Rumnhammer

Hi all, just back from flying the Aerobird again and was wondering how long did it take others before they were good enough to pretty much put the bird where you want it. ie able to land it near you, or be comfortable flying lower then 200ft.
I'm getting better at it, but it still seems like its a bit tough to get it lined up to land anywhere near me. I guess I can't complain, any landing that isn't a crash is pretty good right?
I did the engine mount zip tie reenforcement and reenforeced the tail a bit, and it took a few flights to get the screws readjusted so it didn't porpoase around.
I'm still new at this, and I've been flying it easy, just was curious about how steep the learning curve for others has been.
How long or how many flights before you guys could basically land it where you wanted it?
Chris Rummel

kevjud

I have had mine for a few weeks and I still have a ways to go. I can't just land it wherever I want yet either. A landing that is close to where I want it to go, and no crash is a success for me at this point! Each flight gets a little better, but I am in no way an expert yet. Maybe it would have been easier if I started when I was younger, but it is sure fun nonetheless! Just keep flying and you will continue to get better.

foreverNight

I have about 15 flights on mine no real crashes yet. I'm very comfortable flying at about 50 ft. And i can generally put it down where i want. I think i learned quickly i can easily pull out of "death spirals" Just cut off throttle and steer out of it! And ANY landing where there is zero damage is a good landing!

kevjud

Do you guys fly in sport mode or pro mode?

foreverNight

i admit that i havent flown in pro mode i want a least 20 good flights! I'm gonna be nice to my bird!

Rumnhammer

I've been flying in sport mode, haven't tried the pro mode yet. I still want to be comfortable keeping the plane nearer to me, and flying higher and slower for now, I just want to be able to put it where I want it to land first, then try for pro mode. although a couple of times, I've thought that the faster response of the pro mode, might be useful with this learning curve. I think I'll just keep flying it and let experience make me better.
Chris Rummel

jamy3

Yes I am new at R.C. flying and have an aero bird. My mistake was I did not time the flight time and the batteries went dead. I lost it in some evergreens about 20 feet up, but was able to get it back with the help of a ladder and broom.

Remember to use a timer.

BlkDnn1989

I recieved the aerobird this last christmas as my first plane and it is a really fun plane to fly. I have flown about 12 times and am stariting to get pretty good with it. When I say good am mean that I can fly close but not to close to the ground and land right in front of me. I had one crash on about my 5th flight, it wasnt to major just took a few small chunks out of my wing. I crashed because I didnt check my trim tabs and my alieron tab was shoved all the way to the right causing it to spiral to the ground after take off. About sport/pro mode, after my 6th flight I decided to check out pro mode and I was very impressed with it. In pro mode the plane has more respone in turning and climbing/diving making it alot easier to fly. Ever since I have put it in pro mode before I take off because it is alot more fun and exciting. This is my opinion but you should check it out.

ricktkenny

Kepp it up guys and download FMS sim, it makes it much easier to learn, I have been flying since September 2003 and I reckon that practice makes perfect.

I have had all the crashes and tears but I kept at it and it just all drops into place.

Have a look at the vids. www.rcwing.co.uk


rick

Rumnhammer

where can I download the FMS simulator everybody talks about? and can I use my normal logitech joystick to fly it with?
Chris Rummel

Jason Beach

My Feedback: (4)

You can find FMS here. It's great for teaching basics, and you can't beat the price. I believe you can use a regular joystick or game controler with it. If your radio has a trainer port, you can find an interface on Ebay, just do a search for FMS interface.

Rumnhammer

Ok, that sim is excellent, I can't believe how fast I learned control with it.
In no time at all I could keep the plane where I wanted it and landings are much easier now, I can see how this definatly improves your RC skills.
Now didn't someone say they saw a Aerobird commander model to use on it?
Chris Rummel
[8D]

shams42

My Feedback: (1)

I used pro mode on my second flight and thought that it was much, much easier. The plane is more responsive and easier to control. You'll spend more time controlling the plane rather than fighting it.

Matt

stevennh

I have been flying since spring. I can normally get the bird on the ground within 20 yards of where I want it. I have a fairly large field. I have an older bird that does not have the pro mode. Here are some videos. The first one shows how much the Aerobird can take and keep on flying!

[link=http://www.s93421871.onlinehome.us\BadLandings.wmv]Bad Aerobird Landings[/link]

[link=http://www.s93421871.onlinehome.us/video.wmv]Loops and Fast Turns[/link]

wings

That was awsome. I never heard of anyone putting a cam on an aerobird. Do you have any infor on that cam system?

Wings

stevennh

I just used one of the cheap 1.2GHz all-in-one camera/tx systems on Ebay. I did not realize at the time that this system is not legal in the US (it operates on a frequency allocated for other aircraft uses). I ended up powering it from the flight battery using a simple diode isolator circuit. I am currently working on a 2.4GHz video system on the same plane. I should get much better image quality and range (fewer drop-outs) and it operates on legal frequencies (with a HAM license). I hope to have it in the air next week (weather permitting). The 1.2Ghz system had way to many drop-outs due to multi-path interferance until I built a patch antenna for the receiver, that cleaned things up quite a bit. The first video in the above post was made up of clips done with the normal whip antenna, the loop clip was done with the patch. I was also not happy with the image quality of the CMOS camera that was built into the 1.2Ghz system. The new system has a CCD camera. My new system will weigh a bit more, I am not sure how the Aerobird will fly, but I will find out soon.

