RCP F18 V3 AND POWER UP ZOOM 450 MOTOR

Just back from the field after burning through a bunch of lipos testing another motor setup in my F18 V3.

This time I tested the Power Up 450 Zoom motor from Heads Up RChttp://www.headsuphobby.com/Power-Up-450-Zoom-Outrunner-Brushless-Motor-H-225.htm

I have used this motor before with great success on an FRC Foamies F35 600 that weighed about 20 oz with a 2200 Mah battery. I only ever used the 6x3 EMP prop on that motor as based on the chart on the Heads Up RC website, it was supposed to give the most thrust. So as part of this testing, I wanted to guage this motor's performance on other props, the 6x4 EMP and 6x4 APC.

These are the numbers I got from the wattmeter -

• 6x3 EMP - 23A/267 W
• 6x4 EMP - 27A/315 W
• 6x4 APC - 28.5A/333 W

My AUW on this plane with this motor and a 2200 battery (I had to use a 2200 to get my CofG right due to the fact this motor weighs about 20 grams more than the previous heaviest motor I had tested) is 599 grams/21.2 oz. This is a weight gain of about 42.5 grams/1.5 oz over the previous heaviest weight, so my wing loading was a bit higher at 6.4 oz/sq ft.

It was a bit windier today than when I did the previous tests, but at this weight it handled the wind without problem.

I have yet to watch the video, but at first impression, I think the 6x4 APC is definitely the quickest of the three props, better vertical as well, took much longer for the speed to fall off than with the two EMP props.

All three props allowed me to easily cruise around at about 50% throttle at this weight and fly slow and under control down to about 35-40% throttle. I had good power and punch out with all three props, enough to get me out of trouble if I got too slow or to safely power out of high alpha.

Of all the motors tested thus far, this one gave me what I perceive as the best overall speed on all three props. I didn't see too much of a difference between the 6x3 and 6x4 EMP props in performance, other than I would probably get a bit more endurance out of a battery on the 6x3 EMP prop.

I would estimate with the way I like to fly that I would easily get 6:30 minute flights with the 6x3 EMP, about 6:00 flights on the 6x4 EMP and about 5:30 on the 6x4 APC using a 2200 battery.

I used a Turnigy Plush 40A ESC with the timing set to medium, it did not warm up at all on the EMP props and got just a tiny bit warm on the APC prop, the motor got slightly warm on the EMP props and a bit warmer with the APC prop, but nothing to be worried about, I could easily keep my finger on the motor for 5 seconds after the flights.

The good news is that this weight and power setup are still in the "sweet spot" for this plane, there was no impact on handling or aerobatics at this heavier weight, no wing flex and I didn't really feel much impact with the increased wing loading other than it was a little more "skittish" at slow speeds, I had to keep a closer eye on it's speed so I didn't stall out, but that could have also been because of the 8-10 kt winds that were blowing.

So this is still a very good weight and setup for this plane, a bit more speed than the other motors tested and the extra 42.5 grams/1.5 oz definitely helped in the wind, so if you fly in windy conditions like I often do, this might be a better weight for you than some of the super light setups I was testing in calm wind conditions.

I plan on testing one more motor setup in this plane, the Super Mega Jet V2 (SMJV2).  I have used that motor many times before, but never tested it with EMP props, so I am going to give that a try and then I think that will be the last setup I will test, if I go up to the NTM Prop Drive I will probably be over 23 grams which is apparently where the performance starts to really fall off on this plane.

Weather is not supposed to be great for the next several days, so I hope to also get my F22 V3 finished off.

Cheers,

Scott