bhouin

My Feedback: (106)

I am looking for ideas on this possible conversion.

I am considering powering a Don Smith KI-61 with electric instead of gas. This plane has not been built yet. It has a wingspan of 85 3/4". The root span is 16 1/2", tip span is 7 1/16". I have been told that these will come in anywhere from 16-22lbs. The plans call for a SuperTiger 2500, others have been seen with an OS 160.

The reasons that I am looking to electric is to not have to cut up the cowl and to make it easier to deal with from a cleanup perspective.

jonnyjetprop

My Feedback: (3)

Along this line, a gentleman on ezone converted a World GS Zero with a Hacker C50 XL running on 10s at I believe 2200 to 2500 watts. An AXI 5330 series would also work. A big Actro would also. Mainly you would be looking at about a 2000 to 2500 watt setup. It won't be cheap, but still could be easily done.

John

bhouin

My Feedback: (106)

John, thanks for the input.

I am curious how an AXI 5330/24 using a Jeti 90 opto and a 10s?p setup would be for this application? Thoughts on a parallel setup for an approx 10min flight? Not sure on the prop.

bhouin

My Feedback: (106)

I did some checking with hobby-lobby on the 5330/18 and a 10S. What they stated was "According to the ElectriCalc program that I trust, you can only run a maximum of a 20x11 prop. This should yield about 1911 watts at about a 72-75 amp draw. (237 oz. of thrust) I show that the maximum amp draw for this motor to be 75 amps. (I realize that the catalog shows a 91 amp draw but the motor would not tolerate this but for a few seconds.)"

I appreciate there willingness to help (and will continue to work with them on options), just looking for other opinions as I don't want to spend twice on a motor for this conversion.

Any thoughts? Maybe I should be looking at a different motor? Thoughts on whether an Actro 60 would work? I appreciate any help that is offered.

bhouin

My Feedback: (106)

FYI, the wing area is 1064 sq.in.

Greg Covey

Hi Bob,

I agree with John's recommendations.

The weight and size of your KI-61 is similar to my 33% Edge 540. Here is the setup I am using. You will not likely find a more cost-effective combination than the AXI/Jeti setup.
[ul][*] AXI 5330/18[*] Jeti JESAP90PW Advance PLUS 90 ESC w/Program Card[*] APC 21" prop[*] FMA Power Force Regulator[*] 10s Lithium pack
[/ul]

Good luck!

bhouin

My Feedback: (106)

John/Greg/HobbyLobby -- Thanks for all of the help.

I am going with an AXI 5330/18, JETI 90 Opto and a 10S3P setup. In looking at some of the prop options, it looks like I may start with a 18x10 that should put out approx 1900w drawing 62A and pushing 334oz thrust. If the calcs are right, I should have more than sufficient push for a scale warbird to operate with extra throttle to use as necessary.

Should be a great project for this fall and on.

bhouin

My Feedback: (106)

Greg,

What does the FMA PowerForce Regulator do for you in your setup?

Greg Covey

It's a linear regulator that provides 10amps at either 5v or 6v to power your servos and receivers. When you start using big servos on these giant scale planes, the standard UBEC 3-5amp output doesn't cut it. A linear regulator, although heavier, also provides noise-free power like a battery. When you use the Power Force regulator, you don't need to use a separate receiver battery since everything runs off the main flight pack.

Note that the Power Force regulator works on a 2s-4s Lithium voltage so your 10s3p single pack will be too much voltage. My Edge 540 10s pack is split into a 4s and 6s combination.

bhouin

My Feedback: (106)

Greg,

Thanks, I may want to break down my 10s3p pack to be able to use these.

Thanks for the information and help

mcsalot

For what it is worth I have discovered that Hobby Lobby likes to exaggerate their claims on the AXI motors. I bought the AXI 4130/20 for a Rascal 110 running a TP 8S4P 8000mA Li-Po with a 17 x 10 APC prop. The end result was burning up 2 AXI motors, great warranty! I ended up getting their 5330/18 using the same ESC Jeti 77 and 8S4P 8000mA Li-Po and 20 x 11 APC prop. This combination gives me 1400 watts at 47 amps, both motor and ESC ran nice and cool. The performance flying the 15 pound Rascal 110 is great!

Monte