building fears

aspen

Member
so, Christmas rolled by and a life crisis finally rolled away/died (grandmother), we had a great wake and such for her and i ended up with a blade mcx2 helicopter. i love it, but i also want to have an airplane, and after searching and searching and searching, first i got quite bored and started pulling apart a couple zip zaps i had around and made a little Frankenstein monster of an rc. so this got me thinking, i can buy a 4 channel simple controller and receiver for about $30, four average servos for around $30, a speed controller for $15, and a good sized motor for $8, and a battery for $12, and 12 connectors for some amount (haven't looked at connectors). this is a 4 channel plane that will cost about $87, not including shipping. so my problem with this is that, well first i have never played with any sort of airplane rc, so im wanting to start simplish and easy, second, the plane is going to have to be small because i do not have anywhere large i could store this plane, and lastly is that i am torn between using my 3d printer or buying a kit or arf (depending on prices) for building/getting the airplanes body. so um, what im trying to ask is, first should i print the plane, buy it, or buy foam board and build it? second, what connectors should i use? third, what design? and lastly is this even worth doing, as this will be my first plane, i can solder, i know how to use Google and other search engines(very important), and i need help, that's why im posting this, so, anything would help, and the reason im typing so much is that im having an adhd moment so im moving a million miles an hour in my head.
 

aspen

Member
oh, and i almost forgot to ask, if anyone looks at this, so if i buy a low battery warning thingy (its late), so instead of just giving me a warning saying the battery is low could i have it so it flips to a second battery. so when battery 1 gets low it jumps to battery 2 and i can continue to fly for a bit longer. is this possible or not? also, thank you form people for all the help and kindness you have given, it has really helped me get further into this hobby. also, anyone have any adive on how to keep cats away from a mcx2 heli? i am just having all kinds of trouble with our cats.
 

pgerts

Old age member
Mentor
Many words....
To start twith the battery. If you have two batteries in the plane - connect hem in parallell and get more than double flight time.
Remember that 2 batteies in the plane makes it more heavy and it will need more power to fly................
Learn how long time you can fly and set a timer. It is much better than i warning thingy that you might not hear if the plane is far away.
The best success is to get a bnf that you can use with your mcx2 transmitter - no worries - just fly.
If you really want to build and not to fly then you might be interested in a kit or an arf but it will be more expensive than a ready plane when you add up all the things you need to get it in the air. When you have crached some planes and have most of the things needed it might be a good idea to start build with foam or balsa.
 

aspen

Member
okay, so this just brings more questions, first is it worth it to buy a good quality controller for your first controller or can i buy a cheapish controller for my first controller? second, i would rather buy the foam board and cut out my own, i mean i would love to support flite test. third, can you have the battery warning come from the controller? also, what kind of controller should i get? should i get a push or pull plane? my main worry is that if i crash i will break the motor/motor shaft on a pull plane. i do not own anything at the moment that i can use in starting this hobby, other than an obscenely large amount of exacto knifes, some solder, a soldering iron, 30ft of wire, a 3d printer, and large amounts of free time. so, what im trying to say with all of this is that i am afraid of hitting the buy button with anything because i dont know how well it will perform here in the high altitudes, and in truth i probably dont even have enough money to start the hobby. sorry for all the words.
 

Foam Addict

Squirrel member
Aspen,
All you have to do to compensate for the altitude is to increase your prop diameter by an inch for these little planes. It will work fine!
As to the tx, get an flysky ct6b or the identical hobbyking tx that is available from the US warehouse, and use one of those, or get a 9x for $20 more and be done with it. Jump in! The floater jet is still a great plane for me, and I love it.
I really do agree that if you want a plane, get the swappables when they come out again, or a bixler/ floater
 

lonewolf7717

Senior Member
+1 for the ct6b......great cheap radio. Just keep in mind if you wish to make any changes to the radio it will require a computer+software (which is free) + usb programming cable.....with the 9x all programming is done on the TX itself, so that means if you wish to change a mix or expo or rates or anything it can all be done right there at the field.....worth the extra $20 trust me
 

earthsciteach

Moderator
Moderator
+3 on the 9x. It IS a cheap radio from the cost perspective, but has the bells and whistles of radios costing 10 times more!
 

tramsgar

Senior Member
Aspen, a scratchbuild or a durable trainer is a great start. Sounds like you want to build yourself, so why not go with the FT Flyer - it is easy to fly, more stable and less wind sensitive than the nutball and can perform great last-second-saves =). Regarding radio: If you expect to stay in the hobby and have the money, then make the investment count - read a LOT before you buy. If not, I agree in the above advice. The same goes for the charger.

Also, if you can, find someone at least a bit experienced to do a pre-flight and maiden together with. Good luck and have fun!
 

