Help! FT Simple Scout vs FT Simple Cub, and the Under Powered Storch

FT Simple Scout vs FT Simple Cub

  • FT Simple Scout

    Votes: 13 86.7%
  • FT Simple Cub

    Votes: 2 13.3%

  • Total voters
    15

ProfessorFate

Active member
I just weighed my Storch built with hot glue and Elmer's foamboard 40x8mm motor I wound hpdlrk wye terminated gives 4# thrust 3s 2.6ah lipo and 65 amp controller 2#2oz or 34oz plus apprentice foam wing. Flys good. Motor limit 28 amps. WOT with apc 12x8 pulls 30 amps.

You wind your own moter like mine....mfrs get 62oz thrust 40 amps, my wye motor 30 amps!!!

I sure am thinking about building another using Walmart dtf and gorilla glue because it's light, to see if I can really get the weight down flying with smaller power system like suppo 2217 950kv.

That new 65 amp badass rebel series controller is very nice, plenty headroom.

Maybe if I build lighter my Storch will glide and float better.
 

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Inq

Elite member
I have a problem on which motor to choose from for my simple storch, which one did u use can u suggest me a motor for an Indian website

I had problems with my first flights with my FT Simple Storch. It was way too underpowered, and didn't want to climb, but it was still easy for me to fly even though I'm quite new to flying RC. I use:
  • A2212, 1000KV
  • 30 Amp ESC
  • 10x4.5 Prop
  • 2200 mAhr battery
Someone on this forum asked me if I'd calibrated the ESC. There's no switches or anything on the ESC, so I didn't know they could be calibrated. I put it on a load tester before and after calibrating. I got nearly 50% more thrust afterwards. I had some crash-rash to fix and I'm also re-modeling it since its too cold to go flying anyway. (https://forum.flitetest.com/index.php?threads/inqd-turbo-storch.71382/#post-736394 Point being... I haven't flown with the 50% power boost, but I'm expecting far better results.

I don't know about Indian resources, but the set I got was dirt cheap and on Amazon or eBay there are many different vendors selling the same set of pieces. I have to imagine they're a dime a dozen there and China.
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Bayboos

Active member
Hello Stetonion, and welcome to the RC world :)

Thank you for sending me a privarte message. I just read this thread and noticed that you tried to grab my attention half a year ago by using... tags of some sort? I'm sorry I didn't notice that, those tags do not send a notification to the mentioned users. I usually try to read and reply to all threads that have "STOL" or "Storch" in the title, but yours didn't have those either. Once again, I'm sorry for that; let me try to make it up for you with this reply.

I see that you've got some very good answers there, I don't think there's much more left to add for me. The 1kg Storch is in fact slightly on the heavy side, but it can handle it - I did fly mine with several different payloads and - as long as the CG was correct - it was behaving just fine. It will be on the fast(er) side though, which is definitely something you'll need to keep in mind. The "Underpowered fun" video you mentioned is actually showing the max speed my Storch was capable of, since I was flying full throttle all the time. But there are other videos of my plane flying in more reasonable (or "begginer-like") way. From all the range of those, I'd expect that 1kg Storch should fly more or less like my Storch on floats - definitely manageable, even for a beginner. In fact, it may be slightly better because it will make the plane less prone to wind gusts. Not that the Storch can't handle a bit of rough weather, you can definitely show some proofs of that in my videos as well :)

The quick internet search for "2212 1000kv bldc" returns a motor that is capable of around 800g of thrust with the 10x5 prop. That should be plenty for this plane - it will not climb vertically, but it will fly just fine. One thing to remember would be that the grass creates a lot of drag - if you are going to take off on wheels (which I suggest), you need to take it into account. I would strongly suggest to find a field with very short grass, or even bare ground, for your first flights.

Now, I don't know how much of a beginner you are - if this is your very first plane, and you have close to zero experience with flying RC planes, I would strongly recommend to find a flying buddy that will do the maiden flight of this plane and trim it out properly for you. Properly trimming the plane is the single best advice I can give to anyone who is learnig to fly. It makes controlling the plane much more intuitive. And of course, picking the calm weather for your first flights is a must - please don't try to make your very first flights in anything other than an ideal weather. A bit of waiting, even for several weeks, or getting up very early (the air is usually much more calm around sunrise) is worth much more than a heart broken by witnessing your very first plane crash because of a random gust.

One word of caution though. The lighter the plane is, the less likely it is to get damaged in case of "unfortunate landing". 1kg Storch, being on a heavy side, may be prone to damage to the landing gear mounting area even in case of relatively minor mistakes. But I did learn a neat trick that helps with that A LOT. The only prerequisite is to have the plane trimmed properly, preferably to fly straight and level at around 1/3 to half the power. If that's the case, then a somewhat proper and nice landing can be done by following those relatively simple steps:

0. (no, that's not a mistake - "step zero" is a nice help but not required) If it is possible at all, try to stand at the very beginning of a landing area - this way the most important part of the landing will happen with the plane flying away from you, which is way easier than any other orientation.
1. Always land (and take off) into the wind, as close to it's direction as possible.
2. Start the approach a bit further than you think is enough.
3. Make the plane fly directly towards you, and then turn "just a tiny bit" towards the runway - assuming that you are standing on the side of the runway (never stand in the middle of it, please), this should put the plane close enough to the axis of a runway to make a safe landing.
4. From this monemt onward, focus on two things only: keeping the wings level and the sink rate "acceptable" - more on that part in just a bit. Do not use elevator AT ALL.
5. Cut the throttle to 0 (not immediately, just a steady, gentle decrease), let the plane stabilize with this setting for a second or two, keep the wings level.
6. Slowly add some throttle, just enough to be able to hear the motor, let it stabilize with new (decreased) sink rate, keep the wings level.
7. If the plane is descending too fast or too early (will touch down before runway) - add just a little throttle. If the plane descends too little (or starts to fly level, or even climb) - reduce the throttle a little. Let it stabilize, keep the wings level.
8. Over the runway, close to the ground, never reduce the power to 0 - always keep at least enough to hear the motor. Keep the wings level.
9. Keep the wings level just a bit more, patiently wait until the plane touches the ground. It may not be "picture perfect", but most of the time it is perfectly safe.
10. After touch down, do not cut the throttle to 0. Leave it on the same setting as it was when touched the ground - this will help prevent any weird behavior on the ground. Wait patiently until the plane stops. It will. There is one exception though: if the plane flips over, the landing gear breaks, or the prop hits the ground for any other reason - cut the throttle to zero IMMEDIATELLY to prevent damaging the motor.

And finally: if the plane gets destabilized on approach, especially over the runway - GO AROUND. If it is too high and looks like it will fly over the entire runway before it touches the ground - GO AROUND. If you see any problem, like runway intrusion, or anything that makes you uncomfortable or unsafe - GO AROUND. It's ALWAYS better to try again. When executing go around, do not "immediatelly" give full power, as this may destabilize the plane and cause a crash. It should be a steady, calm move, approx. half a second long. And always when performing landings, go arounds, take offs, basically anything that involves flying over the runway - KEEP THE WINGS LEVEL :)

And that's it. I hope this will be helpful for you. If anything is not clear, or if you have any other questions, please feel free to ask - I'll be more than glad to answer.

Good luck, and have fun!