page will be updated as more motors, props, and batteries are tested.
using for eCombat. So far the best props on my planes (KI61, P40, and Hellcat) have
been the APC 7X4 and 7X5. The Miles M20 with the Torque motor uses an APC Slo-Fly
8X3.8.
Some of the surprises and conclusions I made appear below this chart.
the Balsa Products BP-12. The performance of the two motors on 2 cell, 1,320 lipo
packs was virtually identical. I standardized on the Custom CDR because it was
lighter and easier to mount in my designs.
I was very pleased with performance of my KI61, P40 and F6F Hellcat until I flew
combat with Larry Killingsworth and his KI61 from my short kit smoked mine in every
category.
We tested Larry's motor to get comparative data, He is running a Torque 34T, !,540 KV
motor from Extreme Flight RC. I also got one to put into my new Miles M20. At the
same time I wanted some extra single stator CD ROM motors so this time I ordered
two more but specified the "speed" wind version.
We all know I am not the sharpest knife in the drawer but what happened next
absolutely astounded me. I put the Torque 34T motor on the Miles M20 because the
plane is large and would need more power than the CD ROM motors I had been using.
At the same time I put the new "speed" wind motor on a new KI which weighed 12
ounces when finished.
The test flight of the Miles went according to plan and the Torque ran well. Next up
was the test of the KI. When I ran up the motor on the 7X5 prop it sounded pretty
powerful but I didn't expect it to zoom skyward lit it had been lit on fire. That first
flight was really scary because the motor was much more powerful than I expected,
the airplane was a lot faster than I was used to and the control throws were too wide
and not centered. When I finally got it down I reset the throws and flew the next time
at about 2/3rds throttle.
That night at home I bench tested the CustomCDR speed wind motor and was
astounded that it was pulling more Watts than the Torque motor and a full 1,000 rpms
more peak power than the standard "slo-fly" wind motors. It was also running hot. I
changed from the APC 7X5 prop to a 7X4 and the heat went away, the WATTS came in
the high 50 range (actually 58W) and the plane next time flown was much better.
Who would have thought that a "speed" wind $35 motor would outperform the $64
Torque motor.
Next up was a new F6F Hellcat. I had ordered a twin stator CD ROM motor for this
plane and was excited to test it. If one stator then two would be twice as good, right?
WRONG! The twin stator motor on 2 cells would barely fly the new Hellcat, a design
which flew fine with a single stator slo-fly wind. As a matter of fact the two stator
motor performed poorly when compared to the single stator motors in every test I ran.
I finally got it to pull the Hellcat with authority but only by switching to a 3 cell pack
which is not legal according to our rules. I have no use for this motor except to
return it to exchange it for another speed wind single stator motor if the manufacturer
allows it.
I believe in the range that we are working: 32 inch span planes, weighing 10-15
ounces the single stator speed wind motor is far and away the best choice for
powering our planes and at $35 is also the best value.
More testing will be done as new motors are acquired. I still need to do more prop
testing to find the best combination to run with my planes.