[NSRCA-discussion] cost of electric - it's not all about price...

[Keith Black]

There are two costs associated with electric pattern IMHO, this is coming
from someone who has gone electric and is still comfortable with that
decision.

The first price is obviously the dollar price tag. Electric is pretty high
relative to glow options and I'm still concerned about battery life, but
this has been discussed ad nauseam so I will leave it at that.

The other cost is reduced flight time. This is something that isn't
discussed much but in my opinion is very important, especially for newer
pattern pilots. The fact is that the most important thing for new pattern
pilots (especially Sportsman and Intermediate) is practice, practice,
practice. In my first three pattern planes I went with 2-cycle glow engines
because I knew I could fly the fool out of them without a lot of cost or
maintenance. The reality is that the first three or so years the weak link
is normally the pilot's fingers, not the characteristics of the power plant.

I think flight time is still a factor for Masters and FAI guys, but not as
much because the upper levels pilots are mostly working on polish and not
learning the basics like geometry and which way to push the rudder when
inverted. Keep in mind too that several of the top FAI guys also fly IMAC
which gives them a lot of precision stick time outside of pattern.

With my 2-cycle pattern planes I could go to the field and fly four 15 to 18
minute flights back to back if there weren't other guys around to share
flight time with. This is huge in my opinion because I could get a load of
practice in a short time (as much as my little brain could handle).

I now have one electric and one glow pattern plane (working on a second
electric). 2006 was my second year of Advanced so the 9 minute limit wasn't
that big of a deal because I knew the pattern very well and was working on
making what already looked pretty good as perfect as I could. After NATS I
moved to Masters where I think the electric plane is more advantageous than
in Advanced from a capabilities standpoint, but I really could use the extra
flight time.  When we move to the new Masters pattern next year I may get
the glow plane out and burn some serious fuel until I get to a certain point
then start working with the electric again.

For me I think the flight characteristics and other benefits of electric are
now worth the trade-off. However, for new pilots I think 2-cycle glow is the
way to go. If I were starting over again I'd go with the OS 1.40RX, next
choice would be the OS 1.60FX.

Keith Black


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kelly Regan" <kelly.regan2 at verizon.net>
To: <NSRCA-discussion at lists.nsrca.org>
Sent: Saturday, September 16, 2006 5:40 PM
Subject: [NSRCA-discussion] cost of electric


> Can someone post the cost of a 2 meter electric setup.
>
> Motor
>
> Speed Control
>
> Battery size and cost
>
> Also how long does it take to charge one battery pack at a
> reasonable rate, something that won't kill the battery life.
>
> Thank you for the help.
>
>
> -- 
> Kelly Regan
> Visit the Georgetown Branch: http://mysite.verizon.net/vze6uror/
> Freestate Aeromodelers: http://www.freestateaeromodelers.org/
>
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