mshay

My Feedback: (3)

ok this is stupid but i want to make sure i have the correct answer from people that have more than my 4 months of flying planes.

there are some nice looking arf ELECTRIC planes out there and seem to be decently priced, so i would like to know is it pretty routine to do a glow conversion on an electric planes, i have heard of electric conversions from glow planes but is it as simple as just mounting a glow engine mount then sticking an engine on.

AND I DO REALIZE I NEED TO SELECT THE PROPER ENGINE SIZE FOR THE PLANE. FOR EXAMPLE SAY AN ELECTRIC PLANE WIEGHS ABOUT 2-4 POUNDS THAT WOULD LEAD BE TO THINK A .35 SIZE WOULD WORK, AND IF ITS 5-7 POUND ELECTRIC PLANE WOULD WORK WELL WITH A .46 SIZE.


advice and the CORRECT input would be great.[sm=drowning.gif][&:]

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

I've done it and everything seems to work OK

beau0090_99

I think it depends on the plane. Some of the electric planes out there lend themselves to be electric only, because they are built very lightly and might not be able to handle the added vibrations that come with glow oe gas useage. I would search this site and RCgroups to find out if someone has done it before, especially as you may be a newcomer.
Good luck,
Curtis

mshay

My Feedback: (3)

WELL BEING LIGHT WOULDNT BE A PROBLEM NEITHER WOULD THE VIBRATIONS, BECAUSE I WOULD JUST HAVE TO ADD SOME EPOXY TO MOST OF THE JOINTS. I HAVE DONE THIS WITH 2 OF MY 3D PLANES AND SEEMS THAT ITS HELP WITH A FEW HARD LANDINGS. KEEP THE INPUT COMING FOLKS WANT TO HEAR FROM EVERYONE THAT LOOKS AT THIS POST. EVERYONE HAS AN OPINION AND I WANT TO HEAR ABOUT IT, SHARE YOUR STORY WITH ME.



!!!!!!!!! hooah !!!!!!!!!!

redfox435cat

I would recommend going through a couple glow powered planes that have been designed for it first, from this you'll gain the knowledge of how it is supposed to work before modifying a model blind. f you've already done a couple glow planes then disregard and have at it. I'm not saying glow is harder but they do take some knowledge to be done right with minimal frustration, and glow can be very frustrating when done wrong. I've seen allot of electric guys start in electric, get a glow plane and crash it because they couldn't get the engine running right, refused help, crashed it and now disses glow every chance they get. Models already designed for glow have done most of the head work for you. As far as being able to do it, there isn't any reason why not. There is a much wider range in glow engines than electrics since it's been around allot longer. I would advise against converting very light electric foamy to glow. when I say foamy I mean foam fuselage, there are many planes with wood fuselage and foam core wings that are fine with either.
I converted one of these [link=http://www.tnjmodels.rchomepage.com/tnjh1.php]Hughes H-1[/link] to glow and works wonderfully on an os 15cv. This would be a good third plane so I'm not recommending this if you haven't gone through a trainer first.

poorwboy

I put a magnum .28 in a parkzone trojan and it is a fun flying plane now.

mshay

My Feedback: (3)

wow!!! im not that new, i know what a foamy is. yes i have started flying in october of 2008 and would say i have progressed very well, i have gathered quite a collection and with my collection and skills(not saying im an ace) you wouldnt believe i have been flying for such a short time, my flying skills our advanced however building some planes and knowing some mechanics of rc planes is about intermediate. thanks for the input

im on my 9th plane.

my collection includes in order that i purchased and flown and suceeded at flying:
1. tower trainer- very areobatic, snap rolls are quick and sharp-guys in my club are suprised the wings havent folded up yet.
2. 4star- got this used from one of the guys in my club, my opinion is this plane is crap, of course its been rebuilt a few times, none the less its crap
3. unknown make biplane- for some reason this plane take alot of left trim, did a couple rolls on the ground this weekend and busted it up some, what can i expect for a rtf for 50 bucks
4. art tech yak 54 foamy.
5. nitroplanes extra 260 3d, i learned how to do some 3d moves with this plane, man i love to hover and do snap rolls with this thing
6. herr little extra- not 100 percent built yet.
7. great planes matt chapman flatout
8. weston mini tigershark
9. nitroplanes giles 202 3d- still in the box
my 10th in a few days will be a prop jet the f-20 from pheonix models, oh and i have a super tiger 90 that i plan on putting on a vmar f-4 in about a month

yes im a rookie at building rc planes but not a rookie when it comes to flying or buying these things, im addicted to planes i told myself when i got my trainer that i wasnt going to bbuy a crap load but
i didnt stick to the plan of only one or two planes. now look i feel guilty is this normal. wait had to punch myself of course its normal i

