I've been reading a lot of posts here trying to decide whether to get a Hobbico Avistar Select RTF or a Hangar 9 Arrow RTF. I'm not exactly a beginner to RC flying since I've been flying small electrics for about two years, but I am fairly new to glow planes having flown an old three channel Hobbico Sturdy Birdy about 10 times. I want an RTF high wing advanced trainer and from what I've read the Avistar and the Arrow seem to be pretty good planes.

I like the Arrow because it has more wing area and a bigger engine which I think should give it both shorter takeoff and slower landing capabilities, but am leaning toward the Avistar because it has Futaba radio equipment and I already have a Hitec Flash 5 SX computer transmitter that I would like to use with the new plane. I have read a lot here about using two aileron servos to enable the use of flaperons to slow the Avistar down for landing which is something I'm very interested in. I've done it with the Flash 5 SX on one of my electric planes. Since the Arrow comes with JR equipment, I don't believe it will work with the Hitec Flash 5 SX.

The reason I want short takeoffs and slow landings is because I want to fly this plane at home where I fly my electrics and the Sturdy Birdy, as well as at the club field. The Sturdy Birdy is very difficult to takeoff safely at home because it requires a pretty long run if there's no headwind. It's a good thing it is sturdy.

I do not want to go the ARF route. I can do it, it's just not what I have in mind right now.

My main questions are:

Am I correct in assuming the Flash 5 SX will work this way with the Futaba receiver that comes with the Avistar Select RTF?

And, am I correct in assuming that it will not work with the JR receiver in the Arrow?

Or, would I just be better off with the Arrow and not need to worry about slowing it down? (Although I might have to try it anyway just because I like to see how things work.)

Any other comments, suggestions or experiences about these two airplanes or any of the assumptions I am making would be very welcome.

Thanks.

1. You are correct that JR and Futaba are NOT compatible.

2. SOME Hitec/Futaba are compatible; I'm not certain in this case. You would have to have the same channel xmitter/rcver chip. (@$15.00 each) This is a forum for manufacterer questions on RCU.

3. Unless you are in a deserted area (no kids or other houses around), I would suggest that you NOT fly a glow-powered plane at home. There are HUGE liability issues involved, and no one wants to be responsible for injuring (or even killing) another human being with an out-of-control aircraft. If you are at a club/AMA member, you get over $2milllion in liability insurance and the help of a group of experienced pilots (whether you want it or not!). I cannot emphasize enough what a bad idea it is to fly in a populated area!

4. I've heard the Avistar is a very good plane. Don't really know anything about the Arrow. Of course, you could always "bash" any plane to include separate wing servos and set up "flaperons."

Hope this helps--Good luck, and get some assistance from experienced glow pilots!

G~

Your Hitec Flash 5 SHOULD be compatible with the Futaba Receiver. They will of course, have to be on the same channel. (But then you already knew that from flying other stuff. )

I too hope that your "home" is in a very remote area, with houses no closer than a mile or so. These things do travel a long ways pretty quickly, and injuring someone or damaging property leaves a black mark on all of us. [:@]

Welcome to RCU!
Dennis-

1. Thanks, I was pretty sure of that one. I believe JR is positive shift, Futaba and Hitec negative.

2. Yes, and I understand the receiver crystals have to be the right type for the receiver, either dual conversion or single conversion, but the receiver has to be the right type to match the transmitter as well. Hitec says Flash transmitters require dual conversion PPM receivers. I've sent emails to Futaba & Hobbico to try to find out the specs on the rx-no replies yet.

3. I am an AMA member and a local club member and am conscientious about my flying. I certainly plan to fly whichever plane I get at the club field first to make sure it's suitable for my home flying area. I'm sure everyone has a different perception of the word "home". See attached picture of what mine looks like.

4. Yes, I'm sure you could, but it would be nice before the "bashing" to know if someone else had already tried it and if it's worth the effort. The Arrow must be fairly new. There doesn't seem to be much info on it yet.

I've been getting some assistance from other local glow flyer club members (bugging them with lots of questions ), and I was hoping to get some assistance from some glow flyers here experienced with the specific equipment I'm interested in. Since there seems to have been quite a lot of interest in doing things to slow down the Avistar, I thought maybe somebody had already tried what I was thinking.

Thanks for the reply.

(This is my first attempt at posting a picture here. I hope it works ok.)[sm=bananahead.gif]

My flying area ...

Thanks Dennis. I appreciate the help.

Nice flying site!! Wish our CLUB site was that nice! Good luck.

G~

Thanks Gary. It's ok, but it's kind of hilly and there's too many trees. But you can't beat the drive to the field. [8D]

BTW, I got replies from Futaba and Hobbico which seem to indicate that the Hitec Flash 5 SX should work with the Futaba rx in the Avistar, since Hitec's rx requirements are negative shift PPM, and PPM just means FM.

The Hitec Flash 5 SX works just fine with the Futaba R127DF receiver that came with the Avistar Select RTF. I've been flying it for quite a while now at the club field and it's just great. I range-checked it to about 160 feet with no problems. I put two HS-81 servos in the wing in place of the Futaba S3003 to enable flaperons and they work well. I flew the plane at home tonight for the first time. It was very calm and I am very comfortable with the plane now so I went for it. It was very tight quarters but with the help of the flaperons, I had two good flights without any problems.

Thanks again to everyone for your help.