thermalbear

I flew a Bob Martin *****cat in the 1980's. Futaba radio, very limited capabilities. I come back to the sport to find a lot has changed. There are terms I've never heard before.

I'm attracted to the Radian Pro and eFlight Mystique aircraft. I'm not sure about the Radian, being a foam aircraft, even though ratings are great. It just doesn't seem like a "pure" form of plane to me, but what do I know?

And the radios...wow! I'm looking at the Spektrum DX 6 channel with transmitter and receiver (for telemetry?), but the detail is overwhelming me.

Any advice appreciated!!

BarracudaHockey

My Feedback: (11)

Welcome back.

My advice, invest once and buy a good radio if you're going to make a serious go at it, it's cheaper than outgrowing a basic radio and buying another one later on.

The Radians fly great but they are foam and foam planes look shabby after a lot of use. The Mystique is a nice mid-range glider that hangs with the big boys at half the cost, also they have some issues if you get them going too fast (which they aren't designed to fly fast).

Little down side to going with a Radian and getting your feet back under you, they are great the throw in the car for no fuss flying.

longsoar

Welcome back!
Always a pleasure to see someone coming back on-board!
Yeah, things have changed significantly and direction always depends on many factors:
- personal flying preferences
- flying skill level
- size of your bank account
Anything else has no limit..

I have never flown Radian or Mistique, so I can not tell much about them. Usually foamies are easy to fly but do have limitations as far as penetration goes.
The bigger the size - the better model would fly, in general.
What I did in 2011 getting back to the craft - I bought a cheap and easy ARF glider and cheap Futaba radio to verify that I really want to come back and my flying skills.
Programming radio takes a little getting used to. In general the difference depends on how fancy you want to get. Many features are either overlooked or simply never used.
So I stopped on Aurora 9 radio for now.
As for gliders, I personally prefer glass ships. They fly great and usually more expensive. But that's me.

Cheers,
Mark

thermalbear

Good stuff, guys. How about your current sailplanes...what are you flying?

By the way, during my time away from r/c flying, I got my pilot's license, bought my own Cessna 172 and flew it for 8 years before the expense made it problematic. So flying r/c is cheap by comparison, and I want a good plane that will let me "grow into it"...same with the radio.

Whatever info you have, I guarantee I'll read it! Thanks again!!

longsoar

Currently flying Graphite 2E
https://www.gonerc.com/henryvillercf...1395649454.htm
and Optimus F5J on order (getting it in January, 2017):
http://flightcomp.com/collections/f5...f5j-light-ales

I was flying full scale gliders since 1986, still do and that's the reason glass RC ships are closer for me by blood.

thermalbear

I note that many sailplane owners apply black tape to the underside of wing surfaces "to increase visibility". What kind of tape is used, and what is the theory behind black tape increasing the visibility of a white plane against a blue sky?

Thanks!

Tom Nied

Tape? I spray mine with rattle can spray paint with navy blue or dark red. Just is easier to see up at altitude.

BarracudaHockey

My Feedback: (11)

Current fleet includes a Mystique full house, E-Flite 4.2m Blanik, SebArt 3.3m Blanik, E-Flite Allusive, Flair K-8, a Het DG-808 and some smaller stuff.

rgburrill

Sport: an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment
RC is a hobby, not a sport.

thermalbear

OK....

thermalbear

So...right now I'm focused on the following as a good way to get back into it, without spending a fortune, but getting most of the neat new stuff that has developed since I last flew r/c sailplanes:

1. eFlight Radian 2.6m BNF
2. Spektrum DX6 with AR610 receiver
3. Spektrum TM1000 flight module
4. Spektrum GPS telemetry sensor

The Radian is elevator, rudder, speed brake spoiler...the radio allows me to add more complex aircraft later, and the GPS just because it seems like a cool thing to have, being something that wasn't even close to being available when I flew before.

Anyway...kind of where I'm heading for now. Used to have a great flying hill overlooking the Bay in SF area, but now I live in the Rocky Mountain west and need to find a nice grassy hill for soaring...or at least a nice grassy field!

Tom Nied

I'm on my second Radian. The first version with only motor, rudder and elevator. Flies pretty good and I have gotten many 1 hour flights on a single battery, with the help of thermals. It comes setup as a sport plane and there are ways to make it more a purer sailplane. Info can be found on the internet. I'm no expert when it comes to sailplanes, but I've had lots of fun with mine. Even got it too high and had a flyaway, my fault. Make sure you put your name and cell phone on yours, or any plane you get . Getting it into a thermal and she really goes up. Just a hoot to watch, but be careful. On both of mine, I strengthened the front end to just about the behind the wing cradle with fiber strapping tape. It's easy to take off too strong and rip the front end off. That really hurts the glide. But I can say you would have a good time with a Radian, I wore out my first and bought a second.

thermalbear

Thanks, Tom...good info!

SpeedsterDEN

The 6 ch is a small radio, and you will outgrow it very fast,
Specially if you fly gliders with 4 flap wing.
You will need a radio with a ch for each surface, this is 6 and + motor/ towcoupling/landing gear.
So you will need 7 og 8 ch very soon.
On the wing you will like to have ailerons,flaps and flaps going like ailerons, and crow brake (ailerons going up when giving flaps down)
+ more nice mixes.
All this you only can get if you have a ch for each moving surface.
So go for 7 -8 or 9 ch.

And help yourself and get one that other in your area have, so you can have help setting up the tx.

thermalbear

Thanks...that is good info, and I'll likely go up to the 8 or 9 channel for the reasons you give.

Tom Nied

Yeah, you'll always get guys suggesting you need more more more. Determine what you really need, make your purchase determined against that assessment. My guess you'll see what your pocket book can do and you'll buy it. When I asked for my DX6i, I knew all I wanted was a good 5 channel (6 if I really needed it) and I'm happy with it, filling the 10 model memory. 10 model memory, seriously, that's a lot of models. But there's plenty of good radios out there.

thermalbear

Thanks, Tom...voice of reason!

longsoar

Same was here. I bought Aurora 9 and it served me well for 5 years. Replaced Tx battery once ($29) and I bought it on-sale for $350 delivered with 3 Optima 7 Rx-es.
It has voltage telemetry built-in and Tx touch screen. So far not a single glitch.
With RC market Today you can get over your head real fast, buying 18 channel radio for $3K or so. Do you really need it?
Do your math carefully and it may save you enough to get a better glider. All depends on your personal preferences.
Cheers,
Mark