This is the latest video clip of the HACKER electric powered Funtana. The model weighs 10.5 LBS and flies for 15-20 min using a new technology Lithium battery system. The model turns a 22x12 APC-E Prop.

Thanks to Jason Shulman for the excellent piloting in the breezy conditions!

Funtana Hover Video http://www.rccraze.com/funweb.mpg

Best regards.
Sean Plummer
http://www.hackerbrushless.com

it worked and then stopped??

works now.. sorry!

Hi,

you can't post this here-- electrics don't fly!:_)

Just kidding... 20 minutes flight times on Lithium-Poymers,
right?

Awesome power in that plane.....!


Knifeedge hover

Which Funtana is that? The one Desert sells?

Hi ,

The model is the standard Funtana glow kit, available from Desert Aircraft. The model was built exactly the same as the glow version, except of course for the motor/controller/battery system.

Best Regards,
Sean Plummer
http://www.hackerbrushless.com/

Lithinum batts?

I thought that you could only pull an amp or two with those batteries without damaging them. How many are you pulling? and how?

Thanks Alan

We have been testing a " New Generation" of Lithium Poly rechargable batteries for a few months now. These cells are 7800mAh in capacity and can be discharged 35 amps with up to 60 amps peak.

The Funtana in the video is at about 30 amps in hover and 53 amps peak.

Best regards.
Sean Plummer
http://www.hackerbrushless.com

Would you tell us the power plant spec?
Motor size (part#), gear driven?, controller, battery, etc
If possible with weight of each components?
Thanks,

Since I'm flying the "sistership" to that funtana I'll chime in. The motor is a prototype hacker,.. sort of a revision to the B50-XL series. The motor is roughly 12 ounces. You then have the gearbox, mount, speed control,.. total about 16 ounces for the power system. The 30-cell nimh batteries that have been used in the funtana's are about 4 lbs. The lithium pack drops that to about 2.75~3 lbs for the "fuel" component, and takes flight times from about 8 minutes to somewhat over 20 minutes. The motor is a 14 wind , like the B50 14XL, but it's a newer version with many differences. I flew the one in the video last weekend at an electric event, and the lithiums really provide a huge increase in performance, along with the higher ratio gearbox and larger prop. Mine has been flying at 5.2 ratio with a 20X8, but the 22X10, 22X12, and 24X12 electric series props were just released by APC, and the aero-model/hacker guys have installed a higher ratio gearbox to swing the larger 22X12 prop. Although mine is expending more power (2100+ watts input, roughly 3 horsepower), I have a touch less pwerformance than the larger prop, lower input power setup in that video. It's really an eye-opener when you start using larger and larger props with an electric. You get more "usable power",..i.e. thrust ,.. AND speed (assuming pitch is right), with less power drawn from the batteries. As a side note, I'm using some of those same lithium polymers in my E3D, and my logo 10 electric heli. The logo is full 3D for 20 minutes and about 7 ounces lighter, the E3D is a 1/2 lb lighter and now goes for just over 30 minutes of full 3D style flying.

fill us N!!!!!!

outstanding flying,


weight?
CG
balance point?
control throws?

around 12 lbs (a bit less) with nimh pack, 10.5 lbs with the li-poly pack. I don't know what the exact controls throws are on that one, mine is 45 degrees ailerons, 65 degrees elevator and 45 degrees rudder (each way of course). CG is right at the "hook" that the rubber bands go on to hold the wing panels on.

thanks gwright

It doesn't work on my computer!
It says on a little box titled Ulead Media player

Cannot find the path specified. Help!
I badly want to see the Funtana videos!
Luke

its ok it worked after i restarted my computer

Wow. Now I'm really drooling. Mine should be finished by the time those Hackers are available. I preordered the lipolys will hopefully have them sooner than that.

KMD

How do we get hold of these "New Generation" batterys?

Thanks Alan

you first speak with your bank manager........

Unfortunately, Marc is correct. There is no final pricing, but it appears the 3-series, 4-parallel packs will be somewhere in the $220 range, and the funtana uses 3 of those packs, so about $600+ for the power. The 30-cell nimh packs cost about $150 if you buy the individual cells/wire/connectors/heatshrink and solder them up yourself like most of us do. Those li poly's are under the "thunder power" name, and you can check www.flightenergy.com for availability and pricing, when that's all finalized. i don't really know the real flight time on the funtana with those packs, but I do know that the video above with Jason flying was shot after over 12 minutes, demonstrating that power does not diminish with these batteries untill the end. Also, in one of the first few flights with them in the funtana, I heard that Tim was torque rolling at the 24 minute mark and still had full power to pull vertically out of hover. As with any new hobby application of a technology, the price will be high at first,.. and I hope these follow suit and decrease in cost at some point, because they could surely lead to a revolution in electric flight. Strange, it took almost a decade to evolve from 1200mah sub-C cells to 3300mah sub-C cells of the same size and weight,.. then considering these lith poly's, it's gone from the 3300mah cells to basically 7800mah for 1/3 less weight. It's really an exciting time for electric flight.

Flight Energy will have them in the next week or so.

They are about the price of an equivalent amount of mah of NiCd or NiMh batteries. ie: One 7800 mah lipoly pack is equivalent to three 10 cell packs of 2600 mah NiMh packs. Those 10x2600 NiMh packs got for somewhere around $70 apiece.....

Many folks mistakenly count the price of batteries as part of the price of an electric airplane. Batteries are actually FUEL, and you purchase fuel "in advance" for electric airplanes. While the price of electric "fuel" cannot at present compete with the price of gasoline, it is not all that prohibitive when compared to the price of glow fuel for large glow engines, if you do the math. (even at the current "new technology" price of lipoly batteries, which will undoubtedly come down in price) I have a Saito 180 and it drinks $15 per gallon glow fuel like it's going out of style. I get about 6.5 flights of 7-8 minutes out of a gallon of glow fuel. At $15 a gallon, that's about 31 cents a minute. If I purchase a $200 battery pack which allows me to fly for 25 minutes, and I only get 200 cycles out of that battery pack, that's 4 cents a minute. The numbers and your milage will of course vary, but stick some numbers in a spreadsheet and play with them if you want to get an idea of the true picture.

And then of course there's the long list of hassle free e-flight advantages which I won't get into

Gary, you beat me to the punch before I could fnish typing.

If we punch in that $600 figure into a spreadsheet with the calculations that I mentioned, that comes out to 12 cents a minute.

Thanks for the help,

I will have to wait for the batts to come down is price yet, Im only 16 an don't think I could get a pocket money increase for that. LOL

I really liked the sound or 20 min on my brushless Gnat. Oh well maby in a year or too. I guess that it really depends if they could sell them commertially out of the modelling aera, then the price would go down.

Thanks anyway though, Alan.

actually, they are allready sold commercially out of the modeling area,.. these cells were developed for cellphones and soon pda's and laptops. If it weren't for that, they'd probably be double the cost they are now. the modeling market, even considering the size o the worldwide market,.. is nowhere close to being large enough to even spend the R&D money. Unfortunately, everything we get in the way of batteries is the result of other industries.

Thanks gary,

You confirmed what I thought, I just could not think of what would need good duration and 30 amps draw. I guess laptops etc are the aeras we should be watching for future developments.

Thanks Alan

Gary,

How many packs does the Logo 10 use? One or 3 like the Funtana?