NEAT STUFF: Okay, the title of this section was made with pun
intended, but it really does describe what is going on this month
and in the electric community in general. I’m going to cover more
of the stuff from the NEAT (Northeast Electric Aircraft
Technology) Fair that there wasn’t room for in the feature and
concentrate on the technical side of the show.
Companies are advancing the electric product line faster than
any of us can keep up with, and that reflects a trend in the market
so we’ve gotten what we asked for. We just have to try to digest it
all.
I have to thank Model Airplane News Editor Gerry Yarrish,
who offered to share some of his pictures. The conditions this year
made shooting photos incredibly difficult. If it weren’t for the
cooperation among everyone trying to cover the event, it would
have been impossible.
Data Acquisition: I’ve discussed the Eagle Tree Systems and BNP
Products acquisition systems and I continue to use them on a
regular basis. But at the NEAT Fair there were more home-brew
systems doing incredible things than you can hardly imagine.
One such system was made by electric guru Keith Shaw and
electronics guru Dave Hares using an Eagle Tree Seagull expanded
to unbelievable limits. Keith and Dave designed sensors, adjustable
firewalls, etc. to be able to measure the actual negative and
positive G loads during flight.
This is an eye-opener when you see the stresses that
asymmetrical loading puts on things. If you don’t think it happens
on your airplane, you’re probably mistaken—especially if you’re
flying big propellers on a 3-D-type airframe.
Everything in Keith and Dave’s E-flite Ultra Stick 25e powered
by an E-flite 32 motor and Phoenix-60 ESC can be measured. They
can log the servo positions throughout the flight, along with the
usual temperature, voltage, amperage number, and also the G
forces and GPS location of the flight.
If it happens to this airplane during a flight, there is probably a
line of code somewhere with which Dave can tell you what, how,
when, and where it happened, along with to what extent. It’s
modelers such as these who make cruising the pits so much fun,
and they are all willing to show you everything you want to know
about it. Great stuff!
Counter-Rotating: I’ve never seen so many airplanes with counterrotating
propellers as I did this year at the NEAT Fair. Put aside the
fact that some or most were on models that never actually used such
a system in real life; these were just “plane” neat accomplishments.
These systems are readily available from companies such as
Maxx Products (www.maxxprod.com/mpi/newdevelopment.html)
and Vision Hobbies (www.visionhobbies.com/1149857.html), which
distributes the PJS 3D 550 R Double Brushless Outrunner Motor.
Along with the off-the-shelf systems, there was Keith Shaw’s
incredible Bugatti that uses a system he built for use with his
AstroFlight motors.
Dan Landis always puts on a great show when he shows up, but
this year he had some extremely interesting subjects. When I first
heard his Kangke USA (www.kangkeusa.com) Monocoupe in the air
I thought someone had brought an airplane with a throaty-sounding
four-stroke in it.
It turns out the model was powered by Himax 6320 counterrotating
motors, each of which had a Castle Creations HV-85 ESC
and the two controllers ran off of one 10S1P 5000 mAh Tanic Li-
Poly pack. Both propellers are 19 x 12s—one regular and one
reverse pitch. Each motor is pulling approximately 70 amps. The
radio is all Futaba digitals—9451 servos and a 319 receiver—and a
Tanic 2S1P 1550 mAh Li-Poly is used for the receiver’s power.
Dave Hares works on custom dataacquisition
system. He and Keith Shaw
were co-conspirators on this lab-quality
test bed.
Dan Landis flew the Kangke USA Monocoupe 90A using an unbelievable counter-rotating
motor system from Himax and Maxx Products. Gerry Yarrish photo.
Plettenberg’s giant outrunner incorporates
propeller mounting as part of the motor.
This replaces a 100cc gas engine and
propellers up to 30 inches.
The Monocoupe was not only gorgeous,
but it sounded like it had a big radial in it
just the way it should. Oh yeah, and it would
hover too, for those of you who need that.
The model’s specifications are:
wingspan, 96.5 inches (2,451mm); wing
area, 1,460 square inches (94 sq. dm); wing
loading, 21.5 ounces/square foot (65.61g/sq.
dm); length, 61.5 inches (1,562mm); weight,
16 pounds.
