are glow planes space-consuming?

Longbaorder23

Senior Member
Hey all,
been flyin for a few years now, i can handle 4 channels with ease, and maybe some of you saw my post on my 3D build. Ive run plenty of nitro powered cars, from my traxxas t-maxx to my high speed nitro RS4 touring car. Ive got engine tuning skills on my belt as well. Got a local hobbyshop for a variety of parts and fuel. My main question is, how much space do i need? Ive seen the hangar 9 p 51 mustang rtf, not the blue one, but the red and grey one. I thought it would be good. im sure some of you have seen the flite test video on it. they said its good for a first glow model, but not a good first model in general. It would be my 4th model over about 2 years of flying. being a warbird, they said its still a very docile trainer. it has leading wing extensions, and flaps to slow it down for beginners and maiden flights. I have yet to have a particularly *fast* model, but ive got control down pretty well. So again, my question is how much space do i need for such a model? I plan to, if i bought it, to install servos for controllable flaps, so when landing or taking off, i could slow down. The places i currently fly are either running track fields (1/4 mile oval tracks) or a local park field with an office building right next door.... the local park field is the equivalent of about the area of 1.75 runnign track fields, but in a triangle shape. The trees in my area surround most of the fields i fly in, but they arent super tall, only like 40 feet. once im above them, there is a large airspace with high visibility. and landing. im not so concerned about take off distance, but rather landing distance. this plane is said to "come in hot". Is a strait away on a running track long enough? Thanks for reading my long post haha i have so many questions, and ive been screwed by the small questions like this ive ignored. Thanks for any help! If anyone out there owns this plane, please dont hesitate to chime in! Thanks!
 

xuzme720

Dedicated foam bender
Mentor
That straight might be just enough for your first flights on something that size. At least until you are more comfortable and proficient with it. Just be aware, the sound of a glow plane is going to attract more attention and possibly the wrong kind. It might be better to find something more remote or a better option might be to find a local club. Not trying to talk you out of it, just want you to be aware of the issues when going to a larger, faster, noisier bird!
 

Longbaorder23

Senior Member
Ah i see. I run nitro cars there sometimes too, and my former tech teacher thought it was nice that i loved this stuff, despite the fact i had fuel on campus but its ok he said i could. But despite all that, it is smaller. I have a local park run by the AMA and its pretty open and has a golf-grass runway. The whole flying field has tall grass, so if you land elsewhere, minimal damage or any would be present. The ring of trees far off might even block some low level wind. But id have to BUY a 4 channel trainer, call a guy running that portion of the park to come review me, fly it to prove im not a horrendous pilot, get my park card, get an AMA card, then drive out there to go fly it. the drive isnt rediculous, and its next to a hobby shop, but its a lot of work to set it all up. im under 18, so the AMA card is free for a 15 yr old like myself. i have to BUY the SPECIFIED 4 channel trainer to be tested with. its like going to a drivers test, but having to be a very specific model toyota or whatever. id have to buy the E-Flite..... Alpha? not sure what its name is. but their basic 4 channel trainer. i cant just go buy a whole nother airplane to get a license to use a small, remote airstrip. also, at my highschool i have an artificial turf football field plus track, and more fields surrounding that field for more airspace. Im looking to start an rc club at my highschool as well, and if we got it permitted, and got enough people, im sure they would let us use glow models and lipos and whatever. My school does really intense robotics, and they use plenty of dangerous batteries and whatnot, so i think rc chemicals arent that much worse. we have a tech room i could store our groups stuff in. is 2 football fields worth of airspace enough? I sure hope so haha otherwise id have to go pretty far out... thanks for the help! Lookin to step my game up in planes :D Thanks!
 

Craftydan

Hostage Taker of Quads
Staff member
Moderator
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It all depends on scale, but gassers tend to scale upward in power and size *very* quickly. When you're talking about park-sized planes, you can get a physically larger foamy electric to fly with greater handling and speed range than a similar classed gasser. The weight of the engine/fuel play against it on the small side. they tend to perform better/cheaper in the larger scales.

The 2-football field sized area (are we talking square side-by-side, or long end-to-end? obstacles?) would be fine for a *small* gasser but a slight bump in size could easily out-fly that size of field. You could get a smaller and better electric in that range.

The school club is a great idea -- don't hesitate to get one started if you can -- but how long are you gonna be in school? planning on quitting the hobby then?

