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Sig Seniorita

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Old 06-15-2006, 07:55 AM
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cornj
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Default Sig Seniorita

Wanted to share very nice combination plane
Sig Seniorita built with 2 wings, 3 channel and 4 channel. Mega 16/15/5, MEC superbox 5/1, CC80amp ESC, 6S2P-4000 8C 32amps max CS battery packs $84.00 for this pack, APC 10x5E(3ch wing training)APC 12x6E(4ch wing). 9 amps static with 10x5E(225watts) and 18 amps static 12x6E(450watts). With 3 channel wing and 10x5E 45 min flights, 12x6E reduced flight time but lots of power will hover(not a great hover) and with 4 channel wing great roll rate. 4 channel wing built with no dihedral, flat. I use a separate REC battery pack and Medusa opto isolator, no radio problems with this setup. Also built as tail dragger.
Tony
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Old 06-16-2006, 07:58 AM
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eduk8r
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Default RE: Sig Seniorita

Great conversion and beautiful covering job.

Congrats!

Tony
Old 06-18-2006, 06:43 AM
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Mud Duck
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Default RE: Sig Seniorita

That is a wonderful looking airplane! Wish it were in my hangar!

I don't want to deviate the thread, and by NO means is this questioning your setup, I'm just trying to find answers as I consider converting my Sig LT-25 to electric. Having said that, I'm curious, if the motor is pulling 18 amps with the larger prop, did you really need a CC80 ESC or could you possibly have selected a CC35?

Thanks ahead of time for your reply.

Shaun
Old 06-19-2006, 06:52 AM
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cornj
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Default RE: Sig Seniorita

Tony, Shaun thanks

Shaun
I see I forgot to mention the standard CC80. I’m using a 6S2P pack in this plane which is considered HV. The CC45 and below will only run 5S max where the CC60 and CC80 will do 6S max. I also had this ESC on hand. One point to remember is when you run max Li-Poly cells on standard CC ESCs you have to back off rated max amps by 20% in my case CC80 6S would be 64amps max, no problems at 17 - 18 amps. If I bought this system today I would buy a CC45HV ESC. I flew this plane with 3 channel wing last Thursday and when finished had 38 minutes of flight time on one battery, charged the battery last night and replaced 1.71mah that’s less than half of the battery capacity(4000mha) used. In this flight I had many unlimited vertical takeoffs. The LT25 would be a great plane to convert, Pete at MEC http://www.modelelectronicscorp.com/ uses this plane as his test bed. In my lastest convertions I try to use high voltage 6S, 9S, and 12S and lowest possible current. And using cheap CS 8C Li-Ploy cells this is doable for me.
Have a good one
Tony
Old 06-19-2006, 11:54 PM
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Mud Duck
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Default RE: Sig Seniorita

Thanks for the very informative reply Tony, I appreciate you taking the time to answer my inquiry. It certainly sounds like you know what you're doing with the electric items. I don't think I'll be going quite so high-tech or high-end. For 'trainer-like-performance' on an LT-25 I should be able to get a more typical installation to work just fine. I'm thinking an AXI 2820/12 w/a CC25. According to the figures that should produce 57 ounces of thrust with an APC 13X4 e-prop @ 23.8 amps on a plane that weighs 72 ounces which is 80% thrust-to-weight which will probably out perform the little .26 four-stroke engine I currently have installed. I'll be checking the site you recommended for components. Thanks again! Shaun
Old 06-20-2006, 06:28 AM
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cornj
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Default RE: Sig Seniorita

Shaun
I have the AXI 2820/10, Jeti 40amp ESC, 10cell GP3300s, APC 10x5E in a 50" Old Reliable(old free flight model, used a K&B 20 and 28), this is a great flying model with 2820/10. If you plan on using 10 cells or 3S I would recommend the 2820/10 if I remember right the 2820/12 is made for a higher cell count like 12 or 14 cells. Also I would go with a 40 or 45 amp ESC with that motor. My 2820/10 with 10x5, static 31amps.
Hope this helps
Tony
Old 06-20-2006, 06:59 AM
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Default RE: Sig Seniorita

Okay, I'll start looking for the 2820/10 instead. That is certainly one part of the electric world that still eludes me - wound around 10 turns, 12 turns, etc. In my 'glow infested' mind I thought more turns would be a better thing. I have thought that someday I might try a 4S pack and would need the 12 turn version to do that, but if the plane flies well on a 3S, I'll probably never use anything else. 31 static amps is very interesting, higher than I expected, but I certainly trust your data and I will go with at least a CC35, but will probably get the CC45 in case I want to use it for other applications some day. I'm sure you are already familiar with this site, but I was getting the data I had from http://www.flyingmodels.org which has a huge list of data regarding AXI motors using various props. Again, I really appreciate your help in starting with the correct equipment.
Old 06-20-2006, 09:14 AM
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cornj
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Default RE: Sig Seniorita

