Electric glider

The 2mtr electric assisted glider is almost complete, home built .. no ARF for me and it looks like a promising flyer,

the plane has been built of balsa and using conventional construction, a small amount of glass and epoxy resin was used around the nose to beef up the engine (sorry motor) bulkhead . The glider weighs 840 grams all up including the electric setup, radio and controls .

Next comes the part were the motor is run (I am no electric Guru) so approached this with a cautious logical test.

The motor ,gear box and prop were all tightened in place , the radio receiver, two servo's and speed controller, connected into the throttle port on the receiver and checked first that it was in the off /idle possition.

I switched the radio tx on and then connected up the Li-Po battery, which was fully charged.

Openning the throttle the motor sprang into life.... I ran it at full throttle for 1 minute and then shut it down, a quick feel of the motor and components indicated everything was still ice-cold a good sign.

Although the motor had a fair amount of thrust , I dont expect verticle performance but certainly enough to give a steady climb. The reason for this is probably the following, the radio program /model I selected was using this port for flaps and the full deflection was only 75 % , so the motor could rev 25 % more ,the gearbox ratio is also slowwing down the rpm. but Ill play it safe for now, and only try a bigger prop later.

Next test was more sustained running I ran the motor at full(75%) throttle for 6minutes and tested for heat , the motor got warm , now I ran for a futher 12minutes trying to flatten the battery . The motor only gets warm and was still running fine , no rev drop that I could hear.

The voltage feeding the receiver was checked with a multimeter at 5.06 volts.

So at this stage it looks ok for a test flight. What a relief ...NO MAGIC BLUE SMOKE..

For those experts out there who understand the (dark side) wonderfull electric scene this may seem a little basic , but its a beginners (me , myself , and I )guide to understanding electrics.

For the record the Li-po is a 3cell 1000mah 15c , the motor a Waikera inrunner 3250kv (I understand actually for a helicopter) the speed controller Bec 30amp Waikera, the prop a 9x5

folding. It all seems to work together ok, lovely for those early calm mornings on the slope or late afternoons, when the winch is already packed away.

I think it will become a favourite.