Sig LT-25 Twin Electric Conversion

Articles

I've qot quite a backlog of articles to post, so come back often to see what's new! The six most recently added articles are marked with in the categories below.

Airplanes

I've progressed through a number of airplanes since starting this hobby, and here are some construction articles, electric conversions, and general thoughts on several of them.

Construction and Conversion

	Sig Riser 100 Electric Conversion

• Electrifying the Great Planes SlowPoke
• Sig Riser 100 Electric Conversion
• Flit! A Speed 280 Four Channel Aerobat
• Sig LT-25 Twin Electric Conversion
• Trials and Tribulations of an Ace Pacer Electric Conversion
• Spectra-V: A Modified Great Planes Spectra
• GravelMaster - A Cheap Tough Speed 400 Fun Plane
• A Speed 400 PuddleMaster Flying Boat

General

• A Look at Slowflyers and Parkflyers
• My Fleet in the Spring of 1998
• My Airplanes Before 1998

Theory and Techniques

There is a lot one can learn about electric R/C, although it's possible to enjoy the hobby without knowing every last detail. I'm always trying to find out more, and here's some of what I've discovered.

	How Motors Work

Power System Selection

• Choosing a Power System
• Speed 400 Upgrades
• Powering Sailplanes
• 3D Aerobatic Power
• Model Aircraft Power System Selection Using Your Computer: A Tutorial Introduction to MotoCalc
• Electric Flight Rules of Thumb
• Fourteen Cell Fun
• Electromagnetic Interference Reduction
• Electric Flight Terminology and More Electric Flight Terms

Motors, Gearboxes, and Propellers

• How Motors Work
• Motor Math
• Demystifying Gearing and Gearboxes
• Propeller Basics

	Battery Mounting Methods

Batteries, Speed Controls, and Connectors

• NiCd (and NiMH) Battery Care
• Using 1100AAU Cells for Speed 400
• An Electronic Speed Control Primer
• The Battery Eliminator Circuit
• To BEC or Not to BEC
• Electric Flight Power Connectors
• What About the Wires?
• Electric Flight Wiring
• On Fuses

Design and Construction

• Always Ready to Fly
• ARF Upgrades
• Scale Electric Design
• Conversion from Glow to Electric
• Motor Mounting Methods
• Battery Mounting Methods
• Building and Installing Skis on Your R/C Plane

Flying and Field Equipment

• Caring for Your Lead-Acid Field Battery
• Winter Electric Flight
• What to Put in Your Field Box
• E-Flying at High Elevations

	Expanded Scale Voltmeter

Electronic Projects for the R/C Hobbyist

Electronics has long been a hobby of mine, so it's only natural that I've designed some of my own R/C gear. Building your own may or may not save you any money, but it's a lot of fun.

• LED Bargraph Optical Tachometer
• Analog Bargraph Expanded Scale Voltmeter
• High Speed NiCd Charger for Electric R/C
• Low Cost Thermal Peak Detection Charger
• BattMan II: A Computer Controlled Battery Manager
• Versatile Miniature High-Rate ESC with BEC and Brake
• Miniature High-Rate Speed Control with BEC
• Miniature High-Rate Speed Control with Brake
• On/Off Motor Control with Brake
• Getting the Most from Your Radio
• Making Excellent Printed Circuit Boards

	Aerial Photography

Aerial Photography

Almost since the time I started flying R/C, I've been interested in taking aerial photographs from my models. These articles show some of the results, and describe the set-up I used.

• A Collection of Aerial Photographs
• Summer Aerial Photos of My Farm and Surroundings
• Winter Aerial Photos of My Farm and Surroundings

Electric R/C Events

• The 1998 Kingston Fun-Fly

Articles from QuietFlyer Magazine

From 1997 to 2004, I wrote a variety of articles for QuietFlyer magazine. I was also the author of the regular column, Demystifying Electrics, from 2000 until 2004. Kiona Publishing has kindly given permission to reproduce those articles here. I will be adding more of them to this site over time. Most of these are also listed under the appropriate categories above.

Demystifying Electrics

• An Electronic Speed Control Primer - Winter 1997
• Electric Flight Power Connectors - January 2000
• Demystifying Gearing and Gearboxes - March 2000
• Electromagnetic Interference Reduction - May 2000
• Electric Flight Terminology - July 2000
• More Electric Flight Terms - September 2000
• Battery Mounting Methods - November 2000
• E-Flying at High Elevations - January 2001
• Choosing a Power System - March 2001
• To BEC or Not to BEC - May 2001
• NiCd (and NiMH) Battery Care - September 2001
• What to Put in Your Field Box - November 2001
• Fourteen Cell Fun - December 2001
• Propeller Basics - March 2002
• Motor Math - April 2002
• Motor Mounting Methods - May 2002
• Electric Flight Wiring - September 2002
• Scale Electric Design - October 2002
• A Look at Slowflyers and Parkflyers - November 2002
• How Motors Work - December 2002
• Winter Electric Flight - January 2003
• Conversion from Glow to Electric - March 2003
• Powering Sailplanes - April 2003
• Caring for Your Lead-Acid Field Battery - May 2003
• ARF Upgrades - September 2003
• Always Ready to Fly - October 2003
• On Fuses - November 2003
• The Battery Eliminator Circuit - December 2003
• 3D Aerobatic Power - January 2004
• What About the Wires? - February 2004
• Speed 400 Upgrades - March 2004
• Full-Scale Electric Powered Airplanes - April 2004
• Electric Flight Rules of Thumb - August 2004

Construction Articles

• Versatile Miniature High-Rate ESC with BEC and Brake - July 1999
• Sig Riser 100 Electric Conversion - February 2001
• Analog Bargraph Expanded Scale Voltmeter - July 2002
• Flit! A Speed 280 Four Channel Aerobat - March 2001