Kodiak599

Hello all, as the title says, I want to get started in the world of RC flying.

I am an avid aviation enthusiast, i play any flight sim I can get my hands on, and I am currently enrolled in flight school and hope to become a professional pilot (someday).

Now what kind of enthusiast would I be if I didn't give ******** a go?

I have been reading the forums for a few days now, browsing beginner and advanced posts, looking through all the different sub-forums and absorbing the information I can.

I just have a few questions to you all as a community.

1. Where to get started? I have been looking at the NitroPlanes website, and there are a few planes I really like. http://www.nitroplanes.com/60a-dy893...y-rtf-24g.html
is the plane I really want. Now in real life the A-10 is an extremely stable, easy to fly aircraft. That can be controlled at almost any speed. If this plane is to scale it should behave the same. If it will not be a "good" starter plane, where could I find one? I am looking for full control. Rudder, Aileron, elevator.

2. Clubs
I live inAbilene, Tx (I.E the butthole of Texas) Stuck here until my wife gets orders elsewhere. I looked up info on any clubs around, found one and e-mailed the guy.but google earth's image of the club flying site looks like it has been a cow pasture for a number of years. I e-mailed the contact info listed, so I will see if he responds or not. Does anyone else know of a club close to Abilene?

3. Transition from electric to gas(glow i think is the correct term?) and from foam to balsa. Also, RTF, ATF, and Kit. How doI know what I need to make them fly? I guess that's a more advanced question once I actually get into the sport more. I am starting out electric for sure, would like to give "real" motors a shot. Had a Nitro truck for a few years, i can only imagine one of those little beasts on an airframe.


Any and all help/advice will be appreciated and taken into consideration.

Thanks in advance

vpresley

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Hi

Join the AMA, (Academy of Model Aeronautics), then join a club. Go watch them fly, and what they are flying. Some times you can get used equipment cheap and in good condition. Some times there are club trainers you can use, till you get an idea what you want to buy. Many possibilities for you. Just dont get in a hurry to buy the new stuff. Spend a couple of weekends at the Flying Field, watching and asking questions.


Vince

Kodiak599

Issue I'm having is I don't know if there are any clubs around me the only one that is even reasonably close looks like it hasn't been active for a while. Will see if I get an e-mail back. Another issue is there are no true "hobby shops" around. The closest thing I have is a hobby lobby....POS store ><

jester_s1

I had a look on the AMA website and found that the clubs URL was no good. A quick Google turned up this. Looks like they have a nice facility.

http://abilenercsociety.webs.com/

If you're going the club route, I'd suggest skipping the electric planes unless you just really want to fly electric. A bigger nitro plane is more stable in the wind and is easier to see. That means you learn pilot skills faster and have a lot fewer days that the wind keeps you grounded. I'm in Fort Worth and find that to be the biggest hindrance to new pilots learning. That said, our very favorite trainer is the Hobbico Avistar. It's a .40 trainer/sport plane that is better in the wind than a traditional trainer but still has enough self-righting to be beginner friendly.

Kodiak599

The A-10 that I was looking at seems to be a pretty large size. Could be wrong though Thanks for the tips, any idea where I could look up that trainer you mentioned? If not I can just google it.

My parents live in Dallas, the next time I am headed that way maybe I could stop by your club and check it out?

Drop me an e-mail or post the info here.

kiwibob72

At about a meter wide (39-40" in "American" - lol) it's not a big plane at all. A basic trainer is normally 1.65meters (65") wide or bigger, and odds on about 5-6 times the weight of that little foamie. While an extra 25" in wing span may not sound like much, the bigger model is HUGE by comparison. My Hangar 9 65" P51 is MASSIVE when compared to a FMS/Airfield 57" foamie P51, and there is only 8" difference between them two. Also, high wing trainers are self leveling for the most part, where a low wing like that A10 or my P51 will not be - making it harder to learn on as you have to ensure that the plane is level. You have to fly a low wing out of a corner where in a trainer you don't.
Also, light models can 'float' and drift around in next to no wind (making them harder to fly), where my old trainer was just magic in how it tracked and flew in the air. This is one activity where bigger IS better, despite what my wife says (she complains my planes and heli take up too much space round the house )

If your going to want to fly glow (nitro) and/or gas (petrol), stay clear of the small electrics, and start down a path where you think you'll end up, that being bigger and heavier nitro as you'll then be used to how a big nitro plane feels from day one, and can limit what you need to get re staring and field equipment. You will not be able to start on some low wing areobat and will need to start off on a high wing trainer and work your way from there. A GOOD simulator will teach you thumb memory and basic flight without needing money for repairs every time you stack the plane - mine has saved me thousands!

