Hi, since i was young i always wanted to have on of these radio controlled airplanes...

now i am older and i'd like to have one but i am wandering what is better? gas or electric....

I am not rich... if i could by a use one or build mine slowly... step by step, it would be better for my wallet this way. and anyhow it's winter here... i live in quebec.

One thing i would like is maybe install floats on or skis, and i have a preference for tail wheels.

i tought that the electric could be a pain in the butt for always charging batteries... but i dont know if most of the people carry multiple battery for instant replacement and they go again.

like i said, i dont have a big budget, but would not mind to spend a bit every two monts to build up a plane. I only seen for real the gas ones and they were great! I saw a few electric planes on videos on the net and it doesnt sound good :P

if you have any suggestion or ideas you are more than welcome to write back to this post.

Thank you very much

Marc-Andre

from quebec

if you have really never flown.. id consider getting an RC simulator first off

Real flight G3 or Aerofly

there are some other free ones you can get online aswell (im sorry i cant remember their names just yet but im sure someone on here can chime in with them)..

you can use a little usb converter with a playstation dual analogue controller to fly on your pc just so you get your bearings and all..or you can jsut get a pc controller with dual analogue joysticks...

for me i got a copy of aerofly which someone ***cough***hacked***cough*** and used the playstation controllers then i got my planes.. i dont use the sim anymore though.

here are some links to what im talking about

super dual box pro
http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-...en-70-qc3.html

superjoybox 5 pro
http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-...en-70-qc4.html

i already had a ps2 so i just got that adapter

honestly if you can afford the simulator with in cluded Tx TAKE IT its a hell of a lot better than my method..

BUT if you want something free then ya my method is good words super with the free slight sims too

and what you need now is training!!!!

after that if you wanna get your feet wet you can jump on to towerhobbies and try you hands at some smaller easier to fly RTF
like the hobbico redhawk.. its about 70USD and easy to fly comes with every thing need to get airborne save for 8 AA batteries for the TX
its a really doclie flyer so fly in light wind conditions as the control throws on that thing are very little..

.. anyways.. thats my two cents ..

im a noob so you dont have to take my word for it

xero.

you said i can buy a simulator wich come with a tx ... so is it possible to use that tx after for a real rc plane?

er no i dont think so.. but i cant be totally sure

however

if you intend to get into RC bit by bit then you can buy a propper radio from the get go

" A stand alone"

Most usually come with servos aswell i think.. but you may need to get your frequency crystal seperate!


lest see what towerhobbies have got there
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/listings/cat-j.html

id get a 6 channel one for starters but i have no idea how deep your gonna go so you decide if you want more channels..

ill proly stick to foamy's......... maybe haha.. you never know..

thinking really hard about getting the US Aircore colt 40 and stepping up the power with a .61 engine
cuz i read its a heavy plane and needs power.. ill need to ask round on here to see if that feasable

here are the links in case your interested

engine
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXUR77&P=ML

colt 40
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXKH28&P=ML

it can be built as a tail dragger which is what id do if i got it.


Here you see the updated Tx of the one which i have
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...I=LXKAJ1**&P=0

i have the discontinued Futaba 6exa which i got from someone here on Rc universe actually..

no servos but they were kind enough to let me have the crystal (thank you so much!)
in the end i only payed 80USD for it and to me that was a great deal (but im a noob what do i know right?)

if cost is a serious factor id recomend getting a second hand one on here from someone in the classifides..

but keep in mind that if your gonna go with a bigger gas model later on it might be cost effective to get a new on with servos and all.


For me, i just got the Tx seperate then im gonna get a buddy cord and some kinda usb adapter for the flight sims
found here
http://www.mftech.de/usb-interface_en.htm


here aero fly offers an

AeroFly Pro Deluxe CD with USB interface cable or many different types of transmitters
http://aerofly.com/www/how_to_buy.html

here you can check out the requirements
http://aerofly.com/www/requirements.html

Supported transmitters

The following radios are compatible with the AeroFly Professional Deluxe USB interface. Unless otherwise noted all of the ollowing radios except some JR and Futaba radios work with the included adapters:

Graupner (FM-314, FM-414, MC10, MC12, MC14, MC15, MC16/20, MC18, MC19, MC22, MC24)
Futaba (F14, FC16, FC18, FC28)
Multiplex (Royal Evo-7/9/12, Profi MC 3000/4000, Cockpit MM, 2020, 3030, 4040)
Lexors Nova 4 and Nova 6
HITEC
Sanwa
Robbe
The following radios require a separate adapter:

JR radios X-347, X-387, X-388, X-756, X-3810, 652, 8103, 6102/2610, 9X/9303, 10X and Graupner MX12, MX16 and MX22: These radios require a special 3.5mm mono adapter. This adapter is available direct from IKARUS (order number 31036) and its dealer network and from the dealer network of J. Perkins Distribution in Great Britain.

