FliteTest Podcast 003 - Brushless Motors and LiPos

by FliteTest | October 7, 2013 | (86) Posted in Podcasts

Thank you to everyone who has been supporting the FliteTest podcast! We surpassed 10,000 listeners after our second episode which is really wonderful. If you have suggestions or comments about the show, just leave them below. :)

Main Topic: Brushless Motors & LiPo Batteries

Josh Bixler and David talk in depth about best practices for power set ups.

Audio Link

Though electric RC airplanes have been around a while now, there are a lot of details to consider when you are equipping a new plane. We talk about brushless motors, prop sizes, batteries and how all of those get along! The “80%” rule is a great way to make sure you power setup is sustainable and safe. 

Interview #1:
Stuart Warne from HobbyKing
Creative Lead & Videographer / Brand Manager (Durafly)

Whats new at FliteTest?
THE KRAKEN (Huge twin engine wing.)
H-Quad Release
David’s FPV Car
Glider Build Off
Beginners Series Coming Soon!

Interview #2:
Shawn Spiker from Hitec
Sales Manager

Interview #3:
Erick Royer from Fly RC
Executive Editor

Lighting Round Q&A
We answered some of these questions and more!
Was there any unexpected fallout from the NEAT Fair episode?
What’s a great budget transmitter?
What’s our favorite transmitters?
Is David’s tricopter footage stabilized in post production?
Do we ever get hate mail?






COMMENTS

bltsmm on October 8, 2013
I really enjoy this site and probably check on new posts more here than I do other social media sites. I also enjoy the podcast because I am new to rc and a lot of things are explained here that bring me to a further understanding. David had a lot of equations for why things work the way they do in electronics. I would like to see this gone into a little further so I understand the best combo for a motor/battery/prop. I applaud every one of you for the awesomeness you bring to each and everyone of us and cant wait to see what else you dish out. Im jealous of your jobs. Thanks again.
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flykvegas on October 9, 2013
But what's with Hobby King? Placed latest order from the US warehouse and after 4 days it still "paid and processing". Yes, they're half the price of tower (until you consider that shipping is usually about 50% of the final price) but they're unbelievably slow in this day and age.
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robli67 on October 8, 2013
Another great cast. Your chat about the motors was great something that I was trying to learn more about.
Cheers
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ramonnavaro on October 8, 2013
I'm enjoying the podcast as much as the video. They are two different media but there is more heart being expressed when listening to the banter and good natured fun that goes on, plus the time spent listening allows one to keep ones hands moving and once down loaded we can take it anywhere.
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lancaster on October 8, 2013
brilliant mix of theory and fun - you all have special talent - dont go away
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Fahrnkopf on October 8, 2013
Very entertaining and informative. Thanks.
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Grabowskig on October 9, 2013
I really enjoyed the deeper, more technical explanations. Please keep them coming!
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NoUsername on October 7, 2013
Not sure just how to download the podcasts to my itunes playlist from these articles.
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Todd L on October 9, 2013
Thanks for the Podcastes guy! My son and I really enjoy them, keep up the good work!
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grayling on October 13, 2013
Thanks for doing the podcast! I really enjoy the more in depth content. The segment on BLDC motors was very interesting. I like your videos and website too, but this medium brings something different to the table.

Regaring your store. I want to buy things, but shipping to Europe is a huge obstacle. It's expensive and I fear the foam boards may arrive damaged. From an environmental point of view it's also seems unnecessary to ship pieces of cut foam or plywood across the ocean. We have laser cutters over here too. :) Have you considered setting up a mirror production center in Europe or just letting (licensing) someone to do it for you?

Hälsningar till David från Sverige!
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phoenix on October 24, 2013
Yes please give us an update on international shipping. Your expensive shipping to Australia is the only thing holding me back from buying from your store.
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sailorJohn on October 8, 2013
Loved the pod cast ,first time listener but should have broken it up into shorter segments, as I have a short attention span between naps.
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iflylilplanes on October 13, 2013
Informative and entertaining, keep it up boys.

