1st Plane

[FlyingEli14]

My name is Eli and im 14 years old. I am trying to get into rc but i have to make money for it myself , which is hard ,especially now because i work by mowing but right now its cold so my neighbors dont need there yard mown. I was wondering if anyone could ship me anything that could help me ( simulator, plane you dont want, parts ect). thanks

 

[Raptortech]

What do you think your budget is? We can certainly make parts recommendations.

 

[FlyingEli14]

right now my budget is about $150

 

[Raptortech]

Oh that's no problem at all. Buy yourself some foamboard (preferably dollar tree, but most anything will work). Here is the list of parts I recommend to my club members for a first plane (This is all from HobbyKing.com)


This works well with The Fish and the FT Flyer. You don't need to get the 9XR battery unless you want to modify the battery connector on your transmitter. Otherwise just use AA batteries. Let me know if you have any questions!

 

[rcspaceflight]

If you're completely teaching yourself how to fly scratch building isn't always the best route. It's easier to figure out how to fly if you know any possible issues aren't the airframe/plane. However, if you start with a simulator then you'll know how it's supposed to feel and scratch building isn't so bad for starting out.

Assuming you want to get into planes and planes only (for now), then start with www.rcdeskpilot.com because it's free. You don't have to buy a transmitter to use it properly, you can buy a transmitter shaped USB controller. Most of them actually come with a flight simulator, but not one as good as RCDP. (Plus I did make a bunch of add ons for it.)

Options:
Hobby King RC Flight simulator controller
Tech 6 RC Flight simulator controller
Volantex RC Flight simulator controller

I had the Volantex. The controller is a bit small compared to real transmitters, but works fine. I currently use the Hobby King and it's just about the right size but a lot lighter than the real thing.

 

[FAI-F1D]

You can get a ready to fly UMX Vapor for that price. It'll let you teach yourself to fly--no simulator required. You'll need calm weather (5 mph or less), but it's practically indestructible and can be flown in a large living room or your back yard. If you do manage to break anything, Horizon sells all the spare parts. It's on Spectrum's protocol, so when you want to step up to a nice transmitter, it'll work with the new tranny, be it a budget buy like the Orange 6 channel, or something fancier like a DX7.

I should also make mention of the Ember: http://www.horizonhobby.com/ember-2-rtf-pkz3400
Horizon is selling those at a killer price, completely ready to go. It won't fly in your living room, but it'll do ok in your back yard and can handle more wind. I reckon it still qualifies as practically indestructible despite the wider speed envelope.