Everything you want to know about electric flight
10-17-2014, 04:07 AM
#176
While I enjoy researching and writing the articles in this book I also like to share other resources I find that may be helpful in your understanding of electric powered flight.
Here is a good article from Model Airplane News, October 2014
Tips for Getting Started with Electric Airplanes
by Gerry Yarrish
http://www.modelairplanenews.com/blo...s%20and%20more
Here is a good article from Model Airplane News, October 2014
Tips for Getting Started with Electric Airplanes
by Gerry Yarrish
http://www.modelairplanenews.com/blo...s%20and%20more
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jnayjaso (04-05-2020)
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jnayjaso (04-05-2020)
03-18-2015, 01:05 PM
#178
For the benefit of new readers, I have recently revised some of the chapters to bring them up to date. You may see that the article was posted in 2008 but will note a "revised" or "Updated" date shown under the chapter title.
Some of the articles were written when brushless motors, lithium batteries and 2.4 GHz radios were just becoming common. So I have updated the articles to make them more relevant to today's equipment.
As always, ask away! We are all here to help each other.
Some of the articles were written when brushless motors, lithium batteries and 2.4 GHz radios were just becoming common. So I have updated the articles to make them more relevant to today's equipment.
As always, ask away! We are all here to help each other.
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jnayjaso (04-05-2020)
04-25-2016, 03:57 PM
#179
Wow. This is great information and exactly what I was looking for. My club just lost out to a curmudgeon living near the field. No more nitro/gas. I will miss the smell and sound or nitro mostly. The smell especially brings back very great memories. I need to switch my entire hanger to electric. I am no engineer, but it sure seems like a degree is necessary to fly electric. My first endeavor will be to build a Senorita kit I have not started yet as electric, I figured that would be easier than converting one already built. Thank you for the great head start.
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jnayjaso (04-05-2020)
04-25-2016, 07:42 PM
#180
Electric is not hard once you learn to give up the idea of this glow motor = that electric motor and learn to work from watts/pound. However if you can't give that up there are electric motors sized to approximate their glow counterparts.
Last edited by aeajr; 04-26-2016 at 05:59 AM.
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jnayjaso (04-05-2020)
04-30-2017, 06:11 PM
#181
Electric power is great for airplanes but it has really changed the world of gliders. Used to be that if you didn't want to use a winch or a hi-start you put a glow motor on your glider and ran it till the fuel ran out. Or you put in a brushed motor and some NiCd batteries and ran the motor till the battery ran out. The electric batteries were so heavy and the motors so inefficent that electric gliders were not very popular.
Today the brushless motors are so powerful and the LiPo batteries so powerful that e-gliders can now be very close in weight and performance to their pure gliders brothers. And very few put glow motors on gliders anymore
Today the brushless motors are so powerful and the LiPo batteries so powerful that e-gliders can now be very close in weight and performance to their pure gliders brothers. And very few put glow motors on gliders anymore
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jnayjaso (04-05-2020)
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jnayjaso (04-05-2020)
10-03-2018, 06:37 PM
#183
If you have an intermittent problem and can't track it down, shake the plane in your hands. Reach in and wiggle wires. Sometimes there is a loose connection or one that is about to fail. This process can sometimes help you find those bad connections.
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jnayjaso (04-05-2020)
07-07-2020, 05:41 AM
#185
Over the years the nature of electric-powered flight has changed from being a dog based on inefficient brushed motors and NiCd batteries to the current high-performance state of brushless motors and Lithium batteries. Glow is fading out and the market has split to gasoline for the large planes and electric at the low and middle-sized as the dominant power sources.
I stopped by a club not too long ago that I had tried to join 17 years ago. I had an RTF parkflyer, back before the name parkflyer was in use. They would not let me in. They only flew glow and gas. And so it was with a lot of small electric pilots. So the electrics went outside the clubs and the clubs started to wither.
Today, most of the planes that are less than 10 pounds are electric. Some of the heavier planes are electric too.
A lot of change.
I stopped by a club not too long ago that I had tried to join 17 years ago. I had an RTF parkflyer, back before the name parkflyer was in use. They would not let me in. They only flew glow and gas. And so it was with a lot of small electric pilots. So the electrics went outside the clubs and the clubs started to wither.
Today, most of the planes that are less than 10 pounds are electric. Some of the heavier planes are electric too.
A lot of change.
09-13-2020, 10:23 AM
#187
Senior Member
i loved my os max back in the 60's, but fell in love all over again with electric in the 90's. it was very primitive then, and after a 25 year hiatus, i cannot believe the technology. i attribute it to the quad drone popularity, along with digital and battery advances.
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bisco (09-13-2020)
09-13-2020, 12:33 PM
#189
Senior Member
i understand the sentiment, and at 12 years old felt the same way, although that was the only choice.
now, i love my electric car, and electric planes! speak softly, but carry a big stick
now, i love my electric car, and electric planes! speak softly, but carry a big stick
05-14-2024, 08:31 AM
#190
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Is the 2015 updated "Everything you wanted to know about electric powered flight" ebook available as a pdf for download?
I have the original from 2008 but can't seem to find the updated version. Or am I just computer illiterate?
I have the original from 2008 but can't seem to find the updated version. Or am I just computer illiterate?
