Need help selecting a motor. I want something that will work well for a Swappable Tutor but could also pull an old warbird through the air. Suggestions? Power packs are out of the picture, a Motor and props are the only supplies I still need.
The amount of thrust needed from the motor & prop depends on how you want to fly. A slow flying trainer, the thrust will need to be 60-80% of the weight of the plane. A typical plane, 80-100%. A war bird or one with a little zip will be 100-150%. A 3D plane will need 150-200% thrust to plane weight.
Watts per pound is another useful guideline. You'll need to weigh the plane and estimate the weight of the motor and battery.
• 50 to 70 watts per pound is the minimum level of power, good for park flyers and lightly loaded slow flyers. •70 to 90 watts per pound is perfect for trainers and slow-flying aircraft. •90 to 110 watts per pound is good for fast-flying scale models and some sport aerobatic aircraft. •110 to 130 watts per pound is what you want for advanced aerobatics and high-speed aircraft. •130 to 150 watts per pound is needed for lightly loaded 3D models and ducted fans. •150 to 210+ watts per pound gives unlimited performance for any 3D model.
Here is a FT thread with more information. 9L_Ng5AtNhc