Shaun
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=524948
Go to post #4 the red and white plane is old reliable with 2820/10
Remember you will seldom use 31 amps, my best guess is 10 amps average, this plane flies for 20 to 30 minutes per charge.
Also if it was me converting LT25 I might also look at the AXI 2826/10 on 3S with 13x8 prop, I don't own this motor but think this may be used more now in a 3S world.
Tony
Old 09-01-2006, 10:24 AM
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Mud Duck
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Default RE: Sig Seniorita

Hi Tony!

I am so sorry that it has taken this long for me to get back to you, especially after all of the help you provided. Of course, it took me a long time to sort through all of the various motor, ESC, and battery combinations out there, but I have finally finished with the electric conversion of my LT-25 and I am extremely satisfied with the results. As I said, after shopping around quite a bit, I ended up finding the best deal at my LHS (Mid-Mo Hobby Shop in Jefferson City, Missouri). I ended up using a HiMax HC3516-1130 that is designed for use with 3C batteries. I am using the CC 45 (standard) ESC and Dualsky 3400 mAh 3S2P packs. The ESC is mounted outside of the airplane to help keep it cool, it fit perfectly between the mounting spacers provided with the HiMax motor, as follows;


To keep the battery cool, I devised a scoop on the bottom of the airplane. The air is passed through a duct that I created on the inside that goes up and over the battery and out the rear of the airplane. It works fine, but I am going to modify the exit port so that it is a little larger and has a nice looking cover. Here's a photo of the scoop;


The LT-25 with the electric conversion came out 4 ounces lighter than with the OS FS-26 glow setup. The performance of the LT-25 on electric is actually more than I wanted, but who can complain about that, right? At full throttle, the LT-25 simply jumps into the air and will climb out at a 50 or 55 degree angle as high as I might want. I rarely fly in this manner, but I can if I want. When I drop the flaperons, it can be in the air with a take-off run only slightly longer than the length of the airplane, shorter if there's a headwind. Here's a shot of the beginning of my first take-off, which caught me off guard as it started at this angle, then climbed out nearly straight up until I cut back the throttle;


Landings are a thing of dreams. It was an unexpected surprise to discover that landings are so smooth and so slow, because in essence, every landing is a 'dead-stick'. Don't know why that didn't occur to me earlier. I don't mind landing dead-sticks, but this is even better because it is under complete control. The airplane will come in at an absolute crawl. With the flaperons on landing, I have to shove the stick forward to keep it coming in. I have been able to thermal the airplane and extend my flight times. It will usually fly from 25 to 35 minutes depending upon how aggressive I get with the aerobatics. I'm sure none of this is a surprise to you as you've been doing this for a while now and already know of all the benefits.

It was a fairly expensive prospect to make this conversion, but in the end, I am very glad and extremely satisfied with the results. If anyone else is thinking about taking this step, I would certainly encourage you to do so, you won't be disappointed. You will also be amazed at the convenience of simply taking out an airplane, a transmitter and a battery pack (or two), GO FLY! It's great.

Thanks! Shaun
Old 09-04-2006, 11:07 AM
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cornj
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Default RE: Sig Seniorita

Shaun
Great job on the conversion and you did it yourself. I have looked at the HiMax outrunners and with there mounting hardware included are very cost effective. A friend at work wants to build a LT-25 this winter as his first build project and power with electric power, I will pass your power system info on to him this would work great for his project. One more point you should have added when your done at the end of a fling session you just put the plane in the car and go home-no clean up, electric power is expensive but it my pay for it’s self in convenience.
Again great job
Tony
Old 09-04-2006, 12:40 PM
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Mud Duck
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Default RE: Sig Seniorita

You are so correct!! Leave the Windex and paper towels at home, no gunk to clean here! You don't have to fuel-proof everything (although most of it was already done on mine ) It's such a beautiful day, I am going to toss it in the back of the van and do some flying with the guys to celebrate Labor Day.

Please have your friend keep us up-to-date on the progress of his LT-25, with pictures if possible. I would be happy to offer any information or other pictures of the equipment in my Kadet. I will be re-covering the airplane to get rid of some of the hanger rash the plane experienced over the years, it deserves a new covering job now that it flies this well.

Thanks again! Shaun

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