combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

HELLO EVERYBODY! I am interested in getting started with E power. I would like to see if there is a consensus opinion here about suppliers to seek out for good equipment and maybe sellers / brands to stay away from. I like speed, combat and 3D with a preference to small planes. I get glitsy catalogs all the time from a few electric suppliers, but judging from what they must spend on advertising have to figure that they can't offer the best deals on supplies. I understand that when it comes to certain things, it doesn't pay to go cheap. I also realize that there are somethings in general that you can cut costs on if you know where to go. Thanks in advance for any tips and leads about who to do business with.

lwatson

My Feedback: (2)

My Flight pack is now pretty standard. Hitech electron 6, Castle Creations ESC, Eflight S75 servos, and TP or Appogee batteries. The motors are lots of name brands. AXI, Hacker, HiMax, ....

I like name brands because it makes them easy to reference on this site, and they all service the products well.

As for Sellers, there are a lot of people doing ESC / motor combos. They are always a good deal. But basically it gets easy on the Web. Decide what you want and do a search, all the standard sites will pop up. There are some people that swear by E-bay but I would rather deal with someone that can give good advise and if they ship the wrong thing it is easy to return.

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

Thanks for the advice! A couple of years ago, I was looking for an electric plane that my son could fly around the motor pool while stationed in IRAQ. I picked out a small version of the ZAGI in our beloved TOWER CATALOG. It was advertised as being,"AN AERIAL HOTROD"!! It barely had enough power to stay airborne, what a disappointment. Since then I have been leery about getting anything else E powered without the advice of someone else to just take me by the ear and say, you want this, this and that [>:]!!! My son is headed back for a 2nd tour and this time I want to get him a 3D plane.

How does this combo sound?

ELECTRIFLY YAK 55 flexible foam plane
E FLITE 370 brushless
E FLITE 20A ESC
E FLITE S75 servos
TP 1320 mah lipo
MULTIPLEX lipo charger
spare 10x4.7 props
hot glue gun and sticks for repairs

He has flown quite a bit of RC, lots of combat, and I hope this set up will make a decent 3D trainer out there in the sand for him.

proptop

My Feedback: (8)

Hey CP!
I don't know about the flexi flyer Yak...all I know is that I haven't heard much good (flying wise ) about it's "sibling", the UCD version. It might be able to take a beatin' though?

If ya really want a good flying 3D foamy type , ask around in the 3D forum, and be prepared for a lot of choices

(just had a thought...if he's in the military, will the plane need to be broken-down for transit on occaison?)

The rest of your stuff there doesn't sound bad...but I personally don't have any experience w/ that charger. (I am using a TP-425 )

TP batteries are great IMO, and the Kokam's I have are good too... I have 2 E-Flite 20A. ESC's and no complaints.

The 2 E-Flite 370 BL motors I have are still going well after a year of hard flying.
The 2 Himax motors I'm using are holding up fine also.

I don't know how well those motors and the associated gearboxes will like sand though?![:'(]


You might be better off going direct drive with an "outrunner" motor? The Rimfire seems to get good reviews around here, and the e-flite's...


Send my best wishes and support to your son, and his comrades in arms CP...

Tom

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

HI TOM! Ya, this thing is pretty flimsy, doesn't look like it would like being flown over 20 mph. It weighs about a pound and has decent wing area, so I'm hoping it will be controllable in a small area. Being in the motor pool, at least he has access to lots of compressed air and brake cleaner. Ideally, he will get good enough to grab it out of the air in a hover or land it on the roof of a HUMVEE to keep it clean . I think he will be going to an established compound, so once he gets there, he'll be dug in for the duration. Thanks for the advice and well wishes, CHUCK

jlkonn

My Feedback: (1)

I've had good luck with the following.
Always very helpful when I ask questions via email or phone.
I too am just getting in to electrics.
I was trying to deal with a supplier that shall remain nameless.
I was getting ready to order but wanted some suggestions on individual items.
When I emailed him he said I should look it up on the website.
When I called Balsa the guy walked me thru my order piece by piece.
http://balsapr.com/
Good luck!
JLK

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

That's a very good looking site, thanks for pointing that out!