RCU Forums - need help

RCU Forums (https://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/)

- Beginners (https://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/beginners-85/)

- - need help (https://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/beginners-85/1101697-need-help.html)

today i am pretty lucky my negboors dad passed away an he had all kinda RC planes well my negboor gave me a sports aviation commander 40 plane with a OS max 20 engine.. im so new to RC planes woult this engine work with this plane? do i need a differnt motor mount it mount it in the plane? the ones that is in there looks really big for the engine do i need one to come from that big moter mount to a smaller one then mount the engine on that?

Generaly a plane with "40" (especialy trainers) in the name means it's desined for a 40 size engine and the fact you say the engine mount looks to big for the engine, i'd say the engine is too small, 40 size engines are about the cheapest on the market so either save the 20 for another day or sell it to help fund a 40,Thunder Tiger GP42 is about the best value in a 40 or go to a 46 either the TT46, GMS47, OS46FX.

good luck and welcome to the hobby

heres a shot with the engine just set up there

heres the mount i think i need another mount to mount the engine to

yep for sure the engine is to small, go with above recommendation and get a 46 and sell the 20 to help fund the bigger engine

ps if you are a new flier also rather use a trainer first to get the hang of flying

Oops, i asumed it was a trainer, DO NOT try and learn with that plane, you will end up with a trash bag full of bits, it looks like a nice low wing plane with plenty of dihedral, save it for plane number 2 or 3

550,
Welcome to RCUniverse. You were very lucky to have your neighbor give you that RC plane and engine. :D

Unfortunately, the engine is definitely too small for that plane. It might have enough power to move the plane on the ground, slowly, but does not have enough power to fly it. :(

If you are serious about getting into RC flying, I would suggest a couple of things.

1) Flying an RC plane is MUCH more difficult than you think. The best idea would be to get a trainer type of plane, and find an RC club close to you. They will have instructors who can teach you how to fly the trainer. It might take as few as 4 or 5 flights with him, or as many as 40 or 50 over many months.

Most clubs require AMA membership (a national organization that provides liability insurance). AMA is like $58 per year unless you're under 16. You will also have to join their club, which can cost anywhere from $25 to $125 per year.

2) The plane you were given is not a trainer type plane and would be quite a bit harder to learn on. An instructor might not even be willing to teach with it.

For the trainer, engine, radio equipment, and misc. you can expect to spend anywhere from about $300 (if you can find all used stuff), to around $400 or $450 if you buy new.

If you want to sell the stuff you were given, the 20 engine, depending on what make and model it is, might be worth $30. The plane itself might bring $100 if it's nearly perfect. You can try to sell them on RCU in the For Sale forum. (Look for the right categories.)

(If you have radio equipment, transmitter, receiver and servos, you can use them in the trainer.)

3) If you try to fly that plane or almost any other without help, you will almost certainly crash and destroy it. At the very least it will need a lot of repairs before it will fly again. The plane you were given should NOT be flown in a school yard, or soccer field, it is too large and too powerful. You could seriously injure someone or damage property. (These can fly many miles if you lose control.)

I'm not trying to be mean, and I am not trying to discourage you. We want you to be successful so that you can have fun with this stuff.

If you don't have a source of income, or parents who are willing to buy you stuff, there are a couple of alternatives. I usually don't recommend these, because they don't fly all that well, they don't have the same controls as larger RC planes, and the radio equipment doesn't work with anything else. But, there are a few reliable, inexpensive 3 channel planes, like the FIrebird, Fighterbird, and Aerobird, that you might be able to fly on your own. They are small, foam electric planes that cost from around $70 to $150 complete with radio.

You will crash these too, but they are very light, can be flown in a large park, and because they are foam, they can be fixed pretty easily. They do NOT fly in wind! If the wind is more than about 5 mph do not fly until you have learned to fly it well.

Look around on this site, or do a "Search" for "Firebird", or "Aerobird", you'll find a lot of information.

Do some research on anything you might want to buy though. There are MANY inexpensive planes out there that will NOT fly, so be careful.

Good luck, and let us know what you do!

Dennis-

i know this plane isnt beginer theres a club here where i can train one of there beginners planes with a instructor intill i get the hang of it to use this plane. its gonna take alot before i get this together it needs the radio an everything.

also how many channels would i need for the radio? 4 or 5 channel?

