Model Forum / Radio Controlled / Air Models / September 2009

Electric ducted fan

LiPos can be arranged in (S)eries or (P)aralell just like Nicads. 3S is 3 in
a series, 4S is 4  10s is 10

Carbon Fiber, very strong material used to make "composite" parts

C is current rating,  1C on your 3S 640 up there is 640.

A short kit gives you plans and key parts like ribs, you cut out the easier
ones of you own balsa

no clue.
   CA hinges are plastic covered with material that CA(hot stuff, super
glue) sticks to

Electronic speed control rated at 12 amps.
There are ESCs for DC motors and there are 3 wire ECS for brushless motors.
Many of these ESCs are programable by various means. You can change the
voltage you supply to them( 2S or 4S or whatever) you can make them shut off
abrubtly so they fold your folding prob on an electronic sailplane.  Powered
gliders can be much lighter than they used to be. Another aspect of ESCs is
BEC. BEC is battery eliminator circuit.  An ESC will provide your radio with
the correct voltage to run it and also varying voltage to the motor so you
can eliminate your RX battery ans save weight. In theroy your ESC will cut
off power to the motor when the voltage gets too low as ot not run your RX.
There is an inherent risk in having your power to your motor quit abruptly
as opposed to slowing down noticable and giving you a chance to fly out of a
trouble spot.  Although, my tree climbing abilities are comming back to me
becasue of this even though I'm now in my late 40s. :)

10S pack represents lots of money.(jk) That would be 10 lipos in a series.

With the lipo battries and many little motors nowdays you would be very
impressed with what you can fly with electric.  With enough money you can
fly some VERY big planes aerobatically!

mk

http://www.wattflyer.com/forums/index.php? electric fourm(i am not a member)

http://www.atsrcplanes.com/speedcontrol.htm ESC example

http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/article_display.cfm?article_id=982 This
about EDF, the back issues are on the left, click on any you are curious
about.

Electric Ducted Fan

see http://www.rcmodels.ca/lipoly_safety.php  - #S indicates the number of
cells in series

As above

Most likely , CF = Carbon Fiber

From the cited link above:
"* "C" is a 1000:1 ratio of the capacity of a cell or pack in mAh to a given
current in Amps. It is normally used to define maximum current-handling
capabilities for charging (e.g.1C or 2C) and discharging. A large "C rating"
for discharge permits high currents from smaller packs, for instance a 20C
continuous rated 5000mAh pack is able to deliver 100 Amps continuously. In
this instance, 20C constant should be seen as the maximum "full throttle"
that can be applied ongoing before damage to the pack will be inevitable.
Like running a sports car at full throttle all the time, habitually running
a Lipo pack at its maximum C rating is not good practice"

Generally, pre-cut ribs/formers and associated molded / formed parts (like
cowls).....

??  could that have been 1/2 A or CA??

ESC = Electronic Speed Control (how you throttle an electric).  12 amp is,
of course, the current load the speed control is rated for

Same as first two, number of cells in series (undefined power rating)

Thanks to all. I appreciate it. Jim

Since no one else corrected this one...

LiPo = Lithium Polymer, not polonium.

Basically, it's a lithium ion battery but different construction.

Brian

Well, you picked up the right mag (or at least my favorite one).

Electric ducted fans.

Lithium-Polymer.  There are a number of variations on the lithium battery
theme; LiPo was the first one that was really successful as a model
airplane motive battery.  I think polonium is radioactive; no matter how
well it'd work in a battery radioactivity would tick of the regulatory
folks.

3 cells, 640 milliamp-hours.

CF = carbon fiber.

Neither.  "C" is the one-hour discharge rate, i.e. if the battery is
rated at 1000mA-h, then 1C = 1A.  (by the way, 80C -- particularly in a
LiPo -- is fantasy.  Look close, and you'll probably see that it's a
"momentary discharge spec" or some other marketing BS).

A kit with only some of the parts provided, usually aimed at the expert
builder.  This is usually stuff like foam cores, unique hardware and/or
molded parts.  You're expected to supply all of the "normal" dimensional
balsa, spruce, music wire bits, etc.

CA hinges (not to be confused with CYA).  CA is cyanoacrylate glue; a CA
hinge is a bit of plastic sheet that's custom made to work well as a
hinge if you glue it into a slot with CA.

An electronic speed controller that can supply up to 12 amps to a motor.

Ten cells in series -- if they're LiPo cells that's around 34 volts,
which implies a BIG plane.  If they're NiCd or NiMH then that's around
12V, which is moderately large and moderately (to exceedingly) obsolete.

For LiPo's that discharge rate is a blatant lie, they don't go that high
(yet?). Thread in the 'high performance' subforum:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1109269

LiPo and balancer wiring diagrams
http://scriptasylum.com/rc_speed/_lipo.html
System wiring diagrams
http://scriptasylum.com/rc_speed/_wiring.html

For a rainy day ...

*** Get a current/Watt-meter, it will save you money and will more than
pay for itself!

*** Presentation: de-mystifying Electric Flight
http://www.rcaircrafters.org/The%20Electric%20Show.pdf

Get a current/Watt-meter :)

*** http://www.ampaviators.com
-> Beginner Guide

Get a current/Watt-meter :)

*** E-book: Everything You Wanted To Know About Electric Powered Flight
http://homepage.mac.com/kmyersefo/everything-e-power.pdf
Corresponding discussion:
http://www.wattflyer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31071

Get a current/Watt-meter :)

*** Several Wiki's
http://www.wattflyer.com/forums/vbglossar.php

Get a current/Watt-meter :)
3$ diy Watt-meter:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=949923

*** http://www.ezonemag.com
-> Faq

Get a current/Watt-meter :)

*** System wiring diagrams:
http://scriptasylum.com/rc_speed/_wiring.html
*** LiPo pack and balancer cable wiring:
http://scriptasylum.com/rc_speed/_lipo.html

Get a current/Watt-meter :)

*** Monthly Ampeer newsletter, on paper and online available. Excellent
articles in the archives by e-flight pioneers Ken Meyers and Keith Shaw a.o.
http://homepage.mac.com/kmyersefo

Get a current/Watt-meter :)

*** Brushless motor animations and simulations. Mostly outrunners but
inrunners are just outrunners turned inside out, nothing fancy:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=216928

Get a current/Watt-meter :)

*** Choosing a power setup
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=739069
http://www.wattflyer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27019

Get a current/Watt-meter :)

*** About de-rating controllers and motors, starting at 'for everyone else':
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?p=11476940#post11476940

Get a current/Watt-meter :)

*** E-flight calculators, a compilation
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=606703

Get a current/Watt-meter :)

*** Current, voltage, Watt, battery-types and -C-rating explained
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=417868

Get a current/Watt-meter :)

*** About BECs, #servos and battery voltage:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?p=11679182#post11679182

Get a current/Watt-meter :)

*** 'Dry' testing brushless motors after a mishap:
http://www.wattflyer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=35216
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=240993

Get a current/Watt-meter :)

*** How to repair a brushless motor
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1079423

Get a current/Watt-meter :)

*** Motor_rewinding_101, about poles, winds, delta, star
http://www.gobrushless.com
-> knowledge base
-> basic overview (1-5)

*** And I almost forgot, get a current/Watt-meter :D

Vriendelijke groeten ;) Ron
near Nijmegen, Netherlands
http://home.hetnet.nl/~ronvans/