Rod & Chris,

Glad you like the airplane. As soon as the release information is finalized I'll let you guys know. Because of my dealings with this company no plans will be available until release.

If you're going to buy a Hacker motor the best place to get quality service, support and information is through Aero-Model in Tempe AZ. Aero-Model is the official US distributor. Sean Plummer and Tim Lime have been a tremendous help in finding the correct power plant for this airplane.

Aero-Model (480) 726-7519
http://www.aero-model.com

I have yet to try the new HeCell NiMH but they do look promising. The fact that you can pull more current with the Nimh than the Li-poly can be an advantage, but the Li-poly energy density is still higher thus making it theoretically a superior power source, provided you combine it with a motor that produces the torque per amp that you need while also staying within the batteries current limits. We tried 3-4 different motor winds until we found one that really worked well.

I have a feeling that Torpis' Sukhoi (which is really awesome BTW!) with a B-20 26S and a 6-cell Li-poly pack, could come out in the 15-16oz flying weight while providing 3+ minutes of hover and 10+ minutes of normal flying. Perhaps they are getting this now but their extreme test video only shows the hover duration’s to be 65 seconds.

The motors they are using are "hot wind" motors (B20-12L, 15L) and they require more current. The obvious advantages are that you can fast charge the NiMH, they are cheaper than the Li-poly, and you don't have to have a specialized charger. The HeCell in my opinion the best NiMH available for what we're trying to do.

I hope this helps,

George Hicks