Folks,

Some quick background. I have been flying real sailplanes for three years, and I had to quit because I moved. That was five years ago. Fairbanks is not quite the right area to get back into real sailplanes, so I figured to try myself at R/C. I realize that the real thing and R/C are quite different, but at least I have some background on the theory of flying etc.

Anyway, I am starting out and could really use some advice. I ordered a Java 150 powered sailplane (http://www.hobby-lobby.com/java150.htm) which should arrive in the next few days.

I don't have anything else, but a few of the tools needed to put it together. I was looking at a radio and got an offer to buy a used JR XF622 for $60 shipped. I have no idea if that is a good deal, there is nothing with it but a charger and the manual. Unit is in good condition, about 5 years old, battery holds charge. Should I go ahead and get it? I am a bit on a budget, but from what I have read the overall tone seems to be to buy a good radio early on, even if it pushes the start-up costs up a bit.

What about servos? Do I really need to worry about weight a lot? Hobby Lobby (HL) recommends HS300's. Depending on voltage applied they deliver 42oz or 49oz of torque at 1.75oz of weight. Is it ok to run servos at 6V to get higher torque? Should I be looking for lighter weight servos?

Batteries. HL lists 8 cells 600AE for this model. I am thinking to get 7 cells RRC-1000AE NiMH instead (radicalrc.com) pretty much same price but lighter and better performance. Figuring 100W per lb, 2 lb flying weight, at 30 Amps, thus 200 W / 30 Amps = 6.67V, at 1 V per cell I should be fine with 7 cells. Which brings me to another question, what runs off of which battery. It seems like the RX runs off of its own battery and the servos and the motor have a seperate one. Wouldn't it make more sense to have the motor have its own battery and run the RX and the servos of off the same one?

I know I know, I should look for a local club and find someone to teach me how to fly. Read that over and over, I get the message. I did contact the local club, posted to their mailing list, got one response in the two weeks since I posted. Not sure what the problem is, but seems like there may not be much help available. Plus they also don't seem to fly much in the winter (looks like 99% of them are glow users). I do plan to get everything completed in a couple three months and have my maiden flight in late January, early February. No matter what the weather is like, and you better believe that I will be out there at -40F giving it a shot.

Anyway, I figure that I start with hand launches, not using the motor and just letting the glider fly straight to get a feel for the controls. The snow cover will prevent hard landings, and I will practice with a simulator before, perhaps I will have made some contacts with local R/Cers by then. For now I just need to get the gear to build the plane and set up the radio and such. Any advice will be much appreciated, and thanks for reading through all of this.

Edit: Did I post this to the wrong forum? Should it have been in the Electrics forum instead?