Advise please on Electric 1/4 scale Wilga tow plane

[Lbuff1]

I am considering making my 1/4 scale Wilga Tow plane electric. I will be using it to tow large scale gliders up, I was planning to put a 3w 78 Twin in it. Now I might go electric, Does anyone have any real recommendations on motor, controller and batteries requires. Also how long could I expect the batteries to last before recharging. I looked at the Hacker 80 series. No info on batteries was provided.

What about all up weight? Is there a big difference now?

Thanks LEN

[Yardbee]

Hi Len: For Sport Flying I usually target for 125 watts per lb & for more extreme Aerobatics 150-200 Watts per lb. Hacker is a great motor & depending on the max current of the motor, you would probably be using a speed controller which is rated for up to 12 cells & least 85 amps such as the Castle Creations CC85HV. For my 17Lb Yak's I fly a 3200 Watt motor & a 100 amp ESC on 2 6s 5000mah Lipos' in series which yeilds me approximately 10 minutes of flying with some throttle management. Hope this helps. Cheers Joe :)

[GordonTarling]

For a serious tow plane, you need to be aiming for around 5000 Watts - the Hacker A80 motor will handle that, no problem. The real problem comes down to choice of battery. If you can easily change battery packs with no hassle on the field, then Lipo is probably the way to go, BUT you'll probably need two sets of packs, in order to save downtime on the field. The alternative is to think about using A123 cells, which can be given a high current top-up charge each time you land. You're looking at a 12S Lipo pack, at least and a 14S or 15S A123 pack - capacities according to the number of tows you want per charge and the size of your wallet! With a 12S Lipo pack, you'll be drawing around 115Amps, so an ESC won't be cheap - similar goes for the A123 route. Unless you're dead set on E-power, I'd suggest you stick with the 3W twin - it'll be much cheaper!

[iflytailies]

I am considering making my 1/4 scale Wilga Tow plane electric. I will be using it to tow large scale gliders up, I was planning to put a 3w 78 Twin in it. Now I might go electric, Does anyone have any real recommendations on motor, controller and batteries requires. Also how long could I expect the batteries to last before recharging. I looked at the Hacker 80 series. No info on batteries was provided.

What about all up weight? Is there a big difference now?

Thanks LEN
AXI5345/18; Jeti 90A; 24x12 prop; two 6S lipos in series = 12S, with as much capacity as you can afford. I am not familiar with Hacker, but a similar motor with a rating of 170kV or less will do it. A 6000mAh pack will allow you around 5 tows with a 10lbs glider, maybe 2 with a >20lbs glider. The all-up weight will be around 25 lbs.
You will receive more feedback if you would post your question under "Scale Sailplanes"

http://iflytailies.jimdo.com/aerotowing.php

[Lbuff1]

Thank all you guys for the information.

LEN