Futaba radios 4YF, 6EX, 7C/FF7, 9C/FF9, 14MZ: The required square adapter is available direct from IKARUS (order number 31036) and its dealer network or from the dealer network of J. Perkins Distribution in Great Britain.

Futaba FX-15 and FX-18: These radios require a 2.5mm mono adapter available direct from Robbe (Robbe order number 1-8383 (FX))

i hope all this helps

xero.

as for electric or gas? man thats a tuff one.. for me im international so fuel is gonna be a little prob .. i cant get that stuff shipped here id have to travel to a neighbouring island to get it thats about 30 miles away by boat too..so im talking at least 150-300ECD my money to et there at least.. which is nuts.. so electric for me was the best choice..

there are car chargers.. just get extra batteries brushless motors while one is charging im flying.. each flight is 10-15 min just like on a gas model (tank size dependent)
i fly with a bud we are both noobs there are no clubs here either so every thing is elther forum taught or self taught lol

for you.. consider weather or not you can get what you need for you chosen type of flying quickly and eaisly..

both kinds of flying are good trust me i been watchin some videos and the electrics of today are WOW

however depending on what you wanna get into it could cost way more than gas.. (just depends)
the bigger and faster the more $$ and it seems to go exponentially too lol

my fave electric to date is the F-27 stryker you can find it at horizonhobby.com
its not for the biginer .. but i diddnt care had great fun with it .. fast little **** it was haha.. yeah i killed it gonna get another though hehe.
http://www.horizonhobby.com/Search/D...stryker&CatId=
you can get it rtf of arf depending on if you have your own radio etc


hope all this helps.

xero.

Electric absolutely rules in small models. It's affordable and much more reliable and cleaner than small (smaller than .20) engines. Go to medium size models (.40 to 1.20) and electric is still practical but the plane will be significantly more costly than a glow engine powered model. For a .60 size airplane powered by electricity, you can expect to need at least two, better yet three 4500 mAh 6-s lipo battery packs at a cost of about $280 each and a charger capable of charging them, preferably from 115 volt AC if it's available at your flying field. Recharge a half dozen batteries of this size with your car battery and you may need jumper cables to get your car started at the end of the day.
Electric powered giant scale is for the very rich.

The performance of lipo batterys and brushless motors is astonishing. At least half of the top ten competitors in F3A worlds were flying electrics.

There are four components in flying RC.

1. The airplane
2. The motor or engine.
3. The radio system
4. Field accessories

No matter what you do, you will need all of the above. The airplane, well, it can cost anywhere from $30.00 for a small electric to $150.00 for a good quality ARTF (almost ready to fly or simply ARF) trainer. Tower Hobbies has a great trainer, in ARF form, for about $70.00 go to http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXCAS2&P=ML and you will see it.

You will need a motor or engine. Electric motor of glow fuel engine. For the Tower, their Tower Hobbies .46 Glow is another $80.00. Go to http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXJA86&P=M to see this engine. This is a good quality inexpensive engine. We have sevral in our club and they all run great.

The radio is totally up to you, however, you can use the radio with some of the simulators, G3 I believe you can get with or without the controller, however, the controller that comes with the simulator is NOT a transmitter, it is wired to the computer for control via the USB port. However, most typical radio's have trainer capabilities (buddy box) that will connect to the G3 via an adapter. So, you can get double duty out of the transmitter. Basic radio systems, one model, no computer control, Tower has a Futaba entry level radio for $119 with a $5.00 rebate. http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...I=LXEFJ4**&P=M to see this radio.

