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During a lull period I decided to try to convert a standard Kaos to electric power. ( " Killer Kaos" ) It has been a real learning experience as well as somewhat expensive. I purchased the necessary support equipment and asked as many questions as possible to gain enough knowledge to attempt this. Although this is not my first go around with electric power, the planes which proceeded this one were designed for electric power and really facilitated the process. There was no guesswork involved as the manufacturer provided all the necessary info ( and room) on what to power the plane with etc. I knew I was on my own on this one. I bought a Bluejay kit and began my trek through the fog of stupidity. Reading up on power requirements , I determined I would like to get at least 100 watts per pound to provide a decent flying plane. More would be better because you can always reduce power and extend flying time. I'm not sure, but I am starting to think that electric flying is more related to how much money you can spare than anything else. The batteries are really expensive, not to mention dangerous if you are careless. I have included some pictures prior to my test flight today. They may be the last you see if things don't go well. The plane weighs 6.5 pounds ready to fly. I eliminated as much excess weight as possible during construction. I also installed a cutoff switch for safety which prevents me from turning my body parts into Swiss cheese by accident. I used an e-flight power .60 motor, a Castle 80 amp ESC and a 5s 4000 mah battery to start. So far the 15x10 e prop turns up well but not like my OS .91 four-stroke. It only produces 600 watts which is below my estimates. I am going to upgrade to a 6s 5000 battery and see how well that does. The biggest problem with power is finding room along the c/g to place these heavy batteries. Your comments and constructive criticism ie: ( laughter) are always welcome. Lines on wing are temp marks for c/g placement.
< Message edited by Skip -- 4/30/2008 8:19:52 PM >
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is there an electric classic pattern forum somewhere? there might be someone there with experience in some of the areas you are talking about. and shouldn't that decal say EPA (electric pattern) instead of SPA? other than that, beautiful airplane.
david
< Message edited by dhal22 -- 4/30/2008 1:47:55 PM >
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I am a happy guy!!! i just test flew the Kaos and it did really well. Flying weight on a fairly accurate scale is just under 6 pounds . BUT Just as I suspected the 4000 5s mah pack can't cut it. I am going to up the amps and volts with a 6s to -8 s pack. All in all a nice flying plane and QUIET. I need to spend some bucks ( $300) and get a better battery. Skip ... PS I use a radio shack power supply which uses 110 house current which is available at our field. It outputs 12 volt dc. That is fed into a Astro 109 charger.
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Highly skilled at at hiding new kits from wife ( Or so I thought)!!
I have a couple of kaos kits at home and I was wondering about converting one to electric power. How much do you figure the upgrade is going to cost you? I just thought it would be too much of an outlay for now. I just can't see going from a $60.00 supertigre to $500 in electric motors, BEC and batteries. Nice to have power available at the field for charging than you don't need the battery or a generator.
Jim
< Message edited by Jim_Purcha -- 4/30/2008 9:16:44 PM >
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Joined: 2/3/2002 From: Sharpsburg,
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The support equipment I bought cost about $5-600 dollars. The good thing is that once you weather that, you can use all this equipment on other projects. The biggest expense is batteries. Small lipos are very cheap but as you progress up the power scale they get exponentially more costly. To compete you should have at least three batteries. Go to any electric web site and compare prices. The bigger Lipos are rarely much under $ 300. Skip
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Nice work Skip!
A friend suggested leaving the props of electrics until you are ready to fly and removing them after flight and I think that is a wise idea. There have been some nasty accidents with motors starting unexpectedly. Happened to a guy at our field with an electric helicopter. It could have been real bad but he was able to hold it down until someone was able to help him. We also had an aircraft catch on fire in flight and another guy almost burned down his house when he was charging batteries unattended.
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Battery cost is what has held me back until now. I intend to start out with the smaller stuff, and hopefully as time goes down the cost will come down.
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I was well on my way to doing a Kaos ARF conversion, but liked to passed out from sticker shock when I saw the battery cost. That is flat ridiculous.
Fortunately, I have enough glow, gas and diesel model engines to keep me occupied until the battery prices "get real".
Ed Cregger
***What we really need are some super high output/lightweight/small/inexpensive gasoline consuming fuel cells. Next time I catch a UFO resting on my lawn....<G>
< Message edited by Ed Cregger -- 5/3/2008 5:02:22 PM >
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"Flying models since the Fifties - I'll get the hang of this yet!!!"
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Yesterday I went to the SEFF Electric fly in at Mac Hodges in Andersonville Georgia. I bought a 4200 mah 22.5 volt Lipo battery From Tru RC and installed it in my Kaos. What a difference!! The 15x10 prop really pulled. I will do a test flight tomorrow. The cost was $105 vs other companies which cost much more . Time will tell if the battery is going to be OK for pattern .If it's only half as good and I can get 100 flights with it it's worth it. I'll post the results. I have read Hansons ' thread on A123 batteries and I like what I hear. I'd like to try one but I don't know where to get one.
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Highly skilled at at hiding new kits from wife ( Or so I thought)!!
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While I realize this isn't an electric forum, I am flying an old Kaos so here goes: I replaced the 5s battery with a 6s 4200 mah 22.5 volt Lipo and the results were very good. While the plane wasn't exactly ballistic, it had enough power to do virtually any SPA manuever. If anyone wanted to change to electric it proves it was done and the results were unexpectedly good. But I'm not yet ready to sell my venerable OS .91!! I miss the feedback of the engine sounds.
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Highly skilled at at hiding new kits from wife ( Or so I thought)!!
Printable Version
All Forums >> RC Airplanes >> Pattern Flying >> Classic Pattern Flying >> Electric Kaos 
Electric Kaos - 
During a lull period I decided to try to convert a standard Kaos to electric power. ( " Killer Kaos" ) It has been a real learning experience as well as somewhat expensive. I purchased the necessary support equipment and asked as many questions as possible to gain enough knowledge to attempt this. Although this is not my first go around with electric power, the planes which proceeded this one were designed for electric power and really facilitated the process. There was no guesswork involved as the manufacturer provided all the necessary info ( and room) on what to power the plane with etc. I knew I was on my own on this one. I bought a Bluejay kit and began my trek through the fog of stupidity. Reading up on power requirements , I determined I would like to get at least 100 watts per pound to provide a decent flying plane. More would be better because you can always reduce power and extend flying time. I'm not sure, but I am starting to think that electric flying is more related to how much money you can spare than anything else. The 
The support equipment I bought cost about $5-600 dollars. The good thing is that once you weather that, you can use all this equipment on other projects. The biggest expense is batteries. Small lipos are very cheap but as you progress up the power scale they get exponentially more costly. To compete you should have at least three batteries. Go to any electric web site and compare prices. The bigger Lipos are rarely much under $ 300. Skip