WombatControl

Certified DT foam addict
I would get a Champ to start.

Here's why: yes, the swappables are great planes and easy to fly. But the problem with having your first plane be a scratchbuild is that you can't necessarily tell whether you are having problems because you're learning to fly or whether there's something wrong with your build that's causing issues. Once you get the feel for flying, yes, the swappables are great aircraft and easy to fly. But you want something that's relatively cheap, relatively docile, and teaches you basic skills like orientation and learning the controls.

The only downside to the Champ is that you need to fly it either indoors or when it's very calm. But when you're starting out, that's not a bad rule of thumb anyway.

The 9X (and 9XR) are fantastic radios for the price, but they are not at all user-friendly. With the 9X you will want to mod the radio right out of the box to add a backlight and a programmer, then you will want to ditch the atrocious firmware. With the 9XR, it's much easier, but you still need to know how to get the right settings. I would start with a basic radio first, then move on to a 9XR.

Once you have learned the basics of airplane flight, you'll definitely be ready to move on to one of the swappables. The Nutball and the FT Flyer are very fun, very easy planes to fly. The Delta is more challenging, but a great intro to bank-and-yank planes. I would get the kit for several reasons: first it saves on tools for your first build, and second it helps support FliteTest. Grab some extra firewalls and control horns too - then when you decide you want to cut your own foam the wooden parts are already pre-cut for you and you don't have to Dremel up a set for yourself.
 

o0Jack0o

New member
1st watch a FT video like the FT Flyer, if its too big then buy a small pre build. Or stick with helis. But flying feels like your first helis flight. AWESOME :D More so when you build it.
2nd $80 for the guts to unlimited number of planes! -Please!
Take a look at the hobbyking site. 4 servos $8-$12
3rd they dont have printable planes plans yet. (that i have seen)
4th Connectors? JST for smaller planes and bullet for motor and esc.
5th ESC's have built in low battery cutoff, and their is nothing yet to switch between battery's mid flight.
Lastly fly into them once! J/K pee on it to mark your territory and stay away from the red bull! ;-)

Good luck aspen
 
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kingbee

Member
Hi Aspen

I think the best way is flight simultor clear view ,real fligth6 etc... for plane cause helicoptor and plane are not the same went flying .

i started with supercube lp great plane to learn how to fly .once you know how to land and touch and go or even land on water with floater , you can can build what you want you will have more of and idea on how it work s and you will have a fun time doing it . but think about the simulator it will save you alot of crashing of plane and in the long run save you alot of money.
 

aspen

Member
okay, so first let me start with asking, WHAT( this is to o0jack)!? next, so,all i need to do is do though my list of airplanes, now something i have been wondering for a while now is, can anyone find out about the rawlins airplane club? the most i have found of them was a sign on a chain link fence that says they exist, and some old childhood memories of watching giant glow planes flying about, and this little out of place red electric 3d plane. ah, i loved going and watching them fly about and fiddle with the engines and other parts, they don't seem to get together for their big group flights anymore :(
thanks for all the help and explaining that you've all done for me
aspen
out of curiosity, should i get a RTF plane, or get a pnf (isn't that where you need your own tx and tx?)
 
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aspen

Member
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/...g_Micro_J3_Cub_450mm_w_TX_Lipo_Prop_RTF_.html
okay, so this is the plane im looking at, along with these parts/ other stuff.
the 9x
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewitem.asp?idproduct=8992
the 9xr
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__31544__Turnigy_9XR_Transmitter_Mode_2_No_Module_.html
what looks like a nice micro motor
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__5430__AX_2308N_1800kv_Brushless_Micro_Motor.html
a micro servo
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__9549__Turnigy_TG9e_9g_1_5kg_0_10sec_Eco_Micro_Servo.html
a spare battery
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/...C_Lipo_Pack_Suits_FBL100_and_Blade_mCPx_.html
and that's it, so right now im sweating ball-bearings out of stress from school and my anxiety of not getting the right plane. i don't know, guess all i can ask is, look over my choices and tell me if anything looks finicky or something. thanks
aspen
 

IamNabil

Senior Member
Buy that plane, and maybe an extra battery. Don't worry about the rest of it. That kit comes with a radio and servos. It'll serve you well. Nice and small. Keep it out of the wind.
 

IamNabil

Senior Member
When I bought my first plane I went the other way and probably shouldn't have. I bought a Calypso. It is a 2 m sailplane. My first two flights I crashed. I was absolutely terrified to fly. I brought it to a local club have the guys there trim it out and fly a couple of laps with me, and that made all of the difference. My next plane was what I should've gotten first. It was an AXN floater jet. Start small and cheap.