Regarding the removable windshield/cowl, I was thinking that there were braces which would get in the way. Also it would be nearly impossible to seal against water intrusion.

Taking another look at the power pod arrangement, this seems to have many advantages. In the first photo is shown a mockup of such an arrangement which places weight very far forward but with the option of easily moving the twin battery pack aft as much as several inches (as shown by the phantom lines). By compartmentalizing a portion of the space within the area reserved for the intended fuel tank, it is possible to achieve exceedingly high resistance to water intrusion.

The second photo helps us visualize a skeletonized battery "drawer", installed through the firewall, and incorporating both motor and ESC mounts, carefully fitted such that it just fits inside its watertight scabbard. Its rectangular shape naturally "keys" it to the fuse, preventing its rotation, a single pin, grenade style (not shown), prevents its removal.

Further visualize the cowl mounted to an extension of the new, forward, firewall (required by the short motor). All the high amperage cables neatly come together, are conveniently short, and all connectors simply tuck into the vast top space of the cowl.

The ESC is mounted to the bottom of the "drawer", in the direct path of cooling airflow, on mounts which are sufficiently thick as to prevent interference between batteries and ESC mounting screws/nut-plates.

The motor simply mounts to the drawer face, heavily braced by drawer bottom and sides.

Comments?

I'm missing how the Power Pod operates. Is the cowl connected to the pod itself? The motor, cowl, and battery removes as one unit?

EJWash

Originally Posted by EJWash1

I'm missing how the Power Pod operates. Is the cowl connected to the pod itself? The motor, cowl, and battery removes as one unit?

EJWash

Yes.
and
Yes.


Motor, ESC, ArmSafe, battery(s), cowl all come off as a unit; only the receiver needs to be disconnected and the pin pulled.

Originally Posted by loNslo

Motor, ESC, ArmSafe, battery(s), cowl all come off as a unit; only the receiver needs to be disconnected and the pin pulled.

So, you pull out (slide?) the pod, disconnect the receiver lead, swap-out the motor battery, and re-secure the pod. Is that right?

I understand that you're looking for the best solution given that the model will also be on floats. Which means that the motor battery swap-out process has to be water-resistant as opposed to water-proof. Whatever method you choose, a silicone gasket can be utilized.

Simple is better - as far as swapping-out the battery is concerned. Although, added weight in the method/process of battery swapping should be considered as well.

EJWash

To simply replace batteries, one would only need to disarm, pull the pin, slide the drawer partway out, disconnect, change and reconnect the battery(s), slide the drawer closed and re-install the pin, then re-arm. For complete removal of the pod, the receiver would need to be disconnected.

Because of the need for cooling airflow, motor and ESC will always be vulnerable to possible water damage. But I would like to minimize the amount of water which could flood inside the fuse.

Weight is certainly an important consideration.

Originally Posted by loNslo

To simply replace batteries...

Thanks for the explanation. Sounds like the design would make for easy swap-out. My concern is the weight considerations of the build to make it happen. I'm sure you can come up with a minimal (weight) design.

EJWash

Ordered the cowl from Fiberglass Specialties.

The attached overlay shows the top-load configuration, simplified, a bit. It would still be integrated with the motor/ESC mount but would provide a simple, water-tight chamber in which to fit the battery pack, easily accessible behind the motor by opening a hatch in the top of the cowl. There is ample space between the battery and motor for tucking the connectors away.

For what it's worth,I'm partial to the system in post #61.

A thought on water proofing-what keeps water out also keeps it in.....perhaps a small drain tube in the affected areas?

The square 'keyed' box would certainly keep things straight and easily moved,when required.

Decisions,decisions....

What I like most about the power pod is that, by (conceivably) pulling 1 pin, you have the entire power system off the plane.

What I like most about the top-load approach is easier access to just swap a battery pack, light weight, and the battery pack center of gravity is lower. One of my concerns is that too high a CG will facilitate nose-overs. The top-loader moves the CG down and aft, closer to the LG. The lighter weight would be the result of not having to build any "drawer" supporting structure, which must be very strong to resist dynamic motor induced loads.

Wherever I can't keep the water out (1st priority), I must provide a way to get it out. A watertight chamber, for the battery compartment, is pretty easy to achieve.

Just trying to explore the possibilities before committing.

Originally Posted by rtibbetts@hotm

Check out this product
http://www.schumacher-products.com/A...chure-RevA.pdf

Thanks for the tip.

Mine arrived today. Very cleverly done and it appears to be very well made; nice and compact (1" dia X 1-1/8" lg); lightweight; a bargain. I like it.

My first thought is to try to disguise it, hide it within some feature (like the dummy cylinder head or exhaust) so that it does not stand out as an alien object in an otherwise fairly scale model. In the top-load arrangement, it might just be possible to fit it under the cowl hatch, so it isn't visible, at all, until you open the hatch, or open the top of a split cowl.

It gets wired between the ESC and the battery.

Sorry I stepped away from your log, but I'm back. The battery in through the top looks very cool. I hope its enough weight though to get the CG right. Why size lipo are you shooting for?

One other thing to bring up. The E-Flite Beaver had a undermount battery compartment. I don't recall it being plagued by water getting into the battery compartment.

Haha !! Was just going to state the same thing..
Wheel pants on a Cub ... Not sure how to take that one..
Maybe it will grow on me.. But, looks cool!!

Originally Posted by SkylineFlyer

...Why size lipo are you shooting for?

Since I already own (4) new 4S 2200 mAh LiPo's, I thought I'd use a pair of them, in parallel. But I thought it would be wise to size the battery chamber large enough that it could accommodate any realistic future option I might later choose.

For the top-loader I thought it would be cool to have a horizontally split cowl, where the entire top half of the cowl hinges open, from one side, just like on an old truck. Perhaps using slip-pin hinges on both sides so it could be removed, entirely.