Good news!

[Boomfiziks]

Over the summer, I received the unfortunate news that I wouldn't be getting a grant that I had applied for. It was for starting up a RC flying STEM class. I was disappointed.

Yesterday, I received a phone call that I would be receiving a different grant that I applied for this past fall. As a matter of fact, the person that called me told me how interesting the proposal seemed. Though, it wasn't as much as the previous grant, at least it's a start. This grant only allows me to purchase a RC flight simulator and perhaps one or two transmitters. It is my hopes to start an after school club where students will learn the basics of flight and practice flying on the simulator. Then, over the summer, I'll be applying for additional grants to purchase some kits (probably FT kits) where students will then build and fly their planes.

I need some advice. I have $250 to spend...I'm not sure how far that will take me, but I would like to get the best "bang for the buck". I'm thinking of getting Real Flight 7.5. I do not have any transmitters, yet I'd like to get transmitters that will work with both the simulator and FT airplane kits. It would also be nice to have 2 transmitters, one nice transmitter for the instructor and one "cheaper" transmitter that the students could practice on in both the simulator and airplane kits. Could anyone recommend which type of the simulator I should get (wireless, plug-in, corded transmitter that only works on the simulator, etc)? Also, which type of transmitter would you recommend that would work for both the simulator and FT plane/drone kits (both instructor and student transmitters)? Any other advice would also be greatly appreciated!

Thank you for your time and help.

Sincerely,
Dwight

 

[Spastickitten]

I use picasim, it is free, so you can stretch your dollar there. You should look for a used radio and use the 2.4 ghz hack to save your money. You should try to introduce real planes if possible.

 

[pressalltheknobs]

Sort or looking at something like this myself.


ClearView is very good for $40. I think it will work with most transmitters.

The Turnigy i6 is a good value for around $55 and comes with receiver. It's programmable which I view as a plus but could be a minus depending on your demographic. You need to buy a separate cable for the sim. I just hooked it up. Seems to work ok after you have it calibrated. only annoying thing is you have to calibrate it each time you run it since it uses ppm. Probably a good idea to get an update cable and you can get a buddy cable to link two of them.

You can build FT planes for the price of a box cutter and a glue gun and some packing tape so that leaves motors escs and servos, batteries and a charger if you cut them out yourselves. A cutting board and a few other tools help.

If you are flying indoors the Mini Scout seems a good choice then you can get away with a lightweight set up that maybe costs $25 a plane. I haven't tried this but it was recommended but someone posting on the mini scout thread...

2000kv_Micro_Brushless_Outrunner_10g
TURNIGY_Plush_10amp_9gram_Speed_Controllerhttp://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/...amp_9gram_Speed_Controller_AR_Warehouse_.html
ZIPPY_Flightmax_350mAh_2S_20C
HXT500_6_2g_0_6kg_08sec_Micro_Servo

Not so much indoors but the tiny trainer would be another choice but is think it may need a slightly beefier power system

I recommend getting one speed build kit and using it to make templates and then to build your example plane which you can paint up nicely and keep as a static example. Fly the ones you scratch build from the templates.

For chargers a few like these are probably best because they are simple and fairly foolproof if a bit slow
HobbyKing_174_B3AC_Compact_Charger
unless you are going to take on the lipo charging duties. The downside of these is you can't easily discharge to storage voltage.
You need to get some lipo charging sacks both charge in and store the batteries in.

A few or these battery-voltage-alarm-1-8s are essential for calling in the planes and preserving the batteries.

Anyway you might be able to get two radios, a sim and the makings of several aircraft for $250.

There is a cheaper 6CH radio option for $30, the HK-T6 but it requires a computer to program (make sure to order the cable) and is a bit on the cheesy side. Spektrum 5e's are another popular choice for this kind of thing but they are not programmable beyond servo reversing.

 

[pressalltheknobs]

Of course I need to find the right prop for that indoor power setup for the mini scout.
Looks like it's 6X3

Need some bullets and a soldering iron to make the power system pluggable. FT have some nice small servo horns and loose control rods. Servo horns can be made. Might be cheaper options for the control rods. Adjusters are probably best for this kind of project.

The FTFlyer might be another good choice since it's an easy scratch build and supposedly a good indoor plane. Might be a bit big indoors.

anyway bit stream of consciousness but these are some of my thoughts in case they are useful to you.

 

[airhawk]

Real Flight sounds good but if you trust other's flying skill you could make a scout for everyone
Just a thought
-Airhawk