jasonw

Hi. I would realy like to get into this hoby but seems there is always a problem. I keep buying planes from walmart that nose dive LOL[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] Anyway I was looking into geting the Great Planes Tutor Park Flyer Trainer Kit 44.75" http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXVU19&P=0 It is pretty important to me that it be a kit that way I can build it "Always liked the idea of building" I also like the fact it is all wood construction. I dont realy like the idea of foam while it may be benificial I just dont like it. Dose anyone have experience with this kit? If it is right for me I would build it 3CH Throtle, Ele, and ruder. Also I have chosen to go with park flyers as I dont want to pay the money to join the AMA and the local club so this way I can fly it in the yard "about 1 acer" Thansk in advance for any help. Keep in mind I have flown before "al walmart planes" Crashed every one first flight. This would be my first hobby level plane and the idea is not to crash it so is this a good choice for a plane? Also I have heard of people converting Gillows <---spelling" Ruber powerd models to fly R/C Has anyone done this? Is it hard? Are you happy with the outcome? Our local Longs sells manny ruber powerd balsa planes in there model section and I would like to atempt this. Agan thank you in advance for any help you can give
Foot Hill R/C "ON ROAD, OFF ROAD & BOATS" Visit our club today

ballgunner

My Feedback: (1)

If you are determined to build your airplane - thanks. There aren't manyof us left. Look closely at the Herr Engineering aircraft that is now distributed by Sig. They have some very nice aircraft that can be either battery or glow. They are not very expensive but you must consider the cost of the radio, motor and batteries. I have built several Sig airplanes and their kits are always well done. If you only have bitter experience with Walmart types consider finding and instructor before you fly or you might spend a lot of time building for naught. In any case if you decide to go alone expect some bumps and crunches but since you have built the airplane you should know how to repair it. Good luck. Welcome to RC its the most fun you can have standing on the ground.

jasonw

Thanks for the welcome. I am not sure if it is posable but I will email the local club and see if they will let me come out and do a "PAY PER VISIT" thing to learn. This way I wont have to pony up all the cash to join there club and the AMA. I have always liked the idea of building my own Plane out of sticks. I have a 80% compleated 1/2A cap 21 I have been working on and off for several years now. All I need is to cover it and instale my radio and motor.

FHHuber

Thre is not likely to be a "Pay per visit" system for getting instruction from a club.

AMA membership is a flat annual fee. they do sort of pro-rate the second year based on what month you join your first year (but only if it was more than 6 months into the year...)

AMA affiliated clubs don't have much leeway on giving lessons to non AMA members.

We can give demonstration lessons to visitors to the field using our own airplanes as often as we desire. (And a lot of members will glady give a visitor one lesson)

There's also the AMA "Intro Pilot Program" which the cluyb has to have signed up for, and has a fair amount of paperwork involved to allow us to give someone lessons for one month. The program costs the club something to participate, plus $15 (per year) for each designated instructor in the program. (Some clubs pay the instructor's fee, some clubs have the instructor pay the fee.)

There is the option of locating a fee for instruction service... but I know that some of them require the students to have AMA membership. The cost of these R/C flight schools is a bit high too. ($20 to $50 {or more} a hour... ) That starts making the club dues and AMA seem inexpensive...

Compare the cost of the club dues and AMA membership to the cost of green fees to play golf. The golf course privides a location for you to use your clubs abd ball... the model club provides the site for you to fly your model. The golf couse doesn't provide free lessons for anyone. (now the AMA and club dues will REALLY look cheap.)

goofup

Jason, I commend you for wanting to build your own plane, and that you’re wise enough to seek an instructor to keep from crashing it. However, FHHuber is correct. In general, club instructors won’t instruct you unless you’re an AMA member and a club member. He also didn’t mention that virtually every club instructor will not teach you how to fly with your little 3-channel electric (or any electric, for that matter). On the other hand, there’s nothing stopping you from asking an instructor to meet with you “on the side”, say at a local park, and pay him to teach you on a per-hour basis. Who knows, you might find one familiar enough with electrics to go for the idea…

I realize that you’re very concerned about crashing and that your Wally World experience left a bad taste in your mouth. Don’t worry about it. You will crash your plane, but not every flight. It’s all part of the learning process.

