Help a new guy
 

I am new to the hobby. I have a super decathalon ch4 that I just crashed pretty bad. Right now I am waiting for the new parts and I want to know if there is a way to re enforce the fuselage of the plane without making the plane to heavy to fly. Thanks for any help that you could give me...[:@]

RE: Help a new guy
 

Hi,

I'm sure someone can suggest several ways to make a fuselage stronger, but you need to give us more info. Which super decathlon do you have and why you want to make it stronger. Because if you want to make it strong enough to survive a bad chrash, then you're out of luck. There's no way you can do that without making it too heavy.

Anyway, if you're trying to learn with a Super Decathlon without an instructor, I think most will agree that it's not the right way to learn. Decathlon might be a high wing plane, but it has little or no dihedral and it's wing loading is a little on the high side, so it is much more difficult than a trainer. I say this from experience (don't ask :D)

Serafim

RE: Help a new guy
 

With lots of lite ply.But that is going to ad weight.But you are learning with the wrong type of plane so you are going to need it strong for your next crash.

RE: Help a new guy
 

I would say 1/8" lite ply doublers will make it plenty strong without getting too heavy, but as others have said, this is not a plane to try to fly on your own without experience, or experienced help.

BTW, where in SD are you?

RE: Help a new guy
 

One thing no one has asked is, how big is this plane. Is it a Parkflyer or a glow plane?
Dennis-

RE: Help a new guy
 

I am from rapid city SD, and I have a Parkzone Super Decathlon(electric). Since everybody that has replied to my question has said that this is the wrong plane to start with. Which plane should I get to learn first. Thanks for all the Info.

RE: Help a new guy
 

There are a number of trainers out there for electrics and you will receive a lot of advice on which plane to get.

My observations for electric trainers indicate the two most often suggested ones are:

1. Slow Stick http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXHCJ2&P=ML

2. Easy Star http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXFRU7&P=ML OR
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXFXV0&P=ML

Hope this helps.

RE: Help a new guy
 

A few other good planes would be;

Hangar 9 - Alpha 40 or 60
40 size http://h1071118.hobbyshopnow.com/pro...450&pc=HAN2450
60 size http://h1071118.hobbyshopnow.com/pro...p?prod=HAN2725

Hobbieco' Avistar or Super Star, available at Tower Hobbies

I too, am new to the hobby. I am learning on a Hangar 9 Alpha 60 ARF. I recommend an ARF over a RTF because the knowledge of assembling a plane will help you understand a little more about how they work. The process includes installing things like fuel tank, motor mounts, servo's and radio, engine, landing gear and connections to control surfaces (ailerons, rudder, elevator and throttle) to servo's, battery and on and off switch. Plus, you are able to buy components that you want. I purchased an OS .61fx engine and Futaba radio equipment.

I personally like the Alpha trainer. The reason, I liked what I read about the Alpha, it comes with a trainer prop. A 3-blade fairly flat pitch wide blade prop made by Evolution.

The difference is amazing, much slower flight than a 2 blade. The 3-blade trainer prop loads the engine and acts as an air brake. The first flight (with an instructor) we used a regular 2-blade prop. The next time I had installed the trainer prop, wanting to see if there was any difference. My instructor was amazed at the difference in the planes speed. It slows the plane down about half. And the approach speed was really helpful to learn how to land.

The trainer prop’s wide blades act as an air brake. At about 100 feet in altitude on approach, with the 2-blade, when you pull the throttle back it glides in nice but at a much higher speed. With the 3-blade prop at the same 100 feet, when you pull back on the throttle, the nose drops a great deal more, pull back on the elevator and it glides in at a much slower speed.

With the 3-blade Evolution trainer prop (12” slight pitch, 60 size) with idle set at 1500 to 1600 rpm’s, then change only the prop (to a 2-blade 12’ – 6 pitch) the rpm’s climbed to over 2400 rpm’s. Of coarse, you can slow the rpm’s by tuning the engine, but it doesn’t have the same effects of slowing the planes air speed.

