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Introduction
Glossary
1) Beginner issues
| A101 |
Why fly electric? |
| A102 |
How do I get started? |
| A103 |
What kind of planes can I fly with electric
power? |
| A104 |
How do I sign up for the AMA/MAAC? |
| A105 |
What Kind of equipment do I need? |
| A106 |
What special tools would I need? |
| A107 |
Can you suggest a few beginner setups? |
| A108 |
Are soldered or crimp joints better? |
| A109 |
What goes on which stick? |
2) Safety
| A201 |
What safety procedures should I follow when flying? |
| A202 |
What is an arming switch? |
| A203 |
When should I use an arming switch? |
| A204 |
How much power will I lose? How much weight will I gain? |
| A205 |
What is a fuse? Why use one? |
| A206 |
What type of fuse should I use? |
| A207 |
How do I choose the fuse rating? |
| A208 |
How and where do I install the fuse? |
| A209 |
Are there any safety precautions for the motor battery? |
| A210 |
How do I fuse a brushless motor? |
3) Batteries
| A300 |
Battery Basics |
| A301 |
What's Volt, Amps, "C" rating,
etc....? |
| A302 |
What are milli-amp hours? |
|
A303 |
How fast can I charge my batteries? |
|
A304 |
What is Nicad memory? |
|
A305 |
What is Cell reversal? |
|
A306 |
Should I cycle my packs? |
|
A307 |
Can I deep discharge an individual cell safely? |
|
A308 |
What is the discharge of a Nicad like? |
|
A309 |
Black Wire Syndrome |
|
A310 |
Low Tech Cell Matching |
|
A311 |
What are the effects of series and parallel? |
|
A312 |
What are NiMH batteries like? |
|
A313 |
Can I use Lithium batteries for electric flight? |
|
A314 |
What do the battery codes like SCR, AE mean? |
|
A315 |
Is it safe to solder directly to batteries? |
4) Electric motors
| A401 |
What does "breaking-in" a motor actually do? |
|
A402 |
How do I break-in a motor? |
|
A403 |
What does gearing do? |
|
A404 |
How do I compare an electric motor to an IC engine? |
|
A405 |
What are motor constants? |
|
A406 |
What's the difference between Delta and Wye Brushless Motors? |
|
A407 |
What is "timing"? |
|
A408 |
How much should I advance a speed 400? |
|
A409 |
How do I use the "speed 400 timing tool?" |
|
A410 |
How much heat can our motors dissipate? |
|
A411 |
How can I keep my motors clean? |
|
A412 |
What is a sensorless motor/controller? |
|
A413 |
How does a sensorless motor work? |
|
A414 |
What do the motor names (Speed 400,600, 05, 25) mean? |
|
A415 |
How do I do a "Water break-in" ? |
|
A416 |
How do I measure motor constants ? |
|
A417 |
Will this cheap Mabuchi 540/380 etc. be good for E-Flight ? |
|
A418 |
How many capacitors do I need on my motor and what values ? |
|
A419 |
Should I wire two motors in series or parallel? |
| A420 |
Where can I find some information on common
brushed motor constants? |
5) Speed controllers (ESC's)
| A501 |
How does a speed control work? |
|
A502 |
What is the advantage of a High Rate Control? |
|
A503 |
What is the best switching rate for a hi rate ESC? |
|
A504 |
How does a motor brake work? |
|
A505 |
What is a BEC and how does it relate to the speed control? |
|
A506 |
What are the disadvantages of a BEC? |
|
A507 |
What is a Cutoff? |
|
A508 |
How long can I fly once the cutoff takes place? |
|
A509 |
What is opto-isolation and what does it do? |
|
A510 |
How do I disable the BEC on my speed control? |
|
A511 |
Where does my BEC speed control plug in ? |
|
A512 |
Can I control 2 brushless motors with one controller ? |
6) Propellers
| A601 |
Why doesn't my Graupner folding prop extend all the way out? |
7) Chargers
| A701 |
How does charging current relate to capacity? |
|
A702 |
How can I make certain my packs are fully charged? |
|
A703 |
How does a peak (or delta peak) charger work? |
|
A704 |
Will my charger work with Ni-MH batteries? |
|
A705 |
Will a NiCad peak charger work with Lithium batteries? |
8) Model info
| A801 |
What are the differences between Indoor, Slow and Park flyers? |
|
A802 |
What are EDF models? |
|
A803 |
What exactly are EPS/EPP/Depron and other construction foams ? |
|
A804 |
What is the watts/pound rule? |
|
A805 |
What does the Watt-hours/pound rule tell me? |
|
A806 |
How do I match an electric power system to a given airframe? |
|
A807 |
How do I convert a gas powered plane to electric? |
| A808 |
Are there any proven electric setups listed
anywhere? |
9) Electrical formulas
| A901 |
How do I calculate duration? |
|
A902 |
How do I calculate Watts? |
|
A903 |
How do I convert units of measure? |
|
A904 |
What is Orme's Law? |
Reference resources
Mailing lists
FTP sites
Web pages
Newsgroups
Non-electronic Resources
Magazines
Books
Contributor Credits
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Are there any proven electric setups listed anywhere?
What works?
This section of the FAQ lists *some* combinations of motor, prop, battery,
etc. that will provide a flyable e-powered plane. Most of this information has
been derived from discussions on the EFlight mailing list. There are many other
combinations possible but this may give you some ideas. For starter setups see
also the Beginner
Issues section.
From Jack Sowle
Great Planes Electricub
Trinity
Saphire 17 turn modified 05 car motor
Gearbox of your choice, 3.5:1 ratio
Master Airscrew Wood Electric Series 12 x 8 prop
6 or 7 cell 1400 mah
battery pack will get you 8-10 minutes of putzing around or 5-6 minutes of minor
aerobatics. (It is a Cub after all)
From Bart de Ruijter
Model: Graupner Rowdy ARF
Weight: 1800 grams
Wing span: 1,4 meter
Motor: Graupner Ultra 930-6
8 Volt
Prop: Graupner Slimprop 8x4
Battery: 8 cells 1700 Mah Sanyo
(giving 1900+ Mah)
Amps: 18 A
Climb: 25-30 0
Motor run time: 5
minutes
Flying time: 7-10 minutes
Flying style: moderate aerobatics,
nice loops, Take-off (grass): 10 meters
From Bruce Cronkite
Model: SIG LT25
Wing span: 62 in
Motor: AstroFlight 15G
Prop: Master Airscrew 12x8 wood
Battery: 14
cells
Flying time: approx 10 minutes
Flying style: Stable trainer with
reasonable aerobatics
From Dereck Woodward
Model: SIG 4 Star 40
Wing span:
60 in
Motor: MaxCim MaxNeo 3:1 geared
Prop: Zinger 13 x 6/10
Battery: 20 cells
Flying time: approx 10 minutes
Flying style: Take
off in a couple feet, roll inverted then go vertical. Carry on from there
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