Re: Sweet spot for LiPoly powered planes

Paul,

You missed some key points.

First off, the Lipos are goor for about 3 ten minute flights with some hovering thrown in.

Secondly, I compared the cost with 2 battery packs.

So, if you took the plane to the field with 2 charged packs, you could get 6 flights without re-charging. If you stuck the first battery on charge as soon as you finnished your first three flights you could have it re-charged by the time you finnished the second 3 flights......assumming you fly like I do......fly and then BS for awhile between flights. Actually, if I got in 6 ten minute flights in a single outing that's about all I'd want. So I could go back home to charge. All I'd cary to the field is my plane, TX and an extra battery pack.

You can include the charger if it makes you feel better about your position on this comparison, but I don't agree. If you look at the cost of your starter, power panel, fuel pump and glow clip I think you'd find that it cost about the same as the Great Planes Triton which easily handles the charging duties of a Lipo pack this size.

I hope you don't feel threatened or intimidated by electric power. It's not going to replace our beloved glow power for a very long time. Rather, look for the virtues in electric power and use them to your advantage.

Wiz

Mike,

I'd say you hit that nail square on the head. For the old timers that have never or rarely ventured into EP planes, this area is developing too fast for some of them to grasp. They're great with IC in all it's many facets, but EP eludes some of them.

My club has one such member & he's absolutely astounding in his knowledge of & flying expertise with IC planes, but he's lost when it comes to EP planes. Still, he is wise enough to know & see that EP planes are equal to some glow's and will only get better. He's just too old & set in his ways & not interested in getting into EP.

Your ideas on charging/using multiple battery packs is just what I do with my Aerobird. I fly 10-15 minutes on each pack, bring 4 packs, and fly all I care to, just rotating packs through the Aerobird, cool down, charge, & fly.

Where's the $150-200 charger figure come from?

I use a Hobbico DC Quick Field Charger MKII with a 21mAh gell cell to; charge my EP battery packs (for several different battery pack styles) & start my glow. It can handle NiCd, NiMh, & LiPo and only cost $49.99

When you get your Unlimited Aerobat Cap 232, I want to hear a report on your experiences with it. Looks like a great plane! --

Jim L.

I do look for the virtues and I agree that it is getting close to the performance of glow. I just feel that the WHOLE story needs to be told. You do not NEED a starter, battery and panel to operate a glow model. You DO need a charger for electrics.

BTW, what is the cost for electric performance equal to a YS .91AC? That is my primary engine and performance level I choose.

Charging is no big thing. I have to charge my glo powered stuff anyway. When I get back into E-power, I'll never bring a charger to the field. Just an extra battery pack or 2. Besides, I'll still bring a favorite glo powered plane as well.

Heh... you'd have to get into an F3A type plane to get that kind of performance. Man, you need wide open spaces to fly those babies.

I got out of E-power for just the reasons you don't like the idea of it. However, I now know the secret to building, and the battery and motor technology has come a long way. Today's models are not flying battery packs like they were 10 years ago.

Bob

guys,

you might want to go back and check the battery requirements just "One More Time" ;-) according to the web site, the plane requires

"3S2P TP2100 Lipoly, 3S4P ET1200 Lipoly"

or the equivalent of two (three cell packs) of the Thunder Power 2100 OR the equivalent of four (three cell packs) of the E-Tec 1200

Which constitutes a single battery load for the plane. this will significantly affect the total price of batteries required for the plane.

bob

You're right Bob. 3S2P is what's recomended. From Tanic, that means one battery pack is $145. That's about double what I calculated originally. or the equivilant of an additional 5 gallons of fuel before the break even price is reached.

Good catch!

Wiz

Bob Cowell wrote:

Do doubt there Paul, a Lipo power system that is comapreable to that engine will be very expensive....similar to the nearly $1900 one I described in the other thread.

BUT.....the title to this thread says it all. We're talking about the "Sweet Spot" for Lipos. I want to discuss using them where they make sense. I would say a plane like the one I linked to in the very first post of this thread is about as big as you'd want to get at the curerent price of LiPoly batteries. Sure there are people out there who fly bigger stuff, but they justify the expence differently than guys like you and I would.

Cheers,

Wiz

Oops! For 2 packs, it's actually the equivalent of an additional 10 gallons for fuel. Maybe at this size Lipos aren't as cost effective as I had thought.

None the less, I like this size plane and I want to give Lipo power a try. So I'll pony up the few extra bucks and report back with my findings.

Cheers,

Wiz

Mike Wizynajtys wrote:

I fly IMAC and love flying the big aerobatic planes. I have a composite arf

Brad