building rc plane.
 

okay, so i bought this plane, called the air earl, cant remember company name, but its designed to look like a commercial jet. well it cant fly worth of s***, the only control is speed, and a rudder that only does, all the way right, or all the way left. takeoff is not much of a problem,but leveling out is pretty impoosible due to the fact you only have a rudder, and if you try to turn, it just plummets out of the sky and crashes nose first. so mine is pretty banged up, the tail broke off just above the rudder( which was only attached to plane by peice of tape when i pulled it out of the box) i really dont want to fix it, because obviously the design is terrible. i would like to know how to add control surfaces, like ailerons.

RE: building rc plane.
 

Since you said the rudder only goes full right and full left, there's little chance that the radio in the plane is advanced enough to do the modfication that you want to do. It would take moving the rudder servo (the motor that makes the rudder go left-right). Adding ailerons to the wing then making the rudder servo move the ailerons. Which as you said will now only go full throw. Not a very easy situation to control. You'd be far better off buying a better "simple" foam and electric trainer like this cub:


http://www.hobbyzone.com/rc-planes-p...cub-bl-rtf.htm

RE: building rc plane.
 

well thats a great idea! but, unlike most people here, i dont have $160 to blow on an airplane that looks pretty fragile if you ask me.

RE: building rc plane.
 

If you are new to the hobby, well, there are alternatives that have more control than a rudder on-off switch, and that don't cost $160.00. Read some of the electric threads and see what is around. Ask questions if you see something that you like.

If you find a model you are not sure of, google it and see what pop up about it. There is lots of information around on just about anything you can imagine in RC Aircraft. It just takes a bit of research. And, as I said, just find what you think would work, or that you like, and ask right here in the Beginners Forum. I can pretty much guarantee you that someone out there knows something about it.

The key here is not to give up. If you really want to fly RC, there is lots of help available here.

CGr.

RE: building rc plane.
 

i don't have 160.00 to blow either. that is why I joined a club, Got AMA, went to the buddy box with an instructor and Now I can fly on my own. I tried it the other way and spent enough money to buy a full size plane. Then I got smart and started to listen to what they were telling me. You know what, it worked and it will work for you too.

RE: building rc plane.
 

I've seen so many guys get sucked into these poorly designed minimal control type airplanes. They are a waste of money and make the hobby out to be bad. Best advice is to check with the local hobby shop and have them point you to the local RC club....

If that isn't available them try a flight simulator on the home computer.

But please don't waste your money on these piece of crap airplanes. They only lead to frustration and a significant loss of money....

RE: building rc plane.
 

Your wasting your time trying to add ailerons to that thing. It flys fine for what it is, a two channel rudder only airplane. In the early days of this hobby thats all there was. The problems you are having are caused by you overusing the rudder. I'm not going to go into a lenghty discussion about rudder only designs, just use short rudder inputs, dont hold the rudder in eithr direction for too long and the plane will fly fine.

rrragman

RE: building rc plane.
 

oops, double post

RE: building rc plane.
 

I am of the belief that hobbies, like RC aeromodeling, are intended to blow money.. I blow as much as I can whenever I can.. sometimes it's only 10 bucks for a new prop..but I always walk away happy! http://images.rcuniverse.com/forum/image/s2.gif

Oh, and Parkzone planes are alot tougher than they look, I just augered my P-47 in a few weeks ago at full throttle and a few toothpicks, foam-safe CA, and a couple small strips of packing tape and the airframe is back together ready for a fresh cowl. Just a friendly reminder that pulling out the antenae before the hand launch is paramount.. [img]images/smiley/msn/tongue_smile.gif[/img]

RE: building rc plane.
 

okay, i didnt actually choose this one, for christmas i asked for peices to build a flyable design of a halo reach longsword interceptor, and have someone make it fly(motors, set up the thrust vectoring flaps on back of the engines, and so on) but my dad got me that air earl thing(it was made by some japanese company) because he thought it looked coolest. so ya. but i do use a flight sim a lot. im really into the old battlefield 2 AIX 2.0 mod, because its almost as realistic a flight sim as like FSX which is the legit flight sim i have. as for the local club, im not sure if there is one here anymore, im pretty sure there used to be, there was this HUGE field with a long straigh flat road running through it, there were people there constantly, flying really big rc planes. so naturally, someone decides to put a walmart there :'(
<br type="_moz" />

RE: building rc plane.
 

