ToddNorris

I am thinking of picking up a park flyer to make flying a little simpler at times. Not as far to travel to the field, not as much to prepare, less to go wrong, etc. I have been flying glow for years and can land and take off as well as do some aerobatics.

I am looking for some ideas for aileron park flyers that I can use in a small field or large backyard. I would like something I can fit my exisiting servos and radio in and get into without too much money. I don't need anything new to build.

What suggestions do you all have?

Jason Beach

My Feedback: (4)

I think you'll be hard pressed to find a parkflyer that'll fly well with standard gear. Though there are quite a few that will carry standard gear, they probably won't fly well with the extra weight.
Here are some good places for excellent parkflyers.

Hobby Lobby
Stevens Aero
Mountain Models
Todds Models

ToddNorris

Can I get smaller servos and still use my receiver and transmitter, or am I going to have to just buy an all new radio setup? What can I recycle from glow to park flyer?

Rick Lindsey

Your transmitter should work fine. You will likely want a smaller receiver, however. I suspect that there is alot of overlap in 1/2A gear and park flyers, but standard sized stuff is awfully heavy!

john 8750

The Slow Stick by GWS cost 35 bucks. It includes motor, prop, wheels, and all hardware. It has no ailerons but a lot of park flying fun, and uses standard size gear.

ToddNorris

Can you do rolls and loops or anything besides donuts with the slow stick? I have seen alot about it and I am not looking for screaming speed or knife edges, but I would probably lose interest doing just circles in the sky.

What options do I have for getting a smaller Rx and servos and using my radio transmitter. It looks like you can add a radio to many of the planes for about what the flight kits cost for planes like the slow stick. For $72 bucks I can add the Futaba Flight Pack to get the servos and such, but would I be better off just getting a RTF plane with the dedicated radio like the T-Hawk or Aero Challenger?

Thanks for anyone's insight.

Jason Beach

My Feedback: (4)

I think with your glow experience, you'll probably be disappointed in the T-hawk and Challenger. You may have fun with the SS though, it'll do just about anything that doesn't require ailerons. Loops, rudder rolls, and possibly some inverted (I've never tried on an SS).
There are several excellent Micro rx's that'll work with your tx, Hitec 555, Berg 4 or 5, FMA M5 or FS5, etc. You may be able to get away with your existing rx with some planes, but I think with most smaller electrics, you may have problems finding room for it.

evlwevl-RCU

There are so many park fliers to choose from but I think most if not all will fly best with mini or micro grear. A few that I've been impressed with are the:

Mountain Models Dandy Sport, or any of the Mountain Model planes

Wattage Crazy Max which also has a new model out called the Mad Max. This one comes with the motor and gearbox and is very affordable

and a home built 3D model powered by a GWS 350 motor and a 12" prop similer to the Ikarus planes.

If you want endless acrobatic possibilities, and a model that flys well at a snails pace to midly fast, you may want to check out some of the new profile models but they will also require micro gear. I've seen these types in flight with and without brushless motors and they do very well in a confined area even with a little wind.
http://www.ikarus-modellbau.de/Ikaru...neuheiten.html

I dont know of any park flyers that will be able to handle full sized gear because weight and space will be your biggest enemies. The slow stick is a very nice flyer but it will bore you if your looking for more then just floating around the sky.

john 8750

If you want to do more than just float around in the sky then you should not be flying in a public park.
Please, dont ruin this.

ToddNorris

What do you mean by ruin this? Where I live, there are many more small fields and large yards than flying clubs. I am not sure wanting to do an occasional roll or split S or spin would be considered a bad thing. Are you suggesting that the park flyers are not designed to do anything but donuts in the sky?

I am new to this park flyer idea. I am not a pylon racer and have not interest in speed, but I do like to do a trick or two. Is that a bad thing.

Thanks for your feedback.

