Hello, and first model advice please!

Moco

New member
Hi

I'm from the UK and have always been fascinated with flight; having made a return to RC cars over the last few years, with some success (largely because things are nowhere near as fragile and expensive in RC as they were!) I'm thinking about trying to give RC flight a go.

I know the principles, and I've played around with some of the free phone-based sims, but I'm after some advice about what to start with - FT seems right up my street, in a "build-crash-repair-repeat" kind of way.... and making the models cheap enough you're not precious about them...

UK stockists seem to have limited stock of the Speed Build Kits, though; in particular the Simple Cub, Scout and Storch, and the TT.
I also like the look of:

DR1
Sea Duck
Pietenpol

I guess what I'm asking is; what would be the best one to learn on; and is it worth finding/buying some foam board and making a cub/storch/scout from plans rather than SBK? Or are most of the kits easy to learn with and I should just pick one?

I'm looking at starting as 3 channel, but is that a good move, or should I just go 4 channel and accept I'm going to have a steeper learning curve?

I'm also looking at a Turnigy i6 or i6S after getting boggled with choices... hopefully those are OK choices?

Sorry to ask so many questions on a first post.
 

Mr. Gandalf

Elite member
Hi @Moco and welcome to the forum!

As for what plane to build I would say TT. I have never bought a speed build kit so all of my planes are built from plans. However I have heard that the foamboard available in the UK is heavier than the FB FT uses.

I started on 3ch, but I may not be the best one to give advice in this area because I am still a novice pilot myself.

One thing that is certain is that the TGY-i6 is a great radio and I highly encourage you to get it!
 

Hoomi

Master member
First off, if you buy a radio with more channels than you need at the moment, it means you can use those channels later if you want. If, however, you have a 3 channel radio, and you want to go 4 channels, you're stuck. I'm using a 6 channel radio that can bind to multiple receivers, though none of my aircraft at this time use all six channels.

I've been flying for about a year and a half now, and just recently built the Simple Scout. It really is one of the easiest planes that I've flown so far. It's small enough to be easy to transport, while not so small as to be unduly twitchy. I built mine up as 4 channel, but it has a good reputation as being an easy flyer on 3 channels, and easy to upgrade to ailerons later, if you decide to make the move to the fourth channel.

Powered sailplanes are also a good beginner plane, as they tend to be inherently stable, fly well at slow speeds, and offer longer flight times. The principles of flight are the same, and about the only drawback is that they don't lend themselves well to more exciting flight moves. The flip side of that is that they can be quite relaxing to fly, which helps with learning the basics.

Whatever you choose, have fun with it.
 

basslord1124

Master member
Hey and welcome!!

Man, the UK seems to lack the stock you need the most! If you could get your hands on a Speed Build of the Simple Cub, Storch, or TT that would be the way to go. The TT and the Cub would allow you the flexibility to start with a 3 channel and then move up to a 4 channel with just a few modifications and/or different wing. 3 channel is a good start at least in terms of getting your orientation down and getting a feel for landings/takeoffs. Depending how you progress though, it's possible you could get bored of a 3 channel pretty quickly. I started with a 3 channel Hobbyzone Champ then went from there. My first FT plane was a Storch and it is an excellent airplane as well. By default it's a 4 channel, but I know someone on the forums made a 3 channel Storch and it did great as well. Just leave out your ailerons.

Here's the thread on the 3 channel Storch:
https://forum.flitetest.com/index.p...-simple-simple-storch-build-the-budgie.54463/

In the event you can't speed build it, for starting with scratch building I'd definitely say start with the TT. It's small and won't require much foamboard if you make mistakes.

As for radios, I'll leave that more up the other members here. I've just been a Spektrum user and it's just what I have gotten used to. You'll find that with radios...it's not about what's best, it's about what you get used to. What I can say about Turnigy is I haven't heard a bad thing about them.
 

Merv

Site Moderator
Staff member
The Cub, Storch & Tiny Trainer are excellent choices. The speed build kits are jut time savers. They save time it takes to cut out a plane from FB. If you buy a kit or start from FB is totally personal choice. Many on your side of the pond use depron covered with tape, laminate film or paper as a FB replacement. I believe depron is a flooring underlayment.

A 6 channel Tx will last you a very long time. When considering a brand, look at the cost of the Rx, you will be buying several of those. If you want to buy premade planes, then you should get a Spectrum compatible Tx. If you build from scratch, as I do, then there are cheaper options, like Flysky.

