i absolutely hate the hair dryer sound of most EDF (yes i know there are a few that sound like a turbine but they are the $$$ of a turbine) but with that said, i'd convert every turbine i've got to EDF before i'd go back to ICDF. plug and play and they actually have enough power to fly around on.
Forgive me I have to laugh at a lot of the statements made on this fourm about EDF. I really think it comes for guys that just don't do it and really know.
But there are plenty high blade count fans that sound awesome and are cost effective. Stu Max fans fit the bill for great sound, performance and cost. With motors there in the $700 range for larger fans and $400 for smaller fans.
With that said if you have a glow plane with a Dynamax, they make a really great conversion and sound dam near as cool as the Stu Max.
There are many ways and motors to convert the dynamax...some are really cheap and can work great.
There is also one of my favorites the Dyn-E-Max from fred baldwin... I love fred, but I have heard of slow shipping for some. I have not had that experiance myself.
Here's a video of my Stu Max powered Spark... I built this entire plane for $2400 ready to run, that's the price of just a turbine. It gets 6:30 to 7:00 flights on cheap packs at 170mph top speed.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sRhYfqX9-0[/youtube]
Here is a my Habu with the new Stu Max 80mm... what a joy of a fan to fly smooth and powerful.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdzQUYXwNg0[/youtube]
Here is my Tam Jets A-4 with a Dyn-E-Max (converted Dynamax on 4000 watts) 17.5 pound jet
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZtSNIUZBfU[/youtube]
And one of my favorite conversions Pablos dynamax powered hawk... I have one also that I'm sorting out
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVXJKfagL10[/youtube]
I started jets many years ago with a os 91 powered dynamax yellow A-4... why in the world anyone would even want to deal with dead sticks, a huge mess and low power I don't know
I would totally get it if it was for budget reasons, it is very cheap these days.. but I wouldn't do jets if that was my only option, not worth the headache
If anyone wants help picking out fans or conversion hit me up I'm more than happy to help, I'm tied to no one just a modeler that likes to pass on what I've learned from others in electrics