Dave W. in OZ.
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brandx on October 7, 2013
Loving the content again.

Sorry to be a pain but the audio is still off. There is still a raspy resonance that spoils the experience just on mid vocal tones.

Maybe no one else notices, just want to feedback you guys are great. I am so happy you are promoting this hobby.
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zev on October 8, 2013
I agree, the audio just isn't PERFECT, very close, but not. it isn't to the same quality as their video production skills, but their video skills are, like, literally the best in the world, so it is hard to match.

lovely anyway though.
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GFergy on October 8, 2013
Thanks for doing these podcasts! I've been downloading them to my android tablet using iPP Podcast Player, then listening to them in the car during work commutes. It's nice to take a break from SXM NFL Radio once in a while! ;-)

Great interview with Stuart Warne. It was nice to hear of your continued good relationship.

Thanks again, and keep doing what you're doing!
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flykvegas on October 9, 2013
Great episode! Finally got the levels just right. Could understand everything Josh B. said, finally! Liked the interviews a lot.
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-Gijs- on October 26, 2013
Great podcast! David has, like Josh, the gift to explain stuff the right way!
But I think you should explain a bit more about the dangers of Lipo's. as a beginner, you get scared away with all the horror stories about lip's exploding and bursting into flames and stuff if you mistreat them. But when you start flying, you mistreat your plain all the time. every crash is dangerous, I think. maybe you can say something about that?

keep up the good work!
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rifted on October 8, 2013
Hi Guys way better audio quality! and keep on playing with the concept the interviews where great idea and brings also tons of info to the show! It has been great to hear you while I work! instead of news or other stuff that its not worth it, your DO!

David, would it be possible to recommend/tech us all the multirotors enthusiast if we want to built a tr,i quad, or hexa, etc for long FPV flying times? Also if its possible to explain what would be a better set up with 4s or 3s? for regular flight and long times? Thanks David for bringing all the "tech stuff" to a understanding level!

Thanks so much to bring more people with great imagination to the hobby! and to create something that has been great to follow, love to spend time reading and watching Flitetest!

Josh thanks so much to be so great with teaching people that there is nothing wrong to fail and keep a smile always keeps a great energy flow to all the people that talks to you.

Have a great day!
Kind Regards,
Ed Christlieb.
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CJGFX on October 10, 2013
Brilliant podcast. Enjoyed listening too it whilst I work on getting my F22 Raptor to fly.
I do like the interviews always good to hear other peoples input and to have a insiders view of what's to come in the world of RC flying.
A question regarding David. As you mentioned in the podcast, your heading back home to Sweden early next year. What are your plans when you return and would you consider opening a Flite Test European service. That way Flite Test kits and parts are a little more accessible regarding the postage costs etc?? www.flitetest.eu would be a good one!!!!
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Marker on October 25, 2013
I like the tech info please, please, please keep it up.
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ravenb on November 16, 2013
Thank you guys. I love the show, and the podcast. I really appreciate how long your podcasts are, the longer the better. I humbly request a quick clarification, David said the formula for calculating how much load a prop puts on a motor is (diameter squared times pitch)... is this the approximate watts your motor needs to be to run that prop?
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dammuozz on October 7, 2013
Really like the podcast, keep them going. I have to say (at least for me) that the audio is now good quality (I'm listening to it directly from the site using the pc). Very relaxing and interesting. Never heard about the difference from ingoing and "response" voltage in brushless motors.
Looking forward to learn more and more. Maybe one day you could talk about brushless gimbals as a lot of people are buying or trying to build them but I found no good content online about building guidelines or else. Btw, Thank you!!!
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flyinhighrc on October 8, 2013
About David and his FPV Traxxas Summit, do you guys know of DJMEDIC2008, I seem to remember him doing something similar with an Axial Wraith. Loving the podcasts also!
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rcpilotp51 on October 9, 2013
Morning, Guys. I'm not showing any of the new podcasts on the iPhone. However, I am seeing it on the itunes site on the desktop. Rock on!
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MentalWhiplash on October 10, 2013
LOL...David is hysterical. "Is that a LiPo in your back pocket or just a really nice butt?" (edited for content ;-))
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Dire_R/C on October 7, 2013
This podcast was by far the best one yet. Very informative and very helpful. I cant wait for more informative podcasts!
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bradcd on October 8, 2013
Fabulous podcast, very informative and still entertaining as well. Keep up the great work.

