Hello...., I have been flying glow planes off and on for the past several years (maybe 15 or so), but cannot seem to find the time to consistently fly, so I would like to try electrics (an try to get my son involved more as well to fly at a local park). I have a few basic questions on eflight, so I apologize if these were answered elsewhere. My confusion is with the electric set up, the ESC's, battery, motor, etc, and I would like to get the new taylorcraft by eflight. Are the batteries, ESC's, servos, motors, etc from the different mfgs interchangable (ie, eflgith and hitech??). For example, if I have an eflight motor and ESC and battery, can I use a hitech receiver and hitech servos, or vice verso? I currently have an Airtronics RD6000 radio and would like to continue to use the radio, can I just get a flight pack from hitech for the channel of my RD6000 transmitter, then get an eflight motor and eflight ESC??

Another basic question for now (I am sure more to follow later)....., for charging the battery (lipo?), how many batterys should I consider buying. Do I charge these at home or at the field from my car's lighter, or both? Thanks in advance.., looking forward to trying this electric flight.

If you choose to run a traditional PPM (proportional-pulse modulation) FM radio system, I think you will find a high degree of interchangeability of components. The main issue with receivers and transmitters is to match shift schemes (+ or -). Many brands will work with each other, and some of the newer receivers will automatically detect the transmitter shift. When selecting a channel crystal for a different brand receiver, it is probably best to purchase the crystal from the receiver manufacturer to ensure that it is on the correct channel frequency. (I recently learned this the hard way. [&:]) Different manufacturers might use different mixing schemes in their receivers. There are many excellent FM receivers available that have gotten good reviews. They are extremely compact and inexpensive. Servos are probably the most universal component.

Motors and ESCs are basically brand interchangeable as long as you match brushless motors to brushless ESCs and brushed motors to brushed ESCs. You must also ensure that all the components of your power system can safely handle the amount of power required to fly your plane. I think you will be amazed at the number of options you can choose from.

The number of batteries you need will probably depend on the power requirements of your plane and your style of flying. Aggressive, aerobatic flying demands considerably more power. However, 3 or 4 batteries, if they are conservatively matched to your power requirements, would probably give you satisfactory duration. You should be able to realize 10-15 minutes per battery, especially using lithium polymer, and that gives you 45 minutes to 1 hour of flight time, even assuming you are not recharging as you fly. There are many variables to consider here, and you will be able to make this determination as you learn more.

There is a wealth of information on this site, and I highly recommend reading the stickies in the various categories. I think you will find yourself flying much more on electric. Good luck with electric flight.

Thanks for the info.., looks like I will probably end up with either a hitech or eflight receiver, and respective servos. I currently have an Airtronics RD6000 radio. Do you see any problems using this transmitter with either the hitech or eflight receivers? Can I take a crystal from one of my existing airtronics receivers and use it in the other receivers, or just purchase that receivers crystal for my channel number, or would it matter? thanks again.

As whitecrest said: always get xtals from the same manufactorer as have produced the receiver! Always. Maybe even more important in TX, because then you can effect other pilots at your field.

"... I currently have an Airtronics RD6000 radio. Do you see any problems using this transmitter with either the hitech or eflight receivers? Can I take a crystal from one of my existing airtronics receivers and use it in the other receivers, or just purchase that receivers crystal for my channel number, or would it matter? thanks again."


It appears that your radio can work with PPM or PCM schemes, so you should have no trouble getting either a Hitech or Eflight receiver to work with it. I see that Hitech has a 6 channel mini receiver with an autoshift detect feature that works with PPM. If you were to go with this receiver, you should also purchase Hitech's matching crystal for the channel you are interested in. That will ensure that you will be on the right channel frequency. For maximum flexibility, you might consider a synthesized receiver that will work on any channel. However, these appear to be more expensive and not as compact as the others.