Want to upgrade the electronics in my trainers
 

Hi guys, I was just given a couple glow engine trainers that have been hanging in a guys garage for close to 15 years. They were his dad's planes and after his dad passed away the sons divided all the planes up and took them home. This guy never did get into it so he gave them to me. One is a Goldberg eagle 2 and the other is a tower hobbies mk II 60 trainer. The eagle II is missing all its electronics so I would like to replace them and get it flying again so if you guys could give me some advice on what to put in it that would be great. I want to use my Spectrum Dx9 to fly the eagle.As for the trainer 60 I would like to replace the receiver and battery pack so that I can use it also with my Specrum dx9. I'm a newbie when it comes to glow engine planes so every bit of help I can get will be greatly appreciated and I'm looking forward to getting these birds back into the air.

Hello ST and welcome to the site.

What you will need for the trainer that has no electronics are: four standard servos (expensive servos are a waste here), a standard switch/charge harness, a flight battery pack (I would use no less than a five cell (6) volt) Nimh or Nicd are fine And finally a 2.4 receiver to match your transmitter. I do not do Spectrum stuff so have no recommendation for a receiver.

For your Tower 60 you only need to replace whatever brand rx with one that matchs you Spectrum tx. If the battery is old then see notes above and remember I would not use a 4.8 volt packs with any 2.4 systems and perhaps Spectrum most of all.

You made no mention of the engines and they could present a host of problems if they have been run in the distant past.

John

before You tven try to start your engins I woulld compltly replace the fuel systems . Tank and lines . You might be able to salvage your old tank but its hardly worth it . You have a good radio there . Getting into RC is not going to be as easy as you might think . The first thing you need to do is find a club and get a mentor who can teach you to fly .. That way you can do your freinds Dads planes Justice . The planes can get away from you so fast it will surprize you please don,t try by your self . You do have the rite style of planes and they will give you the best chance to learn but you will still need a bit of help to help you get started . The guys who help you will become life long friends . As John suggests start off with fresh batteries . I use life but Nicd or Nimh 6 v will do Spektrum does not like 4.6 V So dont use 4 cell batteries . you only need a good 6 ch RX so look for an AR6000 and that will be enough for any 6 channel plane . The Engines might be stobbourn but if you need to try soaking them in a can of fuel overnite to get them loosend up and start from there . Good Luck and welcome to the fun ..

Check this out - http://www.ebay.com/itm/111888909158...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT - It does not include a switch, but I'll bet if you ask the seller, he will include one.

I took a look at the stuff on e Bay that lone Star Charles found for you too look at . I would not use the battery myself because even if it was new it is only a 4 cell battery 4.8 V and Spektrum dosent like the lower voltage batteries . The servo's might be okay and the Rx might be okay . AR 6200 is a good choice .. I am always a bit relucant to buy used electronics because you never know what they have been thru , or what condition they are in . The ones in the picture don't appear to be in pristene condition however you can't always tell by the looks .Futaba servos have a little tab on them to keep you from getting them reversed and that tab must be removed for them to be used in any other mfg's plug ins . They have probably already been removed if they have been used with Spektrum stuff but it is something to watch out for if you get any futaba stuff . Futaba is good stuff . Concidering you recieved the planes and radio ,engines ect. for free I think if you are at all interested in the hobby spending a little on new bateries and the radio equipt that you will need to make your planes safe to fly would be a wise investment . You don't really need to do both planes to start with . You could pick one ,get it going and then after you have decided if the hobby is really for you work on the second plane .

I highly recommend that you locate a local club and visit them. You will get better advice if the one you are talking to can see and inspect your plane(s). Most clubs have members that will be most happy to give you advice and a hand.

This is great info guys I greatly appreciate it. I guess I should of mentioned I do fly electric foamies and electric 3D helicopters so I'm not a beginner when it comes to flying I'm just a beginner when it comes to glow and gas engines and building planes. Looking forward to switching over to some nice loud engines instead of the quite little motors lol. I want to get these trainers going mainly to teach my 3 boys how to fly. Money is not an object I want good electronics put into these planes and I don't want to cheap out on them so I'll buy new so I know what I got. I have a few spectrum transmitters so I want to use spectrum receivers so I think I'll buy a couple 6 Chanel ones.wasnt sure what batter packs to use but you guys put me on the right track and I thank you.Thanks for all your help and if you have any other advice I'm all ears!

I am glad to hear that you already have flying experience . I have a few electrics too and find that I can use the same RX's in some of them but I have gone from glow to elect not elect to glow so I dont use any park flyer Rx's . I don,t know if this information is of any value at this point but I thought I would mention it . You can use the AR6200 in some of your electrics too . Most of the elect I have won at one event or another and they are usually bind and fly . I swap the (usually Tatic Rx's ) out for Spektrum 6200 usually . They are fairly cheap and I have lots of them . I was a die hard glow or gasser guy till I found out how easy it was to fly electric in the winter . No cold goo on your fingers . no stubborn engine to start . Just take it out of the back of your vechial and go fly . Now I even fly them in the early mornings when every body is sleepin but me . I am not sure what is considered a park flyer RX but you can likley get a 4 ch RX that is full range 'I am not sure . I have never bothered with anything less than 6 ch . If you are getting new stuff I find for planes like you are outfitting HiTec 425 Servos work great . I find they are solid and reliable . Your glow engines may be pretty sticky to turn over if they turn over at all .the needles could be stuck pretty solid too . Just don't force anything . A bit of heat from your heat gun and a bit of glow fuel should loosen things up .It depends if the engines were winterized when they were last shut down or not . If they were you might be in luck . A new tank and lines and after 15 yrs of sitting maybe new glow plugs . and away they will go . What kind are they ? Good luck to you and your boys .

Bikerbc one plane is a Goldberg eagle 2, another is the tower hobbies MkII trainer 60 and the 3rd plane I have no idea what it is. The 3rd plane is just a three channel so my boys will start off with that one. They already are getting pretty good with the apprentice I bought for them but it will be a little while yet before I unhook the buddy box.

I bought 2 of my grandsons each a GB Eagle 2 for Christmas . They have both become interested in Grandpas planes . The Eagle 2 is a easy building and good trainer .. I had a Tower Hobbies Trainer 60 but mine had 4 channels . It flew great . My wing didn't look like it had been modified so maybe there was two models , one with ailerons and one without . The Apprentice seems like a great plane to start out with . There are a few of them at our club . I like how you can convert them over to floats so easily .

You can buy floats ready made and they normally just bolt on, some to the landing gear, some to the fuselage.

Ya I can't rember for sure but I think the Apprentice is a trike . So the easiest would be to have two sets of Landing gear on the floats with two mounting spots located on the fuse . that way the floats could be balanced and the switch over would be just a few screws .