Yea, I saw that. That's more pollution than my planes will make in a lifetime.[X(]

RS

And yet when you buy an electric RTF with a Lipo charger, guess what they put on it... A cigarette plug! Umm can you say DUH? [:@]

You obviously have never attended an F3A meet. Check it out sometime and it will change your mind, just like it did mine.

I voted 'maybe it would be cool'. Of course this is largely subjective (or objective, I can never remember which is which!) or up to personal interpretation, but my thoughts are that most of the small electrics I wouldn't have wanted to bother with in the first place, and many of the larger planes are either meant for both types of power or are an easy modification. However there are a few electric planes that people seem to not want to touch with a glow engine. A forum including info about how to strengthen a plane for the conversion would be pretty cool.

All this being said, I'm in the transition from glow to electric.

And how much more does a competitive electric rig cost compared to say a YS 170 powered set up? Once you get into that size of electric, the price seems to really "take off" as it were.

Here's the link to the news story; http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs...NEWS/905300321

I like this idea. :] I can be a little impatient when waiting for my batteries to charge. Just gas it and go, sounds better to me.

I think at that level it's a wash. YS is not cheap, neither are batteries. However engine prices are going up and battery prices are coming down. Many people are saying that a flight with a 2M plane cost around $2.00, wet or dry, if you take into account battery life and fuel consumption.

I'm setting up an electric 1.10 size pattern plane and it's seemingly going to be less expensive than a glow setup, again accounting for batteries and fuel. Selling my used YS paid for a good portion of the motor and batteries.

I am hesitant to say that electrics are more environmentally friendly. The energy required to fly a plane doesn't change whether it's glow or electric, so the energy is coming from somewhere. Internal Combustion Engines operate in the 30-40% efficiency range, as do the power plants making our electricity, which 80% of comes from burning coal in the U.S.

Nice to see such a positive response to the poll. What's the next step??[&:]

I just wanted to say NO and not have the added emphasis your negative votes add as comment! I don't think an electric to glow conversion forum is needed. People into glow airplanes pretty much know what is needed to do this as it is: engine, mounting system, fuel tanks and fuel lines, positioned correctly and away you go. You may need to consider a stronger firewall. All of these issues are pretty well covered elsewhere here on RCUniverse.

So....
This discussion has gone on awhile. Has anyone contacted RCU about a forum? I can see it as a subforum, but not sure what main catagory. 1/2A, kit building, engines?

Im very surprised and somewhat disappointed that not one mod has chimed in...... TBH i could careless about converting from electric to glow, but based on the poll there seems to be a decent crowd that DOES care

A lot of the electric flyers look at me like I am nuts when I say I prefer Glow. Slimer is one of the more polite terms I have heard used. I only recently got back into this hobby and when I got out (25 years ago) electric was almost unheard of and what was available was lousy. The smell of burning castor snaps me back to my youth and though I may someday use a gas engine I hope I never get tired of wiping down my airplanes. Having not looked too closely at the electric models for that very reason I would imagine not all of them would be suited to conversion. Several of the ones at the club are not covered in anything that remotely looks like it would be fuel proof.
I am not against electric planes and have actually considered a small one for indoor flight (long cold winters here!), but outside I like to hear my plane. Seems the first sign of trouble in an electric flight system is a smoke trail and the smell of melting foam.
All that said if the right model came along I would be all for converting it!

Cheers

Gord

Hey there folks!

Thanks for all of your input, it is very much appreciated! I was in Mexico for a couple of weeks while the rest of you were sipping hot totties watching it snow, I was sipping margaritas watching hot hotties.

Anyway, I have decided to do something extreme and report myself to the moderators!

That way they have to see it!

Tis done....
Here's a link to where I turned myself in!

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_9349232/tm.htm

a forum like this would be most interesting, I have looked at a number of electrics and the cost of decent lipo's esc's and motors in my opinion make them too expensive to run. I have a 50cc katana, and also a 90 size extra-260 I was going to electrify, but looking at what set up costs were, and service life of lipo's I said no way. One of my flying buddies flies electric only asked why I have opted to go gas/glo on these planes was surprised at the final cost differences working on set up and 200 flights, feulers win hands down.
I also have several small motors looking for homes, and would definately be interested in finding planes for them, even if a conversion is involved

Oh hell yes we need this forum! Get on with it already for crise-sakes! [sm=thumbup.gif]

Here's my foamy electric to glow conversion.

Well, as the old saying goes, you can make a brick fly if you give it enough power...
Doesn't say anything about what the brick is made of though...

What's the take-off speed of that thing?

That sir, is a thing of beauty!! Will we get a flight report at the next club meeting?

Any more happening with this new forum?

I am a big fan of WET POWER! I like tinkering with ENGINES!
I just deleted a bunch of negative stuff toward electric power. I would not like to see the electric verses glow argument every other post on this proposed thread. It is hopefull that this could be a constructive thread, but I think the elecric power people would not leave us alone. We would need a moderator to delete all the negative stuff or it will just be a bunch of bickering!

I am just about to start with a freind, the conversion of a couple E-flite Taylorcrafts to GLOW power. It would be nice to share with fellow GLOW fans somewhere, exclusive to the mass electric crowd nitpicking at the reasons for it. We are doing it because it is FUN! For no other reason.

It is fun, and what adds to the fun is all the sparks flyers having short circuits just thinking about us fuelers tinkering with lecky planes and converting them My current project is a 40" zero, I am fitting an OS40fs to it, should be a lively little beastie when I am done

You know what is weird, is our club has some die-hard 'lectric flyers who are wanting to take a crack at glow.
Maybe there is hope after-all.
I'd like to put a glow engine on a Stryker or such. How would fuel affect the foam? Would it need to be planked or covered with low heat plastic?


RS

I would say the most simple fix for a foamy like the stryker would be to coat the foam in the exaust area with a thined mixture of white glue and water. There are better ways of course, like you said, low heat covering, or a thined epoxy coating. I would keep the conversions to the wood models only myself[sm=wink_smile.gif].

Thanks Scale Dail. Lets see pics! Of course, if we had a FORUM, then you could just put a build thread in there......