rcravincase

My Feedback: (3)

I have been looking at RTF electric planes for a few months now, and I haven't boughten one yet because the ones I liked were either too expensive, or needed some sort of equipment. I have found this plane: http://www.toytx.com/thawk3chrtf.html and I want to know if this would be good to get for a first timer. It includes a charger, 2 batteries (with a ni-mh option), spare wings and propellers, and is only $150. What do you guys think, should I get this or should I get something else? If I should get something else, what should I get?

BuzzBomber

My Feedback: (4)

I have recommended the T-hawk to a few people, they have all had good experiences with it so far. The Parkzone Slo-V is another option, as is the Hobbyzone aerobird, or the Hitec Sky Scooter Pro II. All of these area available with everything in one box. The Sky Scooter and the Slo-V will be the slowest of the four, this will give you more time to react, however, the aerobird and the T-hawk glide better and can handle more wind. I don't think any of these planes would be a bad choice. One thing you should be aware of--the sky scooter is the only aileron equipped plane listed; it's not necessarily harder to fly, but different.

homer23

Im in the same kind of situation and thinking about a slo-v but Im still not sure good luck shopping

rcravincase

My Feedback: (3)

the slo v seems interesting, but it only has a 12v dc charger. and since i'm only 14, i usually dont have permission to use my parents cars to charge a battery, so i would want something with an ac charger.

BuzzBomber

My Feedback: (4)

If you're electronically inclined, you can pick up a cigarettelighter outlet/power outlet from Radio Shack and solder alligator clips to the wire leads. Clip it to an old car battery or lawn tractor battery, and voila! instant 12 volt power source.

rcravincase

My Feedback: (3)

we already have something like that, but we dont have any spare batteries and the tractor would need to be running or else i'd kill the battery. i think it might be best to get something with an ac charger

homer23

yeah im 13 and thats probably why im not gonna get the slo-v because of the dc thing also you cant transfer the radio do another plane when I get another one

BuzzBomber

My Feedback: (4)

Here's the problem: Because of UL listing and other complications, almost all chargers that have an output capability of more than 12 volts are DC only. And trust me, that battery will last a lot longer than you would expect. But, take a look around and you may find a suitable charger.

Rat1

Do not worry about killing a car battery or tractor battery with the little battery charger the Slow V comes with. As far as transferring the radio gear that is a personal pref. I do not care if the gear is transferable or not for the price the SLow V sells for.

jworosylo

another thing to consider is the time needed to charge your batteries with an ac charger. These batteries pull very little amps from a battery and using a cigarette lighter or DC charger wold be the best option for the T-Hawk for two reasons. First, the AC charger takes roughly 4 hours to charge a battery, especially the NiMH batteries which are the better ones the Toytronics sells with the T-Hawk as a combo. With a DC charger, you can charge them in 40 min and it has peak protection which means you can over charge and damage the batteries. This translates into more flying time, however, if you do go this route, always give the battery a chance to cool off before charging it again , this will increase the lifespan of the battery. Second, a DC battery is portable. You can use a car, tractor, anything with a 12V battery attached and you will NOT run the battery down unless you plan to fly for an entire day. I bought the T-Hawk as my first plane and have since graduated to a Glow trainer and that T-Hawk made for a nice and smooth transition from 3 ch. to 4 ch. flying. Good luck!

aaronford

I purchased the T-hawk. It is amazingly tough and even tougher with a few well positioned pieces of tape. 30+ crashes in 60 plus flights and I am finally running out of parts. I am going to purchase a slow stick and convert the old thawk gear into it sometime next week. I have introduced 5 other people to R/C flight with this plane. It does require a large area to fly, but it is a blast to fly. Conversion to the Stick is gonna cost me a grand total of 41 bucks with shipping.

sprintdawg007

I too own the T-Hawk, she comes recommended and can take a beating. I've only had trouble with one of the landing gear wheels coming off...alot..but I've fixed that with some tools and ingenuity. My friend has this plane and even put a mini digi camera on it to do some aerial photography. RTF combo from readytoflyfun ships fast and is a great starter plane.

