I just purchased a ARF CESSNA 182 SKYLANE GAS R/C for $165
this is my first plane and after reading the Beginner posts I'm getting a little freaked out about flying it. is it hard to find someone to help me learn to fly my plane without wrecking it? Did I get in over my head? The plane looked like such a good deal came with motor, radio everything. Has never been flown or assembled but was new in 1985. So its been sitting in the box for some time. Can I get some suggestions and/or support. There is a rc air strip about 10 min. from my house and I always drive by wanting to go. Thanks.

OK, the first thing to do is to check out that rc airfield. When you are driving by and see some folks out there, stop by, introduce yourself and start by asking about their instructor program.

In most cases, the old boys there will have told each other their favorite stories so many times that they will be bored to tears and lookng for someone new to talk to. In other words, these guys aren't going to run off visitors and potential members (at least not in our club).

Who ever is doing the instructing will be glad to help you with setting up your plane, giving it a test flight to trim everything out and then start you on your learning curve via a "buddy box" system.

This won't gurantt that you will learn without crashing, but will remove a lot of chances for an accident. The trick is not to let the fear of crashing get to you and mess up your learning curve.

You say this plane was new in 1985, there may be a problem with the radio system. Before 1991 radios used a wider bandwidth and we only had 7 channels. Today we have 50 channels but the radios are required to be narrow banded. This is something that the folks at the local club can help you sort out.

Hope that this has been helpful and if you have any questions, just keep asking away here cause folks are more than willing to help.

J-Dub07

It all depends on what you goal is, yes you probably could go out some where may get in some flights more or less controlled however if your goal is to learn how to fly a conventional model airplane then that one is almost useless. Please forgive me if I sound negative but I am trying to give it to you straight.

Klumsy_Kid has given you the best advice of all and it cannot be emphasized more is the need to connect with the folks that will be helping (mentoring) you before you ever spend a dime. That is so very important to the realization of your dream of flight.

OK lets talk about this particular air plane a little. Cox over the years has produced huge numbers of these 'Foamies' with different designs using the umbiguous Cox Babe Bee engine and various radio systems that offer only two controls elevator and rudder and some only rudder. The one I think was used in this airplane was called something like 'Simplifly' that had a stick or two buttons for right and left, When a directional imput was made no matter what you did with the stick or button it would only allow the control surface to move a little for just a few seconds. This had the effect of making the airplane change direction a little but was hardly controlled and was essentially a guided free flight.

This radio is also most likely on the 27Mhz band which was not affected by the 1991 narrow banding that Klumsy-Kid alluded to, so you are alright in that regard. An additional thought is that radio cannot use a buddy box arrangement so its first flight is also you first solo

If you have the motivation my advice to you would be to leave that airplane in the box for now connect with a mentor at that field right now, spend some time there and not just one afternoon. do this and you won,t be led astray on equipment and did you know that if money is at issue you can get some of the best used buys on a face to face basis with that club and it will be appropriate equipment. I rebuild restore aircraft all the time most of my hanger of 34 are right out of the trashcan including the one in my avitar and many of those I do give away to folks including radio equipment to folks that have the right attitude and motivation. There is help out there and guess what its free.

After you learn how to fly your proper trainer is the time to pull out your little Cox and have a great time with it at the field.

Best of luck
John

Looks like you got a collector's item there. Meaning, you should keep it in the box which will make it worth more to a collector than it's original price.

It's a Cox .049 powered with a mode 1 - 2 channel radio. You should learn on a 40 size trainer, so the guys in the club won't be able to teach you on the Cox plane. Good luck.

nascarjoe

Yep i concur.
first stop is the local model club followed buy a 40ish sized trainer.

some one at the club may even have a second hand one for sale, if not there are many excellent SPAD, ARF, ARC or kit trainers available.

J-Dub07

Where are you in California.
If you are close be glad to offer any help that I can.

J-Dub07

If it is in fact a collectors item and you're into that sort of thing keep it, otherwise I'd ask for my money back. Then I'd take klumsy_kid's advice goto the club and let them help you select the gear. You can realistically expect to pay 300-500 for a decent setup.

I live in Newark and work in Fremont. The air strip that is close to me is also in Fremont about a 1 min. drive from work. I thank you all for your suggestions. I think I will keep this plane in the box as you all have suggested. I bought it from a fellow that sells collectables. There are a couple really good hobby stores in my area. I'll really look into the planes suggested here and in the "first plane" message threads.

