Hello from Adrian MI

[PaulMohr]

Hello guys and gals. My name is Paul and I am from Adrian Michigan. I don't own a RC plane but have always wanted one. Seems like I either thought they were too expensive or too complicated or I was just too scared to destroy hundreds of dollars lol. I love watching the videos though and have been following FT's youtube channel for over a year now. I am seriously considering getting a beginner plane now but am still a bit scared of pulling the trigger on it. Even at 250 dollars or so for a nice starter plane (which I think is really cheap, I thought they were twice that) it is a pricey hobby for me. I am disabled and on SSI so I only make like 750 a month. I can afford it because I don't have many bills, I just don't want to spend that much money and then destroy the thing right off the bat because I don't know what I am doing or am bad at it. Know what I mean? So obviously I have a few questions.

First of all I got a simulator off from Steam, Aerofly RC7 basic. I can't stress enough how much I suck with this thing lol. Is actually flying a plane that freakin' hard? My biggest issue with it is just not being able to see what is going on, or having decent referance points. And I am playing it on 55 inch tv. If I pull the camera back far enough that I can see the ground while I fly I can't really see the plane. If I zoom in I can't really see the ground and have no referance point to where I am flying, unless I fly really low. And I keep seeing where you don't want to do that, you want to fly higher incase you screw up. The lack of depth perception also messes me up. I also have a huge problem with orientation of the controls when I come in to land and the plane is facing me. I do ok in the air just flying around but when it comes in close to me things just go horribly wrong. I have been using microsoft flight sim and other flying games for decades and can fly those planes just fine, but those use a follow camera that track the plane. As soon as I use something like an RC sim I just become horrible at it. If these things are actually really like flying an RC plane there is NO WAY I am going spend money on this hobby. I wouldn't spend 50 bucks let alone 3 to 4 times that if I am really that bad at it. If this thing is any indication I will destroy the plane on my first outing. I feel bad because I wasted the 40 bucks on the simulator lol.

Ok, so lets say I get over that fear, or figure out what I am doing on the simulator. I was really impressed by that new hobbyzone plane with the GPS. For 260 dollars you get a ready to fly plane with the controller. And it has GPS that will bring it back if you fly out to far and can land itself. Are you kidding me, land itself!? That almost seems too good to be true. Is this something I should consider, are they really that good? I have seen a few reports and videos of them messing up and crashing. Or are there other planes that are cheaper, more durable or easier to fly?

I do have a local RC field in a park a few miles away from me. I think it's called "bits and pieces" or something like that. I crack up every time I see that. I don't know if you have to be in a club to use it or not though, I will have to check on that. If anyone that uses it is on here feel free to chime in.

Oh, and I did think about the kits FT sells. I don't think that is for me at this point. After pricing everything you would need it would still be 150 bucks or more. And I watched one of the build videos and I saw more than a dozen instances where I could screw it up. I don't think my skills with a razor knife are that good. I think for me I would be better off just getting one ready to go. I mean I can assemble one if i have to, I just don't want to build one from scratch like that. I also thought about converting a foam glider like they did in one of there videos. That looks like something I could do if I could all the extra parts. Looked really easy to fly too.

Thanks in advance for any advice or help you can give you me, have a great day.

 

[spdcm]

Paul, you can even get one for less dollars. I got a Horizon Sports Cub S. for $129 for my first plane. I haven't flow, been on the sims and yes I suck too. The Sims are 4 channel. i think with just three channel you'll do fine. There is even a pusher plane, Revolution, by Parkflyers RTF for $89

 

[mrjdstewart]

sorry, but i would build.

so much to be said for a pilot that has built his own plane and now flies it. you know how it works, how it went together, and how to fix it, because you built it. plus, its a fraction of the cost. you can build an FT simple scout for under $40 easy and it is just a good a trainer as any listed above. plus if you crash, it just a few dollars to build a whole new one, and you already know how to do it!

i personally think the fastest way to get people comfortable is the building. if you have done it once, you can do it again. don't go and make your first plane all beautiful and spend hours making it detailed, instead spend solid time building, then fly the pants off it and not care if it get's hurt. the less you care about the plane, the more risk you will be willing to take, the better you will become, quicker. period full stop.

i am a BIG fan of the simulators to get people up quickly, and safely. don't spend the time doing loops, spend it lining up the runway, flying diff aircraft, building the muscle memory to react appropriately. then GO FLY a real plane. no replacement for the real thing and you will be surprised at how quickly and easy it becomes. from this point you need to fly as much as possible, while stepping up the difficulty of flight on the sim. fly patterns, fly 3D, fly inverted low-level passes. once again, building muscle memory. then GO FLY a real plane!

you will reach a point @ which the sim starts to "loose" it's value, but never forget about it. i have been working on some more advanced 3D moves and wasn't getting what i wanted, so i went back to the sim. i was lucky enough this weekend to get handed the controls of an ExtremeFlite Slick 64". BOOM! everything i had practiced on the sim worked on the real plane. my snap turns and tumbles were epic, the harriers easy peasy. never would have happened without the sim...

good luck, fly safe, crash, build some more.

laters,

me

 

[PaulMohr]

Could I build my own plane? Ya probably. I am pretty handy when I need to be. I can do wood working and used to design and build my own loud speakers for high fi. I also went to vocational school and college to be an auto mechanic, then enlisted in the Air Force where I was a mechanic on jet fighters. I have also built several model kits when I was young.

