The Toledo R/C Trade Show (also known
as the Weak Signals show after the R/C club that sponsors the event) may well be the
grandest trade show of its kind in the U.S., if not the world. The number of vendors
and variety of products offered is staggering. For the electric flight enthusiast,
it was a banner year. It seems like most of the aircraft sellers/manufacturers are
now offering something for the electric market, and those that don't currently have any
offerings say they are being forced by consumer demand to consider doing so. What
follows is a taste of the items offered for show or sale related to the electric flight
market. The biggest news this year is the hot jump in the slowflyer market. It
seemed like everything was going to the speed 400 size planes just a year or two ago, but
now things are getting even smaller and lighter. It will be interesting to see where
this trend takes us.
Astro Flight
Astro Flight's booth was quite a hit this year, with new products aimed at both ends of
the electric market. On the left is Astro Bob (Boucher) himself. In addition
to the slow-flyer items introduced below, Astro also upped the capacity of its 112D
charger to 40 cells, and increased the capability of its 204 speed control to 40 cells.
The picture in the middle is a new servo tester. On the right is the
brushless 05 with the new 40 amp esc.
The pictures on the left and on the right show the new Astro Firefly motor - a tiny little
powerhouse with a 16:1 double planetary gearbox (shown with a special carbon fiber 9x6
prop). This little motor draws around 0.4 amps with this setup, and could
potentially fly for a couple of hours on lithium cells. The red Whattmeter is a
special version for low-current slowflyer applications.
This wasn't directly Astro, but they had Keith Shaw's custom gearbox at their booth.
This beautifully engineered gearbox counter-rotates a pair of props on an Astro 40.
I understand it is destined for a Bugatti racer Keith is making. This should
be an incredible project!
www.astroflight.com
Aveox
Aveox was handicapped a little this year when a case of motors failed to be delivered.
Nevertheless, they had a few of their newer wares on display. On the left is
Aveox's new 1005 motor, shown with the optional 4.4:1 planetary gearbox and their new Easy
30 controller. The same motor and controller are shown on the right without the
gearbox This is a very high performance motor in a rather small package. The
image on the left is of their new Infinity II charger. Same capabilities as the
earlier Infinity chargers (30 cells, extra port for rx pack, cell cycling capability), but
with some additional improvements. Not shown, but also on display was their
redesigned F10 motor with a thicker case (for better heat dissipation) and their own
design planetary gearbox.
http://www.aveox.com
Balsa Products
Balsa products isn't a big name in the electric field, but I was excited to see additional
products oriented towards the electric market in their booth. Last year they had one
e-sailplane; this year there were three. I don't have any information on the planes,
but they look quite nice.
http://www.balsapr.com
Bill Griggs Models
Bill Griggs was out in full force, introducing his new Tiny slowflyer
aerobat (on the left), and his new Panther ducted fan electric "jet" (set up for
the WeMoTec 480 fan unit). Also in his booth was a CNC foam cutter. This foam
cutter had a couple of screw drives and servo motors that were connected to a computer.
Simply put your wing sections in the software, insert your foam block, and let the
cutter do the rest!
http://www.aiusa.com/bgriggs
Castle Creations
Pat del Castillo had several exciting new speed controls at his booth
this year, including the eagerly awaited Dragon brushless controller (shown in the two
photos on the left). Capable of 35 amps, this new brushless esc isn't much larger
than many of the smaller brush esc's on the market. On the right are three of the
smallest Castle Creations controllers; The Pixie 7 (7 amps continuous), Pixie Lite
(also 7 amps continuous), and Pixie 14 (14 amps continuous). As you can see from the
photo, these controllers are hardly larger than the wires they are attached to! Pat
sets a new standard in small controller design.
http://www.castlerc.com/
Cermark
I didn't see a lot new at the Cermark booth (I also had a hard time getting in close
enough to see much!), but I did see a good selection of products related to the electric
flight market. They import a line of cobalt motors and some nice ARF planes, along
with a variety of support products. On the right is their Phoenix electric
sailplane.
http://www.cermark.com
DJ Aerotech
Here's Don Stackhouse of DJ Aerotech. Unfortunately they didn't
have any of their electric items on display, but DJ Aerotech makes an impressive line of
soaring aircraft. They also have a profound amount of technical knowledge on the
subject of aerodynamics, much of which they have posted on their website.
http://www.bright.net/%7Edjwerks/
Dumas
Dumas is probably best known for their model boats, and in some cases
their free flight rubber-powered planes, but at Toledo they had a couple of interesting
new electric slowflyers. No brochures yet, but the planes look like they should be
great for scooting around low and slow. The Metro Flyer is pictured above.
