Hi,
I am currently designing a small Flying Flea airplane (130 ft^2 wing, 460lbs MAUW). From the OpenPPG website, I see that this motor is equivalent to 33hp. Is this correct? If so, it seems that the SP140 would happily power my little plane. Am I roughly on track with this thinking?
I had been considering using one of the industrial v-twin motors (39kg, 35hp) which flies similar airplanes as mine. Other options are the Aero 1000 (4-stroke, (35hp, 38kg, 4.3l/hr consumption) But I would LOVE to fly electric.
Hello,
the M50C35 fitted on the SP140 may be rated for 25kW (which is, as you said, roughly 33hp), but this is an input power rating based on here : M50C35 PRO EEE Manned Drone motor
Moreover, this kind of power rating is only for a short burst. In real conditions my guess would be that this motor could handle 10 to 15kW (13 to 20ch) continuously. Here with the nose cone cooling might be even worst than on the SP140. Somewhere on a post @bratwurst gave a relation between the copper mass of a motor and the expectation you can have of an electric motor. I unfortunately can’t find it.
In the end maybe it would be safer to go for a larger motor model, as the U15XXL from T-motor. Make sure to check as well the continuous power rating of the APD ESC and the battery (using at least two in parallel would be a solution). While it is usually simple to land in case of motor failure with a ppg, it might not be the case in a microlite.
Yeah, continuous power will be a big restriction. I would plan 10kW (~15hp) sustained from a mad m50 motor. To make that work, you will need a very light and efficient airframe with less than a 7kW cruise.