This type of thing is a good place to start http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vt7jo...layer_embedded

As for your nitro truck motor being a 'beast' ...... my heli runs a 0.50ci motor that is good for 17000rpm (on a 8.5-1 reduction), my trainer has a 0.61ci, and they are not big motors by any stretch of the imagination when talking planes (my P51 will have a 20cc gas motor in it)

MinnFlyer

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Kodiak, click the link in my signature to get some great basic info on getting started

jester_s1

Minnflyer's site is really good. Should be required reading for anyone getting into the hobby. As for specific trainer recommendations, the Hobbico Avistar I mentioned above is my first choice. It's pretty good in the wind and can do basic aerobatics when trimmed for it. And yes, when you visit the metroplex shoot me a message here and we'll try to get together at the field. I'm putting a trainer plane together now for instructing so I may be able to buddy box you then.

Edwin

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All good advice. I would urge you to get an RC simulator. I used to not care for them too much. But have since changed my mind. Students that come to me with a lot of simulator time solo faster. Its an established fact with me now. About the only help they need on the real thing is learning trim work, getting fluid motion on the sticks, and landing. I had a guy solo in 5 flights with 40 hours of sim time. I currently have a teenager about to solo in 10 flights.
Edwin

dennymo

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I have a question. I have been flying RC for about 25 years. With that many years of experience flying, a person would think that I would know the answer to this question. I have flown mostly high wing airplanes such as the Piper Cub. I did try to fly a P-40 once and as soon as it came of the ground, the airplane rolled over to the right and slammed into the runway. What happened? I hear about the term tip stall. Is that what happened? If so, how do I keep that from happening again? I have another .60 WWII warbird that I'm ready to fly but I scared that history will repeat itself.

Edwin

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You yanked it off the ground too soon. Warbirds (heavy planes) need a longer takeoff run before getting air born. Keep the climb out straight and dont turn until you have good flying speed. I carry about a quarter throttle to the ground and go to idle about touch down. Been there done that more than a few times before learning my lesson.
Edwin

dennymo

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Wow! Thank you for the response. I have a Hangar 9 Spitfire that is ready to go. I've just been to afraid to fly it for that very reason. I will do exactly what you say. Get enough airspeed before I lift off.

jaka

Hi!
The warthog you show is just a toy! Or toyish compared to "Club-oriented-R/C -flying models" that are glow-powered and bigger (more stable).
If you are serious and really want to learn flying R/C in a club, a much better plane to start out with would be a high winged .40 trainer. The Kyosho "Calmato" is a good beginner plane with a span of apr 165cm, weighting around 2,4kg) but there are of many others that are also suited for beginners pilots.
I prefer glow powered planes myself as they are more "flexible" than electric powered planes. That means they can be fueled up , flown for 10-15min, landed, fueled up again in a minute or two and flown again etc, etc. Glow power also means more engine know how! Something to be proud of when you get the hang of it! Electric is just pulling/pushing a switch! Glow power also means sound! Pleasant to many of us!

Mk23socom

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I have seen a few times that your recommendation for the Calmato difficult as is unavailable to us in the states..

JeffinTD

I really like the Apprentice as a trainer. Lots of power, flies very well upright or inverted, float flies well, tough, and parts are available and reasonably priced. I'd do the plug and play one, gens ace batteries and one of the 4 bank chargers and a dx6, 7 or 8.

Even if you go nitro/gas, there are still times when plug it in and fly is nice.

Save the ducted fan jets for later.

Edwin

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Hangar 9 warbirds are good entry level warbirds. They are fairly light weight and fly more like a sport plane. Dont be afraid of the spitfire. You should do fine with the longer takeoff run. I have the F6F, P-40, P-51 (older discontinued), and B-25. Good sport scale.
Edwin

overbored77

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I noticed you said you wanted to start with electric planes, that is fine. There are many electric trainers on the market that fly just as good
as a nitro plane. However the warthog isn't a trainer, it has no self righting characteristics, most of the Nitroplanes models like that are
underpowered and are a handful to fly. The radio equipment is sub standard, and after trying to fly the warthog you will be left with a
bad aftertaste of the RC hobby. I will also reccomend a club and an instructor, success is never gauranteed but the chances of damaging
your model is greatly reduced, and the chances of early success is greatly increased.

