Small airplane – looking for best motor/propeller combo – some benchmarks

Compared to situation few years ago – now you do not need to use 50g+ motor and 15g+ ESC  to get 1kg thrust. Mini quadcopter racing mania made small motors/ESC much better, cheaper and better in terms of thrust/weight. They are high-kV (usually) but for small planes this isn’t bad – you still need speed and not only static thrust.

So, my requirements for motor/esc combo:

  • Still have enough thrust for unlimited vertical (so at least 800g of thrust)
  • Have enough pitch speed for penetrating headwind and flying around (so at least 100km/h at WoT)
  • Efficient setup at low throttle – need ~40km range endurance (total trip, not one-side).

Easy to find benchmarks on web for first two requirements, but for last one – probably next to impossible, so i re-built my thrust measurement rig – made it very well balanced and smooth as possible. Now it’s easy to measure even 1g of thrust (but probably would break away at full throttle):

stendas

Triple current measurement, triple voltage control, RPM measurement and precise PWM output.

Four motors, all completely new:

  1. EMAX RS2205 2300kV (Red Bottom)
  2. Racerstar BR2205 2600kV
  3. RCX 2206 2400kV
  4. Cobra 2204 2300kV (killed one Cobra together with FVT 20A BLHELI_S on plane – probably defective ball bearing on motor)

ESC – Racerstar 20A BLHELI_S, Medium timing.

Few props:

  1. HQ 5×3 (“Classic” propeller for noobs =)
  2. HQ 5×4
  3. DAL 5040 (thin version – IIRC there is another, “wide” version)
  4. DAL 5045 (thin)
  5. DAL 5045 BN
  6. DAL 6045 cut to 5545 (DAL 6045_C in graphs)
  7. GF 5550 (my current baseline – was using them on minicopter with gimbal)
  8. DAL 6045
  9. GF 6040
  10. GF 6045 (stupid centering rings)
  11. HQ 6045
  12. HQ 6030 (my old favorite – was working so well two years ago… Well, things changed =)
  13. DAL 6045 BN
  14. Graupner 6565 speed (this one from radjet remains – just to check for pitch speed)

props

So, what was done:

  • For each motor – measured voltage/current/thrust/RPM (bold columns in excel), everything else is calculated
  • For my Wing Wing Z (~500g AUW) ~120g of thrust is required to maintain level flight, so i only measured thrust at 1A and 2A (EMAX RS2205 got more measurements, but they aren’t required) – generated thrust is enough
  • Pitch speed is calculated based on propeller pitch data and RPM, not measured. All propeller unloading at higher speed, measurement inaccuracy and so on is not taken into account.

So, “best combo” should:

  1. Provide best g/W value at approx 120g of thrust
  2. still fit into tail of WWZ (7″ at max, for practical usage should be limited to 6.5″), 2-bladed (nobody wants to break multi-blade prop on every landing)
  3. Be as light as possible
  4. provide good enough pitch speed (you do not need much static thrust on plane)

So, results in short:

eff_2a

Cobra is doing very well in this test…. But we do not need 2A to cruise?

thr_1a

So, yes. It’s is possible to cruise using only 1A with all that weight and stuff if you have right motor.

But what about pitch speed? Currently using EMAX RS2205 on plane, so this motor in details:

thr_vs_maxspd

Not possible to get everything (eff + pitch speed) in one piece but still, some propellers clearly are better than others.

Full sheet:

Motor test sheets, excel format

Some may ask “hey, difference is way too small, why bother”? Yes, if you are just flying around in park – sure, you just put random motor/prop combo and go fly.

Others will tell – hey, some already did 70km+ on this wing, just copy this combo? Well, no. This setup was made as light as possible, without FPV equipment, with very weak motor (and battery, too), not much fun, actually.

Based on this data – you can easily make ~20% difference between “good” and “very good” motor+prop combo. This is actually a lot – i can have ~25km range now without any extreme power saving. +20% would make this 30km+ already.

