M12
so I'll have redundancy, which is important because those tiny servo wires
aren't big enough to drive large amounts of current. With two lines going
into the receiver, you get twice as much juice and each wire has to deal
with half the load - essential when using Digital servos. Digital servos
draw a lot more power than standard servos, and I'm using them on this new
plane.
I've learned a lot since that nasty crash, and hopefully the improvements in
my systems will ensure a good long life in my new set of planes. I haven't
crashed a plane from pilot error in a very very long time (several years),
but if the pilot is the one designing the systems in the plane and they are
inadequate, then I guess all crashes are pilot error to a certain extent.
Either way, I did have a great time. I wish there were more cool fly-in
events like that in Utah. Between the UTE, the UVA, and the RemoteRC clubs
there are really only a handful of events to hit, and I personally wish
there were more of them. I may have to start road-tripping to the Denver
Warbirds and some Arizona events like FEAR. That or I need to build a float
plane and start hitting the float plane events. I flew a buddy's float
plane this week, a first for me, and it was actually pretty dang fun. It
was a 70" Sea Wind. Way cool.
Cheers,
Todd
On Thu, Aug 20, 2009 at 9:28 PM, wrote:
> Hey Todd, It was nice to have you there. Glad you had a good time-but-Gee
> Bee destroyed, say it ain't so! You just about made me an electric convert
> with that unit. Rick
>
>
>
Powered Gliders
Good question. I would feel safe flying either plane at least 5 or 6 times
before recharging. 3 flights and each pair of cells only take around 350 mil
to top them off. That leaves a lot of reserve in my mind. Now thats my mind
which is questionable and you who are the electrical gooroo might know
different. I guess one of the meters that put extra load on the pack
would'nt tell you much either.
_____
From: [mailto:uterc-bounces@lists.uterc.org]
On Behalf Of Wade Joos
Sent: Friday, August 21, 2009 9:41 AM
To: 'Ute R/C Association Discussion List'
Subject: Re: [Uterc] Powered Gliders
The problem I am struggling with on the A-123's is: In the case of using
them for receiver batteries (which I am thinking about doing), how do you
tell the state of charge? In other words, how do I tell when it is time to
recharge them? Since their discharge curves are so flat - is it hard to
tell (with a battery meter) if it is good to fly or not?
_____
From: [mailto:uterc-bounces@lists.uterc.org]
On Behalf Of Ed Dialogue
Sent: Thursday, August 20, 2009 8:34 AM
To: 'Ute R/C Association Discussion List'
Subject: Re: [Uterc] Powered Gliders
I am currently flying a 35% Extra and a 37% Ultimate with two A123's/2300mil
packs and two heavy duty switches to the receiver. After three or four
flights, they only take about 15 minutes to recharge and only use less than
500 mil each. It adds lots of redundency to the system. No problems so far.
_____
From: [mailto:uterc-bounces@lists.uterc.org]
On Behalf Of Todd Sheridan
Sent: Friday, August 21, 2009 7:33 AM
To: Ute R/C Association Discussion List
Subject: Re: [Uterc] Powered Gliders
Rick,
Well the crash shouldn't turn you off of electric flying. It was a problem
that could just as easily have happened with a fuel plane, the receiver shut
down from lack of power. I'm modifying the way I run power to the receiver
to prevent that from happening again.
To begin with, switches are a bottleneck. It's common practice to run a
switch between your receiver battery and your receiver, but if you have a
lot of big servos, the switch can be a fail point. It's better to use a
plug or just run power direct into the receiver. Switch wires are usually
very thin and easily short under heavy draw. The wires from my switch were
so charred that there was very little plastic sheath left on them, so there
may have been a short.