Field accessories are totally up to you. Electric start or chicken stick, a glow driver, some tools, spare glow plug, propellor and at least one spare, rubber bands (to hold the wing to the fuselage.. normal operation for high-wing trainers and even for more advanced aircraft) and fuel are the basic requirements for flying RC.

All of the above are for fuel or glow trainers.

Electric will require the plane, motor, speed controller, battery, charger, and a radio system. However, these models are quite a bit smaller than their glow counterparts and, although are suitable for trainers, are somewhat tough to fly compared to the larter sized trainers.

Go to your local hobby shop or to the local RC club and talk to the people there to see what they recommend, what they are using. You may also be able to use a club trainer aircraft. Some clubs have them, complete with radio. You buy the fuel and the plane is there ready for you to train with.

Also consider the cost of the AMA, required at most fields, and if they will charge you membership (depends on your age). Youth students at our field fly for free, but MUST have AMA membership.

Best of luck.

DS.

yeah exactly!

Thats what i have noticed man.. i am all hyped into this electric thing but when i think of it from medium scale to giant??? going electric is just crazy expensive for my pockets...


and i dont just mean the lipo batts...wow those can get pricy...

side note: while lipo's are fab and all i cant help but to think that they are a heap of a bother too. i mean you really gotta watch these things, you can totally discharge them (must be discharged to a certain voltage) you cant bump them lol this goes for any batt im sure but lipo's cant take abuse from what im reading... and to me its just over all safer to use NIMH
sad thing is that NIMH are heavier and you dont get the lipo performance..... oh well cant have it all... ill stick to nimh for the time being until i can fly good enough so that my planes dont wind up in a swamp... then ill consider switching.

going back on track:

after the batts you also have to consider the motor your gonna use and the speed controller to accompany your plane and from the second your thinking about
.40 and up replacements? wow.... a speed controller can cost you anywhere from 40-280 USD ok woah... yes i did say 280USD just for the speed controller.. i think those are from konik is the most expensive ive seen and lets not even get into burshless motors maaaaaaaan!!!!

the big problem in all this for me ....... although electric is the ideal thing....its not practical for the area in which i fly... one its too expensive because the place where i fly can get crazy windy so i need a heavier plane.. at least a medium scale... .40 and up but electrics in that range are much liter than nitro planes which is still a little problem lol

so nitro is the way to go..and considering all i would need would be a servo for like 10-30USD for throttle in comparison to a 40-200USD speed controller its a win win way i see it.
the only problem is the dang fuel..... now... there are regular gas engines... but woah.... we are talking big and 4 stroke thats $$$$$
i dunno if there are smaller ones i have not seen them...and i woudl totally go that way cept...... before i spend that kinda $$ id like to know that i can fly the darn plane perfect first ... aint no way im taking a chance on an over 400USD plane NO WAY!
thats 1086.76ECD my money can you say ouch to my pockets? and i have not even gotten to shipping and customs charges yet.. er no i think ill hold off till i can do this right thanks!

xero.

CGRetired is totally right!
not to mention a lot more thought out and logical than i put things haha

but you can get all of what he just pointed out in an RTF (ready to fly) setup from towerhobbies aswell.. check it out

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...=LXCXF4**&P=ML

i hear these planes are pretty good.. they would be my very first choice.. but um i have a tendency to er... well... crash so id like to go with something more durable
which is why i wanna go with the US aircore colt 40 and stick a .61 motor on there.. that way ill defeat the problem i read about with the plane being under powered at .40

xero.

Electrics are usually a bit smaller in size. There are a couple of reasons for that. The reasons tell you something about electric.

Nowadays, a couple of mfg's are offering "40 size electrics" etc. They do that to give some sort of size description that most modelers would understand. But when you look closely at the "size" they're talking about the size really is interesting. The electric that is supposed to be say a 40 size really is a 35 size usually. Why?

The batteries nowadays are expensive. And to fly much, you're going to need more than one. And you're going to also need a charger that'll work at the flying field and preferably work quick enough that it's worth lugging to the flying field. And even with expensive batteries those mfg's size their planes on the small side because the electric motors they choose to describe in glowfuel engine sizes aren't powerhouses. They could easily have chosen to do differently, but universally did not. They certainly have more powerful electric motors. But they didn't. Cost might have been the driving force. Because when you look at the really big electrics, costs are so outrageous that they aren't going to scare off the modelers who're shelling out those big bucks and they call a spade a spade.

