Clackamas Hillbilly

Hi everybody,
I'm brand new to this board and new to RC aircraft. I'm a middle-aged guy that has been building models for decades including an Eagle II, but that was 30 years ago and I never got to fly it. I have experience with RC scale crawlers and boats, but never planes.
Today I purchased a Kadet Senior kit from my local hobby shop. It seemed to be a great starting plane and I really wanted a kit to build.
So I'm already planning on getting to know the local flying club and meeting folks there in an effort to find somebody to help mentor me before I fly it for the first time (roughly guessing it will be finished in the spring). But I was hoping maybe some of y'all could help guide me on engine, servo and radio selection before then.
Thank you!

Propworn

My Feedback: (3)

This is the perfect time to get involved with your local club. Who better to give you some ideas what to outfit your Kadet with. After all they are the ones going to help you out tuning and flying your kit. I even bet there are a few who have built and flown the kit and will be an encyclopedia of good information.

Dennis

Clackamas Hillbilly

Thank you

warhwk

My Feedback: (3)

I can tell you what worked for me. Mine came out a bit tail-heavy, so I used an older .61 two-stoke and an unused extra nicad battery under the tank for balance. It still flew like it was filled with helium. I installed barn-door ailerons (with dedicated servos) and reduced the dihedral by half. It taught many new pilots to fly. In fact, in a 5 mph mile wind, it could land vertical and I could even land it backwards on a windy days. Standard servo's work fine, 4 or 5 channel radio. I also used a 13-4 prop to keep the speed down for new pilots.

speedracerntrixie

My Feedback: (29)

Sounds like you went to R/C Hobbies. The Kadet Sr. Is a pretty good choice for your first airplane. It sounds like you will be learning from square one. That being the case a 2 stroke is going to be a little easier to deal with although IMO a 4 stroke suits that airplane better. As suggested starndard size and power servos will work just fine. I would also suggest the aileron option.

Clubs in the area, there is one fairly close in Boring. Great bunch of guys, mostly electric as they have valid noise concerns due to location. The field perimeter is fairly small as is the runway. The next closest is in Molalla. Again great group of guys however the field is much larger, has a huge grass runway that gets mowed weekly. This club is mostly gasoline and electric. In the 6 months I have been a member there I am the only guy that I have seen bring out a glow model. No issues doing so though. Both clubs require AMA. The other possible options are a club just across the river in Washington and another in Woodburn. Prior to moving to Happy Valley in June I visited most of the area club sites and decided on Molalla based on most of my flying is pattern and giant scale.

I will be more then happy to help you out in any way I can. Building advise, getting you in contact with a club etc, just ask.

Shawn.

Tom Nied

I fly mine using a Thunder Tiger GP 42. Very lazy flying all over the field. A Thunder Tiger Pro 46 might be a better match. With the GP I did have to add nose weight. I built mine as a 3 channel and learned how to fly on it 20 years ago and recently pulled it out of storage and flew again. Flies great but I wouldn't want to try to fly it windy conditions with that big "kite" wing. I use standard servos and upgraded to 2.4 ghz receiver.

Clackamas Hillbilly

Thank you Shawn, much appreciated! Actually I went to Mad Dawg hobbies in Sandy as I live between Sandy and Estacada and I have done business there before for my scale RC crawler. I stopped in there today and got a card for the Sky Knights club and thought I might go check them out. I'm also planning on grading in and smoothing out a nice little runway in my field. The last guy that owned this property was into RC flying and even had some pylons set up for it. Not sure where he took off and landed from as most of the field was taken over by blackberries, but I've cleared 90% of them out and have a great area to fly in.

Clackamas Hillbilly

Thank you for that info!

speedracerntrixie

My Feedback: (29)

OK, Mad Dogz, you must have spoken to Mike. I have been told he own both shops. Sky Knights is the field in Boring. Like I said it is a bit small for my tastes but it sounds really close to you. Molalla is a bit of a drive but much larger which I think would be better for a beginner. I am very close to the Clackamas Town Center and can be available to help you in person if you end up getting stuck. As far as radios go, Spektrum and JR are quite popular at both clubs but IMO any of the major brands will serve you well. The only time I would make a reccomendation of one over the other is if you may want to get into some specific airplanes.

Clackamas Hillbilly

Yeah, I'll probably go with a Spektrum for several reasons: I'm already a customer as I use one for my Axial SCX-10 scale crawler and I love it. They have a good reputation. And lastly I'm planning on buying an RC software simulator for my home computer and the bundle I was looking at comes with a Spektrum.

As for fields, where is the one in Molalla located? I'm a little familiar with the town but don't recall ever seeing anybody fly RC there. I'm also planning on putting in my own runway here at home as our field is a good 5+ acres, but that will be after I learn to fly solidly on my own.

speedracerntrixie

My Feedback: (29)

The Molalla field is south east of town off Adams Cemetery Rd.

JCavadas

Hello,

Welcome to the "club"!
On the power side, should you choose electric, a 500W motor turning a 13x4 prop would give you good all round performance. Pair it with some 4000 mAh batteries and you will have a very good flying time also. Should you require brands and specific options, I am happy to help.

Fly safe, stay safe