C/LStunt Guest columnist, Dennis Adamisin, re-
turns this month with Part 2 of his electric power system basics for control line Stunt.
I
f you look at the top flyers, you will find one of the elements that separated them from the pack was the ability to run dependable, repeatable engines.
Now imagine a scenario where anybody can buy all the power system pieces, and with some personal coaching or even just study- ing the info available on line, can with their very first flight have an engine run as good as anyone currently flying? If you talk to electric flyers they all men-
tion that they do not even think about their engine runs anymore. Imagine how a flyer can grow and improve when he/she never has to worry about the engine run? Imag- ine the effect on practice time when that person can fly in a local park or schoolyard, instead of driving across the county to the noise tolerant flying site? How long will an airplane last if there is virtually no motor vibration and no oil deposited on it every flight? I believe electric power systems rep- resent the best choice for aero modeling and control line modeling in the present and the future.
Sport system or PRO? Initially almost all e-C/L development
was top end stuff, designed for .45-.50 sized full Stunt models—and almost nothing else. When setting up the electric power systems at Brodak we realized that sport flyers and competitors each have their own expecta- tions. Since so many people were so new to electric modeling, it would be good to have systems that were simple as well as those that are full competition ready. Thus Bro- dak dual-tracked their systems, with Sport and PRO versions. Parts that are the same: Sport and PRO systems use the same motors and Li-Po bat-
by allen brickhaus You can reach Allen Brickhausat PO Box 206, Golconda, Illinois 62938, or via e-mail at
abkb801@shawneelink.net
PHOTOGRAPHY: DENNIS ADAMISIN
Consistency is what electric power has brought to the Control Line sport. Thanks to advancements in electric motors and batteries, even small models such as the Baby Clown can once again be flown in parks and school yards without bothering the population with noise.
tery packs. The motors and Li-Pos are per- fectly compatible with any of the ESCs. Parts that are different: The ESC and
timers that drive the power setup are the biggest difference. Sport systems use the Arrowind ESCs in various sizes matched to the size of the system. These are good basic ESCs with some selectable features—like Prop Brake on or off. They will not maintain the initial rpm as the battery wears down, so we use a special timer (Will Hubin’s
FM-0c) that actually increases the throttle setting over the course of the flight to arti- ficially keep the flight speed close to the same from beginning to end. In practice the combination of the simple ESC and “throt- tle up” timer do a pretty good job and while falling short of the PRO systems, under high stress maneuvers like the Square 8. However, for OTS and sport flying these ESCs are perfectly serviceable. One special case, the 1
⁄2 A system, is the
Some of the test fleet in Muncie (above left), from EPS-05 through EPS 65. All of the models shown here are able to deliver consistant runs thanks to the
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nature of modern electronics. The Brodak PathfinderARF has been modified to have a firewall mount with battery box (above right).
DECEMBER 2011
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