RCM

Watch the headers. I didn't complain about the duration of electrics. I was talking about magazine content.

I know that the durability of electrics has increased tremendously. Last year I put together a small electric with LiPoly batteries. Over the course of a week I flew it until I was sick of it and I never recharged it or ran the batteries down. It must have had over an hour in the air. Unfortunately the plane was completely uninteresting to me. The same plane with a glow engine was a lot more fun, partly because of the noise and grease and partly because of the different flying characteristics. I can't say anything bad about electric power because I know that objectively it has many true advantages. The only problem as far as I am concerned is that an electric airplane is about as interesting to me as watching paint dry.

yessir, those things sure groove on lipos and brushless...amazing to see a tiny motor just over an inch in diameter turning a 10/10 prop direct drive. fast groovy airplane and looonnng flight times!

cheers Papa Sharptooth

Bouncing about the living room, my then three year old grandson declared himself "a kangaroo". "If you're a Kangaroo, what is Grampie", I ask. His reply:  "you a dinosaur"

I like Fly R/C . Probably my favorite RC mag. I fly both glow and electric so I like all the electric articles . I also enjoy the ads , but to each his own , right......why so many magazines.

I have a Formosa and I love it. Flys knife edge really well....as long as you want to keep it there. Also does some decent pattern stuff....I did say decent. I have a little trouble hovering and torquerolls , but then I have trouble with most when it comes to that. :-( I have a PJS 550E outrunner and a 1500 3 cell Lipo. I usually get 2 flights from this battery . I also get 3 nice long flight with my Thunder Power 2100. Knife edge and rolling circles are two of my favorite things and the cirlces can be real slow and not use much power , so I do loaf around a bit to get this much flight time. I can fly on the two batteries all day long , with one charging while flying another.

Ken Day

Ken Day

Do you have it figured out where to put the larger battery to balance it? mk

would last as long, recharge as fast, and be at least as economical as glow.

Eighteen to twenty minute flights are not unusual. Recharge times are on the order of an hour or so in many cases. If one calculates the total cost of ownership for a glow engined model (fuel, plugs, batteries, etc.) over the life of the plane compared to an electric, the cost comparison is getting better. If one includes consideration of losing the fire on throttle up, fuel starvation in mid-maneuver, etc., with the subsequent less-than-ideal return to earth, the cost comparison is a little different.

Charlie

Around 1990, RCM was nearly 400 pages in length. They are now down to

quarter of that. I often wondered how they could have the nerve to sel such texts as O.S. 4 stroke engines (covers engines prior to 1991!!! The R/C engine (articles up to 1986) etc. Sadly, this vetera publication of over 40 years seems to have had its last gasp (alon with 6 months of paid subscription!

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