Hi, I'm the guy who started this thread, so I thought I'd jump back in and give everyone an update. As I mentioned in a previous post, the batteries in my Megatech Skyvector seemed to be worn out, and wouldn't hold a full charge. Likewise, the brand new battery in my AeroCruiser apparently was not fully charged when I first flew it, but it did climb up into a tree at a later date after charging.

I have since purchased the GWS SlowStick. Yes, this is a very nice plane. It really does want to fly. It flies slow and turns on a dime. If the wind will ever die around here I'll be out with it again.

However, I should note that the SlowStick with flight pack is not a cheap set-up. And I was only able to diagnose my battery problems on the Skyvector with a fancy Triton battery charger. One of the RC magazines recommends a tachometer to determine engine performance. Apparently the electric motors always sound fierce, even when not up to par. This is unlike the glow engines that tell you their condition with the note of their exhaust.

Thanks again to all who posted.

Ye be warned!

To all those (us) beginners who are reluctant to accept the FACT that the Aero Cruiser is a complete piece of crap, especially as a trainer, wake up. Yes, it is lucrative (1) being so cheap, (2) it does come with a video, and (3) it does almost look like a "Real" plane, but this translates to: (1) horrible performance, swift destruction, and a steady accrual of seemingly inexpensive replacement part shipping invoices, which, don't kid yourself, will cost you far more than any other option you are currently considering. (2) A video that spends 80% of its run time re-capping the assembly process, which is already excessively detailed in the instruction manual, and then about 1 1/2 minutes showing some 12 year old kid flying the thing with a big smile on his face, which believe me, will only compound your utter frustration when you don't achieve the same results. (3) Who cares what the hell it looks like when you are trying to learn. You will be crashing, there's almost no way around it. There is also no "Cool" way to crash, unless you can trot over to the downed plane, toss it again and keep flying. The much more likely scenario for the Aero Crusier, is it will wingover on you time and time again, resulting in spectactular head-on collisions with terra-firma. Foam goes flying and all you can think about is you have to spend more money on parts that cost more to ship than to buy, so you can take another stab at it next weekend. Stay away from this plane!

I speak from experience here. I am a newbie and I fell victim to all the aforementioned pros of the A.C. I'm working on my 4th fuselage, second main wing and tail set, third motor, second ESC, as the stock one would studder at moderate throttle, and I am very nearly able to fly it. What's interesting is that they give you 2 props, and I have yet to even use the second, huh. I did almost no research about good beginner planes, and have humbly learned my lesson. If anyone is smart enough to ask before they leap, at least listen to the advice of those who jumped sans parachute.

If you already went out and bought one, take the following advice.

Find a very large field to learn in, at least a football sized area. This plane is not very stable flying slow and stalls very easily, usually one wing stalling first, causing it to do a near half-roll, and head straight into the ground, almost certainly bending the motor shaft, and snapping the nose off. The solution, other than not stalling, because you are learning, is to be flying high enough to allow the plane to dive, de-stalling both wings, and then ease out of the dive. The large field will encourage you to fly comfortable at higher altitudes, and to not be in such a hurry to turn the plane. Most aircraft radios are good for nearly 1/2 mile, so let it cruise a little.

Hand-launch it nearly horrizontal, maybe up 3-5 degrees, and resist the urge to yank back on the elevator for at least 100 ft to let it build speed. This thing is a big fat hog in the air, and can't climb for its life, so take it slow and steady or you will stall, flip, and die. Also, resist the urge to add up elevator to your turns, at least to start. This too makes for easy stalls. Remember, this thing likes very subtle controlling. It's heavy and under-powered, a very bad combination, so don't think about any sudden or drastic moves. If your radio has exponential settings for elevator and rudder, set them to flatten out the mid-region of stick movement (Ususally negative %). Believe it or not, it wants to fly upright, assuming both wings are flying. When you release a turn, it flies straight, just keep your speed up, and plenty of air between the plane and the ground.

Anyway, I've rambled quite a bit. The point is, I found myself too far down the road of the cost-to-repair-and-continue vs. cost-to-abort-and-start-with-new-airplane paradox to turn back. I am finally near (I think) the end of the tunnel and am again excited about the light, but hope is a dangerous thing. I've beat my head, and plane, into the ground trying to learn/teach myself to fly. It's not impossible with this plane, but it sure as hell could have been easier and cheaper. Good luck!

casey . have you looked into the FREEDOM FLYER ?