However now that I am 51, disabled and suffer from depression, anxiety, chronic arm pain and other issues my patience and motor skills are not what they used to be. I am also a full time care giver for my elderly mother who has dementia. Which if you don't know is pretty time consuming and stressfull. So I try to stay away from stress when trying to do a hobby. I watched one of the build videos and I can tell you right now trying to do that and keep track of her, or answering the million questions she would ask while trying to do it would be a complete nightmare for me. And then like I said I saw several instances in the video where I could screw up using the razor knife and mess up the kit. One bad cut on crucial part and I am pretty much screwed. I have used knives enough to know it isn't easy as they make it look in the video. They don't always cut in the direction you want them to. It can be quite frustrating. I prefer to use guided tools when I have the chance because I am just not that steady anymore.

I am sure for many the challenge of building your own plane is quite rewarding. I am simply not one of those people. Normally if I am building or fixing something it is becaues I simply can't afford to have someone do it for me. It isn't because I enjoy the process. 9 times out of ten it is aggitating and stressful for me and I end up having to take some kind of meds when I am done to calm myself down. I wish that wasn't the case, but that is who I am now like it or not.

As for it being cheaper, I checked on that and it simply was not the case. Sure if you already have a lot of the parts you can get a kit for 30 to 60 dollars. Then build it and swap your old electronics into it and use the same controller you were using. Which is really where these kits shine. You can build several planes for not very much money and swap parts around. But if you are starting from scratch it really isn't that cheap.

Lets say I pick something like the simple scout or cub kit, which by the way are all out of stock at the moment. The basic starter kit is 135 dollars. And it isnt a "ready to fly" kit. So I need to add the radio and wheels. Since I don't have a glue gun anymore, or a decent exacto knife, triangle or the server tester I would need to get the crafty kit too. That puts my basic kit at 340 dollars. Not to mention the time it will take me to build it and set it up. And there is still the risk I will screw something up while building it and it might not fly right or I will have to order extra parts because I ruined some trying to cut them or something. And lets be honest, the end result doesn't look as good as a 200-350 dollar RTF plane I can just go buy. No offense to those that like flying them. If you you are happy with it and having fun more power to you. I love the concept of it, it just isn't something I am intersted in. Especially not for a first time effort. Maybe later on down the road I could see myself getting into it.

And lets say I take it out on the first day and crash it. Do you think I will be less upset I crashed it or more upset knowing I spent that much money AND the time to build it.

Also for 340 dollars you don't get any of the newer safety features many of the newer planes come with like gps, auto land and stuff like that. I do understand the home built planes made from foam board are more sturdy though and you have a better sense of how to fix them since you put it together from scratch basically. But honestly I have a pretty good idea of how the pre built ones go together and how they function and feel pretty confident I could glue one back together if I had to.

And like I said before, if the simulators are any indication to how hard it is to fly these thing in real life I am doomed from the begining. I can't even get near the runway without crashing let alone actually land on the runway lol. Then again I have never played any simulator, be it flying or driving that was easier than doing the real thing. Your spacial perception and vision is very limited in these things and just adds to the difficulty.

And please don't take all this as some hate speach against home built kits or anything. I love the fact that they are out there and that people do it and enjoy it. I have a lot of respect for those doing it. Especially the people designing them. The fact that some of them are kids simply blows my mind. I just don't think it is for me, and those are the reasons why. Maybe later in my life when things are less hectic for me and I have the time, patience and extra parts or something I would give it a try. However for my first plane it doesn't sound like the right plan for me. I would much rather buy a RTF with some safety features built into it for a couple hundred bucks. Then if I can master the basics and enjoy it I can move on from there.

 

[mrjdstewart]

no stress man, we all have our own demons to deal with on a daily basis.

1- cutting foam board is not hard. go get some dollar tree foam board ($1 each) and practice your score cuts and bevels. by the time you go through $1's worth of foam, you should be good.

2-yes it is cheaper. especially if you use the $1 tree foam and download the plans for free. most fuselages can be built for under $4. depending upon the size of aircraft, you are then talking $20 max for motor ($8 for F-pack), $20max for esc (most around $12), a battery (3s-850 = $15), and up to 4 servos can be had for under $10. like i said most FT planes can be built for cheap. yes, there is an initial investment into a glue gun, a good razor, and a ruler, but once bought, you don't need to spend that ever again.

3- you don't need a "power pack" to build one. they come with more than you need and cost about 2x what you can get the parts you need on their own.

4- screwing up is human, it happens. you would be surprised how many mistakes you can make and still have a flyable aircraft. foam is very forgiving, plus @ $1 a sheet, easy to replace.

5- yes crashing something you built stinks, but at least you know how to fix it. were as any plane you buy ready to fly, if you plant it into the ground, what you gonna do? buy more parts...

6- you don't need gps, telemetry, or any bells and whistles when starting. you need to fly, in order to do that you need a plane that is cheap, durable, and easily fixed.

7- simulators are difficult when you start, just like most things. but, if you put in the time and effort, it will not take long before you can get things lined up. its all muscle memory and the only way to build that is flying. i have seen pilots train on a sim, then take their first real flight and have zero issues. it really is the best, cheapest, safest way to learn. prob is, a good sim costs money too. i have PhoenixRC and it was about $150 and allows you to upload a large portion of the FT collection of airplanes.

8- no worry, none of use think you are bashing kits. i will say though, once you have built a few kits, then the jump to designing and building your own is not a big jump. you want to bring a smile to your face, design, build, then fly your own.

9- understandable, if looking for a good trainer with safety features, check the Eflite Timber 1.5m. it is big, easy to see, very forgiving, tough, and has AS3X stabilization.

good luck,

me