I just bought the GP 182. I have been flying RC planes for quite a while, and I'm telling you, this is not a first airplane. I have not built mine yet, but from looking at it, the wing cord is very thin, and the wings do not seem to have much area. This is a scale airplane, and the wing loading is going to be high compared to a trainer. What does this mean for you? This plane is going to land fast, stall easily, and be much less stable than a trainer. In my opinion you should go buy a cheep trainer, learn to fly on it, and then enjoy the beautiful 182 once you know what you are doing.

I just bought the GP 182. I have been flying RC planes for quite a while, and I'm telling you, this is not a first airplane. I have not built mine yet, but from looking at it, the wing cord is very thin, and the wings do not seem to have much area. This is a scale airplane, and the wing loading is going to be high compared to a trainer. What does this mean for you? This plane is going to land fast, stall easily, and be much less stable than a trainer. In my opinion you should go buy a cheep trainer, learn to fly on it, and then enjoy the beautiful 182 once you know what you are doing.

sieman

The 182 the gentleman has is vintage Cox Babe Bee powered two channel foamy.

Your GP 182 is indeed a nice scale projects. Seen a new Hanger 9, 600 dollar ARF 182 giant scale at a shop yesterday that sure was pretty.

Hey John, yea, I have seen the new hanger 9 $570 giant scale 182. It looks like it is amazing. I have only seen it inside the the box. I have not seen one put together. I wish the big one was in my budget, maybe someday. I have been flying scale warbirds for a while, and I decided that the GP 182 would be a fun, scale, addition to my hanger. I think I am going to fly it with my OS 70 II surpass. I just want a plane that is fun to do touch and goes with, and maybe some spins. Have you seen one that has a good number of flights on it? How does it hold up. My World models spitfire needs a heat gun on the covering about every 5th flight. I hope this one stays pretty.

well I just purchased an electric trianer for $60. I don't know if this will be similar in any way to my Cessna but took ya'lls advise to start out smaller. If I really enjoy the trainer I will build the Cessna and fly her too but baby steps seems to be key in the rc plane hobby. I got a electric firebird it was the cheapest thing I could find that I could practice landing and taking off. I"M SO EXCITED TO GET GOING!!!!

WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Before you open that firebird take it back and get your money Back!!!! They are junk (no offense intended) Firebirds DO NOT fly like conventional models nor are the controlled the same way..
Learning how to fly a firebird will NOT provide you with the neccessary experience to fly other models.

Take the advice given go to the club FIRST and have them recommend some gear. They may even let you get a test flight first.

I'm not trying to knock your latest purchase but the firebird is without a doubt one of the worst ways to start out if you intend to be able to fly other planes.

thanks for the warning. the shop is but a few min. from me so I'll take it back. They aren't very helpfull in my area as to what trainer to get at a low cost. My wife is going to start pissin and moaning if I spend much more money on a trainer. I'm so new to this that I don't want to get the wrong things and have my first shot at this be to discouraging. Can I get some advise on what is the best electric trianer that would co-inside with the cessna? I don't really want to get another "gas" one to train on. sorry for the dumb questions and lack of knowledge to the sport

Thanks a ton.
Jeremy

Welcome to the forum and the hobby, Jeremy.

Crashem quietly offered the best advice you could get right now: Go see the club folks. If they have a club trainer, you might not even have to buy, right away. When you do, you should take the advice of the folks who are going to help you learn.

Keep an open mind, their recommendation might not fit your concept of what you should learn on, but the help is what's important.

Good luck,
Dave Olson

AND... J-dub Your cox airplane is a REAL collectors' item because it comes with the radio. You probably can get enough money for it on ebay to pay for a Kadet LT 40 and a decent .40 engine.

If you insist flying the Cox Cessna, first it is a great flyer, out of all the stuff cox put out the Cessna and the Sportavia sailplanes flew great. Second the radio is a two channel set in an odd configuration. The elevator is on the left stick and the rudder is on the right. Most newer pilots will attempt to bend the rudder stick off of the transmitter because that is how they are used to pulling up on the elevator. You will probably have the best luck learning to fly this little Cessna if you spend another $110 for a Hitec Focus or Neon FM three channel radio system (transmitter, receiver, servos, charger). This has the benefit that the controls work the way the rest of the hobby has developed as a standard, instructors will know how to fly it. and it is a modern FM radio that will last you a long time. Third before you fly the Cessna, unscrew the motor from the firewall, then gently pull and work the plastic firewall off the front of the model. Now apply a thin coat of 30 min. Epoxy to the foam behind the firewall and push the plastic firewall back on into the epoxy. Now reassemble the engine and cowling... If you don't do this there is a likely hood that the motor and firewall will depart the airplane in flight Don't ask, and, no the model wont glide like this.

