Help me out! Advantages to going electric!

[Hulley]

Hey guys, I'm getting back into helis' and leaning heavily towards an IonX, What are the biggest advantages to going electric? so far I think the only disadvantage is limited fly time and cost of batteries. I think I'll need less support systems than nitro helis', is this accurate?
thanks
Hulley

[Darren S]

from a guy who took the e-heli plunge last summer, i'll share my experience thus far. prior to the ion i flew a raptor 70 for about 4 years. i researched things alot and found the ion to be the best in design, support and performance.

i based my setup (actro 32-3, HV 85, TP 8000 prolites) on what was the best and most popular at the time. other than an initial problem with the HV 85 i have had nothing but good times. i fly in Canada at an elevation of 3600 feet so air density is a little bit of an issue but the ion is far superior in power than the raptor. the cleanliness, convenience, quiteness, minimal maintainence, online support etc.... has made me an ion lover. being able to steal a few flights on my way to work is the best. no mess, no glow drivers, fuel bottles, pumps, carb issues, no smell of nitro on your clothes.

the initial cost is higher i think, and if you screw up with the charging you are out a lot of $$ . but there are better chargers out now with saftey things built in. the only change i have made is the new 100 T main gear. the flights are longer, 10 minutes is enough for me, versus say 8 minutes with the 95 T gear. had i started with the 100T gear i would have got packs in the 7000 mah range rather than the 8000. the weight savings would be nice.

no regrets at all, will never go back to glow, prices are coming down and there are more options available the longer you wait.

hope this helps

darren

[DebianDog]

Well I for one like to fly 3 or 4 times in one day (if possible) without an hour or two between flights so the initial cost of the batteries would be prohibitive.

Love to have an BIG electric in the fleet though.

[Laurens]

No cleaning when you come back home, just put it away for the next day.

[WillJames]

I don't miss the slimers at all either. The Ion-X is simply the best flying heli I have ever owned. I LOVE it.

The 32-3 single stage setup is bulletproof, I have 105 flights on mine since I got it and loved every one of them. Just did some PM last night, everything is still tight, needed to re-mesh my tail box and tweak the setup of a couple of linkages.

[Rickster]

Like everyone else has stated. To justify the cost I looked at the price of the LiPo as a "Futures" investment. Try to figure on making them last as long as the comparable 6 flights to the gallon of 30% HELI FUEL AT 18-20.00 a gallon. With the rage going on with the Evo packs and the forth coming newer generation of 30C continuous and 50C burst packs we are getting mre power than a 90 nitro at the same weight or lighter..Plus the cost is coming down on these packs as well.. It makes a very enjoyable flying experience in both the sound of the blades with no Screaming motor covering it up plus no oil mess and best of all hovering with out being engulfed in smoke...

Rick

[Hulley]

I do love the sounds of blades vs. screamer! How durable is the IonX? Am I gonna damage things from a hard landing? In a typical crash (I know, many variables here) what brakes? are the frames durable?

[Hulley]

I did some quick math, the added cost of field box, pump, glow igniter, gov and servo, rcvr batt (duralites), reg, tester, control panel for box, could buy 1 or 2 batteries!

[mudbogger2]

Help me out! Advantages to going electric!


You have an E-powered only field 5 minutes from your house. :glasses:

[FrittsLogic]

I still think it's too early to try to rationalize an Ion or similar large e-heli on some cost based formula. Simply put, they are more expensive...but, as has been said a million times, you get what you pay for. For me it's all about simplicity and consistency. You effectively "tune" your engine in your radio, and it runs the same way every time you fly. No wasting a flight or two, or more getting the engine to run just right. Just go fly! If you charge your batteries when you get home from the field, they are ready to go at a moment's notice when you wake up to a beautiful day that screams for a trip to the field (like I had today). They sound amazing...non heli fliers tell me it sounds like a turbine is in there...I think that's cool. When you get home, put it on the shelf and your done. Get a portable generator, (tell your wife it's good for emergencies when the house power goes out), and you can fly all day! Less vibrations and no nitro fuel mean the heli and it's avionics live longer with less preventative maintenance required to do so. Come up with whatever rationalization formula you need, but realize that if you're asking these questions here on this forum, you know you've already decided you have to have one!!!

[Tom Fiddler]

Have you looked at a Gasser?
The Ion is, with out a doubt a great flier and I would say the best supported E-heli out there.
Just remember for every 10 minutes you fly there will be an HOUR spent charging batteries.
That may change soon with the E-Poly cells (can charge at 3-4 C)
A Gasser requires no field equipment and will fly 30-40 minutes on fuel that cost's
$4-$5 a gallon
The cost of 1 Ion battery setup will fly a Gasser for 2 Years.
The Ion will out perform the Gasser...But you have to be honest with yourself, How good of a pilot are you?

