Episode 24 - RC Myths.

[Simpson]

Episode 24 - RC Myths.
Released: May 27, 2016

Steve and Kevin go diving in to some myths with in the RC hobby.

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Free our Skies and See you next time...

 

[Epitaph]

There is one thing I would mention as far as the particular myth "it is expensive" goes... there are some planes that people are biased and call them "toy planes" when they are more hobby grade than some that they would buy under the "hobby grade" flag. One particular plane that springs to mind in this aspect is the WLToys F959, which is basically a scaled down version of the Easystar, 3 channel (rudder, elevator and throttle), and comes RTF for about $50. Now, the fact the company has the word "toys" in their name is part of the reason people consider it a toy, yet I look at it next to something like the Vapour for example, and I see the latter as a gimmick which hobby graders are mad over.

It's an EPO plane, which many ultramicros considered hobby grade are, with a brushed N60 motor, similar to many ultramicros, uses an all in one brick for control, much like many ultramicros, uses a toyish transmitter, much like many ultramicros (although it has a better form factor to get used to proper transmitters, unlike many ultramicros that love the gamer pad design), uses a protocol that is hobby grade for later, much like many ultramicros, and uses a 2S battery, unlike most ultramicros, and which Andre Rousseau would tell you is preferable to 1S (common to ultramicros) when you live in cold areas.

Yes, the transmitter is not good (same one the famous V911 uses), but you can slowly upgrade on it as it uses the Flysky protocol, which many modellers have a 9X as their main transmitter. And once you upgrade to a 9X, you are ready for other models. The charger is very... well, it'll get you started, but it's something to upgrade, and it does come with it... but that can be said about a lot of RTF kits. Being an Easystar style plane it is very easy to learn to fly, and glides pretty well... and as I said, it's $50, and spare parts are dirt cheap. Yes, the battery connector is very toyish (molex type used on microhelis), but if you want into the hobby it's best to learn to solder, so just change the plug.

If you're not sure you want to join the hobby, $50 is nothing!!

 

[djentangle]

Hey Epitaph, excellent point. IMO I think things like wltoys is border line toy grade and hobby grade. On one point it makes it a toy with the cheap price and usually lack of replacement parts. But then again it's very comparable with the horizon umx line as far as components and build quality. I don't know a lot of about the easystar plane so correct me if I'm wrong. One thing that differs is that with most umx planes if you crash you can get replacement motors, servos, 3n1, wings, fuse and for most part, a complete airframes which you can swap electronics and fly again. The word toy or hobby grade to me really comes down to how much you can do to fix it. Then again for $50 you can easily buy another one. You are correct that the transmitters that comes with those that, if it's similar to my first FP Heli, wltoys v1911 was imo felt better than the one that came in my daughters parks one duet.

Thanks for posting and listening to us.

There is one thing I would mention as far as the particular myth "it is expensive" goes... there are some planes that people are biased and call them "toy planes" when they are more hobby grade than some that they would buy under the "hobby grade" flag. One particular plane that springs to mind in this aspect is the WLToys F959, which is basically a scaled down version of the Easystar, 3 channel (rudder, elevator and throttle), and comes RTF for about $50. Now, the fact the company has the word "toys" in their name is part of the reason people consider it a toy, yet I look at it next to something like the Vapour for example, and I see the latter as a gimmick which hobby graders are mad over.

It's an EPO plane, which many ultramicros considered hobby grade are, with a brushed N60 motor, similar to many ultramicros, uses an all in one brick for control, much like many ultramicros, uses a toyish transmitter, much like many ultramicros (although it has a better form factor to get used to proper transmitters, unlike many ultramicros that love the gamer pad design), uses a protocol that is hobby grade for later, much like many ultramicros, and uses a 2S battery, unlike most ultramicros, and which Andre Rousseau would tell you is preferable to 1S (common to ultramicros) when you live in cold areas.

