An Old Fart, venturing into the final frontier of RC!

[PsyBorg]

I jumped on the Taranis band wagon as Spectrum is still locked in 1950s mode.

In this day and age of electronics there is zero reason to have gear locked to a model count. Its not that hard nor expensive to remap the memory to an sd card reader for unlimited space and versitility.

Then there is the added cost of price for the brand name. Specially the receivers. I would not be proud if my customers who supported me had to go to others for them so they can afford to fly.

Finally that last radio they put out tells me they are totally out of touch with the community and are going with gimmicks to draw people into buying their gear.

 

[Hai-Lee]

I jumped on the Taranis band wagon as Spectrum is still locked in 1950s mode.

In this day and age of electronics there is zero reason to have gear locked to a model count. Its not that hard nor expensive to remap the memory to an sd card reader for unlimited space and versitility.

Then there is the added cost of price for the brand name. Specially the receivers. I would not be proud if my customers who supported me had to go to others for them so they can afford to fly.

Finally that last radio they put out tells me they are totally out of touch with the community and are going with gimmicks to draw people into buying their gear.

I strongly disagree with your statement about Spectrum!!!
Spectrum is NOT locked in 1950s mode, it is locked in 1960s mode!!Futaba is the one locked in 1950s mode

Have fun!

 

[makattack]

Welcome to the club...I am only a few days ahead of you..(MRE’s oh man that brought back instant memories.. not all good 😀)

Good luck ...

Is it weird, when I was in, the spaghetti with meat sauce was a new menu item and it seemed like I would never get one. Never found a sucker willing to trade my dried pork patties or ham loaf for theirs either... and I was loath to "pull rank" on the PVTs... so, for some odd reason, I have a weird craving for Spaghetti and Meat Sauce MRE's...

 

[PoorManRC]

@Antioch - WELCOME from the other N00B!!!
The way I've been instantly Impressed here, AND the incredible way that FliteTest does things... for innovation AND for the Community as a whole.....
There's going to be many more following us!!

 

[PoorManRC]

If you're mobile and there are some good clubs nearby, one of the best ways to get into flight inexpensively is to visit a clubs flying field. The club I go to has our own trainer plane for new pilots interested in learning with club owned radio gear. All one has to do is show up after making arrangements with one of the flight instructors. Some people bring their own gear, but for those wanting to see if they even want to dive into the hobby, we'll provide them with everything needed to get up in the air. If they get the bug, then they go shopping!

Welcome to the hobby, from another vet, of the terra-firma variety, though my first duty station was garrisoned at LRAFB and we got more plane rides on hercs than some of us really wanted

So..... You're one of the others who would know what an AX-10 or a SCX10 is?? Or a different "Terra Firma" Vet?
Never been to Little Rock, or anything in the Heart of Tornado Alley!! Appears to be pretty area though.

I was Born an Air Force Brat. My Dad was SAC, so we grew up in some Godforsaken Dust Holes!! Although Kadena was pretty cool.
When I "grew up"(subjective!!), and I enlisted, it would have been hard enough to be the Son of a Full Bird HABU Pilot.... So I went to TAC.
I still couldn't escape the "Legacy Hazing".... but at least it wasn't as bad as I've heard from some other Kids I grew up with, DUMB enough to get into SAC!!!
I was there to do a JOB. I tried not to get distracted...

EVERYONE here has such a helpful spirit. There's SIX Clubs in the greater Tucson area. I've only been to two... But both of them gave me the impression that I wasn't good enough or have nice enough Aircraft, to be accepted....
So, THEY weren't good enough for ME! That's OK, there's still four more.

 

[PoorManRC]

@makattack - Dried Pork Patties MRE...........?
I JUST threw up a little in my mouth!!
..... Spaghetti and Meatballs Sauce MRE? I had heard about it, but never had any in my rations. Might have been good... but as an Italian boy with an Italian Mama..... SHE would have gone all the way to Kuwait to rip that crap out of my mouth!!! LMAO
Seriously, if anyone here was connected with the production of MREs... thank you!!! After frying our butts off, dehydrated and cranky after eating bugs and snakes.... Those little pieces of home were actually welcome, at times!!

