ORIGINAL: watt_the!

Another option maybe even to consider electric D/F as current technology is even more powerful than the glow powered systems

umm, i wish. unfortunately lipo tech is still a long way off glow/ic powered systems and i'm certain that as long as RCers climb over each other to get so called "high c" lipos the technology wont advance too fast either.

we're in a bit of a catch 22 where lipos are the best weight/energy cell choice and high C lipos drive down the price of low C lipos but the demand for high C means low C packs are becoming difficult to get.

you might have a case for paralleling up low C lipos as they work out alot cheaper and deliver the same performance at much lower weight than the high C lipos. But economics is basic supply and demand ad the public get woo'd by this "high C" label- also at the expense of low numbers of battery cycles...sigh.

anyways, the weight trade off, cost of electrics etc is still miles behind even ICDF for big power. I dont recall exactly but a single dynamax/os90 setup runs at about $400US or so, plus about 2lb of fuel/tanks etc. so without any research i'd guess 6-7 lb of ICDF total for 12-13lb thrust..per fan/engine combo.

To get that from an electric youd be looking at about 2-2.5kW which is about 28 x 2500mah cells depending on what motor etc you use..maybe say a 8S8000mah pack to get 4-6 mins flight. A standard 8S8000mah lipo weighs about 1.3kg (3lb) and will cost you around $700US.

add in the high voltage ESC and the motor and allow for another $300US...at least

so the electric route is going to cost at least $1kUS per motor setup- without the fan unit.

e rc has a long way to go yet.

and this is april 2008.