Electrics

[ccmlbuck]

I never want to see another stinking glow engine.  I can count one one hand the number of contest rounds I've completed with the engine still running this year.  I had trouble with the Webra 145 last year.  This year I battled the OS 160.  I bought one of the huge dollar Pinnacles before the Nats with a YS 160 so I wouldn't have so much trouble there.  Unfortunately the motor came in a month after the Nats.  So I take the Pinnacle to the D4 finals.  I only had about 6 flights on it but the plane flew pretty good so I wanted to fly it there.  Takes 2 hours with the help of many to get it to start Sat AM.  I get 2 flights with outstanding power and predictable throttle response.  Even won a round.  Starts and revs up nice for round 3 but a few minutes into the flight power starts decreasing then the motor dies. (Yes, the fuel tank was full)  With wind as it was and tall bushes surrounding the runway I didn't make it back.  Hit a bush.  Plane is repairable but no longer worth $3,000.  People say the batteries and all the associated electric equipment are too expensive.  Tell me how expensive it is to get 10 flights on a $3K plane and crash because the motor won't run.

How expensive is it to take a week off work to go to the Nats.  This year I was in 8th place in Masters after 4 rounds.  They were taking 8 places to the finals.  I needed 2 more solid rounds.  In round 5 my OS 160 spit and sputtered with low power, in round six it died on the first manuever.  I finished in 12th place.  Not in the finals.  How expensive are those batteries?

After the Nats, Andrew Jesky let me fly his electric Brio.  At the D4 finals Bob Mairs let me fly his electric Eclipse.  In both cases I was mesmerized by the power characteristics of the electric motor.  You have totally linear throttle response over the entire range from idle to full power.  I was amazed as I pulled the Brio into a perfect vertical (easy to do as the plane flys so well at low speed with the huge slipstream) and slowly added power until I was satisfied with the rate of ascent (a little over 1/2 throttle on the stick).  The plane then ascended at a constant rate of speed without any further intervention on my part until I told it to stop.  While doing a slow roll I found that the plane was slowing down but just a touch more throttle stick and amazing, I got just the little bit more power that I asked for.  Not smoke and babbling and wondering if the the motor will keep running.  The electric motor really reduces the workload of the pilot.

I've seen the argument that the sponsored guys are only using electric because they get it for free.  I think what is far more important to these guys is to win the contest, not a free motor or battery.  They are using electric because it is for now the superior power source for pattern flying and gives them the highest probability of winning.   Don't you suppose if Chip Hyde wanted to use XWZ engines that XYZ company wouldn't send him a dozen of them?  These guys can get for free anything they want and they choose electric. 

With both my OS 160 and the YS 160 at full throttle and several mid throttle points the ailerons are a blur from vibration.  I have held the electric planes at full throttle and though you can certainly tell they are running, the control surfaces are pretty darn still.  Guys are using 730mah receiver packs and getting twice the time that I get on my 2000mah pack because the servos aren't fighting the vibration.  Makes me wonder if the servo couldn't do a better job holding the surface where you ask it to when it doesn't also have to think about countering the vibrations coming at it 8,000 time per second.  How many times at mid season have you changed out a servo and been suprised at how much better the plane flys.  Makes you think how long have I been flying with this damaged servo in the plane.  Since the servos last much longer in electric hopefully this problem will be mostly eliminated. 

I'll be flying electric next year.  I know there is a large learning curve and there may be some problems.  Hopefully I won't burn my house down or electrocute myself.  I look forward to no deadstick landings (which I have become rather good at),  creamy smooth throttle response with big greasy gobs of torque, servos that last forever, no oil spots in my van, not wiping goo off the plane and just flying.

Thanks for listening,  Craig Buckles

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