Hi im a begginer and i have no idea were to start. What plane is a good trainer. Glow or Electric and what kind of radio control. Also any suggestion would be Helpful.

mertz

Welcome to RCFLYING.NET!

The first thing you want to do is find a club thats close to you and pay them a visit. Ask questions, see what others are flying and be sure to tell them your just starting out. Don't be shy! Ask if anyone would be willing to let you fly their airplane on a buddy box.

You will find out that everyone you talk to will give you different ideas as to what plane is best to start out with. I learned with a Hobbico Super Star 40 which I believe to be one of the best trainers because it is well built, it's covered in monokote for easy repairs to the covering and it flies extremely well.

I suggest getting the Super Star ARF, engine and radio separate which costs a little more to start but you will have an engine and radio that will work on your second and possibly your third airplanes as well. If you buy the combo you'll get the OS 40LA which is a weak engine.

Most important part is to find someone to help train you on a buddy box so that you will learn without destroying your airplane...

I am sure several people will reply here so ask any questions you may have or think of...

Thanks I think ive found a club. But whats this i hear about Glow fuel and Electric, what would you guys recomend. Also i dont really want to spend over 300 dollars getting started and i want a control that i can use on future Planes so what models do you use. Im open for any suggetions.

:confused: mertz

Well it really depends on your budget and how much you want to get into the hobby. At $300 your just barely getting into glow powered however you could start with an small electric and spend less. If it's something you plan to enjoy for years to come save some more money and go for the glow. This is no means an inexpensive hobby but you can enjoy it on a budget just like any other hobby.

There are a few complete ready to fly airplanes including the Super Star 40 that sell for about $299 however you still need field supplies, fuel and some other stuff such as AMA if required by your club. AMA is another $48 per year not to mention your own club dues for the year.

If you just looking for some fun you might look into one of the several park flyers and fly it in your back yard or local park.

If I may make a suggestion, I am also as green as green can get. What I did was hit Ebay, www.Ebay.com , and picked up a real nice Futaba F-14 built up to 7 channels, I paid about $150 for it which included receiver and battery packs. You have to be carefull on auctions but you can get all the advice you need here, these are a real great bunch of people that are very willing to help and not afraid to tell you if your heading towards trouble. Any way, I got tons of flight stuff from ebay, I picked up a master caddy flight box completed, w/o power panel and battery for about $20, just a suggestion.

Any 4 channel radio will get you started and is good for most 2nd or 3d planes. My Futaba Skysport 4 channel is all I use for my 5 planes and use flights packs with the receivers to match the transmitter. 6 channel radios are used for extras like flaps and retracts. Flaps are only needed on larger heavier planes. Retracts aren't as strong as fixed landing gear. Smooth paved runways are better for retracts because of this. RC clubs usually provide free flight training with a buddy box. The buddy box connects to your transmitter and is controlled by your instructor. It has to match the same brand of tranmitter to be compatible. Thats another reason to visit the flying club before buying anything. Glow powered planes are more common than epower. Glow power is stronger and can easily get a plane with a 60-70 inch wing in the air. Larger planes handle the wind better and are easier to see. Most electric powered trainers are quite small compared to glow powered trainers. You can go electric if you insist but you will have to change out the battery pack in the plane between flights. To fly continuously you need one in the plane, one on charge, and one cooling. Your club has to have electric plug in for the charger. The other alternative is to have about 8 battery packs all charged that you take to the field. That many packs can get expensive. SO the first thing to do is to get in contact with an RC flying club and talk to them. Have fun, Fast!:D

As far as glo vs. electric, I'd recommend that you learn with a glo-powered airplane. Although I'm starting to get into the "electric backyard flying revolution" I still prefer glo engines. They are relatively much more powerful, and that extra power can get you out of trouble sometimes when you're starting out. Also, as FastSky mentioned, glo panes are usually larger, and that means more stable in the air.

Mike

Well, I have to put in my 2 cents from an electric flyers point of view. I am a newbie and choose an electric park flyer as my first plane. To break down some numbers $169 Sky Scooter Pro with 3 channel am radio and battery included. The plane is all EPP foam and can withstand many nasty crashes. As an added bonus you can buy all of the components seperatly for under $20 dollars. you don't have to join a club if you don't want to and you can avoid the AMA fee until you know you enjoy the sport. You can fly this plane at any decent sized soccer field. Gas may be fast but electric is quiet clean and much easier for a newbie. I must admit it would have been a bonus to have somebody help me to learn to fly, but it's not that bad. One other recomendation if you have an extra $50 or so bucks pick up a computerized RC flight simulator like Cockpit Master Backyard Edition. The SS Pro plane package comes with a radio, but you can buy the plane kit for $60 and a hitec fm 4-6 channel radio for around $150. BTW the picture to the left of the post is my actual plane after being painted.