Steve

jatoo

I can fly my aerobird (not challenger []) real good now. I'm still not crash hot at landings, but I neever do any damage on them. My problem is I fly on the school ovl and I dont have enough room for a good approach.
PS: you've got some pretty crazy crashes there. Do you like trees? (lol, no offence mine went in a creek)
As for the other video, you gotta love those sharp turns! What I like to do is when your coming out of a stall turn or loop, when you have plenty of speed at the bottom, whack her into an almost 90 degree bank and pull her round. She flies round that turn like you wouldn't believe!

stevennh

Yes, I seem to be able to find trees with ease. My normal field is a long narrow patch of grass with trees on the side. I always seem to end up over the trees when I get in trouble... Two of the tree landings involved cutting power for final approach too soon (these planes don't want to turn fast with no power). I have gotten better at keeping the bird in the air! I made the mistake of adding weight (camera/tx) before I got used to flying the plane. The extra weight also makes it much easier to go into spiral dives.

RC Sumo

Stevenh...I know you dont have Pro Mode but do you have the X-Pack tail on your bird? I know it has 50% more control surface on it vs. the original tail. I have the AB Challenger which comes with the X-Pack tail on it already. The Pro Mode indeed makes this plane easier to fly when conditions are not ideal. The Sport mode is good for staying out of trouble...but it is bad when you do get into trouble. You have a fraction of the response time and controls to recover from wind, bad judgement or just plain old bad luck. I JUST got my Aerobird and have about 10 flights on it. The first 3 were in Sport mode without ANY crashes! beautiful belly landings in soft grass. The expert guy @ the field that day was thoroughly impressed. He really liked the plane. But he thought I should open Pro mode and fly with that for more control. We had a 5-10 mph wind that day and I had a hard time getting the nose around when trying to turn upwind. He was right....that little beauty just turned on a dime! But with the increased controls I got a little twitchy on my landings. I would recommend to anyone that is trying to fly in any kind of NON-ideal condition to open the Pro mode once they feel comfortable with the plane. I have been able to recover from some poor judgement with this mode on. But I think the good handling of this plane has already given me a great experience flying. Just keep flying all and enjoying Steve's great videos. I did learn alittle something from them....altitude is my friend. Trees are not. Trees bad for orange bird. VERY bad. Have fun out there and keep posting in this forum! Folks like Stevenh are extremely helpful for all the input they add in here. I hope to add some tips as well......such as: dont fly in your neighbor just for the wow factor from the kids....it isn't worth the wing repairs you will end up doing later that evening....ouch[:@]. I hope my local hobby shop has a new wing in stock.

stevennh

Here is an update on my camera mount on the Aerobird. I did my first couple of flights this weekend with the new setup. If folks are interested in general video, this forum has a great section for it. Here is my Aerobird setup:

Plane: Aerobird Challenger (origional, with X-Pack tail and battery)
Tx: 200mw BlackWidowAV 2.4GHz (5v model, www.blackwidowav.com)
Camera: Panasonic CX161 (330 line CCD)
Tx-Ant: Stock whip
Rx: BlackWidowAV Rx for above Tx
Rx-Ant: Circular polarized patch, placed on ground facing up
Power: From main 8.4v flight battery using 5v switched-mode regulator from firmtronics (s-bec, www.firmtronics.com)

I mounted the camera under the starboard wing with a small aluminum "L" bracket, the tx is on the opposite wing mounted to balance the camera. The power supply is "floating" in the fusalage connected to the flight battery connector.

The Aerobird is a bit heavy with all of this stuff, but it seems to fly fine. I don't think I would attempt a loop with all this stuff hanging off the wing. These are high bandwidth (broadband only), don't try them with dial-up.

[link=http://www.s93421871.onlinehome.us/highflight.wmv]High Flight[/link]

[link=http://www.s93421871.onlinehome.us/groundantenna.wmv]Lower Flight[/link]

Steve

rugburnrc

Have any of you changed the settings on the tail to see if it makes a difference in responsiveness? I'm a beginner and don't know the proper terms, so I'll describe it as best I can. Embedded in the tail fin is a gray piece of plastic with 4 holes on top and 2 notches on the bottom. Anyone know if altering the position of the wire in relation to the holes on top, or the rubber band in relation to the notches on the bottom makes a difference?

While I haven't tried it, I think it could increase the amount of movement each flap has.. and more flap = quicker turns & move responsiveness.. yes?

-Rugburn
Record: Two solo missions
Replaced during record: 2 wings, 1 tail, front landing gear, wing mounts, and cockpit is beat to h#ll and has to be held down with tape.
Beat that!

stevennh

Yes, I have my line threaded through the bottom hole. That will give you more throw and more control.

Steve

Airborne 2007

Hey if the bottom hole doesnt satisfy you for controll, you can do this. Only drill the hole the line is in, the bottom one cant be pulled by the servo.

-John