Hey man, check this out.. all within 25 miles of Milton, GA 30004

<table id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_dgClubs" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" align="Center"><tr style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); background-color: rgb(247, 246, 243);"><td>GEORGIA MODEL AVIATORS
Flying Site Details
<span id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_dgClubs_ctl02_lblDis tance" style="color: Blue; font-weight: bold;">6.97 miles</span> </td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> 2418 </td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> 292 </td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> CHRISTOPHER KENNEDY
Email Contact </td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> 6104 ODELL ST
CUMMINGGA30075
Phone: 678.283.2449
Visit Website
</td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> 5 </td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> <br type="_moz"/></td> </tr><tr style="color: rgb(40, 71, 117); background-color: White;"> <td> CREEKVIEW HIGH AERONAUTICS TEAM
<span id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_dgClubs_ctl03_lblDis tance" style="color: Blue; font-weight: bold;">8.39 miles</span> </td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> 15001 </td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> 27 </td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> TODD SHARROCK
Email Contact </td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> 209 CAMBRIDGE TRCE
CANTONGA30115
Phone: 706.897.9624
Visit Website
</td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> 6 </td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> <br type="_moz"/></td> </tr><tr style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); background-color: rgb(247, 246, 243);"> <td> STONE MOUNTAIN R/C FLYERS - Email Club
Flying Site Details
<span id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_dgClubs_ctl04_lblDis tance" style="color: Blue; font-weight: bold;">10.83 miles</span> </td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> 4454 </td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> 133 </td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> RALPH KNIGHT
Email Contact </td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> 4911 BAINBRIDGE CT SW
LILBURNGA30092
Phone: 770-925-4257
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</td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> 5 </td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> Yes </td> </tr><tr style="color: rgb(40, 71, 117); background-color: White;"> <td> SATELLITE FLYERS RC CLUB
Flying Site Details
<span id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_dgClubs_ctl05_lblDis tance" style="color: Blue; font-weight: bold;">18.90 miles</span> </td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> 5047 </td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> 11 </td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> DALE MEISS
Email Contact </td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> 1121 OAK ARBOUR AVE
LAWRENCEVILLEGA30044
Phone: 678.373.3144
</td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> 5 </td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> <br type="_moz"/></td> </tr><tr style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); background-color: rgb(247, 246, 243);"> <td> HILL TOP FLYERS
Flying Site Details
<span id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_dgClubs_ctl06_lblDis tance" style="color: Blue; font-weight: bold;">20.07 miles</span> </td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> 1518 </td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> 37 </td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> DAVID EATON
Email Contact </td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> 788 GLEN CIR
LAWRENCEVILLEGA30047
Phone: 779-972-5445
Visit Website
</td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> 5 </td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> <br type="_moz"/></td> </tr><tr style="color: rgb(40, 71, 117); background-color: White;"> <td> COBB COUNTY RC MODELERS
<span id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_dgClubs_ctl07_lblDis tance" style="color: Blue; font-weight: bold;">22.37 miles</span> </td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> 736 </td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> 107 </td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> KARL DURANT
Email Contact </td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> 118 CEDAR PT
DALLASGA30152
Phone: 770-966-7297
Visit Website
</td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> 5 </td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> <br type="_moz"/></td> </tr><tr style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); background-color: rgb(247, 246, 243);"> <td> ELECTRIC DRONE SOCIETY
Flying Site Details
<span id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_dgClubs_ctl08_lblDis tance" style="color: Blue; font-weight: bold;">22.83 miles</span> </td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> 938 </td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> 31 </td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> JOEL SHREENAN
Email Contact </td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> 4621 QUAIL POINTE DR
FLOWERY BRANCHGA30542
Phone: 404.695.7347
Visit Website
</td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> 5 </td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> Yes </td> </tr><tr style="color: rgb(40, 71, 117); background-color: White;"> <td> THERMAL THUMBERS OF METRO ATLANTA
<span id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_dgClubs_ctl09_lblDis tance" style="color: Blue; font-weight: bold;">23.72 miles</span> </td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> 1834 </td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> 46 </td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> DAVID BARFIELD
Email Contact </td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> 2000 TROPHY DR
MARIETTAGA30083
Phone: 770/977-5517
Visit Website
</td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> 5 </td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> <br type="_moz"/></td> </tr><tr style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); background-color: rgb(247, 246, 243);"> <td> PAULDING COUNTY MODEL AVIATION INC.
Flying Site Details
<span id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_dgClubs_ctl10_lblDis tance" style="color: Blue; font-weight: bold;">24.30 miles</span> </td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> 2713 </td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> 76 </td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> JOE HOLTON
Email Contact </td><td style="white-space: nowrap;"> 5406 TIPTON CIR
ACWORTHGA30101
Phone: 678.290.0586
Visit Website</td></tr></table>

RE: building rc plane.
 

