Conversion of the Aeroworks Extra 260 to Electric Power – P1

Whilst still in the midst of converting the Telemaster to electric power… a project that is awaiting a covering job which in turn has gotten in line behind a covering job for a friends airplane… I picked up an extra speed controller and a similar but slightly more powerful electric motor for the AW 260.  Contemplating this new project, it suddenly hit me that the conversion of the AW 260 is going to be quite a bit simpler than the Telemaster.  This is mostly due to the fact that the 260 is in “like new” condition and was designed by Aeroworks with the option for electric power from the beginning.  Here’s a stock photo from the AW website:

.60 - .90 Extra 260 ARF QB

I still have the original pieces needed to do the small amount of conversion needed (some air guides/scoops… etc…) but need a motor mount so I’ve ordered the original conversion box from AW.  The ordering process was great… free shipping… nice.  Then I got to the part where they charge $6 for handling… Of course I went ahead and ordered and just added an “explanatory note” to explain what I thought of advertising free shipping and then charging handling instead.  I still wanted the thing and the price even with handling is not ridiculous, I could just wish for a bit more honesty in advertising… probably an oxymoron but I refuse to lose ALL hope!

Update!!!  The worst part, now a couple weeks later, is it turned out that the conversion box from AW was to long to accommodate the motor (EFlight Power 60) anyway so it is pretty much useless to me… Live and learn.

In any case, I have already stripped the motor, tank, throttle servo, etc… and am just awaiting the motor box to arrive before I dig in to what I hope will be a fairly quick and simple conversion.  One of my final bits of homework is to try to determine what size battery will be needed to keep this bird airborne for a reasonable (8 minutes or more I hope) period of time.  I’m hoping I can use one of the pack sizes I’ve already acquired for use in the Telemaster or Carbon Z Cub.  If not, I’ll be in Toledo for the big Weak Signals 2015 where I plan on picking up a new charger and a few more 6S LiPos, including some for this project.  I’ll update with weight comparisons and details of the project as it progresses and hope to be able to post flight test details soon!

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