Help with a decision!
 

Hello all

Well where to start, I'm 26, Have always been into RC, right now have a 1/4 scale HPI Baja SS buggy, absolutley love it. I have been flying some 4 channel c-axial helicopters. I also have a Esky FMS SImulator Iave been praciting on. The heli I like, but I want a longer then 5 min flight time, and I want something bigger then 14-15" with out spending hundreds of dollars, and I want to get good at it in a shorter amount of time. I want it to be something my father and I can do together, I'll be funding it all LOL so cost needs to stay down.

So I am thinking a 4-channel electric Plane.

My critera I am trying to stick to.

1. Fairly cheap, but durable, parts accessable,( I am i Maine so I have to order eveything, takes a good week for partsmost of the time) and possibly upgradable, ( ex. lipo batteries, brushless motor, etc..)
2. Be RTF Unless could stay in a "good" price range with a ARF making it RTF
3. Long enough flight times so if I have a few batteries I can go with my father and fly for longer then 20 min and have to charge for hours to get batteries ready again.
4. Look "cool" some of the park flyers look so cheesy, and goofy. ( I like the loks of the war birds, and acrobatic planes)

Well this is just me talking and what I am looking for, all opinons, and help are greatly appriciated!
I have been ready the forums like crazy!

Thanks everyone.

RE: Help with a decision!
 

the problem is that those war birds are mostly not good flyers and are poor birds to start out on

RE: Help with a decision!
 

I would suggest getting a Parkzone T-28 or Corsair. I have flown (and crashed) the T-28, and have seen the Corsair fly and the both fly beautifully. They are full function airplanes with elevator, rudder, and ailerons which is great for good control. The RTF comes with brushless and lipo, as well as a lipo charger. All of this for around $220-240 for the RTF version.

Also, find a field in your area and see if you can get someone to help you set it up and fly it with you for the first couple of times so you will have less of a chance of crashing it right away. If you do crash it, they are easy to fix. Heck, I saw one of our club members slam a T-28 head first, full throttle into the concrete building right next to our flying field. The next day it was flying again after a bunch of glue and some rebuilt parts. It really is a nice and durable plane, as well as being easy to fix with a hot glue gun or foam CA glue.

I could be wrong, but I personally do not think that either of these planes is out of reach for a newbie, but it would help immensely if he has some help from some experienced flyers.

RE: Help with a decision!
 

This appears to be the closest flying club to you.

Call and go see them and see what they do and have them help you learn to fly

PENOBSCOT FUN FLYERS
48.07 miles away
JOHN BELDING
3330 BENNOCH RD
ALTON ME 04468
Phone: 207-394-3065

RE: Help with a decision!
 

thanks for all the commments.
That flight club is over 4 hours away from me.

There is NO ONE around here i RC. It sucks.

Not to sound cheap I am not ready to spend 200.00 dollars on this hobby until I can fly and not worry about crashing. On the SIM I have it is easy, and I can crash all day long. LOL

I was looking at these

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tab%3DWatching

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tab%3DWatching

I know they are probaly clones, or not the best, But that price works for me until I can fly reliably with out worriing, and alot of money invested, and also my father will learn on it with me, and I love the guy, but it scares me cause he may crash ( them older guys catch on harder ;) LOL j/k) But I do know my father and if it gets to complicated he will get frustrated, (unlike me) and he will not want to do it. SO I am trying to make this as fun and painless as I can, because if he gets so he can do it he will be hooked (he already uses a Esky SIM like me so he is not clueless, nor am I), I already am hooked, and then we can get something better.

Thanks everyone

RE: Help with a decision!
 

Oops I read that wrong. Alton yes I know where that is.

I will have to call them. See what they have to say.

Thanks again

RE: Help with a decision!
 

My grand son-in-law who is a little older than you learned to fly largely on his on as he lived some distance from me
He first started with with Real Flight II he bought off The auction site And he also flew my glow engine plane with the buddy box and me in charge of the main transmitter.
Then he bought a 2 channel plane and came to me with it. I started flying it and it was so simple I just handed it over to him
http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...ProdID=HBZ2600
It is left right control. Up and down is controled by the throttle. He flew this at home mostly

Then he got a 3 channel one like this and along with the extra battery and charger from the previous plane he progressed even more
http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...ProdID=HBZ3600
He got pretty good on this and went to see his dad and they went out flying at his dad's house.
Then he got one of these with a four stroke glow engine after soloing my planes
http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...ProdID=HAN1675

It took a couple years but he is his own man now that flies his own planes whenever he wants to.
http://image2-6.rcuniverse.com/e1/ga...4/lg-12719.jpg
http://image2-6.rcuniverse.com/e1/ga...4/lg-12711.jpg

RE: Help with a decision!
 

