First Plane
- Thread starter FinnR
- Start date
ofiesens2
Professional noob
I learned on the Champ, and it is great until you crash it. Repairs are relatively expensive (10 dollars for a replacement tail) and rather common.
I've heard that the Duet is a nice trainer; check out this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTXL_YXjHk0
If you can, go the FT swappable route. It is rediculously cheap to proceed once you get going, and a repair to a plane usually costs less than a buck. I went straight to the FT Flyer and Nutball after the Champ, and it was great. But be warned, it is a bit costly to get going along the scratch build route buying all the electronics and such, so a cheap RTF from Horizon might be the best way to go for a complete beginner.
I've heard that the Duet is a nice trainer; check out this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTXL_YXjHk0
If you can, go the FT swappable route. It is rediculously cheap to proceed once you get going, and a repair to a plane usually costs less than a buck. I went straight to the FT Flyer and Nutball after the Champ, and it was great. But be warned, it is a bit costly to get going along the scratch build route buying all the electronics and such, so a cheap RTF from Horizon might be the best way to go for a complete beginner.
mikeporterinmd
Still Learning
I finally got my Flitetest Mighty Mini Tiny Trainer flying today. Had a blast. It really is quite tough. The first time I tried the other day, I augered straight into the ground under power from 20' or so. The fuselage is a bit loose and I ordered another kit. But, it flew fine today with a little extra tape.
It flies with power pack A. I have a Taranis X9D Plus which I invested in when I built a quadcopter. The receiver is a X8R, but that's because I had one. Normally, you would put in either a four channel or a 6 channel, depending on how you want to configure your ailerons (either one channel or two channels). The X8R is a great receiver - I got pretty far away, and not a peep out the low signal warning.
Anyhow, repairs are cheap. I could have made an entire new fuselage using 88 cent foam board and the supplied plans, but I opted for a new speed build kit for $25. Much less expensive than a pre-built plane. And I doubt a balsa/plywood would have taken the beating I've given this poor plane. And how do you fix EPO foam?
Can't wait to make the FT-Explorer, but may wait til next month since I will need a new power pack. Fortunately, the Explorer will fly with my quad copter batteries. I could parallel 1300mh batteries, and I have a few 2200 and a 3000.
Left hand hand launching is a breeze. Why was I trying to throw right handed when I am left handed anyhow? I dunno.
Props are annoying. The gemfan 6030s break on most landings. Maybe I should be using a better prop, or learn to land better? That's another reason to be excited about the type of motor mount on the FT-Explorer.
Mike
It flies with power pack A. I have a Taranis X9D Plus which I invested in when I built a quadcopter. The receiver is a X8R, but that's because I had one. Normally, you would put in either a four channel or a 6 channel, depending on how you want to configure your ailerons (either one channel or two channels). The X8R is a great receiver - I got pretty far away, and not a peep out the low signal warning.
Anyhow, repairs are cheap. I could have made an entire new fuselage using 88 cent foam board and the supplied plans, but I opted for a new speed build kit for $25. Much less expensive than a pre-built plane. And I doubt a balsa/plywood would have taken the beating I've given this poor plane. And how do you fix EPO foam?
Can't wait to make the FT-Explorer, but may wait til next month since I will need a new power pack. Fortunately, the Explorer will fly with my quad copter batteries. I could parallel 1300mh batteries, and I have a few 2200 and a 3000.
Left hand hand launching is a breeze. Why was I trying to throw right handed when I am left handed anyhow? I dunno.
Props are annoying. The gemfan 6030s break on most landings. Maybe I should be using a better prop, or learn to land better? That's another reason to be excited about the type of motor mount on the FT-Explorer.
Mike
Crazy Goats
Active member
http://forum.flitetest.com/showthre...an-RC-anything-looking-for-first-build-advice
check out this thread. A guy put the electronics list and more on there.
check out this thread. A guy put the electronics list and more on there.
m00ndancer
Member
You should be able to source most of the materials from china and locally in AUS.
But I would suggest you start cheap, but with a good starter radio. The champ is expensive to repair and the radio is not very good. Same goes for the radian.
