FT Sparrow help needed

charlie256

New member
Hi guys, I decided to get into this hobby as it's always interested and seeing as stuck indoors and all that I actually bought supplies and gave it a go!

I'm in the UK and made the sparrow out of 3mm regular foam. So far I have built the sparrow as a glider and it weighs 140g
I now want to turn it into a RC plane but I am rather lost when it comes to buying the parts.

As far as I'm aware I need: motor, propeller, ESC, battery, 2x servos, 2x control rods, 2x control horn and a firewall. And Tx +Rx.

So I presume the firewall I can just buy some wood and make that myself, same with the control horns.
Control rods, I have read ppl buy piano wire from amazon for that. Any other recommendations would be appreciated.

Problem is I'm not sure what motor/servos/battery/ESC I need. Also we have a smaller/different selection than the US, so I guess I'm asking how to determine which ones I need for my plane. And how to choose them?

Any help or guidance would be much appreciated!!
 

The Hangar

Fly harder!
Mentor
@FDS can help you with specific components avalible in the UK. Gift cards work well for control horns and firewalls as well. You'll want a 20 or 30 amp esc with a bec and any motor between 1806 and 2207 will fly it just fine. A 500 mah 2s or 3s will be good. I'd recommend a 2s since it'll be lighter and fly slower and will be easier to fly. Any 5g or 9g servo will work. I like to buy cheap ones off of amazon. I got 0.047 music wire off of amazon for pushrods. If you have any questions just ask away!
 

charlie256

New member
Thanks for the quick reply!
I presume gift card and old credit card is same thing? That's super useful thanks.
When i did research on motors, Kv came up a lot but not sure what 1806/2207 is, are they sizes?
Assuming no real difference in servos and can just buy whatever is available?
Thanks again
 

The Hangar

Fly harder!
Mentor
Thanks for the quick reply!
I presume gift card and old credit card is same thing? That's super useful thanks.
When i did research on motors, Kv came up a lot but not sure what 1806/2207 is, are they sizes?
Assuming no real difference in servos and can just buy whatever is available?
Thanks again
No problem! Gift cards and credit cards should work equally well. Those are the sizes of the motor. Kv will be something like 2400. I just posted a bunch of links that should help out. Let me know if you have any questions on them!
 

FDS

Elite member
Firewalls are available off Ebay, someone is selling them from their own stock or make them from modelling ply. Cornwall Model Boats have K&S music wire in 1.2mm and model ply for control horns etc.
Uk 3mm board is about the same as Dollar Tree 5mm. It’s our 5mm that’s a problem, since all uk board is 40% heavier.