I am new to the RC seen so I do not know the lingo or correct name for many things... please don't flame. A couple years ago, my grandfather gave me all of his RC stuff d/t his health. This includes boxes of extra balsa wood, at least 5 engines in various states of being "gummed" up (but can easily be cleaned), an old transmitter and receiver with servos from the 80's by the looks of it, misc parts, several fuel tanks, some covering, etc. Now the meat and potatoes of this gift includes:
[ul][*] A very nice home-made flight box with built in power panel and place for battery... much nicer than some I have seen advertised and carries everything![*] A Futaba Conquest FP-T6NFK (with receiver, batteries and several servos)[*] Begin-Aire sail plane x2... one built and one still in box. (flown with Cox Engine)[*] Gentle Lady 2 meter sail plane (flown with Cox Engine) <---This is the one I built with my grandfather and have flown many times.[*] Right Flyer 40T x2 (one that has seen many flights and the other hasn't flown yet)[*] Telemaster (not sure what model)[*] A smaller trainer much like the right flyers mentioned above[*] Sturdy Birdy (still in the box)
[/ul]
I have another plane that I purchased from a flea market type store and will need to be recovered but is structurally sound. It is the the only style plane I have where the wing mounts under the body.

I recently got married (in september '07) and just finished college shortly before that. Now that things are settling down a bit, I finally have the time to get into all this! And now I have a large enough work area (my basement). With a little work, I have everything I need to get one into to air but I certainly do not want to jump the gun. I feel comfortable flying my Gentle Lady but don't want to mess with the cox engine I have mounted on it. I am wanting to go electric with my Gentle Lady and the Begin-Aire that I have d/t easy setup and no after flight clean-up from flying with gas. Since I have never flown a "powered" plane before, so I was wanting to get the Sturdy Birdy up and running as well. First question is, can I go electric with my two sail planes and use the same setup for the Sturdy Birdy? As far as the other planes go, I will most likely start out getting each one ready to fly with their own parts and brand-new engines because of the age of the other ones so I don't have to borrow anything from another plane and just switch out the receiver, battery and servos from plane to plane.

I haven't found any good resources on the web yet for building (ie tips and tricks, how to cover a plane, how to remove covering, repairing, etc) and other sites that will help me to learn what I am trying to talk about when I go to the hobby shop so I don't sound like a moron.

My grandpa can't get around like he used to and the internet seems like my best bet to start learning. There is a hobby shop about 40 miles away and a local RC club in the same town. I am interested in joining it but am a little nervous as I don't know what I am talking about or doing yet. Any advice or good web resources would be greatly appreciated!!! Thanks

Join that club.
Admit to them that you are not all-knowing[X(]
With any luck at all, you'll get advice and hands-on help. With a bit more luck, somebody knows something about electrics too.

With hardware like that, you should get lots of people at a club that would be chomping at the bit to help you out. I know if you came to us, we would bend over backwards, not only to help you learn, but to see some of these planes.. and to get a chance to fly one of them

And I'm sure that you would be given the right advice as to what one to start out with. The sail planes are great, but not quite what a beginner would want to learn on. Mainly because they are what they are.. subject to the air currents and winds. With out proper experience and training, you would have a good chance of losing one to the gods of the sky!!

Let us know what you find out when you decide to do what you are going to do. Hopefully, that will be to follow our advice.

CGr.

Yeah right... Good luck! Two things that shouldn't be in the same paragraph: "recently married" and "things are settling down"... hahaha Just kidding.

The good news is that you already have a lot of stuff and as CGRetired said you will have plenty of help at any club you join.

For resources, right here on RCU you will find a lot. Welcome to the hobby and I hope you find a good paying job - you'll need it!

All of this is in fun - been married 13 years next month. My wife is very understanding and actually likes for me to leave the house occasionally

Thanks for the advice! Yeah, I failed to mention that not long after we got married, we found out she was pregnant, too! lol Needless to say, she is very supportive of this hobby because she understand what it means to me that I get these planes up in the air and carry on the tradition. I want to be able to pass these on to my kids or grandchildren like my grandpa did for me.

Since it is still very cold outside, I am going to get the sturdy birdy together and repaint my flightbox. Also, I want to try and recover my Gentle Lady because of a few tears and to learn how to cover a plane so I can get some experience. That, and clean up my workspace in the basement and get some wall mounts so I can hang my planes to clear up table space.

Thanks again for the quick responses... if you know any good informational websites, please send them my way!