I personally feel the trainer prop is a great advantage to a beginner pilot.

One thing though, the crankshaft on the OS engine and the Evolution are different length. With the Evolution trainer prop and the OS engine, I was not able to use the front prop washer and achieve a full nut on the prop using a standard plastic spinner. With a spinner-nut (no plastic spinner backing plate) you can get the washer and plenty of nut to tighten. I personally used the plastic spinner, but checked the prop nut between flights.

You can buy any plane, and purchase the Evolution trainer prop to go on it. But the Evolution Trainer prop is only available through a supplier who carries Evolution engines and I guess who also carries the Hangar 9 Alpha plane. Just be sure to get the right size for your plane, 40 or 60 size. The supplier I purchased my plane and numerous other supplies, including extra trainer props, find the links below;

Supplier http://www.*********.org/ They have both the Alpha 40 and 60 in ARF and RTF

Trainer prop for 60 size http://h1071118.hobbyshopnow.com/pro...prod=EVOE0610P

Trainer prop spinner for 60 size can't find the number, but RC Hobbies has it you can call the 800 number, or the 3-blade spinner from Dubro fits and is better, just more expensive.

Trainer prop for 40 size http://h1071118.hobbyshopnow.com/pro...?prod=EVOE100P

Trainer prop spinner 40 size http://h1071118.hobbyshopnow.com/pro...?prod=EVOE100S


But, one more very important thing, go on-line and find a club around your area. Find an instructor to help you learn. Instructors usually give instructions free. It might take a little longer to fly because of scheduling between you and the instructors time together. But, I can tell you from experience, it will cost you a lot less money and will be much safer.

Go to AMA's web site and look for clubs in your area;
http://www.modelaircraft.org/

Good luck
Flying...It's so cool......

RE: Help a new guy
 

There's not really anything wrong with the particular Decathlon you've got for a basic trainer; there are better electric trainers, in my opinion, but this plane will do just fine. For those unfamiliar with it, here's a link:[link=http://parkzone.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=PKZ1400]Parkzone Decathlon[/link]. Assuming you want to maximize your current investment, you can learn to fly with this plane. You would be best served to find a club in your area and seek some help with the first flights; you'll learn a lot this way. They may even be able to help you get started without requiring you to join. Unfortunately, some clubs and flyers are still in the stone age regarding electric planes. If the club you find is one of those, you probably won't get much useful help, but lots of suggestions to buy a 'real plane'. Ignore it for now. A friend of mine taught himself to fly with Parkzone's Cub, it is not that dis-similar to the Decathlon, they are both 3-channel, have the same power systems and roughly the same wingloading, so shouldn't fly too differently. Anyhow, to reinforce the fuselage, you may want to epoxy flat strips of carbon fiber or 1/16"x1/8" spruce or basswood strips to the fuselage sides, about halfway up, from the front of the cockpit to 2 or 3" behind the trailing edge of the wing, if you can reach it. Keep it light and use as little epoxy as you can. Once you can consistently keep the plane in the air, adding 'crashworthiness' is just dead weight. One more thing, there are several threads in the Parkflyers forum concerning this plane that may have useful information for you, perhaps try a search.

RE: Help a new guy
 

I would just suggest atleast 25 hours under an expert trainer's supervision.

RE: Help a new guy
 

I too am a newb to RC flying and i have the J-3 by parkzone and have a had a big nasty crash on the first flight. Luckily the parts are cheap. I still have trouble keeping it up in the air and i feel just as discouraged. Once u master it though things get better. I just completed my first loop a few days ago. I dont have much time for flying by school but i wish i did. If i did i would already be flying a four channel. What really helped me was learning to deal with wind using the firebird outlaw which is no longer being produced. A similar plane is the Firebird Scout for 50$ RTF its a start to the basics.

-Good Luck and keep it up
(you will need the luck)