No, I've been pathetically close-minded until I started reading this board. Sadly, I'm still fueled by trying to beat this thing and meet my goal of graduating (Spending more money) on another plane, hopefully one with ailerons. Of course, I'm getting very close to the "Square peg, round hole" analog to an unachievable goal. I'm faced with the likely possibility of side-stepping to another plane.

The freedom flyer looks dandy, a nice glider-to-EP transition plane. The stock on/off motor control could be easily retrofitted with an ESC, making it a bit more functional as a 3 proportional channel segwey to 4-ch aileron control. I'm going to give the A.C. another weekend, new parts arrived today, and see if my stubborness holds until Monday. If I do bite the bullet and buy a new plane essentially from the same category as the A.C, I'm currently leaning towards the Slow Stick. True, it doesn't look much like a plane, but either does my A.C. anymore. I just haven't heard a bad thing about the SS from anyone really, save those who have forgotten what it was like to be learning. Again, I sure as hell wish I had been on this board about a month ago when this whole domino melee began. If I can get through this, I will have a tremendous amount of self-satisfaction. If not, at least I'll have a hearty humble pie to snack on for the winter. I'm definitely not quitting, it's just not in my nature.

Thanks for the info.

well I hope you do learn but to give you a confidence boost, The Freedom Flyer was the first plane I was able to fly and land numerous times. I had four other planes before I bought it , Now Im flying my Aspire 2meter sailplane without giving it a second thought . you are right, the FF is much better with the esc and right stick set up , I converted mine a week after I got it . Sadly to say my receiver crapped out and I lost it in the woods some where , it has been to cold and I have been to busy to look for it , and to top that off, Chris from littleracers.com wont give me a good deal on a ARF FF . So dont get to discouraged so soon , Oh did I mention Im self taught ! , This was by choice , I never like things to be to easy in life, the challenge of learning how to fly was very rewarding. Ill help you as much as I can but if I were you I would not buy a slow stick or fix the AC . get a glider or a plane that catches thermals , and its much to early for you to try ailerons , in my oppinion. I just bought a kyosho Stratus 1600 ARF. I got it today in the mail, I should have it together before sunday , if the weather is calm Ill fly it and let you know how it goes. Good luck and practice hard.

Casey,
I know exactly what you feel like. I got a GWS Slow Stick and electronics for Christmas and had it in my head that I could just fly the thing. I could get the plane off the ground and would immediately loose control. Luckily the SS is a pretty crash friendly little bird. My first 4 or 5 attempts resulted in broken parts, props, drive shaft, motor mount, and finally a bent fuse. I started doing a lot of reading here and other places and realized I was trying to fly the plane in way to much wind. I also downloaded a flight simulator called FMS which if a free simulator and I even downloaded a slow stick model to use on it for practice. Believe it or not I feel it did me a world of good. It made me comfortable controling the plane in a lot of different situations. I purchased another SS kit so I would have extra parts ($35) and rebuilt my SS with all the common mods and decided to try again. Took her the field where I "try to fly" and flew it for the first time last weekend and even landed it with no broken parts. It felt pretty good and can't wait till this weekend to do it again if weather permits.

I don't know a lot about all the the planes on the market today but can say the SS was a good choice for me. And would recomend it to any beginner. I know it's kinda ugly but it grows on you after a while. Whatever route you take I wish you the best of luckand don't give up.

It probably wont make you feel any better but I attached of pic of my proud day.

Bjaz,

Are you kidding, that makes me feel great, you have every right to feel proud. In my opinion, that's what boards like these are for; to learn from the mistakes of others and share in their successes. I'm hoping to add more to the latter in the near future. Unfortunately success stories don't have the same "Jump on the band wagon" effect as gripes, but I'm all for it. This board has provided a wealth of information which, I'd like to believe I've chosen carefully, that has helped me to understand my specific flying problems and tendancies, and how to plot a successful course through them. Right now, I'm up and flying, and feeling like I am in control of the plane. I added a small amount of washout to the wing to combat the tip-stall issues I was having. What a difference! The transition from flying to flip-dive was much less drastic, as the root of the wing would stall first making the onset more subtle. I was able to see when I was doing it, and have enough time to react and correct. You talk about a confidence booster, I can fly the whole battery pack now, which is huge for me. Landing is still very questionable, but I took your advice as well as others to get hooked-up through FMS. I bought an interface cable from Simblaster, sorted out the campatability issues with ATI graphics cardsand FMS, and I'm now able to practice for free. I still haven't found an FMS model for the Aerocruiser, but I've found some that seem close enough to practice landing with. If I can't find one soon, I'll probably just learn how to create my own, and tweak it until it feels right. I think others would definitely benefit from something as tough as the A.C. Thanks for the feedback.