Dymond Modelsport USA
Dymond Modelsport had a very busy booth, and a lot to offer the electric
enthusiast. Products included several ARF sailplanes, a beautiful ARF biplane, an
in-line gearbox for ferrite motors, slow-flyer power systems and chargers, and even
brushless motors. Dymond also offers a higher-efficiency line of motors (the
Nighthawk series) as replacements for motors in the 280 - 480 classes.
Easy Built Models
Easy Built Models has been under new ownership for about two years, and
a number of changes are in the works. They have an extensive line of rubber powered
planes and a fairly large selection of electric planes as well. Although most of the
kits are still printwood, a number of kits are being reintroduced as laser-cut kits.
http://www.easybuiltmodels.com
Electric Jet Factory
Electric Jet factory always draws quite a crowd. This year Robert
Wagner (left photo) was showing a new Grumman Gulfstream kit (second photo from left), a
Velkom "cobalt 480" motor (second photo from right), and a Graupner ducted fan
unit for Speed 600/05 size motors (far right photo). I believe the Gulfstream kit is
for twin 480 fan units. The Velkom motor should be a strong addition to the small
motor category, being priced between the Speed 400 motors and the small brushless motors
and giving a strong boost in power over the 400/480 type motors. If you've never
seen one of the Graupner fan units, you need to check one out - even if you aren't a jet
enthusiast. They're such beautiful ducted fans that it's almost worth buying
one just for display! Besides a strong selection of electric jet products, Robert
also had a few slowflyer items on display.
http://www.ElectricJetFactory.com
FMA
FMA had a large variety of radio components and other items, but
probably the most striking feature was the squadron of FMA Razors seemingly ready to swoop
down on those who entered the FMA booth!
http://www.fmadirect.com
Great Planes
Great Planes always has a fabulous display, and this year was no
different. Each year I see more products oriented towards the electric market, with
many exciting new additions. The top left photo shows the new Electric Cub. As
you can see in the photo, the new Cub features a much more realistic appearance with a
scale looking cabin. It also features reduced dihedral, ailerons, and a geared motor
option. The top center and top right photo show the new Kyosho Learjet - a twin
ducted fan using a pair of the T-33 jet units. This plane is a real beauty, and one
that I'm sure will excite may jet enthusiasts. The bottom two planes are not
oriented towards the electric market, but might make good conversion candidates. The
plane on the left is a new Chipmunk, while on the right is a photo of the new Giant Extra
300 fuselage interior. It's a light plane for it's size. One of the Great
Planes representatives is planning on converting this one to electric with 50 cells!
http://www.greatplanes.com
Hitec
The most exciting news from Hitec for Electric flyers was this new Focus
3 FM radio. Featuring a Feather receiver and a pair of HS-55 servos, it should
really hit the spot for the slow flyer and park flyer market.
http://www.hitecrcd.com
Hobby Hangar
Hobby Hangar had a number of items of interest to the electric modeler.
Several warbirds, such as the Tempest (above, center), Typhoon (above, left with
P-47), and Sea Fury are designed to be flown with e-power as well as with glow engines.
Others, such as the Gee Bee (above, right) would make very interesting conversions.
Hobby Hangar also had their OV-10 Bronco and Fokker D-VII at their booth, both of
which are convertible to E-power. Hobby Hangar seems to be very interested in
bringing out more aircraft oriented towards the electric market.
http://www.HobbyHangar.com
Hobby Lobby International
Hobby Lobby International always has a very full booth of electric
products. This year they were primarily focused on slow-flyers and park flyers, but
they did introduce the new Piccolo helicopter. This little micro- helicopter, shown
in the lower three photos, comes in a very nice traveling box and can be flown just about
anywhere. I originally thought the F-82 shown above was a new offering from Hobby
Lobby, but apparently it was just left there by someone else. It sure looks nice,
though! That's Jim Martin, the owner of Hobby Lobby International in the photo at
the upper left.
http://www.hobby-lobby.com
Horizon Hobbies
Horizon Hobbies introduced an even bigger version of their ARF Hangar 9
Cub that's been such a popular electric conversion. They also brought out the two
new park flyers. Shown in the center is the Soarstar, a foam pre-built easy flyer.
