What Meter??? said Bubba lol I did finally got one a couple years back and I almost use it as much as I should! Have a Blessed weekend Adam

@@dutchloveRC You too Joel!

Thanks!

Thanks for watching!

Yes sir...agreed!

Man that is great to hear! We really work hard on these, and we so appreciate you letting us know you dig the content! You are right...most modelers coming up today are products of the AS3X, SAFE, SMART way of doing things. All that tech is great to a point, but there is SO much they don't learn. Not knocking them...just trying to inform them. The more tools in your box and knowledge between your ears the more fun and success you have in the hobby...no matter what you fly. It amazes some of the guys I help when they find out I can make their BNF plane fly better than the manual can...

Thank you for watching Robert! Lol...find it man...they are fun to play with...and useful!

Thank you for watching Andy! I'm glad it was helpful. You'll enjoy playing around with your watt meter...so many things you can do with it.

Thanks buddy...it will be very useful, and they are fun to play with!

Lol...I bet that was interesting! You don't see one catch on fire every day...

Thanks very much Tim! Glad it was helpful.

@@ModelAV8RChannel I went out in the field today and took the multimeter with me . Did some testing and flying and had some fun . It's been 16 years sense I took these planes out of the attic. Getting them ready to teach my grandkids to fly .

@@think2cre81 Outstanding! I'm glad you had fun and what an awesome thing to do for your grandkids. We need all the young folks in this hobby we can get. Get them off those cell phones and tablets and outside doing something. I like it!

@@ModelAV8RChannel my thoughts exactly sir . Great minds think alike lol 😆 .

Lol...Yes they do!

Thanks very much! Glad it was helpful.

Thanks Doug! Hopefully it will help some folks!

Thank you Michael! We really appreciate your support of our channel. Very glad it was helpful!

That is awesome! Really glad it was helpful. Love watching Trent, and that Carbon Cub was inspired by Cory Robin and all the Flying Cowboys...we will have an episode on it this year...hopefully sooner than later! The WX is getting us right now.

Cliff you have to be careful going too far outside the amp range for an ESC. ESC's actually are working harder...and getting hotter at lower throttle ranges. It is about how much the FET's in the ESC have to restrict current to give you a certain lower throttle amount. Even though the throttle curve is low...the FET's are having to restrict twice the current they are rated to as you started with 26amps. When I went from a 10 x 8 to a 12 x6 I was still in the recommended range for the motor, and my reading at full throttle with no curve was only north of the ESC's rating by about 3 amps. Going to a prop outside the recommended range is fine to a point, but you have to think of the amps you are starting with at full throttle with no curve...that is how many amps/current the FET's in the ESC are being forced to restrict down to your desired level. There is some fudge factor...that ESC can handle more than 12 at the start for sure, but I don't know about 26. That's a lot over. You might want to prop it down more especially considering the limited cooling...or get a 20 to 25 amp ESC.

@@ModelAV8RChannel Yes, a bigger esc would be a better choice I guess, thanks for the info, cheers.

@@CliffHarveyRCPlanes Sorry Cliff I guess I could have went into that more in detail in the video, but I figured if I covered ESC's it would be an hour long. A throttle curve can keep you from over amping it on the high end, but oddly enough it can't save the FET's in the mid range if the starting amps were too high.

Thank you Jack! Glad this was helpful buddy...watt meters are invaluable once you get used to working with them.

Thanks man! Nah...if you can do the FPV stuff a watt meter is a walk in the park...

Thanks Lee, and that is outstanding! You will love having it...such a useful tool for your shop!

Thanks so much Chris! Just want to get more modelers doing some testing for themselves...its actually fun!

Glad it was helpful!

Thank you brother! We really appreciate it man! Yes sir...I DO have wig wags on my Carbon Cub! Episode on that coming soon if the wx will cooperate! Lol!

Thanks buddy! Yep...got to have one.

Thanks Jake! Man...that is too cool. Great little plane. You will enjoy it!

@Model AV8R 👍iv also been working on building a 3d printed plane, and I'm about at the point where I need to find a motor. I was kinda lost trying to decide what it needs but I feel much more confident after learning all these tips and tricks. Thanks! Keep em coming!

That is great Jake! So glad we can help! I look forward to hearing...er...reading how your projects come out! Happy flying my friend!

Thank you Ian! Great tool to have, and with all the birds in your hangar...you'll be playing with it for a month! Awesome!

Awesome D Rail! Lets go...

