Electric powered flight provides quiet, easy to operate, less messy than glow, minimal maintenance, less cost over time, and provide high power to weight. The motors are powered with LIPO batteries and use a computerized Electronic Speed Control (ESC) for throttle RPM control.

​

Power to Weight - A loose, flexible way to estimate the amount of power that you’ll need for a specific-size airplane while giving the performance required for safe flight. The guideline helps to determine how many watts of power are needed per pound of airplane weight and is expressed as W/lb. Here are some commonly accepted numbers (fast fact: 746 watts = 1hp):

​

• 50 W/lb. or less—very lightweight micro RC and slow fliers

• 50–75 W/lb.—sport powered sailplanes and gliders, basic trainers, lightweight scale planes, vintage RC fliers, and RC Assist-Free Flight designs

• 75–100 W/lb.—basic sport fliers, intermediate aerobatics, scale low-wing designs, and medium-size warbirds

• 100–150 W/lb.—advanced aerobatics, pattern flying, 3D planes, larger warbirds, and jets

• 150–200 W/lb. or more—unlimited 3D aerobatics, warbirds, and large jets

​

Brushless Motors - 

Brushless motors use a standard numbering scheme to describe their physical size and kV rating. For example: let's assume we have a 5055-3000kV Brushless Outrunner Motor. We break the numbers out as follows:  [50] [55] - [3000]

• [50] The first two numbers represent the diameter of the motor's housing in millimeters; in this example 50mm

• [55] The second two numbers represent the length of the motor housing in millimeters; in this example 55mm

• [3000] The numbers after the dash represent the kV rating of the motor; in this example 3000kV. The kV rating (not to be confused with kilo-volt) is the RPM of the motor (k) per volt (V) with no load. For example, a brushless motor with a kV rating of 3000 powered by a 12V power source would be capable of 36,000 RPMs (multiply 3000x12). This is the max RPMs that this motor can reach under no load. A motor with a higher kV will have more top end speed, but not as much acceleration/torque. A motor with a lower kV will not be as fast, but will accelerate faster and have more torque.

​

ESC - Usually contain a few safety features to manage the power coming from the battery if it is insufficient to continue running the electric motor. The ESC will reduce or cut off power to the motor while allowing continued use of ailerons, rudder, and elevator functions. This allows the pilot to retain control of the airplane to glide or fly on low power to safety.

​

Battery: 

• Voltage / Cell Count -  A "2S" battery pack means that there are 2 cells in Series. So a two-cell (2S) pack is 7.4V, a three-cell (3S) pack is 11.1V, and so on.

• Capacity - The capacity of a battery is basically a measure of how much power the battery can hold.

• Discharge Rating ("C" Rating) - A measure of how fast the battery can be discharged safely and without harming the battery. 

​

​