100cc Gas Replacement: If you’ve been
around the electric-flight community for any
length of time, you may remember the name
Plettenberg from the days when we first got
access to high-quality brushed motors. The
company has been building excellent motors
for a long time and has kept with that
tradition by breaking into the Giant
Scale/IMAC (International Miniature
Aerobatic Club) power systems with
incredible results.
Plettenberg’s new motor is the Predator
with triple ball bearings, 20 poles, integral
propeller adapter, and swinging propellers as
large as 30 inches, developing up to 12.5
kilowatts of power. These motors are
distributed in the US by ICARE, so check
them out at www.icare-rc.com/plettenberg_
predator.htm.
Speaking of Big: Dan Landis also put on a
show at the NEAT Fair, with his large
profile airplane. The Tunnel Vision from
Chip Hyde Products (www.chiphyde.com)
flies like a big foamie, according to Dan, but
it’s an incredible sight to see in his capable
hands.
The motor is an AXI 5330 FAI with a 20
x 12 Mezjlik carbon-fiber electric propeller.
It is pulling roughly 78 amps using a Castle
Creations HV-85 ESC and a 10S1P 5000
mAh Tanic Li-Poly. The radio equipment is
all Futaba, using the 14MZ transmitter with
a 319 receiver and 9351 servos on
everything, and employing a Tanic 2S1P
1550 Li-Poly for the receiver power.
Here is how this profile measures up:
wingspan, 80 inches; length, 74 inches; area,
approximately 1,460 square inches; weight,
12 pounds; wing loading, 18-20 ounces/
square foot.
The Tunnel Vision was launched like a
little 3-D airplane, with a helper holding it
in a vertical position while Dan advanced
the throttle, and the launcher releasing it.
Check out the videos on RCGroups in the
event section of the forums at www.rcgroups
.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=411.
Battery Breakthrough: I mentioned in the
feature about the NEAT Fair that A123
Racing has what I consider to be the
breakthrough development in the newest
quest for batteries. I’ve been using the
company’s cells and can’t help but be
excited by the safety and performance so
far.
I know that MA battery columnist Red
Scholefield will be doing more in-depth
coverage of the chemistry and such, so I’ll
leave that to the expert, but I’m going to
discuss using them in an application and
what I’ve found.
These batteries’ format is a bit different
because of their construction, and you can’t
just solder to the ends of the pack like you
GWS has answered many questions about
how to upgrade motor systems mounted
on beam mounts by introducing this
custom mount. It costs less than $5.
6S pack of A123Racing M1 cells in MEC’s Solderless Power Tube. Greg buys these off the
shelf, ready to fly from MEC. The model lost 20 ounces with it. The author loves these
tubes and cells.
Dan Landis’s launcher holds the Chip Hyde Tunnel Vision for takeoff. This is not your
garden-variety foamie profile aircraft. Yarrish photo.
can with regular battery cans made from
steel. These are aluminum and require
special treatment.
They also come with tabs for soldering if
you buy them from A123 Racing. Many
people are buying DeWALT power-tool
packs and tearing them apart to get the cells,
but there are some disadvantages to doing it
that way.
I’ve found what I consider to be the best
route if you don’t want to buy the cells in
the preconfigured format from A123:
Solderless Power Tubes from Model
Electronics Corporation, or MEC
(www.modelelectronicscorp.com/). These
gems give you a stick-style pack you may
have been used to using, and they fit nicely
into any number of fuselage shapes and
sizes.
You don’t have to do anything to the
cells to get them ready if you get them from
MEC because they don’t have tabs and
don’t require careful removal and cleaning. I
bought a 6S pack you can see in the photo,
and it was ready to drop into the airplane.
I put it in my reliable Sig LT-25 powered
by a MaxCim brushless system I’ve been
flying on a 16-cell pack of GP3300 NiMH
flying on a 16-cell pack of GP3300
NiMH cells. By putting in this 6S power
tube the model lost a whopping 20
ounces! The power is the same or better
as with the 16-cell pack and the duration
is the same.