WingBreaker

Todd,

With your experience I would go with the GWS E-starter or Corsair. The E-starter is a little more forigiving and the Corsair is all out fun with stock 350c motor. The only thing you would need to get the best performance out of the stock set ups is an 8cell KAN 650 pack or a lipoly battery. I would go with the KAN if you are new to electrics. Most of my GWS planes are flown with 350c motors and KAN 650s. You can see the performance from such a set up at, http://www.hapdigital.com/FBII.htm The P-51 is flown with a 400c and e-tec 3s1p in some clips. You can get the KAN packs at cheapbatterypacks.com for under 20 bucks.

john 8750,

Yeah, what are you talking about runing? As you can see by my vids (flown in a park) my planes are not just floating.

WB

john 8750

Exactly what I mean is that some Cities are prohibiting all RC crafts from the parks. It is time that we start thinking about complete safety. Why does the FAA prohibit full scale aerobatics over populated areas?
Only slow flying light weight planes should be flown in a public park.
I hope you will broaden your vision before its to late.

You stick your foot out and someone will step on it.

WingBreaker

That is what insurance is for. We take a risk driving everyday. If you play it safe and find a good area you will be alright. I know stuff doesn't work some times, but you only live once. I never fly in a place I am unsure about.

WB

ToddNorris

I did not mean to start an argument. I just want something that might do a little more than a donut. Not something screaming fast. While aerobatics can be a component of speed, speed is not required to do simple aerobatics... I don't think. I will probably be flying this plane in a field beside my house or an empty parking lot anyway.... but I certainly know the issues and dangers with flying planes from my glow experiences.

Thanks for all the great feedback. I have $150 to spend to get an electric that will fly around, do a loop, perhaps a rudder roll or barrel roll and land. Something I can grab without notice, throw in the car, charge at the field and fly a few times while the kids rollerblade or have a soccer practice. And something that I won't have to rebuild everytime I have a hard landing....

I am about as confused as I was when I started, but it seems like to use my transmitter I will need to by new servos, a receiver and a battery and the cost of all that may be more than one of these all in one combos. Not sure I need ailerons to do a few rolls, spins and loops... so I am not sure if the Slow Stick is all I need.

I am stilll learning and grateful for your help. Any additional info is welcomed.

Wayne Miller

Hi,

I was also interested in getting a park flyer that would do a few stunts and work with my radio.

I opted for the GWS Formosa "foamie", it will do stunts and comes will all hardware, motor, prop and builds quickly. It is not a beginners aircraft. I also needed a flight pack and I chose the Hitec flight pack, this comes with a receiver, 3 small servos, small battery pack and switch harness. This comes as a unit called a "Hitec Flight Pack".

You will need to purchase an motor controller (I would recommend that you go one step up) and they are relatively inexpensive and probably a larger battery pack, I use the Aerobird 7 cell pack.

All the above should be close to the $150 mark, or slightly more if you shop around.

After you get comfortable with the plane, I would suggest you consider a brushless motor, they give more power with less battery and increase the performance considerably.

As already suggested, that although this will fly in a relatively small area, I would avoid places where there is people.

Just a suggestion, hope this helps.

Best regards,

Wayne Miller

john 8750

No argument here Tod.
I think the only electric for the park using full size stuf is the SS.
And yes, it would get old real fast.
If you are a builder you might build a plane sized for your gear. Motors are available.
Good luck. Let me know if I can help.

ToddNorris

What do you know about the readytoflyfun.com site and the predator and t-hawk planes? $169 you get plane, radio, non-proprietary parts, an extra set of parts, two batteries and the videos on the site look okay. Any news on something like that?

Thanks again for your insight.

WingBreaker

Here is a great GWS plane combo:

Any Kit $45-$80.00

gws 350c "D" motor $16.00(most kits are coming with 300c, the corsair comes with 350c "B")

EPS 10x8x4 4 bladed prop $2.50

ESC your choice $20-$40

8 cell KAN 650 $16.00 from cheapbatterypacks.com

micro Servos 2 $35.00

You can get 27 oz of static thrust with this cheap combo. It is only about 3 oz under some brushless motors.

You are right at $140-$150.00

Hope this helps.

WB

treesmacker

If all you want is a plane to do some easier tricks at a resonable speed try a hobbyzone aerobird challenger,
comes with everything you need to fly. $150.00 will get you flying. easy to get parts,pretty good prices.

Good luck and happy flying.
Treesmacker.