Second, it's a good idea to have redundancy in your receiver power. In my
case I had a single small lipo, and while it still had 12.2 Volts in it
after the crash, it wasn't fully charged to 12.6 and it's possible that when
I did a tumbler move where all the servos were jammed at once, that the
voltage dropped down too low and the receiver shut down. If you're using a
weak battery, that's a real problem with these high powered receivers, which
is why pros recommend using A123 packs which have huge burst current
capability and can be rapid charged.
I'm putting two 2300 mah A123 packs in the big Pitts M12
so I'll have redundancy, which is important because those tiny servo wires
aren't big enough to drive large amounts of current. With two lines going
into the receiver, you get twice as much juice and each wire has to deal
with half the load - essential when using Digital servos. Digital servos
draw a lot more power than standard servos, and I'm using them on this new
plane.
I've learned a lot since that nasty crash, and hopefully the improvements in
my systems will ensure a good long life in my new set of planes. I haven't
crashed a plane from pilot error in a very very long time (several years),
but if the pilot is the one designing the systems in the plane and they are
inadequate, then I guess all crashes are pilot error to a certain extent.
Either way, I did have a great time. I wish there were more cool fly-in
events like that in Utah. Between the UTE, the UVA, and the RemoteRC clubs
there are really only a handful of events to hit, and I personally wish
there were more of them. I may have to start road-tripping to the Denver
Warbirds and some Arizona events like FEAR. That or I need to build a float
plane and start hitting the float plane events. I flew a buddy's float
plane this week, a first for me, and it was actually pretty dang fun. It
was a 70" Sea Wind. Way cool.
Cheers,
Todd
On Thu, Aug 20, 2009 at 9:28 PM, wrote:
Hey Todd, It was nice to have you there. Glad you had a good time-but-Gee
Bee destroyed, say it ain't so! You just about made me an electric convert
with that unit. Rick
Powered Gliders
The A123 CANNOT be checked at any viability with a battery meter, load or not. The the charge and see method Capt Eddy described is THE method. Surprisingly little Mah is utilized with any system.
JO
Powered Gliders
Excellent info guys, thanks for pitching in.
Some of the A123's I see on the market are set up as receiver packs and only
have a single servo plug coming out of them, but the ones I ordered from XPS
have a thicker gauge wire with a deans coming off.
My charger is set up for Deans and can I make connectors off of that for my
larger packs (EC5 connectors). So I'll make a deans connector with two
parallel servo lines coming off a single A123 pack, that'll leave me a spare
pack to put in my new ME109. The Pitts M12 has seven servos, if I use your
1 amp rule then I should be safe drawing 7 amps total at any time, with two
lines going in being safe up to 8 amps. These A123 packs can output 60 amps
continuous, so I'm obviously not at any risk of NOT having enough juice to
power the receiver.
The CMP ME109G has 9 servos in it, which is a lot for a 73" warbird. The G
model has split flaps, which will look totally awesome on landings.
Once my EC5 connectors get here (5mm polarized bullet plugs), it'll just
take a few hours to rewire my packs and connectors - then I can maiden this
Pitts!
I appreciate the help gents.
Todd
Powered Gliders
Todd,
Sounds like your getting the idea. I like the bigger output wires on the A123 packs as well and my next model will have one of the PowerSafe rx's which have dual 16g inputs, battery isolation, and built in "fail on" softswitches.
One thing to watch for if you don't already know, is vendors trying to pass off LiFEP04's as A123's. Same Lithium/Iron Phosphate chemistry, but substantially less power (10C vs 30C) output due to A123's patented nano phosphate technology. Now the LiFEP04's can make excellent rx packs, but you kind of have to go with a reputable vendor as there have been an increasing number of reports of bad cells in these "me too" packs. I've seen some vendors try to pass of the LiFEP04's as A123's either purposely or through ignorance of the difference.
I've never dealt with XPS and have no idea of what kind of reputation they might have and it could be excellent, just thought I'd toss out a heads up.