David should get dual citizenship and stay as long as he wants. Home is home but if he has to go I vote that he does episodes from his native land - forever.

Have a Great day.

Brad Dolomount
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onemoreflite (John Michaels) on October 11, 2013
I enjoy listening to David explain things in great detail. I am one of those "tell me exactly why something works this way" kind of people...
Great to listen to as ever!
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Hilbert on October 10, 2013
I enjoyed the podcast. Great to listen from home to work and vice versa. I like the idea of flitetest.eu runned by David.
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Mannypac on October 11, 2013
Wow! Podcast 3 was really filled with a lot of tech infor and very informative interviews. Those interviews gave the podcast a new slant. Great job! This podcast had so much information that I will have to listen to it several times. I can't believe you ad lib these podcast. It flows so natural. It is like being there with you. Thanks for the hard work you doing. You surely have senergy work together. Thanks to all. Manny from Puerto Rico
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Hell2Go on October 23, 2013
podcasts are nice but I'd prefer to see what's going on. Just throw a camera on a tripod and throw in a video option on the podcast for those of us that want to watch...
thx - Ed
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phoenix on October 24, 2013
Awesome podcast. Glad you guys finally cleared up exactly what happened with your relationship with HobbyKing.
I'd love to hear more about your personal experiences with scratch building, particularly your first scratch builds.
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Coilair on November 21, 2013
Nice job. Just keep doing what your doing. Its informative and entertaining.
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rotorcrazy on November 29, 2013
Great Podcast guys. I'm just getting caught up on them now and I love them! very informative with the information regarding electric motors and the current draw. Keep up the good work!
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Dustin on November 29, 2013
Hey guys, I'm just getting back into the hobby after a brief stint 15 years ago. The information that you guys get into is very helpful. It's nice how you guys start very basic and get more technical and really get into the nuts and bolts of it. Thank you Josh and Josh for the plane reviews and giving me lots of onsite into what individual planes are like and in good light humour. Keep up the good quality of work.
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rritchey on December 23, 2013
BIG NOTE: You guys asked for truthful feedback to improve your show.
Guys, I was going to give you guys a 2 star rating, but since you guys are just starting out, I gave you 3. I like your podcast for entertainment. For explaining technical information about the hobby you are not cutting the mustard. Josh did a good job at the end with the recap. I feel it was an overview of power systems, not an in depth discussion.
BIG NOTE: You guys asked for truthful feedback to improve your show. In depth information about power systems would be found at the ATTF podcast.
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Raptor367 on February 21, 2014
18 minutes into this podcast, you (/they) talk about discussing windings (copper turns) vs kv. I'm also interested in windings vs effectivity, and how delta (triangle) vs WYR (star) connection affects all of these parameters. Could you please discuss this. If you already did, in which episode? (I've only had the chance to listen to episode 1-6 this week.) I love the technical part of this episode. Keep em coming :)
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myklebost on April 5, 2014
this is my new favorite pod cast. i found these last weekend and im already on my second play through. THANKS GUYS!
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FliteGreg on September 18, 2014
You guys have really good podcast, keep it up. That was probably your best episode to date (after 40+ episodes).
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Daniel Kezar on December 6, 2017
I learned so much from this. thank you guys. David is a legend!
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Daniel Kezar on December 6, 2017
David is just THAT good that he dont need dat stabilization...




SWOOSHYNESS
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FliteTest Podcast 003 - Brushless Motors and LiPos