I know you’re wondering how I can
go from 3300 mAh to 2300 mAh and
have the same duration, but that’s what
happens with the loss of 20 ounces. The
voltage is a bit higher and the voltage
drop under load is less. I’m sold on these
cells in these solderless power tubes, and
so far the cells have remained balanced
through approximately 25 cycles.
Mounting Issues: Since the dawn of
modern electric flight I’ve gotten more
questions about how to mount motors
than almost anything else. Manufacturers
have finally figured out that modelers
want options, and they’ve come up with
some great ones.
When we started seeing beam mounts
in models, I started getting a whole new
batch of questions about how to mount
motors other than what were coming
with the airplanes. Everyone wanted
more power, more options, and more
answers.
The new GWS beam mount answers
all those questions. This little beaut fits
multiple brands of motors, and you can
mount the motor in front of or behind the
mount. Check out the details in the photo
and you’ll see how versatile this simple
system is.
Final Approach: There is still a great
deal left to talk about, but space has run
out. Thanks again to the SEFLI (Silent
Electric Flyers of Long Island) club for
putting on another incredible NEAT Fair
and to the Bergen County Silent Flyers
for their huge tent and hospitality, not to
mention their seminars and all-around
good times.
To the many modelers I pestered for
photos and information during the show,
all I can say is “Thanks; thanks an awful
lot.”
Edition: Model Aviation - 2007/02
Page Numbers: 95,96,97
Edition: Model Aviation - 2007/02
Page Numbers: 95,96,97
NEAT STUFF: Okay, the title of this section was made with pun
intended, but it really does describe what is going on this month
and in the electric community in general. I’m going to cover more
of the stuff from the NEAT (Northeast Electric Aircraft
Technology) Fair that there wasn’t room for in the feature and
concentrate on the technical side of the show.
Companies are advancing the electric product line faster than
any of us can keep up with, and that reflects a trend in the market
so we’ve gotten what we asked for. We just have to try to digest it
all.
I have to thank Model Airplane News Editor Gerry Yarrish,
who offered to share some of his pictures. The conditions this year
made shooting photos incredibly difficult. If it weren’t for the
cooperation among everyone trying to cover the event, it would
have been impossible.
Data Acquisition: I’ve discussed the Eagle Tree Systems and BNP
Products acquisition systems and I continue to use them on a
regular basis. But at the NEAT Fair there were more home-brew
systems doing incredible things than you can hardly imagine.
One such system was made by electric guru Keith Shaw and
electronics guru Dave Hares using an Eagle Tree Seagull expanded
to unbelievable limits. Keith and Dave designed sensors, adjustable
firewalls, etc. to be able to measure the actual negative and
positive G loads during flight.
This is an eye-opener when you see the stresses that
asymmetrical loading puts on things. If you don’t think it happens
on your airplane, you’re probably mistaken—especially if you’re
flying big propellers on a 3-D-type airframe.
Everything in Keith and Dave’s E-flite Ultra Stick 25e powered
by an E-flite 32 motor and Phoenix-60 ESC can be measured. They
can log the servo positions throughout the flight, along with the
usual temperature, voltage, amperage number, and also the G
forces and GPS location of the flight.
If it happens to this airplane during a flight, there is probably a
line of code somewhere with which Dave can tell you what, how,
when, and where it happened, along with to what extent. It’s
modelers such as these who make cruising the pits so much fun,
and they are all willing to show you everything you want to know
about it. Great stuff!
Counter-Rotating: I’ve never seen so many airplanes with counterrotating
propellers as I did this year at the NEAT Fair. Put aside the
fact that some or most were on models that never actually used such
a system in real life; these were just “plane” neat accomplishments.
These systems are readily available from companies such as
Maxx Products (www.maxxprod.com/mpi/newdevelopment.html)
and Vision Hobbies (www.visionhobbies.com/1149857.html), which
distributes the PJS 3D 550 R Double Brushless Outrunner Motor.
Along with the off-the-shelf systems, there was Keith Shaw’s
incredible Bugatti that uses a system he built for use with his
AstroFlight motors.