You sound like a guy in our club. Over 5 years he bought and destroyed 5 or 6 planes trying to learn on his own. I think the Aero Cruiser was his last attempt before we connected. I in introduced him to my Aerobird. He watched me fly it for a couple of minutes, then he took over the sticks and did great.

Bought his own the next day and launched and landed successfully on his first attempt. He is now a master flyer on this plane. He does things I would not have dreamed could be done with an Aerobird and often just flies it into his hand to land. He is also flying a Great Planes Spirit Select Sailplane with similar results.

The key may be that this time he had a little help, and I mean just a little. With the Aerobird three channel plane that was all he needed. Again, with the Spirit he had a little help from me and from another flyer in getting the hang of using the hi-start, then he was out there challenging the world. He is an amazing flyer.

He just needed a little help. We all benefit from a little help.

Get yourself a Sky Scooter Pro II. I recently saw them on sale for $149.00. There is loads of good information about this plane. I really have to look hard to find bad reports about this plane in the forums. It is a fun plane that you will continue to fly. Just last weekend I grabbed mine and flew it down at the local field in the ice and snow. I didn't want to chance getting my other planes icy and dirty.

People report good luck with Aerobirds and similar type planes. Many more have not. My Aerobird flew OK once or twice then became a piece of equipment plagued with problems. I did the whole nine yards, bought extra wings, fuses, batteries and I started to believe the flying problems were all my fault. Nothing is worse or more discouraging for a new flyer than to get up in the air, get excited, then have a crash or "fly away" due to low quality components.

Take a look at the GWS slow Stick. You can do alot with these planes and they are fun to fly with buddies.

Good luck!!

Ooooo, ouch! Look out all you Aerobird lovers.

Incoming!

Ooooo, ouch! Look out all you Aerobird lovers.......

On top of that, Here comes the Multiplex Easy Star. Check out this thread with over 29221 viewers. The new rage.

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...8&goto=newpost. I think it's important to let folks know they can get quality airplane kits for a few bucks over the cost of the Hobby Zone products.

I don't mean to offend anyone or bash a product, however, I wish Hobbyzone would improve the quality of the components in their R/C products. These other vendors have done it.

Tad

I like the Sky Scooter too.

I feel bad for people who have a bad time with the ABC. I got about 30 flights on mine now with only 2 slight crashes. this plane just wants to fly!

I recommend that you get FMS (Flying Model Simulator, fms.pathbot.com). It's free, and is a great way to practice. Try setting up FMS to be compatible with your radio system. Also, don't be discouraged by those commercials showing kids flying perfectly. Kids, such as myself, play video games a lot more than most adults, so that kind of hand-eye coordination comes naturally. Ever notice how you can give any game system to a kid, and he/she will have it mastered in under five minutes? Besides, those kids probably had a lot of practice on just those planes. One more thing: stay away from Megatech. They're awful. I had the Merlin, reportedly their best plane, and it flew like the body was a brick and the wings were wet sponges. A complete WASTE of $200. The Sky Scooters are supposed to be good to learn on, but they're not made by Megatech.

I got a GWS Slow Stick and whenever I fly it I brake a propeller I don't know why, it goes up then nose dives.I had a pro put it together so It is not the CG. Also whenever I turn I cant pull out of it just keeps turing and losing alttiude. Does anyone have some tips about how to fly this rig?

Thanks, Jon

have you tried checking th cg yourself? It sounds tail heavy. Also what type of battery are you using? And you say it turns and wont pull out? check to see if you didnt bend fuse shaft on one of your crashes. good luck and dont give up

Also, check the trim tabs. You may have knocked one back to full up trim, and that could be stalling the plane. You can also try moving the battery forward in the compartment.

OK. Thanks for the tips they really help if there are anymore please add it!

