Need some help with a conversion
#1

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I have a vintage Jemco P-47 that used to be glow. I am thinking of trying electric for the first time. Can anyone tell me what all exactly I will need to do this conversion? It is a 54" wingspan, .40-.60 size glow engine with retracts.
Thanks,
ZM
Thanks,
ZM
#4

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Know the prop clearance available and choose the correct motor with the proper KV for most efficient operation.
This is where buying a "one size fits all" such as the Eflight 46 may not be the best choice.
Check with Lucien Miller at innov8tive designs for advice on a motor with the proper KV.
Innov8tive Designs/Scorpion products
This is where buying a "one size fits all" such as the Eflight 46 may not be the best choice.
Check with Lucien Miller at innov8tive designs for advice on a motor with the proper KV.
Innov8tive Designs/Scorpion products
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Know the prop clearance available and choose the correct motor with the proper KV for most efficient operation.
This is where buying a "one size fits all" such as the Eflight 46 may not be the best choice.
Check with Lucien Miller at innov8tive designs for advice on a motor with the proper KV.
Innov8tive Designs/Scorpion products
This is where buying a "one size fits all" such as the Eflight 46 may not be the best choice.
Check with Lucien Miller at innov8tive designs for advice on a motor with the proper KV.
Innov8tive Designs/Scorpion products
#6

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Careful, engine↔motor cubic inches equivalencies restrict your choice of motors needlessly, motors are more versatile than engines. Ignore shops that try to give you advice that way, they don't know their business.
Plane type and mass are leading when choosing power. See quote below.
Planes don't care about voltage or Kv. They care about power though, bigly.
Choice of voltage mainly depends an what you already have, and on what equipment is available.
Below an excellent quote about motor selection.
From
brushless motors Kv?.
Plane type and mass are leading when choosing power. See quote below.
Planes don't care about voltage or Kv. They care about power though, bigly.
Choice of voltage mainly depends an what you already have, and on what equipment is available.
Below an excellent quote about motor selection.
From
brushless motors Kv?.
While an absolutely critical part of the system ...
... Kv is actually the item one should choose last.
The reason I suggest picking Kv last, is that prop choices have bounds - the diameter that will physically fit and the minimum size that can absorb the power you want. On the other hand, combinations of voltage and Kv are much less constrained - at least before you purchase the components.
So Kv is not a figure of merit, in that higher or lower is better, it is simply a motor characteristic that you exploit to make your power system do what you want, within the constraints you have, e.g. limited prop diameter, if it's a pusher configuration, or if you already have a bunch of 3S packs and don't want to buy more, and so on.
Minor lay-out changes by RvS
... Kv is actually the item one should choose last.
- Decide your peak power requirement based on the weight of the model and how you want to fly it.
- Pick a preferred cell count (voltage) and pack capacity for how to deliver the power.
- Pick a prop that will a) fit on the model and b) fly the model how you want - often as big as will fit is a good choice, but if high speed is the goal, a smaller diameter higher pitch prop will be more appropriate.
- Look for a size class of motors that will handle the peak power - a very conservative guide is to allow 1 gram motor weight for every 3 watts peak power.
- Then, look for a motor in that weight range that has the Kv to achieve the power desired with the props you can use - a calculator such as eCalc allows very quick trial and error zooming in on a decent choice. For a desired power and prop, you'd need higher Kv if using a 3 cell pack compared to a 4 cell pack. Or for a desired power and cell count, you'd need higher Kv if driving a smaller diameter high speed prop compared to a larger prop for a slow model.
The reason I suggest picking Kv last, is that prop choices have bounds - the diameter that will physically fit and the minimum size that can absorb the power you want. On the other hand, combinations of voltage and Kv are much less constrained - at least before you purchase the components.
So Kv is not a figure of merit, in that higher or lower is better, it is simply a motor characteristic that you exploit to make your power system do what you want, within the constraints you have, e.g. limited prop diameter, if it's a pusher configuration, or if you already have a bunch of 3S packs and don't want to buy more, and so on.
Minor lay-out changes by RvS
Last edited by ron_van_sommeren; 09-13-2019 at 12:17 PM. Reason: Ignore engine -> Equivalancies
#7

