Tiger moth 280motor upgrade
 

i got the pico tiger moth .there is not much power with the tm motor that comes with it,so im thinking to put a 280 motor that i got .is this an ok upgrade?i dont wana spend on gear box ill just get an adapter that should run the gws properller,is there some thing like that in the market?what is it called?in general with or without a gearbox ,would a 280 motor give the tiger moth little more power?

RE: Tiger moth 280motor upgrade
 

Yes, but not because the motor is "bigger" or "more powerful." The only reason it would have more power is because it draws more Amps due to the way the motor is designed. You can also achieve the same thing by adding cells to the battery. You can also achieve the same thing with a motor that looks externally identical to the stock motor. A 280 is just one of a hundred different ways to achieve the same thing.

I wouldn't put the 280 motor on there, especially if you don't want to spend the extra $10 for a gearbox. Sure, the 280 will have more power, but it'll be limited to a tiny propeller that won't be nearly as efficient as the big prop on there now. Best case, you're looking at similar performance, but most likely you're talking about WORSE performance with a direct drive 280.

Get yourself a 7-cell (8.4V) battery for the best performance upgrade. You don't want to load down the Tiger Moth with excessive weight; it'll rip the wings off.

RE: Tiger moth 280motor upgrade
 

Speaking from first-person experience, don't put the 280 direct drive on your tiger moth. A geared 280, something like 3:1 with a gws 9x7rs prop on the 6 or 7 cell packs you've got, would work, but the runtime would be shortened. Because it is so draggy, this plane is not well suited to the small, fast-spinning prop necessitated by direct drive, as Matt noted above. edit: I have tried this airplane/motor combination, and it is a real dog. Needs almost full throttle just to maintain altitude, and even small breezes will put it in the ground.

RE: Tiger moth 280motor upgrade
 

what would u say about the daul motors of the stock gws motor. i have seen two of the tm motor in one gearbox.how good would that be for the pico tiger moth?

RE: Tiger moth 280motor upgrade
 

I'm not sure offhand which prop and gearbox ratio would be the best for a dual IPS setup in the TM, but this is a common upgrade, and usually considered a better path than a 280 motor. [link=http://www.balsapr.com]Balsa Products[/link] has the numbers available for these if you look in the online catalog under "electric motors and parts". I *think* you would want the S1 ratio for use with the stock batteries, but look through the charts and see which setup has the highest thrust #s with your batteries and the 9x7 prop.

RE: Tiger moth 280motor upgrade
 

Forget about getting a new motor, toss an extra cell in the pack, or better yet, switch to Li-Po batteries. You will have unbelieveble trust after that.

RE: Tiger moth 280motor upgrade
 

Agreed. One of our club members has a Tiger Moth with a dual IPS drive on it. Performance is better because it can spin a bigger prop, but he also has a LiPoly battery in the plane, equivalent to 7 cells. With the 6-cell pack you have now, you're looking at marginal performance gains and half the flying time.

A higher-voltage battery, 7 or even 8 cells, will give you the best performance boost for the buck. You're not making the most of the power system that's in the airplane now.