ClarkFlyer

Hello All, I've been resisting going to RC for years, mainly because of the learning curve....that and the fact that I've always done control line. Well, when I saw the advent of the electric park flyers I thought it would be a great way to check it out. I went to the hobby shop and was quickly dismayed by all the choices. I let the clerk talk me into a Park Zone Slow-V and he also sold me an extra battery, a 7 cell from a park zone cub kit. Got it home...found it VERY easy to build. Based on what I read here, I moved the wing forward a bit. Soooo...yesterday, the wind didnt seem too bad so I loaded it up and went to the local high school to use their football field. The wind was picking up by then so I bagged it and went home. Man! I wanted to try it out. So today I snuck away from work early and got to the field. I gotta tell ya...I was terrified of pushing that throttle forward. I had no idea of what to expect. Did the preflight, made sure the trims were set neutral, put it on the asphalt path.....and slid the throttle forward. Wow! The plane just lunged forward, the tail came up, and with a little elevator, I was airborne!! I will admit to giving it a bit too much "up" and getting close to a stall. So, I puttered around the sky, feeling out the controls. I knew then that I made a mistake moving the wing forward as it wanted to gain altitude at neutral controls. I figure I'll slide the wing back one notch at a time and see what happens. I decided to land it before my batt gave out just cause I wanted to maintain full control and the wind was picking up slightly. I didnt want to ruin a first flight. Landed easy, although it flipped over when the wheels touched the grass. I was feeling nervous about the wind so I put the 7 cell batt in, figuring the extra power might overcome the wind, which was probably 7-9 mph now. Another good lift off and I did some more futzing about the sky. The wind was picking up pretty good so I brought it back, got another landing...packed it up and came home.

I am so glad I picked this plane. Although VERY slow, it made the learing curve seem much less threatening. I can see myself becoming bored with this plane after awhile and I'll need to start thinking about the next one......isn't that what we do in all our hobbies?

I see on this forum different opinions about using an instructor, which obviously can never hurt. I'd say after my initial 2 flights that if you're reasonably coordinated AND you pick a tame plane, you can teach yourself to fly. While I know my crashes are coming, I feel confident that the Slow-V will give me the initial training I need.

Thanks for all the great advice I've gleaned from this site. I know I'll be coming back for more.

dribbe

CONGRATULATIONS on you successful flights!
Hope you have a lot more.
David

rick77

If you haven't already read it in other posts, try the GWS 1180 prop. Makes a big difference pulling into the wind. Flights will be longer by using less throttle with this prop.

samolot

My Feedback: (14)

wow, r u talented or somethin. My maiden voyage with the Cesna Wattage 180 was ok, until i over controlled it and tumbled nose first to the ground. Maybe it is a little fast, and i think i made a mistake buying the first plane, but the durability of this plane is AWESOME. It crashed head first, really hard, and nothing happened except for a broken prop. Fortunately I brought extras, unfortunately i forgot my tools, so i couldnt get the damn prop off. Some first flight huh?


PS- Do think that you are going to crash sooner or later. If you overcare about your airplane, you will never get to do the fun stuff. Im planning to beat the hell out of my airplane till i get it right and move onto sailplanes. Thats why im not worried on all of my flights, i just gotto remember the basics: Lightly use the controls, dont overpower it!

MUSIC PUBLISHER

DSK,,I want to congratulate you for having enuff sense to kniow when to pack it up and go home..if the wind gets to out of hand..having this common sense/discipline is a sure sign you will be good at this hobby...when your redy for a faster more aerobatic plane..please take a look at the sky-scooter pro2...you get everything including a 72mhz radio system for $139.00..as far as im concerend its the cheapest/best performing rtf kit out there..this plane can easily do most aerobatics right out of the box..with a 25-30 mph speed...and its easily modifiable/repairable...since you know you can fly a plane..and you know you will want a 2nd one thats more advanced..you might as well start researching it now...that way in a few weeks or months..you will have already done the hard/time consuming part of the research...

Psnap

DSK,

Congrats on the first flights! The feeling is great isn't it. You know, the Slow-V has a light box that you can snap on the bottom of the fuselage. When you get bored of flying it in the daylight, try it at night. Man, that's when it gets to be more fun! You,ll love it even more. Looks like a UFO up there!
My Dad just got one for Christmas. He likes it too.
Even though it is slow, it is a real relaxing plane to fly.

Enjoy,
Phil

It also has a combat box that you can get and a parachute dude you can drop.

Rat1

When it comes time to get a different model then look into Mountain Models.com. they have a few dif planes that suit newbies just fine. One being the Magpie. My next model will be a Mountain Models Panic.

Rat1

Oh forgot to mention. I have three ParkZone models (or had three) I have the Slo V and J3 cub still hanging from my walls or ceiling and my Stryker met an untimly demise with a buring pit. Not that the Stryker was a bad model or anything, just could not get replacment parts for it.

Words of advise if your hobby shop has a spare fuselage for the Slo V then buy it. Also pick up a couple prop shafts to keep in your field box. they bend very easily and can cause power robbing vibration. Also check the balance of the prop. Do a search on some of the tips type threads here. Balancing the prop has been explained.

DuckFat

I had my first successful flights in my Slo-V as well today. I had a bad time on the first flight as I tried to fly it in light wind and the one strut connector came loose and all I could do was turn right.