Yes, the transmitter is not good (same one the famous V911 uses), but you can slowly upgrade on it as it uses the Flysky protocol, which many modellers have a 9X as their main transmitter. And once you upgrade to a 9X, you are ready for other models. The charger is very... well, it'll get you started, but it's something to upgrade, and it does come with it... but that can be said about a lot of RTF kits. Being an Easystar style plane it is very easy to learn to fly, and glides pretty well... and as I said, it's $50, and spare parts are dirt cheap. Yes, the battery connector is very toyish (molex type used on microhelis), but if you want into the hobby it's best to learn to solder, so just change the plug.

If you're not sure you want to join the hobby, $50 is nothing!!

 

[Epitaph]

Believe me, there is no lack of replacement parts... you can make a complete plane out of the replacement parts available on Banggood, and they are cheap. In fact, one thing you can do with that is get the replacement fuse, wings, canopy, tail feathers and pushrods, and fit your own electronics in it even!! In fact I was thinking about getting a replacement fuse and 2 vertical stabs and trying to make a V-tail version of it, as I have always had a soft spot for V-tails

http://www.banggood.com/search/f959.html

When I say "Easystar", I mean it and all the clones, as the Easystar was the original. The clones include the Bixler, the SkyClouds... even the FT Explorer could be considered a type of clone. What I refer to is the design, as in a mid or high wing pusher plane with a single tail boom and quasiglider flight characteristics.

The transmitter is the same as your V911 one, the only thing they changed was the screen to put a picture of an aeroplane in it instead of a helicopter, and the screen sticker for the same reason... apart from that, it's the same transmitter, and cross-compatible.

And WLToys aren't the only ones... even closer to the known hobby grade brands, Hobbico are releasing (or has it been released yet? I'm not sure) the Calipso, which is basically a UMX Radian clone, but it's only something like $70. Now, it uses the SLT protocol, which not everyone has, but for that price, you can get a Devo 7E transmitter and an nRF24L01+PA+LNA module, install Deviation, and have a transmitter with multiple protocols including the SLT, and the DSM2 and DSMX ones for if you decide you like the hobby, and the transmitter is less than $60 shipped, and it's a NICE one, nicely made, nice gimbals, very expandable (up to 12 channels with Deviation), add switches, add pots with a small Arduino inside... or just get the transmitter with the UMX Radian and no need to add another module (but you do need to change the firmware to Deviation) and it works great... it's also great in size for small hands like a child or a petite woman (I'm 6'1" so I don't exactly fit in the "petite" category, but I like the small size).

 

[Epitaph]

In fact you can make almost any WLToys model out of the available spare parts that you can get. One model I was considering was the F949, which is a small UMX Cessna which I've seen flies really well. The only thing that I don't like about it is the motor setup, which is basically 3 V911 motors in a triangle configuration running a single gear which goes to the propeller. The problem is if one of those motors fails (and they aren't made to last long), it "drags" the other 2 behind it. I have the complete electronics for a Walkera CB100, which is a 1S brushless microheli with a 11000kV motor, and I was considering getting the spare body, and using that motor, ESC and servos with another receiver (don't like the Walkera one) and a V939 prop on direct drive, as it has a lot of power and doesn't even get the motor slightly warm... might be a little overpowered though hehehe

Another thing that is handy for people that are on a very tight budget is that the V9xx and compatible transmitters (the ones that use the original A7105 module) are bindable to Flysky receivers (you just keep the bind plug in, and it acts much like the V911; bind on every startup)... so, for example, you don't have much money, but you have one of these models, you can make, for arguments sake, an FT Mini Scout, and a small, cheap 3ch receiver from the FS-GT3B surface transmitter (which costs about $6 shipped), and it will bind giving throttle, aileron and elevator channels. The only problem is you can't reverse channels, but if you know how to reverse the servos themselves (which is just swapping around the 2 outer wires of the servo pot), you can make a second model when on a very tight budget without having yet to get into a more expensive transmitter. There are people that have the soldering knowhow for things like reversing servos, but not the money to get into the hobby fully, or maybe have a heli and want to try out a plane before deciding to get a transmitter...