~A.C.

rcravincase

My Feedback: (3)

well, ithink i will get a t-hawk. there isnt any worries about an area to fly, my family owns 21 acres, most of which is clear of trees but has all weeds to soften any crashes. the neighbor also has open felds clear of trees, and the only trees are in clusters which are very visible.

sprintdawg007

Good luck with the T-hawk, let us know what you think of her.

~A.C.

SaMx

hey Homer23, love the avator. its good to see some other white ninja fans. i recomend white ninja to all people learning to fly, because it will make you laugh and forget about your crashes. I also recomend the slowstick instead of the slo-v. its an arf so you have to get a sepereate transmitter, reciever, servoes, and esc; but its cheaper(about $150), and you can put it in a new plane when your skills get better. i for one don't like rtfs for just that reason. so i reccomend you get a slowstick, and go to www.whiteninjacomics.com.

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

PREFLIGHT AND FIRST FLIGHT PROCEDURES FOR PARKFLYERS
by Ed Anderson
aeajr on the forums

Here are some quick tips and a "check sheet" for preparing your parkflyer for
launch. If you are a new pilot, you really need to heed the wind cautions.
If you are experienced, use your own judgment.

Here is how you prepare for your first flights. Skip a step and you open
yourself to problems.

Respect the wind - For new pilots, dead calm to 2 MPH is perfect. No more
than 5 MPH for
early/training flights or you will be fighting the wind, not flying the plane.
(guess how I know)

1) Make sure no one is on your channel BEFORE you turn on your radio. If
someone is flying on your channel and you turn on your radio, they will crash!
Check first!

2) Do a range check before the first launch of the day

3) Make sure that battery is fully charged just before the launch. Not 3 days
ago. Not last week. Last night or today!

4) Make sure all your surfaces are properly aligned and move properly before
you launch. Check the manual if the surfaces do not appear to be properly
aligned. Also make sure your wing is straight!

5) CHECK THE TRIMS! Check the trim slides on the left and below the stick(s).
Be sure you have not bumped one out of position. A bumped trim can cause the
plane to crash. (guess how I know).

6) Always launch and land into the wind

7) For hand launches - good firm throw level or only very slightly up. Never
throw the plane upward - Always use full throttle!

8) Let it fly out and gain speed. I would say a minimum of 50 feet, and 100
would be better. From a hand throw, it will drop a bit, that is OK. It
should start to climb
all on its own. If you use the elevator, only use a small amount.

The plane must get up to speed before applying strong elevator. Apply the
elevator
too soon and you will "stall" the wing, the nose will drop and you will crash.
(Yep!
been there, done that!)

IF THIS IS YOUR FIRST FIRST FLIGHT AND YOU ARE LEARNING ON YOUR OWN

If your field will allow it, launch, fly out 100 feet or so then come back to
about 1/4 throttle and let
the plane drift down for a landing straight ahead. Just before the plane
touches the ground, cut the motor.

Use the rudder to keep it straight. Avoid turns. Do this a few times till
you understand how the plane launches and lands. Then you can go for climbs
and turns.

I fly electrics and gliders. With my gliders, I ALWAYS do a test glide, with
a hand throw, straight out then glide to the ground before launching off the
hi-start or the
winch. This confirms that the plane is balanced and everything works right.
Good idea for
electrics as well using that straight out launch, under power, then land.
Saves much damage and embarrassment.

If the plane is properly trimmed, it should climb on its own at full throttle
and you should be able to control left and right with the rudder.

Use the elevator carefully! Unless you are going for a loop, use small
elevator inputs. Too much up elevator with the plane flying too slowly will
cause the nose to rise, the wing to stall and the nose to drop. Do this near
the ground and you crash.

Keep your control movement smooth and don't over do it. Turn before you need
to so you can give the plane time to react. This is called thinking ahead of
the plane. Plan you moves.