Dan Landis always puts on a great show when he shows up, but
this year he had some extremely interesting subjects. When I first
heard his Kangke USA (www.kangkeusa.com) Monocoupe in the air
I thought someone had brought an airplane with a throaty-sounding
four-stroke in it.
It turns out the model was powered by Himax 6320 counterrotating
motors, each of which had a Castle Creations HV-85 ESC
and the two controllers ran off of one 10S1P 5000 mAh Tanic Li-
Poly pack. Both propellers are 19 x 12s—one regular and one
reverse pitch. Each motor is pulling approximately 70 amps. The
radio is all Futaba digitals—9451 servos and a 319 receiver—and a
Tanic 2S1P 1550 mAh Li-Poly is used for the receiver’s power.
Dave Hares works on custom dataacquisition
system. He and Keith Shaw
were co-conspirators on this lab-quality
test bed.
Dan Landis flew the Kangke USA Monocoupe 90A using an unbelievable counter-rotating
motor system from Himax and Maxx Products. Gerry Yarrish photo.
Plettenberg’s giant outrunner incorporates
propeller mounting as part of the motor.
This replaces a 100cc gas engine and
propellers up to 30 inches.
The Monocoupe was not only gorgeous,
but it sounded like it had a big radial in it
just the way it should. Oh yeah, and it would
hover too, for those of you who need that.
The model’s specifications are:
wingspan, 96.5 inches (2,451mm); wing
area, 1,460 square inches (94 sq. dm); wing
loading, 21.5 ounces/square foot (65.61g/sq.
dm); length, 61.5 inches (1,562mm); weight,
16 pounds.
100cc Gas Replacement: If you’ve been
around the electric-flight community for any
length of time, you may remember the name
Plettenberg from the days when we first got
access to high-quality brushed motors. The
company has been building excellent motors
for a long time and has kept with that
tradition by breaking into the Giant
Scale/IMAC (International Miniature
Aerobatic Club) power systems with
incredible results.
Plettenberg’s new motor is the Predator
with triple ball bearings, 20 poles, integral
propeller adapter, and swinging propellers as
large as 30 inches, developing up to 12.5
kilowatts of power. These motors are
distributed in the US by ICARE, so check
them out at www.icare-rc.com/plettenberg_
predator.htm.
Speaking of Big: Dan Landis also put on a
show at the NEAT Fair, with his large
profile airplane. The Tunnel Vision from
Chip Hyde Products (www.chiphyde.com)
flies like a big foamie, according to Dan, but
it’s an incredible sight to see in his capable
hands.
The motor is an AXI 5330 FAI with a 20
x 12 Mezjlik carbon-fiber electric propeller.
It is pulling roughly 78 amps using a Castle
Creations HV-85 ESC and a 10S1P 5000
mAh Tanic Li-Poly. The radio equipment is
all Futaba, using the 14MZ transmitter with
a 319 receiver and 9351 servos on
everything, and employing a Tanic 2S1P
1550 Li-Poly for the receiver power.
Here is how this profile measures up:
wingspan, 80 inches; length, 74 inches; area,
approximately 1,460 square inches; weight,
12 pounds; wing loading, 18-20 ounces/
square foot.
The Tunnel Vision was launched like a
little 3-D airplane, with a helper holding it
in a vertical position while Dan advanced
the throttle, and the launcher releasing it.
Check out the videos on RCGroups in the
event section of the forums at www.rcgroups
.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=411.
Battery Breakthrough: I mentioned in the
feature about the NEAT Fair that A123
Racing has what I consider to be the
breakthrough development in the newest
quest for batteries. I’ve been using the
company’s cells and can’t help but be
excited by the safety and performance so
far.
I know that MA battery columnist Red
Scholefield will be doing more in-depth
coverage of the chemistry and such, so I’ll
leave that to the expert, but I’m going to
discuss using them in an application and
what I’ve found.
These batteries’ format is a bit different
because of their construction, and you can’t
just solder to the ends of the pack like you
GWS has answered many questions about
how to upgrade motor systems mounted
on beam mounts by introducing this
custom mount. It costs less than $5.
6S pack of A123Racing M1 cells in MEC’s Solderless Power Tube. Greg buys these off the
shelf, ready to fly from MEC. The model lost 20 ounces with it. The author loves these
tubes and cells.