 

[makattack]

So..... You're one of the others who would know what an AX-10 or a SCX10 is?? Or a different "Terra Firma" Vet?
Never been to Little Rock, or anything in the Heart of Tornado Alley!! Appears to be pretty area though.

I was Born an Air Force Brat. My Dad was SAC, so we grew up in some Godforsaken Dust Holes!! Although Kadena was pretty cool.
When I "grew up"(subjective!!), and I enlisted, it would have been hard enough to be the Son of a Full Bird HABU Pilot.... So I went to TAC.
I still couldn't escape the "Legacy Hazing".... but at least it wasn't as bad as I've heard from some other Kids I grew up with, DUMB enough to get into SAC!!!
I was there to do a JOB. I tried not to get distracted...

EVERYONE here has such a helpful spirit. There's SIX Clubs in the greater Tucson area. I've only been to two... But both of them gave me the impression that I wasn't good enough or have nice enough Aircraft, to be accepted....
So, THEY weren't good enough for ME! That's OK, there's still four more.

Heh, I know of the AX10/SCX10's but they were way out of my league. Unfortunately, until recent times, my RC experience was mostly cheap two channel toy RC cars that had no proportional steering (it was hard left or hard right) and really small range of throttle. Nothing hobby grade. I think they ran off alkaline batteries as well. Knowing you were a USAF vet, I was simply warning you of my dirty, nasty dirt pounder heritage. Even when we were airborne, we always ended up rolling around in the dirt. US Army Cavalry Scout from 1989-1997 (50/50 active and reserves). Not retired... just a "part timer" who ETS'd after his eight. We were in the same theater, though for ODS/S based on your other post.

 

[makattack]

EVERYONE here has such a helpful spirit. There's SIX Clubs in the greater Tucson area. I've only been to two... But both of them gave me the impression that I wasn't good enough or have nice enough Aircraft, to be accepted....
So, THEY weren't good enough for ME! That's OK, there's still four more.

So that's tough to hear, but as you (thankfully) know, not all clubs are created equal. There are good welcoming ones, and ones that aren't a good fit. Hope you'll find a good one close by!

I hear you with the "Chef Boyardee" tasting Spaghetti pack, but it was always the Chicken a la King that got my gag reflexes going! I hear they now have pizza... and that you'd be shot in Italy for offering that to a fellow NATO soldier if you were posted in Vicenza.

 

[PoorManRC]

Heh, I know of the AX10/SCX10's but they were way out of my league. Unfortunately, until recent times, my RC experience was mostly cheap two channel toy RC cars that had no proportional steering (it was hard left or hard right) and really small range of throttle. Nothing hobby grade. I think they ran off alkaline batteries as well. Knowing you were a USAF vet, I was simply warning you of my dirty, nasty dirt pounder heritage. Even when we were airborne, we always ended up rolling around in the dirt. US Army Cavalry Scout from 1989-1997 (50/50 active and reserves). Not retired... just a "part timer" who ETS'd after his eight. We were in the same theater, though for ODS/S based on your other post.

That's CRAZY!! I may or may not have met you, but Myself and a couple of the Guys in our Maintenance Detail, were interviewed sometime around 20 APR 91....
I won't claim I could remember that event clearly, but I was asked about Fuel Consumption, Volatility in extreme Temps and storage procedures..... Mostly.

I remember the guy wanting to know what we used JP4 and JP5 in... but honestly, the rest is just blah, blah, blah to me.
Were you part of any of THAT?

..... and I was in LONG before PIZZA! DANG!! These new recruits sure are spoiled!!

 

[makattack]

That's CRAZY!! I may or may not have met you, but Myself and a couple of the Guys in our Maintenance Detail, were interviewed sometime around 20 APR 91....
I won't claim I could remember that event clearly, but I was asked about Fuel Consumption, Volatility in extreme Temps and storage procedures..... Mostly.

I remember the guy wanting to know what we used JP4 and JP5 in... but honestly, the rest is just blah, blah, blah to me.
Were you part of any of THAT?