I LOVE TO FLY DAMIT

TedMo

My only comment is that electrics are built to be as light as possible therefore sacrifice a great deal of durability. Other than that you will have to make necassary compensations for CG. Overall no advantage, I choose not to go that route. Electric design for electrics. I see that many manufacturers are now advertiseing planes that can go either way. I don't buy that glow design for glow electric for electric but you can do whatever suits you.It will fly but.

beau0090_99

Yeah...
You can add epoxy to joints and such, but that isn't going to help when the design was made for electric and the formers crack because of the added vibration. This is primarily an issue with the lighter liteply 3D monsters that are meant specifically for EP. For foamies(not depron foamies) and planes that have a sturdier construction, then it is up to your imagination.
Have fun, let us know how it goes. Sounds like you are hooked.
Curtis

mshay

My Feedback: (3)

ok i was just wondering because there are some really nice looking electrics that i would like to have, but have no interest in flying it as an electric, the 2 that i have are enough, in fact way to many.
but as long as theres nothing involved in converting then i guess i will go ahead as planed.

what about converting a wood glow ducted fan jet to a glow prop jet, would you think there would be any set backs there. and this is just a curiousity question, not a hey i think im going to try this question.

jester_s1

The answer to your question won't be found here. It will be found with the manufacturer. If the manufacturer says the plane is made for glow or electric, then you're good to go. If not, then don't do it. If you think you can rig it up to work, then go ahead. I just hope there aren't too many people around when you fly it.

Generally, a cheap electric can't handle the vibration of glow. So if the idea is to buy a cheapo and convert it to glow to save some dollars, then it's not going to work. Generally, for the same performance in the same planes, electric costs more than glow, thus defeating the purpose of your idea.

To help a newb out, I'll offer this. Buy what you want, that's designed to do what you want. If it's a glow powered sport plane, then buy that. Glow powered 3d? Then buy that. The designers spend bookoo hours making these planes work right according to their intended purpose and they generally do a great job. Just buy what you want to have and enjoy the fruits of their labor.

mshay

My Feedback: (3)

NO NO NO the idea is not to buy a cheapo, its not the price im looking at its SOME OF THE ELECTRICS LOOK VERY NICE. SUCH AS THIS ONE ITS ELECTRIC MADE OF WOOD, BUT WOULD RATHER FLY IT AS A GLOW.

If this plane was built as a glow, and had a 55 inch wing span, i wouldnt hesitate, but its a good looking plane and i think this little plane wants some nitro ran through it.

please dont call me a newb.

thanks for the input
anyone else have an opinion on this deal? plenty of views but only a few opinions, come on people





_______________________!!!!!!!! HOOAH !!!!!!!! Its an army thing you wouldnt understand________________________________________ _______

redfox435cat

nobody's trying to put anyone down, nobody knows you or your skill level, on this forum most assume your a rookie, nothing is meant by it, this hobby attacks allot of, hey if he can do that so can I people which in most cases isn't true, this hobby is learn t, and most people won't accept that. So as long as we don't know ya we assume it's another joe blow that saw a really cool plane and I wanna fly that. nothing against ya. As a general rule anything glow can be converted to electric, going from electric to glow will take some real evaluation of the model. There are so many extra 300 models out there I couldn't see the point of trying to convert it, that's just my opinion.
[link=http://www.nitroplanes.com/newyak543dfu.html]cheif[/link]
[link=http://www.nitroplanes.com/newaepocat50.html]cheif 2[/link]
[link=http://www.theworldmodels.com/para/products/airplanedetails.php?airplaneid=144]my all time favorite[/link]
[link=http://www.theworldmodels.com/para/products/airplanedetails.php?airplaneid=7]second favorite[/link]

mshay

My Feedback: (3)

i didnt take offense to anything, sure theres alot of planes out there but they dont all look the same, sure they perform similar but they dont look the same.

tIANci

Okay ... this world has gone nuts. We flew GP planes and then EP guys wanted to fly some nice planes they converted the GP ones into EP. The manufacturers realised the need for proper EP planes, they started to build nice ones with easy access and that are light. Now we want to make EP planes into GP.

First problem. CG ... EP planes use relatively lighter motors. Second, problem ... engine mounting is an issue, its usually extended too far out with the long motor mounting cage. Third problem, structural integrity ... EP planes are subjected to much less vibrations so they are not built like armoured tanks.

