Hey! I'm new to the hobby and have a hand-me-down project that I have some questions on. It's a 40 yr Old balsa wood glider prop plane with the motor and prop missing. I was wondering what I should size the motor and prop based on its wingspan of 90.25in and fuselage length of around 5 ft. Any info is appreciated! I'm still learning pretty much everything.
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Do you know the name of it? Pictures? That's about 2.3M wingspan.
If it were me, I would determine what the plane weighs as it is. You know the wingspan, length, etc. Now go to various sites that sell sailplanes and find some that are that size and weight. See what they use for power. You'll need to get a similar system - motor, ESC, folding prop and what they use for battery. Now you need to see if it will all fit in there. Try looking in the usual places they sell sailplanes.
Horizon Hobby, HobbyKing, Esprit Model, Icare. -
Ok cool thanks! And it was a homemade project, dude designed it himself. But thank you for the direction! And I'll post pics when I get back to it.Comment
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If it's a home made design, you might want to do a trial glide test. This is something even those who go to maiden a new glider would do before powering it up into the air. Make sure that the glider is in a condition that is what it would be if it were to actually fly. Weight the front end sufficient to balance it at about the thickest part of the wing. A good rule of thumb is about 1/3 of the wing's measurement from leading edge to trailing edge at the wing root. This would be the "Center of Gravity" and is measured from the leading edge. Use lead or a heavy battery to make up for the weight of the missing propulsion system. Set it up so that all the control surfaces work with the transmitter and receiver you plan to use. The receiver can be powered by a 5 to 5.5 volt LiFe battery for this test. When you buy an ESC, it can power the receiver or you can keep the LiFe battery and get an ESC that has no BEC. Set up the plane as you would any plane (center control surfaces, etc.) Be at the controls with the transmitter and have a knowledgeable person with some hand launching experience throw it for you. Make the toss firm and fairly level to the ground and pilot it as gently as you can to a smooth landing. This will tell you if this design will actually fly. Not point in purchasing stuff for a plane that simply won't fly.Comment
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