rabbid fly

My Feedback: (15)

Hi guys, my name is Phil and i am the new guy to "recent" pattern flying. I just bought a ZN Twister kit and a Mintor 170. a lot of guys i have talked to say :go electric.
What do you guys think, gas with a DL30, glow with the 170 Mintor or electric. I Would like to hear from other 2M flyers what they think,pros and cons. I appreciate all inputs before i would start this build. Thanks.
Phil

Mastertech

My Feedback: (31)

Go Electric. 4 years ago Electrics were less than 5% of the power source. Today it's more on the order of 80% Electrics.

IC is dying a quick death. I've just made the change and much prefer it to any IC engine.

Tim

cchariandy

YS170 or electric. The 2 strokes don't have the torque to provide smooth easy transitions.

I recently switced to Electric power from YS170s and can also say that the e-powered planes seem easier to fly and are more consistent altough the power curve, available power at the begining vs the end of flight, idle, braking etc all take some getting used to as they are very different from the YS.

It took about 20 flights to get used to most of the new characteristics.... not a long time.

For anyone new to the pattern looking to start aquiring new equipment I strongly advise E-power. Although right now you can find lots of good used YS motors for 1/2 price making it very attractive.

Colin.

pattratt

My Feedback: (1)

Phil

I just converted to electric after being a "Die Hard" YS flyer! After just two weeks of flying electric I don't think I will ever go back to "Glow or Gas" for pattern!

Electric can be a little intimidating at first, but there is a "Host" of great people on this forum that will go way out of there way to help get you going.

Good Luck

Dick

rabbid fly

My Feedback: (15)

Wow, this is great guys. A lot of different ideas and opinions and most of you guys are leaning towards Epower. I don't have a clue where to start from on Electrics.
What motor,esc, batteries. This stuff is all new to me, if you guys could lead the blind through this i would much oblige.
Phil

can773

My Feedback: (1)

Phil,

Get in touch with Harry Ells, he is in Cobourg, and is currently flying an electric Twister.  He is the patten chairman, and can find his contact info on the MAAC website.

Chad

MarkGrabowski

Phil, the Mintor 170, from what I've read on this forum, has had very mixed reviews...
You can do a search and read about the experiences some of the other members have had...

RC_Pattern_Flyer

My Feedback: (1)

Phil, mount the mintor on a beautiful wooden stand on your desk so others can admire its beauty.

You will loose your mind trying to get a complete flight without a deadstick and you will tear up your plane trying to do so.

Good luck...

Chuck Hochhalter

pattratt

My Feedback: (1)

Phil

Go to the pattern electric forum and you can do a search on any question relating to e-power and you will find many answers. You can also post a question and get a quick answer.

Dick

cchariandy

Phil, I'm in Mississauga and in the middle of a ZN Xigris build....let me know if you need any help.

Colin.

MTK

Not sure how new is new to pattern, Phil. If you lack pattern experience, I recommend that you heed Chad's advice and touch bases with the other highly experienced Canadians.

Having said that, I've been flying Pattern since 79 and 2 stroked piped set-ups since 81, and I had a rather difficult time with the Mintor 170....it is not an engine that is easy to set-up and run consistently. Suggest you do what mastertech (I think) said and mount it on a block of wood to deccorate your office. It is a beautiful piece of machinery

The YS 170 will present fewer problems than the Mintor 170 in the long run typically and has the necessary power curve to power a modern pattern model at the highest level of competition. It has a learning curve for certain, but is smaller than the Mintor's. The downside is its maintenance and overhauls periodically, at least once a year if you fly alot. Cost of operation tends be very high due to the high priced glow fuel it burns

Electric has a high outlay of $$ upfront. There's a considerable learning curve with this technology but by now, you have the majority of pattern people flying electric and this is experience that you can bank on. Fried batteries can and do happen (even experienced guys that have done electric for years will saute' them) and that's a major portion of the learning curve...battery care and maintenance. Really hard to beat this technology for the overall envelope of power delivery (the right kind of pattern power) and the plethora of gadgets available for it. The top experienced guys use the very best stuff and if you copy one of their set-ups, you will at minimum put yourself in a position to succeed. If I were to start over, or IF I was a total noob, this is one way I would give serious consideration to. Flying time per flight is just enough for one schedule, 7 minutes, so you will not have wet power flexibility to allow you extra flying time but that is a minor thing. The best cared for batteries will last about 100 flights average which is not bad. About 10 gallons of glow fuel equivalent

Lastly, gasoline power. I spent all last year developing the SAP180HP gas engine for pattern. I have a thread started here in the pattern forum. Some 60,000 views and over 50 pages packed with information on the care and feeding of the engine indicates that there is considerable interest worldwide in these smaller, newer, very powerful gasoline engines available today. I lke the SAP mainly because of the convenient set-up (rear intake AND exhaust) and the fact that the header is a simple purchase from Tower Hobbies. This has kinda become the poor man's electric set-up with just about as simple plug and play components

Costs of initial ownership, operation and maintenance are the smallest. I fly it in AMA Masters and that's about as high as it will go. 2 strokes, any of them, lack a certain quality to their power curve that we demand in higher level Pattern

So the real answer is...You have more options than ever in Pattern, and it Depends on what you want out of pattern and where you are on your experience level. If you are as new as it sounds, you want realiability and the ability to fly alot with no hassles. Hard to beat gasoline for that. If you're somewhat experienced but are just starting out in pattern and have some money to burn initially, YS or electric could be a better path

wagen017

I love my Twister with a Pletty 30-10. It is a great plane and you will enjoy it a lot. Don't hesitate and go electric I would say. Nice as well, learning new technology!

Maybe some remarks on above. 2x Rhino 4900 will cost you 130$, so that is about 4 gallons of 30% fuel, not 10. Also I think with proper care you can fly them for 200 cycles, not 100 with best care. you would need 2 or 3 sets of batteries.

Volkert