Go Back  RCU Forums > RC Airplanes > Kit Building
Reload this Page >

Kit Suggestions for a Newbie Getting Back Into the Hobby

Notices
Kit Building If you're building a kit and have questions or want to discuss kit building post it here.

Kit Suggestions for a Newbie Getting Back Into the Hobby

Old 12-29-2023, 04:49 AM
  #1  
sigbuilder
Junior Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Jan 2023
Posts: 2
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default Kit Suggestions for a Newbie Getting Back Into the Hobby

It’s been close to 40 years since I built and flew my last RC plane. Going to retire next month and I have been thinking for a while of getting back into the hobby when I do. I have a Fox .15 Schneurle engine that I would like to use for my first new project but I’m not able to come up with any balsa kits that would be a good choice for that engine. Any suggestions/recommendations for a good balsa kit that would fly well with a .15 (and be good choice for someone that has been away from the hobby for the last four decades) would really be appreciated.
Old 12-31-2023, 11:30 AM
  #2  
LLRCFlyer
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2023
Location: Corryton, TN. Fly at Lucky Lane RC Club
Posts: 144
Likes: 0
Received 21 Likes on 19 Posts
Default

If you like to build and want something easy to fly on a .15 engine, I would suggest the Dynaflite Butterfly motor glider, a Top Flite Top Dawg, or if you would prefer a mildly aerobatic biplane, perhaps the Ace all-Star Biplane would suffice if you can find a kit. It is getting hard to find a balsa kit, but the plans for these and many others are available for free from Aerofred.com if you sign up for a free subscription. Balsa USA makes lots of great flying balsa kits, but nothing in the .15 glow sizes. Sig Manufacturing used to make great .15 size kits, as did Midwest, Carl Goldberg, Top Flite and others... all gone now. You may be able to find something by Great Planes (which bought up the rights to most of the designs by the aforementioned companeis.

If you have been out of the hobby for 40 years, you will find that a lot has changed. Glow fuel is now $25 to $30 per gallon. 27mhz radios are useless. 72 mhz radios are often give-away antiques. 2.4Ghz radios are the standard. All models weighing over 250 grams must have an FAA registration number and require a remote identification module if not flown from a club field having an approved FRIA (Federally Recognized Identification Area). 2-cycle glow engines are now antiques. Electric power has replaced almost all the glow engines .61 size or smaller. Larger glow engines are almost all 4-cycle. Two cycle engines larger than .90 are usually gasoline spark ignition engines. True balsa kits are hard to find. Almost Ready to Fly (ARF) airplanes are the norm. I am an exception in that I am old enough to remember building models 60years ago from scratch and still enjoy building balsa kits (found a Butterfly NIB kit at a FunFly swap meet for $20). I fly glow, electric and gas powered models ranging from 7 ounces to 20 pounds.

That said, if you want to get back into the hobby and get used to wiggling the sticks while you are building something else, I would suggest you seriously consider the Ready to Fly (RTF) tricycle gear AeroScout S2 1.1 meter foam trainer by HobbyZone (available through Horizon Hobby or Hobbytown). I am generally not a huge fan of ARF foam airplanes, but the AeroScout is an exception. Yes it looks funky with its tiny pusher propeller, but it actually flies extremely well from grass fields despite the tiny looking motor and prop. In fact, it can take off, immediately roll inverted and proceed to push up into a half outside loop to level flight with power to spare. It can fly every maneuver listed in the novice pattern schedule. It flies very well in windy conditions and is the best trainer/sport trainer I have seen in 50 years of RC flying. The RTF version can be purchased for $200 complete with a 7 channel entry level transmitter already paired to the Aeroscout's Spektrum receiver (the Spektrum DXs transmitter costs $114 by itself, but is just $20 more when purchased with the Aeroscout RTF version instead of the Bind and Fly (BNF) version. The system includes telemetry that indicates the battery status during flight. The receiver has AS3X (Active Stabilization, 3-Axis) gyro stabilization built into the receiver and it helps tremendously in mitigating wind gusts. Add a couple of 3S-2200 mah LiPo batteries and a LiPo charger and you are good to go for about $275 total.
The following users liked this post:
sigbuilder (12-31-2023)
Old 12-31-2023, 12:25 PM
  #3  
sigbuilder
Junior Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Jan 2023
Posts: 2
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default

Great information LLRCFlyer! Thank you! Think I will search for a Top Flite Top Dawg. I also plan to join a local RC flying club this coming spring So I will have help relearning how to fly it once I get it built.
Old 12-31-2023, 02:47 PM
  #4  
rustyrivet
My Feedback: (6)
 
rustyrivet's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Houston TX
Posts: 851
Received 3 Likes on 3 Posts
Default

