Help! A Couple Questions for Beginner Before Buying (Updated with final build and flight)

[Corsair714]

I agree about the B pack equivalent, I find the 2212 6T 2200 KV have lots of power and work really well, I use these in all of my swappable planes

I've used the 2200kv one and it put out about the same amount of thrust as a 2300kv 2207 quadcopter motor and was just much heavier actually.

 

[sprzout]

I struggled to learn to solder, I was using a cheap $10 solder iron. I finally got a temperature controlled iron, it was like magic, now I can solder nearly anything.

LOL a cheap soldering iron from somewhere like Harbor Freight will do its best to frustrate the heck out of you when you're trying to solder something with heavier gauge wiring (like, say, a 30a ESC's battery connector). They just don't have the wattage to do a lot of the soldering you need.

 

[The Hangar]

I've been using these electronics in my standard size planes and they perform very well and plus they come with soldered connectors:
B/C pack motor: http://www.valuehobby.com/2830-1200kv-outrunner-motor.html
Esc: http://www.valuehobby.com/gforce-20a-esc-xt60.html
I've had a little experience with the cheap combos linked earlier and I wouldn't recommend them. Even a small crash will break either the motor shaft or the prop adapter.

 

[Scrivner]

Well, I made my orders. For Tx/Rx I went with the Flysky i6x. Batt charger iMax B6. I ordered both of these from Amazon because I had a bunch of credit so essentially got these for free. For the motor and servos I got the A power pack from FT just because it gives me peace of mind as a beginner that I'll get everything I need and it should all work. Someone suggested the C pack but I think the A pack is less power. My thought was that I want slow flight to begin with for training. I also thought the lower power might give me more battery time as well. (?)

The banggood site looks like an awesome resource and once I get familiar enough with all the different components to understand what I want/need I'll be checking this out. So thanks for those that suggested the site. Also thanks @Corsair714 for compiling the list of best recommended equipment and parts for beginners! That was a great help and it's a great resource that I'm sure I will be back to for reference.

Again, I can't thank all of you enough for all of the great help and advice!

 

[Corsair714]

Glad to help! Good luck learning to fly!

 

[Scrivner]

Oops! The batteries I ordered have XT-30 connectors but the iMax charger only has an XT-60 connector. No flying this weekend.

I ordered some adapters from Amazon so maybe next week.

 

[Maxx]

Hello All,

I want to get into RC flying and I've been watching Flite Test vids on YouTube and browsing this forum. I've got a few questions that I'm hoping you guys can help me out with.

1) For learning to build/fly is the Flite Test Tiny Trainer Get Started Package a good recommended place to start in your opinion? If not what do you suggest? If so, is there anything additional you would suggest getting or swapping out? For example and extra battery? Or getting a 3-cell instead of the 2-cell that comes with the package?

2) I know this is getting ahead of things, but after learning on a trainer, would the FT Spitfire be ok an next step or is it too advanced? In one of the FT YouTube videos where they were demonstrating the Spitfire they kept mentioning how easy it was to fly and that it would be good for beginners, but only saying this in casual conversation amongst themselves.

3) I keep seeing "DTFB" which I think means "Dollar Tree Foam Board". I dropped by my store one today to check what they had. They had a few different colors and it was branded as "Readi-Foam". Is this is what people mostly use to do their scratch builds? Will any foam board from any other store be an acceptable substitute?

Thanks in advance for anyone that can share their advice and wisdom!
-Scrivner

Tiny Trainer is an excellent choice . I would buy one or two extra 2s lipos and a few propellers ...

 

[Scrivner]

Hello All! I thought I would give an update after getting all the great advice in this thread. I got my TT built (and finally got the batteries charged, lol!). We had great weather this past weekend and got three sessions of flying in.

Session 1) The maiden flight was very short as after launching I didn't get hands on the controls quick enough to give it a little up elevator and it flew into the ground after about 20 feet. Not so much a crash but a hard landing. I put in some elevator trim and tried again and... amazingly, it flew! I was able to get a couple circuits around the field before I got a little low and cross-controlled and into the ground again. No damage so tried again. For that first session I hard-landed/crashed maybe three or four times. But no real damage at any point and got a good bit of flying in. I really did not expect to have that much success the first time out so I was pretty pleased.

Session 2) As in session 1 I started with the 2-cell battery which I think was a good choice to start. It's a little underpowered but it allowed the plane to fly slow enough to give me time to react. After flying awhile with the 2-cell I tried a 3-cell. I was shocked at what a difference it made. It had enough power to pull the plane straight up whereas with the 2-cell it struggled to climb. Had a great time flying with more power and did lots of loops! A couple minor mishaps but again, no damage... until... practicing landings I got cross-controlled while low and slow - and unfortunately in a field of acres and acres of tall grass, I just happened to be over pavement at that moment and nosed it into the ground. Broke the prop and had some fuselage damage. So home for repairs but still a good day of flying.

After repairs, I also painted. This was taken just before session 3.