-E

as the Moderator for the RC Sim forum on here, I agree with Ezy E, getting a sim is a great way to get a little practice, and if you get FMS and your first radio is compatable, you can try several of the planes out and get a good feel for it. I'm on a big kick right now for Ikarus EasyFly (check for it at Quantummodels.com) cause it can be had for $50 with a controller and you can download a very realistic Trainer to fly on there that will help you get a good feel for flying RC. When you get the $$ to put into it Realflight's family of sims can be GREAT tools for you as you can customize the way your planes fly and get them so they fly just like YOUR actual models do.

The Glow Trainer market is a good robust one that you will be able to easily find a good trainer and a good instructor for. That said, I think Ezy E makes a great point that saving the AMA dues right off, and getting a small park flyer could be a GREAT way to go if you're not close to a field, and want to save the little extra $$ right now.

I've got several Glow planes (in various stages of dis-repair) and a couple of park flyers, and I only get to fly my glow once every few weeks with my family's schedule, but my park flyer I can sneak out the back door and fly it at least once or twice a week (gotta wait for un-windy days).

When hunting for what you want to get, I'd also check these message Boards for things forsale, AND see if you can find a local swap meet going on soon, there are some GREAT deals to be had at those. Good luck in your hunt and HAPPY FLYING!

Charles P

Hey Guys,
How Does this Sound......
PLANE: Hobbico Super Star 40
ENGINE: Thunder Tiger Pro 46
RADIO: Futaba 4VF 4-Channel FM/3 S3003 Servos
(p.s. What are Servos?)

Also do i need to buy a prop? and were can i get gas.
Ok thats what i was thinkin. If anyone has suggestions please feel free.
thanks, Mertz

Servos are little motors that actually move the control surfaces on your plane.
and to answer your question.....
I think your makeing a wise choice and it looks like you've picked out some good equipment to start with!
southerngent

I have that air plane, it's a great plane and you chose a good engine for it. the OS 40 la is weak i know from experience! As for servos and radio it's your choice really I have a Futaba t4vf Make sure it is a T4vf for the trainer "buddy"cord hook up. You will also need 1 more servo with that plane, it requires 4 channels and uses all 4 servos. If it is the "Superstar 40 AWARF" You will need some 30 min epoxy and maybe some ca, ca+...(superglue) You will need a prop maybe a APC 11X6 but that would be for yo0u and your instructor to decide. An electric starter is nice, and for a field box I used two milk crates bolted together. I didn't want to spend too much money either. I've been flying with a guy thats been flying for twenty years and he let me solo my first take off and landing (thanks fms) I've had about 35 takeoff and landings, cracked up my plane but repaired it in a day and got back up their. So the airplane is very strong and up to the task of handling some rough landings.

Best of luck.

It should be a super star 4a w/ Monokote
Dose anyone who has this motor have suggestions on fuel and were to get it. i saw that thunder tiger suggested a fuel with castro oil in it. thanks
mertz

Mertz,
You can go to any hobby shop that sells airplanes and buy a gallon of fuel....10% nitro and 18-20% castor oil will be fine. Your engine will probably need a glo-plug also. Also, as Buddha mentioned, you may need some epoxy and/or CA glue, along with some other miscellaneous items. Read through the plane's assembly manual to see if you'll need anything else to complete the plane. Don't try to run the engine until you get some help from an experienced person....you could severely shorten it's life if you don't break it in correctly.
By the way, your choice of equipment looks good.

Mike

hey, What is a glo-plug.................Mertz

glow plug -- is a spark plug for these tiny engines...

it is called glow becase it glows... du to high temperature in the chamber.

Hey, I went to a hobby store today and I noticed that they had a whole binch of motor accesories and i was just wondering if some one could tell me everything you need for your engine.

Well you'll need a OS #8 glow plug, a glow plug ignitor, some fuel (10% nitro / 18% oil will work fine), a prop (10x6 or 11x6) and a 2" spinner.

That's everything you need to take the engine from outta the box to running on your airplane...

Can someone answer this...
What is the difference between 10x7 and 11x6 props??
For an enfiner they usually recommend several props, which one would be better?? I understand the metrics of a prop, what diffrence do they make when put on a real plane??

This depends on what type of airplane you are flying and what type of flying you are doing...

Each prop can effect the airspeed, rpm's of the engine, etc.

Lower diameter props spin faster giving you more rpm's.
Higher diameter props spin slower giving you less rpm's.
Higher pitch props give you more speed.
Lower pitch props give you more torque.

You need to determine what's best for your engine that corresponds with the type of flying you want to do.