Get the F949 BNF only about AU$ 60 incl transport. The F949 flies great and have really,really long flight time for such a small model, almost up to 20 minutes. Really hard to destroy, most damages can be fixed with a hot glue gun. I have crashed it really hard outdoors and not scratch on it. The only weak part is the landing gear, but that can be removed for outdoor flying.
(it bends).
Get the Flysky i6 radio with the IA6B transmitter, about AU$ 72. It's a good radio with 20 model memory.
Buy another 949 as spareparts, and 2 more batteries.
Then you will have a great start.
Then start hoarding everything else locally except motors, esc, receivers, props and servos.
You need to find some sort of foam board, packing tape , a glue gun, a printer to print the free plans and sharp bldes to cut with. I have most certainly forgot a bunch of stuff, but that was how I started with planes (have two quads as well)
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Wanderfound
Member
Forget about the speed build kits; they aren't worth it if you have to pay Australian shipping. Also forget about buying anything locally; Australian hobby store prices are generally about triple what you'll pay at Hobby King, even after shipping.
Fortunately, FT plans are free to download and Hobby King sells packs of 5mm Depron that work perfectly well for FT foamies when coated in Minwax and butcher's paper. You'll probably get a few cosmetic wrinkles in the paper, but they don't notably affect performance:
From Hobby King, in Australian dollars, you're looking at:
Turnigy i6 (which is actually a rebadged FlySky, IIRC) with a matching 6-channel receiver. Fully programmable digital radio with all the tricks, $70. About $350 if you buy it locally.
Servos are about $5 each (again, Hobby King; $20+ locally), brand doesn't really matter. Motors are around $20 and a speed controller is $15 or so. About $10 for a battery, $30 for a charger and you're set.
Crashes only break foam (almost always repairable with hot glue, about $2 of foam if you rebuild from scratch) and occasionally props ($2 from HK, $8 local). The electronics just get swapped from plane to plane.
Shipping is generally $10-$30, depending on how much you order. Make sure you select the Australian warehouse when you're browsing their site; try to make one big order instead of lots of little ones if you want to save on shipping.
(note: despite how the above reads, this is not actually an ad for HK. There are other good online retailers as well; HK is just the one I'm most familiar with)
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Amcknight31
New member
Yeah, it is very cheap. I one of their episodes, the team said that they started swappable so because they were cheap. I like to have at least two power pods so if one is out of commission...
m00ndancer
Member
Since I'm from Sweden, I have no clue about the prices the hobbyshops in AUS charge stuff.
I knew it was bad, but not that bad.What I was hinting at was not to buy from hobbyshops locally but go to the hardware stores and get XPS foamboards. The ones you use for sound dampening when laying hardwood floors. The radio I was linking to is almost always in stock, witch is not the case for HobbyKing radios and receivers. My FT Spitfire has XPS 5mm floor dampening foam and packing tape. A good glue gun from Dremel...
My point is that you might be able to source stuff from other types of stores. I totally agree on everything else. If I would get the kits with electronics from FliteTest I'll be looking at 250-300 $us for a kit with a power pack. Not FT fault just the way things are getting things from the US. The pictures proves just that, totally crashed my spit, only real damage was a bent battery. I was flying the day after!
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Liam B
Well-known member
Stay away from the Champ. It gets blown around like a leaf and it's hard to find a good day to fly it. Also, DO NOT BUY ANY BlitzRCWorks products! I bought my second plane, a SkySurfer from them. Manuals are in Chinese and the reviews are decieving. A great starter plane is the HobbyZone Sportsman S+. Though it is very expensive ($350), you get a lot with it. Believe me, it is close to uncrashable! It has virtual fence, which is really nice because it returns to you when it is out of sight. It also has AutoLand, which is awesome because landing can be quite terrifying!
m00ndancer
Member
There are a few issues I have with it.
- It's not easy to set up.
- The virtual fence is large, requiring a large area.
- Expensive $499 AUS RTF
- Not that easy to start unless you have a smooth surface.
FT video
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Jugsy
New member
All good choices here in my amateur opinion, but I would definitely go with an FT swappable, or if you can afford it, a 4ch trainer will set you up with a lot more skills a lot faster!