I am only good enough for a Gasser :mrgreen:

[DebianDog]

Yep after see you doing a "flippin' take off" with that big nosed, heavy assed, Vario and seeing Beast and Rondy flying 3D with is Predator... Gixxer and I decided we should get gassers. Cost a bit more to crash but $4 a gallon and fuel last 20-30 minutes a flight! I will probably go with Shannon Davis's plan and stick a 30 sized fuel tank in the gasser.

[Rickster]

Gassers are neat. I don't really care for the sound though. Sounds like you are flying with a leaf blower on your back the whole time. Plus for what I spent on Loctite and tail hubs on my Spectra G I could have bought another pair of Batteries for my Ion..

I do not think that in this hobby you necessarily have to "Justify" anything.. If the E-power is your thang you go for it, if Gasser is your thang you do it, if it's nitro then so be it...

Rick

[Hulley]

Yeah, I think I've already decided on the Ion, I'm trying to tell myself its OK to spend this kind of money AGAIN!

[DebianDog]

I like to think of it as a cheap drug habit. The only side effect "sadness" if you drill it into the ground. :smokin:

[misskimo]

electric !!! YyEEeeHH! Debiandog , huh? you need a electric big boy , and get rid of those dinosaur name brands :badair: , and go for the auto names , like MA has , :mrgreen: then you will realy be smoking :smokin:
he he , look under your sign condor, raptor , predator, and trex , he he , what a fleet , :mrgreen:
you will be fully happy when you have an Ion "IN D PAD"!!!!!!! :lol:

[PDC]

I do not think that in this hobby you necessarily have to "Justify" anything.. If the E-power is your thang you go for it, if Gasser is your thang you do it, if it's nitro then so be it...

Rick

:twisted: yes, thats how it is, we dont do this to save money, we save money to do this :wink:

[Hulley]

You guys are right! This is what makes me happy! Helis' and my 68' chevelle! I've got someone buying my Buell tomorrow night and then I'll have some cash to buy the Ion-X! I'll keep everybody posted!

[PaulH]

Get a Bergen Intrepid Gasser. Gas powered, car name. Meets all of the requirements. :lol:

[Knud Pedersen DENMARK]

Today I fly a Fury Extreme – but considering that the next heli maybe should be a electric (Ion-X).
One of my reasons is the Fuel price for 30% nitro…… :( :( :(

1.
How many charging could I expect for a battery?

2.
When crashing the Heli, how is your experience regarding Damaging the batteries?
( this is one of my issues to go for Electric – batteries is expensive, but so is fuel – but I do not flying around with the same $fuel in the air, so if crashing the nitro heli I do not loose XX$$ gallone)

3.
Today I find it very difficult to choose what Electric Combo (Engine/ESC/Battery etc) to buy – with the nitro you will not go wrong if buying a OS/YS and Hatori/MPII……………………….
I could make a tropic “with combo for the Ion is best” – but I will for sure get many different solutions….


4.
How much maintenance is there with a Electric Heli – thinking of battery, connectors, wires, engine


ChopperKnud

[Laurens]

1.
1000+ cycles have been reported.

2.
Are you a crashing expert? I managed to kill a pack on my Spirit, but the rotorhead had to break of first to be able to kill it. If you properly attach your batteries there is an almost zero chance.

3.
Get a Actro 32-3, controller doesn't really matter, and some 10 -12 s battery's. Easy as that.

4.
Somehow I found this number to be the same as my number of crashes.

[WillJames]

It is hard to say how many cycles you will get ont eh packs. How much you use them, how you store them, how hot your charge them, how many times you balance them through their life, etc...

B has crashed his Ion's a few times hard and the packs separated from the mounting points and departed through the canopy. I am still flying one set of Tanic's that were done like that, if you see me at the field I will show you the battle scars. I consider it a design strength and an advantage that on the Ion-X the packs are not between the frames where they are more in harms waw (IMHO) when your thumbs go home early.

Combos vary. Actro or NEU right now on 10s is happening! The new High Discharge rate packs like the EVO packs we are flying now is a huge advancement over p and the older nad heavier higher p packs.

There is less maintenance on teh Ion-X because it is so smooth there are no vibs. Radio gear loves the smooth machines.

[Knud Pedersen DENMARK]

I can see there is two type of Ion-x:
- single stage transmision
- two stage transmission

What is most commen, and why?

ChopperKnud

[Hulley]

I would love to see pics of single and two stage transmission. Does the Ion-X come with the single and then people upgrade to two stage? Or does the Ion-X come with both?

[WillJames]

You can order the Ion-X with either the 2 stage or the single stage. Depends on what motor you use what you ahve to use.