Lancaster?

[george kennie]

Great report Troy,
I keep telling all my local buds that in 3 years time we'll all be doing
E.
G.

Troy Newman wrote:

> Jim, we flew 2 rounds on Sat and 3 rounds on Sun. for a total of 5
> rounds.Tony flew the Electric and it seemed to work well even in the
> wind. We already knew Jason proved the wind issue at the Worlds....I
> wanted to see it in the wind! I played with it on Friday for about
> 10-15mins and then on the last round Sunday I flew it for the P-05
> sequence.The electric system is really different.  I would not say its
> better or worse yet...just different. As for performance its got it.
> Top end power is excellent and competitive with any of the glow
> setups.....Now you have to remember that Tony's model is 11lbs Dry,
> which means its 11LBS all the time. Takeoff and thru the entire flight
> its lighter than the glow setups...carrying 20ozs of fuel. Only when
> the glow model is nearly dry is the glow model lighter...this adds to
> consistency....the model is not changing with every revolution of the
> prop. It was 21deg Sunday Morning....dead calm and blue sunny sky.
> The power was down a little on take off...flying downwind I opened it
> up and started to draw some power out of the packs. Once the packs
> warmed up in a normal 1/2 rev Cuban I entered the box and it was up to
> speed and plenty of go juice. Jason's comments from the worlds seemed
> to show a better power output after a little current drawn out of the
> packs. From my knowledge of batteries this makes sense. The Model
> seems to lock on really well. Is it Tony's building? The Partner? or
> that motor swinging a 22" prop sending a huge column of air past the
> tail of the model? I don't know. I suspect its a combo of
> everything.  In my opinion this is one of the first F3A models
> converted to electric that was an actual glow model that is a great
> flying plane and the power plant was just replaced with Electric
> stuff. The Partner and the other PL kits will lend themselves to
> E-conversion because the way the fuse is build...Its a complete molded
> shell. The pipe tunnel floor separates the exhaust system from the
> inside of the model. In the E-Power models the entire inside of the
> fuse is the exhaust system to carry the heat away from the
> motor-controller-battery system. So you never install the tunnel floor
> and you have a complete open model....the open pipe tunnels that the
> US pilots like are not very good both Aerodynamically or for the
> Electric conversions.... The firewall is a big open hole....and the
> air flows through the inside of the fuse and out some belly exhaust
> vents in a normal stinger location. Since the PL kits are this hollow
> shell it converts easily. Models with Belly pans, or the open pipe
> tunnel models will not be so easy to convert...In a belly pan install
> like a ZN Synergy the batts could go in the Belly pan...but this would
> require a belly pan removal every flight to change the packs out.
> Although possible not the best of situations. The Partner is easy the
> batts are on the landing gear plate...and easy to access from the
> canopy hatch. For the flying part.....The power is good as I have said
> before. I've always understood that the sound of our model plays a key
> role in the pilots ability to perform the maneuvers properly. We
> listen to the sound of the motor....Stall turns, spins, and even top
> of the box horizontal lines the sound of the model plays a role to
> both the pilot and the judges. The sound gives us cues.... The
> Electric sounds different and this difference makes it a little weird
> for the first part of the first flight. The pilot is trying to get
> used to the sound....My opinion as a judge and spectator this same
> sound difference will throw some judges for a loop at first. On take
> off the model will just limp along at 1/4 power but it sounds like the
> motor is a park flyer....After a downwind pass and a big vertical
> turnaround you realize this thing has some horses under the hood.But
> just like the judges commented at the Team Selection last summer and
> the NATS the Bipe was tough to see properly with the second wing...the
> electric will have a get used to it factor...At first you will not be
> super impressed until the model gets about 2-3-4 maneuvers into the
> sequence.....It has power no doubt about it! The horizontal speed is
> slower at full power than the YS 140DZ at full power...But the model
> has the tractor effect on the verticals that keeps it pulling hard all
> the way up the line. This does a couple things...in the wind I feel at
> times I would like more speed. Perhaps a prop change will help
> this...there is no shortage of power. The E model has a smaller speed
> envelope....don't know if its good or bad....In calm air it could be
> better than glow. The pilot has more latitude as to where to stick the
> throttle position as even if he's really into too much power the model
> doesn't zooooom and go into afterburner mode. So this could translate
> into a easier to control speed range where the model flies much more
> constant speed in the sequence. Down line brakes were a concern
> without seeing it...Well it brakes very well. I think it has it all
> over the 2 strokes and is equal with the DZ's on the downline
> brakes. The model has very little vibration and as a result the servos
> should last much longer. Now Tony is very critical of his equipment. I
> have started to become more and more critical of mine...Changing servo
> pots is not as much fun as flying...and even with a Hyde mount setup
> the servo pots will wear. Can a mortal person see the difference in
> his servos? Well that is answer I always get back when I tell somebody
> to change their servos they are worn out... Downsides I see....Today
> the cost as the biggest detractor. Its new stuff...and its not cheap.
> You need to buy the motor and controller around the same prices were
> are talking for the glow setups....Next is the chargers and
> batts...this is a full years' worth of fuel for a guy like me that
> flies 1000 flights (100 gallons) a year. Next is the unknown of the
> batts and the system as a whole...Will the batts last 300-400 cycles
> and then you are going to get 3 flight packs to go that 1000 flights.
> If they go longer Bonus...gear reduction unit life, motor and
> controller life......should be good but nobody has put this kind of
> time on these systems yet. So they are all questions right now today.
> I look forward to playing more with it and seeing what it has to
> offer. Today I'm not ready to drop the glow setups. But I think the
> next generations of batteries and motor combos will bring a huge leap
> forward.   Troy
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