I am quite close to getting my Facet 2300 ready for its maiden flight. I am looking for an experienced jet flier in the Vancouver WA /Portland OR area to check out my installation and guide me thru my first turbine flight . Since there are not very many Mode 1 Futaba fliers with jet experience , I will probably have to fly the maiden flight myself . However it would be really very heplful to have an experienced jet flier walk me thru my first flight. TKS

It would certainly be wise to have a turbine pilot with you when you maiden the Facet 2300, but from seeing first hand how the Facet flies, you will not have any problems. It really flies great in the air and if you have flaps, drop the flaps just as you come over the runway for landing and it will slow down real nice. My flying buddy, Gary Baker, has a 2300 and it flies great!

Good Luck,

JR Gautreaux

I've never done it myself, but I know a couple of Futaba fliers in my old club used to get around the mode-1 / mode-2 issue with a buddy-box. I don't know if All Futaba radios allow you to do this or only some, but it might be worth asking in the Futaba support forum to find out what the deal is.

Gordon

sportflyer
If you can't find an experienced jet pilot to help out, don't worry too much about it. My Facet 2300 is as easy to fly as my .60 sized Ugly Stik. I have the new version flaps using the Yellow Aircraft flap hinges. I have to be careful or I will get the plane too slow if I'm using full flaps. As JR mentioned, I sometimes just chop the throttle and bring it in like you would a Prop model and then just as I cross the threshold, I drop the flaps. It slows down to a crawl and lands in about 300'. If you drag it in with power and flaps, you can get it down much shorter. Pics of mine are in my gallery.

Good luck and don't sweat it.

You're going to love the way it flies.

Sportflyer-RCU
If you can wait till the end of the month, there will be a lot of jet guys at the Madras Jet/Scale meet in Madras, Oregon. It's less (or about) a 3 hour drive from you and there should be plenty of help if your interested. They will be there from Fri afternoon on the 28th May till Sunday noon. I plan to drive down on Thurs. Let me know and I can give you directions to the flying site.

Roy

Sportflyer,

Unless you’ve been flying Mode I for a long time it might be more practical to switch to Mode II and retrain yourself. When I lived in the Northwest I knew a number of old Mode I flyers. Dr. Ralph Brooks was a Mode I flyer and influenced a number of new flyers back in the early 60s to learn Mode I. Ralph is gone now, along with many of the old timers that flew Mode I. As you might know, the Mode I configuration comes from the layout of the old reed radios of the 50s and really doesn’t apply anymore with digital radios. That’s how Ralph ended up with Mode I, Orbit reeds to Orbit digital. Back in those early days of digital radios many people didn’t fully understand what a fantastic thing we had going with the digital radios and just stayed with the old reed controls config. I remember one of the old timers in the club switching from reeds to a digital Mode I radio and it took us for ever to keep him from flipping and pulsing the control levers like he had with the old reeds. Looking back now, it’s funny how many people just couldn’t grasp the digital thing! Now-a-days some people propagate the myth that they can fly better with Mode I and I guess they don’t understand that they are doing a 50s reed thing.

Think about it this way: When was the last time you saw a full size aircraft with a separate stick for elevator and one for aileron control? With all of the fighter pilots looking for an edge in combat, if Mode I controls improved flight control they would have it ASAP! For fighter pilots, flight controls are super important and they all have aileron and elevator on the same stick!

I have been flying with Mode 1 for over 30 years so its very difficult for me to switch over to mode 2 !

You must have been one of the guys that Ralph Brooks
Influenced. But he was the World Champ back in the 60s! That's good!

I learned to fly with mode 1 when I was residing in Singapore in the 70's. The one thrill is that I get to make all the maiden flights of my airplanes over the years by myself since there are so few fliers to make them for me here in the USA ! I can fly mode 2 only with slower trainer type airplanes but even then it not natural for me .

In my opinion there is absolutely no logical reason to change from Mode 1 if you are comfortable with it irregardless of how long you have been flying that way.

Good luck with your test flight!...Ron

I agree-there is no reason to switch from Mode 1. I live in the Seattle area and know a number of Mode 1 guys especially in the Pylon ranks where I came from. Ralph Brooks was a friend of mine but when I started flying in the late 60s I did not know Ralph. We have two Mode 1 turbine guys in the area- myself and Brian Richmond. We both fly at Sanderson Airport in Shelton and at the Navy Facility in Coupville on Whidbey Island. Unfortunitally I will not be
at Madras- its on Memorial Day weekend and thats not good for me.
You will do fine with the Facet -just get an experianced turbine guy to stand with you. I remember my first turbine flight on a Hot Spot afew years back- what a thrill! I flew the airplane and Dean Wichmann talked me through it.
LONG LIVE MODE 1,
Al Watson

I will always remain a mode 1 flier ) Will let you guys know how I did soon. Thanks for the encouragement !

Al,

Ralph was a great guy and a super supporter of our R/C hobby. I’m sure if he was still with us he would be flying a super fast turbine and he would have the fastest one too. He was a pretty darn good flyer even though he was handicapped by Mode I. Imagine what he could have done if he had skipped the reeds and went directly to Mode II :-). One thing I always liked about Ralph is that he was not shy about his opinions! I still have a set of his plans for his award wining Crusader. I’ve always thought it would be fun to find a Fox 59 and build his Crusader and fly it without a muffler like he did. The sound was awesome!