I have heard of people converting Guillows rubber band powered planes to RC, but it’s rather hard and kind of expensive. Remember that you’re replacing the weight of a rubber band with the weight of a receiver, servos or actuators, battery, etc. and it will have to be kept as light as possible. I believe they’re also indoor-only planes.

jasonw

That al makes sence. The bigest problem is its like 200$ after AMA and fees to join the local club. The wify is not happy about spending 39.99 for a kit let alone 200 for a club. Also having a place to fly was not by biggtest concern this is why I was looking into park flyers. I have a bit of land I can fly on. I wander if its worth stocking up on Balsa and keep at it untill I learn myself. Another resone I dont like the planes I have flow already is once they crash and get little to any damage they can not be fixed just tossed out. This is a good thing I can see about balsa. I have seen others before rebuild a balsa and ply plane they crashed and it looked better than before the crash. Anyway thanks for the help so far keep it coming I can use as much as I can get.

00hex

That sounds like a lot! AMA membership is something like $50, club membership should be roughly the same, maybe a bit less. I'd try to find another nearby club.
BTW foam can be repaired as well as balsa, you can basically just glue the pieces back together.

SchoolAce

Try the slow stick

FHHuber

AMA membership for an adult is $58 a year now. (They just changed the price due to the AMA's insurance premium doubling.... too many pay-outs on large claims.)

Club membership fees vary widely... In 1982 I declined to join a club that charged $350 / yr PLUS a $500 initiation fee. (Espensive lease for the club field... SF CA Bay area. I believe the club has since folded up, there's a shopping mall at thier old flying site now.) I know of clubs NOW charging as little as $5 a year, and some that do still charge some almost unbelieveable fees...

Check around for other clubs in the area... there might be a less expensive one.
************

I and several local instructors, would help as much as possible, even if you showed up with one of the new Cox $29 1 ch eletric models. ( You just have to ask around...) How much help is possible is quite limited with some of the less expensive models.... IF they are warped, its nearly impossible to get them to fly decently.

Some Club instructors would gladly meet for assisting someone, outside of the club environment, with <$60 RTF models.... The risk of damage and injury with them is so low, that the AMA insurance being valid or not isn't worth worrying about.

jasonw

Yes the AMA was 50 somthing but I think it was also another 50 one time fee for the AMA to bring it to 100$ and the club was the same 50$ a year and a 50$ one time fee to bring the total to 208$

goofup

I just joined the AMA and there's no additional $50 "one time fee", just the $58.

jasonw

Realy? thats interesting I thought I read there was a 1 time fee. Well that is good news it helps out in the finance department

b17flyer

My Feedback: (32)

First, if you go to a club and they have you pay an intructor...wrong club.
if you want to go at it by yourself or something easy and you can build your self and add things during the contruction phase...gliders make excellent first planes.(Carl Goldberg Gentle Lady) and they have elec powered versions. The GL can also be fitted with a small glow engine and wheels (Becomes something called a Butterfly from some other company) these planes have started many a r/c flyer. Just no one wants to build anymore so they are not as popular any mory

Just a thought.

