hello- i finally finished putting together my hobbico superstar ep tonight - in the middle of the bench check, the esc caught fire and burnt the plastic/nylon cover right off the esc and heat sink - is it normal for the esc to really get hot, and if so, did i mess up by attaching it to the fuselage using the included nylon velcro tape strips ?

please help.

Definitely a problem there. ESC's get warm at times, but if it melted stuff.....

Sure you hooked things up right? Reversed battery connections will cause it, but if the motor ran for a while. Which brings up another point; you should NEVER run an electric motor full throttle on the bench for more than a few seconds at a time. You'll fry it. (Maybe the ESC simply saved your motor.)

What amperage is the ESC rated for, what motor, and what battery pack (voltage) are you running?
Dennis-

(Oh, and by the way, you'll get more responses and better input if you post in the "electrics" forums.)

I think I'd rather buy a new motor then ESC

Definitely true Aaron! Although it becomes a toss up if it's a brushless motor.
Dennis-

If it's a brushless setup I don't want to have to buy a new ANYTHING