Catapults Anyone?????
 

What is everyone useing to launch their planes? I just got a catapult from warbirdsltd.com, any thoughts on the subject?

Catapults Anyone?????
 

Not to sure why you would need one. Is it because the plane is hard to grab hold of or it needs a little more power. All the guys I've flown with just through em.
It must be a scale bird right? Go to the RCCA site and look up a guy by the name of Demon. He's a big scale guy.
www.scalecombat.com

Thanks Jimbo!
 

Kurt Tank, :D

Catapults are more of a pain than they are a help. They are difficult to set up for consistant operation - lack of consistant launches will cost you points during contests. Even long-time "Pros" with catapults have problems.

One of the local pilots has always used catapults for launching because his Hellcats are too wide-bodied to grab onto and toss. He's switching to narrower fuselage designs to get away from his catapult because the cat is costing him points at contests.

A properly powered plane will fly right out of your hand with ease.

The method I use is to grab the fuselage ahead of the canopy with my right hand from the top while holding the top of my Tx in my left hand. A shove up and out gets the bird going while my left thumb is giving direction to the right stick for the first 15-20' of flight. Then, just fly away normally.

If you've got a good left hand, try grabbing the plane left handed while holding the Tx in your right (assuming you are right-handed).

Here's a shot of me launching a JK Aerotech Zero:
http://144.92.249.236/images/700.JPG

Hope this helps,
D