North Star Conversion
 

Has anyone converted a Balsa USA North Star seaplane from glow to electric? It would really seem to solve the change of CG problem that you encounter as you use up fuel in the glow version.

If so, what did you use and what are the results?

RE: North Star Conversion
 

Yes, a local R/Cer used the same setup as my Mega-power Projecti wing. I'll query him about the wingspan as he may have scaled it a bit.

RE: North Star Conversion
 

Greg, that Northstar is definitely a scaled-down version. The normal model calls for a .46 2-stroke glow.

The main issue with the Northstar is going to be prop clearance. We can't use the usual trick of running a bigger prop at a more efficient RPM, because you get much bigger than a 10" prop, and you're chewing pieces out of the fuselage... This will require some thought.

RE: North Star Conversion
 

Here is a picture of both North Stars. The smaller electric one is about 60% and uses a Mega 16/15/3 motor spinning a Graupner 5.5x4.5 CAM Speed prop.

A possible choice for the full size Balsa USA version would be an AXI 4120 outrunner. You could reduce the size of the prop and increase the cell count to add RPMs and current until you reached 40amps.