RC beginner
 

Hi all,

Im a total beginner getting into RC, Im 30 yo computer programmer from
Greece. I like ARF electric airplanes.

I came up with this plan to gradually build a team of electric flyers, and Id
like you to give me some opinions, because my reasoning might be totally
absurd :

1. First I spend about $300 to get a 3-Ch radio, charger, etc etc, and a trainer aircraft.
I prefer Graupner trainers because they sell spare parts (spare wing, etc).
(I ll probably need some of those, I know ! :)
Anyway it doesnt matter exactly which model. $300 for a trainer.

2. Then I move on to get a Flying Wing and an elevon mixer. Im thinking about
GreatPlanes' Slinger ARF or GWS B-2. Including new batteries and mixer cost,
lets say this step costs $150 - $200.

3. When I feel experienced enough, I get a Kavan Jeti flying wing which goes
really fast, it is supposed to be a slow flyer too, but it seems a bit "wild" to me :)
Since I dont have to buy a mixer etc, this step also costs ~ $150, since Jeti is
more expensive than Slinger.

4. At that point I will be stuck with a 3-Ch radio, but this is very far in the future
to bother me now, so its ok.

So I basically have 2 questions :
A. Can flying wings perform decent aerobatics with 3-Ch radio + mixer ? Im not
afraid of the skills required because Im planning to gradually get there, as I
explained.
B. There will not be a problem using the same radio, mixers, servos, in
another model, right ? I know the engine (therefore probably the battery pack)
differs, but the servo, receiver and mixer can be the same in the Slinger and
the Kavan Jeti ?


Thank you all,

Dimitris

RE: RC beginner
 

Your plan sounds good - my only bit of advice would be to get a 4-5 channel transmitter - so that you are not limited further down the road when you feel the need for ailerons etc. and it shouldn't cost you very much more than 3-channels. (Buy a slightly cheaper trainer to make up the difference!). Most 4-5 channel transmitters come with built-in mixing/elevon capability and they will have dual rates (important when learning to fly with ailerons or elevons. We trust the Olympics venues are moving along! I have a cousin in Ionnina so we keep up with Greece here in the US and from 'home' in New Zealand.

Cheers, Phil

RE: RC beginner
 

FYI the hitec focus 3 am has built in mixing. With a flying wing that's 3 channels is usually all u need and can use cuz there's no rudder.

RE: RC beginner
 

Welcome to RCU!

You've certainly done your homework. Excellent plan.

I'm interested in what Graupner has for trainer planes. Do you know of any web pages I could look at?

One thing that you might discover when you get into this hobby is that you like to have multiple planes ready to fly. Yes, it's less expensive to move onboard gear from one plane to the next to the next, but being able to bring two or three planes along when you go flying is quite fun as well. To that end, you may want to consider upgrading to a 4 or 5-channel computer radio. The computer radio will allow you to store trim settings, servo reversing information, mixing, and advanced features like dual rates and exponential for multiple models. These memories can be loaded at any time, so switching from plane to plane is a quick and painless operation. You can achieve the same thing with a simple 3-channel "analog" radio, but you must be careful to manually adjust the pushrods on the airplanes so the trim tabs remain centered on the transmitter. You also need to carefully check switch settings on the transmitter to ensure servo reversing is correct.

A computer radio like a Hitec Flash 5X or Futaba 6EXA might cost a little bit more up front, but you'll be glad you went that route in the long run.

RE: RC beginner
 

Wow you have vision. You go for it. When starting out be careful not to grab the chicken before the egg. :)

I'm not ready to take the 4+ ch/hotliner route yet. Maybe soon.

I've put my summary of experience in other posts. I'll put here for you too.

Good Luck!

************************************************** *********

New flyers might find my brief Park Flyer history helpful.

My first plane was a Slow Stik. At the time, I didn't know what I was doing and kept stalling and breaking props. Things like center of gravity (COG) and other basic flying concepts weren't getting properly grasped. So I put the Stik aside and ran down to the local hobby store and bought a Firebird II. This is the plane I learned how to fly on. I paid the price; hung it up in trees and even had one go too far up and get blown away never to be seen again. The Firebird II has no elevator control and cannot do very tight turns. However, the Firebird II is inexpensive, crashworthy, and will give the new pilot very important "Stick time" in which to become familiar with turning the plane while flying towards and away from a given reference point.