Not many EP planes lend themselves well to being converted to GP. If you like that Extra then look for the Fliton Extra 330 Freestyle, its an EP/GP plane and looks great.

wright3

I've done it many times when ep was really expensive because of the batteries.  Now with the Chinese selling batteries so cheap, I've gone back to electric.  Batteries at 1/4 the cost of US brands made this possible. 

Nevertheless, I still like the noise and the sound.  My first conversion was a very commonly available Cub (about 55" span) with a .26 OS 4 stroke.  For almost a year, it was my favorite plane and survived several gallons of fuel all by itself.  Seagull used to have an ep Extra 260.  I used an OS 30 4 stroke in that and it flew very well but would not pull up from a hover.  I found that the weight limit for a 30 4 stroke for 3D is about 35 oz.  It was a great sport flyer with the 30.  Next, I put an OS 25 FX on the extra to wake up it's 3D abilities.  That did the trick and I enjoyed many great flights with that combination.  I finally discovered that the Seagull ep Extra was not up to the power and speed of the 25.  I pulled a pylon style turn and folded the wings.  Honestly, the plane just exploded in mid-air. 

I'm not done converting electric to glow.  I've also noticed all the great small planes in the 36 to 45 inch range that just beg for glow power.  I'm the first to admit that their intended electric design actually works as well or better than our glow desires but there's just something about a screaming 2 stroke or a puttering 4 stroke glow that electric can't duplicate.

Be aware that the torque and ability to swing great big props gives an edge to the electric powered jobs.  More power and torque at less weight advantage now belong to the electric side of things.  It's good to explore the possibilities of electric power on e-Bay because there are times when electric is the way to go and buying 2500 mah three cell batteries at $20.00 a pop is now possible from China.  They also sell motors and escs at redicously low prices although I haven't tried any of these out yet. 

Randy

sportrider_fz6

I converted a multiplex magister to glow, I converted a hobbyzone Supercub to glow, as well as a parkzone T-28, and I'm in the middle of converting a wattage ultimate bipe to glow. I will leave you with this... if you build it they will come...

speedy72vega

Well mshay, it sounds like you already know it all......so why ask for people's input? Every suggestion or opinion anyone has offered you so far has been dismissed by you.
Find a plane you like, load it up with epoxy, slap a mount on the front with a gas engine and go fly. Let us all know how it turns out.
As far as your comment about not calling you a noob, you yourself said you don't have much experience building, so THAT makes you a NOOB as far as building goes, sorry.
If you find a gas powered plane, but don't like the color schemes, go get a couple rolls of Monokote and an iron, make it look how you like.
Try not to be so defensive and dismissive and you might actually get more responses. Maybe you don't intend to come off that way, but from reading your replies, that's the impression I get.
The advice given so far has been very good, and pretty much answers your question. Except for the planes that are designed to run both gas and electric, most aircraft are purpose built. Changing the color scheme isn't difficult, some new covering or even paint. You will have much less disappointment with your end result if you use the planes for what they're intended for.
I'm sure you're gonna take this post as an attack, it's not. Just an observation.

aopittspython

I recently purchased a EP pitts s12 python ARF from hobby king. Its designed for an electric moter of some kind im guessing a .6o to .90 equivelent. I know absolutely nothing about E P models except that thy are really quiet, my planes have to sound good and loud .Im a gear head so to me there is nothing like the smell of two stroke and the sound of a perfect tune.
I too was shoping r c stores for a good deal on something in the 30cc range. I found this pitts to be a really good price and one #ell of a good looking plane. Hear are some of the problems you will run into when changing an E P plane to gas or glow.
The fire wall is never strong enough.I boxed in the whole front of the plane with 3/8th inch birtch plywood.
The hardware that you get with E P is lighter duty than you shud use with glow or gas engine.
Chances are the landing gear mounts are too week so again i reinforced with plywood.
Finding a gas tank to fit most likely will mean you will have to cut and modify the body to except a tank.
As far as the C G goes you will most likely have to move stuff around like servos and rx battery location. You should alwas use the rule of thumb that adding waight to ballance shud be a last resort.

Once you go through all thes things to make your plane a solid flying platform like me you will reolise that being patient and just finding a plane you like that is designed for gas will save you a whole lot of time on the building table. As far a cost is concerend after u upgrade the hardware, cut and glue reinforcements and buy a tank it cost more than the same typ of plane would have cost my.

Hope this helps you out, hind sight is always 20 20