first plane
 

Ive asked this question before but the only answer I got was go see an instructor which I may do but I am interested in teaching myself I wanted to know what everyone thought would be a good beginner plane I need a plane that I can fly at the school yard or the baseball diamond it must be able to take a crash I want an electric and really want to build it people have suggested the t hawk and the easy star but I don't really like those that much some people have suggested the mountain models dandy and the magpie looks OK. tell me what you think.

RE: first plane
 

I really want ot build it, & it must be able to take a crash. Unfortunately these two criteria don't go together, especially when you don't know how to fly & are intent on teaching yourself. I know these aren't the answers you're looking for. But the bottom line is your not really gonna find too many, if any ppl in here that are gonna co-sign doing it on your own.

You mentioned the Dandy, it looks like an easy gentle flyer however these Mountain Model planes are kits. Not ARFs or RTFs. So while it may fullfill your desire to build your own, it will not take a crash. And rest assured you will crash it, first flight most likely. After all the hard work & time invested to build a plane from a kit do you really want to go out & re-kit it first time out?

I understand you want to do it yourself, & you want an electric park flyer. If that is the way you are determined to go at least get something that might survive a few crashes. There are a number of small RTF parkflyers that don't have that "toy look & quality about them. Parkzone has a RTF Version of the J3 Piper Cub that is 3 channel & has a dihedral wing like a trainer instead of a scale J3 wing.

Your still gonna crash it, but it might survive a little longer than any balsa & ply built up airframe.

Keep in mind that you can still hurt someone very badly even with a small parkflyer. You should really be thinking about 1st) joining the AMA, 2nd) finding your local club & getting hooked up with one of the instructors there, & 3) getting a real trainer to learn how to fly safely & properly. Once you've achieved that then you can allways start flying any of the parkflyers you want.

RE: first plane
 

If you are intent on 'teaching yourself' to fly RC airplanes, there are a few things you must consider. There are many options, but most of them are more TOY than they are airplane. If you want to get into airplanes, like the dandy, (which looks a lot like a trainer), then you NEED an instructor.

You can try to learn without an instructor if you wish. Heres how.

1) Select a good beginner electric airplane. A trainer, if possible. (Something with 4 channels. Ailerons are a must, IMHO).

2) Buy 3 of them. By the time you are finished crashing, you will have enough parts to fly a whole airplane. (Sounds like I'm kidding, doesn't it?...but I'm not).

3) Get a good RC flight simulator and practice flying on the computer. It's cheaper than crashing.

4) Just keep the wings level as much as possible and you should get the hang of it in time.

5) Crashes will be inevitable without an instructor, so plan on spending a lot of time repairing and re-building.

I'm not trying to be a wise guy. You WILL crash without some help, and you will need more than one airplane. Flying RC is a blast. I hope you don't get discouraged before it becomes great fun for you.

Good Luck,

Mark

RE: first plane
 

I was much like you when i first got into the hobby, I wanted to get myself a plane and get right into it without waiting for the process of meeting new people and joining a club. One day at the fling field I finally talked to a guy and he agreed to help me for the first few lessons, it didn't take long, two flights to be exact to fly solo. It really doesnt take long to learn to fly a trainer, they litterly fly themselves almost. If I were you, and i am not, I would get a ARF trainer, there are so meny great trainers out there, you can even buy complete combos where everything you need less field equipment is there. Go down to your local flying field and the people there will be more than willing to lend a helping hand. The people in this hobby are great people!

joe AMA#854418
cumberland flyers

RE: first plane
 

If you plan to teach yourself, buy something very inexpensive. That way when you destroy it there will be less to mourn. You really should IMO get with a club and instructor for your best chances of success. I don't know why you want to go it alone with so many great clubs in Florida but that is up to you. If you do try it alone, please don't fly anywhere near another club as you may have your radio interfere with one of their planes or vice-versa. Sorry to be so neagtive but I've seen too many show up at our field with a bag of debris that they tried to teach themselves to fly and ask "WHY?".

RE: first plane
 

th e perfecy first plane for u rtf 29 dollars and it wont break might get caught in a tree but stay away from trees esay repair scotch tape
http://www.raidentech.com/2crcplane.html

RE: first plane
 

Like you, I wanted to learn to fly by myself. Here's my story:

About 4 years ago, I discovered the Hobbico Firebird II park flyer. Its a foam wing, plastic fuselage, 2 channel, ready to fly for about $75. Looked simple enough from the supplied video, so out to the local school yard on a fall weekend, no one around. Just like the video said, I pushed the throttle to full, gave the bird a gentle push into the wind, and it was off and flying! Well, not quite. About 30 yards down the road, when I realized I couldn't get it to turn, it finally nosed over onto a sidewalk. Picked it up, made some adjustments to the V-tail, and tried again. This time it made it almost 75 feet before crashing. Of course it was much higher this time, and the resultant crash resulted in the motor ripping out of its mounting, and a broken wing. Luckily it came with an extra wing.