EDIT: Regarding the Sportsman S+, I think it's overkill for a first plane! The Super Cub S comes with SAFE as well, is near indestructible, and almost half the price. Learning how to land can be terrifying but really is a core part of the hobby. You can bounce, roll, tip, and flip a Super Cub with only minor repair needed.
EDIT: Regarding the Sportsman S+, I think it's overkill for a first plane! The Super Cub S comes with SAFE as well, is near indestructible, and almost half the price. Learning how to land can be terrifying but really is a core part of the hobby. You can bounce, roll, tip, and flip a Super Cub with only minor repair needed.
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Thanks guys for all your help, I have decided to go down the scratch building route and I just wanted to know wether I should go with the FT flyer or the FT tiny trainer. I liked the Ft flyer because it had the swappable power pod that could later go into something like a simple Storch but the tiny trainer seems to be a newer design. I was also thinking of getting the turnigy 9x transmitter because it is affordable and looks like it could grow with me as I progress through the hobby. what do you think?
Snafu
Junior Member
hunterisbest18
Senior Member
sport cub s is the best starter in my opinion. not to small. light. easy to rebuild/ get parts for. not crazy fast. and safe technology so u wont nose dive in the ground
ofiesens2
Professional noob
For now, I'd go with the Tiny Trainer over the FT FLyer.
DISCLAIMER: I have not flown the Tiny Trainer before, but I have flown the FT FLyer.
Here we go- I do love the FT FLyer, and it is a very versatile design, and it is reasonably easy to fly if you have flown something else before. I started on the Champ and learned how to fly before I took on the FT Flyer and it was a smooth transition, but I think it would be rather difficult to learn how to fly on it.
Another issue with the Flyer is that it always flies with a nose-up attitude and requires constant up elevator input for me, which is not like how most other planes like the Storch or Bloody Wonder fly. To be consistent, the Tiny Trainer will fly best in "normal" mode, or flying straight ahead like a real airplane.
The other thing about the Tiny Trainer is that it is upgradeable. First, maybe you don't have a motor, so you just put elevator and rudder on it and you have a nice, trainer glider. Then, you get a motor, and you have something to really crank around with. Then, one you master 3 channel flight (elevator rudder throttle) then you get 2 more servos and build the sport wing, which teaches you ailerons as well.
TLDR
Provided you don't have a reaaaaaaaaaaallllllllly bad crash, the Tiny Trainer will grow with you better than the FT Flyer, and teaches you everything you need to know up to 4 channel flight and gliders.
I hope this helps, good luck with whatever you choose!
DISCLAIMER: I have not flown the Tiny Trainer before, but I have flown the FT FLyer.
Here we go- I do love the FT FLyer, and it is a very versatile design, and it is reasonably easy to fly if you have flown something else before. I started on the Champ and learned how to fly before I took on the FT Flyer and it was a smooth transition, but I think it would be rather difficult to learn how to fly on it.
Another issue with the Flyer is that it always flies with a nose-up attitude and requires constant up elevator input for me, which is not like how most other planes like the Storch or Bloody Wonder fly. To be consistent, the Tiny Trainer will fly best in "normal" mode, or flying straight ahead like a real airplane.
The other thing about the Tiny Trainer is that it is upgradeable. First, maybe you don't have a motor, so you just put elevator and rudder on it and you have a nice, trainer glider. Then, you get a motor, and you have something to really crank around with. Then, one you master 3 channel flight (elevator rudder throttle) then you get 2 more servos and build the sport wing, which teaches you ailerons as well.
TLDR
Provided you don't have a reaaaaaaaaaaallllllllly bad crash, the Tiny Trainer will grow with you better than the FT Flyer, and teaches you everything you need to know up to 4 channel flight and gliders.
I hope this helps, good luck with whatever you choose!
m00ndancer
Member
Tiny Trainer gets my vote as well. I only got the F949 to be able to learn to fly. In the winter season, the only way to fly here in Sweden with any regularity is flying indoors, so I got the F949. Did crash a lot (walls are hard to fly thru) but managed to learn a few things. My first FT plane was the FT Spitfire and I've crashed her a lot too but she still flies after 6 "accidents" and two broken LiPos and a broken powerpod. I suspect that I have at least an extra 100gr hot glue that wasn't there from the start.
