Wow I never knew EDFs could sound so good

New Molicel P45b cells!
I just have to try this goodness for myself! Darn, not available here yet and I'll happily wait for price to drop below 7.99ea...yeah. Below 6 I'll change over.

Li-ion Revolution??? Honest test of new mindblowing battery for RC airplanes and more, Molicel P45B (15 min 19 sec)

Now to the project

Why Li-Ion???
I really love larger SMC packs but when you go somewhere that's something like an 16s setup and any real long-duration flights, Lipos get expensive per flight.

Got in my order for a TopRC 2.3m Odyssey turbine jet on the way. This model doesn't seem to have any real build threads on converting to EDF, or what can be found covers turbines. I also want to use the Li-Ion Molicel-p42a 4200mAh 45A cells I've been using the past 5 seasons. The model is set up for Kerosene powered turbines of 12~14kg thrust..... so why not rip out some gutts and put in a Jetfan130pro/650kv.

F-86 Jetfan 120pro/590kv on 16s3p12600mAh for @8.5kg thrust/@10kg AUW.... 1:1 ratio. I can toss in my 16s4500mAh SMC packs for 10kg and more thrust, albeit a much shorter flight. Best of both worlds. This gentleman got me hooked on the Li-Ion and sound of his planes

Odyssey 2,3m 10kg JETFAN-120 107A 6kW 10kg thrust 16s 4Ah Graphene battery, TOPRC Jet Sound (4 min 23 sec)

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A-10 90mm maiden out of the way. Flies well and even floats when it's time to land. Mine is 270oz which is quite heavy but still managed 24 minutes stuck at half-throttle and very few full power pulls. 214A max and 50% was @55 amps.

Freewing 90mm A-10 maiden checkout flight prior to custom paint job. 25 minute flight. (25 min 27 sec)

Now the hard part was somewhat successful. If not for flying to the last drop of juice and learning I need to beefen up the landing gear mounts, it was a very nice extended flight to show there is room for improvement.

On the way to the field I saw a hotrod with the colors I am looking for! Look at that metallic burnt orange shine

I think after repairs I'll finish up the painting over her current orange with metallic burnt orange and silver/pewter.... plus attaching all the hard mounts, ordinance and antennas.

My 1st A-10 Warthog is a great little Eflite twin 30mm edf. It loiters around at such a low scale-like speed I get great satisfaction out of it's flight envelope.

After a season with the 80mm Avanti and 90mm Viper I have really gotten to know these Li-Ion cells and no longer find it difficult assembling a particular battery configuration for a project.

Ready for larger EDF planes! So, that being said it was time to find the platform to handle a sizable battery load to make people scratch their head as to why I haven't landed yet. Something on the order of a 6s EDF with power and room to spare. Say, a 1.7M twin 90mm for instance. Something a 6s25200mah pack would easily fit and make CG. Something on paper that sounds boring.... like 220A full-throttle for all 23000mah......Just a bit over Six Minutes full power...HUMM

Or @50% throttle at 60A for....... about 23 minutes lol. Either way she'll fly many times over what a pair of 6s5000's will do. For me 3-4min is just getting started. And I'll even look forward to the loitering throttle-stick setpoint of @24 amps to stay in the air for what I hope to witness, a 60 minute flight. A bit curious if it's even possible.

Twin FMS 12-blade 6s 90mm 4068 1850kv inrunner and Hobbywing 8s 150A ESCs. Running a Unisense-e 280A power sensor for current/voltage/capacity/temperature telemetry. 75mm brakes and steering gyro.

Powered up static on 6s6p25,200mah Li-Ion 214A 20.5V @4387 watts. Can go to a lighter 8s4p16,800 pack for @270A 19.5V @7020W...... we'll see if that is too much power..... and it can be throttled back to 50% for @15 minute flights and punch it when needed!

Wish more showed interest.

After flying the 90mm Eflite Viper last Summer on a hunch about how something like my nephew's 21700 vape batteries laying about the house would work for my more relaxed-type of cruising half-throttle to enjoy the scale-like lines and sounds! Soldering cells is old-school and nothing new. So 6s3p12600 does in fact fly the Viper consistently 28 minutes at 45% throttle heh.... though boring it does show promising duration over lipo at double the cost that have half the lifespan.

Now into the new Summer season and tried an 80mm Avanti on 7s2p8400 only to forget that my stand alone BEC was 2-6s only and fried all 8 servos, retracts, steering gyro and AR637T AS3X Rx. Total loss of all electronics when I plugged in the 8s doh! Well I upgraded to newer ESC and tossed the fan into the NIB spare arf Avanti for true 8s and better 14A BEC @5.25v for the Freewing servos. Still undecided as it's been really nice having an Avanti that flies 15 minutes rinse and repeat on $70 batteries, but still has a near 1:1 thrust. But can still toss in my 8s4500mah SMC lipo packs for thrilling performance. The best of both worlds!

Now I can feel free to play with higher cell counts on the Viper and see how 18-cells (6s3p12600 @3.4ohm) vs. 20-cells(10s2p8400 @5ohm) compare using the improved FMS 8s 12b fan.

I do not push the skills hard yet but would enjoy higher speeds and maneuvers once I've learned enough. Never flew EDF until recently as 3 minutes seemed like an inside joke.

Please feel free to strike up a conversation about Li-ion. They do seem to work if you know how to handle their energy profile.

I am a 20yr semiconductor field service engineer without kids, 3-4 days a week off and paid well enough to afford not buying crap to save $5 to just end up spending double the money to enjoy mediocre service from maintenance heavy equipment. And a wife who is a nurse and great cook. So life is good. Treat your friends well and they will do likewise.

I in turn have been able to tinker with CF and what a Dremel can accomplish with a steady hand, keen eye for detail and enough hands on experience to know how to ÷×*÷:× up something beyond recognition.

The Kunai has been the right size, well built and flies better than one would believe if you haven't seen one. I like speed and tracking on rails. I like not wasting time on putting lower-end gear in something that will be going faster than some full-size aircraft. Fix it right the first time. Share knowledge freely. Safety First. Don't waste anyone's time or money on something you wouldn't try yourself first. Smile and leave the ego aside when it comes to sharing the joy and freedom we get to share with good people. This hobby is amazing.

So, I honestly have a knack for remembering what I have failed at, what others have thought me through their experiences and open minded enough to take criticism or give praise where it is deserved. Knowledge that translates over into many technical disciplines

My Kunai mods have been done on 4 actual Kunai planes! and a dozen other kit&ARF planes the past said dozen projects,...Continue Reading