Go ahead and chat with the club's instructor, shop around for a good 4 channel electric, or look into building one, and see if he'd be willing to train/checkout you on one of the planes you pick. Wort thing that can happen is he'll say "NO", but if not you'll get access to a longer term field, new long term friends, and might pick up a few tips to go from pretty good to awesome!

Not all trainers are a waste, either. Went to a fly-in this weekend, and had a group of 6 experienced been-there-done-that pilots flying a swarm of multiplex supercubs, playing in the wind. That plane would typically suffice for a trainer, and experienced pilots are picking up new ones simply because they're fun to fly. You'd be surprised -- a lot of the better trainers are like that.

And what are you planning to train your buddies on? Having a buddy-box and a I-don't-have-to-fight-it airframe, will let you help that new club member get some time on the sticks before he smashes his hard-to-fly plane to pieces.

So my advice, Keep pressing for the school club , but don't turn you're nose up at an electric trainer, or the chance to get some time at a bigger club, if buying/building a trainer and checkout are all that stand in your way.
 

Longbaorder23

Senior Member
My buddies can learn with a buddy box. By the way, What does a buddy box system look like? What's a good one? How much? Thanks!
 

Craftydan

Hostage Taker of Quads
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A "buddy box" is really nothing more than a slaved transmitter.

you connect (usually via wire, but the very latest transmitters are going wireless) two compatable transmitterrs together, with the master bound to the plane and powered on, and the slave unpowered. the slave TX recognizes it's plugged in, powers on in slave mode. When the trainer pilot is ready, (plane in the air, level and docile) he presses the trainer switch, and transfers controls to the slave -- the slave transmitter can now control the model!

Your budy get into trouble? Hit the trainer switch, resume control, and get it level again. A moment of coaching or two, and switch it back. The more you do it, the more borring it gets!

Better radios let you set which channels to pass control (I'll give you elevator and aileron, but I'm keeping rudder and throttle), and the wireless options are nice, but brand specific.

One thing a good buddy box can't replace -- an experienced trainer. Make sure you know the ends-and-outs of your plane and can recover easily from any odd attitude before you trust your buddies with it . . . becasue you'll need it! ;)

Would be one good reason for the Apprentice S15E with the "safe" receiver. I've heard from several pilots, as well as reviews (like the one on FT) -- that "Oh Crap" switch works, and still isn't a bad plane to play around with on "expert" mode.
 

Longbaorder23

Senior Member
Thanks! I saw that video from FT, and the "oh crap" switch seemed to work pretty well! But as many of our group members (and myself) know, we dont have too much money to go round to buy the apprentice, or any other parts for that matter. One reason i love hobbyking haha the prices are spectacular. I would train my buddies on either his plane or a very cheap trainer from HK. my bonsai was excellent on docile rates and taught me bank and yank pretty well. however, no rudder. personally, i dont use very much rudder. and i want to get used to using it, so i bought a cheap 3D, and im learning! My buddy has an AXN floater jet, (very similar to the bixler in size, shape, speed and characteristics) and we both use the HK T6A with buddybox ports. all we would need is a cable! but most of our pilots in our group have some level of experience, and can handle basic stuff. I myself first trained on a mini super cub, and it was great. but now i want to try some gas stuff, i love the way you run them, plus the endless runtimes is quite nice as well. I know the football field and then some space at my school is plenty for my 3D, bonsai, and other electric planes. the AXN might be a bit fast for this area, but i could work around that. BACK TO MY ORIGINAL QUESTION, is a football field and some extra airspace and ground space enough for a 58in wingspan nitro plane to land? take off is shorter, and its easier. i usually belly land my planes, because they are all like foamies. Think itll work? if not i could go elsewhere to fly. Thanks for the info!
 

xuzme720

Dedicated foam bender
Mentor
A nitro plane of that size can be flown out of a small yard but can't be landed there. Landing will dictate where you can or can't fly. You'll need at least a clear 100'-150' to land one of that size, if you are familiar with the plane, and are reasonably experienced as a pilot. If you are still learning, you might need to double or triple that amount. Add even more room if it's a faster sport plane that needs to land hot.
More room is always going to be better because of the possibility of dead sticks with nitro or gas, don't forget about that aspect of going wet...

Check out a few nitro/glow powered planes on YouTube and look how long the runways are. That should give you a better idea of what to expect.
 

