30-11-2011, 09:59 PM
Yes Frank, when I first got into electric RC a couple of years ago I discovered the same thing - there are lots of variations available which simply don't exist in the IC world. For example, my pride and joy as a teenager was my two-stroke OS Max .15 for control-line aircraft - there wasn't a great deal to learn as there were only two different sized propellers it would take (an 8*6 or an 8*4) and only one type of fuel was available.
Electrics are way more interesting because of the variations. The links the guys have posted above are pretty good and should provide good reading, the fundamentals you'll see are ...
1. The 100 Watts per 500 g of takeoff weight (again, there are variations, but it's a starting point)
2. Lower KV motors mean larger pitch/diameter props compared to higher KV motors for the same power consumption.
3. Get yourself a wattmeter, can't live without one!
Have fun and post back again because there are others in the club who know way more than I do and are only too willing to help out.
Electrics are way more interesting because of the variations. The links the guys have posted above are pretty good and should provide good reading, the fundamentals you'll see are ...
1. The 100 Watts per 500 g of takeoff weight (again, there are variations, but it's a starting point)
2. Lower KV motors mean larger pitch/diameter props compared to higher KV motors for the same power consumption.
3. Get yourself a wattmeter, can't live without one!
Have fun and post back again because there are others in the club who know way more than I do and are only too willing to help out.
Steve Murray