First, Hi all

Second, I'm officially "in the Hobby" (crowd goes wild!)

I just bought, not ONE but FOUR airplanes and a whole bunch of goodies... (hey, if it's worth doin' it's worth over-doin'!)

Great Planes 60 Trainer RTF
Great Planes J-3 Piper 75" ws RTF w/ extra set of custom made floats
Midwest AT-6 83" ws 1.20 Built but not finished w/ one servo and no engine (really nice plane)
Bud Rosen 1/4 Citabria that's built w/ all servos and Fox78 that's not covered and slightly damaged - minor stuff
Field Box w/ all the essentials including about 30 different props lol
and a used Conquest T6NK
The guy got out of the hobby and sold it all for $700

Wow am i excited but overwhelmed.
Next paycheck i'll join the ama and my local R/C Field
Till then i'll play w/ the toys and keep readin'/askin'
Hopefully i'll be in the air soooon... I'll post again after my first flight
If your in Colorado... might be safe to wear a helmet! lol

Thanks for a great site!

hey there!

good luck and welcome to our hobby

you're stuck here now forever, there's no escape!, mwahahahahaha!!!

Well, welcome to RCU and RC Flight! There's an awful lot of great people involved in this stuff, and some of them even stop by here once in awhile.

Sounds like you got a really good deal on the stuff you bought. When you say RTF, I'm assuming that the Trainer and Texan came with engines and servos. What brand and size are they? (Not that it matters a lot.)

Couple things you might want to know. If you don't just skip this part.

Check the back of the radio for a sticker, it should have 1991 on it. This certification sticker is required on older radios, which I believe the 6NK is. Chances are, if the guy has flown in the past couple years it's fine, but I'd check it. Older radios without the sticker are illegal today (FCC regulations), but more importantly, they can interfere with others flying on adjacent 'channels'.

That GP trainer should work out great. Great Planes is very reputable, and probably the largest, manufacturer of RC aircraft around. It's slightly larger than the usual 40 size which makes it a bit easier to see. (Not a bad thing when you're learning!)

Cubs are generally nice, slow flying planes. Great for just cruising around on a calm afternoon. They're perfect for a four stroke engine, the sound just fits perfectly.

They can be a bit 'squirrely' on the ground, and often require a bit of down elevator (!) just as they leave the ground, but once you're use to these traits, they're great!

A Cub is also a bit different in that it needs rudder combined with ailerons in the turns, so it's a bit 'trickier' to fly. Some Cubs (like mine!) have a bit of roll coupled with the rudder, so quite often, it's necessary to feed in opposite ailerons in a turn.

I don't know anything about the Texan, except that it has a good reputation. (As does Midwest.) But because it's a "warbird", and Midwest kits are geared a bit more toward advanced flyers, I'd hold off for awhile before attempting to fly that one. (I'd recommend waiting until your second year (at least) of flying, but it'll depend on your skills.)

The Bud N osen kits are for real "builders". They're usually a huge box of lumber that requires a LOT of cutting, carving, sanding and shaping before they start to resemble an airplane. They can also be heavy, which means a higher wing loading, so have it checked out.

Citabria's are aerobatic planes (try spelling Citabria backwards ) which is where they got the name for the full scale one. They are usually quite unstable (squirrelly) on the ground, sometimes they're a real handful in fact. They fly well, but are not for a new flyer. They're short coupled, meaning the distance from the wing to the horizontal stabilizer (tail) is relatively shorter than a "standard" aircraft. But once you've learned to loop, roll, spin, fly inverted, do Immelmans, Split S's, and Cuban Eights, with the trainer, I'd say go for it.

Please keep us posted on your progress! I think most of us really enjoy hearing how it goes. (Probably because we've all been there!)

Dennis-

You know we don't need helmets, just ask some of the fliers along the front range .In the north east corner watch, don't step on our feet!!!!!! Come down to SMAA if you have a chance! Enjoy the hobby!
smaaonline.com

Thanks for the welcome all....
This is so exciting. I'm 36 and for 15 years i've daydreamed about doing this and now it's happening. I've been a model builder forever and this is just going to be the icing on the cake!

I know i'm bit bad by the bug too cause i keep thinking about it most of the day. It's soooo sad lol Reminds me of a bad girlfriend or a drug habit


The great thing about this is that the cub and trainer are finished but the AT and Citabria need some finishing up which is kinda cool. It'll give me a chance to learn the insides before i cover/paint them.

I guess the hardest part of this hobby is having PATIENCE. Yuk!
(that and a never-ending bank account!)

Thanks again all
anyway... the radio is gold stickered and works ok but i know eventually (funds provided) i'm gonna need a computer radio

there is no excape. there is something about this hobby. selling your stuff is just demoralizing, you just can't do it unless you have no interrest at all. good luck, but start with the smaller, high wing plane first.

AHoy! Welcome to this great little hobby of ours!

Yep, patience and cash; requires a lot of both. You have yourself a decent start though. The tough part is going to be refraining from buying more planes within the next couple months!

Good news about the radio. Wait for awhile on the computer radio. The 6 NK will do what you need for the first year at least. Just be sure you know what you want and need before you buy computer.
Dennis-

you will have to buy another radio though. trust me,. get the futaba 6x at least