05-14-2024, 10:24 AM
#191
Senior Member
note post #182. ed's last activity was a few years ago. try replying to his last post, hopefully ed will get notified and comes back to help you.
Last edited by bisco; 05-14-2024 at 10:27 AM.
05-14-2024, 04:58 PM
#192
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While going through my old archive of flying related stuff I came across a PDF of your book from 2008, and one of it’s first links pointed me at RC Universe where I noted you talked about some updates in 2015. Is there a later version available as a PDF?
Regards for now.
David.
Yesterday, 10:53 PM
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Swift,
You ask an excellent question. Let us explore it, for it is worth discussing.
The key factor is this, the lack of an instructor.
The instructor you quote assumes that the student has an instructor. Quite a reasonable assumption for an instructor. And, under the guidance of an instructor, especially if combined with a buddy box, I would agree with him completely.
However, the parkflyer explosion has been based on NOT having an instructor. And so, the design of the planes are based on the premise that the new pilot will have no help. Stability and self recovering characteristics are the key design goals. Let the new flyer release the stick and the plane will self recover, assuming it has enough altitude.
If you look at the designs, many are basically motorized gliders. Roll is induced not by ailerons but by dihedral/yaw coupling. While this gives you less control than ailerons, it is highly self righting. The plane wants to level itself, by design.
In addition, the designs are heavily weighted to stable slow flight. Many have undercambered wings and the balance are flat bottom wings.
Combine extreme stability with good slow flight character and you have a plane that is incredibly easy to fly with little input from the pilot. In fact, the greatest problem most new flyers have is over control. Having instructed many new pilots, the first thing I show them is that these planes fly very well without their interference. In fact many of these planes have a beginner mode and an advanced mode. Typically the beginner mode, usually some kind of enhanced low rate resists the urge to over control.
This could go on for quite a while, but I believe you will see the point. I do not disagree with your instructor for as an instructor he has every right to choose his manner of instruction. But when there is no instructor, design can be used to help the new pilot gain his wings on his own.
And, frankly, for many the flight characteristics of the three channel R/E/T planes are exactly what they want and what they enjoy. And what is wrong with that?
I should note that in addition to being an electric pilot and an instructor, I am also a glider pilot. The classic two channel glider, R/E only, is one of the best flying thermal duration designs that one can use. What it lacks in precision control it makes up in stability allowing the pilot to fly such a ship at great distances. I have had a 2 meter glider out in excess of 1/4 mile and in excess of 1000 feet in altitude with complete confidence that the plane would seek level on its own. With a 3 meter of this design it would be possible to fly further and higher with nothing more than the energy in the air to carry it.
And I thoroughly enjoy flying them.
You ask an excellent question. Let us explore it, for it is worth discussing.
The key factor is this, the lack of an instructor.
The instructor you quote assumes that the student has an instructor. Quite a reasonable assumption for an instructor. And, under the guidance of an instructor, especially if combined with a buddy box, I would agree with him completely.
However, the parkflyer explosion has been based on NOT having an instructor. And so, the design of the planes are based on the premise that the new pilot will have no help. Stability and self recovering characteristics are the key design goals. Let the new flyer release the stick and the plane will self recover, assuming it has enough altitude.
If you look at the designs, many are basically motorized gliders. Roll is induced not by ailerons but by dihedral/yaw coupling. While this gives you less control than ailerons, it is highly self righting. The plane wants to level itself, by design.
In addition, the designs are heavily weighted to stable slow flight. Many have undercambered wings and the balance are flat bottom wings.
Combine extreme stability with good slow flight character and you have a plane that is incredibly easy to fly with little input from the pilot. In fact, the greatest problem most new flyers have is over control. Having instructed many new pilots, the first thing I show them is that these planes fly very well without their interference. In fact many of these planes have a beginner mode and an advanced mode. Typically the beginner mode, usually some kind of enhanced low rate resists the urge to over control.
This could go on for quite a while, but I believe you will see the point. I do not disagree with your instructor for as an instructor he has every right to choose his manner of instruction. But when there is no instructor, design can be used to help the new pilot gain his wings on his own.
And, frankly, for many the flight characteristics of the three channel R/E/T planes are exactly what they want and what they enjoy. And what is wrong with that?
I should note that in addition to being an electric pilot and an instructor, I am also a glider pilot. The classic two channel glider, R/E only, is one of the best flying thermal duration designs that one can use. What it lacks in precision control it makes up in stability allowing the pilot to fly such a ship at great distances. I have had a 2 meter glider out in excess of 1/4 mile and in excess of 1000 feet in altitude with complete confidence that the plane would seek level on its own. With a 3 meter of this design it would be possible to fly further and higher with nothing more than the energy in the air to carry it.
And I thoroughly enjoy flying them.
Great insights on beginner training in RC flight! The emphasis on 3-channel designs often stems from the need for stability and ease of use, especially for those flying without an instructor. While aileron control offers more maneuverability, the simplicity of rudder and elevator designs caters to new pilots who might struggle with over-controlling.
Additionally, incorporating ailerons into models can increase manufacturing costs, which may deter some manufacturers from offering more complex designs for beginners. Ultimately, the choice of plane should align with a pilot's learning goals and experience level.
