FredOfMBOX
New member
I'm having a hard time figuring out all the little details about selecting a power plant for an RC Plane, specifically the FT Explorer. I've built a few quadcopters, but this will be only my second fixed wing after a Tiny Trainer with the power pack A.
The power pack offerings for the FT Explorer don't seem quite right to me for a few reasons, so I'm wondering if I could put something together manually and either save some money or get better performance, or, if I'm *really* lucky, reuse some of my parts from my other machines.
I have some questions.
1) The Park 370-425 seems like a really old motor, and frankly, technology has come a long way in recent years. I know we have more torque and faster RPMs with less draw on modern motors. I see the power pack C comes with Emaxx GT2215/09, but this also seems like an older motor. Should I invest in something that old?
2) I have a bunch of 4S batteries in the 1300-1600 mAH range. I'd love to use these if possible, but I don't think they're appropriate batteries. If they can be used successfully, I'd love to know how. I'm pretty sure I can use the taranis's curves to keep voltage similar to a 3S, but I think mAH are mAH, regardless of voltage, so I probably wouldn't get the runtime.
3) I plan on building at least one more plane (maybe an FT Sea Duck or similar). I'd love to save some money by buying some spare ESCs, motors, props, etc. that I can reuse amongst multiple builds.
I guess I feel like there's probably a modern motor/prop combination that is 4S compatible that will meet or exceed my needs for the FT explorer and extend to other things, and probably be some cost savings over power pack C. Any recommendations?
The power pack offerings for the FT Explorer don't seem quite right to me for a few reasons, so I'm wondering if I could put something together manually and either save some money or get better performance, or, if I'm *really* lucky, reuse some of my parts from my other machines.
FT info page (filtered down to what I think is relevant) said:WEIGHT WITHOUT BATTERY: 1.08 lbs (493 g)
WINGSPAN: 57 inches (1447 mm)
RECOMMENDED MOTOR: Park 370 – 425, 1000 kv minimum
RECOMMENDED PROP: 8 x 4.5 slow fly or 9 x 6 APC prop
RECOMMENDED ESC: 20 – 30 amp
RECOMMENDED BATTERY: 2200 mAH 3s minimum
I have some questions.
1) The Park 370-425 seems like a really old motor, and frankly, technology has come a long way in recent years. I know we have more torque and faster RPMs with less draw on modern motors. I see the power pack C comes with Emaxx GT2215/09, but this also seems like an older motor. Should I invest in something that old?
2) I have a bunch of 4S batteries in the 1300-1600 mAH range. I'd love to use these if possible, but I don't think they're appropriate batteries. If they can be used successfully, I'd love to know how. I'm pretty sure I can use the taranis's curves to keep voltage similar to a 3S, but I think mAH are mAH, regardless of voltage, so I probably wouldn't get the runtime.
3) I plan on building at least one more plane (maybe an FT Sea Duck or similar). I'd love to save some money by buying some spare ESCs, motors, props, etc. that I can reuse amongst multiple builds.
I guess I feel like there's probably a modern motor/prop combination that is 4S compatible that will meet or exceed my needs for the FT explorer and extend to other things, and probably be some cost savings over power pack C. Any recommendations?