 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| HomeDiscussion Groups General ModelsRailroadsRocketsRadio Controlled Air ModelsHelicoptersLand ModelsWater ModelsModelGeeks.com Contact UsLink To UsSearch & Site Map |
Model Forum / Radio Controlled / Air Models / March 2008Another electric flight question
The thread above on Lipos and speed controllers illustrates both the problems facing newcomers to electric flight and also the help which others are willing to give. People are very helpful but you have to know what questions to ask if you want to tap into this source of knowledge. Magazines are fine but they tend to deal with bite-sized bits so don't really come into their own until you have some grasp of the subject as a whole. The Internet is also great for answering specific questions but it is hard to get a sense of the whole and much of it is very out of date. For example the Beginner's Guide on the BEFA website was written in 1996. Being an old fashioned sort of bloke I would love to sit down with a good book secure in the knowledge that, if I put the time and effort in, I will acquire a good grasp of all the essentials. I am a very experienced radio modeller but only with gliders and the noisy oily things. I would certainly like to give some serious thought to electric flight and would be delighted if any of you experts could point me in the direction of a book which might meet my needs. Thanks. Goedendag ;-) > The thread above on Lipos and speed controllers illustrates both the > problems facing newcomers to electric flight ... E-flight FAQ's Everything you want to know about electric flight http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_7100376/tm.htm http://www.ezonemag.com -> faq Red Scholefield's battery clinic http://www.rcbatteryclinic.com/ Prettig weekend ;-) Ron van Sommeren near Nijmegen, the Netherlands int.electric fly-in http://home.hetnet.nl/~ronvans/ > Goedendag ;-) > [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > > int.electric fly-in http://home.hetnet.nl/~ronvans/ Thanks for your reply, Ron. I genuinely appreciate the help offered. I have followed your suggested link and started reading Ed Anderson's e-book. Again, I am aware that he has gone to a great deal of trouble to help others and it seems churlish to be critical but it does illustrate my difficulty. There are confusing errors which hopefully would be edited out in a commercially produced book e.g. similar motor where he probably means smaller motor. All was going well until I was presented with the statement "In NiMh that would probably be a 2/3 or 4/5 A pack". I don't doubt that this is as simple as the difference between straight and 5% fuel is to me but, to the uninitiated, this terminology is meaningless without some explanation. Helpfully a link is provided but, this being the Web, the link is now dead so it is off to Google to find out what a 2/3 A pack is. I find the answer but, in the process, another issue is raised which sends me tumbling around cyberspace and I gradually lose the will to live. I realise that, even with a book, it may be necessary to cross-refer backwards and forwards but at least I would be searching within a finite space rather than floundering around the Internet, learning lots, but unsure whether I have missed something important. Accordingly I come back to my original question. Can anyone recommend a good book to introduce an experienced radio modeller to electric flight? >> Goedendag ;-) >> [quoted text clipped - 40 lines] > anyone recommend a good book to introduce an experienced radio modeller to > electric flight? Nickel cells conme in sizes derived from old dry cell standards..a D cell is a torch battery, a C cell is smaller, and a Sub C is smaller than that. AAA is anothert size, as is A and AA, and 2/3A is a 66% long A cell. I think most of this is summarised on the overlander site somewhere. www.overlander.co.uk Oh. Not any more.. Anyway, its all fairly redundant now since most people have 'gone Lipo' The E-zone is the best place for information. Goedendag Malcom and all, > Thanks for your reply, Ron. I genuinely appreciate the help offered. I > have followed your suggested link The links I provided are more for a bit of quick skimming. Then, once a problem or lack of knowledge pops up, you remember the relevant subject(s) in those links. I cannot advise you on a good primer/book on e-flight, sorry, I don't know one. I can only sympathise with you, I myself am a man of the book ;-) too. Starting in a hobby can, at best, be confusing. No news there, been there, done that. You could tackle it the other way round though. Choose a proven electric setup (plane, battery, charger, motor) that other people in your club are using and advance (your knowledge) from there and from them. Visit some e-flight meetings too maybe? http://www.rlmahoney.co.uk/event-page.htm http://www.befa.ef-uk.net/events.htm As the Philosopher said, www.rcgroups.com is your friend. Also www.rcmf.co.uk www.rctalk.co.uk Vriendelijke groeten ;-) Ron near Nijmegen, the Netherlands int. E fly-in http://home.hetnet.nl/~ronvans/ > The thread above on Lipos and speed controllers illustrates both the > problems facing newcomers to electric flight and also the help which > others are willing to give. I have to say, the info given here from others on my post was very informative and sorted me out suitably. To get every possible combination of equipment with it's pro's and con's intoa book would be difficult. and 3 years down the line, chances are it would be out of date. The way I started in IC flying was to join a club, I learnt everything from fuel tank set ups and offset engines through learning to fly, and passing B and A certificates (god that ws a long time ago) eventually putting on a display at RAF cranwell at a full size air show, alongside Steve Elias I have always found club members informative and willing to help. Join a local club MH, its the best way.  SignatureVass >> The thread above on Lipos and speed controllers illustrates both the >> problems facing newcomers to electric flight and also the help which [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > I have always found club members informative and willing to help. Join a > local club MH, its the best way. Thank you all for your help. I am a club member and have been for many years but the majority fly IC and there is little electrical expertise around. Yes, most people are very helpful but, in my experience, the best way to obtain really useful answers is to know the right questions to ask in the first place. That is why I was looking for a good book as a starting point but the conclusion appears to be that none exists. I guess I will just stick to IC. Thanks. > Thank you all for your help. I am a club member and have been for many > years but the majority fly IC and there is little electrical expertise [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > starting point but the conclusion appears to be that none exists. I guess > I will just stick to IC. Thanks. why give up that easily - lots here are happy to help, why not become the expert at your own club and assist others then, make some money with the obvious book that needs writing? SignatureVass >> Thank you all for your help. I am a club member and have been for many >> years but the majority fly IC and there is little electrical expertise [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > expert at your own club and assist others > then, make some money with the obvious book that needs writing? The book exists. Its online and its called www.rcgroups.com Goedendag Malcolm ;-) > ... That is why I was looking for a good book as a starting point but the > conclusion appears to be that none exists. I guess I will just stick to > IC.... Sissy! ;-) Who said 'threats' are counterproductive ;-) ? I completely forgot Astrobob's (Bob Boucher) book on e-flight http://www.astroflight.com/ On http://www.befa.ef-uk.net/beginner.htm under Electric Flight Text Books / Leaflets etc. you'll find references to printed stuff. How appropriate that a man of the book should guide his club into the future ... Vriendelijke groeten ;-) Ron van Sommeren near Nijmegen, the Netherlands int. electric fly-in http://home.hetnet.nl/~ronvans/ |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2012 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.