Dan Landis’s launcher holds the Chip Hyde Tunnel Vision for takeoff. This is not your
garden-variety foamie profile aircraft. Yarrish photo.
can with regular battery cans made from
steel. These are aluminum and require
special treatment.
They also come with tabs for soldering if
you buy them from A123 Racing. Many
people are buying DeWALT power-tool
packs and tearing them apart to get the cells,
but there are some disadvantages to doing it
that way.
I’ve found what I consider to be the best
route if you don’t want to buy the cells in
the preconfigured format from A123:
Solderless Power Tubes from Model
Electronics Corporation, or MEC
(www.modelelectronicscorp.com/). These
gems give you a stick-style pack you may
have been used to using, and they fit nicely
into any number of fuselage shapes and
sizes.
You don’t have to do anything to the
cells to get them ready if you get them from
MEC because they don’t have tabs and
don’t require careful removal and cleaning. I
bought a 6S pack you can see in the photo,
and it was ready to drop into the airplane.
I put it in my reliable Sig LT-25 powered
by a MaxCim brushless system I’ve been
flying on a 16-cell pack of GP3300 NiMH
flying on a 16-cell pack of GP3300
NiMH cells. By putting in this 6S power
tube the model lost a whopping 20
ounces! The power is the same or better
as with the 16-cell pack and the duration
is the same.
I know you’re wondering how I can
go from 3300 mAh to 2300 mAh and
have the same duration, but that’s what
happens with the loss of 20 ounces. The
voltage is a bit higher and the voltage
drop under load is less. I’m sold on these
cells in these solderless power tubes, and
so far the cells have remained balanced
through approximately 25 cycles.
Mounting Issues: Since the dawn of
modern electric flight I’ve gotten more
questions about how to mount motors
than almost anything else. Manufacturers
have finally figured out that modelers
want options, and they’ve come up with
some great ones.
When we started seeing beam mounts
in models, I started getting a whole new
batch of questions about how to mount
motors other than what were coming
with the airplanes. Everyone wanted
more power, more options, and more
answers.
The new GWS beam mount answers
all those questions. This little beaut fits
multiple brands of motors, and you can
mount the motor in front of or behind the
mount. Check out the details in the photo
and you’ll see how versatile this simple
system is.
Final Approach: There is still a great
deal left to talk about, but space has run
out. Thanks again to the SEFLI (Silent
Electric Flyers of Long Island) club for
putting on another incredible NEAT Fair
and to the Bergen County Silent Flyers
for their huge tent and hospitality, not to
mention their seminars and all-around
good times.
To the many modelers I pestered for
photos and information during the show,
all I can say is “Thanks; thanks an awful
lot.”
Edition: Model Aviation - 2007/02
Page Numbers: 95,96,97
NEAT STUFF: Okay, the title of this section was made with pun
intended, but it really does describe what is going on this month
and in the electric community in general. I’m going to cover more
of the stuff from the NEAT (Northeast Electric Aircraft
Technology) Fair that there wasn’t room for in the feature and
concentrate on the technical side of the show.
Companies are advancing the electric product line faster than
any of us can keep up with, and that reflects a trend in the market
so we’ve gotten what we asked for. We just have to try to digest it
all.
I have to thank Model Airplane News Editor Gerry Yarrish,
who offered to share some of his pictures. The conditions this year
made shooting photos incredibly difficult. If it weren’t for the
cooperation among everyone trying to cover the event, it would
have been impossible.
Data Acquisition: I’ve discussed the Eagle Tree Systems and BNP
Products acquisition systems and I continue to use them on a
regular basis. But at the NEAT Fair there were more home-brew
systems doing incredible things than you can hardly imagine.
One such system was made by electric guru Keith Shaw and
electronics guru Dave Hares using an Eagle Tree Seagull expanded
to unbelievable limits. Keith and Dave designed sensors, adjustable
firewalls, etc. to be able to measure the actual negative and
positive G loads during flight.
