this capability comes at a premium, but for the Expert Class CLPA competitor, its ca- pability makes it a bargain. Each flyer needs to evaluate his needs and expectations, then get the system that fits those needs. It is plausible to start with a Sport system, then upgrade to the ICE 50 controller and FM-2SR timer later. The Electric Super Clown and Electric Baby Clown packages are intended to make your first steps into e-C/L as easy as possible, but conversions of old IC models purpose-built electric conversions are simple too.
Is this the future of modern Control Line? The author’s new ship features a fiberglass fuselage, plug-in wings and removable tail. Electric power, of course.
simplest of all—it is designed to mimic a reed valve .049. The 1
⁄2 ⁄2 A has no adjustable
features and is designed to run full throttle for 3 minutes. However, you can use the Sport timer with the 1
A system if you want
to be able to set the speed or adjust for longer or shorter flight time. The Arrowind ESCs used in the Sport sys-
tems are also dandy for Scale or Carrier fly- ers who exercise direct control over the throttle. Clancy Arnold’s “U-Tronics” sys- tems can drive the ESC on your Scale or Carrier model; Will Hubin is also working on a throttle system. Remote starts, shut- down and restarts (using the throttle) are possible. Electric powered multi-engine scale models become a cinch with perfect throttle coordination. “PRO” systems use the Castle ICE 50 ESC
which has a state-of-the art rpm controlling governor adapted from their R/C helicopter program to deal with variations in battery power and propeller load over the course of flight. The Brodak system is designed to use the “Set RPM” mode where you program ex- actly what speed you want (up to three choices at a time). This program monitors and adjusts the motor rpm so it is always kept as close as possible to the rpm that is programmed in. The ICE 50, running in this mode, auto- matically adjusts the throttle settings as the battery wears down to maintain the RPM setting as long as the battery is capable of generating enough power. With pre-pro- grammed settings you can select any of the three pre-programmed speeds to a specific setting when flying conditions change. No tachometers and no more guessing, “Did I get 100 rpm or something else?” The ICE 50 has one more bonus feature
FLYING MODELS
for you techies out there. It has a built-in data logger that records things like motor rpm, current use, battery voltage, motor watts, etc. on a real time basis. The spikes and valleys show where the power usage is the highest and the lowest. Fantastic data, though I still scratch my head over how to use it!
Which is right for me? The Sport systems probably come closest
to handing like a traditional IC engine. The timer lets you set the speed just as if you were setting the needle valve on an IC en- gine—a lot of people like it for just that rea- son. You can use this on a sport or Stunt plane but it will not do as good a job main- taining the constant speed through maneu- vers as the PRO system—but still holds power as well or better than a good IC en- gine. We have found the Sport system to be perfectly acceptable to use in Old Time Stunt. One recent innovation to watch for: Keith Renecle of South Africa has developed a timer that actually has its own governing algorithms. What that means is that you can match up Keith’s timer with a non-gov- erning ESC (lower cost!) and mimic the per- formance of the higher priced ESCs with governors. In my experience the Castle ICE ESC in
Set RPM mode offers the easiest and most consistent method there is for setting up and repeating motor performance on a flight to flight basis. The governor is as good as it gets for maintaining flight rpm throughout the rigors of a full Stunt pattern. The data- logger has proven useful for those who want to be intimately aware of the power usage and refining motor settings. Of course, all
Your first electric model For a sport model it is hard to beat the complete Brodak Electric Super Clown ARF system, with all the modifications needed for electric power. The complete package, in- cluding the airplane, motor, ESC, timer, battery, prop and the charger is reasonably priced and you can have it airborne very quickly. It will give you some experience putting all the pieces together and trying them out—and it flies well. The setup comes with a 9–4.5 prop—for a revelation, try it with the pusher version of this prop. Of course you can also use a 10–5 or even an 11–4.5, though I cannot comprehend why you would need an 11-inch prop on a Super Clown! The power system is also capable of flying Fox-35 sized Stunters and Old Time Stunters. I will be using the Super Clown motor and battery combined with a Castle ESC in my new-build 1969 Hawker Typhoon. As I write this, a complete turn-key pack-
age including a 15-sized Mustang kit is ru- mored to be on its way from RSM. By the time this reaches print the details will hope- fully be available at RSM’s website. It is usually possible to convert an old IC
model to electric power. Conversions can get you into the air faster and in many cases give you a 1:1 comparison between the for- mer IC installation and the new electric. However, conversions tend to be somewhat heavier, and a little inconvenient with re- spect to cooling passages and battery change-out. Outrunner motors mount on firewalls, typically behind the motor, but some motors use a front mounting into the nose ring structure. Either of these mounts is easy to build,
but retrofitting can be a little challenging. Li-Po battery packs are roughly the same size as an IC fuel tank, but again, it can be tough to get the correct placement with se- cure and easy access. If you start off with a heavy IC airplane you will really be stack- ing the deck against yourself. One other pos- sible problem is if you cannot properly locate all the items (especially the battery) then hitting the right c.g. can be a problem. If you have the luxury of doing so I would recommend you build your e-C/L as a dedi- cated model. You can take some time pack- aging the components and making them ac- cessible, spend time on cooling duct work and generally make it more user friendly.
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