Question
 

Im a newbie to r/c aircraft, im 16. Im trying to learn the hobby by my self, and advice for someone that absoulty cannot take leasons with an instructor. I live way out in the boonies and driving to the nearest field would mean about an hour drive, and my parents said absolutly NO. So that leads me to ask, how can i slowly train myself and procedures tips, hints of any sort you can give are appriciated.! I have a Tower Hobbies Tower Trainer 40 MKII .46 and a smaller airplane thats electric, i have been practicing on the smaller electric one for about a month or so, but its limited in what it can do since it has no real flight controls other than throttle and turn.

RE: Question
 

If i were you, I would get a plane with ailerons thats electric and foam or a meterial thats easy to use. And learn how to fly it perfectly. Then One day go to a field or meet someone on here who can meet you close and train you. I met someone on here who trained me. If you can get an electric you can fly well, Then nitro won't be too bad, But i highly reccomend you buddy up with someone.

Another thing, Get a simulator. I reccomend Aero Fly Pro delux, you can see banners on this site for it. It's like 130 and all you have to do is hook up your transmitter and it will help alot. It isn't the real thing, but very close to it. I know 130 sounds quite steep, but thats about like crashing your plane, and then rebiulding it, which would probably happen without AFPD

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Ill do you one better! I have REFLEX sim, i just need to order the cable to hook up to CPU, any good plane to find some cheaper electric planes? You know somthing that i crash isnt gonna cost me $$$$$$

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Multiplex Easy Star
T-Hawk
Aerobird

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I know of a good plane that won't break, but it is real twitchy. Let me get a link
Go to slofly

I would get it and get a brushless setup and micro servos.

Many people will argue, but they are virtually indestructible

http://www.slofly.com/index.php?shor...D&id=3165#3165

They are made out of a bendible foam. They are quite twitchy and i wouldn't get them if you have windy conditions alot. They are too light for wind

RE: Question
 

BTW i flew one like this my first time, it is a hard one, but if you can do it, you can fly an electric. Don't fly it near trees though

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I started 30+ years ago with a rudder only .049 Brick. It was frustrating but practice makes perfect. If nothing else you get to learn how to repair damage. If you get anything in the air you are on your way. Anything in the air under your control is called practice. Keep it up and good luck.

RE: Question
 

You can try a spad too.

I don't like them, but they are cheap to build. They are hard to fly, but they are durable and cheap to repair. If you can learn to fly one, you can fly almost any trainer.

[link]http://www.spadtothebone.com[/link]

You can build some of the 'trainers' for less than $30.

I never thought I would recommend these things to anybody, but your situation is an exception. Just be careful around people, including yourself. The prop can remove a digit in less than half a second. Make sure you have supervision at all times and try to find someone who is knowledgeable in RC or at least small engines.

These are not toys, they can be very dangerous. Get help from someone if you can.

The electrics, at least the ones I have seen, do not simulate glow trainers very well.

Reflex is a good sim. I have it too. It's harder, in my opinion, than the real thing. Mostly because you cannot see the runway and you have to make lots of corrections on approach.

If you have lots of farmland, and supervision, you may be able to get something going. When you are older and can drive to a field, DO IT!! You will learn far more from the experience of others than from your own. I drive an hour to my field every time.

I fear you may get discouraged without an instructor; so be patient and get used to crashing and repairing. It is worth it. Repairing planes is a good way to learn about basic aerodynamics. I am a beginner too, but I spend hours at the field just learning from the others and now, I can distinguish good advice from bad.


Good Luck!!

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I started flying 1/2 A airplanes. They are two channel planes with a Cox .049 or .051 engine. They are small, usually about 22oz or less and have no wheels. You hand launch them, fly until out of fuel and then glide them in and land on the belly. They are cheap, fly well and you don't need to line up with a runway to land. You DO land them into the wind. And a Cox TD .051 revs about 20k, so the performance of these small birds can be very good. They don't drink much fuel, but they do require the higher nitro fuel. They don't seem that popular nowadays, but I believe it is because people generally have more money now. But for a youth with good eyesight and a small wallet, these good be a good option.

RE: Question
 

The Easy Star is about $59 for the kit.
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXFRU7&P=ML

Space Scooter - $59
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXGZV4&P=7

Planes will literally bounce on a crash.

If you need the radio and all and want it all built with battery and charger, ready to fly. $180.
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXFXV0&P=ML

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXGZV5&P=7

How are we doing for recommendations?


Makes no noise and also flies very well as a glider. Super plane. Wings pop off an you stick it back in the box for storage.

RE: Question
 

Thx guys, wrecked my electric today, Lmao, those foam planes seem to spit in half yet nothing that magical packing tape cant fix! Still waiting on that USB interface Cable! Also, i have one more question, which plane should i use in reflex to match my plane the closest?

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What does this mean?

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Reflex model flight sim, which airplane should i use to practice with to most closly resemble the char. of my actual aircraft.

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T-52 from JK Aerotech....www.jkaerotech.com
Most durable than just about anything out there. Kit is like $35. You can make either electric or glow. Primarily, rudder/elevator but,
you can add ailerons if you wish. I learned on one myself and the one I have now is powered by a mag mayhem truck motor with 3 to 1 gearbox that swings a 12x8 folding prop. 8 cell battery pack. Wingspan is 52 inches with 10 degrees of dihedral. Once you learn,
you can take out the center section and the wing is now 44 inches with no dihedral. I think you'd have more possibilities with this plane than you would any other.

Dave...

RE: Question
 

Here is my suggestion for what its worth. Seeing how you can't get an instructor you will have to take things a bit slow because you will have to do landings (the hardest thing) on your first flight. I don't recommend an Aerobird to a begginer. I have an Aerobird xtreme and it is much more difficult to fly than my trainer. On the other hand I have a shock flier foamie and this is pretty easy to fly. This may be a cheap way to get some air time. Just use as much standard parts as possible because you will almost certainly crash during the learning proccess. This plane can be easily fixed with foam safe CA glue. Just keep the rates down and the CG to the middle range and you should be ok. Main problem being they don't handle much wind, but they are much easier to fix than your trainer. Oh and by the way, get your sim going and fly it till your thumbs get sore.
Good luck.