Remote Control Planes

[redshift]

Electric is really the best way to go today. Have a look at the various models from someone like GWS. They are cheap and easy to build in plastic foam. Try one of the easy flying models like the Tiger Moth or Piper Cub.

They are slow and docile enough for any beginner.

After a bit of practice you can get more ambitious http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=589940

[waynef]

What do you need to know. Was a BMF instructor for a few years and have had my fair share of Prop, Ducted Fan, Gas turbine and Helicopter.

If you are looking at a trainer I would probably go to start with for an ARTF (Almost Ready to Fly) beware of cheap kits though as the build quality is not so hot.

As a trainer you need to understand the basics of construction and aerofoil types so I would definately settle for a highwing with an element of dihedral for added stability.

You need to look at a .40 size model for starters.

Waynef

Edited March 29, 2007 by waynef

[fflyingdog]

I too have been flying r/c aircraft for over 20 odd years and concour with Russell,don't buy cheap ready made models ,the radio isn't very good and not always proportional,join a club get insurance and learn to fly with some help.The hardest part is landing (in one piece)also the perception thing takes a while to get used to.these things can kill if you hit someone,don't fly in a park etc .Most of the time a high winger is best to learn on more stable (but as Russell says make sure you have 4 channel,aileron,elevator,rudder,throttle) you usually potter around the sky on just above tick over(glow engine) a high winger is more forgiving,better stall characteristics (handy in landings),slower more time for sorting yourself out in sticky situations,if you look to spending

[GordonMasson]

Hi Folks

Sorry for not getting back to you.

Fraser was taken into hospital a couple of days back with what looked to be appendicitis but has turned out to be some kind of viral thing.... anyway, we will be back on the case when he gets out and look at the options.

Thanks again

Gordon

[esprits4de]

Hope he gets well soon.

In the danger of getting the laughs now, I got myself a "park-flyer" whis seems to be just right to start out with.

Indestructible styrophone, 10min flight time, 2 chanel RC, AND : 29,00 EURO !

I learnt a whole lot from that little thing. I now am passing it to my son.....

[Jonathan]

Drat missed this - for learners I would recomend electric.

I would also buy a 'slow flyer' as they are often called or a 'powered glider'.

Basically if I were doing it all over I would look for a suitable ARTF kit (almosst ready to fly) with 3 channel control MAX.

That gives rudder, elevator and throttle - NOT aeleron, must be a high wing (ie wing is higher than the fuselage - like a Cessna)

The idea is that it's 1 less control to worry about and much easier to fly as the aircraft self stabalises - usually using a dihedral wing.

These are great fun, slow for the learner and easy / clean to repair / fly- but only flyable in low to zero wind.

I tried my new plane today - little electric sports low wing monoplane but the wind was too strong - 1st high bank turn it caught a gust and the plane tipped....neeeeaaawwwwnnnngggg crash - too low to recover it, total write off ! Only

[fflyingdog]

Sorry Jonathen but must disagree a aircraft with aileron control is far easier to fly than a model with just rudder elevator throttle,when you use rudder it will drop a wing,though this is less with a high winger,rudder only control is less responsive especially when trying to get out of trouble.another problem with flying just 3 channel (that is if you want to progress to a fully blown aerobatic model etc etc) is that you learn to fly with rudder and elevator being on the same joy stick but when you progress to a model with ailerons you then have your throttle and rudder on the opposite side ,so in short and imho go for aileron and elevator throttle as a minimum and get to a local flying field get insurance and get someone to teach you these things will and have killed people,my delta is doing well over a ton ,fai racers are doing nearer 140 mph, and now gas turbines guided or unguided missiles! Trouble with these ebay/cheap r/c model retailers is they dont point out that if you hit someone in a park etc you could be in a lot of pooh........................flying models is alot harder than it looks !

Nick S4s

[Jonathan]

Well everyone has their own ideas.

...but if they're harder then why are 90% of all true electic beginner aircraft 3 channel (rudder/elevator/throttle) ?

Models are not generally sold with radios so you would use a conventional 4+ch radio so the rudder / aileron mix isn't going to be a problem.