When you start talking about brands of Tx, it a bit like talking about brands of cars. Everyone has a reason why the one they have is the best. The truth is they all work very well.
 
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FDS

Elite member
Buy the Tiny Trainer speedbuild kit. Sussex Model Centre and GlidersUK have stock. Don’t try building your first plane in heavy UK foamboard off eBay.
Message me if you want a full parts list from Hobbyking if you want to avoid dropping ££ on the Graupner power packs.
 

FastCrash45

Elite member
The Cub, Storch & Tiny Trainer are excellent choices. The speed build kits are jut time savers. The takes time to cut out a plane from FB. If you buy a kit or start from FB is totally personal choice. Many on your side of the pond use depron covered the tape, laminate film or paper as a FB replacement. I believe depron is a flooring underlayment.

A 6 channel Tx will last you a very long time. When considering a brand, look at the cost of the Rx, you will be buying several of those. If you want to buy premade planes, then you should get a Spectrum compatible Tx. If you build from scratch, as I do, then there are cheaper options, like Flysky.

When you start talking about brands of Tx, it a bit like talking about brands of cars. Everyone has a reason why the one they have is the best. The truth is they all work very well.
I just got the Flysky FS-i6. For $50 this is an amazing tx with Ibus support, expo, end points, elevon and vtail mixers, even throttle curve. This has my upvote but like was said above its all what youre comfortable with. Im on fixed income so i got the biggest bang for the bucks. I have an old spektrum dx5e and its a good one too. Hobbyking also has a 4 channel tx for about $30. All of them are decent radios. Receivers are cheap for all of them if you look you can get any rx for $10 and under.
 

Theuglycamel

Active member
I can concur with FastCrash45 on Flysky. I love this radio and the RXs are dirt cheap. Also with the fs-i6 and i6x you can now go 10 channels. Although I NEVER thought I'd need more than 6, here I am putting together a fs-ia10b and I've only got 2 ports open (for now). Long story short, don't be afraid of dirt cheap radios, but don't sell yourself short buying a 4ch tx.
I've built several of the sparrows, and although I have no problems flying them, they can be a bugger to dial in (and they tend to be very quick). I personally learned on 3 ch COX RET and ARF vtails years ago and you really can't go wrong with either of these control setups. Even many of the FT 4 channel rigs can be flown bank and yank.
I would steer clear of the sea-duck if this is your first foam build. It's very similar to the Guinea Pig and it's not the easiest to build. I did my first GP from a speedbuild kit and I'm slowly scratch building the MK.2 now. It's not exactly difficult, but you can loose interest real fast when you're on hour 14 and you haven't even mounted all your servos yet. It's much more satisfying to build one up Saturday and fly it Sunday (and rebuild it Monday, etc...) Not that the Sea Duck isn't awesome (it's on my list as well) but if you want in the air fast, don't go with this.
 

Hai-Lee

Old and Bold RC PILOT
Hi

I'm from the UK and have always been fascinated with flight; having made a return to RC cars over the last few years, with some success (largely because things are nowhere near as fragile and expensive in RC as they were!) I'm thinking about trying to give RC flight a go.

I know the principles, and I've played around with some of the free phone-based sims, but I'm after some advice about what to start with - FT seems right up my street, in a "build-crash-repair-repeat" kind of way.... and making the models cheap enough you're not precious about them...

UK stockists seem to have limited stock of the Speed Build Kits, though; in particular the Simple Cub, Scout and Storch, and the TT.
I also like the look of:

DR1
Sea Duck
Pietenpol

I guess what I'm asking is; what would be the best one to learn on; and is it worth finding/buying some foam board and making a cub/storch/scout from plans rather than SBK? Or are most of the kits easy to learn with and I should just pick one?

I'm looking at starting as 3 channel, but is that a good move, or should I just go 4 channel and accept I'm going to have a steeper learning curve?

I'm also looking at a Turnigy i6 or i6S after getting boggled with choices... hopefully those are OK choices?

Sorry to ask so many questions on a first post.
I still use a TGY iA6 2A radio system and it has performed admirably, I even teach with one/two using a "Buddy Box" cable.

