Sorry you nitro guys but I think electrics are where it's at

I got into RC with electrics and have absolutely no interest in flying glow or gas and it's not for a lack of understanding them either...I'm in the automotive field and beyond having a degree in automotive technology, I was also a tech and am currently an instructor.

I don't want to mess around with fiddly engine tuning and break in (especially at my altitude). I don't want to mess around with buying fuel, glow plugs, worrying about whether I'm running too lean, having limited prop selection, and the expense, short-ish life span and relatively high maintenance of an internal combustion engine.

Brushless electric motors are superior in most aspects including torque, efficiency, and reliability. Beyond that, I can drastically change the power output of a motor by simply changing batteries. I'm currently getting 700 watts (nearly one horsepower) out of a motor that weighs 160g and can get over 1000 watts out of the same motor by increasing the battery size and switching props around. I am currently flying a range of electrics from a 2lb park flyer up to a 10lb twin and a 33% RV8. The beauty of electrics is that I can fly them ANYWHERE because they're clean and quiet, I don't have to join some club and drive an hour. They're easy to set up, and with the cheap batteries, motors, and speed controls I can build a plane that's lighter, faster, lower maintenance, and longer lasting for the same if not less money than an internal combustion powered plane.

Sure, batteries need to be charged but if you set it up so that all of your planes can fly off of a couple different varieties of battery and then buy 20 or 30 of them from HobbyKing or someone like that, you've got the 'fuel' to fly all day and then some and charge them when you get home. The initial cost is a little higher but you'll come out ahead in the long run.

I realize that there's some 'tradition' in RC with IC engines and if you've used them all your life, you're probably partial to them but that doesn't hide the facts...it's just an opinion and this is just my opinion.

Electric is the future of airplanes as well as a lot of other things including cars (full size ones). The advantages are too big to ignore and the technology will only get better and cheaper. I suppose that one of the disadvantages is that if you don't know anything about volts, amps, ohms, and watts then you have some reading to do. I really don't mind that my planes don't smoke, smell, or sound like a gang of africanized bees...they also stay clean and don't require a whole lot of special preparation or maintenance. You all can get together and fly your glow planes, I'll have plenty of fun flying my electric ones. To each his own.