Be careful about the cheap chinese planes that you find on ebay. While some of them can be great fliers, the directions are often in very broken english and difficult to understand. You might have better luck with those later when you know your way around planes a bit better. The safest thing to do would be to go with something like the aerobird that w8ye mentioned, or the hobbyzone super cub. Both are very popular and have been flown successfully by many beginners. And if you crash one, parts are cheap and easy to find. Neither one is very flashy looking, but both look better than the pile of broken pieces that you're likely to come home with if you go with a plane that's too advanced or not properly set up. :)

RE: Help with a decision!
 

thanks for the info.

What is flight time on the cub? are there any bigger Mah batteries to extend flight time?
where is the best, and cheapiest place for batteries, and chargers?

What you think is plane little cheaper buts seems same tech wise as the cub tha was menioned.

http://www.hobbyzone.com/rc_planes_h...bird_swift.htm

thanks

RE: Help with a decision!
 

The original Hobbyzone Super Cub model HBZ7100 is your best bet for many reasons, some previously stated, here are a few more. (These apply to the larger Super Cub ONLY not the new mini Super Cub which is not nearly as good a plane.)

1. The Super Cub is made of a very durable foam that takes crashes very well and if broken is very easy to repair with glue, tape or both, hot melt glue works well.

2. The Super Cub wing is made out of foam that is about 1 1/2 inches thick at it's thickest point. This means that when it breaks there will be enough surface area to glue it back together. Other RTF planes use a different type of foam with a thin covering of plastic film. Their wing is usually only 3/16" think or so at it's thickest point. If you break it you will have a very difficult time repairing it, there just isn't enough meat to glue to.

3. The Super Cub fuselage is made out of thick foam that is easy to repair. In addition you can replace the fuselage for about $20.00 and just move your radio stuff to the new fuselage. Many RTF planes do NOT have this capability. A fuselage replacement for most other RTF planes include the receiver and servos, pushing the cost up close to the purchase cost of the entire airplane. Many other RTF planes are a pod and boom type affair. Break the boom and you will have to replace the fuselage. Very difficult to repair the boom.

4. The Super Cub is a great flyer! Yes it's only three channels but it is a very well designed 3 channel plane and is very maneuverable and fun to fly. It doesn't need ailerons!

5. Later you can add ailerons and a brushless motor if you wish. It will fly even better. But most people have so much fun with the plane the way it is that they don' bother changing it.

6. The Super Cub has a steerable tail wheel! You can taxi up to your feet after a successful flight!

7. The Super Cub can accept different modules. Combat module, aerial drop module and night flight module, pretty cool!

8. There is tons of information and videos concerning this plane. Some have been flown from water with floats and some from snow with skis. Very cool.

As to flight times, expect 10 to 14 minutes, depending on how you run the motor. Yes you can fit an 8 cell battery in the plane's battery compartment but the stock charger is only rated for 7 cells. You will need a different charger if you want to use the 8 cell battery. The plane will not fly much faster with the larger battery but will climb better. If you want more speed try putting a shim under the trailing edge of the wing. Try 1/8 inch at a time. I find 1/4 inch works well for me.

The Super Cub is really a great RTF plane that is tough enough to teach you and your friends to fly. Buy one right away and be sure to buy plenty of props and cowls as these are the items that tend to break when you crash.

Before you buy something else find out how repairable the plane is, ask a few questions. Can it be glued back together easily, is the foam thick enough to hold the glue, can you replace the fuselage without replacing the radio stuff, does it have a difficult to repair boom, does it have a steerable tail wheel?

It's a great hobby and my guess is that you will discover other people in your area that want to fly too. You may be surprised.

RE: Help with a decision!
 

stay away from those on ebay, i have one, it's setting in the shop with a three piece wing, only suppose to be a one piece:D, they don't fly very good out of the box,they need a LOT of fine tuning, i also have the cub, flies great out of the box, and is fun

RE: Help with a decision!
 

Well I am guessing the super cub is the way to go. Thanks everyone. Where can I get more info on it, upgrades, mods etc..?

i am not sure what this mean, pics?
"If you want more speed try putting a shim under the trailing edge of the wing. Try 1/8 inch at a time. I find 1/4 inch works well for me."

Also can some one post a link to the 8 cell bigger battery and charger? How much more flight time will I get with it? is it worth it?
Thankd EVERYONE!

RE: Help with a decision!
 

Remember you are flying with Dear Old Dad and his eyes and reflexes are to be considered here as well. The cub is OK. but you may do well with an electric glider.
The Radian by park zone would be a very reasonable choice. It is foam and tougher than balsa. Looks AND FLIES nice. You can fly it like a regular plane but it will thermal TOO.

RE: Help with a decision!
 

Check out supercubclub.proboards78.com for lots of info specific to the super cub, including battery upgrades/mods/etc. There's actually quite a bit you can do with them if you have the urge to modify the plane.