Back home, I disassembled it, remounted the motor, used a heat gun to get the creases out of the fuselage, and back to the schoolyard. This time, I managed to get it in the air and keep it there. With only 2 channels, however, there was no elevator control. Does anybody else know what happens when you hold the rudder on a V-tail with no elevator control? I do. The plane eventually tries to do a roll over, goes nose down, and if its high enough, will eventually pull out. I wasn't high enough. Nose into the dirt. This time, I had to buy a new fuselage for $35. (total $110 so far).

Now I was getting more experienced, and I could keep it in the air, and get it back down safely. After about a year of flying this on occasion at the local park, I was getting bored. One day, another flyer showed up at the park. He was flying a U-Can-Do .60. He was a great pilot, and made the hovering, knife edges, flat spins, and snap rolls look easy. I decided it was time to move up.

Being a cheap skate, I did some more research and discovered SPADs. Build it yourself, durable, and easy to fly. I built a Debonair to plans on Spadtothebone.com. After a few weekends, my new plane was ready to fly. I had broken in the engine per the manual, and was absolutely sure I was ready to go.

Out to the park, nobody around. Started the engine. Pushed the throttle forward. Grass was too long, and the plane didn't have enough oomph to get it going. I had read about hand launching. I didn't need any help, just go for it. So I carefully picked up the plane, pushed the throttle to full, and launched it. Of course the plane was out of trim, and my experienced (not) fingers immediately tried to overcorrect. I fought the trim for almost 30 seconds before the plane nosed into the ground at full throttle. Cracked the fuselage, bent the landing gear, but everything else survived.

At this point I realized what an idiot I was being, and found a local club. I repaired my Debonair, and did some glide testing in the back yard to work out the trim issues. Finally, the day arrived when I went to the club field, met my instructor, and he looked over the plane. He'd never seen a SPAD before, and was skeptical of its flying characteristics, but found no reason not to try it out.

His expert hands taxied out, and took off beautifully. He adjusted the trims, brought it back down and we hooked up the buddy box. It was my turn. He took off, got the plane 3 mistakes high, and let me have it. My goodness, what an adrenaline rush I had. He was impressed with how easy it was to fly, and I was shaking in my shoes. For that first flight, he had to take control back on nearly every turn. I was over controlling the h**l out of it. Trying this myself would have been dangerous and expen$ive.

After about 4 more Saturdays, getting as many flights as I could on each, I finally soloed. I am now the Club President, Training Coordinator, and an Instructor.

So for your first question: Plane Recommendation: SPAD Debonair - build it yourself, durable, easy to fly. After learning how to fly, it can be modified for improved performance and some basic stunts. Note however that this is not a park flyer. No, its not electric. There are some electric SPADS, but they are not trainers. Your criteria appear to be that it has to look good. I'd suggest you not worry about appearances for your first plane, but find one that flys well. That's what trainers are for. Eventually you'll move on to the cool looking planes, and they'll actually survive their maiden flights.

What ever plane you decide to fly, PLEASE FIND AN INSTRUCTOR!!!! I tried it without, and would have eventually succeeded, but at what cost? Had I caused damage, or worse, hurt someone, it could have lead to more that just my financial ruin. Particularly flying on public land, it could lead to local laws that prevent or severely restrict other flyers. In the long run, its safer, cheaper, easier, and more fun with an instructor and a club. You'll meet some very interesting people, see many more planes, and get a much better idea of what you want for your second plane. Half the fun of this hobby is the social interaction, whether its comrades to comiserate your loss, or the pats on the back when you grease your cross-wind landings.

Good luck, and have fun!

Brad

RE: first plane
 

Nice story Brad, As a club President & Instructor, ya think it might be a good idea to join the AMA first?[&:]

RE: first plane
 

Recommending to join the AMA won't help here. In order for the AMA insurance to cover an individual they must be following all the rules from the 2006 AMA Safety Code. One line in the safety code that usually excludes those individuals that want to fly wherever they feel like is this:


Ken

RE: first plane
 

Yea Ken, I was just kinda trying to make a point if ya know what I mean.[sm=spinnyeyes.gif]

RE: first plane
 

Mark,
I think your statement would have been fine if you had used the word "ALSO" instead of "FIRST".
Of course, this is just my opinion of a statement made by a NON-brute. :D:D[sm=bananahead.gif]

RE: first plane
 

Hey buddy , I got your non-brute H#$&%*@! [sm=surprised.gif][sm=drowning.gif]

RE: first plane
 

Sorry, I couldn't resist.[sm=lol.gif]

RE: first plane
 

Although not stated, membership in AMA was required for club membership, and club membership was required for instruction. Yes, I joined the AMA.

