Glow Engine Vs. Electric Engine for 2 m' pattern plane

[Jim_Woodward at beaerospace.com]

Hi All,

My second attempt to join in on this discussion.  Most of the discussion 
thus far (and for good reason), is centered around the cost of the 
equipment and cost comparisons to glow.  Eric's note below and some others 
also point to the development stage of the technology too. 

Having flown Tony's Partner only once (but watched it fly quite a bit), 
and having seen just a few other electric pattern planes (Jason's, and 
Billy Meadows'), the flying advantage of the electric was enough to make 
me want to get one going, regardless of the learning curve.  From my 
perception, the pilot does feel the difference between the glow and 
electric setups regarding less vibration.  The plane is going to be easier 
to setup for a constant speed envelope, where there is less of a "gap" 
between slow and full-throttle horizontal velocity.  With the narrowed 
speed envelope, it MUST be a tad easier to setup the plane as the "one" 
setup has a smaller velocity range to work and be consistent in.

I'm just trying to stir up another side of the discussion.  I hope that 
some of the folks who have more of the "flying" experience with the 
electric 2M setup will relay their experience, and describe to us the 
piloting differences, trim differences, etc.

Thanks All,
Jim W.





"Grow Pattern" <pattern4u at comcast.net> 
Sent by: discussion-request at nsrca.org
06/01/2005 01:08 AM
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Re: Glow Engine Vs. Electric Engine for 2 m' pattern plane






John,
          I think that you might agree that what appears to be working for 
"sponsored" pilots may not yet be that realistic for those who spend their 
own hard earned dollars on the hobby. 
 
I really don't feel that electric is that viable yet. Not from a 
technology point of view, but much more of a durability and reliability 
point of view. I note that the pioneers are starting to use less 
amps/volts in the motors to get more longevity out of not just  the motors 
but also the controllers and the battery packs. (A few months ago you did 
not hear this type of statement.)
 
I also note that it feels like and may well be true, that you have to know 
a lot more about the limits of electric motors and the associated 
equipment to be successful and safe. I contact many of the "electric" 
suppliers and find it very hard to get definitive answers on what I should 
and should not do as regards the set-ups and the limits.
 
Where this leads me is that I am currently on the side of caution with 
this stuff because you can use up a very large amount of money before you 
realize that you have not gone the right route. With glow most of us can 
sort out the enthusiast vs. the zealot vs. the professional user of the 
equipment. With electric I can't.
 
I read about the rave reviews of how well a certain system performs and 
then I get the flow of private e-mails with more factual and less glowing 
(No joke intended) realities of the set-up. In most cases I can't print 
what I am sent but it does concern me that when I tried to emulate the top 
system of the day it was both expensive beyond my expectations and did not 
perform all that well.
 
It was not enough to put me off pattern, but I had been a beginner it 
might easily have sent me away.
 
Regards,

Eric.
 
 
----- Original Message ----- 
From: John Ferrell 
To: discussion at nsrca.org 
Sent: Tuesday, May 31, 2005 9:04 PM
Subject: Re: Glow Engine Vs. Electric Engine for 2 m' pattern plane

Sometimes you drink what you can afford...
 
John Ferrell    
http://DixieNC.US
----- Original Message ----- 
From: J.Oddino 
To: discussion at nsrca.org 
Sent: Tuesday, May 31, 2005 12:03 PM
Subject: Re: Glow Engine Vs. Electric Engine for 2 m' pattern plane

If electric works better it will dominate even if it costs more. Remember, 
life is too short to drink cheap beer.
Jim O
----- Original Message ----- 
From: Koenig, Tom 
To: discussion at nsrca.org 
Sent: Sunday, May 29, 2005 3:54 PM
Subject: Glow Engine Vs. Electric Engine for 2 m' pattern plane

Ed and others
 
I'm not so sure it is such a silly comparison for people outside of the 
US, where costs can be considerable in the fuel department. Our figures 
indicate that at we would be at 'break even' point if we get 100 flights a 
pack. Anything more and its gravy. We are not including things like I/C 
engine rebuilds etc either. We simply treated the packs as 'fuel' in our 
estimations. Like anything, maintenance and correct installation is an 
issue/learning curve...and done properly I can see Electric making 
economic rationale.
 
Now if anyone can just give us more info on how it actually 'feels' to fly 
the FAI pattern?
 
Anyone...please????
 
best regards
 
Tom
-----Original Message-----
From: discussion-request at nsrca.org [mailto:discussion-request at nsrca.org]On 
Behalf Of Ed Alt
Sent: Monday, 30 May 2005 8:39 AM
To: discussion at nsrca.org
Subject: [SPAM] Re: [SPAM] Re: [SPAM] Re: [SPAM] Re: Glow Engine Vs. 
Electric Engine for 2 m' pattern plane

Yes and you need to figure out the jump in your electric bill.  Getting 
silly isn't it?  It's a 2:1 comparison, assuming the batteries last, which 
apparently, they don't.
 
Ed
----- Original Message ----- 
From: Nat Penton 
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