Their stability totally depends how the aircraft is constructed, dedicated 3 channel aircraft are extremely stable otherwise how would they fly propperly ? Every time you hit the rudder they would 'capsise'. Most newer 3 channel aircraft have vertical fins on the wing tips, high wing tip lift (design in the aerofoil cross section) and a strong dihedral wing to stop any roll over.

http://www.hobby-lobby.com/media/MPX4192-EasyStar.wmv

Fact is an aileron aircraft is MUCH easier to get into trouble as the aircraft rolls over and also aircraft coming towards you reverse their controls which causes beginners all sorts of problems - the idea with a beginner is to get them in the air and get them enjoying the sport and landing the thing at the end - not doing aerobatics, roll overs and so on. Once you're into it then buy something more advanced. True they are more controlable but the aircraft lens itself to that - 3 ch aircraft are not designed in the same way, it's not like taking a 4ch and disabling the ailerons !

I've flown real aircraft and the transition to models is pretty easy because of real flight school - I am personally an Elevator and Aileron person in my beginnership but for a true beginner without instruction you can fly these type pretty much from word go. Whilst I wouldn't condone flying irresponsibly these things are so slow, light and soft they're not going to cause much if any damage during a crash to plane or person - the most dangerous thing, the prop, is also out of the way in a push configuration.

When I get my IC engine plane I'm off the the flying club to get some propper tuition in, but until then I'm enjoying electric flyers like this (apart from the crashes lol) and I'd fully recomend them.

[fflyingdog]

Well all i can say is that when i was taught to fly we didnt have electric models,radio would cost you an arm and a leg Sky Leader was the kit to have, but even that was not 100% interferance proof (27 Mhz) ,we used to have a scanner at the field and change cystals accordingly to avoid being "shot" down by CB radio and anything else which decided it would be fun to use the air waves.Then we were given 35 Megs which is a much better system ,Futaba brought out PDM which you could both fly on the same channel (in theory) Rx and Tx were tuned to each other and much tighter spaced,radio nowadays is rediculously cheap and reliable but i still would reccomend aileron over rudder only control ,my opinion thats all no criticism intended !

Above all fly safe !

Nick S4s

[gghc87]

I trained on a 2 stroke powered trainers with 4 ch . I have moved onto helcopters, electric and 2 stroke, as needs less space. I have some electric powered planes but find the lack of power and weak light construction can be a hinderence, they dont take lightly to heavy landings. Guess I'm just old school and total cr*p at flying models. Do enjoy building them though.

[Tentenths]

That Spitfire looks rather nice Nick... kit or scratch built?

[fflyingdog]

That Spitfire looks rather nice Nick... kit or scratch built?

I would like to say scratch..but that would be a filthy lie ,it was an ARTF,need control surfaces ,bell cranks ,wings joining eng mounting ,canopy,naccelle,empanage mounting,retracts fitted,gear fitted ,plumbing etc ,,covering,apart from that yeah ready to go !

Nick S4s

[Jonathan]

Spitfires are always nice to see

My main issue with electric is what Cliff says - they are too light ! It's important to get a good easy to fly plane and use it in very light wind conditions. Thats the main reason why my ex-fler crashed on Thursday, everyone was goading me to fly it and I canced my arm when I openly said it's too windy and....splat - nice thing is they're not too expensive / dangerous to make a mistake with

I also have an ECO8 helicopter I am re-engineering atm (over about 4 years ! LOL) but you have to be really careful where to fly it. Because it's electric it needs to be light and that means the wind buffets it around all over the place and that is EXTREMLY dangerous - the rotor could easily kill someone.

My friend has a .60 heli and you can just let it run, stand a foot way from the main blades without fear as it's so stable due to the weight - IC planes I would think are much like this as well.

It's horses for courses - hope he gets on with it, it's highly rewarding and a big adrenaline buzz.

[Tentenths]

Maybe we could have an LEF r/c meet at some point in the future?

But not at the mo as I'm currently gear/model-less having got rid of all my kit 20 odd years ago. But am seriously contemplating doing the 'born again' thing. Just a question of trying to fit it in with all the other hobbies/interests...

Talking of which - according to my wife I don't have hobbies or interests, just 'obsessions'. Apparently, it's a 'man thing'...

[russellbosier]

I agree with Jonathan that 3 channel is probably 'safer' if you go it alone, especially with a powered glider type aircraft. However, given a good instructor and a conventional high wing trainer, I am strongly of the opinion 4 channel is best. Glider types aside, 3 channel trainers generally don't fly nicely. It always feels like you are battling against the plane, due to the increased dihedral normally present on this type of model. Admittedly, they can be more stable due to this.

