Hey All:

For many months I've been thinking about returning to the hobby of my youth. Finally a couple of weeks ago I went into my local hobby shop just to look around and I bought a little Guillow's Cessna 150, rubber power....just like the ones I used to spend hours on when I was a young teen. Well building it, flying and crashing it brought back a lot of fine memories. It was nice to see I could still build even though I'm still averaging one major repair for every two flights! But it was fun. In fact it was so much fun that I knew for sure I wanted to build and fly a "real" plane!
So I've read much, done some research and lurked in the forums here to learn more about all this RC business and to figure out what kind of model I should get and where I should buy it. I think I now know that the plane for me is going to be the Sig Kadet Senior in the full kit. This plane looks to be a good trainer and it should satisfy my love of building. The engine I think will be a GMS .47 2 stroke. This is not an overly pricey engine but it should still have lots of power. I will be buying these and most of everything else I need online from Hobby Wholesale. I would like to support my local hobby shop but the same items will cost me $150 more there and that's a bit too much support!
I have no clue at all about the radio equipment that I should get but I assume it's going to take me some time to build this puppy and I'll figure it out before I'm finished.
I wonder what you all might think of my choices of equipment and supplier. Are there other things I need to obtain besides the radio? I know about having to buy wheels, prop, gas tank and cover material but maybe there are some major items that I'm missing. How long should a build like this take? Weeks, months?? Is buying online a big hassle not worth the savings?
I am preparing a spare room in my house as a shop. I'll have a 4x8 bench top of 3/4 MDF covered with ceiling tile which I hope will work well. I don't know much about any special tools I'll need. I do have a sneaky suspicion that there is a whole lot of stuff a guy will need to spend money on in order to be into this great hobby!!
Anyway I'm very excited about all this. I'm going to wait a few more days before I place my order to make sure I'm getting all I should.
In the mean time I would appreciate any tips, advice, warnings or eye opening horror stories you guys might have for a greenhorn! Thanks.

Fred

Hey Fred,

Glad to hear you are taking the plunge into R/C. Another good Mail Order R/C shop in Canada is Great Hobbies (http://www.greathobbies.com), it is also located in Edmonton. As you build you will figure out what you need. For starters you will need some Exacto knives, hobby saws, drill, pliers, etc. Also you will need a covering iron and I recomend a Heat gun as well. Then you should also get a flight box w/Elec Starter. As you go along you will figure out what you need, everyone has their own way of doing things.

As for the motor, I would take a look at the Thunder Tiger Pro .46, it is also inexpensive. I had a friend that had a GMS and had nothing but problems with the engine.

-Ryan

Welcome aboard, Fred.

That Kadet is a great plane to start with. Read the instructions several times, and you'll find a lot of answers to your questions. Then, before you start pulling wood out of the box, read them again.

One word of advice on radios : Buy the best one you can afford, rather than the less expensive 4-channel radio. Even the basic six channel radios, now, sometimes lack a few features. A good six channel, with dual rates on 3 channels and exponential on the same three will take you a long way in this activity. Some of the available offerings do not have dual rate on rudder, and I find that feature very useful.

Good luck,
Dave Olson

Welcome aboard,,great ideas , but,,when you start to build it goes like this , page one start on the wing, page 2 install radio gear here, page 3 begin fuselage, page 4 mount engine..etc,etc..you will need everything in a very short time radio, engine,..not quite that quick but you get the idea...I started with a goldberg eagle II and thats how it went....get the small stuff at the LHS or they'll stop stocking it, it'll cost more too but , support (you know),,,, good luck with it..I second the idea to go with a good 6 channel radio,, if you start with a 4 channel you will want a 6 pretty soon...if you start with a 6, you wont really worry about an 8 or 9 channel,, I prefer Futaba myself but, what ever your local clubs use may be better to help you begin with...Rog

After a couple years it will go like this,

1. Buy the plane, open the box, throw away the directions and hardware and build the plane!

Welcome back to the insanity........ERR, I mean hobby.

First, get an instructor and a buddy box cord. It will make learning easier (and less expensive )

The Kadet will make an excellent trainer.

For an engine I suggest a USER FRIENDLY engine. Some of the better user friendly engines are: OS 46AX, Thunder Tiger Pro and Evolution. By user friendly, I mean that 99%+ will run great right out of the box. There are many good engines out there, but quite a few need a bunch of "fiddling with" to get to run right. The Evolution engines are pre run at the factory and preset to run properly. The down side are their "limiters" on the throttle and idle, however, these can easily be removed if desired.

For a radio, I suggest a 6 (or more ) channel COMPUTER radio. You will not be using many of the functions initially, however, by your 3rd or 4th plane you will be using many of them. I also suggest the following BEFORE BUYING THE RADIO: Find out what brand is used by the majority of the members where you will be flying and get that brand. Manuals are good, but a live person with knowledge of your radio is better when (not if, but when) a problem comes up. I also suggest finding out what are the LEAST USED channels at your field and get the radio on one of these channels. This will minimize your waiting time for the channel to clear so you can fly.

