Hi Tony!
I am so sorry that it has taken this long for me to get back to you, especially after all of the help you provided. Of course, it took me a long time to sort through all of the various motor, ESC, and battery combinations out there, but I have finally finished with the electric conversion of my LT-25 and I am extremely satisfied with the results. As I said, after shopping around quite a bit, I ended up finding the best deal at my LHS (Mid-Mo Hobby Shop in Jefferson City, Missouri). I ended up using a HiMax HC3516-1130 that is designed for use with 3C batteries. I am using the CC 45 (standard) ESC and Dualsky 3400 mAh 3S2P packs. The ESC is mounted outside of the airplane to help keep it cool, it fit perfectly between the mounting spacers provided with the HiMax motor, as follows;
To keep the battery cool, I devised a scoop on the bottom of the airplane. The air is passed through a duct that I created on the inside that goes up and over the battery and out the rear of the airplane. It works fine, but I am going to modify the exit port so that it is a little larger and has a nice looking cover. Here's a photo of the scoop;
The LT-25 with the electric conversion came out 4 ounces
lighter than with the OS FS-26 glow setup. The performance of the LT-25 on electric is actually more than I wanted, but who can complain about that, right? At full throttle, the LT-25 simply jumps into the air and will climb out at a 50 or 55 degree angle as high as I might want. I rarely fly in this manner, but I can if I want. When I drop the flaperons, it can be in the air with a take-off run only slightly longer than the length of the airplane, shorter if there's a headwind. Here's a shot of the beginning of my first take-off, which caught me off guard as it started at this angle, then climbed out nearly straight up until I cut back the throttle;
Landings are a thing of dreams. It was an unexpected surprise to discover that landings are so smooth and so slow, because in essence, every landing is a 'dead-stick'. Don't know why that didn't occur to me earlier. I don't mind landing dead-sticks, but this is even better because it is under complete control. The airplane will come in at an absolute crawl. With the flaperons on landing, I have to shove the stick forward to keep it coming in. I have been able to thermal the airplane and extend my flight times. It will usually fly from 25 to 35 minutes depending upon how aggressive I get with the aerobatics. I'm sure none of this is a surprise to you as you've been doing this for a while now and already know of all the benefits.
It was a fairly expensive prospect to make this conversion, but in the end, I am very glad and extremely satisfied with the results. If anyone else is thinking about taking this step, I would certainly encourage you to do so, you won't be disappointed. You will also be amazed at the convenience of simply taking out an airplane, a transmitter and a battery pack (or two), GO FLY! It's great.
Thanks! Shaun
