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RC Guys Cessna 150 Aerobat Gas to Electric Conversion

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RC Guys Cessna 150 Aerobat Gas to Electric Conversion

Old 07-21-2013, 06:20 PM
  #1  
clandestoy
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Default RC Guys Cessna 150 Aerobat Gas to Electric Conversion

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Hello, I am new to the electric side of RC and I think a little introduction is in order. Having always flown glow and gas engines, I have recently discovered the performance and benefits of flying electrics. It started with a used Mini Funtana that I traded for to be able to fly during my lunch hour. It was small, easy to fly, and required no liquid fuel or support equipment to carry around in my truck.

Greatly impressed by this little powerhouse, I recently acquired a Pacific Aero Models Clipped Wing Monocoupe already set up with an Eflite 160, a Castle Creations Ice2 HV160, and running 10S. This setup has impressive power and really flies that plane with plenty of punch to do almost any maneuver you can throw at it, vertical is almost unlimited. This is now my favorite plane to fly!

Having been electrified by this new "ride", I have an RC Guys Cessna with a Zenoah G26 that I want to convert to electric. I have searched the electrics forums but cannot find any threads on a conversion of that plane. I am thinking about using the same exact setup as the one I have in the Monocoupe, but I am not sure if this will be enough power to give the Aerobat spirited performance. I have attached a picture of it for reference.

I have no experience in choosing setups for electrics and would like to get some input from the forum. I plan to sit the batteries in the space where the fuel tank presently resides on an adjustable and removable platform to allow the adjustment of the CG, and also mount the ESC up front with the motor to ensure it keeps cool. I am not sure if the batteries will require some venting for cooling as well, this would require cutting some holes in the firewall, something I am not too big a fan of. I also have questions of what size 3 blade prop to use with this setup.

Any recommendations and guidance is greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance for your time.

Regards,

Cesar
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Old 07-24-2013, 11:59 AM
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RCNUTKNOY
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Default RE: RC Guys Cessna 150 Aerobat Gas to Electric Conversion

I have the RC Guys Decathlon flying with the Eflite 160 motor, Castle HV 120 speed control on 10s turnigy lipo 5000 and an APC 20x10. 9 to 10 minutes flying time with mild aerobatics and 40% battery capacity left at the end of the flight. Could not be happier. Goes straight up on take off if you want to. Plane with batteries is 18 lbs.

John
Old 07-24-2013, 02:58 PM
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Default RE: RC Guys Cessna 150 Aerobat Gas to Electric Conversion

RCNUTKNOY,

Thank you very much for your reply. Could I ask you to explain, or possibly post some pics of how you mounted the motor and ESC? I am trying to mount them both in the front (on the firewall) and I am having a very hard time fitting them in there as a result of some beefing up I had done for the gear (I always felt it was a weak point).

I would also like to see how you mounted the batteries to achieve the proper CG? I just started the night before last and I removed the old engine, last night I started to mount the motor and ran into the problem I mentioned above. I am also wondering if the motor requires and right/ down thrust to be added as well?

Any direction or recommendation you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you again for your reply.

Regards,

Cesar
Old 08-07-2013, 07:03 AM
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I figured I would post some pics of the conversion I am doing on the RC Guys Cessna 150 Aerobat.

Picture-1 is of the rail system I installed to support the battery tray. It consists of two rails on each side to keep the tray locked in place. Next time I will rip a couple of pieces of pine and make slot down the middle so that it is a single piece. Something I thought about afterwards so it will go on my next project.
The tray is held in place by a screw that will go through the tray in the front and into a blind nut I installed into the rail that spans across the space.

I will be installing a piece of solid foam and some acorn nuts on the screw that protrude through the firewall into this space to keep the batteries safe should they get slammed into the firewall for any reason.

Picture-2 is of the Futaba 3305 metal gear servo I installed in the rudder. I had a Futaba 3010 in there originally but wanted to get a little more power back there. I will also be changing out the 3004 servos I have in the ailerons for more powerful ones as well.

Picture-3 is of the Hitec metal gear servo I installed for the steering. I wanted something sturdier up there to be able to withstand the shock of the strut a bit better.

Picture-4 is a head-on shot f the business end of the plane. That E-flite 160 sure is a sweet motor!

Picture-5 is a side shot of the setup. I hope to get some eye-popping performance out of this setup. It should give much greater pulling power than the G-26 I had in there originally.

Picture-6 is of the batteries mounted in the tray. I had the shave down two small indentations in the front piece of the rails to allow the tie wraps to slide in. I will also be installing some velcro onto the bottom of tray to keep the batteries from sliding front to back.

Picture-7 is of the tray itself. I made it from lite-ply but feel it may be a bit weak. I may double up on the wood or I may buy some 1/8" aircraft grade ply and make up a new tray. I'll wait until I maiden her to see if it is necessary.

Please feel free to comment or make suggestions, I am always looking for ways to improve my builds
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Last edited by clandestoy; 08-07-2013 at 07:04 AM. Reason: .....
Old 08-15-2013, 04:00 AM
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subzJC
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By using that standoff for your motor, it seems the hole in the firewall
will be sufficient to cool your batteries. However equally important is
the exit for the airflow. I have read many times that the outlet needs
to be twice the size of the inlet. Did you end up putting and down/right
thrust in the motor?
Old 08-20-2013, 03:55 AM
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subzJC,

I had to put the project aside for a bit due to life getting in the way (I hate that), but I have been pondering the issue of airflow for cooling for a few days now. There is a cavity inside of the firewall that is open to allow some additional air in, but I am not sure what direction to take to let it escape. The easiest solution would be to open some of the covering on the bottom of the plane towards the middle or rear but I did not want to damage the look; another thought was to cut some holes in the side and rear windshields. Any suggestions in this area are greatly appreciated.

Initially, I thought about adding some down/right thrust but was told by one of the members that the firewall already had some built in and that I should fly it first to see if any additional was needed. I will maiden her in the present configuration and will do some testing to see if any is required and correct if needed.
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Old 08-28-2013, 04:48 AM
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It looks like you are using the CC 160 ESC. I have that control on my 50CC Wild Hare Sukhoi...monster in the air, by the way...the great thing about that ESC is that it logs flight data on the motor and ESC temps, rpm, power drain, and lots more. Castle has a nice downloadable program for your PC that will tell you all you need to know about the operating parameters. You can purchase a USB connector cord from Castle(very inexpensive) to connect to your PC. Castle is incredibly patient with their time teaching a novice how to understand the information gleaned by the data logger. Makes it much easier to decide if you need to change anything in your set up at all. FYI

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