A club member has been in the process of thinning the hangar. He and I have talked about the P6E for a few years now. He finally just wanted it gone and gave me a price I just could not refuse. Its a fantastic-flying airplane and I'm a softy for the golden era aircraft. For those that are interested: STATS
This airplane is now discontinued. There is the smaller version that FT did a review of. Knowing that there is a lot of reviews out there of this particular model I knew that I would come in at around 13 pounds AUW. So, lets get started with the conversion from a slimer to electron.
This is what I started with. The plane is in pristine condition. No major repairs at all to be done.
Here is the heart. An O.S. FS 120 Surpass. 4-stroke glow fuel makes the most heavenly of sounds but brings lots of cleaning, expensive fuel ($21/gallon), more things to bring to the field, and a much more dangerous (IMO) starting procedure. What will be missed is of course the sound but also the smell. There is something about glow fuel that is just primal in this hobby.
Here is the removed motor on the scale. At 36 oz. I have some work to get the weight up front to get the CG right.
So, I've been VERY successfully flying mt AT-6 Texan on electric for a couple of years now. I've tried selling it as-is because I feel like it has served it purpose in training me for larger-scale warbirds. It flies exceptionally well and the power system is smooth and reliable. Cranking out 1300W this is a drop-in for this plane to provide around 100W/pound. A good round number for this airplane to do some seriously scale flying. Again, this is an NTM 42-48 650Kv. 16 oz. is a good starting place for the nose.
I measured the length of the motor from the mounting plate to the prop hub base on both systems. The electric system needed only 3/8" more to make the cowl. I quickly cut a piece of ply and used the mounting holes for the glow motor to attach it. To quickly check the placement, I drilled holes into the ply spacer and used wood screws to attach the motor... the result? Have a look.
So, now I'll put some blind (or T) nuts on the back of the ply spacer and properly mount the motor. The other issue remaining is the leftover 18 oz. of weight I need in the nose. My 4500 4S batteries weigh in at about 15 oz. The real upshot here is that there is AMPLE room in the cowl for a battery so I can get the weight as far forward as possible. The other fun bit is that there is a square hole in the cowl already that was used for the glow engine. I can use that hole to place a battery in the cowl and make a styrene cover for it. With an ample motor box it will be a snap to screw a battery plate to it and use heavy velcro to attach the battery.With the wood and other things I am pretty sure I can make the CG without adding a ton of ballast. Stay tuned for updates.
This airplane is now discontinued. There is the smaller version that FT did a review of. Knowing that there is a lot of reviews out there of this particular model I knew that I would come in at around 13 pounds AUW. So, lets get started with the conversion from a slimer to electron.
This is what I started with. The plane is in pristine condition. No major repairs at all to be done.
Here is the heart. An O.S. FS 120 Surpass. 4-stroke glow fuel makes the most heavenly of sounds but brings lots of cleaning, expensive fuel ($21/gallon), more things to bring to the field, and a much more dangerous (IMO) starting procedure. What will be missed is of course the sound but also the smell. There is something about glow fuel that is just primal in this hobby.
Here is the removed motor on the scale. At 36 oz. I have some work to get the weight up front to get the CG right.
So, I've been VERY successfully flying mt AT-6 Texan on electric for a couple of years now. I've tried selling it as-is because I feel like it has served it purpose in training me for larger-scale warbirds. It flies exceptionally well and the power system is smooth and reliable. Cranking out 1300W this is a drop-in for this plane to provide around 100W/pound. A good round number for this airplane to do some seriously scale flying. Again, this is an NTM 42-48 650Kv. 16 oz. is a good starting place for the nose.
I measured the length of the motor from the mounting plate to the prop hub base on both systems. The electric system needed only 3/8" more to make the cowl. I quickly cut a piece of ply and used the mounting holes for the glow motor to attach it. To quickly check the placement, I drilled holes into the ply spacer and used wood screws to attach the motor... the result? Have a look.
So, now I'll put some blind (or T) nuts on the back of the ply spacer and properly mount the motor. The other issue remaining is the leftover 18 oz. of weight I need in the nose. My 4500 4S batteries weigh in at about 15 oz. The real upshot here is that there is AMPLE room in the cowl for a battery so I can get the weight as far forward as possible. The other fun bit is that there is a square hole in the cowl already that was used for the glow engine. I can use that hole to place a battery in the cowl and make a styrene cover for it. With an ample motor box it will be a snap to screw a battery plate to it and use heavy velcro to attach the battery.With the wood and other things I am pretty sure I can make the CG without adding a ton of ballast. Stay tuned for updates.