The list of clubs came from http://www.modelaircraft.org/clubsearch.aspx

RE: building rc plane.
 

I am going to try to keep it real and straight to the point as possible but that will be hard to do with the nonsense you are thinking. YOU HAVE TO WALK BEFORE YOU CAN RUN. AND YOU HAVE TO CRAWL BEFORE YOU CAN WALK. Your "simulators" are games, not simulators. Your "interceptor" is a figmanet of some game designers imagination. And you never start learning with a rudder-only jet - rudder only is fine for a high wing trainer. And quite frankly, if you can't afford $160 you are in the wrong hobby.

I love helping newbies but sometimes you have to shake them a little (or a lot) to get them to realize the error of their ways.

RE: building rc plane.
 

Agreed with everything rgburrill said. If the OP isn't willing to spend $160 on a decent quality plane, he's not going to spend it on club dues and AMA membership! That said, if this hobby truly interests you there are some low cost park flyer options that are beginner friendly. Forget about jets or anything fast or maneuverable until you have some flight skills (not video game skills, but real skills) and more money to invest in a quality piece of equipment. For aircraft, the above mentioned Cub is a nice beginner flyer, as is the mini Super Cub and Hobbyzone Champ (smaller and cheaper). The GWS Slowstick is really inexpensive and easy to fix when you have an unplanned landing. If you shop around, you can have one in the air for about $100, maybe less if you find a used one someone is selling with an old radio.

RE: building rc plane.
 

+1 to the GWS Slowstik. My cousin's 13 year old daughter flies one and handles it well with hardly ANYexperience on anything but a little bit of sim time. Ialso am a fan of picking up a sim.. Best investment Ihave made.. still use it even after 5 years.

RE: building rc plane.
 

If cash is an issue, look on the RCU events page for R/C swap shops in your area. You'd be able to find something that will work better than what you have that you should be able to afford.

RE: building rc plane.
 

okay, yall are completely misunderstanding me, i would LOVE to buy a $160 plane that will fly right! i just dont have the money, i mean come on, im only 15, im getting a job next year, to help pay for car insurance and gas. so hopefully ill be able to afford that then, but for now, i was just curios to see if i could make what i have work better. ive had airplanes before and im a pretty decent pilot, they were like airhogs though, and i was like 8. trust me, if i oculd affor that cub trainer you sent me, i wouldnt hesitate to buy it, but i cant. and to the guy who said the interceptor is a figment of his imagination. your actually pretty off, the developement team at bungie have real world engineers come in and help with designing all vehicles and weapons, they have a gunsmith come in and make sure all the human weapons are realistic, the jet and vehicle designs are helped by real aerospace engineers, ground vehicles are kept realistic by engineers of that class. the longsword interceptor is realistic for what it does, fly really fast, high, look like a b-2, fight in atmosphere and space, and drop nukes. so i assure you, the design is realistic, but you are right, that wouldnt have been a good idea to start with, but ive done planes and helicoptors before, so a vstol fighter, wouldnt be that bad of a challenge, if i took it slow. and to mk23socom, thanks man! ill have to check those out, and fly24-7 that would be a big help if i could find one in my area, thanks!

RE: building rc plane.
 

Whu do you say ( i realy don't want to fix it ) and then ask about adding aditional control surfaces ??


BIGMIG ;)

Any RC hobby is going to require some money..................The question is how much do you have to spend..?

Most of these RC models are like mini -"real aircraft".............What kind of an intercepter aircraft do you know of that would only have a rudder control................? It would not be in the air very long....;)

RE: building rc plane.
 

FTI, Nitroplanes has a 42 inch, 4 channelCub Ready-to-fly for under $100. http://www.nitroplanes.com/60a-dy892...rtf-24ghz.html

And if it is not included they often add a simulator for less than $5.

RE: building rc plane.
 

No, you can't.

The Pamster
AMA 202345

RE: building rc plane.
 

Dude, you're not operating in reality. Even commercially designed RC model jets are hard to fly, nearly impossible for a beginner. A homebuilt copy of some fantasy plane from a video game built by someone who doesn't know about aero design is going to have next to zero chance of being flyable even by someone with experience, let alone a beginner. Sorry to burst your bubble, but you are not a "pretty decent pilot." You've had airplane toys and have some experience playing with them. That's about like me saying I can drive a car because I had an RC toy car as a kid. No offense, but you are a novice pilot who, if you'll put some time and energy into it, could learn to be a competent pilot and fly real models soon. We know this hobby and we're telling you that your goal was way unrealistic. The good news is that we've also given you some good guidance on planes you probably can handle as a beginner, so mow a few yards and get something that will work the way you need it to.

