Great Planes RimFire 42mm Power System - Manual

5
PROPELLER ADAPTERS
The RimFire 42mm motor comes with a prop adapter that mounts
directly to the motor case. If the RimFire 42mm motor needs to be
mounted so that the prop is mounted on the motor shaft, the motor
requires a 5mm prop adapter collet type or set screw type.
GPMQ4966 5mm Collet Type
GPMQ4939 5mm Set Screw Type
6
LIPO BATTERIES
Number of Cells
Cells can be connected in series or in parallel. Usually batteries are
labeled by their number of cells, such as a 3-cell LiPo. This means the
cells are connected in SERIES (S). Arranging batteries in series gives
you more power (higher voltage). Each LiPo battery has 3.7V, so a
3-cell LiPo battery has 3.7x3 = 11.1V
If you need a higher voltage than what is available in the LiPo battery
line, you will need to connect two battery packs together in series. If
you need a battery voltage of 14.8V you can use the Series Y-Connector
(GPMM3143) to connect two 7.4V batteries together.
If a battery is arranged in PARALLEL it might be labeled as (P).
Arranging the batteries in parallel will give you more duration (more
capacity).
All LiPo batteries have a rated discharge that must not be exceeded or
the battery will be damaged. They may say 20C max. discharge rate
or 25C max. discharge rate. This means that the discharge rate
(current draw of the motor) must not be more than 20 or 25 (20C or
25C) times the capacity of the battery. The capacity is expressed in
milliamp hours (2200mAh). It can also be expressed in amp hours
(2.2Ah).
A LiPo battery with a capacity of 2200mAh with a 25C discharge rate
can be discharged at 55 amps, 2.2Ah x 25C = 55 amps. If the power
system draws more than 55 amps, the batteries will have to be
connected in parallel to increase the capacity. Two 2200mAh batteries
in parallel have a capacity of 4400mAh or 4.4Ah x 25C = 110 amp
discharge rate.
ElectriFly offers a full line of LiPo batteries. Airplanes that use the
RimFire 42mm motors will typically use batteries with a capacity of
1800 to 3350mAh, with the higher capacity batteries delivering more
flying time but also being heavier. All of the batteries have connectors
that fit the recommended ESCs.
Due to the constantly changing battery technology, check out the
ElectriFly web site at www.electrifly.com for the most up-to-date
listing of the ElectriFly battery line.
Stock # Voltage Capacity Weight # of Cells Discharge
GPMP0514 7.4V 1800mAh 3.6oz (102g) 2 25C
GPMP0515 11.1V 1800mAh 5.2oz (148g) 3 25C
GPMP0519 7.4V 2200mAh 4.4oz (125g) 2 25C
GPMP0520 11.1V 2200mAh 6.3oz (179g) 3 25C
GPMP0521 14.8V 2200mAh 8.2oz (233g) 4 25C
GPMP0540 7.4V 3350mAh 6.6oz (188g) 2 25C
GPMP0541 11.1V 3350mAh 9.7oz (275g) 3 25C
GPMP0542 14.8V 3350mAh 12.2oz (347g) 4 25C
GPMP0543 18.5V 3350mAh 15.3oz (435g) 5 25C
Ideally the motor should be matched with a propeller that causes the motor
to draw 80-100% of its rated maximum constant current. Once a power
system is set up, it can be fine-tuned by adjusting the propeller size and
measuring the amount of current the motor is drawing.
Please note that the kV of a motor does not change with voltage, but if a
higher voltage is applied to the motor, it will try to spin the same propeller
at a higher rpm. This will cause the motor to draw more current and pos-
sibly exceed the maximum rated current of the motor. So, if a battery with
lower voltage is replaced with one with a higher voltage, it is recom-
mended that a smaller propeller be used to keep the current in check. If a
higher voltage battery is replaced by a lower voltage battery, the size of the
propeller can be increased to keep the motor at its rated current.
Another possibility to fine tune the power system’s performance is to use
another motor with higher kV to increase the current or a lower kV to lower
the current.
2
ELECTRONIC SPEED CONTROL (ESC)
An ESC is basically the device that controls your motor through your radio
system. Never run any RimFire motors with a brushed ESC. It will not
work and you may damage both the motor and the ESC. Always use a
brushless ESC. ElectriFly offers the Silver Series SS-45, SS-60 and SS-80
Brushless ESCs (GPMM1840, GPMM1850 and GPMM1860) that
work well with the RimFire 42mm motors.
The SS-45 and SS-60 ESCs come with 4mm female bullet connectors that
plug directly into the 4mm male connectors installed on the RimFire 42mm
motors, so no soldering is required. The SS-80 comes with 6mm female
bullet connectors and requires an adapter (GPMM3119). Also, these ESCs
come with a Deans
® Ultra Plug ® battery connector that matches the
connectors that are found on most batteries that it will use.
