What are the pros and cons?

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Manu Narayan

I have a few, hopefully other can kick in more.

Electric:

PROS
-Electric easier to maintain and repair & build
-Electric motors have MASSIVE off the line torque
-Electric's are pretty much plug, play & tune.
-Electric's have everything from the beginner stuff, to Electric motors that let you adjust timing to maximize power! http://discussanything.com/Ubb/smile.gif

CONS
-Recharging batteries (Most people run about 4-5 packs so they can use a car-charger to charge dead batteries and get a good solid 1-2hr run time in)
-Batteries are consumables, you will eventually have to buy new packs at $10-20 each.
-Not as realistic as a gas powered vehicle, usually not as fast as similarly equiped gas powered vehicle

Gas Powered (Nitro)

PROS
-Fast as lightning, Powerful
-Realistic charecteristics
-Unlimited tuning capabilities (Mufflers, Headers, Engine swaps, etc.)
-No recharging batteries, just refuel and go.

CONS
-Very difficult for begginers, tuning a 2-stroke carb can take a WHILE.
-Maintenence is extreme, 15-25mins of maintenence after each run!
-Engines dont last forever and need rebuilds/replacements
-Must keep a supply of fuel on hand
-Loud, and dirty. http://discussanything.com/Ubb/smile.gif

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"I just bought a Mac to help me design the next Cray." - Seymoure Cray (1925-1996) when was informed that Apple Inc. had recently bought a Cray supercomputer to help them design the next Mac.

"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein

"Black holes are where God divided by zero." - Steven Wright

"I have often regretted my speech, never my silence." - Xenocrates

Electrics also have two other big advantages... You can rig a switch to turn them on and off remotely. This can be a BIG advantage to R/C sailplanes. The idea is that if I find myself getting in trouble, or I loose a thermal, I can turn on the engine and recover. It basically allows me to fly as long as the radio/reciever batteries hold up.

The other one is RPM limitations. This is critical to anyone running a ducted fan... it's easier to get the RPMs up on an electric engine than it is on a gas one.

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Artist formerly known as Reindeer

We are living in the future, we should have a hybrid. best of both worlds... or worst of both worlds.