(details, details.....Sheesh!!) :D

Brad

RE: first plane
 

Oh I assumed that You were an AMA member obviously since you're an Instructor. Just thought it a little strange that among your reccomendations to him as an Instructor didn't include the need for him to join the AMA, you know for those little details like insurance when he accidently flies his new spad thru your windshield.[X(] lol Just kidding, it's all good.

RE: first plane
 

I'm not convinced. Here's a couple of facts to confuse things a little:
1-- If a term in an agreement doesn't have a special definition in legal terminology, then that term is taken for its common, every-day meaning in any legal question
2-- The word _established_ is not one that is redefined for legal use, so its legal meaning is its common, every-day meaning
3-- The common, every-day meaning of the word established hinges on the established thing being set up, understood, and being agreed upon by whoever's affected by it
4-- If you choose a particular boundary (like an imaginary line extending both ways from the front of your field box, and you can see where that line is, and you can tell which side of it you're on then you have set a line -- in fact, you've set one that you can easily demonstrate having set.
5-- If you are the only one in the area to be affected by your flight operation and you have set your line (and you agree with what you've set), then everyone in the flying area demonstrably understands and agrees to that line -- so, by definition, the line is established.
6-- If there are no spectators and you have reasonably prevented the impingement of spectators into your run-up and flight operations area, then you have effectively defined everything outside of the run-up and flight operations area as a spectator area.
7-- If you have good visibility of your flight operations and run-up areas and all avenues of approach, and if you get your airplane on the ground and powered down whenever somebody approaches, before they are able to enter the area, then the defined areas will never be flight operations or run-up areas with spectators present.
8-- Having thus prevented spectator impingement on your run-up and flight operations areas, you have established a de-facto spectator area including the rest of the world. Again, using the definitions of establishing, it is easy to show that this is an established area. And again, you are the only one who needs to understand and agree to this because during flight operations you are the only one present to be affected. Spectator arrives... flight stops... there is no flight operations... nobody's flying in violation of spectator requirements of rule 4. Keep your plane in front of the line as much as possible and the rest of rule 4 is also complied with.

So what's the issue?
Is there somewhere that the AMA ever said they won't cover flying in a public place where you have permission to do so?

@

RE: first plane
 

Getting an instructor is the best way.

Teaching yourself can be done. I did. Many others have.

What I did:
- have been interested, reading, learning from written material for two or three decades...
- downloaded a free simulator (FMS). "Flew" that for a few months.
- got myself a pretty good radio, a GWS E-Starter foamy "kit", a good charger, LiPo battery, and some odds and ends.
- "built" the E-Starter straight and light: elevator and ailerons, no landing gear.
- went to a field with long grass (no wind), hand launched by myself. The plane seemed terrifyingly fast. Broke my only prop after a couple of flights over the soft grass cushion.
- bought more props, kept flying.
- learned to fly and land neatly (usually)
- joined a club that has a decent field ... :)
- got myself an aerobatic foamy.
- broke and fixed it a couple of times.
- learned to fly that too...
- ...

The E-Starter might not be ideal. It is bit fast. Among "foamies", I'd point you towards GWS's Slow Stick or Beaver, but there are others out there.

RE: first plane
 

I think I will look into a club tgere are some avout 40 min away from my house but I d still be interested in sugestions.

RE: first plane
 

Here's a suggestion. First, buy a simulator, before you buy whatever kit you want to build. Buy any simluator, then buy any kit you want. After a few tries on the flight simulator, you'll make a decision about when you want to fly that plane you're building. The simulator is perfect for getting used to the oddities of flying a plane from an observer standpoint. While you're working on the sim, you can be building the kit you bought. Or a different kit.

Good luck,
Dave Olson

RE: first plane
 

It might be easier to help if we knew waht city or zip code so we could advise better. Or is it a secret? :D

RE: first plane
 

zip is 33912 I looked into the flight sim and they are realy expensive I wouldnt have the cash tto get both it and the kit

RE: first plane
 

aceofspades991,
Check out this link

[link]http://www.modelaircraft.org/ClubZipLocator.aspx?z=33912[/link]

It shows 8 clubs within 25 miles of your zipcode.

Hope this helps

Ken

RE: first plane
 

Ace, there is a free sim you can download from FMS, do a search..if you want to fly at a schoolyard , without AMA and learn yourself..get yourself a GWS slow or pico stick , and order a good radio with micro servos and esc ( one that DOESNT need 8 AA batteries)...you may want to go over to the park flyer/ electric forums...Rog

RE: first plane
 

how do you use the download if you dont have the radio that hooks up to your computer

RE: first plane
 

You are going to need a radio no mattter what you fly, A 4 channel Futaba skyport can be had pretty cheap on Ebay.
Computer interface can be bought from http://www.helihobby.com/html/fms_interfaces.html
For $26 and works with FMS (free download )