I just got a hobbico torqmaster 90 deluxe 12 v starter. Can this be connected to a car battery?

Yes it can, I used a car battery all last summer.


I have a question for you, do you know where to buy new inserts for those? Mine has a split in it and it is a major pain to get it to grab.



Wings

Yep the car battery will work but ya might wanna be careful havin your car on the flightline.

Any of the online places (horizon, tower, etc) or your LHS will have the inserts.

Thanks aimmaintenance,


I got a battery and flightbox for Christmas, but last year I used my car and used my jumper cables as an "extension cord". Something else I did that worked was to use my cordless drill battery. I think it was a little more voltage than 12, but it got me by.

I don't know if you want to risk it, the drill battery costs more than a flight box battery.



Wings

aimmaintenance, wings,

Thanks for the info. Well as for the flight line... its just open space on the farm. I dont fly with a club. Just me and the buds. I plan on using a battery thats out of the vehicle! I tend to hide my truck because, if its the only thing within miles I will surely hit it.

Are your friends pretty good RC pilots?

I use a 12 volt jump starter I bought at Walmart for $39. Charge it up with the supplied wall charger overnight and it is good for many starts. It has an LED indicator to show battery charge level. Just connect the starter leads to the jumper cables. It is light weight and small. Works fine.

wings, I've also seen the inserts on ebay for just a few bucks but watch the shipping charges.
I also just checked tower ya got like 17 to choose from.[&:]

Flyingmonkey, any 12 volt source will work. I used a motorcycle battery in a homebuilt box for the last few years and it worked great.
In the pic the battery is under the panel built in and stuffed with foam.
When the battery was new I only had to charge it about 3 times a year.

Wings,

Well my friends all but one fly electric. We fly modified firebirds most of the time for fun or combat we ripped out the firebirds electronics and replaced them with normal micro servos, receivers, and bat packs. We ajusted the CG and gave the bird true up/down, left/right controls. Once they get lift they are not your everyday firebirds. Right now im the only one with a glow plane flying. There is another trainer on the bench that belongs to one of them. Hopefully it will be flying this weekend. As for your question... we all need more time in the air. None of us are well rounded in flight yet. We are allways glueing, tapeing, or tieing somthing. In the end were just out there to have fun.

Head for the local home improvement warehouse and get a lawn tractor battery.

Get the largest one you can find.

They're all about the same price, maybe $20.00 or so.

Keep it charged and it'll last several years.

You can even jump-start your car if needed!

Sounds good pettit. I think I may do just that.

Cool,

I have an aerobird, but it is factory electronics. Its pretty crappy actually. But it taught me to fly.

Dick (Pettit) is absolutely right. Get a lawn tractor or motorcycle battery. I have a homemade box. It will last years and has power to spare. Mine is always being borrowed when guys at the field's nicad or small batterys die.

Mark Shuman

Wings try looking at Sullivan products. They sell inserts that fit in most starters. You can find them at any mail order place. Your local hobby shop may even have some in stock.

Mark Shuman

Once again thanks for the suggestions. I made my mind up and went with WCB's setup. The picture shows the Jump kit which also had a outlet like a cig lighter. This is good for charging my electric planes. I have the DC to AC Power Inverter for my radio and receiver so I can charge them in the field with the stock wall outlet plug in's, and of course the starter. I took everything out today and everything worked like a charm. You guys helped allot and I appreciate it.

Monkey

If you notice the nose gear and the prop on my DURA Plane.... Well the wind was around 13mph today, and it made for some interesting flights and landings!

Doesn't that actually cost more than a battery?

I took a double look at my starter, its actually a Magnum not Hobbico.

Do you know if hobbico inserts are interchangeable?

Thanks,

Wings

It depends on the battery I supose. The way I looked at it is, its self contained, easy to carry, has the battery power level on board, has the cig outlet, and if I ever need a jump there it is.

flyingmonkey, i use one of those jump packs also. they work great, we usually clip 2 or 3 field boxes to one and we all have power to spare. I have also used a full size car battery. PITA to carry back and forth to my truck. For a whole flying season i used the car battery and never charged it once.

sean

Hey monkey, check out the engine mount on my duraplane. I used it as a lawn dart a couple of week ago and you can see the engine hanging from the pushrod. If you need an engine mount for your duraplane, good luck. I tried to order one but it will be a few months before it gets in so in the meantime, I used doubled 1/2 in. basswood and a universal engine mount on it. I have not finished it yet so don't know how it will work but beats waiting that long to fix it.

Dave

Compare that Duraplane fuselage to the fuselage on a SPAD Debonair.

www.spadtothebone.com

The gutterpipe to replace the main plastic section is about $8 for 10 ft. (cheaper than $20 per for the Duraplane part...) There are several ways to do the replacement firewall at the SPAD website.

My favorite engine mount for the PVC downspout fuselage is what is used on the RA-Cores Gremlin. (Duraplane and SPAD are not the only ones using downspout fuselages... hmm.. ) See that kit at: www.racores.com (the engine mount is a 1/4 inch ply plate doubling the PVC, with a cutout for the engine. The engine bolts hold the ply in the PVC fuselage)

I think I saw a mount at my LHS. You must have really planted the Ms. Dura to bust her mount. LOL. If I do decide to dig a well with mine I think I will build the mount with ply. Let me know how it turns out.

PS.

dghurt,
I read on here somewhere.. or maybe it was a signature. Anyway it's a proven fact that it don't matter how many you plant, you cant grow a new one. So scratch that idea if that what you were trying!

Monkey