another electric question

Here's the link to the Pipsqueak plans at RCM:

Make sure the address is all on one line.

You really need to look into LiPO batteries; very light, with great capacity.

2 cells (8.4v), 700mah, weigh a lot less than a 7.2v, 270 mah NiCd pack.

If you had the GWS IPS DX motor - thats the one with a longish can relatve to its diameter - and the 3.75:1 gearing - which is as low as they go..you need 7x6 prtop and 7 niocad cells or two lithum cells to drive it.

This is sprightly indeed on 7 oz AUW. I have such flying well in 22 inch span lightweight.

However somethogh that more approximates a 020 would bve teh speed 280 on similar cells with the push on gunther prop.

And here' a link to GWS data on the motor I think you have

I went ahead and purchased a lipoly battery and charger today. I'll try that out and see what I think. If I still think it goes too slow maybe I'll try a direct drive, but I suspect that I have solved my problem.

I saw the model. The 7x6 on the 3.75 will push that along at up to 30mph. On 2s LIPO.

Should be fine. Direct drive gives poor climb rate - suitable for pylon racers and jet lookalikes only IMHO :-)

I put the LIPO pack in the plane, tested the motor, and it has a good strong pull now. I'm going to see if I can test it after work tomorrow, and I'll give a report here later.

Isn't that a cute plane?

I know that most there is a very wide variety of ARFs to choose from nowadays, and most new guys don't know how to build anything anyway, but there sure are some neat little planes in the RCM plans catalog originally intended for 020 and 049 Cox engines and pulse rudder radios. The Pipsqueak is a beautiful little plane. It's built from balsa wood and monokote, it's as light as a feather, and it will survive long after a similar sized foamie is all cracked and crumbled. As soon as I figure out what it takes to get one of these powered properly and in the air, I'm going to build the Pepe La Pieu, which is a Nieuport clone originally flown with a TeeDee 020 for power and a pulse rudder radio. I built one a few years back and flew it a few times with a PeeWee 020 and Cannon super micro radio, but it wasn't enough power to get it up to speed. I think that these little geared motors are just the ticket. I also have the plans for the TeeDee Bee, which is a low-winger that originally flew with a PeeWee 020 or TeeDee 010. I'm thinking of putting ailerons on that one. If I try really hard I might be able to attain a total flying weight in the 5 to 6 ounce range.

Very doable.

The IPS power plants with LIPO are extremely light and will fly stuff up to 8-9 oz. At the lower end of the scale weight wise you start running into saving weight with expensive servos, specialised connectors, carbon fiber, etc etc. Even a wire undercart and wheels is not light.

Ditch that Monokote by the way. Too heavy. Go for Solite, Litsepan, Fibafilm etc. Or even tissue and dope.

Invest in carbon fiber rods and tubes as well. lighter and stronger than wire, dowels, etc etc.

You really belong on the E-zone

with all that enthusiasm. I too get a huge kick out of a model that weights less than a slab of butter, flies for half an hour and can land in the back yard.

Another tip: Using 3 LIPO cells in series and going dowj in prop size will get you even MORE power out of these motors. I.e running off around

10-12v. The brushes don't last for ever but if you invest in a gear puller the replacement motors are less than a cox glo plug :-) For the greatest power to weight ratio Kokam 340mA/h LIPO cells are the standard, but of course duration is down under ten minutes with those.

Fortunately I'm not trying to figure out how small and light of a plane I can build. I like building balsa planes from plans, and I happen to have several 020 sized plans. I actually prefer greasy, noisy engines, but I wanted the plane to fly for more than 2 minutes. Until now electrics were no fun because they were heavy, expensive and underpowered, and it takes a lot of head-scratching to figure out what motor to put with what battery.

Everything changed when affordable components appeared on the shelf to easily solve the problem of low power and short flights. Honestly, if I couldn't simply fork over the money and plug everything in and fly it, I wouldn't touch electrics. I used to fly standard balsa 049 designs as they were designed, using a reed valve 049 such as a Texaco or Black Widow, two standard servos, a standard size nicad pack, and a standard receiver. They flew great, but they also had short flight times. Now that I can go to the store and buy an affordable super-micro four channel receiver, a tiny NIMH battery, a throttled 061 and a set of HS-55 micro servos, I'm going to be able to fly the 049 sized planes with four functions of control, and I'm not even going to look at speed

400 motors.

If somebody would make a well-behaved throttled 020 or 030 that weighs as much as a Cox TeeDee, I would buy one and not give electrics another thought. I'm not going to see how small and light of a plane I can build. I just want to build the classic small designs and make them function as well as today's components will allow.

No one is going to invest in developing a wel behaved, throttled 020 or 030 because lithium polymer batteries have allowed the electrics to far surpass the glow engines of that size for performance and ease of use.

I would agree with that. a well behaved 020 is in fact and astro 020 brushless on lithiums :-)

...and further to my last post, by the time you add up the weight of the engine, throttle servo and tank, and receiver battery, a brushless on lithiums is probably lighter.

AND will go for ten minutes at least.

Yeah, you guys are right. But this is a hobby, and everything is done just for fun. If we were going to be completely practical we would spend all of our money on food and house payments. If everybody liked electrics then Norvel wouldn't be so successful.

I like glow engines. Maybe I'll build a throttled 020 some day if nobody else does.

That Gasparin guy makes some really nice micro co2 motors. And others in Europe make some dandy little diesels that run very well.

Its probably the tolerances on the carbs that make the mini glow engines so fussy. I can usually get in a good 10-15 minutes of electric flying before the pee wee enthusiast can get his engine running full song.

It does take a while to get the venturi primed. But a front rotor RC carb wouldn't have to be any harder to start than an OS 40. I used to be able to get my TeeDee 020 started in very little time at all. I managed to acquire another one recently, although I haven't run it. Does anybody know of an add-on RC carb for a TeeDee 020?

Not once you factor in a decent tank,fuel, throttle servo, and the need

to carry receiver batteries on the glo plane.

Didn't someone make an add-on rotating exhaust restrictor that worked pretty well?

I've heard of it, but I never heard whether or not it worked...

Anybody have one they want to get rid of?