Session 3) Used the 3-cell again. Again had a couple minor oopsies but still a good session of flying. But again I nosed it into the ground while practicing landings. This time it was in the grass so no broken prop but the motor box broke loose. I haven't actually taken it apart to inspect yet but I suspect the box will probably need to be rebuilt.

So I got a lot of practice over the weekend, both flying and repairing. I had a great time learning and already thinking about that Spitfire again. Ha! Maybe a little more practice with the trainer first. 😜

 

[The Hangar]

Hello All! I thought I would give an update after getting all the great advice in this thread. I got my TT built (and finally got the batteries charged, lol!). We had great weather this past weekend and got three sessions of flying in.

Session 1) The maiden flight was very short as after launching I didn't get hands on the controls quick enough to give it a little up elevator and it flew into the ground after about 20 feet. Not so much a crash but a hard landing. I put in some elevator trim and tried again and... amazingly, it flew! I was able to get a couple circuits around the field before I got a little low and cross-controlled and into the ground again. No damage so tried again. For that first session I hard-landed/crashed maybe three or four times. But no real damage at any point and got a good bit of flying in. I really did not expect to have that much success the first time out so I was pretty pleased.

Session 2) As in session 1 I started with the 2-cell battery which I think was a good choice to start. It's a little underpowered but it allowed the plane to fly slow enough to give me time to react. After flying awhile with the 2-cell I tried a 3-cell. I was shocked at what a difference it made. It had enough power to pull the plane straight up whereas with the 2-cell it struggled to climb. Had a great time flying with more power and did lots of loops! A couple minor mishaps but again, no damage... until... practicing landings I got cross-controlled while low and slow - and unfortunately in a field of acres and acres of tall grass, I just happened to be over pavement at that moment and nosed it into the ground. Broke the prop and had some fuselage damage. So home for repairs but still a good day of flying.

After repairs, I also painted. This was taken just before session 3.
View attachment 197378
Session 3) Used the 3-cell again. Again had a couple minor oopsies but still a good session of flying. But again I nosed it into the ground while practicing landings. This time it was in the grass so no broken prop but the motor box broke loose. I haven't actually taken it apart to inspect yet but I suspect the box will probably need to be rebuilt.

So I got a lot of practice over the weekend, both flying and repairing. I had a great time learning and already thinking about that Spitfire again. Ha! Maybe a little more practice with the trainer first. 😜

Glad to hear you had sucess, great job! I like the paint scheme you went for, it reminds me of this classic military scheme:

 

[Mr NCT]

Hello All! I thought I would give an update after getting all the great advice in this thread. I got my TT built (and finally got the batteries charged, lol!). We had great weather this past weekend and got three sessions of flying in.

Session 1) The maiden flight was very short as after launching I didn't get hands on the controls quick enough to give it a little up elevator and it flew into the ground after about 20 feet. Not so much a crash but a hard landing. I put in some elevator trim and tried again and... amazingly, it flew! I was able to get a couple circuits around the field before I got a little low and cross-controlled and into the ground again. No damage so tried again. For that first session I hard-landed/crashed maybe three or four times. But no real damage at any point and got a good bit of flying in. I really did not expect to have that much success the first time out so I was pretty pleased.

Session 2) As in session 1 I started with the 2-cell battery which I think was a good choice to start. It's a little underpowered but it allowed the plane to fly slow enough to give me time to react. After flying awhile with the 2-cell I tried a 3-cell. I was shocked at what a difference it made. It had enough power to pull the plane straight up whereas with the 2-cell it struggled to climb. Had a great time flying with more power and did lots of loops! A couple minor mishaps but again, no damage... until... practicing landings I got cross-controlled while low and slow - and unfortunately in a field of acres and acres of tall grass, I just happened to be over pavement at that moment and nosed it into the ground. Broke the prop and had some fuselage damage. So home for repairs but still a good day of flying.

After repairs, I also painted. This was taken just before session 3.
View attachment 197378
Session 3) Used the 3-cell again. Again had a couple minor oopsies but still a good session of flying. But again I nosed it into the ground while practicing landings. This time it was in the grass so no broken prop but the motor box broke loose. I haven't actually taken it apart to inspect yet but I suspect the box will probably need to be rebuilt.

So I got a lot of practice over the weekend, both flying and repairing. I had a great time learning and already thinking about that Spitfire again. Ha! Maybe a little more practice with the trainer first. 😜

It looks like you are officially hooked! Welcome to the addiction. Nice job on the trainer!

 

[Scrivner]

Glad to hear you had sucess, great job! I like the paint scheme you went for, it reminds me of this classic military scheme:
View attachment 197399

Thanks! Yes - the WWII era Stearman trainer paint scheme was the inspiration. I plan to add the details to the tail and the roundels on the wings soon. My dad used to fly the control line model planes and he had one of these. It was my favorite plane of his so I had to go with that scheme. I figured it fits the theme for mine since it's a trainer. 🙂

 

[DazDaMan]

Good luck.

I started flying again last year, only using some very small park-sized models to do some basic flying with. I've been working on my FT Spitfire the past few weeks, and hope to have it flying soon.