Help with E-Flite 160 w/TP5000-10s setup
I've only been involved with electrics for a year now and was hoping for
some sound advice on my setup for the conversion of a Nitroplanes Falcon 120 jet.
This plane is designed to handle a 120-160 2 cycle engine in a pusher configuration.
After modifying and beefing up various structures in the plane my final
ready to fly weight came out to 15.6 lbs.
I've converted the jet to use the E-Flite 160 motor along with the
TP5000-10s lipo and Castle Creation HV-110 setup.
Unfortunately, the largest props I can use would be a 18" prop cut down to 17"
due to the twin boom design and landing gear.
I have tried several props thus far, all regular APC's.
13.4 x 13.5 3-blade
15.5 x 12 2-blade
16 x 13 2-blade
I plan to test a 16 x 12 and a cut down 18x8 to 17X8 APC electric.
The stats on the E-FLITE 160 say this motor can handle 60A continuous and
78A max. burst, inputting up to 2700 watts.
The best performance so far comes from the 16X13, pushing my weight scale to 12 lbs.
The numbers I'm getting on my watt meter never exceed 1400 watts and average around 45 amps.
After testing the 16X13 prop at various speed it seems like the most I'll get is about 6 minutes
flight time with careful throttle use. Also the pack and motor were warmer than expected
but the ESC was still cool to the touch.
My question centers around how to get the best performace out of this setup
with a limited prop selection? I would like to get an optimum setup inputting
around 130-150 watts per pound (=2028 watts+) without taxing my system.
Should I try and stick with electric props?
Trying not to buy a bunch more props to get it right!
Thanks in advance for you help!
Keith