When I was instructing (normally on .25 to .40 powered aircraft), I found in a majority of cases those that started with 4 channel didn

[martynv]

Those of you interested in learning to fly or just having a bit of a laugh on a PC, might like to try this free model flying simulator Clicky. All you need is a transmiter with a buddy box connector and a cable to connect to your PC which you can make yourself or purchase from RC World Clicky. You can add to the models that come with the simulator at even make your own. Some RC Plane makers even provide simulations of their models that run inside the Flying Model Simulator (FMS).

I don't fly R/C stuff very often but have got a couple of gliders, one electric and one IC powered. I normaly fly Control Line models mainly combat ones they usually look something like these:

These particular ones are known as F2D Combat wings and can fly at speeds in excess of 100mph ! and are powered by hi-tech rusian 2.5cc glow plug engines which turn a 6x3 fibre glass prop at around 33,000 rpm.

Martyn

[bigsi]

i had a nice visit from our man mr bibs yeasterday and he brought up his helis for me as i decided to have them off him and get back into rc stuff again.

so i spent all day today stripping down a hirobo shuttle nitro copter and rebuilding it

still lots too do but its great to be tinkering again.

and a t-rex 450x v2, which im now going to upgrade with all the latest cnc aluminium parts to replace some of the older damaged parts. and in the process improve handling etc.

many thanks to bibs.

so now i just need the lead to connect the transmitter to my pc and some rc simulation software and im away to practice with virtual heli's and planes on my pc without the fear of crashes and wrenching money for parts.

[redshift]

My main issue with electric is what Cliff says - they are too light !

Not really, you can make them as heavy as you like.

Of course, for beginner a light plane maybe less tolerant of wind, but crashes are lighter too and less likely to cause any damage.

Power systems today up to 10kw are not unknown!

This one is around 2,8kw total and should come out 4kg. Not bad for model 2,2m long.... but there is b******r all wing area

[islandbloke]

Dumb question from a PPL here...but how come full-size prop aircraft are limited to less than 3000 revs (to prevent tips going supersonic), whereas RC scale jobbies are talking 13k and up!

Is it just a scale thing (I was never good at maths, but I assume the tip of a 6" prop CAN turn a lot faster before it goes supersonic!

[Jonathan]

LOL is that TSR2 ARTF kit ?

(looks superb btw) - it's electric ? why not jet powered ?

My point was 99% of all beginners models are foam / electric and get buffeted around by the wind like a bugger.

Yup they hit the ground with less clout but you've only got to smack the wing and it's busted - thats just the downside - fly it out of the wind and your OK. Again we're talking <

[bigsi]

2 days worth of bloody hard work and fiddly little thingy bits, that do pop off at odd times and roll under the table, nay i say to the thing that pops off at odd times and rolls off under the table which is of fiddly nature and stuff thouest must not doest that for i of broke brain dont like picking up fiddly little things that do pop off and roll under the table at odd times when you dont really want them to, but they do, which really infuriates me......

EDITOR INTERRUPTS..( unfortunately this idiot waffled on about fiddly little things that pop off bloody fool as he is, what is he on about? i never had anything pop off, well only once and then it really flew off not popped off... oh damn hes got me at it now.. right in the neamtime heres a lama and a bloke!! )

so anyway to the point heres what i did over the past two days, now to get it all checked over etc, rebalance the rotors and see what else needs changing.

[Bibs]

Cracking work Si, looks brilliant. I wished I had the patience to do that myself but another day, another hobby in my house!

Oh, make sure the exhaust is tight, I remember the nut needed some thread lock

[Tentenths]

Good work Si

Now, about your next project... how about a 17' wingspan, 50lb, electric Lancaster then? Just the slightest bit doubtful that you'd get it inside the Esprit though

[redshift]

LOL is that TSR2 ARTF kit ?

(looks superb btw) - it's electric ? why not jet powered ?

Its totally scratchbuilt. Cant imagine anyone kitting something like that!

Its electric because of cost. As in 2 small turbines would cost approx 20% of the price of the V8 that I shall be going to look at very shortly!!

Its probably fair to say that today, any model intended for a conventional engine could be converted to electric. There are all sorts of motors in the range 100 - 10000watts+ and Lithium batteries that happily deliver 100+ amps.

Best of all, no-one complains about the noise

[Chops]

Since some people are thowing up some models, might as well do the same