Gary
Powered Gliders
Gary,
Thanks for the heads-up. These are the ones I got. They look legit.
http://www.xtremepowersystems.net/proddetail.php?prod=A123-2S2300
Those powersafe receivers are intense. I can't imagine needing a primary
receiver and four satellite receivers on any plane. Seems like the
receivers would be stepping all over each other.
If I lose another plane to XPS receiver failure, even after making all these wrote:
procedural changes, I'll be moving to Spektrum brand.
Todd
On Fri, Aug 21, 2009 at 2:37 PM, Gary
> Todd,
>
> Sounds like your getting the idea. I like the bigger output wires on the
> A123 packs as well and my next model will have one of the PowerSafe rx's
> which have dual 16g inputs, battery isolation, and built in "fail on"
> softswitches.
>
> One thing to watch for if you don't already know, is vendors trying to pass
> off LiFEP04's as A123's. Same Lithium/Iron Phosphate chemistry, but
> substantially less power (10C vs 30C) output due to A123's patented nano
> phosphate technology. Now the LiFEP04's can make excellent rx packs, but you
> kind of have to go with a reputable vendor as there have been an increasing
> number of reports of bad cells in these "me too" packs. I've seen some
> vendors try to pass of the LiFEP04's as A123's either purposely or through
> ignorance of the difference.
>
> I've never dealt with XPS and have no idea of what kind of reputation they
> might have and it could be excellent, just thought I'd toss out a heads up.
>
> Gary
>
Powered Gliders
If I lose another plane to XPS receiver failure, even after making all these procedural changes, I'll be moving to Spektrum brand.
It's all the matter of adequate power to the RX. Been using XPS for nearly 5 years now. Always adequate power, no problem.
Thanks for the heads-up. These are the ones I got. They look legit.
http://www.xtremepowersystems.net/proddetail.php?prod=A123-2S2300
They are...and reasonable price at the quality too.
JO
Powered Gliders
Sooooo..What if you had a little "gas gauge" that would show you how many
mah had been drawn from the battery?
It would reset when recharged and just keeps a total number of mah that has
been drawn since last charge.
Is that a useful device or would the guys just keep recharging and hoping
that they have a good battery?
The fly, recharge and measure thing ha worked well for estimating the use of
the main battery packs, but it leaves me a bit cold at to doing that with
the receiver packs.
Matt's (or whoever - maybe you) that said - just charge before each flight,
but leaves me feeling in the dark a bit.
Later
_____
From: [mailto:uterc-bounces@lists.uterc.org]
On Behalf Of JAN O HYDE
Sent: Friday, August 21, 2009 3:55 PM
To: Ute R/C Association Discussion List
Subject: Re: [Uterc] Powered Gliders
If I lose another plane to XPS receiver failure, even after making all these
procedural changes, I'll be moving to Spektrum brand.
It's all the matter of adequate power to the RX. Been using XPS for nearly
5 years now. Always adequate power, no problem.
Thanks for the heads-up. These are the ones I got. They look legit.
http://www.xtremepowersystems.net/proddetail.php?prod=A123-2S2300
They are...and reasonable price at the quality too.
JO
Powered Gliders
You mean like this????
http://www.fromeco.org/Products/04FRCKOD-440/Default.aspx
Gary Z
Powered Gliders
Pretty much.
Hadn't thought of the power switch being a part of it, but the ma counter is
what I was thinking about making - no need now :-)
_____
From: [mailto:uterc-bounces@lists.uterc.org]
On Behalf Of Gary
Sent: Friday, August 21, 2009 6:59 PM
To: Ute R/C Association Discussion List
Subject: Re: [Uterc] Powered Gliders
You mean like this????
http://www.fromeco.org/Products/04FRCKOD-440/Default.aspx
Gary Z
Powered Gliders
Powered Gliders
So I realized that with the A123 using a deans connector that I could just
plug my wattmeter between the pack and the servo power lines going into my
XPS receiver, allowing me to read the power draw on my servos. My radio has
test modes for each control surface, so I set it to cycle the ailerons (4
HS5625 Digital Servos) up & down once per second. They're moving pretty
fast and all four servos draw about 1 amp. That's a LOT less than we've
been discussing. The two servos controlling each half of the elevator drew
.5 amps together. I tried jamming the sticks back and forth as quick as I
could to get all surfaces moving and the wattmeter barely registered 1.6
amps.
