Electric Aircraft?

[aadesh19]

Hello, newbie here. I've flown glow aircraft most of my life, had to stop 7 years ago due to my wife's health issues. I'd like to start up again, but try electric this time. I kind of like the idea of not messing with fuel or having to clean the plane when done.
Reading about Electric flying is definitely a new and confusing world for me. I understand some of it, but all the electrical stuff is confusing. I guess my first question would be: how long can you fly using Lipo batts? Do you only get one flight out of a fully charged batt or do you get multiple flights?

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[Ketchup]

Hello, newbie here. I've flown glow aircraft most of my life, had to stop 7 years ago due to my wife's health issues. I'd like to start up again, but try electric this time. I kind of like the idea of not messing with fuel or having to clean the plane when done.
Reading about Electric flying is definitely a new and confusing world for me. I understand some of it, but all the electrical stuff is confusing. I guess my first question would be: how long can you fly using Lipo batts? Do you only get one flight out of a fully charged batt or do you get multiple flights?

1. The flight time depends on the LiPo and your power system, it is like fuel and engines. A larger fuel tank and more fuel in it will give you more flight time, and a larger LiPo will give the same. Some of my planes only fly for 5 minutes while others can go to 9 or 10.
2. It depends on your definition of "flight". You can fly for a few minutes, land and unplug everything, and then power stuff back up and fly more if you want. It just depends on whether or not the lipo still has charge in it. It's like a normal battery. You can charge it and then use it up until you need to charge again, the amount of flights is only determined by how long you want to fly per flight and whether or not the battery has charge left over.
Just a safety tip about lipos though, you never want to fully discharge one. A lipo cell has a max voltage of 4.2 volts and a nominal voltage of 3.7. You never want to let a cell pass below 3.3 though, since that will cause permanent damage. I have heard of people who stop flying after they get down to 3.8 volts or somewhere around there. I personally only fly my lipos down to around 40%, but I'm not sure what voltage that is. Also read up on things like lipos so that you know how to care for them and use them properly.
Finally, welcome back to the hobby and welcome to the FT forums!

 

[Ketchup]

I actually don't think I was clear enough in my answer to the second question, so here's a second answer that's hopefully better.
You can get as many flights as you want out of a fully charged lipo as long as you still have enough charge in it. I know a couple guys who will fly a few times off of one lipo, but they make short flights and always make sure that they have enough charge for more flying before doing it.

 

[flyingkelpie]

It really depends on the mah. (milli amp hour) the higher mah the longer flight. If you have any other questions just ask me and I'll feel happy to help you!

 

[flyingkelpie]

Also smaller motors will allow you to fly much longer. They use less battery but can't give as much power. This is because on smaller motors you use smaller esc's (electronic speed controller) My mini scout will fly way longer than my BluCub2 did on the same battery. This is because the mini scouts motor is only drawing up to 10a instead of with the BluCub being 20a. If this confuses you (as it did me when I was learning) feel free to ask. And as @Ketchup said lipos can be dangerous. I'll expand on what he said. Because the lipo has rather delicate chemistry it can be is to ruin. Damaged lipos can explode and if your not there to put out the fire could burn down your house. Buying a smart charger is a smart idea. Here is the one I use: https://hobbyking.com/en_us/imax-b6...uSgFxrXTm_dogquscXhoCwzoQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
Also a lipo bag: https://hobbyking.com/en_us/fire-re..._vJFr3dNpWNYOnUBdUxoCBJkQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
Or lipo box: https://www.phaserfpv.com.au/products/bat-safe-lipo-battery-charging-box
is a good idea to get.
Hopefully this helps and welcome to FT Forums!

 

[quorneng]

aadesh19
Electric flying tends to be a bit different.
1 An electric motor uses up its battery capacity in almost direct proportion to the throttle setting. If you fly at half power it will be able to fly for twice as long so 'throttle management' can be quite significant.
2. Compared to an IC engine an electric is very smooth running so the airframe can be lighter built. A lighter plane needs less power for the same performance so further benefitting the effect of throttle management.
3. With an IC engine the propeller actually speeds up and slows down during the power and compression stokes whereas the constant torque of an electric motor actually improves the propeller efficiency. You get a bit more performance from the power being used.
None of these benefits are dramatic but they do add up.

It is perhaps worth noting that in competition aerobatics where high power and delicate throttle control are vital electric power is now widely used over IC engines.
Also remember it is electric power that created the whole 'drone' category including many of those dramatic aerial shots seen in TV programmes.
Finally electric is much quieter. There are clubs that have to apply an 'electric only' rule to pacify their neighbours.

 

[Merv]

I generally get 6-10 minutes of flight time from my 2,200 mah 3S battery. It depends on the plane and how hard you fly. If I go full throttle the whole time, it will be 6-7 minutes, if I back off the throttle, I’ll get 10-12 minutes. I’ve gone 30 minutes by catching a few thermals. You normally only get 1 flight per charge but multiple short flights are possible, 1-10 minute flight or 2-5 minute flights.

The temperatures below 50 will shorten flight times. As batteries age, they loose capacity and have shorter flights. I generally get 2-3 years of service from a battery.