RE: building rc plane.
 

I just read through all the posts, and when I get through nodding my head about everything people said, this occurs to me.

That "Full Right or Full Left"... too much control... if I was bound & determined to fly that jet, with no throttle control and only full right or left rudder...

I'd decrease the rudder deflection to the absolute minimum, by choosing the outboard link on the rudder control horn, and the inboard link on the servo horn. Maybe even an extension on the rudder link.

Not a cure-all, just a possible remedy for the over-control situation. If you're already there, never mind.

Good luck,
Dave Olson

RE: building rc plane.
 

jester, i hate to be rude, but, can you not read? what does AEROSPACE engineer mean to you, who the h*** do you think designs airplanes? monkeys? and by decent i mean i could takeoff, NOT crash, and do a soft enough landing to keep it in one peice, until one day, the wind caught it,(i was like 8 i wasnt thinking about the wind) and it flew into a tree too high to retrieve it.

bigmig: when i mean dont want to fix it but i would like to know if you could add more control surfaces, i was going to redesign it, into a much more effective design, i do all kinds of engineering/design things like this, did i think it would make it easier to fly? probably not, i jjust wanted to say ive done it, then get someone who's experienced nearbye to try it out. if it didnt work, well at least i tried. by repairing it, its still the same not user-friendly design. and the rudder only interceptor, its not rudder only, i was just giving examples of the things the person would add. it acheives thrust vectoring through movable plates on the back of the engine that direct thrust instead of a moving thrust nozzle. it would make more sense if you gave the design a look, here is a pretty good picture showing the craft, http://media.moddb.com/cache/images/...ongswords2.jpg

scar: id have to give the thing another look to know more about what your talking about but thanks for the suggestion. :)

rgburrill: thanks, ill give that a look.

and guys, you can stop like telling me the original idea of building the interceptor was an unrealistic idea. building it for me, would be perfectly realistic and relatively a simple project, now flying the beast would be unrealistic, i wouldnt have tried to either cause of how much work i would have put into it. i would have someone with experience behind the remote.
<br type="_moz" />

RE: building rc plane.
 

I think the picture that Jester is trying to paint here is that while engineers designed the plane/helicopter/tank/jeep/buggy/motorcycle/sandrail did the best possible job on portraying realism into the video game counterpart of the real-life vehicle, it does not, in any way, prepare someone to be a pilot/driver of a radio controled model of the same. To me its like saying someone who is a crack shot in Battlefield and can shoot people on a dead run and are just uncannily accurate would be fully capable of handling those same weapons in real life. I can attest to the intangibles that it requires to operate today's weapons systems and that most couldn't get one loaded properly let alone handle it responsibly. That would be a far cry away from even approaching any kind of ability to be accurate. While the gamer in me respects your opinion, the realist in me knows that you are a little off in your assessments. As a younger guy that is pretty new to the hobby still, my advice may hit home a little better I hope. I know that your best bet to be successful in this hobby is to do the best you can to stretch your dollar and get the best things for that dollar. I suggest an RC simulator of any shape or form, see if you can find one that is used but still works fine.. lots of guys upgrade or change to a different brand or whatnot.. look seriously at the parkzone line of foam electrics, I assure you won't be disappointed for the money. I have two of them personally and love them and my dad has one too and loves it the same. getting introduced to one of the local clubs will go a long way in helping you out. Most clubs that are worth a sneeze will have many guys that have things laying around that you would benefit greatly from. At your age, you may even be so fortunate that some of these guys are generous enough to donate things to help your quest for air under the wings. Don't feel like any of us on here are trying to poo-poo you for what you have been up to. We are simply trying to help a young up-and-comer make the best choices and purchases with his limited budget during these harder times. I personally would love to see you get into this because young fellas just don't come around these days. Cripes, I'm always the youngest guy by a good 15-20 years at alot of get togethers..

As far as your other project goes, give it a shot.. you will learn how to problems solve and troubleshoot and maybe, if you are good at the first two things, you end up with a neat modded result.. Don't feel like we are coming down on ya buddy, we want to see you have miles of success, that is the best part of this hobby Ihave not found anywhere else.. everyone generally wants to see the next guy do well.. unless he is a know-it-all jerk that won't accept the well intended advice! http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f.../msn/49_49.gif

RE: building rc plane.
 

Well I'm not a jet guy,but i do understand what you would like to be able to try on your plane.I think the major factor is going to be the transmitter and receiver that came with the plane.If you had a 4..5...or 6 chanel transmitter and receiver and a few mini servo's it might be a different story.If the model will handle the additional weight and still fly.You never know until you try....my hat off to you for that...;)

BIGMIG ;)