patton555

I just purchased a trainer plane for my dad for fathers day. Now i want to get into the hobby too. I went to my LHS and picked up a guillows 300 series piper cub kit. I have several years of experience in building rc trucks so i wanted to build my first plane. One question is what kind of electronics do you all recommend for me to put in the plane during the build (motor, servo's, radio) i'm trying to keep it affordable. Any advice will be appreciated, and my last question is, since i haven't even opened the box yet, what do i need to do to the kit during the build so that i can control this thing, like steer it and elevate it. thanks...

jester_s1

What you're talking about doing is a big challenge. That's a rubber band powered free flight plane. Nearly anything CAN be done, but to convert that design to RC you'll have to redesign the front of the plane for a motor mount and scratch build a cowl for it, design in a place for battery mounting and servo mounting, redesign the tail and wing for movable control surfaces, and beef up stress areas. You'll have to do all of this without adding too much weight and while keeping the center of gravity in the right place. If only one of these items is done wrong, the plane will crash on its first flight.

A much easier route (probably cheaper too) if you really want to build is to start with an "old timer" design which are fairly small and many are simple builds. Some kits are available but if you really want a challenge plans are available for many more designs. A small built up model is not the easiest way to get started in the hobby mind you, but since the question you asked was about building a little kit as your first plane then that's the best answer I can give you.

dredhea

My Feedback: (13)

Build the Guillows Cub as a free flight; just follow the instructions, Then get a kit designed for RC and go for it. I would recommend you build a trainer so you can use it to learn to fly, though it may not present the building challange you're looking for. Trainers are typically not only easier to fly, but easier to build as well.

MetallicaJunkie

if you can build the gillows cub, with all those miroscopic wing ribs and razor thin stringers, you can build any conventional rc kit

patton555

I'm really looking for the challenge of the project, i just need to know what kind of equipment i need to put into it. I understand the guillows kits aren't designed for rc, thats why i chose one of them, i enjoy doing custom work on my trucks and cars. But honestly i have no clue about the internals that will make this thing fly. i know most of you have experience with all the different parts inside a plane. i know i have to buy a radio, but other than that i don't know anything about the gear

bingo field

They aren't all that expensive, try putting one together and finishing it first. While you are doing that, visit a couple of fields where people are flying, and watch and see what they have in their planes that make them operate. What you want to do won't take more than standard building tools, but more understanding of what makes all the controls and motors work. If you see a few that operate, and fly, you will be much better off with your understanding. In the mean time, you may be able to get your hands on the controls of a trainer or two to get some stick time. You can ask questions of most members and get a lot of information while it is still relevant, when you are in front of the plane and see the things you want to ask about.

CGRetired

My Feedback: (1)

There is a really easy to put together micro flyer that is both gentle and aerobatic. Gentle in that it can be set up so that it is easy to fly and pretty much indestructable. It is called "The Bug". It is completely made of EPP Foam with a carbon-fiber "exoskeleton". It uses small one or two cell LiPo packs and a modified CDRom motor. Take a look at that and view the video. It's not all that pretty, but sure is easy to fly and gives you a good and stable platform to fly. And, as stated, it is pretty much indestructable.

http://www.lightflite.com/

At the WRAM show a couple of years ago, they had one at the indoor flying area that did some pretty interesting things. They had it "land on the wall" and "land on the ceiling"... or so it appeared. Then, for the one that landed on the ceiling, the guy just cut the throttle and let it "crash" to the floor. He picked it up and hand launched it. No damage at all. Pretty neat plane.

CGr.

patton555

i know how it all works, i've had my hands on a few trainers in the past two weeks. I've flown both electric and nitro now, i don't know how to combine things, like servo speed, size, with the motor speed and size, just need a few good recommendations.

jester_s1

What we're trying to tell you is that the plane you have is not designed for RC. You'll have to re-engineer nearly every part of that Guillows kit to covert it to RC, and with all the components you'll be overweight. It is designed to free flight with a loop of rubber band powering it. Many free flight designs are made so they will only fly straight and level well, which means they stink for RC use. If you want a good challenge that is likely to give you a satisfying result, buy a kit made for RC and use the components that the designer recommends.