Next I bought an Aerobird and it about killed me. One day it flies ok and the next day it crashes. The Aerobird always had something going wrong with it, servos, radio, tail boom, COG shift, etc. My Aerobird has been sold and is no longer in my hangar.

Next I bought a GWS Tiger Moth and this plane really built my 3 ch confidence back up after the Aerobird nearly killed it. The Moth is easy to fly and land on those breezeless evenings. After flying the Moth I went back to the Slow Stik and learned to fly it in all types of conditions.

I also now have a Graupner "Super" Terry that flies like a demon. The Terry cannot take rough landings so I would not call it a beginner's plane. The Terry also can fly very fast very quickly and can catch the novice off guard. The Terry is a great acrobatic sport plane that can get you into a little thermal riding. Also the Terry's tail feathers and wing are removable and can neatly pack up in the original box and travel with you.

A couple of months ago I bought the Sky scooter Pro II to practice landings to build up a confidence level with the Terry landings and try a plane with ailerons. The Scooter is a blast to fly and the upgrades purchased at Servo City make plane really perform. The scooter can easily do loops and rolls land hard and fast if needed. The Scooter would make a great beginners plane. You do need a large field, especially if you are a new R/C pilot.

If I did it all again I would have bought the Scooter instead of the Aerobird. The planes cost about the same but with the Scooter you get real R/C gear and a plane that flies and turns a heck of alot better. The Scooter has a high mount swept wing that is extremely stable even in 10+ MPH winds. High altitude and distant orientation is easy with the Scooter because it casts a triangular image and looks like the pointer of a PC mouse.

In conclusion, I could have learned to fly using the Scooter. Based on what I know now, the Sky Scooter would have been a better first plane choice for me going the self taught route.

Fair winds.....

RE: RC beginner
 

Hi again,

thank you all for valuable assistance,
indeed there are many radios with elevon mixing built in
the transmitter (Futaba and HiTec make such 3-ch radios, at
~ $100. Those also have a switch to [de]activate mixing).
Probably other manufacturers make too, those I found with
a quick Google search.

I understand that a 4-5 ch radio with settings' memory is far better,
and will seriously think about skipping the 3-ch phase.


Matt:

Good Graupner trainers are:
Mini Piper,
Tipsy
Fokker E.III (bigger + x2 more expensive, dont know if hand launch is
possible)
(found here : http://www.hobby-lobby.com/beginners-rc.htm)

Mini Piper loops in the video, I dont know if Tipsy can...

Graupner also makes the Funky Chicken :)
http://www.hobby-lobby.com/funky-chicken.htm
Im not sure its a trainer, but it has 2 axe control (rudder-elevator)
+ throttle.

Now the best of Graupner's trainers, in theory, seems to be Pepito,
it is 2-axe slow flyer with aerobatic capabilities, plus spare parts available.
You can see this at the Graupner site:

http://www.graupner.com/englisch/index.asp
(choose "electric R/C airplanes", then "2-axe prefabricated models")
Note that Graupner is German, so this site might not 100%
apply to U.S. exported models.



Phil nice to hear from you and that you keep in touch :))))
Thanx for the comments, I ll seriously think about a better
radio system.

Anyway, here's a joke about Olympic constructions :)

"A tourist arrives in Athens airport, he takes a cab.
A little later he asks the cab-driver :
"Wow whats that ?"
Cab driver: "This is Acropolis, it is a legacy from our ancestors,
we are all very proud of it, it was built 2500 years ago."
A little later, the tourist says: "Wow, whats that ?"
Cab driver: "This is the Concert Theatre, it has a modern sonic
design inside-out, we are all very proud of it, it was built 8 years ago."
After a while, the tourist sees a massive Olympic stadium, 1000s of flags
around it, huge floodlights, etc, and says:
"Wow, which stadium is this ?"
Cab driver: "I dont know, yesterday it wasnt here."


After your valuable comments, Im taking the trainer->flying wing,
with a 3 or 4-ch radio (this is yet to be decided).

Thanx a lot, also to red91 and sargent,

Dimitris
Greece

RE: RC beginner
 

I heard the Mini Piper was really good. I'm thinking about getting it myself, but from all the reviews etc. it looked good. Check the product guide on this site for some reviews and other stuff