RE: Electric Racing Development Efforts
Iceman67;
I’m following this thread with a lot of interest.
I see that Neu also offers a 1,750 watt-minute limiter. This would probably be about the right amount of energy equivalent to a TT Pro 40 powered 424 or Club 40 plane for 10 laps. E.g. 1.2 hp X 746 watts/hp X 1.75 minutes = 1,567 watt-minutes. If you were to have 1,750 watt-minutes of electrical energy available by means of a limiter, you may very well only end up with no more than 1,500 – 1,600 watt-minutes of energy at the prop shaft due to losses in the speed control and the electric motor: 1,750 X .95 X .95 = 1,534 . . . or less. Propeller losses would be similar in either case.
I’m wondering how hard it would be for Mr. Neu to re-calibrate his limiters. It might be something as simple as changing a programming parameter. If this is the case, he may easily be able to supply us with appropriately “sized” limiters if neither the 1,000 nor the 1,750 are suitable.
I think a good starting point for this new class would be to 1) limit the amount of total energy available, 2) spec an airframe, and 3) have a reasonable minimum weight. Let the pilots buy whatever equipment they choose; their “fuel tank” size will be limited and the drag and flying characteristics will be fixed. It will then be up to the pilot to balance rpm, voltage, current, prop, flying style etc. so he has just enough energy to complete an entire heat (including a possible 11th lap).
I am looking forward to your testing.
Doug Bebensee