B-17 Guy

I bought a model B-17, apparently one of the easier to fly. It's electric with on moving parts being the 4 engines. I have no clue about how to operate it, how fast, how to land etc. I could really use some help. I haven't flown it yet.

thefitz1

The B-17 is not an easy plane to fly, I have had this type of electric they are only controlled by motor speed. There are no control surfaces , so it takes a lot of room or park area to fly. Face in to the wind So to take off you or someone else needs to hand launch to model with full power. The more power you give the plane will climb and the less it will fall. To turn left ,you push the control to the left and motors on the right side speed up more then the left , making the plane to turn to the left. for example.
To land you have to face the plane in to the wind and slowly reduce power to its close to the ground .
The plane flys slow . Just pick a day with no wind at all to start.
Cheers and good luck !!




th

flyinwalenda

My Feedback: (5)

This is a "toy grade" rc plane and not good to learn on to get into the hobby. It is underpowered and gives you no training on how to actually fly a plane. It's best suited for a child. If you want to get into the hobby then buy a trainer plane with a least three channels (engine,elevator, and rudder) control. Something from a reputable manufacturer and dealer like Horizon Hobby.
Fly this if you want but when it breaks you will be hard pressed to find parts to repair it.
Good Luck.

B-17 Guy

It is more of a toy than a full out model, It's reasonably tough. Is going 3 inches above the ground then cutting the power a good way to land?

Charlie P.

If the only pitch/altitude control is throttle you'll have to cut the power at whatever height you have been flying it to land.

I had a Fighterbird that had no elevator - just "rudder" with the V-tail and attitude was with throttle. Took more room and was harder to land or control than ANY of my intermediate sport or 3-D models. Almost impossible to control. Very frustrating.

Tank-119

that's a rc toy rather than fully rc model

jester_s1

These models really annoy me. The manufacturers know that they fly badly and that most people who buy them will never complete a single flight with them. It's not that much more expensive to build something with 3 channel control and give the end user a fighting chance at having a good experience.

Charlie P.

"Fighting chance" is a good observation. You wonder how many folks just give up in despair figuring the little inexpensive ones are so hard to fly that the bigger more costly ones must be more so. But bigger is easier to see, usually a lot smoother and the controls are effective; and .40 or .60 size trainers or the equivalent electric motor sized are designed to be somewhat self-correcting and have positive stability in level flight designed in. Even better is having someone who knows make that initial trim flight so that it is set-up properly, balanced and isn't fighting the pilot to keep it in control.

Sure, when you dumb-thumb a bigger model it does hurt your wallet more. But if you're flying with a trainer/mentor for the first flights it's usually when you try to stretch and grow and get cocky that the fatal crash occurs.

And yes - you can teach yourself to fly and may have. Many more have not.

jester_s1

Yes, crashes cost more with bigger planes. But guys who fly big planes may crash annually, where guys who fly junky toy grade planes crash weekly.

kevink47

start with an Apprentice S,can't go wrong

jester_s1

Reading my comments again, I want you to know B-17 guy I meant nothing negative towards you. A new guy hasn't yet learned the difference between a good flying plane and a bad one. We'll help you however we can, but just don't expect to ever have really good results with this toy grade model that you have. It's amazing the difference you'll see in a quality built 3 channel plane versus the kind that use motor thrust to control everything.

B-17 Guy

Ok I just wanted a toy, I was hoping foir more help as in how to do a turn

flyinwalenda

My Feedback: (5)

I would have someone hand launch it for you unless you have a long paved area for it to roll on,
The motors are probably positioned so that more power makes the plane climb and lower power will of course make it fall.
Turning to the right or left will result in that wings motors slowing down so the plane turns in that direction. As the plane turns it will also drop in altitude so you will have to straighten out quickly and power up again.

jester_s1

If you can't get this to work, get yourself a Hobby Zone Super Cub. It's still simple enough to be a toy, but it flies well. Just don't try to fly it on a windy day. The same goes for your B17. It will need to be pretty calm for that differential thrust to work, and don't fly near any trees.

Charlie P.

You haven't given us any details about the make or design of this model or the controller it uses. It's hard to help without knowing what you've got.

Sounds like it steers by varying the motors. That's going to be slow to respond. And as it controls pitch/altitude with thrust it will also have more than just turning effect. You may find one direction works better for turning than the other.

flyinwalenda

My Feedback: (5)

This is probably it or similar:
http://www.alibaba.com/product-detai...590882361.html

Charlie P.

Hmmmm. I see one problem already.

"Maximum control distance: 100 meters"
"Maximum flying height: 200 meters"

Bye, bye birdie.

jester_s1

These planes aren't designed to actually fly. They are designed to look good in the store and get home then crash on the first attempt at flying. That way the company can deny a warranty claim saying that the customer didn't fly it right.

B-17 Guy

Yeah, that looks very similar.

Villa

Hi B-17 Guy
Some of the answers have got you frustrated. I have been flying since 1972 and I cannot advice you because I do not know the plane. It appears this model is completely different from anything most of us learned on or ever flew. The second post is from someone familiar with the model, and shows you how to make a turn. That method of turning is completely different from the methods used with most of our other models. Cutting the throttle while low to the ground appears like the safe way to land.

jaka

Hi!
If you are interested in starting to fly R/C airplanes you better get a model that is constructed to fly like a real airplane ,with moving flying surfaces.
Get a 4-6 chanel radio (Spekrum,JR,Futaba) and a high wing trainer , electric or glow , and join a club!

Charlie P.

That's the old Catch-22.

How do you know if you're going to like it?

So you get an inexpensive model to try.

And you don't like it.

. . . on the other hand . . .

You get the model that looks fantastic at the hobby shop.

And you make a $600 smoking hole in the ground.

And you don't like it.



The answer is to go meet up with someone who has flown before or go visit a club/model airfield. Start off with some good advice.

bikerbc

Well What you have is not a very good way to start out . In fact it is probably going to disappoint you too the point that you might just walk away from this wonderful hobby .. I think you should hang that plane up someplace where you can look at it and if you are interested in learning to fly get yourself a high wing trainer like a LT40 or an Apprentice etc. . unfortunately what you have is not really mean for a serious RC modeller . That is only my opinion and not meant to hurt your feelings . If you try to fly it there is a fair chance it might end up not even worth hanging up to look at anymore ..