Look closely at whatever electric you are interested in. Compare it's size and cost with glowfuel models in the same range. Then remember that the electric is going to require a couple of flight batteries, not just one. They're cool airplanes, but nowadays aren't exactly equal. If they're different models the electric is usually smaller and lighter.

But if you convert a gas model to electric you find a different picture. Very often the converted model comes out heavier. And the price of it's batteries is eyeopening. It's interesting that if you compare a "40 size" electric model to a 40size gas, the electric is usually at least 10% smaller and is almost always more lightly constructed and winds up weighing less at flying weight. It'll need less expensive batteries, but also won't handle wind as well. But convert a 40size gas design to electric and the result will be a measurably heavier ready to fly airplane that set you back a months pay for engine and batteries.

Both work well. But pay attention to the details and whichever suits you won't disappoint you.

Im also a canadian bigenrer and tower is really not suited well for canadian buyrs i HIGHLY suggest you buy things from greathobbies.com

anyways may help you save a little

Steven

Ahh good point Flying_freak.. i never thought of the overseas charges for you guys in canada!

as for me... lol well i have no choice so its expensive either way i look at it.. hence the reson i stuck with low cost RTF toys first then went into someting much more er.... (dang it had that metophor all worked out)

anyway you get the point.

xero.

Gas is still the way to go for a trainer. You can get a bigger, better flying model for less than the equivalent electric.

Electric has come a long way in the last few years, and IMO is the future of R/C. The massive growth of suburbia will result in more pressure on R/C clubs to curtail noise and this will lead to faster development and acceptance of electrics.

Electric power is probably where digital photography was in the mid 90's--set to make rapid gains and eventually all but replace internal combustion engines as a power source. (Interestingly enough, almost the opposite has occurred in the R/C car arena. Electric power was king of the hill ten years ago, but now "nitro" cars are the big thing.)

here is a lovely nitro model from greathobbies

http://www.greathobbies.com/producti...od_id=TTT4523F

i saw these a long time ago when i first wondered about RC wow must have been 15 years ago or something

.. then again maybe im totally wrong but im sure what i saw was a tiger plane and my memory says it looked just like this one..

seems to be just like the tiger model for the main landing gear color scheme and it just generally looks better IMO... same MKII plane though i think

looks like a nice model and its not very expensif for an rtf only thing is im not sure if her wants to do any building if he doesntmind it comeing in a box already done this would be a wonderful model

One thing Marc-Andre did not mention was how is he going to learn to fly? If you are prepared to join a club they will most likely be prepared to teach you & will recommend what to buy, most will say a 40 size trainer. Go with what the club recommends, they will have had experience with different models, good & bad, & will steer you to what they know works.

If you are going to teach yourself to fly a $150 40 sized trainer will cost you about $10 per second on your first flight, assuming you do not break the radio system or engine as well as the model. Better off starting with a small, bouncable model which means electric. A GWS slow stick or something similar will fly slowly enough to let you teach yourself to fly, but only on calm days at first. These things are cheap, quick to build, use inexpensive battery chargers & you easily could afford more than one battery. I'm sure someone, somewhere has fitted floats or skis to a Slow Stick, yes it has a tailwheel. On special at Great Hobbies now - $36 bucks!
http://www.greathobbies.com/producti...rod_id=GWS1040 Includes motor but you will need radio, battery, charger.

Up to you to decide which path is right for you! - John.

HOly crap!!!!!!!


Thats a revolutionary idea!!!!!!!!!!!!.....

i cant believe that never hit me!!!

i have seen this thing in magazines and onine before but it never tickeled my fancy
man did i think it was ugly!!!


but after flying about with other planes.. i know now that anything i get in the air will bring me joy... i wish i saw this thing sooner honestly it would have really helped me with the three channel flying...


get this... i can fly a 4 channel plane fine and i got used to the delta wing on the F-27 stryker in three flights....but 3 channels?... wow! they kill me i cant fly that

any plane i fly it seems has to have ailerons otherwize im kissing the ground.. aaaannd fast!!!

i just cant figure it out

why is it so darn hard for me to fly a three channel plane even in the flight sim!!!!!!!!!!!!!??????????????

its so frustrating i just need more control of the aeroplane!!

i need it!

wow, so many replys.... You guys are fantastic! I'll take my time to decide, i know there is a shop close by to my place, i'll probably go see them soon...