Longbaorder23

Senior Member
good idea! Ill look into some of those videos. I really want to get into nitro planes, it sounds like alot of fun! But i looked into the plane i wanted to buy, and it looks like it recently went out of production :( so i might just buy the alpha 40 nitro trainer plane. trainers are still fun too haha. Any other trainers you guys would recommend? Thanks!
 
If they will let you qualify with it, I would look for a trainer with a semi-symmetrical airfoil. I have an old Hobbico Avistar and it's an awesome plane. I think it's docile enough to work well for a trainer and the semi-symmetrical airfoil really opens up the possibilities later. Glow definitely needs more space and an AMA field is definitely the place, unless you live in a rural area. The Avistar I have is discontinued, but there is a new version. Also, for a trainer, look on the classifieds here, or on your local craigslist. You should be able to get into a complete package for less than $150 if you are patient (maybe even $100 or less). Something like the Hangar 9 Arrow 40 would be great.
 

xuzme720

Dedicated foam bender
Mentor
The .40 size trainers are usually created pretty equal, unless you get into the semi symmetrical airfoils and some of newer "upgrades" like leading edge devices and such. If you find one with the right price, you should be fine. The semi's are a blast and help out when you want to fly inverted, something to see on a trainer! So, like Rover said, get one if you can.

I still have one remaining of three or four from when I was getting back into the hobby for the second time before I moved and had nowhere to fly, (I'm on the third go around now) and I'm thinking about converting it to electric. The trouble is, then I have to find somewhere to fly it again, as it won't work in my back yard, which is my preferred flying field these days. I could fly it in the yard but then landing is another story...Maybe right after the pasture is mowed...hmmmm.

Sorry, drifted off there for a sec. I know the AMA and club route will cost more now but it might actually save you some money in the long run as you can get some help from the members and they will probably get you over the hump faster without crashing as many times as people going it alone.
 

Longbaorder23

Senior Member
I know, im considering joining! But before i do, i would want to get the trainer. Its not too much, and its a good place to start! Im looking now into the hangar 9 alpha 40. pretty big though! massive wingspan. 63 inches! how fast is it? this is my other concern. the size isnt so bad as long as the wings are removable
 
The wing on the Alpha will come right off. It looks to be held in place by rubber bands, a pretty common way to retain the wing on a trainer. In many cases, the rubber bands will have enough give, or just pop off and save you some damage that you would incur with a screwed on wing during a crash. The Alpha looks like a pretty good plane. I wouldn't hesitate to pick one up.
 

pgerts

Old age member
Mentor
If you want glow and not SPACE CONSUMING, why not go for the fun 1:12 WWII combat planes?
Size like many of the FT swappables normally at 30"-40" span. Made of foam and covered with paper.
Make a swappable carrier for motor, tank, rx and throttle servo (elevator servo).
Lots of free plans or ARF.
 

Longbaorder23

Senior Member
Thanks! pgerts, Whats an example of one of these? Ive never heard of such models. Link would be nice! Or are you describing something else? Thanks for the help!
 

pgerts

Old age member
Mentor
Thanks! pgerts, Whats an example of one of these? Ive never heard of such models. Link would be nice! Or are you describing something else? Thanks for the help!
I have no idea of the activity in your area but take a look at the links and Link.
We have some "kits" in sweden but that wont help you. Try to find someone in Seattle and ask for a "short kit" and some help.

Dane%26P-51_medium.jpg
google translate this http://www.svensktmodellflyg.se/for...289205&page=&CurrentMainTopic=11&replypage=99
 
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Longbaorder23

Senior Member
Thanks! I went to the first link, and there were 0 kits available. They look like so much fun! Is there anywhere i could get info on these in another place? How hard would it be to build one? what are the engines used in these models? Thanks so much!
 

pgerts

Old age member
Mentor
You have to work on the links. http://rccombat.net/sections/manufacturers/manufacturers.asp There are several like AMOCS, House of balsa and others. Use their email and ask for what you want. They normally run with cheap .15 Engines like the ASP .15 and the OS .15 LA, but more and more convert them to Electric today to save some seconds = Points. Every secont in the air gives one Point during the 7 minute heat. The landings are no problem as you could se in the film ;-)
 

Longbaorder23

Senior Member
Ah i found the products page and all the models from AMOCS. but shipping is "about $120". thats how much the model ARF costs! :/