On the prop question; some props are more efficient than others but are also more brittle. For training the toughest props are the black ones made by Master Airscrew. If the prop hits a grass runway, it usually just stops the engine without breaking. A wood prop will break for sure and an APC prop may or may not break. I have found that for a 46 size engine on a trainer the best all around prop is a Master Airscrew 11-5. That means it is 11 inches long and has a pitch of 5. It will give you more than enough speed for a trainer and give the instructor lots of thrust to get out of bad situations. Have fun, Fast! :D

mertz-

As someone who has been in this hobby for a bit under a year and just learned, I thought I might throw in my 2 cents.

First to follow up on some previous posts:

1. re electric flying. If you go this route you dont need to have 8 batteries! You can get a fast charger that hooks up to your car battery and recharges the batteries in 15-30 minutes.

2. re. propellors. The numbers (10x7, 11x6) refer to the diameter in inches (first number) and pitch in inches of forward travel per revolution. Generaly, higher diameter and lower pitch provide more thrust (faster acceleration and more vertical pulling pwer, lower speed) while lower diameter and higher pitch provide more straight line speed. The instructions for your engine (and possibly the plane too) will provide a suggested size range. Its usually safe to pick a size in the middle somewhere to start. One suggestion I would make is to start with a master airscrew brand reinforced nylon prop. They are somewhat flexible and wont break if you tip the nose in on a rough landing (great while learning). Later, you can switch to an apc grey nylon or wood (zinger, top flite) prop for a little more performance.

3. For starting the engine you need the following:
-A battery for heating the glow plug ("ni-starter", "hot shot"

-fuel (avalable at a hobby store, see your engine instructions for reccomended oil and nitromethane %, then ask the hobby store owner)

-A way to flip the propellor. The most basic is a "chicken stick" (a piece of wood with some rubber tubing over it). Alternatively you can get an electric starter motor that runs off a 12v battery. NEVER use your fingers.

Also, do you have any interest in building? If so you could consider a kit instead of an ARF (Almost Ready to Fly). Kit building can be fun and teaches you a lot about the plane. You will also find repairs easier if you have a mishap.

Some possible trainer choices:
Great Planes: PT-20/40/60/Electric/ARF
SIG: Kadet series
Hangar 9 Easy 2 ARF
Tower Hobbies Tower Trainer
Thunder Tiger Train 40 ARF/Trainer 60 ARF

I built the PT-40. Great instructions and very sturdy. Sig planes are also very well regarded. As ARFs go, the Easy 2 is very quick to set up and is an extremely docile flyer.

When choising your trainer, I reccomend the 40 size planes for the bast bang per buck. And remember bigger is better when learning, they fly smoother and are easier to see.

Also, Im sure you have far more questions than we can possibly answer in a post. Why not pick up a book for beginners? Some I'd reccomend are:

"Basics of R/C Planes" by air age
http://www.rcstore.com/rs/general/listproducts.asp?catid=8&catego=BO

"The absolute beginners guide to radio control airplanes"
I think this one is out of print but it may be avalable at your local library.

And get to know some experienced modellers in that club!


Good luck and have fun,
Jeremy

jharkin, just for feedback about your comments. First off, about the battery packs. I did say that if you go the electric flyer, then you either need a charger with 3 battery packs for continuos flying or 8 fully charged packs ready to go. If you go with 1 battery pack and a charger do you really want to be waiting 15-30 minutes for the battery to get charged between flights? And you can add a few minutes for the swap out time. For your trainer choices the PT series are solid planes. The amount of dihedral in the wings if built per instructions is ridiculously high. This makes the plane more difficult to fly in windy conditions than it has to be. Try instructing on all kinds of different trainers and you will see that the LT40 is still the best trainer out there. It also comes as an ARF if you don't want to build.:cool:

fatsky-

re: the batteries. I thought you were telling him that he could only field charge if they had ac at his field. I was just pointing out that he can field charge from a 12v battery. My apologies if I misread you.

Also, I agree with you on the dihedral on the pt-40. I built mine with the lower dihedral option and it is still VERY stable.

Jeremy

YO!
Id advise you get an electric one-
less expensive
less messy
A good plane to start with would be something like the FireBird.
its an electric plane, flys slow so you have more think-and-act time unlick some other speedy planes.
As for looks of the plane- defantly put off buying that B-2 Bomber (http://www.hobbypeople.net/combos/999909.asp) untill you learn to fly (if you didnt, by the time you could acually stop calling yourself a begginer, your plane would be in bits-and-pieces.(unlike the FireBird, which is made out of handy-dandy super-strong foamy stuff)

Click to see the FireBird (http://www.horizonhobby.com/products/description.asp?prod=HBZ1500&pc=HBZ1500&tag=grd)
ALSO...
the firebird is only about $90, and something like the B-2(with everything) would cost about @250
________________________
FB-Flyer
Fly hard! Fly long!
...cause tomorrow it'l probably be to windy to fly.;)