Thank you very much

Marc-André

what do you guys think of that?

http://www.rcdiscounts.com/acbhpusa/...roduct_ID=1723

i think it's allright.... but i would like better having a tail dragger to start....

is this something good at least?

how expensive is the gas and does it allways cost money to keep this thing in shape all the time?

thanks

Marc-Andre

Good plane, good radio, good engine. BUT if you try to fly it by yourself you WILL break it, a lot! A simulator will help but you must be taught to fly a model like that. You will crash a model like the Slow Stick too but it's small, light, will bounce a bit & will fly slow enough to give you a fighting chance. Remember, $10 per second! - John.

Ah yes the nextstar lol....i considered this thing... what with all its anti crash blah blah etc etc.....

man balsa scared the crap outta me no matter how much they claim this thing corrects its self in flight.. heck i even watched the videos...

i made sure and stayed away from expensive balsa planes but good and i still will ..

here is the thing..

i have two fields at which i can fly...
one at the top of a cliff.. soft off.. loads of bush below and boy is it deep.. the winds here is freaky.. high then low.. the bad thing about this field? its only suited for small park flyers however the freak winds? not at all for park flyers (strangely enough the F-27 did a mighty fine job there)

the other place aw man its wide open... the bad.... its a swamp

onelovely main dirt road for landings and take off but swamp on either side .... way i figure it


to learn first fly cheap... when your good they you can go balsa....

dude you wanna fly and you dont wanna spend much money... so your thinking

ok ill get myself a good easy trainer somethign thats big enough looks good and that ill wanna keep forever spend some good cash once and for all and be done with that

not at all a bad plan.. cept you cant fly yet.....

thats why i said flight sim to begin with.

if you dont wanna sepnd money on the sim .. get the free ones.. but what ever you do.. GET THE DANG SIM!

if you listen to nothing else... then at least take the advice wich Boomerang1 gave you and buy that slow sitck and fly in lite conditions.. i gaurantee it will be an eye opener lol.

you wont regret it... sure its small sure its ugly sure you dont wanna be caught dead flying that thing and anyone watching .. but the lessons it will teach you will be invaluable..

get a great radio and some servos with it to boot al la radio plus 4 servos for round $180 (they are sold together) or get juts a plane non computer radio for round $80
but that slow sitck and have your self some good clean risk free fun!

by the time your ready for a plane you wont think about that nextstar anymore. you will want something better.... heck i heard that the MKII 40 trainers fly better than any nextstar
i ahve no idea why.. but if they fly better and they are cheaper why not>?

xero,

yeah, you guys are right... i may want to have a nice plane too fast... and i dont want to spend 10 $ a second too!

I want to buy a plane wich come with a simulator... i think some does no?

i dont want to sound stupid but what is a slow stick? and what is a plane with a non computer radio? why is it cheaper?

is there a way i could fly a so called slow stick with a gas engine?

men this is getting complicated! hahahah

thanks

Marc-Andre

nexstar- by far the most hated trainer at my club none of the instructor really like taking it up they all find it VERY tail heavy most of them end up with so much wait in the front trying to get int balnce that it no longer flies nice,

one more thing the covering thats on there does NOT last very long most of them are being held togeather with ca so the monokote wont fall off them.

So the nexstar is not that great of a trianer also the "anticrash" doesnt work that well cause if you go over water or snow (or for that matter anything that reflect light) the dame thing goes nuts and when it is wrking its always fighting you in the turns so its only usefull when you flying parales to the run way (whish is when you fly any trainer hands free and they dont need any anti crash)

So i dont think the Nexstare is THAT great but i have to give it one thing it looks more scale

thank you flying freak, i'll take that in consideration...

Dude???
are you serious?
this next star is that bad?
holy crap.. my bud was all hyped up to get that thing...what with all its lovely extras... man at almost $400 it sounds like a waste of money now!
thanks god for forums like this one maaaaaaaan.. you just saved us both a bundle at that...

ill stick with the colt 40 stick on a .61 form tower build that turbo wing opiton and be merry.

then maybe move on to the mkII if i dont like the colt or feel confident enough that i wont crash it lol

xero.