However if there are no clubs in the area and you are going to have a go at it yourself the Hobbyzone supercub has taught alot of people
to fly on their own. It is not a 4 channel airplane, it has rudder, elevator , and throttle. the newer version that I linked has been nicely
upgraded since the plane came on the market, It includes a 2.4ghz transmitter, and a lipo battery. the transmitter is basic but can be used
in other models down the road.
http://www.horizonhobby.com/products...sm-rtf-HBZ7400

Here is a more advanced (and more expensive) trainer, 4 channel, lipo. Comes with a very nice radio that can be used on other planes in the future, .
http://www.horizonhobby.com/products...-radio-EFL2725

This is a wood conventional trainer with electric power. comes with top of the line equipment, and is very expensive. you would need to buy
batteries, They reccomend NIMH batteries, but a 4cell 3600mah lipo powers this plane great. I would definetly not reccomend this type of
plane if you are not going to be instructed because of its wood construction and semi fragile nature. The only downside to this plane is it comes with a
72mhz radio. That may change when it comes back into stock.
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...=LXSGY1**&P=ML

I have flown all 3 of these planes and all fly very good. Good luck and keep us posted on how you progress

JeffinTD

Though the dx4 that comes with the super cub, and the dx5 that comes with the apprentice can be used for other models, they have no model memory- so you would have to rebind, reverse channels as needed and retrim every time you switch planes.

That's why if I had it to do over again, I'd buy a computer transmitter right off the bat, and get a reciever ready or plug and play plane, like the plug and play version of the Apprentice. You would also need batteries and a charger, but like the transmitter that comes with the ready to fly version, if you get into the hobby you would soon be wanting a better charger than what typically comes with planes.

For me, I went with the ready to fly apprentice, and soon purchased a radian pro. After one day at the field flying both off the dx5, I ran out and got a dx8. Having 3 levels of dual rates and expo is really nice.

Dx5 is now used for a skydiver, so it wasn't a total waste...

Hossfly

As an experienced RC flier, you can understand this.

1. Regardless of the info in a kit, etc. with a War Bird type model assure the CG is NOT aft of 27% MAC. Most show 30-35% on the instructions. That is absolutely stupid and I cannot ever figure why they do that other than to sell more kits. 25% MAC is the best in sub-sonic aeromodeling with convergent airflow. Once you become really familiar with the model you can sneak it back slowly if you feel you must. When it snaps on a TO you know you overdid it.

2. With the wings on most scale-type models, a neat trick is to raise the ailerons - each side - at least 3 degrees and preferably 5 degrees from the making the wing with a slight effective washout. In addition it helps big time to have more UP than DOWN in your aileron set-up, but the washout technique WORKS! Years ago I raced in War Bird Scale Racing and my models flew straight off and I could turn tighter without a snap.
Stand a good distance behind a big airliner and check the trailing edges. They washout big time.

Couple years ago I was at a field and a modeler was cussing a new Corsair. I suggested the aileron treatment and next flight the TO was straight out and he was doing aerobatic maneuvers he could not do before without snapping out. Nice to see a modeler having FUN rather than dismay.

Oh you will get plenty "OH-NO" from the sideliners as they will not recognize your use of basic "applied aerodynamics" even after you prove it to be true. Pay no mind to the unknowing.

flycatch

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Learn how to fly on a two channel glider. They may not be exciting but will teach you the basics and they don't cost much. You will find a wide selection of gliders made from EPP foam material that are cheap and easy to repair.

dennymo

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Awesome. Thank you for the information.

jaka

Hi!
Dennymo!
If you want to progress to more demanding airplanes like warbirds, I recommend going with a much simpler low winged, aerobatic plane first.
What you describe when taking off your P-40 is typical of how a newbie take off that do not have a feel for how to take off a highly loaded airplane.
Giving full throttle , giving full up elevator all the time...and just not realizing when the nose rises that the speed isn't enough and that the angle of attack of the wing is too much...what happens then is that one wing stalls! Snap! -Instant kit!

It's vital to know how airplanes reacts at different situations, when they stall, how they react to stall, how they react to inverted flight, hammerheads, rolls , loops, slow flights etc. To get that experience you have to reach out and try more and more "difficult" airplanes. Having flown just high winged Cub-like-planes isn't the way to go if you want the advance in this hobby.

A very go low winged airplane is a Q-500 type airplane like the one below (China -Clipper) powered by a .40 ball bearinged engine.
This type of airplane can fly rather fast, around 180km/h, and slow like a CUB, but it's much more aerobatic and responsive thus require more knowledge. It isn't at all difficult to fly but as it is faster it´s more demanding.
Then when you can do rolls, hammerheads, do inverted flight at low level, rolling circles, pylon turns etc ...then after a year or two...then try out a warbird.

jester_s1

The OP has been in the hobby for 25 years. He's not a newbie. I do think the above theories are right about your problem though- a tip stall caused by taking off with too little airspeed or too steeply.

AugerDawger

Phoenix flight sim

DX6i

BNF e-flight / parkzone aircraft.

Park or other open space.

No AMA or club required.

overbored77

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THIS IS THE ORIGINAL POST.. Some how a question was asked and we are answering warbird questions inside KODIAK599's post.