Congrats on the new pilot!

Yes it's cold and going to get colder. I'm in Indy so we have the same weather. I have 3 planes in my garage and I think I'll be bringing them in until it warms up a bit.

I know the weather issue, here in FL it was high 70s and low 80s most of the week, and now I have to wear a long sleeve shirt and fly in mid 60s, what is next with this freaky weather???

Here are some links to check out while you're thawing in front of the computer. I'm so glad I left New Hampshire to seek the warmer climate. But don't worry, July and August I stay in the AC or fly only at sunrise to avoid the intense heat. Engines run slower in the humid summers here. to get the lingo down, read some magazines, subscribe to the RCReport magazine, pick up some Harry Higley books for accurate information and advice.

The Telemaster is a real classic, when you're done with it, send me a PM with a price, I still love flying those. With dihedral taken out of it and lots of rudder, they do a great flat spin. I learned on a kadet and Telemaster Senior, they are great planes to get landings down right being capable of the lowest approach speed of any plane I've tried to fiddle with. When you graduate from trainers, you should look into a $80 Sky Raider ll from airborne-models.com, it's a really easy to control plane, builds in just 3 hours, very forgiving and doesn't stall very easily. With the popular OS AX .46, it's pretty quick too.

http://www.scootworks.com/rdrc/gloplugs.html

http://www.*********.org/cars_eng-tuning.htm

http://www.geistware.com/rcmodeling/...ction_tips.htm

http://www.geistware.com/rcmodeling/...vers/index.htm

Hey rwright142, I pass the Mooresville exit on I-70 on my way to work in Brownsburg. I am a nurse and work at a nursing home there! Good to know that there are more flyers close to where I am. I am thinking of joining the club in Terre Haute, although I will have to talk with them first. My work schedule prevents me from doing anything on the weekend and I don't want to be penalized for not being able to make certain events.

I am going to hobby barn there in Terre Haute today and there are always members loitering about there for me to talk to. I am gonna pick up a few things to give me something to do while the weather is cold.

taken from rcgroups forum,

An easy way (?) to remove the old covering WITHOUT ripping/tearing the
balsa underneath is: Carefully work a corner loose. Then heat the
"cote" with your heat gun while pulling it off. The heat loosens the
glue so the "cote" comes off without pulling any balsa with it.

K2R works well for getting the oil out of soaked balsa. Spray it on and
let it dry to a powder, then brush it off. THEN, heat the area with
your heat gun, and when cool reapply the K2R. Depending on how fuel
soaked the wood is, it may take several applications of heat/K2R to get
the oil out.

I would also suggest putting Sig "Stix It" or Coverite "Balsa Rite" on
the area (make sure you use the correct Balsa Rite for the type of
covering you will be putting on.).
This will not only help seal the wood, but is an adhesive so the
covering will adhere better.

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=78031

You can read this book too

http://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/hig/higbok002.htm

One thing that I recommend is to talk with the club members to find out what is available there. They may have swap meets or 'for sale' items at club meetings. The guys at Hobby Barn will be able to help you.

Or on RCU, and the 2104 new ads placed last week on the marketplace, but it sounds like he's all set with inventory. I've got a little of trial and error experience to share if you're interested to read it, I'd say you need to be careful at swap meets, take it from my 1280 transactions between auction sites and here, second hand planes can be not as they seem. Lots of used planes have something wrong with them, and sometimes sad to say, more than a few aren't even safe to fly when I have bought them advertised to be ready to go. You need to go through them carefully and check linkages, CG, all hardware, repaired crash damage and how well it was done, and of course, the electronics and engine, before you buy it. Also you can't read the sellers rating at a swap meet, you may never see him again, which is probably why more than 75% of the planes I buy used, need hours of repair or tuning. Local club sales and estates held by clubs usually are far better sources for reliable planes, since someone never intended on selling it in the first place. Swap meets can be really tricky for a novice and the potential great deal suddenly isn't. There is a great advantage though in seeing what you buy in person than from pictures online. Also, shipping issues are eliminated by local sales and swap meets, so there is some advantage to seeing what you're buying in person. Still, online, what a variety you can see, every day. Bring an experienced friend along when going to a swap meet, and don't buy the first plane you see or the first price. They should have a book just on this subject alone.

Wives and RC don't mix...I don't miss either wife one bit! Wisdom comes with age...

