I Don’t Want a Brushless
You know, the more I stare at speed 400 brushless motors, the less I think I want one. It basically comes down to:brushed vs. brushless speed 400 motor
- Brushless is 20% more efficient (making for potentially 20% longer flights)
- Brushless is $200 ($100 motor, $100 ESC), brushed is $40 ($10 motor, $30 ESC)
- Brushless provides 2x the thrust per lb of motor (drawing about 1.6x the amperage…) (average 400 brushed motor is about 3 oz) giving me the opportunity to push the throttle such that I’ll use up the battery really darn quick.
- top level flight speed goes from about 50 mph to about 70 mph
- Brushless improves powered handling considerably
I’m not into electrics for super vertical performance. I’d switch to .90cc glow engines for that. So I’ve been looking around and I’ve got a lot of other options besides plunking down $200… I could switch to a high performance speed 480 motor, an 8″ x 4.5″ prop and get 3/4 of the way toward a brushless for under $20. Hobby Lobby reference. Or a Rocket 400… or the new Zagi Speed 400 for $10. I’ve got a lot of options that cost a heck of a lot less than $200. Hey, $200 would get me a lot of Estes model rocket engines….
I’ve started ripping the old covering off the plane.