ORIGINAL: 50%plane
ORIGINAL: Flyfalcons
ORIGINAL: bdavison
Even the giant scale guys are switching the big 40% planes over to electric.
Gotta call BS there. Only the guys who are sponsored can afford to stuff their 40% machines with electric setups. The 40%ers that are powered are more of a novelty, to show off that it can be done, than anything else. I've been flying GS aerobats for a while and every 40%er I've seen across this country is gas powered. I know you're excited about electrics, and I am getting into them now beyond the park flyer/foamy stage but the cost for similar performance on larger models is exteremly high right now. It'll come down eventually but it's not there yet.
umm, not quite. I have seen a few threads about this in many of the internet 3D flying forums that I frequent. Sure, the people that we hear about doing the big electrics are sponsored.(Chip, Beavis, Animal, etc.)However, the E power option is just beginning to become viable for the giants. Soon you will be seeing more of them as more people are building new planes and installing the latest power options in them. Take a look at QQ's Turbine powered yak. It's the only one that I've seen. In another year, I'll bet that there will be a few more because he has done it. In five years, I think it will be fairly well known as another power option.
50%
There was an electric powered 40%+ plane at Joe Nall last year... this year (I just got home from it) I don't remember seeing any planes that qualified under IMAA (80" or larger) being electric that were there. There may have been 1 or two but I don't recall seeing them in the pits or flying. Hell I saw more turbine powered sailplanes this year at Joe Nall than giant scale electrics.
Pattern has seen an increas in electrics....if you go to the nats you will see a large percentage their flying electrics - however at most events your lucky to see one person fly electrics out of 20 at an event - if that much.
Those who fly 33% and larger planes day in and day out and travel across the country can probably count the number of giant scale electric planes they've ever seen on one hand.
While electrics that big are out there don't fool yourself into thinking they are "popular" are even semi common just because you have seen them here on RCU.
Outside of electrics Giant scale gasoline powered airplanes have to be the fastest growing segement "within" the hobby - yet I rarely see articles in MA about it at all.