conversion of J3 cub to electric

[hybrid]

Has anyone ever converted a maxford usa 1/6 cub from glow to electric, or built it electric. They offer a electric motor mount as a option but there is very little information about the plane in general. I have a eflite power 46 and 60amp esc to go on it, but not sure how much work will be involved with installing a battery door if there is not one.
Thanks,
Hybrid

[Glacier Girl]

Shouldn't be a big deal at all. You could even go with a wing off to install packs if need be, install a kill switch outside the Cub to safe the system.

Otherwise wouldn't be that hard to install a hatch in the belly.


Your motor/esc combo would work well. On 4 cells and a 12x8 prop, would pull approx 39 amps, deliver over 4 1/2 pounds of thrust and 60mph pitch speed, which would be great for scale flying and even a little more.

Go for it!

[hybrid]

Thanks glacier girl for the repley. I had rather be able to take the wing off
and install the pack. Thinking it must go where the tank goes. My building skills are not that great so an easy install would be better for me knowing I have to remove the wing to replace the pack.

[edpare]

Originally Posted by Glacier Girl

Your motor/esc combo would work well. On 4 cells and a 12x8 prop, would pull approx 39 amps, deliver over 4 1/2 pounds of thrust and 60mph pitch speed, which would be great for scale flying and even a little more.

Go for it!

Where did you get this information? I'm new to electric flight and I need to figure out what kind of system to power a Nitroplanes L-4 cub (around 4 1/2 pounds).

[Glacier Girl]

Originally Posted by edpare

Where did you get this information? I'm new to electric flight and I need to figure out what kind of system to power a Nitroplanes L-4 cub (around 4 1/2 pounds).

www.motocalc.com

Free for 30 days, then around $40.00 for forever.

You can pick from databases already there or use your own, for motors/props/speed controls/ packs/airframes.

Take a look and play with it.

[Gwest]

I converted the H9 40-size cub to electric. Power 46 and 60 amp ESC, running on 6S1P A123 pack, permanently built in. It is two 3S packs connected in series. One pack located under the engine mount (Axi metal mount) for correct CG, the other in the tank space. Being A123, no need to remove for charging. My Deans Ultra plugs are in the space for the exaust so I plug my charger in there as well. The rest of the plane is left standard.

[Dereck]

Originally Posted by hybrid

Has anyone ever converted a maxford usa 1/6 cub from glow to electric, or built it electric. They offer a electric motor mount as a option but there is very little information about the plane in general. I have a eflite power 46 and 60amp esc to go on it, but not sure how much work will be involved with installing a battery door if there is not one.
Thanks,
Hybrid

I did the Sig kit 1/6th clipwing a couple of years ago. The motor I used is probably irrelevent now, being an inrunner that's not around in the US, but your 46 would likely be too powerful and too heavy - I'd reckon their 32 would be fine, with a reserve of power, and their 25 fine if the model's not too heavy.

The image is the only one I could upload from my 1/6th Sig build. Being Sig, it's way better than most - their owner owned and flew the one they used as a prototype - and it had the scale hinged entry door and side window. The window got left off - 'legal' in a full sized Cub, for air conditioning - and the door could be popped open off its magnetic 'lock' to allow easy battery access.

The battery - 3S or 4S Lipo - sat on a balsa tray over the UC to achieve proper balance and could be easily removed for charging. I put the fuselage servos just aft of the cockpit, accessed from underneath.

Sold it a while back and don't have the exact figures, but on 3S it had around 350 - 400W into a 12 x 6 or thereabouts and flew very Cub-like at around 68 - 70oz.

If you can't alter yours to something that easy for battery access, taking the wing off to 'refuel' can soon grow old, especially if you have to deal with wing struts. If that's the case, go with A123s and build in access to a charging point.

Good luck

Dereck