Converting Nitro P 51 into Electric
 

Hello!

I have been flying now for 2 years on and off. I am currently able to take off, fly, and land with ease. Currently I am flying a Hangar 9 Alpha trainer and im getting bored of it. I personally always wanted a P-51 mustang and I believe that Hangar 9's P-51 Mustang PTS is suitable for me. Hangar 9 recommends a .40-.48 2 stoke nitro engine for this plane. I really dont like starting up the engines and all the mess they create and basically being 13 I am kind of afraid of starting them up. I would like to know is this plane a suitable electric?
If so I'd like to know:
1. What size motor (prefered brushless) would give this plane plenty of power to do Aerobatics down the road?
2. What speed controller would go with the motor?
3. What size battery would be needed to give reasonable (10-15 mins or more if possible) flight times?

Any advice is greatly appreiciated!
:D

RE: Converting Nitro P 51 into Electric
 

jake - almost all planes are suitable for conversion. The issue is always getting the batteries at the right place for the correct CG and access to the batts. You want something that will turn a minimum of a 14x10 or 15x10 prop giving you about say 700-800 watts. You can run a 4S or 5S (3,700 to 4,500 mAh packs) set up with an ESC rated at 60A/80A and 6S. If you want to shop cheap then go to United Hobbies.

One word of warning ... warbirds like to come in faster, much faster than your trainer. If not it will stall and drop out of the sky. Just be sure that you really are ready for the plane. Also, the mess is not that bad as EP is not cheap and it will be hard, not to forget expensive, for you to try and get 15 min flights. You are looking at 8-10 mins max. Why not get the plane with a nice Saito 82, even a simple 70-80 sized 4C will fly her fine and its much cheaper than EP (you need multipe packs to fly a lot and also don't forget the charger and balancer).

RE: Converting Nitro P 51 into Electric
 

One other note on safety. Electrics pose a couple of important safety issues. First, it's possible to accidentally start an electric engine. Perhaps the throttle on the transmitter gets bumped and you don't notice, then you turn the planes switch on, and zoom, there goes the plane. With a glow engine, the engine will not start until you intentionally start it. Second, if you get your hand into the prop, a glow engine will often stop. It's even possible to throw a rag into the prop to stop a glow engine in an emergency. With an electric motor, the prop will keep spinning as long as the motor has the power to turn. Once you start getting into larger electric motors, these can have serious results.

RE: Converting Nitro P 51 into Electric
 

I use this for all my planes of 40 sized and above ... its an arming switch also known as a shunt.

http://www.maxxprod.com/mpi/mpi-21.html#arming

RE: Converting Nitro P 51 into Electric
 

I have done a bunch of electric conversions. The main problem is always mounting the motor and getting the battery to fit properly. Most of the time you need to make a battery tray and may have to cut throught the firewall to get the CG in the right place using the battery. If you use 110-130 watts per pound for the motor selection your plane should fly great. Remember all warbirds need a lot of speed before take-off and also can stall violently if you get too slow. For safety you can use a switch just like gas to turn on the receiver when ready to fly. Otherwise the shunt works well too.