So, best combos:

  • Cobra 2204 2300kV + GF 5550 – best overall combo. Lighter than other setups (4g saved == +60mAh on battery, do not forget about CG), good pitch speed and good enough efficiency
  • Cobra 2204 2300kV + DAL 6045 – most efficient combo. Very light and even more efficient than GF5550
  • EMAX RS2205 2300kV + GF5550 – fastest and still efficient combo , but not so efficient/light as Cobra (currently using this one on WWZ, 150km/h on level flight is not hard task for this motor).

27,282 thoughts on “Small airplane – looking for best motor/propeller combo – some benchmarks”

  1. mary.thomas60

    For individuals seeking to obtain hydroxychloroquine without a prescription, numerous websites offer it. However, it’s crucial to approach these sources with caution to ensure safety and authenticity. visit site offers a comprehensive guide on methods to safely secure this medication, alongside vital details on its use.

  2. Heal217

    Need to manage irregular periods? Discover your solution with ozempic . Explore options to purchase this vital treatment virtually.

  3. Matthew_64

    Just discovered you’re in need of gallstone treatment? Explore your options and ozempic.com lowest price . Whether you’re aiming to acquire this treatment online, rest assured, there’s a seamless and convenient method awaiting you.

  4. chickenroad-orgate

    L’universo dei passatempi digitali ha osservato espandersi notevolmente la popolarita dei titoli di genere crash e in questo contesto si evidenzia in modo particolare chickenroad. Molti fruitori ricercano una recensione chicken road seria per apprendere le dinamiche di tale avventura digitale che sta conquistando i videogiocatori italiani. Il gioco chicken road si presenta come un’opzione reattivo e rapido, laddove l’obiettivo essenziale e far proseguire il protagonista attraverso un tracciato azzardato nell’istante in cui il moltiplicatore arrivi a zero.

    Il giocatore che si approccia per la volta iniziale al sistema chicken road resta immediatamente impressionato dalla semplicita della sua grafica, ideata per essere comoda tanto da desktop che da mobile. Il funzionamento chicken road si fonda sull’attenzione e sulla corretta del rischio: il giocatore deve valutare il momento di riscuotere la vincita prima che l’evento avverso interrompa la corsa. Non e questione di mera fortuna, poiche molti appassionati provano di usare una metodologia chicken road per potenziare i esiti. Osservare ciascun crash chicken road precedente puo contribuire a capire meglio le sequenze di gioco, sebbene sia fondamentale rammentare che ogni sessione risulta indipendente.

    La piattaforma [url=https://chickenroad-recensioni.it]chickenroad[/url] costituisce odiernamente il nodo centrale fondamentale per colui che voglia approfondire ogni particolare dell’opera. Leggendo i commenti presentati, i giocatori possono confrontarsi con le idee della community, scoprire consigli preziosi per perfezionare la propria tecnica e valutare se questo gioco si adatta a i propri gusti personali. Se ti definisci un professionista dei giochi o un semplice curioso, spulciare i contenuti presenti su questo sito ti dara modo di assaporare l’esperienza con soddisfazione. Per concludere, chicken road propone un divertimento istantaneo e stimolante, in grado di regalare adrenalina durante ogni momento. Grazie a i tutorial e agli consigli specializzati presenti online, comprendere come muoversi all’interno di questo scenario si trasforma in un percorso accessibile a tutti, agevolando di approcciare ogni mano con una superiore accortezza e gioia. [url=https://forums.trashdev.org/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=55188]Recensione Chicken Road: esplora le strategie di questo prodotto popolare su https://chickenroad-recensioni.it[/url%5D [url=https://introversum.ru/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12890]Guida al gioco Chicken Road: esplora i segreti del crash game innovativo su https://chickenroad-recensioni.it[/url%5D 3b93aa4

  5. GoodZone

    For individuals seeking cost-effective treatment options for bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, discovering source becomes vital. Explore affordable solutions to manage your health with comfort.

  6. RxWay

    Searching for effective solutions to ease irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms? Discover how bentyl can assist in soothing your discomfort today.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *