Question: How do you figure out the thrust of any given motor and prop?

LocoRC

Junior Member
I'm pretty new into the RC world and I'm at the point where I'm starting to scratch build, but I need to find out a formula or something that will tell me the thrust for any given motor, prop, battery combo.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

- Kris
 

colorex

Rotor Riot!
Mentor
Thrust is usually determined using a thrust measuring setup. AFAIK There is no exact formula to determine that, you will have to look for that info on the specs of the motor.
 
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Klonas

Senior Member
Usually there are some specs in the description of the motor about the thrust, also in Hobbyking in reviews usually some guys test them and write amps and thrust with different props.
 

Rcjim11

New member
Basically you can get some scales, screw the end of the motor to a piece of wood and weigh the dead weight.. then spin her up (make sure it is in pusher config) and see by how much the weight increases... there you have it!
 

colorex

Rotor Riot!
Mentor
Andre' a watt meter won't tell you how much thrust a motor/prop combo will use, just how much "power" it uses.
Most watt-meters read out with the battery voltage, amp draw and wattage. More watts, sorta means more thrust , but not always.

Thrust is measured by a thrust gauge- something like this:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=505683&highlight=Thrust+test+stand

Yeah, Crap. I meant to say one of those thrust measuring setups. I guess I said wrong, sorry...
 

earthsciteach

Moderator
Moderator
Loco - if you are looking to purchase a good setup, check out HeadsUpRC.com. Hands down the BEST customer service on the web! Jeff rates his motors with various props and recommends esc's. If you have some weird requirement, send him the info at jeff@heasduprc.com and he will come back with a couple of recommendations.

He will ship it within a couple of hours of your purchase in most cases. Shipping within the continental US is a flat rate of $2.00 for small packages (which can include A LOT of stuff from my personal experience!) and $4.00 for larger packages. Additionally, if you buy a LiPo from them, they personally test each prior to mailing. And their prices are VERY competitive! I'm not a paid representative, I'm a happy customer!