Tibarraji

first of all i want to say hello to everyone.

i am having problems with two diffrent planes purchased from nitro planes. ill start with the newer one first... the FA-18c. i purchased the ARF Exceed RC F-18C Blue Angel with everything except the Tx and Rx. the plane went together very smoothly.. no problems there. ild like to say that it is a gorgeous plane. im hoping that it flies as well as it looks. my problem there is that there were only instructions for assembly... but none for anything else. i used spektrum TX/RX and all the various wires are labeled by number. i didnt realize this until after i put the plane together. so if someone could point me in the right direction to find out which labled connector is for what servo or function... ild be very greatful. the sooner the better as i would love nothing more than to fly it this weekend as im in the army down here on Ft Bliss.. and its gonna be a 4 day weekend for us with no one around.. so i can most likely fly it here on base with no fears. the order number for that plane was

order yhst-17210<wbr></wbr>252890263-<wbr></wbr>80899

now on to the other plan and the bigger problems. i also purchased a Guanli A-10 thunderbolt. Order Number: yhst-17210252890263-79458. the plane didnt look quite as nice as the FA-18, but was still nice looking regardless. part of the reason that i got that plane was sentimental. i had some A-10s save my ass over in Iraq when my truck got blown up. thanks to the 2 A-10s that flew over... i got away with a really messed up knee and an upcoming medical disability discharge. but thats a diffrent story... the point is that i really want to get this plane flying. there are two problems though... the first and by far more minor of the two... after i got it all put together and got the battery all charged up.. i took it out to start my distance checks.. and get all the flaps and stuff aligned properly. while doing that i was also testing out the front steerable gear to make sure that was centered up properly. while i was turning it around to taxi it back to me across the parking lot... it hit a crack in the pavement and snapped the front metal post for the front wheel.

the second, and by far the biggest problem... the engines dont seem to put out enough power to get the plane off the ground. dont get me wrong.. it looks pretty cool as i taxi it around the parking lot.. and is alot more stable in the ground turns than some of my other planes, including my scratch built OV-10 thats about the same size. but its a plane, not a car. ild really like to get this thing flying. when i bought the plane i wanted it so bad that i paid for the overnight shipping.. only to get it here and find out there is not enough power for it to fly. i wasnt really expecting to do major acrobatics with it, considering the price... but at least getting it in to the air would be nice. this is also a big part of the reasons for my getting the FA-18. if i have to put more money into it i can... but ild really rather not as im trying to save as much money for when i get out since i wont be able to work for a few years and i will be living off of what i am able to save. any help you guys can give me for this plane specifically would be very helpful because, as i said, this type of plane has ALOT of sentimental meaning for me.

thanks in advance for any help you guys can give me with these two planes
-Coleman

opjose

Re: FA 18/C

Disconnect all the leads for your receiver.

Connect lead 1 back in to the throttle channel of your receiver.

Power up the TX and the plane and verify that the throttle works. ( If not you do not have the correct lead connected, try another until the throttle works ).

Then leave the throttle plugged in and try the next lead. See what responds when you move the sticks ( other than the throttle ) and move it accordingly.

Re: A-10

The NiCD/NiMH batteries need "conditioning" charges before you first fly them.

Fully discharge the battery by running the plane at about 80% until the motor cuts out.

Let the battery cool, then charge it again.

Repeat 3-4 times and the battery will come up to full power.


You may be able to order the front gear as a part, but at worst you may be able to fix it by obtaining standard hobby brass tubing.

Get something with a diameter sufficient to go over the broken part, and use epoxy to glue things back together.

Tibarraji

ok... so i got the f-18 all set up.. all the servos going to where they need to go.. etc.  went out got all the flaps lined up as best i could pre-flight.. everything looked great.  took it out to the parking lot to do a few touch-n-go's.. first run did great... brought it back turned it around for another take off... 75% throttle... elevator... air born... turn to the left... and the left wing ripped off in flight.  i was kind of afraid of that as the glue that came with it was pretty cheap.. and half of it had leeked out in the packaging. i managed to give it a somewhat graceful landing but when it landed it ripped the horn off of the left elevator... *sigh*  so im gonna crack out the clear gorrila glue and let it set up overnight and hopefully try again tomorrow.

as for the a-10... i followed your instructions.. actually i did it 5 or 6 times last night. dont remember the exact number.  it seemed to indeed give it more power, but still not enough for an actual take-off.  the most it will do is lift the front wheels off the ground and than drag the rear end on the ground.  i have to say i am pretty dis-appointed so far.  for a product claiming RTF... its far from it.  after this attempt, i did some online research and found out that this is pretty common with this plane.  to actually get the plane to do what is advertised on nitroplanes.com i am going to have to put between $100 and $150 in new motors, ESCs, and battery.  had i known this before hand i most DEFINATLY would not have spent an extra $70 in overnight shipping.  i could have put that money towards getting the required upgrades just to get the thing off the ground.  i have a stronger battery, but to be honest i am a bit hesitant to try it as i have had bad luck with brushed motors and upgrading batteries.  if you have any suggestions to rectify this i'ld be very greatful as i'll i am really able to do is go to my doctors appointments here and fly my planes... or at least try to in this case.

chopper man

Sorry to hear about your problems. I would like to thank you for your sevice to this country. Good luck to you and I hope you get your planes flying.

chopper