hello, i am very new atall ofthis. i have never even flown a plane! i have been reading thingsposted on here for about 5 days now (all day.) this is my first post .i havealways wanteda plane. i was in my barnthe other day and i found an oldweedeater.i started lookingit over and thought, "man there has got to be something cool to do with theses little motors!" so i went onyoutube looking forideasand thats when ilearned that u guys were flying them. pretty cool. i never thought of puting them in a plane. i was thinking about aboat, but a planeseems much more fun.anyway,i work on a oil drilling rig but have been layed off for about 6 months off and on,so i don't havemuch money to spendon buying the parts. i want to try to bulid it myself. i have a ryobi 31cc, and from what i've been reading it is a farely good one to trywith. it is a short shaft, and i have taken everything off of it. now i am to the point where i am not sure what to do. i want to get a hub bulit and a prop so i can try to get it started, but i am not sure on how to do it or what size prop to start with. i dont think i can start it without a prop. i read on here that it is bad to start them with just the shaft only. well, i got a lot to learn, but with the help of you guys i thnik i can get it done.i cant wait. oh yeah, i don't have a whole lot of time because i am fixing to be going to boot camp soon, like before december 1st, so i got to get going!!! any advice you can offer would greatly be appreciated!! thanks!

Man, are you in for a long winding road ahead of you!
I am a ship's engineer, now retired, and have been there, done that all my life.
My advice is, do the one thing, but also do the other.
so:
1) Learn to fly! Join a club and find out what it takes, and do it.
2) In the meanwhile, convert engines to your heart's liking
3) when confident at both, combine 1) and 2)

You will find out, that the short leaves from offshore duties will hardly be enough.

i cant fly with out any thing to fly !

see 1)
get a plane, radio gear and a small engine all ready to go. Then learn to fly. In the meantime, work on your other project. You will know better what it needs.

i found one on here for 40 $ without a pipe it said it was a 40 ?

I agree with the first poster that said you should first learn to fly with a smaller plane...and then progress into building one for your gasser engine. If and when ...check out the SPAD portion of this site for an inexpensive method of building planes. Rich

If you are talking about boot camp for the military then i can tell you that my son is in the Marine Corps and has just got back from Iraq. He is stationed at Camp Pendelton in Cali and tells me there are guys on base there that fly rc planes often. I guess they have a field or an area where they can do this. But like the other posters here have told you, learn to fly first with something smaller. Play around with the conversion all you want and I don't blame you at all for that but when the flying time is there start small,say 40 size, with an instructor. Believe me and the others, you will like yourself much better if that is how you approach the hobby.

JMHO,

Bill

ok i will find sometihing but i really want to bulid my own i would like to at least get mine runing with a prop and stuff i was going to put it in one of the training planes . and yes i am talking about boot camp for the army the others dont take GED if i could at least get my ryobi on a stand and running i would be happy

Find an air club near you and go to a meeting.
They are sure to have a classified section in their news letter.
Plus they will be glad to see you

Buy something easy to fly.
If your like me your building skills will come from rebuilding.

Here is one of many links to help with the conversion.

http://wackerengines.com/index.htm

Enjoy

craigslist is the best place to get cheapie planes, I got a tower trainer 40 with everything but transmitter (needed a receiver battery too) for $75, I take it out as a second plane with my USL, because the dang thing ALWAYS starts, no matter how mean I am to it... I mean the tail is held on with gorilla glue, I completely wring the thing out (it almost hovers), full 15 minute flight all at full throttle, the thing starts on the first flip... and by beater, the wing is covered with packaging tape and other stickers.

The ryobi engine is very easy to convert and would power a 100" span J3 pipercub very well.
Starting out with a .40 (6.5cc) engine is what most of us did. Take something reliable and easy to repair.

One more thing to consider about learning with a large model:
Student pilots get a lot of Prop Strikes from not so good takeoffs & landings, and the big props for big engines cost a heck of a lot more than the trainer props for .40 size planes. Its one thing to grab a handful of 10x6 $3 props for quick replacements at the field, its another thing altogether to grab a handful of $12-$15 big engine props

When you are putting together you first plane,
remember that it is to teach you how to fly, not to look super awesome.
Dont go for a Mustang or even a Texan, get a high wing cub/cesna looking thing with plenty of dihedral... something that wants to keep flying by itself. The great folks in the SPAD area can help with building a simple, inexpensive, durable, trainer plane for this engine

Also, dont underestimate the value of computer flight sims.
Even the ones that are not "RC" external view like MS FlightSimulator teach you the core concepts of flying, like the relationship of Pitch Power Speed & Altitude. Get a lot of crashing out of your system on the computer before you risk crashing your actual model

ok ok ok lol i will find a small one 1st and bulid me a big one later on . but i still wnat to hear my ryobi to run lol

Mr. Smith, good luck with your engine and may your Army exprerience be a good one, Sir.

Bill

well thanks very much i cant wait for both i am looking foward to it !!

GOFORIT !!
I was in the same situation. started with a motor and an obsession. Saved up and bought my yak though most said my 31cc was too much. $200 for yak, $130 for 6 channel radio kit with 4 servos, 3 more servos $30, $20 per prop, servo extensions,glue....etc I'm sure theres more!
I didn't buy any conversion kits just custom mounted motor and prop.
I was so scared to fly it I went bought a used typhoon to teach myself to fly on. after many props i learned.
I was still scared to put the yak up so I just taxied it around skipping up now and then...... The second time I had to fiberglass the fusalage back together I decided if I's gonna wreck it I'm gonna get a good flight. Next day took off like a pro, 4 flights descent landingsand couldn't be more pleased!!
Flies better than my typhoon.

I agree that althought anything is possible, a trainer plane and a experienced buddy would be the easiest.
BUTIWANTEDTODOITONMYOWN!!


GOODLUCK

hey i have not been on here in a while but thanks for that last post !!!! thats what i wanted to hear