As for the choice I would lean towards the TT as if you want the powered glider then set it up as three channel or for a little more sporty approach then the sport wing! If, (WHEN), you need parts, the parts can be built out of the heavier FB quite well and it helps you into building without the SBK. The SBK will always give a quicker and simpler build but your claim of a lack of certain models is common.

Whatever you choose please read the posts on the forum as well as watch the build video/s to ensure you understand what the build is like and what issues you may encounter as well as how changing the material effects the build and plane performance.

Finally regardless of what you choose post the build and your learning experience for others to share and if you strike any issues or have problems then there are a large number of people who can advise what they did to overcome the issue!

One more thing to consider is that you need to do your research. Some people will say the tiny trainer is too small mostly because of its name (Mini Tiny Trainer) but it has a wing span of 940 mm which compares favorably with so called larger planes like the Simple cub with its wingspan of 965 mm. It is labelled a mini because of the size of the powerpod fitted. A Tiny Trainer can use a much smaller and cheaper motor, ESC, and battery.

Just my opinions of course!

have fun!
 
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sprzout

Knower of useless information
Mentor
Ok, with regards to the transmitter:

Buy at least a 6 channel. This gives you the chance to add more channels at a later time, so if you want things like flaps, or you get into flying and want a plane with retractable landing gear, or want to add a bomb drop, or lights, or something similar, you can. Personally, I like the Spektrum radios - just my personal preference. It's got its pros and cons, just like the other radio systems out there, and it eventually breaks down to a Ford vs. Chevy, Mercedes vs. BMW, Apple vs. Android type of choice - you buy what best suits your wants/needs. My two cents, for all it amounts to anymore LOL, are to not necessarily buy the cheapest equipment you can get - I've had it come back to bite me in the butt. At the same time, you also don't need to spend $900 on a transmitter to get a plane up in the air, especially if it's going to be FliteTest foam planes. :)

With regards to the speed build kit - if you can get a speed build kit for your first build, I recommend it. All of the pieces are cut and scored correctly for you at the start; it saves a LOT of time that you'd be spending cutting everything out, and you learn about the importance of getting good straight lines with the speed build kits, something that doesn't always happen with plans. I think you should DEFINITELY build a plane using plans, but for the first one, if you can avoid the initial frustration of having the plans move on you while trying to make an exact cut, or having to adjust the plans due to different thicknesses of foam, I'd recommend the speed build kit.

Lastly, which plane should you start with? Loaded question. A lot of people favor the Tiny Trainer or Sparrow. I personally wouldn't recommend them simply because of their size. Smaller planes are great for small areas, but they're also harder to see at 100 feet away than a larger plane. Smaller planes also tend to be pushed around more by wind than the bigger planes.

I personally wouldn't recommend anything smaller than a Simple Cub for the first plane, especially if you're learning to fly, because of those reasons. Again, just my opinion...But I would recommend you stay away from something like the Sea Duck or any of the warbirds (i.e. Mustang, MiG-3, Corsair, Spitfire, etc.) until you have some flights under your belt because they require a different way of thinking how to fly them and land them than something like the Storch or Simple Cub.
 

mayan

Legendary member
Welcome to the family @Moco. If you have any questions post them on the forum someone here will help out. As for a Tx I think it's all a matter of preference. I personally started with a T8FB from radiolink and now moving to a FlySky iA6x. What I would not recommend is going with a Tx with less than 6 channels. As for a first plane I would recommend going with the TT it's easy to build and easy to repair. It will allow you to go from a 2 channel chuck glider to a 4 channel RC plane. That's the plane I learned on and greatly recommend it. You can read about my expreince here. I also recommend you read this thread that has a list of tips that might help you save a few bucks and long hour of fustration. If you haven't watched the beinger series videos FT has I recommend you watch those too, here is the link:

Good luck.
 

tradmedic

Junior Member
The scout and TT are very well reviewed, i haven'tbuilt either, so can't tell you much.

I would put a vote in for the Pietenpol, nice park flyer size, easy to fly, if hot glue is used sparingly towards the tail of the plane (use foamsafe CA, or gorilla glue) mine balanced well with a 1300mAh battery in the nose; allowing for 12+ minute flight times depending on how hard you run it.
 

kilroy07

Legendary member
My suggestion is for either the tiny trainer (small, cheap) or the simple scout (flies a bit better, bit more expensive electronics.)

FlySky i6x is the radio started out with and I have never regretted it. You should find it for under $65 with a receiver and extras should be around $15.
 