No, we were interviewed, but not for good reason. I ended up staying after most people redeployed home. Was with the 11th ACR in Kuwait as part of a sort of reserve/quick reaction force in case things got messy again. We made the news, but not for good reason. Something about a heater malfunction on a vehicle resulting in a small fire. We really messed that place up tho, but had to clean up afterwards as well. Are you afflicted by Gulf War Syndrome? I was lucky and didn't get messed up (at least, I think so. Others might disagree), but a lot of my unit mates weren't so lucky...

Heh... speaking of JP4... I remember barrels of trash (MRE packets and boxes?) burning at night with JP4 as the "starter fluid"

 

[PoorManRC]

Ahh, you were another interviewee..... GOOD! Because as in starting to remember it, parts were like the Spanish Inquisition!!!

I work with a couple of Buddies suffering with GWS... Too many people don't even believe that it's actually a thing! You know... It was "Desert Storm, the Mini-Series on CNN"! "You guys weren't there long enough to even know you LEFT", and other less flattering "-isms"......

I was attached to the cleanup detail in Kuwait... until my vehicle ran over an early IED.
Spent the rest of my time in the Hospital, then rehab. The injuries finally overcame me in 2011.... when my Disabilities inevitably forced me to go out on SSD.

I can't imagine WHY so many people try so hard to get Disability. I would trade 2 of the only Body Parts that still WORKS, to go back to work!!!

 

[makattack]

Heh, we're hijacking this thread, but our interviews were of the inquisition type... typical Army trying to find blame or fault in accidents, mishaps, etc. Happened in the Reserves for me as well in the mid 90's with an Aviation unit that had some aviation NV Goggles go missing after a unit inventory as part of deactivation. CID put everyone who was "volunteered" for inventory duty through the ringer of interviews. They ended up catching the fool who stole it for his "militia" who realized after-the-fact, that it only worked on vehicles with certain power connectors (helicopters) and their militia didn't own any UH60's or UH1's. They tried to sell it back to an Army CID undercover agent. I'm sorry to hear about your service related disabilities. Yeah, I am grateful I came back somewhat unscathed. I simply can't find any good reason why the bureaucracy tries to fault the service members who are suffering for trying to fix themselves...

 

[PoorManRC]

Hmmmmmm......... Is it possible to hijack my OWN Thread!!??

Sorry, but as much as I'm fascinated by Choppers.... You couldn't PAY me to get in a Blackhawk!! Especially if it's leaving the ground.
Unless MAYBE if they have finally sorted out the sketchy Avionics.

And don't get me started on Bureaucracies!! They're the CORE problem with our Country.
..... I HATED being TOLD that I wasn't able to work anymore. For the life of me I can't figure out WHY some people act like they've won the lottery!! Some Months I actually find it hard to be able to afford FOOD.

 

[buzzbomb]

Since this thread has become a VFW get-together, I don't mind throwing this out there: U.S. Army, 1989-1993. 31c. (Commo) I served in Operations Just Cause (MIlitary Intelligence. I know it's an Oxymoron, but were collecting and disseminating. We didn't make the decisions), Desert Shield/Storm (as a driver who hauled JP for the First Cav, ironically) and spent a year and a half in South Korea. I LIKED MRE's. I kept them in my cargo pockets (I'm one of those skinny guys who eats a lot). When they started putting those little heating packets in them? Man, who can argue with a hot meal? Or two or four for that matter.

What I find funny is that they sell MRE's to civs for camping and such. The "intestinal disturbance" from my first few might never be completely forgotten. Those poor, poor campers.

On a side, and even more personal note: Makattack, my son is joining as a Cav Scout. Is it OK to send you a PM?

 

[PoorManRC]

OK..... I'll admit it, i actually liked SOME MREs!!! What we had to choose from in MRE Pack X and XI, was VERY slim! I kinda liked Corned Beef Hash, Omelette and Ham Slices.... Some of the Desserts were edible too.
I had made the fatal mistake of mentioning that I HATED Canned Tuna, on the best of days.....

Guess what showed up in my Rations more often???!!
Fortunately, I got to trade..... sometimes. If not, Bugs and Snakes!! I'd use the heating packets to cook them, and mix in some edible Sauce Pack - if I had one on hand.

