Since the last ESC caught fire because it couldn’t handle the current we were drawing, we upgraded to an 80amp version. The ESC is a small circuit which controls power from the battery to the motor and also the servos and receiver. We found one at a hobby shop for $160 NZD and it seems to be working fine with our 3x cell lithium polymer battery. However we noticed that the throttle has become much more sensitive. Even the smallest touch seems like it pushes the propeller another few thousand rpm. We are a bit worried now that if we go full throttle, the draw on the battery could be too large and may cause it to explode. This can also happen if the voltage on the battery drops below 9V (fully charged is 12.6V). Hopefully our tests in the next couple of days will be successful!

We also found a better way to mount the internal electronics in the nose cone. The GPS and temperature sensor now sit on the top of the nose cone. It doesn’t look pretty but if the transmitter functions correctly and the electronics remain stable we can then adapt the autopilot system and move further towards Mark III.

If the weather is good, the next test flight will take place on Saturday the 6th of February at Ceramco Park in West Auckland. I will add more details closer to the time.

Tristan