This is an eye-opener when you see the stresses that
asymmetrical loading puts on things. If you don’t think it happens
on your airplane, you’re probably mistaken—especially if you’re
flying big propellers on a 3-D-type airframe.
Everything in Keith and Dave’s E-flite Ultra Stick 25e powered
by an E-flite 32 motor and Phoenix-60 ESC can be measured. They
can log the servo positions throughout the flight, along with the
usual temperature, voltage, amperage number, and also the G
forces and GPS location of the flight.
If it happens to this airplane during a flight, there is probably a
line of code somewhere with which Dave can tell you what, how,
when, and where it happened, along with to what extent. It’s
modelers such as these who make cruising the pits so much fun,
and they are all willing to show you everything you want to know
about it. Great stuff!
Counter-Rotating: I’ve never seen so many airplanes with counterrotating
propellers as I did this year at the NEAT Fair. Put aside the
fact that some or most were on models that never actually used such
a system in real life; these were just “plane” neat accomplishments.
These systems are readily available from companies such as
Maxx Products (www.maxxprod.com/mpi/newdevelopment.html)
and Vision Hobbies (www.visionhobbies.com/1149857.html), which
distributes the PJS 3D 550 R Double Brushless Outrunner Motor.
Along with the off-the-shelf systems, there was Keith Shaw’s
incredible Bugatti that uses a system he built for use with his
AstroFlight motors.
Dan Landis always puts on a great show when he shows up, but
this year he had some extremely interesting subjects. When I first
heard his Kangke USA (www.kangkeusa.com) Monocoupe in the air
I thought someone had brought an airplane with a throaty-sounding
four-stroke in it.
It turns out the model was powered by Himax 6320 counterrotating
motors, each of which had a Castle Creations HV-85 ESC
and the two controllers ran off of one 10S1P 5000 mAh Tanic Li-
Poly pack. Both propellers are 19 x 12s—one regular and one
reverse pitch. Each motor is pulling approximately 70 amps. The
radio is all Futaba digitals—9451 servos and a 319 receiver—and a
Tanic 2S1P 1550 mAh Li-Poly is used for the receiver’s power.
Dave Hares works on custom dataacquisition
system. He and Keith Shaw
were co-conspirators on this lab-quality
test bed.
Dan Landis flew the Kangke USA Monocoupe 90A using an unbelievable counter-rotating
motor system from Himax and Maxx Products. Gerry Yarrish photo.
Plettenberg’s giant outrunner incorporates
propeller mounting as part of the motor.
This replaces a 100cc gas engine and
propellers up to 30 inches.
The Monocoupe was not only gorgeous,
but it sounded like it had a big radial in it
just the way it should. Oh yeah, and it would
hover too, for those of you who need that.
The model’s specifications are:
wingspan, 96.5 inches (2,451mm); wing
area, 1,460 square inches (94 sq. dm); wing
loading, 21.5 ounces/square foot (65.61g/sq.
dm); length, 61.5 inches (1,562mm); weight,
16 pounds.
100cc Gas Replacement: If you’ve been
around the electric-flight community for any
length of time, you may remember the name
Plettenberg from the days when we first got
access to high-quality brushed motors. The
company has been building excellent motors
for a long time and has kept with that
tradition by breaking into the Giant
Scale/IMAC (International Miniature
Aerobatic Club) power systems with
incredible results.
Plettenberg’s new motor is the Predator
with triple ball bearings, 20 poles, integral
propeller adapter, and swinging propellers as
large as 30 inches, developing up to 12.5
kilowatts of power. These motors are
distributed in the US by ICARE, so check
them out at www.icare-rc.com/plettenberg_
predator.htm.
Speaking of Big: Dan Landis also put on a
show at the NEAT Fair, with his large
profile airplane. The Tunnel Vision from
Chip Hyde Products (www.chiphyde.com)
flies like a big foamie, according to Dan, but
it’s an incredible sight to see in his capable
hands.
The motor is an AXI 5330 FAI with a 20
x 12 Mezjlik carbon-fiber electric propeller.
