TF T-34 Mentor Conversion to E-Flite 90 Electric w/ A123 Cells
I bought a Top Flite T-34 Mentor off RCU Classifieds and decided to pull the Saito 120 that it had out and to convert it all over to electric. I've flown a lot of little electrics for years but nothing big. It's time to mess around with something big and see how it goes. New powerplant is an E-Flite 90 powered by two parallel 9cell A123 packs. The motor controller is a Phoenix 85. The system is just under 30 volts and will have 4600 mah capacity. I think I should get 10 min. flights. Maybe 15 if I stay off the throttle. Propeller will be a 16 X 8 to start with. I started by gutting the airframe pulling out the engine, fuel tank, and some servos to get a clear front area. Batteries are extracted from Dewalt 36V packs I bought on Ebay. Interestingly they have gone up in price lately. About 6 months ago I bought 10 cells for $98 delivered. This time they were $128 delivered. They must be popular. Leo