So, welcome to my introduction Thread.... A/K/A the RC Flight VFW!!!
Also, Brethren from the "Go in, kick maximum ass quickly - and then spend the following two years cleaning up Kuwait!!!!" As some of us called it.

Yeah, it's always fun taking stabs at it..... But I was Proud to be there, and would do it AGAIN!
~ Although I'd probably have NO patience for the way our Services are run Today!
At the Time, I was more relieved afterwards, that I didn't catch anything itchy things from the over friendly Desert Flowers!!!

........

SO, if I may get back to little Aircraft, have any of you tried converting a Tail Dragger to Tricycle Landing Gear??? Something like a FT Cub, Barnstormer or Storch....?

Of COURSE it's not true to Scale! I know that. If I were building a static Scale Model, it would have fine detail fidelity.
But these are, in essence, flying machines made out of Craft Supplies!!!
Don't get me wrong, I'm excited and anxious to get to work building one or fifteen of these!!

But after flying the real ones, IMHO, Tricycle Landing Gear has MUCH better Ground Manners. And yes, I've heard Josh, Anders and the FT Crew say often, "They're not going to spend much time on the Ground anyway!"
It's just something I want. Also.... I don't LIKE the idea of using my Nose Cone area for landing brakes!!! LOL 😂 😂

So, when attaching the Main Gear, would I want it right behind the COG, or a little farther back?

Also - and I'm jumping way ahead here... I'd there a way to program the Mixing to automatically give a little UP Elevator, when using the Rudder for steering??
If that's too crazy, I'm a big boy... I can handle it!

 

[makattack]

@buzzbomb definitely feel free to ask me anything of my old and out-dated cavscout experience, but if you want to get a more current feel for what the current Army's like, have a look at the Army reddit sub... it's a bit of a mismash, but the mods do a great job of keeping folks on topic. https://www.reddit.com/r/army/ I found it when the son of a friend asked me for advice before enlisting, and found it useful. There are occasional posts from kids about to ship off to basic/OSUT asking for advice and among the obligatory "don't do it's" there are some good advice.

@PoorManRC I honestly haven't given too much thought to my undercarriage/landing gear mounting on the few planes I built with them (most of the fields I fly from are best suited for belly landers and I tend to prefer flying wings) -- but those few I have, they all are a little forward of the CoG. They are tail draggers though, and I tend to keep at least the wheels in front of the CoG to keep the nose from digging into the dirt on take off. I do have a wee tricycle gear RTF I got on clearance a long while back, and while I don't have it in front of me now, I found a photo from the manufacturer site that shows it's about on the CoG for the wing mounted wheels, but the nose wheel probably shifts the weight forward. https://www.horizonhobby.com/product/airplanes/airplanes-14501--1/scale/archer-bnf-pkz6180

I tend to have enough problem with tail heavy configurations that I try to keep the weight more towards the front. It's that whole classic "a tail heavy plane flies once, while a nose heavy plane might fly poorly."

I will say that with my flying off grass fields, the tail dragger tends to work better for me vs the tricycle setup. I just have to remember to use the throttle to adjust my rate of descent in order to keep the nose/cowl from becoming the primary brake.

 

[basslord1124]

Welcome to the club PoormanRC...love the name, very fitting for a lot of us, myself included!

I don't know of anyone who has converted a FT or any foamboard based taildragger to tricycle. I knew of someone who converted an Eflite Apprentice from tricycle to taildragger...kind of the opposite. Really part of this hobby is about creativity, and if you want to do it...go ahead and try to make it happen! But I'll tell you, most of the taildragger FT planes don't even have a tailwheel. They sometimes use a little skid stick since the planes may not require a ton of runway to get airborne.

Yeah mixing can be done...just depends on the radio you get. As long as it is some kind of computer based radio, then you should be able to put mixes in.

Oh yeah building is addictive...I have stacks of plans ready to be attempted. So far I have built 6 official FT ones...3 that I have actually flown and/or crashed. 3 others need some last minute touches before flight. Also working on a non-official FT plane...still uses foamboard, but not an FT design.