XxNEALIOSzPLANESxX

I'd say go with a kit that a lot of people recommend like a gws kit then go to your build up kits. Gws kits repair ez and are pretty good flyers i'd say. I learned to fly at my flying field. I am under 18 so it was free to join the club and for ama it was only a buck(plus mag costs!) but more for over 18(58 bucks i think). I had no fee's to learn to fly just good ol' trainer and a buddy box. I moved up to a Ultra Sport 40 red with a 46 fx and futaba 6xas. great plane bad gear..... Anyways go to your field learn to fly with buddy box!(saves you time and money) GOod luck with your first flights and your solo!!!!!! HAVE FUN WHEN YOU FLY!!!

timfly1

My Feedback: (1)

Hi All
Three weeks ago I puchased a wingo, 3ch futaba flew it twice at the ball ball field broke it fixed it. I'm joining a club this week, I had to join the AMA first. The club wont let me fly the wingo in training because I wont get enough flight time. So last weekend I spent $400.00 on a 4c trainer that I need to build, a Futaba 4ch radio with a 7 ch reciever, wheels, props etc. and a OS 46 FX motor.
And I still need to buy covering and fuel and motor starting stuff. But I will get to train two nights a week for free and help with my plane. AMA cost me $58.00 the club will cost me $60.00 the first year and 45 a year after that. If I do 8 hours of field clean up work in the spring I get $20.00 knocked of the club fees.
Its not cheep to do it right. But you'll fly.
Just my two cents.

Sojourner

For your first plane, I would have to agree with the comment about starting with a glider. I've taught several people to fly (no charge to them). Gliders don't do anything fast, so you have time to respond. As your skills improve, then you can go to faster airplanes. Starting with the fully aerobatic Cap21 you mentioned is a bad idea. They are fast, and very maneuverable, it will turn on a dime, or stall and you wont even know why or how to recover. I was a private pilot, flew RC one time, then bought a used RC setup, and soloed on my next flight. I flew RC like my Private Pilot's instructor taught me to fly real planes. Back then I would spend about 10 hours rebuilding for every 1 hour I got to fly. I would get in 2 or 3 flights, then have a wreck. It would take me a while to repair. Slowly that average turned around. Now I fly about 10 hours for every hour I build. I build for the fun of it, and I like to design my own planes. Sometimes they fly well, sometimes they don't. It's the challenge I like. There is a club about 45 minutes from my house that isn't a member of the AMA. Guests may fly for $5.00 / day, or join for $30 / month. I live in a farming community, and live about 1/4 mile from my nearest neighbor. I live on 160 acres so I fly in my back yard and don't belong to the AMA. The down side of this, is that my friends that fly, are all a member of the local club (35 minutes away) and are AMA members. They have a great flying site, while I have 70' tall trees and a very narrow long run way surrounded by trees, trees and more trees. They like to fly 40% Extras, and 30% Cap 323 and wont come and visit me. I don't blame them. If I were flying $500 + airplanes I wouldn't fly at my field either. I've landed in more than one tree. So, to have the fun of companions, I'm forced to join the AMA, and make that long drive to the field, and pay the $35 / month club dues which barely covers the cost of the mowing the runway. That or fly by myself. RC is a great hobby. It's even more fun when you can talk and fly with other people that love the same hobby.

I have a friend that bought two identical kits. Built them both, flew one, it took off and crashed. Took the gear out and put it in the other plane, flew a little further and crashed. He rebuilt both and started all over. He is in his 60s and has been flying for about 10 years now. It is a hard, expensive way to learn unless you love rebuilding and building, find an instructor. Even with an instructor you will crash.

Summed up:
1) Find an instructor.
2) use a plane designed for beginners, a powered glider, or Pro-Trainer, Tower .40 Trainer, what ever
3) A computer program like the GP (cost about $200) will help, and save you a lot of money. They are fun too. Great for cold rainy wet days when you HAVE to fly but can't get out side.

hope this helps,
Soj

CaughtOnFire

I fly big glow planes and don't know the reasons for not getting a trainer, so I don't quite see why you don't get a trainer from a club, or even a park. The state parks here in Ohio are very willing to let people fly RC planes (even glow!) and you can just go to a club and ask anyone there for help. Thats what I'm doing right now infact and it has only cost me the AMA fee. (I'm under 18 so it was only a $1)[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]