For three channel parkflyers that use rudder/elevator or two channels that
only have rudder, don't hold rudder commands for more than a couple of
seconds. On these planes, rudder commands will cause the plane to bank, or
tip over in the direction of the turn. If you hold the rudder too long, the
bank will continue to steepen to the point where the wing will lose lift and
you will go into a dive or spiral in for a crash.

Of course you read the whole manual several times and watched any videos that
might have come with the plane before you fly.

Clear Skies and Safe Flying!

gbrad64

an idea for charging with the cigarett lighter plug....
radioshack has a adapter that is a transformer plug..(its a box with the plug prongs sticking out of one side..and wire sticking out the bottom)
at the other end of the wire is a cigarett lighter socket..your plug can go right in it...
the adapter is made so you can plug any car apliance into it and use it in your house...
i think they run about $20.00
if your not sure about what i have described then take you charger into radioshack and show a sales person and tell them you want to use it in your house...they'll set you up

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

I use one of these to run my 12V chargers in the house. It also jump starts cars. Works well for both.

http://www.overstock.com/se/Coleman_...ith_Light.html

lwien

Gotta correct ya here SaMx........When you factor in the fact that the Slow-V, which sells anywhere from 125 to 140 dollars and comes with a dc peak charger, receiver and transmitter batteries, it's end up being about 100 dollars cheaper than the Slow Stick...............

One other thing regarding transferring equipment. From just about everything I've read in this and other forums, most experienced pilots who have graduated to more aerobatic planes STILL like to fly their Slow Sticks, so in fact, have left their equipment in the plane so that it is always ready to fly at a moments notice. Being that the Slow-V flies just as good as the Slow-Stick, if not better, and being that you can order parts for it seperatly just like the Slow Stick, and being that it's a whole bunch cheaper.........and.........being that you can add factory options like running lights, sonic modules for air combat and drop modules................and..............you don't have to build it........makes a pretty good argument for the purchase of a Slow-V....................

One thing that the Slow-Stick has going for it, is that it is totally customizable, and you can mix and match electrical components................like putting in a brushless and a different ESC, which you can't do with the Slow-V. This, imho, would be the only argument in favor of the SS.

So if you're into customizing and hopping up planes, the Slow Stick would be a better choice.
If you want a plane that is less expensive than an SS, flies just as well, seems to be more sturdy, and the props don't break on impact.................the SV would be the better choice.

Not slamming the SS here folks...............I just think that ParkZone did a great job in taking a great plane like the Slow Stick, and making it better for less money..........

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

Let's net this out. We have a young man here who is trying to get into RC flying inexpensively. We all want to help him.

The group seems positive on the Slo- V as a good first plane that is a real sweet value. We all like the Slow Stick but the Slo-V will get the job done for less. This would be a good recommendation.

One note on the Slo-V is that it CAN NOT BE FLOWN IN WIND OVER 3 MPH during training AND SHOULD BE USED ON ALMOST CALM CONDITIONS FOR THE FIRST 10 OR SO SUCCESSFUL FLIGHTS (did you get the idea this is a critical item?) Because it is a slow flyer it can be flown in smaller spaces. Once you get good with it you might be able to handle 5-6 mph breeze.

The T-Hawk is also a very good first plane. It comes with spare parts and RTF and is also a very good value. It is rugged and a very good flyer. Being that this is a faster plane than the Slo-V, it needs more space or you will be crashing into things. Once you get good with it you can fly it in smaller spaces, but to train you need more room. However it can take more wind once you know how to fly it. However it SHOULD BE USED ON ALMOST CALM CONDITIONS FOR THE FIRST 10 OR SO SUCCESSFUL FLIGHTS (did you get the idea this is a critical item?) But once you master this one you can fly in up to about 10+ MPH winds.

Charging Batteries:

Problem is you can't use parent's car to charge the battery, at least not right away.

T-Hawk comes with a house charger. Of course you could probably buy a house charger for the Slo-V from Radio Shack for $12 and add the right connector for $1 and just put the proper connector on it. ( I assume there is a radio shack or similar store somewhere near you.)