Thank you Jesse! Awesome tool to have in your shop. Opens a lot of options!

Thank you Jeff! They are handy...

Thanks Cliff! Pay attention to the DR1! You can watch later! Lol.

Man anything is better than Deans...lol. Airscrew science is an interesting subject for sure...seems like you have a good grasp on it. We touched on it briefly and suggested its a good thing to study by design. We did this for modelers that either don't know what a watt meter is or know but didn't really know all the things you can accomplish with one. We knew we were throwing a ton of info at them as it is. D:P ratios and such could be another whole video...we just wanted to get people on board with getting a watt meter and learning to use it. Actually flew the finished (finally) Albatros project today...flew awesome and is powered perfectly with the new scale prop. We will have an episode on it soon. Thanks for watching!

Thanks so much Joe! Try the GT Power watt meter from Motion RC. Highly rated. You can find electronic calibration services in your area, and you can also get two and occasionally check them against each other.

Yes. You connect the meter between the battery and the esc...the side of the series connector that has the positive wire coming off the esc. That will give you the total amps / watts.

Lee you're going about it the right way in my opinion. Getting an experienced modeler (a great pilot too) to set your stuff up is the way to go at first. Set up is half about making the plane capable of what you want, and half about making that feel good to you. You have to develop a certain amount of proficiency...skills that you can repeat correctly every time. At that point you can begin to think about how it feels to you...thats to sensitive or not sensitive enough. How will adjusting throw affect what you want...how much expo is correct for that amount of throw. Since feel is such a big part of set up...it is a personal thing. What would be a perfect set up for me may or may not be ideal for you. I have to really remember I fly a lot of sensitive, very aerobatic planes, and as a result flying smooth comes natural for me. So when I'm setting up a plane for a pilot with much less skill than I have if I don't keep that in mind I'll hand him a plane that feels great to me, but is way too responsive for him. I also don't use rates typically. I set the plane up to fly the way I want with full deflection and enough expo to settle down the sensitivity somewhat. It has never made sense to me as an experienced pilot to change the way the plane flies mid flight. Changing deflections with a switch changes the way the plane flies. Why fly an entire flight on high rates, and then change the characteristics you've just got used to for the whole flight when its time to land it? Rates are fine at first when you're learning to get used to different sensitivities, but once you're experienced and proficient it just doesn't make sense to me to change the planes characteristics mid flight. That said lots of experienced pilots use rates. Another personal choice. Best thing is get an experienced pilot to set yours up enough to fly decently well, and practice a lot. Practice smart too. Don't get to where you can occasionally do something well and move to the next thing. Master that one thing...then move to the next. You'll develop the feel you need to set up your own plane much faster that way.

Thanks so much Adam great advice

On most Watt meters there is a scrolling reading that changes after you finish a test. It will scroll between the highest reading on volts, watts, and amps as long as it is still plugged up to the battery. On mine that is the bottom left reading. We cover the display at 3:05 in the video.

Hey Rob. Unfortunately there isn't. There are too many variables. The prop diameter, pitch, and air density will all have an affect on the results. With a propeller driven plane you can count on the reading going down several amps at least. With some EDF's however, due to inlet and thrust tube variables the reading can go up in amps versus a bench test. That is what happened to RC Geek with that beautiful B-58 unfortunately. When you're close to the ratings of the ESC and Motor, you can count on enough unload (with a Prop driven plane) to give you a safe margin in most cases. The only exception may be if you are in very hot, humid weather and the ESC doesn't have adequate cooling. This is why I'm really starting to embrace the whole Spektrum/Avian ESC/SMART Telemetry stuff. You can see the ESC FET temperature and amps, or set up a switch to give you a audible reading when you want...and you can do it on the fly. I dig that...a lot. No more guess work, and that is why I've learned enough to tell you with a prop plane you're probably good. That is consistently what I see when I use the telemetry this way. It's also useful to place your ESC on a build. If there isn't enough cooling you'll know, and you can either move it, adjust or add cooling flow, or both.

@@ModelAV8RChannel I'm pretty careful when it comes to prop/motor/esc selection and the power meter does give a good indication of what is going on along with watching temps during/after flight time. Good call on using telemetry temp alerts, that was one I hadn't thought of! Thanks again!

Yes. You connect the meter between the battery and the esc...the side of the series connector that has the positive wire coming off the esc. That will give you the total amps / watts.

Thanks Lionel! We can absolutely do that in the future. That is a great idea. Thanks for watching!