Wing Loading for "E"?
 

Can someone please give me some basic info on where to find out the correct E flite pack for what size plane. I build and fly glow now and have a few GP kits laying about. All of which would be .40's to "E" power ( I do not hold a degree in electric) so K.I.S.S. for us that want to see what these new li-poly batteries and brushless motors can do. I have checked out the glow-conversion forums but it seems everyone there already knows what they are talking about. I would even go purchase a Goldberg or GP ARF cub if that is a reference to helping me get started. So please throw me a line...you "E" guys give a new meaning to "Buzz" words :D

Thanks:
Mikel-T

RE: Wing Loading for "E"?
 

Well, as you're probably well aware, this isn't a simple subject. There's no magic formula that will tell you what motor/prop/gearbox/battery to use on XXX plane.

Having a working knowledge of basic electronics, Volts and Amps, series and parallel circuits, Ohm's Law, and the power formula is essential.

You pretty much end up learning as you go. Start out by picking a plane that you like, then do a bunch of research to see what others have done with it, or a similar, plane. Copy what they did. Analyze what they did.

As you start out a conversion, you need to work out the battery. Based on the projected final weight of the plane, and how you want it to fly, you can figure out how many Watts the plane needs. From this, you can get a current in Amps, and a cell count. .40-size planes generally use Sub C cells and a practical peak current is 40 Amps at this size. Divide the number of Watts by the current to get the rough cell count, then round to the nearest even number, erring on the side of too many cells instead of too few (my preference).

With a cell count and a peak current, you can go to a catalog and pick out a motor and ESC. There's a bit of brand loyalty involved here, because there are so many different good motors.

The prop and gearbox (if any) should be tuned to suit the flying characteristics of the plane, and the Amps you want to draw from the motor. A *calc program like Motocalc can be of immesurable help at this stage. You have a specific cell count, motor, and ESC. With Motocalc, you can experiment with props and gearboxes to find the one that gives you enough thrust and speed at the desired peak current.