Where are the ESCs for fixed-wing?

rmzalbar

Member
Ah... I'm having a little trouble finding ESCs that are appropriate for fixed-wing use. Just about everything out there has crippled firmware that is not stick-programmable, has no low-voltage cutoff, and has braking that can't be disabled. Has multirotor madness bumped everything else off the table?

I'm looking for something in the 40A range for 4S. Because of heat, I prefer to have no regulator on the ESC, and want it to be lightweight anyway. Just about all ESCs I find with no regulator are preloaded for multirotor. Any recommendations?

Thanks!
 
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Headbang

Master member
Lots of options out there. Castle, Plush, Hobby King, E-flite, Graupner, Jetti, ect

I have 40-160amp escs from all of those manufacturers for fixed wing.
 

rmzalbar

Member
Thank you, I decided on a "HobbyKing 40A ESC w/UBEC 4A"

I prefer to keep the BEC away from the controller, but if it's switching maybe it will be cool enough and I can regain the weight penalty... I had the balance just right with the UBEC in the rear. Thanks also for E-flite/Horizon, more expensive but they have some options I hadn't seen elsewhere.
 

makattack

Winter is coming
Moderator
Mentor
You're probably seeing a lot of blheli installed escs. They can be configured to enable stick programming, so if you don't have a computer and programming interface (an arduino works) then perhaps someone you know does and can configure your esc once with the TX stick programming enabled and brake off?

Looks like you have options, but if the low cost and ubiquitous nature of the open source software appeals to you, it might be worth the expense and time investment to be able to program them from a computer.
 

rmzalbar

Member
You're probably seeing a lot of blheli installed escs. They can be configured to enable stick programming, so if you don't have a computer and programming interface (an arduino works) then perhaps someone you know does and can configure your esc once with the TX stick programming enabled and brake off?

I was hoping to avoid the bother of flashing my own, but doing so would give me an opportunity to use some of the lighter, quad-oriented ESCs out there. That's another mouth to feed - time and mental clutter - but if I insist on pushing the limits that's the price I pay!