There are many good, REPUTABLE places to buy on line. Tower Hobbies and Horizon Hobbies are some of the better known. To safe guard yourself from "fly by nighters" I would use a credit card for purchases. I buy the majority of my stuff on line and over the years have only had a problem once, and that was easily fixed because I used a CC (they did a charge back ). Here is a URL you may want to check out for some of the lesser well know stores.
http://dmoz.org/Shopping/Recreation/...rol/Airplanes/


For additional equipment for the work bench here is a partial list - I am sure others will add to it:

T pins

Thin CA (I get 2 oz bottles)

Micro tubing (You put this inside the tip of the thin CA so you can have better control of the amount/location of CA applied)

Medium CA (I get 2 oz bottles)

Thick CA (I get 1 oz bottles since I use very little thick CA)

Extender tips for the medium and thick CA

30 minute epoxy (I would not bother with 5 minute as it is substantially weaker)

Bottle of rubbing alcohol (for cleaning up after epoxy)

Container of acetone (for removing excess CA from extender tips and ungluing fingers Keep a small WELL CAPPED jar near your work bench)

Metal 18" or 24" straight edge/ruler

Plastic 30/60/90 degree triangle

two exacto handles for #11 blades

box of 100 #11 blades (Trust me on this - you WILL USE them )

Pencils

wax paper (for protecting plans, etc. )

Sealing iron (for applying the covering )

Ball drivers OR a set of LONG allen wrenches - regular and metric

screw driver set - MAKE SURE IT HAS A #1 PHILLIPS TIP. You will be using that quite a bit for your servo and other screws

Needle nose pliers

Servo extensions in 6" and 12" lengths

Masking tape in 3/4" and 2" widths (I suggest the 3M brand. This is a blue tape. Get the "60 Day Safe Release" tape. It will hold almost as well as regular masking tape, but will not pull wood fibers or any underlying paint off )

A small ball of string (It comes in VERY handy for checking alignments of wings to fuselage distances.)


Some nice to have items:

Heat gun

Trim iron

Straight and bent nose hemostats

clamps

Hope this helps with the work shop

Hi Fred, first off I live in Alberta so we are neighbours, sort of. The liability insurance in Canada is called MAAC. I have included the link below. Its inexpensive and pays for itself. I like to order my stuff from Great Hobbies because of the prices and great service. IF you have a MAAC card, shipping is free if your order is over $100.00. For a trainer I would look at others such as the Sig LT40. Reason, it has balsa reinforced sides whcih is pretty sturdy and its a gret flyer. The Kadet Senior has criss crossing sticks that make up the fuselage. Hit something with that, and all the little sticks go flying whcih takes hours to try and repiece together! On the engine, as someone else suggested go with the Thuinder Tiger PRo 46. Much more relaible and easy to adjust. The OS 46AX is a great engine as well but more money. Others have commented on the radio so all I will say is pick one of 2 brands, either Futaba or Airtronics. Other brands have issues with servos, buddy boxes, ect. Hope this helps, Fast!
http://www.maac.ca/[8D]

i second not going with the gms on your first plane back into the hobby. the thunder tiger is a great engine at a great price ($80 from tower). the O.S. AX is also a winner but at a premium.

personally i love 4-stroke engines and would love to see a magnum forestroke (if you don't want to spring for a saito or o.s.) in there.

welcome back into the hobby!

ill second getting the thunder tiger 46. also for a radio take a look at the hetec optic 6. you can get that with the spectra module that will let you use any channell you want for about 180 bucks.

I know everyone says spend as much money as you can on your first radio, and I can see their point--you don't want to have to buy something else later on. However, here is my point on that. You can get a 4 channel radio with four servos, receiver, batteries, switch--the whole works for only a few (and I mean a FEW) more dollars than you can get a flight pack that does not contain a radio. Now, lets say you get another plane in a few months, or next year--it's gonna happen. At that point, you will either buy a flight pack (assuming you bought an expensive, six channel radio on your first plane), or you'll probably at this point buy a more expensive, six channel radio with flight pack (assuming you bought the inexpensive, four channel analog radio on your first plane).
Now, lets look at price comparisons, shall we:

Plan A--buy a computer six channel radio now, and "save money" down the road:
First plane radio/flight pack--around 270 dollars for a good six channel computer radio.
Second plane flight pack--around 100 dollars for four servos, rx, battery, and switch
Total--370 dollars.

Plan B--buy a cheap four channel analog radio now:
First plane radio/flight pack--around 120 bucks, or less, depending upon brand.
Second plane--new 6 channel computer radio/flight pack--270 dollars.
total--390 dollars.

So, really you're only saving about 20-30 bucks maximum by "buying what you can the first time). And, who knows if you'll even stay in the hobby. This way, if you don't stay in, you don't have a lot of money tied up in it.

