Depending on what you'd call close, there are anywhere from two to five fiends I could fly from. I am familiar with two, though since Ive decided to try the hobby again I have only been to one. The one I went to, and probably will stick with in spite of its smaller area relative to the others is 5 minutes from my house, has a 500' x 25' paved runway with a 20' grass strip to the far side for grass landings, and sits behind an aviation museum.

The other field I am familiar with, and a few others looking at the map, are not less than 30 minutes out, actually the one is probably only 20-25 minutes away.. (I know I'm spoiled rotten having it that close right?!) In addition, the club that flies off the field I like is friendly and willing to teach, (so far) whereas the other club is just a bunch of grumpy old men who want to have a private field for themselves..(So I am told, and that was my experience with them the first time around.) Sorry if one of you is reading this but that is the view the club seems to portray.

On the other hand, and something I am considering, I am told my former instructor flies off the other field and teaches just about every Sunday there as well. Ironically enough, the guy working with me now is one of his former students.

He is said to be the best instructor in our area. The down side to that of course is he has EVERYONE trying to get his time..

Ok everyone,here it goes. Speaking from personal exsperience JR radio's are in my opinion JUNK! Now please dont start shooting me,but contrary to what everyone has said,there is a HUGE difference between the radio manufacturers and their respective products. I've been in this hobby over 30 years now and have flown every radio from the old Galloping Ghost to the new Spectrums. I still own and fly my MRC mark V,airtronics vanguadr 6's,airtronics 6000,challenger 7 channel,HI-TEK 7 channel,and my trusty old reliable Futabas,ranging from the Attack 4 to my 9C. Of all the radio's i've owned over the years,only one system has ever,and i repeat EVER let me down. You've probably guessed it as the JR. The radio cost me 5 planes in 2 years. Three of those planes were 1/4er scales and the last 2 were a Dirty Birdi pattern and a EagleII trainer. Now your all most likely thinking what caused the crashes and if it was pilot error,interference,or just plain old stupidity on my part. Well to answer those issues,it was NONE of the above! It was in fact due to the JR ( which stands for Junk Radio) blowing there fuses while i was flying. Yes ,JR radio's,even the newer ones all have 2 little .3 amp fuses that can and do blow quite frequently while the planes are in the air. Oh and so you all know,JR will NOT re-inburse you for the loss of any plane,brand new or not. And to top matters off,they'll charge you 3.50 each for the new fuses,and if you install them with in the first year of the radio's purchase,you void ANY warranty you had!


Now dont that sound like a GREAT RADIO!


Good Flying
Art

That's your opinion and you are entitled to it.

However you are wrong!

That's my opinion and I'm entitled to it.

Please don't start the petty squabling stuff again. The guy just asked for a little advice. Lighten up.

Rod []

I appologize to everyone and anyone i may have up set. I didn't intend to come off sounding like that. I do respect the fact that alot of flyers fly JR radio's,and trust them. That's great,i just don't trust them any more.

Again,i applolgize to anyone i might have offended with my rant.


Good Flying

Art

I used to be a Chevy guy now I drive a Ford. I have a Futaba and a Hitec and love em both. My Hitec is a 7 year old Focus 4FM and it works as well today as when it was new. The attitude you have encountered is far too common , I have seen it in everything from motor oil to video games. It is usually a result of supposition and not experience ( an engine we rebuilt blew up because we used P---oil , when it was more likely the loose rod bolt that they dont wish to admit ).

As someone said earlier....most of the jet guys are using JR. I flew Krafts, Orbits, Citizenship etc, years ago and they all fell by the wayside. When 1991 radios started coming out, Airtronics was one of the first with the Gold labeling....meaning it met the 1991 specs (this was late 80's). Everyone knew the narrow banding was coming, but Futaba kept selling the wide bands, even though they knew they were going to be obsolete or would require modification. But in recent years, Airtronics is difficult to find, at least on the East Coast. I have been using JR for about 8 years and have never had a problem. Most at my field use Futaba, but more and more are using JR. Probably no real reason.

But your system is fine. And I have seen loads of planes crash because of computer radios. A lot of people do not check that a program is set to the plane they are flying and do not check the control surfaces before taking off. Unbelievable, but there are several crashes a year at our field because of this.

Respectfully disagree. In fact, I think you'll see non-computer radios start to get phased out except in the RTF entry stuff. Exhibit Futaba's 4EXA which has a street price of about $140 vs. the non-computer 4YF system for $120 with comparable receivers/servos. You don't have to use any of the computer gizmos which come with the radio but I guarantee you'll wish you had them down the road. Even simple features like model memory and exponential are a big help.

