Always wanted a smoke trail from my plane....

[Captainchris]

Turned up nice and early on a sunny morning, put the plane together, and did all the usual checks and everything was working perfect.

Put the throttle up, and she took of in to the sunrise PERFECT.

Did a few laps, trimming it out when the engine cut out, I immediately thought my battery was running low on the transmitter but then the engine started again.

Then I started to see a smoke trail....... and not in a good way, had all other controls just no power, thankfully I was high so I glided it in, smoke trailing behind,... Felt like a 109 had shot me out of the sky!

Did a perfect landing (even under the stress I was under, i was well chuffed) ran to the plane, and didn't know what to do....
Smoke was everywhere, so I immediately disconnected the battery (I have no idea if that was dangerous or not so don't bust me but I I wanted to save the plane) and then I walked away...... grabbed the only liquid i had (Redbull) and waited for the flames....

No flames occurred thankfully, so didn't have to use the redbull...

Opened it up and the speed controller was MELTED!! I mean gone, my nose cone stinks and slightly melted...........

What could have done this? Its been flying perfectly for months, haven't changed anything in it,... i guess over time they deteriorate?

What are peoples thoughts, also would i need to change the motor or would that have been unaffected.

I want to buy a new speed controlled but do I need to do any checks on the rest of the plane, I don't want smoke anymore! Also which one should I buy

So I’m grounded at the moment, I am still new to this so any advise be great.

My plane is the ST Discovery and is all standard haven't touched a thing!

Now sure what parts I need to buy etc…. Help a newbie with a burnt out plane J

https://sussex-model-centre.co.uk/shopexd.asp?id=32826

[NJSwede]

Sorry about your ESC, but I'm happy the plane survived.

There's a dozen different things that could have happened. One of the big electrolytic filter capacitors could have experienced a breakdown and shorted out. That would produce a lot of smoke! Or you could have had a power transistor (I think they are MOSFETs) burn up. It could be caused by bad design, bad component quality, sloppy manufacturing or just plain bad luck. Cheap stuff is more likely to burn up, since they design them with less margin and cheaper components than the expensive stuff (at least in theory).

Not much use in speculating what happened. If you want to prevent it from happening again, get an ESC that's about one size too "big". For example, if you know the max amp draw of your motor is 28A, don't get a 30A ESC, but get a 40A. The difference in price isn't that big.

You have about a zillion ESCs to choose from, but this one is cheap and people seem to be very happy with it:

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...ontroller.html

[BradT]

Before hooking a new ESC up, check by hand that the motor is turning smoothly. One possible cause of the burnt ESC is a loose magnet in the motor, or a worn out bearing, which would cause binding and very high amp draw. Magnets coming loose is common in the cheaper motors, and not unheard of in high end equipment, too. This simple test could save you from frying a nice new ESC.

Cheers,
Brad.

[flydiver]

As indicated, a myriad of reasons for this to happen. If a motor wire gets shorted (vibrations, being yanked on, crappy quality) this produces an immediate dead short in the motor making the amps go through the roof. If you don't notice that and turn off the motor immediately the ESC will fry.

So, if a new ESC does not make that motor run properly and immediately, do not persevere, you just burn out the new ESC.

[mclarkson]

Originally Posted by BradT

Before hooking a new ESC up, check by hand that the motor is turning smoothly. One possible cause of the burnt ESC is a loose magnet in the motor, or a worn out bearing, which would cause binding and very high amp draw. Magnets coming loose is common in the cheaper motors, and not unheard of in high end equipment, too. This simple test could save you from frying a nice new ESC.

Cheers,
Brad.

This

[kyleservicetech]

Originally Posted by BradT

Before hooking a new ESC up, check by hand that the motor is turning smoothly. One possible cause of the burnt ESC is a loose magnet in the motor, or a worn out bearing, which would cause binding and very high amp draw. Magnets coming loose is common in the cheaper motors, and not unheard of in high end equipment, too. This simple test could save you from frying a nice new ESC.

Cheers,
Brad.

If you've got concerns about your motor, this thread should help resolve any questions about that motor:
http://www.wattflyer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=35216

[F86-Sabre]

Captain, Do you know many watts the mptor was pulling previously. When you put a new ESC in chuck the wattmeter on again and see what its says.

[Captainchris]

Hey people, thanks for all the replies, i will check all the wiring and motor at the weekend see if anything stands out!
Not too sure on the Watts it was pulling, im very new to this and learning as i go. Only been flying for the past 7ish months,... and i have no idea on watts and all that, i just want to plug it in a fly lol.... but i will have to start to look into all this techie stuff!
I'll buy that speed cpntroller as advised above, it should fit in the plane.... and i'll check the motot for any resistance etc...
can't believe i am grounded lol..

But now i think of it, the plane did look good with smoke coming out of it, felt like a red arrow lol

[Mazin]

Yea it can be overwhelming at time with all the little things associated with electrics but your in the right place to learn. Need to see how many watts and amps your pulling with this setup and remember when you change prop size that will affect your setup too so check the watts and amps each time you change your setup on anyway. If you don't have one already you will have to get a watt meter. Don't worry we all had to start somewhere and we all still have our learning experiences. Good luck man May you have great flights and even better landindings!

[CNY_Dave]

Dissecting the failed ESC is important, and of course pics!

Dave

[Captainchris]

All you would see is melted plasic and bare wires lol.. it melted that bad

[kyleservicetech]

Originally Posted by Captainchris

Hey people, thanks for all the replies, i will check all the wiring and motor at the weekend see if anything stands out!
Not too sure on the Watts it was pulling, im very new to this and learning as i go. Only been flying for the past 7ish months,... and i have no idea on watts and all that, i just want to plug it in a fly lol.... but i will have to start to look into all this techie stuff!

Yup

But if you've flown glow models before, you're familiar with engines that won't start, won't keep running in the air, and fuel soaked model airplanes. And neighbors a mile away complaining about the noise, where the people living right next to the field have no complaints.

And, once you've got a decent electric system set up properly, you can just charge it up and just fly