Anyway, I had the hobby shop guy help me tune the plane (and fix it from the "tree incident") and today I actually came home with a working plane! I found that tuning the plane for more travel in the elevators but still flying it on Mode A made for the best control. I needed to be able to make a big adjustment at times so the extra travel was necessary. In this regard, I think the manual is wrong. At the recommeded settings the plane doesn't respond well enough.

I couldn't get it to climb as much as I wanted but that's okay for now. I was very happy with today's excursion and I no longer feel like such a dummy.

ClarkFlyer

Thanks for all the replies....took it out again yesterday with not quite the same results......I did a bunch of just flying around learning the controls when I decided to start pushing the envelope. I gained some altitude and did a nice tight little loop. Well, I tried another loop but I was a bit closer to the ground. I had forgotten to switch to "expert" mode and I just didnt have enough room to recover from the loop. Cost me a prop. So, after replacing the prop.......an 1180 btw which made a bunch of diff....I took it up again. I got pretty close to some trees and a pretty good gust of wind came along. I was afraid of those trees and I overcompensated trying to get the plane to safety......augered in. Cost me another prop. I had ordered 2 1180 props and instead of 2, they sent me 2 packs, for a total of 12.......good thing...!!! I'm gonna go out this morning as the day is dead calm

I've been starting my research for the next plane and I'm interested in the Dandy Sport......anybody have an opinon?

Greg Covey

As people can see, there are a number of various results when flying the Slo-V due to the wide range of skill sets and weather conditions.

A few generalizations here would be that the Slo-V is not recommended as a first plane and you should never fly in wind when first starting out. Further, never move the wing forward from the stock setting unless you are and advanced flyer. The Slo-V has such light wing loading that it will be best to keep it a bit nose-heavy.

The 7-cell Cub pack is a good choice for a second pack as it provides a bit more power for colder or breezy days. The assumption here is that an experienced flyer understands the weight difference and can compensate accordingly.

My guess is that dsk's control line experience helped him with his first R/C experience. In essense, he did a great job! Just remember that most beginners should not start with a plane that has a prop and gearbox up front.

Good luck on the Dandy Sport! Mountain Models designs require building but they are top-notch!

milky

greg, why is the Slo V not recommended for beginner?
because some people said that it is the best for beginner, some other people said firebird products are the best for beginner.
get confused now hehehe....
what are the difference? what are the flying characteristic for the slo V? is aerobatic possible?
thanks

lwien

Greg, I'm also a little confused about not recommending the Slow-V as a beginner plane. Many here and in other forums highly recommend the Slow Stick as a beginners plane and the flight characteristics of both these planes are just about the same.

dhsc19

Where exactly is the stock position of the wing brace? When I first got this plane and was putting the landing gear on, I had accidentally slipped the backet back. I didn't think much about it until I realized the instruction manual doesn't even tell you where the default position should be. I have since just left it on the third notch from the front and it seems to serve me well on that position.

ClarkFlyer

I have found I prefer to have the wing about 5-6 notches back, can't remember for sure....I have a question about the charger. The fella at the store told me never to charge it in the car with the engine running because of the increased amperage. However, there is a small dial in the charger where you set the amperages. The directions tell you to set it on "8". Wouldn't this limit the amounts of amps getting to the battery? I find it convenient to charge while I'm driving to and from work. After he told me this, I stiopped doing it.....but I'm wondering if he's correct????

lwien

I used it to charge my batts all the time while I was driving to the flying field. No problem. I even asked Parkzone about this and they also said, no problem. Just make sure that you disconnect the charger when starting the car as that could introduce some spikes........

Greg Covey

milky and lwien,

The reason is due to the prop and gearbox being up front. They will be easy to damage if you don't have any flying experience. Typically, an inexperienced pilot will nose a plane into the ground.

Try a plane with a rubber nose up front and the prop protected as a pusher.

Here is an excerpt from the Slo-V manual:

Greg Covey

dhsc19,

The best position is actually what you think works best for you. You're right about the manual, it should have stated measurements in a diagram.

Another reason that the model is not for beginners...

dsk,

What he probably meant was that the voltage increases on the cigarette lighter jack when the car is running. It is also filled with noisy spikes that can damage the charger so it is best to only charge when the car is not running.

Burrabbit

the car charger that came with my slo-v doesn't fit in my car (not enough clearance) and I couldn't find the matching battery plugs so i cut up my charger cord and built a splice so i can charge the batteries with a prophet plus AC charger. (at 1 amp)

I also moved the pushrods in on the control horns for more responsiveness.

the firebirds tend to do a little better in the wind also.

mike

lwien

Sooo many opinions that differ. They did a review on the Slo-V in the recent issue of Backyard Flyer and they stated that the Slo-V is the perfect plane for a beginner.......

Fisher

I think that the Slow-V is a fine plane for a beginner with the right attitude. One who is ready to do some repairin' while they learn to fly. For a younger person I would definitely recommend a push prop design so they are not having to effect repairs every time they come back from the park. Wind does tend to ground you a lot also which may be disappointing to many new flyers. I love my Slow-V but would not buy it as a first plane again simply because it is a little on the fragile side compared to many other designs. The Aerial drop module, Sonic Combat Module and Night flight modules really add to the fun factor on this plane.