It is pulling roughly 78 amps using a Castle
Creations HV-85 ESC and a 10S1P 5000
mAh Tanic Li-Poly. The radio equipment is
all Futaba, using the 14MZ transmitter with
a 319 receiver and 9351 servos on
everything, and employing a Tanic 2S1P
1550 Li-Poly for the receiver power.
Here is how this profile measures up:
wingspan, 80 inches; length, 74 inches; area,
approximately 1,460 square inches; weight,
12 pounds; wing loading, 18-20 ounces/
square foot.
The Tunnel Vision was launched like a
little 3-D airplane, with a helper holding it
in a vertical position while Dan advanced
the throttle, and the launcher releasing it.
Check out the videos on RCGroups in the
event section of the forums at www.rcgroups
.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=411.
Battery Breakthrough: I mentioned in the
feature about the NEAT Fair that A123
Racing has what I consider to be the
breakthrough development in the newest
quest for batteries. I’ve been using the
company’s cells and can’t help but be
excited by the safety and performance so
far.
I know that MA battery columnist Red
Scholefield will be doing more in-depth
coverage of the chemistry and such, so I’ll
leave that to the expert, but I’m going to
discuss using them in an application and
what I’ve found.
These batteries’ format is a bit different
because of their construction, and you can’t
just solder to the ends of the pack like you
GWS has answered many questions about
how to upgrade motor systems mounted
on beam mounts by introducing this
custom mount. It costs less than $5.
6S pack of A123Racing M1 cells in MEC’s Solderless Power Tube. Greg buys these off the
shelf, ready to fly from MEC. The model lost 20 ounces with it. The author loves these
tubes and cells.
Dan Landis’s launcher holds the Chip Hyde Tunnel Vision for takeoff. This is not your
garden-variety foamie profile aircraft. Yarrish photo.
can with regular battery cans made from
steel. These are aluminum and require
special treatment.
They also come with tabs for soldering if
you buy them from A123 Racing. Many
people are buying DeWALT power-tool
packs and tearing them apart to get the cells,
but there are some disadvantages to doing it
that way.
I’ve found what I consider to be the best
route if you don’t want to buy the cells in
the preconfigured format from A123:
Solderless Power Tubes from Model
Electronics Corporation, or MEC
(www.modelelectronicscorp.com/). These
gems give you a stick-style pack you may
have been used to using, and they fit nicely
into any number of fuselage shapes and
sizes.
You don’t have to do anything to the
cells to get them ready if you get them from
MEC because they don’t have tabs and
don’t require careful removal and cleaning. I
bought a 6S pack you can see in the photo,
and it was ready to drop into the airplane.
I put it in my reliable Sig LT-25 powered
by a MaxCim brushless system I’ve been
flying on a 16-cell pack of GP3300 NiMH
flying on a 16-cell pack of GP3300
NiMH cells. By putting in this 6S power
tube the model lost a whopping 20
ounces! The power is the same or better
as with the 16-cell pack and the duration
is the same.
I know you’re wondering how I can
go from 3300 mAh to 2300 mAh and
have the same duration, but that’s what
happens with the loss of 20 ounces. The
voltage is a bit higher and the voltage
drop under load is less. I’m sold on these
cells in these solderless power tubes, and
so far the cells have remained balanced
through approximately 25 cycles.
Mounting Issues: Since the dawn of
modern electric flight I’ve gotten more
questions about how to mount motors
than almost anything else. Manufacturers
have finally figured out that modelers
want options, and they’ve come up with
some great ones.
When we started seeing beam mounts
in models, I started getting a whole new
batch of questions about how to mount
motors other than what were coming
with the airplanes. Everyone wanted
more power, more options, and more
answers.
The new GWS beam mount answers
all those questions. This little beaut fits
multiple brands of motors, and you can
mount the motor in front of or behind the
mount. Check out the details in the photo
and you’ll see how versatile this simple
system is.
Final Approach: There is still a great
deal left to talk about, but space has run
out. Thanks again to the SEFLI (Silent
Electric Flyers of Long Island) club for
putting on another incredible NEAT Fair
and to the Bergen County Silent Flyers
for their huge tent and hospitality, not to
mention their seminars and all-around
good times.
To the many modelers I pestered for
photos and information during the show,
all I can say is “Thanks; thanks an awful
lot.”