Am I missing something, or is this a LOT less than has been suggested? At
that rate I could do several flights on a single 2300 mah A123 pack. Not
that I would, since it's so easy to charge.
And can I just say, plugging those two packs in simultaneously on my
Hyperion 610I DUO charger and watching them both peg at 10 amp charge rate
was a REAL rush. MAN I wish Lipos could charge that fast! It took 1 minute
to top them off. Seriously, that rocks. It's too bad A123's are so
stinking expensive, I'd use them for system packs. Unfortunately they're
2-3 times as expensive and an extra third more heavy than Lipos.
That electronic gauge is sweet, but having one more thing that can go wrong
on a plane makes me nervous. I guess I have very little faith in
electronics. :)
Jan, I'm curious what you were referring to when you talked about a *Power
Expander.* Could you post a link of what you're referring to? Is that a
Spektrum-only thing, or is that a device that can be used with any receiver?
Anyway, I don't see a need for reduntant batteries right now. I've got two
separate lines coming off the deans plug into the receiver, so the only way
I can imagine it failing is if the battery itself just died somehow.
Somebody correct me if I'm wrong! wrote:
Todd
On Fri, Aug 21, 2009 at 7:27 PM, JAN O HYDE
>
>
Powered Gliders
Todd,
I would expect less load on the ailerons per servo with your bipe, the figures I've been giving you were basically IMAC birds so you're working with large control surfaces and deflections.
That said; there's no way you can duplicate air loads on the ground which is why the guys are using the Eagle Tree systems which can either record or directly transmit data while the model is in flight.
I'm not Jan, but a PE might be something to look into as there are various options including the ability to run servos independently from the board as well as some having equalizing functions like a Matchbox and they can be used with any rx. There are a number of them out there but I like the Smart-Fly stuff and those even come with Deans connectors for power into the board and the rx mounts on the board receiving regulated power.
http://www.smart-fly.com/
Gary
Powered Gliders
Yup - all good stuff. Thanks to all that chimed in -
Thanks guys!!!! :-)
_____
From: [mailto:uterc-bounces@lists.uterc.org]
On Behalf Of JAN O HYDE
Sent: Friday, August 21, 2009 7:27 PM
To: Ute R/C Association Discussion List
Subject: Re: [Uterc] Powered Gliders
Powered Gliders
This was very informative. Who says you cant teach old guys new tricks? :-)
_____
From: [mailto:uterc-bounces@lists.uterc.org]
On Behalf Of Wade Joos
Sent: Friday, August 21, 2009 8:20 PM
To: 'Ute R/C Association Discussion List'
Subject: Re: [Uterc] Powered Gliders
Yup - all good stuff. Thanks to all that chimed in -
Thanks guys!!!! :-)
_____
From: [mailto:uterc-bounces@lists.uterc.org]
On Behalf Of JAN O HYDE
Sent: Friday, August 21, 2009 7:27 PM
To: Ute R/C Association Discussion List
Subject: Re: [Uterc] Powered Gliders
Powered Gliders
Gary,
Wow, super interesting stuff. I had no idea any of these electronics
options were available. That Smart-Fly site has components I've never even
heard of before. Lots to think about, and I certainly feel much more
informed about how to equip larger birds for stability and reliability.
The obvious down-side to knowing about all this stuff is now I want to build
a really BIG plane. :)
Many thanks!
Todd
Powered Gliders
FOR TODD: See link for example of the Power Expander.
http://www.rcmodels.co.nz/power_expanders.htm
Jan