 

[sprzout]

I strongly disagree with your statement about Spectrum!!!
Spectrum is NOT locked in 1950s mode, it is locked in 1960s mode!!Futaba is the one locked in 1950s mode

Have fun!

Wow, here I thought I was going to have to gear up and defend my Spektrums, and then I saw you say Futaba, and I went, "Oh, well...Yeah...He's got a point..." LOL

I'll argue that if you buy true Spektrum brand receivers, yes, they CAN be expensive. I've only got 2 (well, 3, if you count the one I have in the F-27). All of the rest are either OrangeRX or LemonRX receivers, which have been just as good as the Spektrum receivers, giving me great distance and signal, for approx $12-$20, depending on channel and diversity. I've yet to have one fail on me; what I THOUGHT was a receiver failure that killed a plane turned out to be a bad cold solder point for power from the XT60 connector to the ESC. That was my fault, not the receiver's...And that receiver is working great now.

I feel like Spektrum vs. Frsky is the age old Ford vs. Chevy, Apple vs. Microsoft, Pepsi vs. Coke argument - some people are going to like one over the other, and that's it. I know I stuck with Spektrum because that's what most of the people at my field and my dad's field fly with; if I needed help getting the radio set up, 90% of the people there knew how to help me set it up.

The one thing with picking a radio, whether it's Graupner, Frsky, Futaba, Spektrum, WHATEVER, is that once you do, you're kinda locked into that territory for the rest of your hobby, unless you're willing to change out receivers when you get a new transmitter. It's one reason why Spektrum has gained ground, as Horizon Hobby pushes so many Bind n' Fly/Ready to Fly planes that are ready to go right out of the box, and work with Spektrum.

And to route a little bit of convo to MREs - never had any TRUE MREs, but I've eaten my share of Backpacker's Pantry food, and there's a Chicken & Dumplings recipe that's REALLY good. And now that you've said spaghetti and meat sauce, I'm having a craving for pasta. Never wanted the military life; I've lived in San Diego most of my life and seen too many Marines and Navy "brats" to ever want to go through that. It takes a certain kind of person to be military, and I KNOW I am not that kind of person.

 

[PoorManRC]

@sprzout - OrangeRX and LemonRX??????
THIS is why I've told younger guys in Ground Vehicle RC, "Yeah, I've been in RC for nearly 4 Decades, I'll never know it ALL!!"

It's true though. Products change, Protocols change, Technologies definitely change.
...... And here I go again!! Same old Great Hobby - but radically different in operation!!! I was also a 1:1 Pilot. A surprisingly little of my experience can be transferred to RC Flight.
I'm ALREADY hearing terms that are new to me as well....

SO... what ARE the "fruit RX's"???? Just a compatible off Brand??

i totally agree with you about Radio Brands. I've used Futaba in my Crawlers and Buggies, because I started with a Futaba Attack back in 1983! They've always been good to me, but that's the ONLY real reason I can think of as to WHY I've stuck with them....
Lately, I've discovered Flysky. Perfectly adequate, as long as you're not expecting Premium!

I know nothing about the Flysky AIR Radio Systems (YET), but in Trucks, the Flysky GT-3B is well known for being nearly infinitely Hackable!! They can even be reflashed, so that 3 Channel Radio can now operate 7 Channels!!
...... I'm CERTAIN that someone here, has figured out Hacks for the Flysky Air Radios.

@basslord1124 - Thank You!! I don't know if the Rudder/Hstab mixing, or the Aileron/Hstab mixing that I was mentioning is considered a "cheat" or not. Again, I haven't flown ANYTHING but a 27mm Park Flyer.... but knowing about how the real ones fly, automatically getting a little Up Stab when turning, should make beginner flying a little easier, right??

..... Thanks to a couple of very Generous People here, I'm halfway to flying now!!! It's getting exciting. I guess I should decide WHICH Plane I want to be my first.

 

[jamboree1]

PoorManRC, put this link in your favorites, it's where i purchase most of my electronics... cuz poor.www.valuehobby.com They heave never messed up my order, cheap shipping, and no hidden charges (unlike Hobby King)