I got back into the hobby about 4 years ago and purchased a Futaba 6XA. Whole system including 4 servos and a PCM receiver (wish I hadn't started off with that) was $220. The FM version was selling for the same price. I found expo, dual rates and trim memory to be an immediate help and can keep using this radio far past it's duty guiding my 4ch trainer about the skies.

Heh, the Chevy/Ford thing might actually get more arguments at my field than the Futaba/JR one. Our club has a very large contingent of retired auto workers, most of them GM. (Although there's a lot of good natured Futaba/JR ribbing too, but it's mostly in good fun.)

[X(] Boy I seem to have started something here.. Time for some popcorn and watch the fireworks he he

No one needs to be politically correct, only in spelling! Everyone has THEIR experience(s), no need to say sorry about anything. One day, the manf. of these things will get an American layman to write the manual in plain English as one inexperienced layman to another. I have written manuals before and one has to be very careful if it is to be understood. Unfortunately the writers of these manuals are not Americans with a full command of the English language, with the understanding that, in all likelihood, an inexperienced layman is the end user and must be able understand the damn thing! How about the manuals for DUMMIES? There is also a loss in any translation. I like to have help from the geek squad, one of which is usually hanging out at the field or is known by someone!

Well, PipeMajor, this is the general opinion among many instructors, myself included. I don't say that having a computer radio is detremental to flying (and neither did you, so I am not putting something in your post, just making an opinion), but I do say that for the most part, some instructors will not allow the use of computerized controls such as expo, end points, and so on, that these radios provide, during basic instruction.

The basic issue here is that a student must really understand such things as mechanical trim and centering adjustments so that they learn how all this stuff works and how to make their own adjustments for a new model or one that requires some mechanical adjustment, or after a repair. End points are a great electronic adjustment, but are not mechanical and could cause confusion if that's the only method used to remove excessive trim from a control surface, especially if the student does not understand what is going on in the first place and just used the computer to make the adjustments.

I fell into that trap AFTER I learned to fly and I understood how all this worked. I ended up removing all computer input by resetting the model channel ( selected model in memory), removing all mechanical adjustment by mechanically centering all surfaces, then starting from scratch WITHOUT computer input. After I had all the necessary adjustments to get a good straight and level flight with no input (hands off), I landed the plane and removed all of the transmitter trim adjustments by centering the controls to the throw necessary for straight and level flight at half throttle. Then, I was able to make decisions on how I wanted the plane to react with my input, which is where the computer part comes in.

A student does NOT need all that control, the student needs to learn to fly the plane and trim for straight and level flight. All the bells and whistles come later, once he/she has qualified and is confident that he/she can do what needs to be done.

CGr

Best that a person learns to mechanically sort out the controls and not rely on computers settings. If not they are doing a lot of nonsense, seen that too many times with newbies. For me JR is preferred because of the user interface, its easy to navigate. Like comparing Nokia and Motorolas.

I suppose I was the exception since I had flown control line for decades before reentering the R/C arena. I understood perfectly the effect of each hole of the control horn, why it is important to have the horn aligned over the hinge line, to be perpendicular to the surface and have all control surfaces at neutral with the servo and it's trim lever also at neutral.

When we brought our LT-40 to the field for our first buddy box session it was already bench trimmed. All the servos were centered with correct (low rate) throws being set via mechanical pushrod/servo/control horn geometry, the CG was exactly per specs, all decalage was correct as was ensuring the hingelines were exactly perpendicular to the fuse centerline.

The radio I used (and was used as the master radio) was a Futaba 6XA Super. It has limited but definite computer mixing - most of which I didn't understand. I *did* have about -15% expo cranked into the primary controls. The only trim change we had to make was to crank in some down elevator trim. I mistakenly went the wrong way, moving the elevator trim down. That was quickly corrected. In fact, my first flight was without the buddy box since our club's buddy box wouldn't work with my PCM receiver (I don't recommend PCM right away). I had to purchase a new R127DF receiver to continue training via buddy box. Once the LT-40 was at altitude, we simply handed the TX back and forth on that first flight.

I was surprised my CG wasn't checked. In my case it didn't need to but I'm sure the vast majority of beginners may NOT check theirs. We did fiddle with the low speed idle but were plagued with many deadsticks until I changed fuel and got some additional time on the engine. It had about a half gallon run through it before flying.

All I'm saying is don't require a student to invest in a non-computer radio. I didn't and am glad I didn't. I just flew it as a basic radio with the exception of model memory and expo. All endpoints were, and still are, at 100%. Most of the servo direction did have to be reversed but that would have been the case with a non-computer radio. My 6XA Super came with documentation on how to quickly set up a basic 4 channel airplane.