Moco

New member
Wow, thank you all for your posts and help - an amazing response :D

I'm glad that my choice of Tx doesn't appear to be terrible, so that's pretty much set. With luck I can order some of the other electrics at the same time...

It looks like the same thing is true in planes as in cars with RC shops - if something's out of stock, that's probably the one you wanted! One thing is sure though; I'm definitely going to wait and save the Sea Duck for when I can reliably get a plane up and down without killing anyone :) It's Tail-Spin, not Duck Tales :D

I think I'll have to investigate scratch building - there are a couple of places that are selling the FT foam board now, so that's at least one variable down... I will re-watch the videos for the Simple Cub, TT and the Scout... might run up the plans tonight and see if I can work out how many sheets I'd need for each :D

Although the pietenpol kit is pretty cheap, and in stock, so while I initially thought it was too complicated/scale/"cool looking" for my first plane, I may just take it slow in the build, and accept that it may look awesome but it doesn't matter terribly if I crash it. It's only foam board.

Many thanks to Mayan and Buzzbomber - I've been reading your experiences, and the sage advice given from other members to you, so hopefully you experienced people won't have to repeat yourself too much :)
 

Jimun

Elite member
Hi

I'm from the UK and have always been fascinated with flight; having made a return to RC cars over the last few years, with some success (largely because things are nowhere near as fragile and expensive in RC as they were!) I'm thinking about trying to give RC flight a go.

I know the principles, and I've played around with some of the free phone-based sims, but I'm after some advice about what to start with - FT seems right up my street, in a "build-crash-repair-repeat" kind of way.... and making the models cheap enough you're not precious about them...

UK stockists seem to have limited stock of the Speed Build Kits, though; in particular the Simple Cub, Scout and Storch, and the TT.
I also like the look of:

DR1
Sea Duck
Pietenpol

I guess what I'm asking is; what would be the best one to learn on; and is it worth finding/buying some foam board and making a cub/storch/scout from plans rather than SBK? Or are most of the kits easy to learn with and I should just pick one?

I'm looking at starting as 3 channel, but is that a good move, or should I just go 4 channel and accept I'm going to have a steeper learning curve?

I'm also looking at a Turnigy i6 or i6S after getting boggled with choices... hopefully those are OK choices?

Sorry to ask so many questions on a first post.
Welcome aboard
 

mayan

Legendary member
I will re-watch the videos for the Simple Cub, TT and the Scout... might run up the plans tonight and see if I can work out how many sheets I'd need for each :D
The TT can be built with one sheet of FB. I recently had to rebuild mine and managed to put it all in one sheet.

Many thanks to Mayan and Buzzbomber - I've been reading your experiences, and the sage advice given from other members to you, so hopefully you experienced people won't have to repeat yourself too much :)
With a lot of love :).
 

FDS

Elite member
Buying the speedbuild kit saves you having to find control horns, firewall, control rods and the time required to print and cut out the plan template. I would always advise using one as your first plane. That’s from someone who has been scratch building various things in foamboard, card and sheet material for 20 years.
I have made 8 FT planes now, getting the SBK for my Tiny Trainer meant I got in the air easily and was inspired to build the others, plus I learnt about all up weight, CG etc with a known quantity kit that lots have people have built. The TT is in stock plenty of places, order some sheets of foam at the same time and you can build several, use the SBK frames as templates.
 

mayan

Legendary member
The TT can be built with one sheet of FB. I recently had to rebuild mine and managed to put it all in one sheet.
The right one in the picture is the FB with trace pieces for the Tiny Trainer.
224016_a61ae5a6715c6f520428356f4ef69a13.jpg
 

sprzout

Knower of useless information
Mentor
It looks like the same thing is true in planes as in cars with RC shops - if something's out of stock, that's probably the one you wanted! One thing is sure though; I'm definitely going to wait and save the Sea Duck for when I can reliably get a plane up and down without killing anyone :) It's Tail-Spin, not Duck Tales :D

LOL, gotta harass you, as i'm an animation geek in addition to RC plane hobbyist...It's actually "Talespin". Or, if you REALLY want to get a bit of throwback, Talespin is based off an old 80's TV show called "Tales of the Gold Monkey", where Stephen Collins (of 7th Heaven fame) flew a Grumman Goose seaplane. :)

Sorry, the geek in me had to come out. LOL