RE: Help with a decision!
 

I have a great little starter 3 channel plane for sale right now. Check my add. http://www.rcuniverse.com/market/item.cfm?itemID=467597

RE: Help with a decision!
 

SyoerCub - great plane, if you've been flying Heli's and Simulator wonder if you could maybe go straight to a 4 channel, it would be more expensive to start but you'd have transferable bits for other planes later and could probably use your TX from the Heli's, how about Multiplex MiniMag or GWS E-Starter as possible alternatives.

RE: Help with a decision!
 

yea i hve a supercub and it is gr8 fun, i have some problems with myn atm so i hvnt been flying recently

highly recommended

RE: Help with a decision!
 

Go with the Supercub! Its a great flyer that can handle some wind. The 8 cell battery doesnt really seem to extend flight times, just gives more power for things like loops from level flight and more aggresive climbs. It does seem much stronger than the 7 cell. My only suggestion, add larger wheels to help with landing in grass or rough runways.

RE: Help with a decision!
 

what is flight time with the supercub?
Where can I get bigger wheels?
Where is the best/cheapest place for extra batteries, and chargers?

RE: Help with a decision!
 

Flight time is around 10 - 15 min depending on how you manage the throttle. You can get bigger wheels from any hobby shop, but they're not going to help much. The super cub (like many park fliers) will just nose over if you try to take off from grass. You'll either need to hand launch it or take off from pavement. As for batteries/chargers, I'm sure someone else here could answer better than me. I've been buying them from the LHS. Since the receiver can handle both nimh and lipo's, there's a LOT of places out there selling packs that you can use.

RE: Help with a decision!
 

Alright list the best battery packs for the Super cub? Also what chargers for what batteries?

Want to get long flight times, etc...

Thanks everyone.

George

RE: Help with a decision!
 

Chief, you need to reread some of your own posts....you want the best and biggest that fly's the longest for the least amount...You CANNOT fly a warbird,, the super cub is a good buy,,,It did come with 2 battery's when I got one for a friend I guess it still does...I can tell you 10 minutes of flying time can frazzle some peoples nerves...if you want more, get more batteries...later on...when I restarted the hobby,,, I had a gws pico stick and 5 batteries, took all week to charge them and I would get about an hour of flight time on satuday morning...those fleabay video;s make it look easy,, its not,,yes your a guy, I'm a guy we think, I'll be able to do it...but its not as easy as it looks and $170 can go down in 2 seconds,,,get some extra props......and help....Rog

RE: Help with a decision!
 

I understand, but if you re read the post above I am talking about the super Cub not war planes, I gave up on that route after like the second post when I heard they were junk, and hard to fly. I have been flyign the Super Cub on the ESKY FMS SIM, I can do anything on there with, I am real comfortable on there with it Yes I know the real deal will be different) It was the same situation with helicopters. Plus I have some air time with heli's, I know they are different, but a heli is MUCH harder to fly then a plane. I would love help but NO ONE around here is into RC it sucks. I am trying to get people interested but it can be hard. I plan on getting a Supercub, just wondering if anyone knows of any good places to get batteries, chargers and spare parts, and maybe save a few bucks compared to some other places that are out there. The reason I am stuck on flight time is all the heli's I have had, you charge the batteries an hour and a half or more then fly for 5-6 mins. You need an arsinal of batteries and chargers to get in 30 min of flight time, much less go out and make a family afternon of flying LOL . What is charge time on a Supercub battery? Also I see it comes with the DC car charger, does it also come with a AC charger as well?

Thanks Everyone.

RE: Help with a decision!
 

I have had great luck buying LiPo's and other stuff from Hobby City aka Hobby King aka United Hobbies. I have a bunch of thier Rhino and Zippy LiPo packs, and a cheap charger, and I have had no problems with them. I have a bunch of 2100mAh 3S packs that cost around $20 each.

www.hobbycity.com

I do not know what kind of battery connector the Super Cub has. The packs I have all came with Deans T connectors. If the SC is different, you may have to make up an adapter. I don't like soldering connectors onto live batteries, it scares me.

Good luck


Edit: Oh yeah, I also bought an Aerobird Swift early in my flying career. It was very hard to keep in the air. Once I started flying my glow planes, I took the electronics from the Swift and put them into a Slow Stick.

RE: Help with a decision!
 

Flight time with the stock SuperCub / batteries will be around 8 / 10 mins but no more, it comes in the UK with a car charger and not a mains one and takes about an hour to charge.
The MiniMag I had was using 2200 Lipo's and getting 23 mins per battery but then also had suitable batteries for when I moved up to the next step / planes as well and now use same / similar size in all my 45 / 49" planes.
Don't you have some batteries / charger from your Heli's ????