hey all, went to a local Fun fly event the other day and I'm now hooked on learnig to fly. I have some experienes with electric helicopters and nitro rc cars so i dont think it would be to hard to start up. I have my good trusty Optic 6 radio and an HFS-04 reciever(its micro but its full range, single conversion, can I still use it?). Im thinking of getting some hitec standard servos as i am on a budget, as for the plane I think I'm going to get the Avistar ARF. does this plane come with gas tank and linkages included or do you have to buy them extra? Also I have a 5-cell rx pack of 2/3A cells 1050mah, will this work in an airplane or will it be too heavy? not enough power?(their .8oz per cell so 4ozfor the pack). As for the engine, theres the evo .46 or the super tiger .45 or i could spent more and get an OS engine. I know how to tune car nitro engines, how different is it from tuning airplane engines?

Oh, one more thing....what does it take to start one of these things? I'll get some fuel, got my glow starter from my nitro car, so just a fuel pump??.....I'm to cheap for an electric starter so can i just flick the prop or use a stick or something???
that just about does it i think..
thanks for the help

opps. just so i dont get any posts on how important it is to get an instructor, I WILL be going to the field and an instructor is going to be helping me
thanks

I say get a electric starter...u can start the motors with a chicken stick...but its hard (for me, the ones ive tried) to start small 40 sized 2 strokes with a flip...4 strokes turn over every time...but the 2 strokes just never work for me on a flip...

I'm just starting the hobby myself and was also on a budget. The electric starters are nice, but I use a chicken stick and as long as you keep your engine tuned starting it shouldn't be too much of a problem. I have and OS .46 LA and love it so far. My next engine will be BB engine probably an OS .46 just because they get such good reviews. I'm not too sure about the rest of your questions, I believe if the transmitter you mentioned above was used for cars you probably won't be able to use it for airplane, different frequencies I believe. Some of the guys that have been doing this longer than I have will be able to help you out on that. One last thing, welcome to the addiction.

hehe, Ya i knew that my rx is in the aircraft frequency range, Im just wondering if full range means that i can use it in normal airplanes, I've been using the rx in my micro heli but I crashed it on a windy day and I'm too lazy to fix/replace the broken parts.
Anyway, I heard the the supertiger engines are the way to go....its that true or should I go with OS. where I know they make quality engines. 40 buck price difference though(CAD)

I've had the Hitec Feather RX glitch bad on me when flying with other TXs... not sure if your HFS-04 will reject adjacent channels any better. Everyone at my field flies dual conversion RXs only in nitros.

I'd spend the $$$ and get an OS engine, but that's all I fly... they run great and are easy to tune, so I don't care to mess with any other brand. The OS .50 SX is what I put in my Avistar... the .46 AX is a little cheaper, and is a good engine as well. The .50 is ringed, the .46 is not, though...

Get an electric starter... safer and easier...

Your 2/3A batt pack should be fine... get a Hobbico VoltWatch battery monitor for it to be sure you don't try to fly with a low battery...

oh, one more question, which is a better brand for standard servos? Hitec, Futaba, JR......??

thanks

So many questions, and so many answers!! Most of your questions fall into the user opinion. For example, Evo vs OS engine. In the 46 range, the Evo comes broken in, and is close to optimum settings out of the box. The OS engines are reliable, but there is a big difference in power between the cheaper LA series and the more expensive AX engines, primarily because of the bearings. Personnally, I recommend the Thunder Tiger Pro 46. It has the power of the AX for the price of the LA.

A fuel pump is not necessary, but it is convenient. A 4 oz bulb works good, but you'll get fuel on your hands. Set it up such that you're pumping fuel into the tank through the fuel feed line to the carb. Disconnect the line from the carb to prevent flooding the engine.

As for starters, I have an electric starter, but I mostly use it for winter flying, when the engines are very hard to start. I normally use a chicken stick, and with the exception of the first start for the day, my engines start on the first or second flip - The first start may take a few more. If you get the Avistar, you may want to start off using the chicken stick to prevent messing up your cone. Flipping backwards tends to work better. A couple times not holding the starter tight enough agains the cone and you'll have a permanent ring gouged in the plastic. Also with the chicken stick, I've never had my starter battery die.

Tuning is a little different. You'll want to find the peak RPM while adjusting the high speed needle, then turn it back to the rich side a few clicks (300-500 rpm). You want the airplane engine running rich on the ground so that when it leans out in the air, its not running too lean. You may need to mess with the low speed mixture a little, but wait until the engine is fully broken in. Your engine manual should describe how to do it.

Before you fly your newly built plane, whichever one you decide on, take it to your local club and have them do a thorough pre-flight inspection. There are many things they'll know that aren't included in the instructions. Even if its RTF, there a few things to do to make sure it ready, such as keepers on all servo arms, making sure control surfaces don't have too much play, verifying center of gravity, etc.

Glad to hear you've got an instructor. If you're a quick learner great! You'll save yourself a lot of frustration and $$$. A few weeks on a buddy box is well worth a lifetime of enjoyment. Most decent clubs offer free lessons to members.

Best of luck!
Brad

Personally, I use Futaba full size servos in my nitro planes and helis, and Hitec HS-55s in my micro electric planes & helis.

It's all a matter of opinion... I like the Futabas because I know that family of servos pretty well, and know which ones I like for different applications. I've also found them to be pretty rugged & reliable. The HS-55s are probably the most popular sub-micro servos for foamies and micro electric helis.

Servos and receivers: I use Hitec, Futaba and JR servos interchangeably. When buying new, I find the Hitec products reliable and inexpensive.

.46 sized engines: TT .46, OS. AX 46, GMS .47, Magnum .52 <-- all can be made to run like a deer. Currently I'm buying GMS and Magnum. OS are great engines, just like lamborghini's are great cars ($$$).

Portable, battery operated starters are recommended. Its very convenient to just bring a glow battery and starter to wherever your plane is on that prop strike.