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46 still hanging on.
Quote-Ignore enginemotor cubic inches equivalencies, they restrict your choice of motors needlessly. Ignore shops that try to advice you that way, they don't know their business.
Ignore people who never fly and don't know anything about flying! Best advice, visit your flying field and ask the for help from the ones that know what they are doing.
#9

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I added that quote to my earlier post to clarify what I was referring to with regard to ic-engine↔e-motor equivalencies being too restrictive.
Lucien does all the testing himself, he knows his business, you can take his motor-prop numbers to the bank 
And there are also (garbage in, garbage out)
e-flight calculators (compilation) - RCG
E.g. eCalc, DriveCalc, ScorpionCalc c.s., MotoCalc.
Plane type and mass are leading when selecting power (in watt). Hence these rules of thumb for electric power:
Magic numbers for e-flight - WFF
Note that Kv (in rpm/volt) says absolutely nothing about motor max.power, max.current, torque, efficiency.
Kv only depends on desired rpm and battery voltage. It does effect current and power drawn greatly though, both are proportional to Kv cubed.
More
Prettig weekend
Ron
• Without a watt-meter you are in the dark ... until something starts to glow •
• e-flight calculators • watt-meters • diy motor tips&tricks • Cumulus MFC •
... Check with Lucien Miller at innov8tive designs for advice on a motor with the proper Kv.
Innov8tive Designs/Scorpion products
Innov8tive Designs/Scorpion products

And there are also (garbage in, garbage out)
e-flight calculators (compilation) - RCG
E.g. eCalc, DriveCalc, ScorpionCalc c.s., MotoCalc.
... Decide your peak power requirement based on the weight of the model and how you want to fly it. ...
Magic numbers for e-flight - WFF
Note that Kv (in rpm/volt) says absolutely nothing about motor max.power, max.current, torque, efficiency.
Kv only depends on desired rpm and battery voltage. It does effect current and power drawn greatly though, both are proportional to Kv cubed.
More
- Gibbs Guides
→ Articles
→ How to choose an electric power system - The Ampeer
→ E-book: Everything you wanted to know about electric powered flight
→ Chapter Sizing Power Systems for Electric Airplanes - How to choose a power system - RCG
- Beginners Guide to Motor and Prop Selection - RCG
- System power - RCG, several messages
- Several design papers
rcaeronotes.wordpress.com/design-and-analysis-notes
Prettig weekend
• Without a watt-meter you are in the dark ... until something starts to glow •
• e-flight calculators • watt-meters • diy motor tips&tricks • Cumulus MFC •
Last edited by ron_van_sommeren; 09-13-2019 at 12:29 PM.
#10
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Visite castle website, they have a tool named ecalc, It can calculate all kinds of battery motor prop data for your choice, and the result is very good, I use them to calculate my 120cc electrical power system for my 2.6M slick 360, very good results.
#11

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E-calculators, motor- and prop-databases, power systems theory (compilation)
e-flight calculators (compilation) (sticky)
Contents
Prettig weekend
en wees voorzichtig, Ron
• Without a watt-meter you're in the dark ... until something starts to glow •
• E-flight calculators • watt-meters • diy motor tips&tricks • Cumulus MFC •
e-flight calculators (compilation) (sticky)
Contents
- Calculators
- Motor- and prop-databases, prop-tools and -theory
- Motor- and calculator-theory
Prettig weekend

• Without a watt-meter you're in the dark ... until something starts to glow •
• E-flight calculators • watt-meters • diy motor tips&tricks • Cumulus MFC •
Last edited by ron_van_sommeren; 09-19-2020 at 05:37 AM.