If you have to charge at home then you can only fly whatever battery you bring to the field. Total flying time per battery about 8-15 minutes most likely. Regardless of which plane you get, you will want a second battery eventually so you can fly one and charge one. I have 4 for my Aerobird.

Power Plug with clips - This would let you use the peak charger from the slo-V on the car without actually being inside car, if parents said OK.
http://www.radioshack.com/product.as...%5Fid=270-1527

Jump Pack - This would allow you to use the Slo-V 12V peak charger at the field or in your room. It costs about the same as 1.5 airpalne batteries but can be used over and over again to charge your plane battery at the field or in the house. I have one of these in my shop and use it to run my 12V chargers. I have also used it to jump start cars. Does both very well.
http://www.radioshack.com/product.as...%5Fid=270-4130

Charging at the field takes about 30 minutes before you can fly the plane again. A second battery for Slo-V is $20-$25. T-Hawk comes with second battery.

So let's net it out:

T-Hawk with radio and two batteries with house charger, about $150 + $15 shipping.
charge in the house - take two batteries to the field - Fly for 15-30 minutes - go home
Add a low cost 12V peak charger in the future $20 (Dad gets interested and will let you charge from car at field)

T-Hawk 150+15 now - add the peak later for $20 = $185 Charge in house or at field if car or car starter is present
Includes extra wing, extra tail and second battery.


Slo-V with radio, one battery and 12V charger $139 + $15 shipping.
Car or other 12V source to charge the battery - take battery to field and fly 8-15 minutes - go home

Slow V - $154 with some cooperation from mom and dad
One battery, no spare parts.


Add Car booster - $40 - Now you can recharge at the field for either plane without the car - an option for the future.


To me it looks like the T-Hawk works better for him IF HE HAS A LARGE ENOUGH SPACE TO FLY IT. $165 now and he can fly right away without help from parents. Includes spare parts and two batteries. Charge times are long.

Slow V works better if partents are supportive and if space is small. No spare parts and one battery. Charge times are short.


21 acres is a pretty big space. I would go with the T-Hawk and hood parents later.

sprintdawg007

I own the T-Hawk, I think I already made a recommendation on this thread but I would like to agree with aeajr-the Thawk does need a lot of space. The times I've crashed really hard are when I tried to fly in too small a space. I think I'm going to take off the landing gear, put some tape on the bottom and just practice belly landings and hand launches. I don't really have sufficient space with a "runway" big enough for my "beginner skills"..or lack there of . But, overall, this plane can take a beating, needs a big space, and only downside is long charge times.

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

I always fly my Aerobird without the gear and belly land it. Always hand launch because there is no runway.

KenD

My Feedback: (65)

[] Just a quick note about the Slo-V. I received one from a local Hobby Shop to assembly, fly and give a report to the shop owner. Opened the box, did an inventory, started charging the battery and began assembling. Completed the plane before the battery was charged. Connected the battery and made sure everything did what it was supposed to do. So far so good. It was late in the day so I took it outside and did some test launches by hand to check the wing position(CG). All is well, now for good weather to fly it. This did not happen for over a week. Then a beautiful Saturday, no rain, no wind and warm! Assembled the plane, did a quick charge on the batteries and out to the back yard (2 acres open space). Set the plane on the ground, did a range check and while walking back to the Slo-V, my trusty Springer brushed by the tail of the plane. I heard the pop of a servo gear. Sure enough the left servo output gear had stripped. Off to the Hobby Shop to buy a new servo ($10 in the manual), but none to be had. The shop owner called to order one for me, sorry they are back ordered. That was the first week of August! Still no servo!
I would have a hard time buying the Slo-V with this type of support.

lwien

Hmmmmmm

I've special ordered their 7 cell batt, 2 prop shafts and a fuse............got them within 24 hours.

Never ordered a servo though..............I wonder if the problem is with Parkzone or with the local distributor?

jworosylo

for the long charge times on the thawk, just buy the parkzone or hobbyzone dc quickcharger that is used for the aerobirds and such ... it takes 40 min to charge the NiMH batteries... much better if you want get out flying more.