Wondering
 

What is the best way to get started in the RC Combat universe, i hear it is an expensive hobby, [:o] but I hope you guys can proove me wrong. I'm just a biginner with about 6 months of flight time, I'm wondering what the best way is to get started at RC Combat. Please help.

RE: Wondering
 

The best thing to do is to hook up with guys in your area that are flying combat. Then find out what they are flying, put together a plane, and try it. You want to build to the rules already in use near you if any. And you want to start with a plane that is already in use in your area. That way you get lots of help and no problems. You might even find someone who can whip up a kit for you cheap.

If no one is flying near you, then get some friends together, pick a plane, and everyone build one (ie, keep it "one design" at first, same engine, etc to keep it even to start with).

If you go all out nuts (like me), then you can spend quite a bit of money.

But if you just get a couple of planes, and fly once in a while, it's actually not very expensive at all. The airframe for most combat planes is less than $100, the engine is between $55 and $85, and the radio gear isn't very expensive either, most combat planes fly just fine with 2 cheap $10 servos and a $15 micro on throttle, a $60 receiver, and a cheap battery (720mah nimh, AAA cells are a good choice to start with. I like to use 350mah cells to save weight, but I HAVE to recharge between rounds, which I don't recommend for a newbie).

If you want to fly and have fun, you just need a couple of planes, and you don't have to spend much. If you want to run with the big dogs, and try to win at Nats or the other big, national contests, that's a different story.

RE: Wondering
 

If there isn't any combat in your area and you and some friends want to get into combat, there is no better time than now to go to the SPAD website. Download the plans and build a couple of combat planes. If you want to use 40 or 46 size engines, build Daggars or Darts, if you want to use 25's build HOR's. This will give you cheap airframes (from 10-20 bucks) to play with. Coroplast wings generally only cost about 5 bucks to repair and they are tough to last through midairs.

Now it is true that under the right circumstances you could loose battery, radio, servos, engine and airframe, but I think I've only stripped several servo gear sets, I've never lost an engine though I have replaced throttle arms and I've never lost any battery or radio. On the other hand I knew a guy that lost 2 receivers and a battery one weekend. More often than not you will experience airframe damage and that's about it.

It is addictive and fun, SPAD's keep it cheap. Just remember to keep a little safety in mind and you'll have a great time.

Forgot the link www.spadtothebone.com