3
BRUSHLESS MEDIUM MOTOR MOUNT
1. Front Plate (1) 5. Motor Bracket (1, not used)
2. Back Plate (1) 6. 4-40x1/2" SHC Screw (2, not used)
3. 4-40x1/4" SHC Screw (8) 7. 4-40 Lock Nut (2, not used)
4. #4 Flat Washer (10)
The ElectriFly Brushless Medium Motor Mount combines ease of installation
with the adjustability to fit most motor applications. The Medium Motor
Mount is designed to fit the bolt pattern of the Great Planes
® .20-.48 and
.40-.70 Nylon Engine Mount. This easily allows the conversion of a glow
powered plane to electric powered.
4
PROPELLERS
There is a wide selection of propellers available for electric use. The RimFire
42mm motors use high performance electric props such as the APC
E-series props. The larger the propeller used, the more current your motor
will draw. The smaller the propeller, the less current the motor will draw.
Shown are a few of the recommended electric props. Due to the large
range of propellers and the constant addition of new sizes, visit our web
sites at www.electrifly.com and www.greatplanes.com for the most
up-to-date listing of electric type props.
APCQ4120 10x5 Electric
APCQ4123 10x7 Electric
APCQ1055 11X5.5 Electric
APCQ4128 11x7 Electric
APCQ4129 11x8 Electric
APCQ4131 11x8.5 Electric
APCQ4130 12x6 Electric
APCQ3065 13x6.5 Electric APCQ3080 13x8 Electric
APCQ4140 13x10 Electric
APCQ4145 14x7 Electric
APCQ1409 14x10 Electric
APCQ4016 16x10 Electric
APCQ4019 17x10 Electric
APCQ4021 18x8 Electric
APCQ4028 20x10 Electric
Congratulations, you have just purchased one of the RimFire 42mm
power system components. All the components are sold separately to
allow you to customize your power system to your airplane. The
components needed to assemble your complete RimFire 42mm
power system are: RimFire 42mm motor, propeller, propeller adapter
and brushless speed control. This instruction sheet explains how to
determine what you will need and how to assemble each component.
1
MOTOR
42.8mm 5mm
19mm
3mm
Mounting
Screw
19mm
17.5mm
40mm, 50mm OR 60mm
The RimFire motors are labeled to provide the most information at a
glance. For example: The RimFire .32 (42-50-800) is 42mm in
diameter, 50mm long and has a kV (rpm-per-volt) of 800.
RimFire .25 (42-40-1000) (GPMG4675)
Motor Output Shaft Diameter and Length: 5x17.5mm [0.2"x0.7"]
Weight: 125g [4.4oz]
Input Voltage: 11.1 – 14.8V
Max Surge Current: 50A
Max Surge Power: 740W
RimFire .32 (42-50-800) (GPMG4000)
Motor Output Shaft Diameter and Length: 5x17.5mm [0.2"x0.7"]
Weight: 198g [7oz]
Input Voltage: 11.1 – 14.8V
Max Surge Current: 80A
Max Surge Power: 1480W
RimFire .46 (42-60-800) (GPMG4725)
Motor Output Shaft Diameter and Length: 5x17.5mm [0.2"x0.7"]
Weight: 268g [9.5oz]
Input Voltage: 18.5 – 22.2V
Max Surge Current: 100A
Max Surge Power: 1850W
RimFire .55 (42-60-480) (GPMG4715)
Motor Output Shaft Diameter and Length: 5x17.5mm [0.2"x0.7"]
Weight: 268g [9.5oz]
Input Voltage: 18.5 – 22.2V
Max Surge Current: 80A
Max Surge Power: 1850W
Understanding Motors
kV (rpm/volt): This is a number that gets thrown around quite a bit
when talking electrics and it is important to know what it is. kV is the
number of rpm a motor will spin per each volt applied (rpm/volt)
under no load.
This means that a motor with a kV of 1000 when connected to a 12V
battery will try to spin at 12,000rpm (1000x12) under no load.
Likewise a 3500kV motor will try to spin at 42,000rpm (3500x12)
under no load.
When a propeller is attached to the motor, the motor will try to spin
the prop at the rated kV. Depending on the diameter and pitch of the
propeller (the larger the diameter or higher the pitch, the harder it is
to spin), the motor’s current draw can be increased or decreased.
There are meters available from your hobby dealer that measure
current and voltage.
Because every motor has a maximum current it can take based on its
design and cooling ability, the maximum size of propeller that can be
used with each motor can be determined. If the propeller is too large,
the motor will spin at a much lower rpm than its rated kV, causing it
to draw a lot of current and overheat. If the propeller/fan is too small,
it will require little effort (current) to turn the prop at the rated kV.
42MM BRUSHLESS
OUTRUNNER MOTOR