Please consider that this is not a cheap hobby to get into. A good set of standard training equipment will run between $400.00 and $600 after you get everything you need. but nearly 90% of that will be reusable on your first 3 airplanes and for over 5 years. Good luck getting started.

If you are not going to get experienced help learning to fly and you are going to try it alone and you want Electric as opposed to glow then here is what I would suggest.

1. Flight Simulator FMS is available for free via internet, there is another made specifically for small electrics (known as park flyers) by I believe Mastercockpit Backyardflyer $29-$35.

2. You want a slow stable plane. GWS sold through horizon (the same distributor that markets the firebird) makes to decent planes the pico stick and slow stick, Tigermoth.

3. Radio Battery Charger and rx/servos/esv (electronic speed control) GWS makes it easy to pick the "flight pack" for each plane they tell you on horizons website what flight pack is recommened for use with each plane. They also make an inexpensive radio for use with parkflyers. Not the best but fine for these types of planes.

4. Extra batteries depending on battery type and charger you could get between 5-15 mins flight time per charge without spares its fly a litlle wait alot (for recharging).

Please understand that this advice will cost more then 60 BUT it will at least provide you with a decent amount of gear that can be reused on future planes of the same type (parkflyers)

I look at it this way if you spend 60 get something that does nothing but frustrate you and you quit then you have wasted 60 bucks if you spend more get help you will most likely find an enjoyable hobby that will be with you from now on. The choice is yours... Did a Mention seeking help??? I didn't and destroyed many planes before I realized that 10 seconds of flying wasn't a good return on my investment

Thanks everyone for the awesome advise. I will be going to the local air strip tomorrow I'm sure there will be many people out there. I'll just mingle around and ask tons of questions. Like I said before I always want to stop there but I don't wan't to bother people while they are trying to do their thing. I'll you know how it goes tomorrow

This is incredabley good advise! I'm a mode 1 flyer, which is what the radio with the Cessna is. I learned to fly this way when the industry still wasn't sure which direction to go in (they sold radios either way then). As time went on, the industry in the US has settled on Mode 2 and that's what darn near everyone flies. I have unsucessfully attempted to retrain to mode 2 several times in my hobby career. It is incredable how your mind learns...and then will not accept change. Even if you were to successfully fly and learn on the old radio, it would screw up your advancment into the industrie's standard 4 channel airplanes big time.

Gees, Tatoo.......

I didn't know. It's big of you to come out of the closet that way though....

My condolances

The absolute best way I've learned to fly is by using one of the computer based R/C flight simulators. Yes, it costs a bit to purchase but, thinking back, how much money one of these programs would have saved me in hard cash and model building/ flying/ crashing frustration. A friend brought his flight simulator to work and the guys and I all got proficient at flying the sim. All kinds of planes. I then purchased a Minimax. Before ever flying it, I practiced flying a plane similar to it on the sim. I flew my Minimax the first time without a hint of crashing! This was my first time to ever successfully fly an R/C plane from take-off to landing. And I have been an R/C fan since the mid 70's. Anyway, I even let the guys at work fly my minimax. They weren't even into R/C. They flew my Minimax the first time they tried too. I've heard similar stories from other R/Cers since then who have used the sims. I recomend it highly to everyone who wants to learn how to fly. Get a sim!!!

This was my experience. I practiced a lot on the profile Extra Special on the SIM. The first plane I ever flew for real was the QHOR!

sounds like good advise. where would I purchase something like that.....I feel I would be an awesome pilot. I have done great with rc boats and cars but loose interest. Planes seem like there is just more involved and that its never ending.

Hey J- Dub,

The sim is the way to go!! I'm new to the hobby as well and after talking to the guys at our field I went and bought GP Real Flight G2 Lite. You should be able to get it at your LHS, The cost of the sim is about 125.00 bucks or so. It comes with the software and the controller you plug into the USB port of your Computer.

I flew the Sim for a few weeks combined with a little ground school at the club ( Taxi, Stick Movement) and one of the guys let me fly His Hanger 9 Alfa ( Buddy Box of course) And I was amazed with how well I was able to Fly, I have since purchased my own Alfa RTF from Hanger 9 and haven't looked back. I soloed Last week After about 1 1/2 months, and I still hit that simulator any day The weather is bad or when I just want to fart around with touch & go's