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

Tue Sep 19 04:35:30 AKDT 2006

HI Keith,

Good points below.  Going electric alone is the not prescription for higher
scores.  In no order of priority, this is what is needed to continue to
improve:
1.  Reliable setup with good power for your sequence
2.  Coaching (experienced help with the maneuvers and plane trimming)
3.  Well trimmed plane with minimal mixing required (low pilot workload
plane)
4.  LOTS of conveinient flight time (find a way to fly somewhere between
home and work if possible).  1 to 3 flights twice a week is far better than
5 flights on one day for skill retention.  

I personally see the decision to use electric or glow more as a R/C
lifestyle decision, and not a performance decision.  If you are happy to
tote the charging infrastructure around, OK with the time required to
monitor batteries when you are charging, OK with the # of batteries you need
to fit your practice/improvement goals, OK with the cost, then it run with
it. 

Performance wise, for classes Sportsman - Masters, nearly any of the popular
setup combinations works just fine.  For FAI, you will need to be prepared
for more equipment testing and the possibility of purchasing equipment, not
liking the performance, and then going for another ESC, Motor, or battery
manufacture, especially if you are attempting to make a long lasting setup
combination, not running on the edge of equipment failure on a
windy/hot/humid day.  This is especially true if you stray away from a known
equipment combination.  Obviously, the performance is there but just depends
on how you tap into it.

We are all familiar with habitual glow issues.  Is a spare glow engine nice
to have on hand?  Sure, but this is proving just as true with the main
variety of electric equipment too (motor/ESC/Battery).  I decided to stop
flying electric pattern or 2-cycles in FAI after the 2006 Nats.  What I have
seen after switching to the YS 160 is that the motor is easy to run (using
the soft-start technique as to avoid the "thump" on start), very CONSISTENT
power, and a few props I really like (16.5x13W, 17x12, 18.1x10.1).  

Again, this is just personal opinion, but the Glow way of flying is much
more to my personal liking, and I'm much more prepared to deal with the full
realm of glow issues, versus electric.  With any setup, you need to be
prepared to deal with the sound meter.  Each system has prop options to get
performance if you are prepared and do some testing ahead of time.

Thanks,
Jim W.
YS Performance (post 2006 Nats)

PS - Love the smoke!  After years of making fun of it and seeing it only as
a scoring obstacle - I actually now think if you are flying well (and this
is the goal), it helps you.  Also, when other planes are in the air and you
want to know if your motor is running after a spin, you only need to click
the throttle and you can see smoke.  Again - just my opinion.  Jim

-----Original Message-----
From: nsrca-discussion-bounces at lists.nsrca.org
[mailto:nsrca-discussion-bounces at lists.nsrca.org] On Behalf Of Keith Black
Sent: Tuesday, September 19, 2006 12:11 AM
To: NSRCA Mailing List
Subject: Re: [NSRCA-discussion] cost of electric - it's not all
aboutprice...

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/
>
> _______________________________________________
> NSRCA-discussion mailing list
> NSRCA-discussion at lists.nsrca.org
> http://lists.nsrca.org/mailman/listinfo/nsrca-discussion

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