Four channel will be fine, if it has flaps built in you will need a 5.
There are those who will not have anything less than a 6 channel.
I personally have never had anything but 4 channels, and I've flown a lot of different sport planes. 5-6 channels will allow flap/retracts/bomb drops/ect.

Jetts

Glad to hear that you already have a club lined up and know there are people to help.

A four channel radio is fine to start out with. I've been flying for 8 years and have only had a couple of planes that needed a fifth or sixth channel.

Hitec makes a decent four channel set up that sells for about $115 new. You could also look at the for sale section here for both a used radio and an engine.

For that plane I would recommend a 46 size engine. A Thunder Tiger 46 Pro is a fairly good engine that's reasonably priced. (probably in the $80 range.)

Then, fuel ($15 to $20), glow igniter and charger ($25 ish), fuel pump ($20 to $25 for a manual one), then another $60 to $70 for a starter and 12 volt battery to power it.

All these prices are for new equipment.

It seems like a lot, but ask at the club. There's a good chance that guys there will have a lot of this stuff used, and would part with it reasonably.

Good luck,
Dennis-

i gave him the OS 20 back n he gave me a K&b 40 engine .. i think i need a motor mount to put it on it still dosent fit its close tho i dont think thats the actual motor mount on it now i think another mount has to go onto this mount cuz the screws are to far apart on it for the engines so i think i need a nother mount to screw onto this one

now that im thinkin is the engine mount for bigger then a 40 size? cant i get a smaller mount for a 40 size?

If the engine is too wide to fit between the "arms" of the mount, then you need a larger one. If the arms are too wide (far apart) then you need a smaller mount. Some mounts are adjustable; you loosen them on the firewall and they can be spread apart or squeezed together a little.
Dennis-

wow i had one of those things it flies very nice on a sport 40. its quick but not real fast has good roll and is responsive with elevator but slows right down for nice gentle landings. had to get rid of mine when i took an eight year break from R/C. wish i had it back. take the time to learn on a good trainer with a good instructor and this plane will treat you well for years to come. but it does need a 40 sized engine, i think tower hobbies has an OS 40 la for around 55 bucks that and a 4 channel radio and you will make me jealous have fun with it

550,

Get an adjustable mount (2 piece) at the hobby shop, and ask questions 'til you are starting to bug them, then come back here and ask more! ;)
Sounds like you have a 46-60 sized mount in there now-no good.
As several have suggested, don't try to fly this one first, unless you have a GOOD instructor. (I've seen "instructors" that could hardly fly trainers!)
Get a trainer, and use the engine/radio in that until you get a season (or what's left of it) under your belt.
Have fun, persevere, and ask a lot of questions here!

Jetts

would the new mount fit up in the same holes as the old mount? or do i need to make new holes? and the landing gear front wheel is connected to this mount. im gonna take it to my hobby shop n see what they say

thats a "clamp mount" with the clamps missing. itr has 2 bars that go over the engine's beam and when u tighten it it clamps the motor in place

you can make the pieces you need just make them from steel or aluminum and drill the holes to match tghe ones on the plane
make sure the engine is clamped real tight when u r done!

should work fine

john

it takes a size 61 an bigger engine the clamps im gonna make for it and see if my negboor gots a 61 engine for it if so then im almost there

550,

You'll be farther ahead if you just get a .40 sized mount for the engine you've got. It's the right size for the plane, and will use a lot less fuel. The mount may require new holes, but that's still easier than making the new parts, and getting another engine from your neighbor.
Get a Great Planes adjustable mount at the hobby shop, and put on the .40 you've got-it's a good engine by the way.
DB is right about the Hitec radio, I own two of them, and they are a good value and have a few good feature on them, and I got mine from Tower on sale for 109.99!

Don,t put a sixty in that airplane, not only will it fly poorly but it won,t live very long , use no more than a forty six. It has an expanded foam/printed laminate skin and is usually not repairable in many cases, like everyone has said this 'ain,t no trainer'

John

how do i test a used engine before i mount it into the plain to make sure it works ?

you really need to find a club with an instructor who can help you. these engines put out in excess of 1 hp! needless to say they can and will take a finger off if you don't know what u r doing!
i would hate to tell you how to do it then find you have become a "lefty"!!

john