On the right is the Silky Wind, a beautifully built old-timer for Speed 400 power.
http://www.horizonhobby.com/
House of Balsa
House of Balsa introduced a couple of new laser-cut kits that are great
candidates for e-power. The photo on the left shows the Chea-Pass, a simple design
for a club plane. It uses the same wing as the Decathlon with a simple box
fuselage. For a little more style, the Spacewalker shown on the right should be the
ticket. It's a very light design that should convert easily and fly well.
http://www.houseofbalsa.com
JR
JR showed off its new JR 610M receiver. Intended for small models,
it has full range and a short antenna. Also at Toledo was JR's new Voyager E.
The Voyager E is new in JR's helicopter line, and is Intended for CCPM radios and 05 type
motors.
Lite Machines
Lite Machines didn't have anything expressly for the electric market,
but they had news of some interesting developments coming in the future. Their Lite
Machine helicopter, already a popular conversion subject, is soon to be available in an
electric version. The new version will feature lighter components, such as the
canopy (1/2 thickness) and a redesigned crutch, and should make a good match for the
current crop of light brushless or rare-earth magnet motors.
http://www.litemachines.com/Index.html
Matney's Models
Kevin Matney introduced his new electric Speed 400 pylon racer at
Toledo, the Vixen. This plane has several unique innovations, including a
self-aligning V-tail and a removable wing/fuselage section that tapes to the fuselage.
It looks very fast!
http://matneymodels.hypermart.net/
MaxCim
Tom Cimato really didn't have anything new at the Toledo show, but his
fine line of brushless sport motors always gathers a significant amount of interest.
He keeps a couple of motors set up in stands with props to give demonstrations of
the smooth power available from his systems, and showed the various components available
for his motor systems, such as the fuse connectors. MaxCim controllers are unique in
that they offer BEC up to 21 cells (by using a tap off 14 cells or less) and they have a
means of fusing the motor without cutting out the BEC.
http://www.maxcim.com
Maxx Products
Maxx Products had a very full booth of all the odds and ends you could
probably ever imagine for electric flight. Pictured above are a few of their small
items for slow flight, including wheels, servos, and a motor. Also shown in the
photo is their new "cobalt 400" motor. I don't have any details on this
motor at the current time, but it's one to keep an eye on.
MEC
Model Electronics Corporation (MEC) shared the booth with MaxCim
Products at Toledo this year. MEC is well known for their Turbo-10 series
high-performance ferrite motor systems, and their solder-less battery tubes. These
tubes allow you to assemble packs of various cells counts (depending on which tube you
buy) very easily without soldering. The original bolt-together tubes have been
replaced with a lighter tube that essentially tapes together and gets compressed with
heat-shrink tubing. The new tubes are available for cells ranging from 500AR's up to
the new 3000 NiCads.
http://www.rc-aero.com/biz/mec/
Multiplex, USA
Multiples USA had quite an active booth, and one that was full of great
electric products for the modeler. Besides such well know planes as the Twinstar and
PicoJet, Multiplex was prominently displaying their Cockpit line of radio transmitters.
These German-made units are very trim and light, and boast such things as 9-model
memory, easy programmability, and considerable expandability.
http://www.multiplexrc.com
Northeast Sailplane Products
Northeast Sailplane had such an incredible variety of slowflyers and
sailplanes that it's hard to describe. Shown above are a couple of their more
interesting items. On the left is Sal holding the Husky with ailerons, a
scale-looking slowflyer with beautiful lines. On the right is the Twin Pleaser -
something a little different than the norm!
http://www.nesail.com
Norvel
Although better known for their glow engines, Norvel also sells the
Folding Flyer, an ingenious fold-up airplane of foam that is designed for glow or electric
power. This year the Folding Flyers were available in a variety of wild colors and
designs. Also shown at the Norvel booth were Herr Engineering kits. These
light kits have become popular conversions lately for many electric flyers, and include a
Cub, a P-51, a seaplane (the Aquastar), and a Cherokee.
http://www.norvel.com
http://www.iflyherr.com
NYBLIMP.COM
Gabe Baltaian put on quite a show for everyone with his blimp - a true
"indoor" flyer. It was great fun watching him float around diners in the
hall outside the convention room. His blimps are very controllable and feature
simple, effective design.
http://www.nyblimp.com
Pica
Pica continues to expand it's line of 1/12 scale electric warbirds.
