Electronics You Need To Get Started

Here's pretty much the electronics you'll need to put together your first plane (not counting transmitter/receiver).

Clockwise from upper left:  LiPo battery charger, brushless motor, servos, electronic speed controller (ESC), battery voltage checker, LiPo battery.  In the center are bullet connectors (note the bare wires on the motor) and props.






Here's some notes on how much these things cost, cribbed from an email I sent to MarkV over at the Brain Wagon:

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here's the build list, which I tried to make as complete as possible.  let me know if I left anything off!

everything's from hobbyking.com except for carbon fiber, epp foam, and glue which are from rcfoam.com.  all the numbers are what I paid including shipping.  all the zero items are things i've got excess sitting around from buying bulk quantities.

traditional glue is hot glue, but i like the foamtac coz it's a bit lighter and (imho) more resiliant.  try gluing a couple of pieces of scrap foam together and if it doesn't give you zen tranquility then use hot glue, keeping it as light as possible.

the epp was more expensive than i remembered... it was about $60 for 6 sheets, not 10 as was my recollection.  I'll stop everything off in the morning and we can check out the tx/rx if you've got batteries...


power system

$10.24    1500 kvm, 24 gram "blue wonder" motor
 $1.25    8x4 props (2)
 $8.58    18A ESC
 $0.00    theraband prop saver bands
 $0.19    JST pigtail, ESC side
 $0.72    2mm bullet plugs, male (3) (motor side)
 $0.72    2mm bullet plugs, female (3) (ESC side)
 $0.00    2.5mm heat shrink tubing

body

 $4.00    carbon fiber 3mm
$11.60    9mm 1.9# EPP foam, big sheet
 $0.00    blue velcro

control surface

$0.00    skewers (2)
$1.03    1.5mm pushrod snap connectors (2)
$6.46    9g servos (2)
$0.00    paper clips (2)
$0.29    control horns (2)

misc

$5.50    beacon foamtac glue
$1.19    transmitter strap

batteries

$13.73    2S/3S balance charger
$14.40    3S 500 mAh LiPo batteries (2)

Tx/Rx

tools
    hot glue gun w/ low temp setting (good one here)
    razor blade cutter with lots of sharp blades
    reaming tool or drill if you're careful (for enlarging servo holes)
    jewelry pliers (for pushrod)
    soldering stuff