I'm just about to buy my first sailplane, and need some advice on the power I'll need.

The sailplane I'm buying is the GP Spectra 78.5" span and weighing about 50 ozs. It comes with a brushed motor and prop, but not the ESC or battery, so I was contemplating replacing the supplied motor with a brushless, suitable ESC and LiPo battery.

The specs on the electrics are: The motor gives 1000 rpm/V and is rated at 30 amps max, 275 watts and requires a 3 cell 11.1 volt LiPo. The ESC is rated at 30 amps and has a bundle of features including BEC.

I've used the Tower catalogue supplement issue # 2 good thru 30th April, page 10 conversion charts as a guide.

What do you guys think, suitable or not? Also, what prop would be about right, 12 x 6??

Thanks in advance for your help. I appreciate it since it's my first foray into electrics.

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A 3 pound plane would do well with 70 brushless watts per pound of power. So 275 watts is great. As for the prop, what range of props does the maker recommend? You have not told us the motor so I can't look it up directly, so I will say follow the MFG recommendations.

Thanks for the good information Ed........again!

For props, take a look at these links:

http://www.hobby-lobby.com/freuden.htm

http://www.hobby-lobby.com/camfold.htm