Pica planes are self-jigging and use interlocking, laser-cut parts to simplify
construction. Most of the planes are designed for either Speed 400 or Speed
480 power, and are supplied with motor mounts for either motor. Currently available
planes include the P-51, ME-109, PT-19, FW-190, and Corsair. Soon to come are the
F-82 and the Zero.
http://www.picaweb.com
RC Glowire
Jim Beal had one of the hottest products at the Toledo show - Glowire.
This electroluminescent wire system is available in either flashing or constant
light versions, and with a variety of colors to choose from. Very reasonably priced,
these systems can be used on everything from night flyers to bicycles and snowmobiles.
It's hard to catch a lighting system on camera, but the Glowire systems put out a
considerable amount of light.
http://www.glowire.com
Sig
I didn't see anything new for electric power at the Sig booth this year,
but they did have these spinners especially designed for APC propellers. APC props
are a favorite with many e-fliers, but their size and shape usually dictates quite a bit
of modification to most spinners. That shouldn't be a problem with this new line of
spinners from Sig.
http://www.sigmfg.com
Sobox
The Sobox booth featured a beautiful line of impressively engineered
sailplanes for electric power, along with their own line of controllers. Most of the
Sobox sailplanes are made from CNC machined aluminum molds and make extensive use of
composites and modern airfoils. The controllers are micro-processor units, rated
from 5 to 35 cells with BEC up to 10 cells. They also feature soft start, brake, and
a max current rating (up to 30 seconds) of twice the labeled rating (the label shows max
continuous current).
http://www.zyworld.com/SOBOXplanes
Spirit of Yesteryear
Spirit of Yesteryear continues to introduce new planes, including a
number of planes from the former Leisure and Astroflight lines. The plane pictured
above is the Mark Smith Bushwhacker, designed for an Astro 15 on 12 cells. It's not
a production item yet, but it may become one. It would be a great thing if it does -
it's a beautiful plane! SOY offers quite a few nicely laser-cut kits for Speed 400
power, including a number of old-timers. On the right is Colin McKinley with the
Milli-Amptique
http://www.soy.on.ca
SR Batteries
SR Batteries was prominently displaying its X-250 sport plane (shown
above), an aerobatic ship designed for geared Speed 400 power on 10 cells. SR also
produces a complete line of batteries for electric flight applications, along with their
Techniques series of publications to help modelers do it right. SR is noted for
having an excellent welded strap system for joining batteries - four straps connect each
cell with four welds per strap. Larry Sribnick, owner of SR batteries, is shown in
the photo on the left.
http://www.srbatteries.com
Star Flight
Alex Larionov of Star Flight imports the Sokol Speed 400 racer.
All molded, with the torque rods installed, control surfaces hinged, and motor mount
in place. Priced at $129.00 at the show, it looks like an excellent way to go for
serious Speed 400 racing. Alex also stocks the Cosmotec planetary gearboxes with
adapters for 400 and 480 motor, and some very light Kontronic connectors.
http://www.accessv.com/~larionov/sokol.htm
Z-Planes
Z-Planes came to Toledo with this fascinating ducted-fan park flyer.
This all-foam profile plane appeared to be a great flyer from the video they
showed. It's advertised to weigh around 14 oz with a 7-cell 600 mAh battery.
Wingspan is 35.5 inches, with 195 sq. in. wing area. I believe it uses a pair of the
Cox ducted fans. Z-Planes can be reached at: (219) 662-1199
Misc.
A tiny electric biplane seen at one of the booths
No, it's not electric, but you had to see this enormous Concorde model to believe it.
Powered by four turbine engines.
The P-51 on the left belongs to Tom Cimato, and is powered by a MaxCim brushless motor (of
course!). The beautiful TU-4 on the right is powered by four MaxCim electric
motors. I believe the TU-4 won third place at this show and went on to win first at
a later scale contest.
