Hi from lockdown UK - so new hobby time!

DeeUK

New member
Hello all
I hope that this first post finds you all as well as can be. I'm emailing from a lock down on Oxfordshire, UK.

So, I've downloaded and printed out the plans for the Old Fogey which I am currently building as best possible from A3 foam board whilst waiting for my A1 to come, hopefully free of virus. What a mental time.

Once I've got that built I'm going to make the nutball, with my 5 year old daughter which I think that she will find fun.

I'm not sure if this is the correct place to ask a question, but if it is...

Would someone be able to suggest motors/prop/ESC combos for the A and B and C pod builds - that are available in the UK?
Websites are of course amazon.uk (some brushless engines on other amazon sites are not available on the UK one)
rapidrcmodels.com
elitemodelsonline.co.uk

With thanks all, very much enjoying the articles, youtube videos and scratch builds, theyre causing me a LOT of very very late nights!

Best wishe
Dee
 

FDS

Elite member
Hobbyking have cheap motors, props, ESC’s and batteries. Just don’t buy from any other warehouse except UK or EU. Model Shop Leeds do their own power packs but stock is a UK wide problem right now because it’s all made in China.
 

leaded50

Legendary member
Power Pack A is : Radial 1806 2280kV motor, 20A ESC, Propellers 6x3
Power Pack B is : Radial 2212 1050kV motor, 35A ESC, Propellers 9x4.5
Power Pack C is : Radial 2218 1180kV motor, 35A ESC, Propellers 10 x 4.5

Here you see the motorsizes, esc, propellers in that packs. It should be quite easy find similar products in UK.
 

DeeUK

New member
Thank you all for your replies and suggestions.
Leaded50, I saw those packs in the FT store. My problem, as a new builder with little (but growing) knowledge, is that none of these are available to me and I don't know how to choose suitable alternatives. So, my question was to request someone (for the time being) to offer alternatives from UK sites that do have stock.

For example-Pack B - do I look for a motor that is 2212 (which I understand are dimensions -therefore I understand this would be stupid to look solely at. OR, do I look at motors the same weight, or do I look at same KV? I found further problems are that I find a motor the same weight but different dimensions and KV - or I find the same KV but weighs a lot less or a lot more.

I'm looking for a park/trainer wattage/power/weight ratio by the way.

I'm watching a lot of YT videos and reading as many posts as possible. But with a wife and 5 year old time to put lots of learning in is limited. Please don't think that I'm just being lazy!
 

FDS

Elite member
For the motors just search by size and KV what is listed in the FT Store, ignore the ones listed on the plans as they are all out of date. Motor weight doesn’t matter much, buy the recommended prop as well. I like the APC non slow fly type props, they are cheap and strong.
 

DeeUK

New member
Thanks FDS - I was sure weight would come into it, as that would alter the CG. One motor they used was 24g, the alternative I found was 52 grams so I thought that I'd never be able to balance that, without using a car battery.
I think i like the idea of slow fly props! at least for the time being.
 

leaded50

Legendary member
in my opinion, look for same modeltype eg.. 2212 AND approx the Kv. Higher Kv needs smaller propeller genrally, draws more watts, and lack a bit in thrust. Eg 1250 Kv and 1400 Kv isnt a big difference, but 1250Kv and 2500Kv is.

As an example, at a cheap Ebay Asia product: 2212 2200kv Brushless Motor: at 3s- thrust:732g, 342W, Rec prop: 6x3 . 30-35A esc.
2212 1400KV Brushless Motor: at 3s- thrust:910g, 210w .Rec prop 9x5 . 25-30A esc.

Thats 178g less thrust, 132W more needed.. at 3" smaller prop..on the higher Kv rated motor
 
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BATTLEAXE

Legendary member
Thanks FDS - I was sure weight would come into it, as that would alter the CG. One motor they used was 24g, the alternative I found was 52 grams so I thought that I'd never be able to balance that, without using a car battery.
I think i like the idea of slow fly props! at least for the time being.
The 4 digit number that suggests the size of the motor, ei. 2218 could mean a couple different things. Depending on the companies that build it this could be the dimensions of the can, OR the stator inside. If you see two motors with the same size designation, but one is 24 grams and the other is 52 grams for example, the lighter one is suggesting the size of the can, the heavier one is the size of the stator inside. There is no sizing standards.
 

FDS

Elite member
@DeeUK Bear in mind our Westfoam board is 40% heavier than Dollar Tree stuff, on small planes it’s harder to balance, minis in particular. You sometimes need to add length to the nose section to balance the tail. That heavy motor might be good for that too.
 

DeeUK

New member
Really great replies, thank you. Im looking forward to understanding thrust and wattage (prop)erly. See what i did.
Anyway.... thanks Leaded50, I'll read that a few times and digest it!
Thanks battleaxe and FDS. I can't believe the foamcore/foam board is that much heavier! I would have weighed it and scratched my head for ages wondering where the extra weight was no doubt.
 

FDS

Elite member
It’s got much thicker paper on it and the foam density is higher.
You can take the paper off the inside to reduce weight. @Hai-Lee has a post about how to do it.
 

Hai-Lee

Old and Bold RC PILOT
It’s got much thicker paper on it and the foam density is higher.
You can take the paper off the inside to reduce weight. @Hai-Lee has a post about how to do it.
Here is a link to a few pics showing how I remove the paper.

Where the fuselage has already been cut out it is possible to do the individual inside surfaces by just bending the other parts back out of the way. It is wise to practice on a few scraps first just to get the temperature right.

https://forum.flitetest.com/index.php?threads/quick-tip-involving-the-new-foam.32740/#post-329044

It works for me!

Have fun!
 
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DeeUK

New member
Thank you all. I might have a go at removing the paper later, thank you for the link Hai-Lee. Although it'll just be the fuselage so I can't see that it'll be worth it? I might do it anyway and use my scales to weigh the removed paper. It will be useful to see the weight difference. Seeing is believing.
Prop, engine and ESC arrived today.
Also made a foamcore winged, cardboard tailed BBQ skewer plane with daughter today. Spent an hour chucking it round the garden with her for lunch