I'm unlikely to be able to help make many suggestions directly but I can add info that may help you make some decisions from. I flew 3D/Sport planes and a couple of warbirds with wingspans in the 40"-51" range. I stayed away from larger planes due to transportation limits... that and I didn't like having to completely break down and put together the plane each time I went to the field.
First I'll cover a bit on the ESC you have... The Phoenix lite versions are the same as their bigger ( non-lite ) versions only they don't have as large of a heat sink on them. This has it's pro's and con's... they are lighter being a big pro... but they need to have more airflow over them so they don't overheat. While it was way overkill, I used one in my 51" AJ Slick ( by 3D Hobby Shop ) and never had a bit of trouble with it. I used it with a Hacker motor and was really happy with the combination.
You want to make certain that you place it in a location that get's plenty of air flow over it. As long as you do that and also keep your amps down lower than the rated amount for the ESC ( 100a ) you should be fine.
Heli's have motors and as such... you should already be a little familiar with watts and kV... Watts is the amount of power a motor can produce. kV is how fast the motor spins with no load in 1000's ( the k part ) per volt. What a lot of motors often don't list is what max amps they are rated for which does make it tougher since it's the amps that could result in a burning out a motor if the max is exceeded too much or for too long.
Where airplanes and helis separate more is in their C.G setup.... on a heli you usually only have to concern yourself with where the battery is located and how much it weighs because the motor is usually set at or close the heli's C.G. With an airplane.... their motor's weight also affect the planes C.G. a lot when it's stuck out on the nose of the plane. In short, you can't willy nilly just pick a bigger motor without also considering the impact it will have on the C.G. of the plane.
Eflite Power series motors are good motors in general but they are heavy for their size. So if you do go with a motor that provides more torq and it's a high quality brand, it may end up weighing about the same as the Eflight Power 60. You will have a lot of trouble keeping the C.G. in check if you move up to their 90 series. So be very careful picking a motor different than the one that is recommended for your plane.
I'm also not so certain I'd consider going with Scorpion. They are great motors but they are focused on more high performance and run really hot compared to their competition. I'm not against flying outside of the "scale" speeds, in fact I prefer it... but a Cub isn't a fast flyer at the same time and I don't think I'd try to hot rod it.
I strongly suspect ( and am almost certain ) that Hanger ( E-Flight ) took into consideration that many flyers will also add floats, they even have them as available options. So I wouldn't concern yourself with going with too much of a stronger motor just for that reason alone UNLESS you've seen comments and reviews suggesting otherwise.
Hey guys I’m kind of new to this forum but I found a couple helpful videos on YouTube . I’m mostly a Heli guy but I built my first hanger 9 carbon cub and I’m planning on flying it on floats most of the time. It calls for an eflite power 60 but I think I want something more powerful for the water takeoffs. I’m trying to understand KV and watts but it’s kind of tricky. my question is should I get the power 90 or find a scorpion motor that’s comparable or a Bigfoot?Does anyone out there have the hanger 9? I also just bought a brand new Phoenix edge lite 100 for this plane. Any experienced crazy plane guys with good suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks YoungBuck
Is that a Citabria or a Decathlon?