Corsair electric conversion
07-21-2002, 03:48 AM
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Corsair electric conversion
I have a Sterling 36" all balsa corsair that I want to convert to
electric. It uses a .10 glo engine and will come in at about 27oz.
It is fully sheeted and I plan to glass the exterior. Will a Speed
400 do the job? What about gear boxes and what battery pack
will give me decent flight times? Also, has anyone seen any good
retracts for this size plane? The few I have seen, (Robart, Hobb-
ico, etc.), are not the rotating type. I should forgo using retracts
to save weight, but it would be more fun to taxi and take off
instead of a hand-launch. Please help.
electric. It uses a .10 glo engine and will come in at about 27oz.
It is fully sheeted and I plan to glass the exterior. Will a Speed
400 do the job? What about gear boxes and what battery pack
will give me decent flight times? Also, has anyone seen any good
retracts for this size plane? The few I have seen, (Robart, Hobb-
ico, etc.), are not the rotating type. I should forgo using retracts
to save weight, but it would be more fun to taxi and take off
instead of a hand-launch. Please help.
07-21-2002, 01:23 PM
#2
Corsair electric conversion
I have the same Corsair hanging in my shop. I have a .10 size glow engine in it. This is the third one I have built. The other two flew for a very short time. They are VERY FRAGILE!!!! If yu are going to do this I would suggest that you throw away most of the wood that comes with the kit and use a higher grade balsa and ply wood.
The wing loading is pretty high as it is. If you put retracts in it, it will be a brick with wings. I built it close to the way the plans show. I added steerable tail wheel and went with 4 channel. I did replace lots of die-crunch balsa with new lighter stuff. I used fiber glassed balsa to replace ply wood. I got so many complaments on the way this little plane looks. I painted it just like the box and put all of the stickers on. It does look good the way they did the one on the box.
I am new to the aea of electrics but I have read that there are lots of people using a geared sp 400 and 8 to 10 cell packs for planes in this size range. They are getting some where around 7-8 minutes per flight.
Hope this helps a little.
Dru.
The wing loading is pretty high as it is. If you put retracts in it, it will be a brick with wings. I built it close to the way the plans show. I added steerable tail wheel and went with 4 channel. I did replace lots of die-crunch balsa with new lighter stuff. I used fiber glassed balsa to replace ply wood. I got so many complaments on the way this little plane looks. I painted it just like the box and put all of the stickers on. It does look good the way they did the one on the box.
I am new to the aea of electrics but I have read that there are lots of people using a geared sp 400 and 8 to 10 cell packs for planes in this size range. They are getting some where around 7-8 minutes per flight.
Hope this helps a little.
Dru.
07-21-2002, 04:36 PM
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Corsair electric conversion
Sure helps alot. Good heads up on the quality of the wood. The
kit is older and I always wonder if the wood has deteriorated or
they just didn't use as good a supply of balsa as they could've.
Thanks for the advice and I'll post pics later in the year when I
get to it. There is a Super Sportster that's up next, then the tiny
corsair!
kit is older and I always wonder if the wood has deteriorated or
they just didn't use as good a supply of balsa as they could've.
Thanks for the advice and I'll post pics later in the year when I
get to it. There is a Super Sportster that's up next, then the tiny
corsair!
07-08-2005, 06:41 PM
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RE: Corsair electric conversion
Hi, I just read with great interest your post. I also have a 36 inch wingspan corsair, it appears to also be a Sterling kit. It has an aluminum cowl. I bought it built a few years ago to hang from my family room ceiling.
I started tinkering with electrics a few months ago and since I love warbirds, I started eyeing it as a possible electric conversion. It had been built but never flown. It had rudder, elevators and ailerons hinged but no hardware installed.
I have installed a geared Astro cobalt 05 brushed motor, a 10X7.5 prop, a 50 amp speed control, thunderpower 4200 LiPo battery,mini reciever and mini servos(two for the ailerons).
I will replace the heavy rubber tires with foam ones, the balance point with no added weight in just aft of the wing spar. I mounted the battery just above the wing, forward against the bulkhead at the front of the wing. It weighs a total 2.5 pounds all up weight. I used a fish scale and measured how much pull was produced and it showed 1.5 pounds of thrust. It sure seemed srrong enough.
Any thoughts on this setup? Please let me know. I am working on the tailwheel now and hope to test fly it soon. Just thought I would pass this on. Hope it will fly, kinda sure it will, landing without damage might be the tough part.
I started tinkering with electrics a few months ago and since I love warbirds, I started eyeing it as a possible electric conversion. It had been built but never flown. It had rudder, elevators and ailerons hinged but no hardware installed.
I have installed a geared Astro cobalt 05 brushed motor, a 10X7.5 prop, a 50 amp speed control, thunderpower 4200 LiPo battery,mini reciever and mini servos(two for the ailerons).
I will replace the heavy rubber tires with foam ones, the balance point with no added weight in just aft of the wing spar. I mounted the battery just above the wing, forward against the bulkhead at the front of the wing. It weighs a total 2.5 pounds all up weight. I used a fish scale and measured how much pull was produced and it showed 1.5 pounds of thrust. It sure seemed srrong enough.
Any thoughts on this setup? Please let me know. I am working on the tailwheel now and hope to test fly it soon. Just thought I would pass this on. Hope it will fly, kinda sure it will, landing without damage might be the tough part.
