| AT THIS POINT this series will begin to split off into the specialty areas of model aviation. Radio Control (RC), as noted in the past few months, takes up the major portion of interest. However, equally important to so many modelers are the non-RC aircraft, such as Free Flight, Control Line, Hand-Launched Gliders, rubber-powered models, and more! As the months go by, this series will "spin off" into all of these fascinating areas.
The three basic components of model-aircraft electric power system: (L) Speed 400 6-volt winding ferrite motor, (center) Jeti Models JES-110 ESC, (R) eight-cell 1100 mAh NiMH battery pack. New Creations R/C has custom-preinstalled all necessary APP connectors. No soldering is necessary. A plus for beginners!
From a primary power standpoint, the most popular for model aviation today involves the use of glow-fueled engines. To a lesser degree, but just as important, are the gasoline-fueled engines as employed in the larger models (quarter scale and the like). The third power category is electric, and this has become increasingly popular in recent years because of the many technological improvements in motors and batteries.
Guest-author experts will soon be writing about glow- and gasoline-fueled models. Electric has been my specialty for some years; it is the only power source I use today. Read on in the next few months as I explain electric power and take you through the process of assembling, installing power in, and flying an electric-powered model.
Speed 400 6-volt winding direct-drive motor. Wires, APP connectors were preinstalled.
What is electric? Electric power uses the energy supplied from batteries to operate motors without the need for "wet" fuels. At the beginning of this series I pointed out that when you are referring to fuel, the power plant is an "engine." When you are referring to electric power, it is a "motor."
Why would someone, especially a beginner, want to try electric power? The two primary advantages of electric power are that it is clean and quiet. It's clean in the sense that you will not end up with fuel residue on your model after each flight. It's also clean because there is no fuel to accidentally spill on the ground and get into the water table. There is a remote chance of that happening, but it is still a big concern in certain areas of our country.
Direct-drive propeller is mounted on propeller adapter that mounts on motor shaft. New Creations R/C supplies this adapter already mounted to motor shaft. The propeller is a white plastic Gunther 5 x 4.
Electric power is quiet, as in no noise! Probably the loudest sound you will get from an electric motor is the propeller or air noise, and that isn't much. Quiet operation means that you have the ability to fly in urban areas without disturbing the public. Electric power is so quiet that you can fly at sunrise, in dead air or calm wind conditions, without the fear of waking up neighbors.
There are more subtle advantages associated with electric power. Without a piston and connecting rod pounding away, there is little vibration. This makes it much easier on the radio-system components, which need little isolation or padding to survive.
Electric motors are basically turned on by a switch or controller. You don't have to prime and flip a propeller, use a starter motor, or light a glow plug to get your model in flight. This easy starting feature is particularly nice when flying in colder weather. You can sit in your warm car while the battery recharges, then venture outside for the flight. There is never any waiting.
Red dot on rear of motor casing denotes positive (+) terminal. Red APP connector is placed on positive motor lead wire; black APP connector is on negative lead. Both wires are connected to "motor" lead wires on ESC.
When you are finished, you just put the aircraft in your vehicle; no cleaning is necessary. With the absence of fuel, you don't have to be concerned about the finish applied to your models. Anything will work!
After hearing these advantages, could there be any disadvantages? Yes! When you apply electricity from the battery to the motor, it will start instantly. If you fail to realize this, you might accidentally connect a battery, have the motor start, and it might hit you or take off across your shop, wrecking everything in its path. Most modern speed controllers have safety features to help with this that I will discuss in a moment.
Jeti Model 110 ESC with BEC circuit (explained in text). Left pair of wires go to motor; right pair goes to battery pack. Cable with servo-style connector plugs into throttle port on RC receiver. On/off switch at end of remaining cable is mounted on exterior of aircraft's fuselage.
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