I guess my point was sort of premature. Most of the RTF's I've encountered came with a basic four channel radio system. All they had were control sticks, trim tabs, and direction reverse switches. (plus a TX unit and a battery.. )

I had the Nexstar Select that came with the basic four channel Futaba radio. I was 'in charge' of making sure all was right and ready for flight. Of course, the instructor checked things over with a magnifying lense before he flew it for the first time, then he made the appropriate adjustments for straight and level flight, hands off, then landed it.

He showed me what was done and why, and then had me go through the mechanical adjustment to re-center the trim tabs but leave in the trim in the control surfaces (can be easier said than done for a newbe, but I managed to muddle through it alright). Then we flew.

On the next flying day, he would go to the plane and inspect it. He would then do something to it... or not... and then tell me 'Check your airplane, Captain'. So, off I would go and check the plane. If I didn't catch what he did, he would inspect it then walk away saying 'Check your plane, Captain' until I got it right, at which time he would say, "Start it up and let's fly". He was a great instructor (still is, by the way).

I can see the definite advantages of owning a computer radio, even from the very beginning. Mainly because of the model memory integral to most (if not all) computer radios. That can save the flyer moucho bucks in the future, having to only purchase an RX pack with servos.

Now with that said.... I own an Airtronics RD6000, RD8000, a Futaba 4 VF (non computer radio that came with the Hobbico SuperStar RTF I bought for the club as a trainer), and the Spektrum DX7. I had the RD6000 before I bought the Nexstar. About half way though my training, I swapped out the Futaba 4 channel and put my Airtronics system in. I did NOT do anything with the computer portion of the system except for selecting model #1 for the Nexstar because the buddy box would only work as a buddy box. I could have put all sorts of things in the computer portion for that model and it would have made no difference (from what I understand). I would have needed the identical radio (another RD6000 in other words) as a buddy box to make the computer parts work as a buddy box.

So, we are pretty much in agreement with what we are saying, but using different words.

I must say that it does become difficult at times when a student shows up with all the fancy stuff that he/she cannot use yet. I couldn't wait to solo because I really wanted to play with the RD6000 then fly with it.. but in the end, it didn't make one bit of difference in how that particular plane flew. But when I stepped up to my #2 plane, the Tiger 60, things started to change, like expo, end points, centering, rudder/aileron mixing, and so on.

Good stuff!!

Anyone here fussy enough to choose a radio also because of how smooth the gimbals or switches are? I must admit a reason I took the PCM 9X was also because of this. Slightly lame but pretty true in my case. Hehehee ...

That's the reason I changed out the basic Futaba 4 channel and put in my Airtronics RD6000 in the Nexstar. But the person that benefited by this while I was in training was the instructor... [] But, AFTER I solo'ed.. boy, was I happy!

Keep that thought in mind when your at the field one day with a Multiplex and you need some advice and nobody has a clue.

What's a multiplex? the RCU Link is not working right now.

An expensive radio that a beginner will not buy in the first place.

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXEXV8&P=7

Rod

Another line of radios that's mostly found in Europe. You see inexpensive ones in RTF packages by Mulitplex (they make everything R/C) and expensive ones in use by pro flyers and such.




Excellent idea, but remember to take your system manual with you when you go fly. You and your buddies who also fly that radio will be glad to have it at the field some day. Truth is, everyone ought to keep the manual handy at the field, no matter what brand.

Ain't that the truth! After 45 years in RC, I still carry my manuals with me to the field. Surprising how many times I have forgotten how to get into a menu or change a setting. After the model is set up, I seldom go into the menus and I forget how......oh, by the way, that's what we ole folks call a senior moment.

Rod

When I started in 85 I used Futaba because my instructor and friend used them..
When I started heli's on 90 got my first Computer PCM radio.. It's wa JR and I loved that thing..

When I came back to the Hobby 2 years ago my equipment was so old I basically had to start over.
JR, Futaba, HiTech, Airtronics. Polk argh!!!!

In the end it was Tower Hobbies that made up my mind for me.. It came down to $$..
A good sale plus discount codes got me a pair of 7C TX's for $209 each.. I couldn't get close that that with a JR radio.

Now in a few years I'll have another Chance to start over.. When I step up to 2.4 gig..
So far JR is winning that in my mind.. They are fully compatible with Spektrum.. Futaba is off doing their own thing and I'm not to excited about being locked in.

Exactly.

I dunno, I have flown JR radios for about 20 years (Futaba before that) and I still can't get my radio to make a decent cup of coffee or to give a weather forcast. Mebbe I should try another brand?

You need a Futjava radio. They sell them somewhere, I'm sure..