Thanks,Jon

Sounds like you are tail heavy and tip stalling, over correcting then nose crashing.

I think it's important to get your COG mark correct before you hit the field. If you don't and are a new flyer or face less than ideal conditions you will crash. Great planes sell a COG machine. Sure you can build em yourself but it will be hard to duplicate the friction free pivot points.

Here is my Unicorn balanced correctly. It also flys level like this when the hands are off the radio sticks. I balance my stik, scooter, sailplane, wings, Tiger Moth, etc. with this device.

For more information and pictures:

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...ht=COG+machine

Post#10

Regards,

Tad

Sounds like I took a different route to learning how to fly than most. I started with a Sig Riser glider which I eventually added a .049 engine. After many, many hand tosses I learned how to keep it from stalling. I got only 3-4 flights with the engine before I got dumb and crashed it. Funny how it does not fly well with a dead transmitter battery. The glider was easy to control and slow to respond. It even took a fair amount of abuse.

After the Riser I moved onto a Slow Stick. Many broken propellers later I feel proficient with it and am now moving onto an E-starter.

I found the Riser to be a good trainer for a self taught flyer. It was a little more money and a lot more work but I found it rewarding.

Dunno if this thread is dead yet, but here goes:

I bought a Freedom Flyer in Australia - the aussie version has a variable throttle, as well as rudder/elevator control.

This thing is friggin awesome - it's fast - flies in just about any weather conditions (have had several succesfull night flights as well at the local soccer field)

My first flight, launched into the wind - the plane started to climb, FAST (I gave it a good hard throw) it banked back to the right on the wind, the wind caught it - it tripled in airspeed, and i ended up shredding it thru a tree.

I though, at first, that i'd wasted my money - but it was worth it for those few seconds of fun.

However - when i finally ran over and retrieved my wrecked plane - it was only a matter of a quick field repair (some tape on the tail and a new elastic band for the wings) and I was flying again.

These little planes are TOUGH - My buddy bought one at the same time as I did - his plane has crashed on almost every flight - and with only minor repairs, is still in good flying condition.

I've now had about 40 succesfull flights with this plane, I've upgraded the motor, bought more battery packs, and done some re-enforcement mods to the wings - and now it's an awesome little park flyer.

And, because it's a true 3 channel plane - apparently it's a good trainer for moving up to more channels and bigger planes.

But a word of warning - In a strong wind, these planes can get very fast very quickly, and could catch a beginner by surprise - although with a bit of patience and a lot of practise - you will look forward to windy days so you can do some lightning fast lo-altitude flyby's and some fairly impressive aerobatics.

Just my 20c worth

Nathan.

Well you are pretty lucky. I did not have as much luck until I moved on to quality starter planes. Congratulations and welcome to the forums.

I didn't have much luck with my first plane. A Piecetech, er, um, Megatech Merlin. Then I moved on to a Zagi 400X... Much better. Now I have it modded so much that it is a different plane. Evil_Nathan, welcome to the group.

Thanks for the welcome guys

One more thing i forgot to say above, regarding the freedom, and i guess all electrics:

Please buy a good charger!!!! For some reason (maybe the price....) the charger that comes with the freedom isn't all that good.

I was lucky enough to buy an LRP Quadra charger from a friend, and my flights are a lot longer now - and the engine seems to sustain that initial high rpm for a LOT longer!!! Plus the 1100mah battery packs (that ship with the freedom in australia) charge in about 15 - 20 minutes now (i think they took 2.5 hrs with the supplied wall adaptor)

Nathan

ps. WEB - I'm a big fan of electric wings - i'm just gonna lurk around the forums a bit more till i can get more info - but i'm convinced that wings are the way to go..!!

Get a firebird. If I can fly it then anyone can. They really are easy to fly. When you are a newbie though you HAVE to make sure as with any electric plane not to fly in much wind at all because it's bound to get high and far away from you real quick. The firebird II is just a wonderful little plane. I think it's called the Firebird II ST or XL now. I actually got good enough with it to even do loops,, something it's not supposedly able to do. Took some practice and some mishaps but I did it It has since been retired due to a simple fall out of a walnut tree when it broke it's rear tailboom assembly. It's taken a tremendous amount of abuse so it's time had come I guess. Now I'm stepping up to a predator.