Just my .02

Thanks very much for the tips guys, this is the stuff that I was hoping for and one of the reasons these forums are so useful (and fun!)
Ryan, I have read some bad reviews about the GMS .47 but as I understand it those were earlier models that tended to leak air. The newer ones supposedly have had this bug worked out. The TT 46 is another $40. I'm trying to keep the costs down initially, (I'm not cheap....I'm thrifty!! I have this scary vision of my airplane augering into the ground at a high rate of speed turning several hundred dollars worth of gear into toothpicks!
I will follow Dave and Rog's advice about the radio. I will buy a good one and probably sooner than I had expected to. Do I understand correctly that a 6 channel set comes with 6 servos? And if the servos get pulverized at some point you can get replacements for the same radio? Thanks again for the help.

Fred

A good rugged 40 size trainer, a 6 channel computer radio (I like Futaba but others are good too) (will work for years or life), ThuderTiger or Evo motor. Go ahead a start looking for a club. Check out what kind of field equipment they have and where they get it. This way YOU can pick out what you want, where you will get it and meet some great guys at the same time. You will also find out if they are the kind of club you want to be in. Check out several clubs if you can, they can have different goals and attitudes. You will find the one you will fit into best this way. ASK QUESTIONS!!!! They won't mind, unless they just crashed.

Welcome to the hobby madness.

Wow thanks for the shop tool list Campy, it will come in handy....luckily I have a well set up and stocked tool chest already (I'm a tradesman) so a lot of that stuff I won't need to buy.

Fred-

A six channel radio generally only comes with 4 servos. Extra servos are about $13US and you can always get replacements. Servos are actually pretty durable and usually don't get "pulverized," even when everything else does. You do need to check them closely for damage after a crash because you don't want them to fail.

I'd still rethink your engine choice. I've not heard many good things about GMS. You want something that you know is reliable. Give some thought to the new SuperTigre engines. They're supposed to be pretty good and reasonable as well.

-Scott

They come with 4 servos because there are 4 basic functions in most airplanes.
1. Throttle
2. Elevator
3. Rudder & Nose/tail wheel
4. Ailerons
You will most likely progress to aircraft with 2 aileron servos at some point and may use an additional channel for one of those. You may also add retract landing gear or bomb drops or some other feature using additional channels. The computer functions will allow you to MIX these functions and control their "response curves" to your liking. Basic servos are in the $13-20 range depending on many factors including place of purchase. You may damage gears inside the servos during a crash or from mis-handling and often replacement parts are available. For the cost, simply replacing the entire servo is usually better. If you get into the High dollar servos, That is a different story you don't need to worry about for now.[

I agree with getting a basic radio for now. Reason: you won't be able to use the extra channels, dual rates, ect. while you are training. The buddy boxes only make use of the basic controls. Most 2nd type planes don't use flaps, or retracts which is mostly what the extra channels are for. By the time you are ready for a plane that has these on them the computer radios will have more features, be easier to use. It will also be cheaper because like other electronic products the prices are dropping all the time. If you need extra servos a standard Futba servo is $14.00 Can. at Great Hobbies. I have included the link below for you to check out. There prices and service are hard to beat. Go for the Thunder Tiger engine, even if it costs more. You will be glad you did the first time you run it!! Theres nothing more frustrating than having a finicky engine. My first engine was an OS 46FX, expensive but easy to run and awesome power. It still runs like new and has out lasted several planes after 6 years. A good instructor will save your plane many times over while you learn how to control it so its not likely that the plane will end up spialling into the ground. [8D]

http://www.greathobbies.com/

Welcome,

First of all, I have flown the Senior, the regular Kadet, the Kadet Jr, and the Seniorita. They are good planes. The Senior is a very slow airplane. It is a hoot. But it isn't very "wind" friendly. If it is windy in your neck of the woods, the senior may not give you good utility. I would actually recommend the regular Kadet.


A four channel radio will work fine. They generally don't have the bells and whistles like the 6 channel radios do. My Attack 4 radio, the cheapest radio that I own is in a rather expensive model, Ercoupe. It just didn't seem right to have a fancy radio in an Ercoupe. Anyway, the 4 channels don't usually have dual rates or another feature common to 6's that adjust the endpoints of the throttle servo. Both of those features DO make radio installation easier. Almost all radios come with servo reversing now and that helps greatly.

As for engines, my opinion is this: Buy a premium top brand engine. This is the component that determines if you are going to have fun or if you are going to have headaches. Spend the extra few dollars. They are all CNC specs now, the top brands cost more because you are paying for the metals in the premium names. A good engine last a very long time, decades, so buy the best. I run OS Max and can recommend them.

The ceiling tiles are a great idea. That is what I use. How did you figure that out on your own ?

Unlike the little peanuts, the RC's use a variety of glues including Epoxy. Not much, but in a couple of key places.