Hi everyone! After months of research I finally pulled the trigger on a 71" wingspan giant scale biplane. This will be my 1st true electric conversion which I plan on documenting from beginning to end. Please be patient, my builds move at a slow pace since time is limited. The airframe comes from www.peakmodel.com. I'd like to thank Way from Peak Model for his quick responses to all of my questions and for a very reasonable price in my opinion. I'd also like to thank Randy from www.rcdude.com for all of his support and great product/prices. If you are looking for excellent service, you can't go wrong with Randy and his company, he's truly top notch.

There are not many choices out there when it comes to large scale Pitts biplanes, but the Peak Model version made the most sense to me. It doesn't require flying wires on the wings which should make it easier to assemble at the field, and it appears to have adequate room for lipos under the canopy. I purchased a discontinued brushless motor from Hyperion in Japan listed as a Z5045-18. From what Hyperion Japan is telling me, I can expect around 3200 watts on 12 cells with a 24X12 prop. This will be more that adequate even if the plane has an AUW of 18lbs. I also ordered an 85amp Castle Creations high voltage ESC and 7 Power HD HD-1501MG analog servos.

Everything is on order...the plane should arrive later this week or early next week. I will take some pics once I receive it. Feel free to ask me any questions. Doug

Originally Posted by maverickma

Hi everyone! After months of research I finally pulled the trigger on a 71" wingspan giant scale biplane......
Doug

At long last, you've done it! I don't think I could have waited any longer.....

Good luck and look forward to reading your posts!

Regards
Peter

Originally Posted by Peter M

At long last, you've done it! I don't think I could have waited any longer.....

Good luck and look forward to reading your posts!

Regards
Peter

Peter! I was hoping you'd find the thread, otherwise I would have PM'd you. Thanks man, I'm a bit nervous. Anxiously waiting for the airframe to arrive. I always have concerns with large stuff being mailed from overseas.

Wow - subscribed Maverick. what a terrific project! got some electric guys over here watching with great interest.

Originally Posted by 0gravity

Wow - subscribed Maverick. what a terrific project! got some electric guys over here watching with great interest.

Thanks 0gravity...the pressure is on! I hope I don't screw this up. I'm still waiting for the airframe to arrive. So far the ESC and the servos are here. I'm going with a Castle Creations 85amp HV and for the servos, Power HD 1501MGs which are analog servos. They are priced right and I've done a lot of research and they seem to be pretty good quality. No complaints from what I can tell. Companies like Troy Built Models and Wild Hare RC sell them.

So can you share how you ordered and shipped the plane for less than a king's ransom?

Also Mav - what questions did you ask to pinpoint that this was to be a solid electric conversion. MAN it is a gorgeous plane brother! ETA?

Originally Posted by feathermerchant

So can you share how you ordered and shipped the plane for less than a king's ransom?

Hey Feather! Total was the price listed on the Peak Model web site! I find the overseas shops are typically charging around $300 for the plane and $150 for the shipping. $150 is about right via EMS shipping for a large package. There are more than a few that sell them at that price including CH Model and Cyclone Toy & Hobby. Peak was the only one without wing wires which I liked.

Airframe should be here soon. Package has arrived in NY.

Originally Posted by 0gravity

Also Mav - what questions did you ask to pinpoint that this was to be a solid electric conversion. MAN it is a gorgeous plane brother! ETA?

Hi 0G, my biggest concern was a removal canopy. I don't like to leave lipos in anything. This plane appears to have more than enough room for 12 cells up front. I hope to add extra magnets and a latch to make things more convenient. Currently the canopy attaches with screws. I also needed one that could be assembled/disassembled at the field without too much frustration. I spoke with another owner and he confirmed it wasn't too bad.

I wanted a large Pitts Model 12 and choices are limited. I spoke with one of the designers of the new Great Planes Pitts M12 which is gorgeous, but it would be more of a challenge to convert due to limited access to the front end for lipos. They were going to design it to be convertible to electric but decided against it to keep the cost down. I still can't believe it...he reached out to me when he saw I posted a question about the plane. Kudos to Great Planes..but the plane didn't make the cut.

Plane arrived in NY about 3am today!!! Was hoping for a call from the post office this morning..I'm having it held there for my inspection.

OK I'll be watching. I've been on the same quest as you. I have most of the hardware already. Need a plane.

OK I could not stand it. I have one ordered too.
This will be great!

Originally Posted by feathermerchant

OK I'll be watching. I've been on the same ques tas you. I have most of the hardware already. Need a plane.

This should be interesting. Looks like I should have the plane on Monday.

Originally Posted by feathermerchant

OK I'll be watching. I've been on the same quest as you. I have most of the hardware already. Need a plane.

OK I could not stand it. I have one ordered too.
This will be great!

ummm wow. maverick you may be on to something. feather, you are the man. What is the power system you're heading towards?

Originally Posted by feathermerchant

OK I'll be watching. I've been on the same quest as you. I have most of the hardware already. Need a plane.

OK I could not stand it. I have one ordered too.
This will be great!

LOL! That's awesome! We will be sharing building tips!! As 0G has asked, I'm curious too to see what power system you are using.

Well I have a left over Neu 1521/1 6.7:1
Had it on an 89" 3DHS Slick. Flew it well until it ate it's gearbox. Back to Neu for a month or so and now back to me. (good as Neu?)
Anyway that's one option. The most popular motor for 50cc is the Hacker A60-18L on 12S turning a 24X12.

BTW receiver will for sure be an AR9100. Using 2 2S A123 1,100 from Tanic Packs I do not need a regulator and have redundancy as well as lots of current available.

very nice - feather, what is your recommendation. NEU v Hacker. I know how expensive the NEUs are... but a broken gearbox? that does not sound good. Are there extensive benefits to a NEU?

and to bring my post a bit closer to topic - have you built a bipe before?

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