You may want to consider trying electric unless it just doesn't appeal to you. I switched my entire fleet of glow powered planes from the standard 40 sized ARF PT-40 high wing trainer I had, and the kit built Sig Seniorita I did, to the 10lb 70" Hobbistar trainer ARF, and the big 11.5lb 94" Sr Telemaster (which I added an aluminum wing tube into), that I had built from the old 90's kit. Except for the telemaster I built for electric from the start, all had started life as reliable glow engine powered planes with OS engines. These planes now being electric no longer needed to be fuel proofed or built to withstand engine vibration. No fussy carb adjustments, or dragging an engine starter, jug of fuel, plugs, rags, and fuel pump with you to the field. I got rid of my big field work box which was on wheels and had contained adjustable brackets to hold my planes, and drawers full of tools. Now I carry the plane in my left hand, and in my right hand I carry an aluminum carry-case with my radio in it. The foam in the carry case has cutouts that hold a 12" x 3" x 3" cardboard box with a few simple tools in it like a screw driver, pliers, Allen keys, etc, mostly to remove a spinner and change a broken 10" to 16" prop on any of my 7 or so planes. The only gadget I need to carry with me in the field is a tiny battery tester ( about the length of two matchbooks) which costs $9 shippped on Ebay to indicate how much charge is left in each cell of my lipo battery pack. That instrument and a hand held wind meter fits in my aluminum carry case too. I can take along spare lipo batteries and a small charger with me, and leave it in my car if I need them for a full day at the field. I can charge my lipo packs off of the car battery. It's all very clean and portable. But like anything else, it can all be overwhelming at first to familiarize yourself with it all, and so consult with guys at your club. But looking back at it all, my 40 to 46 sized trainers that I converted have weighed anywhere from 5 to 6.5 lbs and have been calm and stable sized planes you'd enjoy to get back into the hobby with. Many planes made just for electric in that wingspan are lighter than that too and could be real Sunday floaters! This size plane's electronic speed control (esc), motor, and lipo battery are not very expensive, and is a good start for you. Eventually you might become confident enough in electric so that you may desire to power just about any sized plane that you had previously known to fly with gas or 4 stroke glow. For example, I am currently in the process of converting a 21lb Astro-Hog that was powered by a 2.1 Moki 50cc sized engine! Welcome back!

Last edited by rustyrivet; 12-31-2023 at 03:04 PM.
The following users liked this post:
sigbuilder (12-31-2023)
Old 12-31-2023, 04:47 PM
  #5  
LLRCFlyer
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2023
Location: Corryton, TN. Fly at Lucky Lane RC Club
Posts: 144
Likes: 0
Received 21 Likes on 19 Posts
Default

Hi Sigbuilder, A Top Dawg kit may be hard to find, but may be available on Ebay. Scratch building may be an option. The original Ken Willard plans were published in RCM magazine and were intended for scratch building. It was a fairly simple build. See attached plans and article. The Top Dawg was successful when Quarter Midget pylon racing first started up, but was quickly surpassed by much faster models. The Top Dawg Quarter Midget racers usually had the dihedral decreased to 0 to 1 degrees, ailerons were added and the wing thinned to the minimum 1" thickness allowed by the Quarter Midget rules. A hot Super Tigre .15 topped it all off. The Top Dawg can easily be converted to electric power. A possible power option would be the Suppo 2814/6 motor from Altitude Hobbies. Notice it produces nearly 0.6 hp and only weighs about 4 ounces. A 40 amp Electronic Speed Controller (ESC) will weigh about 44 grams and a 3S-2200 mah Lithium Polymer battery will weigh about 160 grams for a total power package weight of about 11 ounces. The Fox .15 BBRC Schneurle weighs 7.2 ounces with the muffler. Add 4 ounces for a fuel tank and fuel and the glow and electric power package weights become quite similar. According to Peter Chinn's engine test review, the Fox .15 BBRC engine peaked at .37hp @21,000 rpm without the muffler on 25% nitro fuel. At practical rpm with a muffler, the electric motor is twice as powerful, starts instantly, does not flame out at idle and does not slobber oil all over your model. Typical electric motor specs follow:

Suppo 2814/6 (35-36) 1400kv Specifications:
● Number of Cells: 2-3s lipo; 7-10 cell NiMh● Max Current: 40A/60seconds
● Max Efficiency: 80%
● Shaft Size: 4.0mm
● Poles: 14
● Max Watts: 445W
● Weight: 100g
● Motor Dimensions: 35x36 (mm)
● Motor bolt pattern (back of motor): 19mm x 19mm (hole to hole)
● X-mount hole pattern: adjustable 42mm x 42mm up to 50mm x 50mm
● Minimum recommended ESC: 40A*
● Recommended Model Weight: 1000-1900g (36-68 oz.)
Attached Files
File Type: pdf
top_dawg_plan.pdf (314.0 KB, 26 views)
File Type: pdf
Top_Dawg_Article.pdf (230.3 KB, 30 views)
The following users liked this post:
sigbuilder (12-31-2023)

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.