PA Thrust 20 + 30A ESC Questions

[Whipper]

Ok, a while back I bought PA's Addiction. Good plane, lots of fun. I put my own motor + esc in it and it flew good. But the plane weighed a little over 30oz. It kinda felt a little heavy for the wing loading so I decided to go with the recomended setup from PA. I bought there thrust 20 and 30a esc, got it, put it in and went for a flight. Now im no pro pilot, but I can do 3d pretty good. I couldnt even hover with this motor in the plane. Put it into a hover and it would do a tail slide at full throttle. No power. Im using a TP 2100 rated at 20c(i think, might be 15c which would be ~32Amps) which would mean that batt would put out 42amps. I used a friends TP extreme 2200( almost brand new, 55amps output) and it would hold a hover at full throttle, but 0 pull out power. The addiction they showed on there web site with this motor had plenty of power. So before I go and get all huffy I thought I would ask the good ppl on the giants if any of them had used this motor esc combo and what you all thought of it. While im no simpleton, im still prone to mistakes. I would say the batt is good, motor works, not rubbing on the fire wall, am using the prop they say to use (11x5.5 E apc). Only thing I can think of is something in the esc progaming im just not getting. I went threw the settings, but didnt change anything but the voltage cutoff. So, anyone out there used this motor? If so, some info on your experiance would be welcome!

Mike

[Whipper]

I know ppl have the addiction, you cant tell me no one has used the motor and esc they sell???

I think if no one has an opion on this one ill just write this one up as a lose and just go for an axi and castel creation esc

Thanks

[eblenkle]

Hello Whipper

I don't have the "Addiction", but I remember seeing a blog by metalmike on the home page. He seemed quite happy with his setup. You should PM him and see if he has any insight.

Ernie

[Whipper]

Thank you Ernie, Ill go take a look I think as a test ill put the esc from my EF extra on it and see what happens. At least that way i should be able to tell if the motor just sucks, or if the esc isnt working properly. Anyway, at this point i like the plane, just wish i had the power to pull it around

[exeter_acres]

ya know... I haven't used the Thrust motor, but I've heard nothing but good.....
have you checked the setup with a Watt meter of some sort to make sure the motor is OK??

I have flown the addiction with the Torque 1095 and it is great.. plenty of power and the plane feels very light on the wing

[Whipper]

No, i havent put it on an amp/watt meter, but I can do that tonight. Im not sure if its the motor or if I need to sit down and program the esc. Castle creations come with defaults, and for the most part those defaults have worked for me. This esc is kinda confusing to program and Im not sure If I have to program all the settings or do like I did and change the voltage cutoff and leave the rest be. I guess the best thing is to play with it and see what I get. But so far for me it hasnt been plug and play. I did have a torque motor that was used in my EF extra 300, but i couldnt get it to balance right, was alway to nose heavy and I couldnt get the batt far enough back to make the plane balance to my liking.

[cid]

put it on the watt meter you want at least 250 to 300 watts since your plane is close to 2 lbs you will need that for good 3d flight. Its not the speed control that speed control will give you 30+ amps b4 it shuts down. what is the recomened amp draw for the motor ??? hopefully its around 25-30 amps if so prop it for that remember volts x amps = watts and its only watts in not what your getting out at the prop. If im getting 300 watts in I figure im getting around 240 watts to the prop on a good day.The battery may be going that you have to look at on the watt meter but if your flying it for a while and it hasnt cut out its probly ok.

[eblenkle]

Hey Whipper

I'm no pro at this but just out of curiosity I plugged the specs into drive calculator to see what gives.

PA 20, 30A ESC, TP2100 3S1P, APC11x5.5E
Static thust was 1137 grams which translates to approx 2.5 Lbs of thrust and 153 Watts at the prop.
I don't think you're going to hover at that thrust.

Just for S&G I changed the prop
PA 20, 30A ESC, TP2100 3S1P, APC13x4E
Static thust was 1391 grams which translates to approx 3.1 Lbs of thrust and 164 Watts at the prop.

That just might do it....just realize these are only theory from a drive calculator.

I really wish someone that has one of these would chime in...hint hint!

Ernie

[cid]

OK I looked up the plane and motor on PA web site the plane is listed to weigh 26.5 oz ready to fly. The motor is rated at 22 amps continuis and 27 amps max that would be around 220 watts and 270 watts I would think this is just marginale to fly 3d. now if you would have bought the pa 30 motor its rated at 28 amps continuis and 39 max thats around 280 amps and 400 amps this would be a much better motor for this plane you would have plenty of power for great pull outs. Places always seem to recomend motors that will just fly the plane not the ones that will FLY!!!!! the plane great maybee they figure youll buy the next motor up from them at a later date. As a great man once said ( MORE POWER SCOTTY WE NEED MORE POWER )

[Whipper]

Cid, Ernie, thank you very much for your input!! I put it on the meter and only got 23 amps out of it max. I changed the timimg to be more aggressive.... Didnt help much. Cid I think your right about the thrust 20 vs 30. My problem with this is the thrust 20 is the recomended motor. So after watching the vids and seeing how it was flown I thought they used the thrust 20 motor. So, i think i got the short end of the stick here. Good thing is the motor + esc only cost me $102 shipped and I can use it in another lighter setup. I'll just look to see what axi will work and get that and a castle creation esc. Which is what i should have done in the first place.
Again thank you guys for your help, very much apreciated!!

[hawk21]

have you try any other prop or just the 11x5.5E?
Here you will find some info on prop selection for that motor
http://www.thrustmotors.com/thrust20.html

[Whipper]

Hawk
I havent tried another prop yet. They do say on there web site that the 11x5.5 e is the best all around prop. Since I dont have the funds to buy a new motor and esc right now im going to try some different props and reprogram the esc to see what I can get. I also just remembered I have a 25amp esc from castle in a box somewhere, so ill give that a try also. Its killing me I cant 3d this plane cus it does fly pretty darn good!

[e-gull]

At over 30 ounces your plane is alot heavier than 26.5 oz. it is designed to be. You are almost at the weight of their Extra 260, which uses the Thrust 30. Is there any way you can lighten your plane? Is your battery the reason? Good luck.

[Uncle Brett]

It's definitely cheaper to try different props before buying a new set up. Try an 11-4.7 slow fly and a 12-6E prop and see what kind of #'s you get from the wattmeter. I think you'll need 325-375 watts to fly a 30 oz plane and get the expected performance you're looking for. I don't know if the motor can take that power though, keep us informed.

[Burger Thing]

Hey Whipper,

when I set up my Addiction the first time, I used a Thrust 20 and an old ESC which I had laying around. I couldn't even go full throttle, because the motor was stalling. That was on an APC 11x3.8. I had to change the speed controller (I went for the Quantum 30) and it worked flawlessly. I tried the 11x5.5, 11x4.7 and 11x3.8. On all props, I had plenty of power for hovering. And I am using a "heavy" battery (3s 2200 mAh).

So I believe, that the ESC and your motor doesn't pair up well for some reason. Do you have another ESC laying around so you can swap and see how the plane behaves?

Cheers,

BT