GREG GIMLICK >> KEEPING YOUR ESC HAPPY
There’s one thing that all electric airplanes have in common. Whether you fly helicopters, airplanes, giant-scale, indoor, or micro models, the heart of your model’s power system is the ESC (electronic speed control), and if it’s unhappy, you will be too. The costs and types of speed controls vary in every aspect, and that includes quality. Here are some tips to improve your understanding of how to make them last—which, in the end, saves money and your aircraft!
First tip: Quality matters. This pretty much covers everything: motors, connectors, installation, solder joints, and especially speed controls. Matching components is also important. The quickest way to get experience buying speed controls is to buy them too small for the application—meaning the motor voltage and current requirements, including the BEC (battery eliminator circuit) if you’re using one. If you’re sizing your speed control based on the maximum requirements of the system and you’re just barely meeting them, go to the next size up. Keep your power system properly cooled with adequate airflow. Heat is the enemy, and if you let cool air into the fuselage, you have to provide a place for the air to get out too. That exit hole should be about twice the size of the inlet hole.
Two more important tips are to keep your wires as short as possible to minimize resistance and never mismatch connectors. Female bullet connectors jammed into a Deans Ultras is a recipe for disaster. Likewise, alligator clips have no place in an electric airplane. All of these things increase inefficiency, but more important, they are dangerous and create a fire hazard.
“HEAT IS THE ENEMY, AND IF YOU LET COOL AIR INTO THE FUSELAGE, YOU HAVE TO PROVIDE AN EXIT HOLE ABOUT TWICE THE SIZE OF THE INLET HOLE.”