Electrified Lanier Sea Bird
 

I am lucky enough to live aboard a yacht in Florida in the winter and would like to take my flying south. Has anyone out there electrified a Lanier Sea Bird or any othe amphip or float plane? If so I would really appreciate any comments, suggestions (as to my mentality) or other help. Thanks.

RE: Electrified Lanier Sea Bird
 

With today's brushless and LiPoly technology, any plane can be electrified. It's just a matter of $$ for the extreme cases.

Post the specifics on the plane you want to convert, and we'll work it out.

RE: Electrified Lanier Sea Bird
 

Matt, thanks for replying. I've been flying glow and gas and just got a GWS Formosa for curiosity. Electric now interests me. As per my post I'm lucky enough (retired) to live aloat in Florida in the winter and want to keep flying , electric seems the way to go. No glow fuel, no starter, no smell, no trouble. Since I'll be flying on brackish or salt water, I need the lowest maintenance plane I can find. The Lanier Sea Bird (Tower LANA 1210) has an ABS fuselage, foam core wings and a wing top mounted engine. It requires a .40 to .60 2-stroke glow engine and will weigh from 5.5 to 6.5 pounds. I need enough thrust to lift from the water, and then it should fly just fine. Any advice you can give me as to motors, servos and batteries ( LiPoly prefered) would be most appreciated. Thanks, Syd.

RE: Electrified Lanier Sea Bird
 

Battery is easy. You'll want a minimum of 100 Watts per pound, so that means about 650 Watts. You could get it out of 14 NiMH cells at 47 Amps, or 16 NiMH at about 42 Amps. That's about a 4S or 5S LiPoly. A 4S LiPoly at 50 Amps, or a 5S LiPoly at 40 Amps.

The hard part is the motor, mostly because of the limited clearance for a propeller between the engine pod and the fuselage. If we knew that, it would be academic. For s&gs, let's assume there's room for a 12" prop because the plane calls for a .60. With electric, you almost always want to fit the largest possible prop.

An AXi 4120/14 on a 5S LiPoly with an 11x8 or 12x8 prop is my first choice, being most familiar with this particular brand of motors. For cells, I'd either use enough of the new TP1900 packs in parallel, like 3, to get up to 50 Amps, or the new Kokam 2000 (15C) or 2100 (20C) cells. For the 15C Kokams, 2 packs in parallel, and for the 20C Kokam 2100s, a single pack is adequate. The only issue with a single pack of Kokam 2100 cells is flight time. The plane will be light, but the flight will be short.

RE: Electrified Lanier Sea Bird
 

Matt, thank you for your prompt and complete reply. Sounds like the combo should work, and I'll be doing more work to put it all together. I may have a few more questions later, and will not hesitate to contact you. I'll also report back as to the success of the project. Know some fine people in the Rochester area, and it looks like you fit in. Syd