That's true, it's always 'buyer beware' but I was referring to club moderated swap meets.
I think there is a higher level of confidence if you buy from a fellow club member simply because you will see them again. Emails, phone calls, Private Messages, etc from faceless sellers can go ignored. Face to face confrontations and peer pressure tend to make people carefully evaluate their selling practices. Granted, a cheat will always be a cheat, but I think they would be less likely to treat a fellow club member in that manner.

....or some have really good ethics and treat others in the hobby with honor, and never would entertain at any distance to treat someone any different than they would like to be treated in the transaction. If the seller knows what he's selling and has experience to provide a plane that has quality in all of the details, you avoid the whole process of seeking satisfaction later from someone who doesn't. I find RCU has some members who regularly trade on the marketplace and have outstanding comments in their ratings you can go by that shows such experience. Imagine, as ratings going into the hundreds consistently commented with praise, can build confidence in anyone looking for a used plane that typically isn't found from most people. RCU has lots of members with zero marketplace ratings. Some do it for a living and depend on good ratings to keep that ball rolling along fine. Experience found in those high ratng numbers speaks for itself or he's really good at manipulating everyone. Sometimes local people with the best intentions don't know what they have or can't rate by the standards you may expect to find in an aircraft. How many times have you seen a plane and thought it was a mess, but someone still was trying to fly it anyway thinking it was just peachy? For a new guy coming into the hobby, buying a second hand plane can be bitter sweet.
I can say we are talking apples and oranges, and if I knew the seller and saw him fly his plane and knew him to be a great builder, yes, that's got to be the safest and best buy. I've thought I had planes that was very nice, until I flew it.

No argument with your response.
My point is especially for a new person looking to get into the hobby. First, I think a relationship should be established with someone local who can provide that initial welcoming to the local club, local resources like training, etc. A newby doesn't know what trainer to buy so they will ask questions here but a local club may already have one for them to fly before making that initial investment. Sure they are a lot of sellers with excellent ratings and I would agree they should be considered as a viable resource. However, if they consult fellow club members they may also be able to provide assistance with setting it up, what additional hardware may be needed, what channels are the best to consider (if considering these types of radios), fixing something that may not be right, etc. I know, many sellers welcome returns and will jump through hoops to keep their customers happy. My point is that if I attend a meeting and ask about a trainer, someone there or at the field may have one for sale. I can ask them questions right then and get responses right now. When I was new I had one guy invite me to his home and gave me some parts for a demo plane I was building. After talking further he decided to give me more parts.
Now that I am more experienced, I don't hesitate to look here for what I am looking for, or just to browse what's available. I have a birthday coming up hehehe...

Oh yeah, we all look for RC money from every holiday,anniversary, birthday, etc. we can claim. I remember a local guy "Jack" who was very instrumental in getting my 20 year hiatus out of the way and flying again.

I uploaded pics of some of my planes on my website temporarily so you guys can see what I am talking about... its a site I am setting up to do webdesign but haven't finished it yet.

[link=http://www.greybucket.com]http://www.greybucket.com[/link]

It's all right there on the main page. The last one (the grey one) was the one I bought on our honeymoon. That will be my side project and I am in no hurry to get it done.

Looks like some nice planes there. Those powered gliders will make great trainers since they are slow and docile - they give you time to think. That Kadet Sr. really looks good with the transparent covering.

Is that AMA number on the Cherokee your grandfathers? If so, looks like he was in the hobby for quite a while based on it being a 5 digit and starting with a 35.

Hogflyer

Nah, that AMA number belonged to the person before I bought it. However, I am planning on joining the AMA at some point this week... wonder what my number will be

You have a lot of good stuff there.
That Kadet Senior would be my number one choice for a trainer (with an instructor from the local club) at least for starters. You can add ailerons to it later if you want. The yellow and white one looks like a good 4 channel trainer as well.
Right Flyers are great and a bit more aerobatic.
As others have said the local club should be your first stop. An experienced fliers can look over your gear and used engines and see what you can use or still need.

I'd definitely talk to the club. RC engines rarely wear out. A good cleaning, and possibly new bearings, is likely all any of youer existing engines need. If one of them is the right size for the Right Flyer 40T, or the Telemaster, just about any instructor would love to help you. Since you've flown the sail planes before you'll probably be flying solo pretty quickly.

In regards to upper post: My wife and I have been married 28yr. and she loves for me to leave ALOT. LOL. Good luck with getting going on all those Sail Planes. You should have no problem finding someone.