Hi everyone! Just wanted to take a minute to introduce myself. I am brand new to RC flight and even RC in general. Decided to pursue this hobby after I received a big ol' Chinese quadcopter for Christmas. I love any kind of hands-on/DIY activity, and so I did some searching online for DIY RC flight and came across FT (y'all had me at Sea Duck lol). So far I have still not flown an airplane, but I did just complete the Simple Scout. Just waiting on my transmitter and I'll be ready to give 'er a go. There are not a lot of RC aviators in my area, so for the time being I'm kind of going it alone, which is ok since my preferred method of learning a new discipline is to just take a crack at it, fix all the stuff I broke, and carry on. So far, I'm really digging the energy and creativity in this forum, and I can't wait to start learning and building and contributing!
Introductory Post
- Thread starter Threedog
- Start date
epsilon
Active member
Lol, welcome threedog! That is basically how I got into this about 2 years ago now. Got a entry level quad for Christmas and I caught the bug. Not surprised, I literally asked for a rc plane/heli every single year growing up for as long as I can remember but never got one. Literally started in the same boat, 0 experience, 0 local help.
My tips
Watch the basic flight 101 vids FT have made.
Do your preflight! Especially distance test! This is what prevented me from successfully flying for far longer than I'd care to admit. It also cost me my first battery and servos. Long story short I finally found the antenna in my radio had popped off the pcb board, fixed it and what do you know, had my first successful flight!
Don't give up! You will crash... a lot but that's part of the fun.
If I can make a recommendation for your next plane(s). The versa wing is a quick, easy build, and a ton of fun to fly. Different characteristics from a traditional air frame so will challenge you in a different way.
Simple Storch, this was actuality my very first build. Personally, I loved it! It was harder to build than the versa but being an avid DIY'er it didn't phase me a bit. Also, having landing gear imo helped tremendously just starting out. I was terrified of hand launching and being a one man band... ultimately, I never had a successful flight with it and moved on to the versa. In hind sight, this was 100%due to the transmitter issue and I have no doubt I would have had a successful flight the first time I tried to do more than just a hop. To this day its still my favorite plane to fly, though having just built and flown(briefly due to faulty servo) a Viggen, I have a feeling it's about to be supplanted.
Finally... once you've mastered (ish) those above,the Viggen is a great way to enter into the jet level. It's a challenging but rewarding build and a blast to fly.
Last, don't bother painting your first models unless maybe just a quick single coat of something... im just now painting my first plane (Viggen) and it's certainly time consuming which in the beginning... probably isn't worth it since it likely won't last long! Gl man and welcome to the family!
My tips
Watch the basic flight 101 vids FT have made.
Do your preflight! Especially distance test! This is what prevented me from successfully flying for far longer than I'd care to admit. It also cost me my first battery and servos. Long story short I finally found the antenna in my radio had popped off the pcb board, fixed it and what do you know, had my first successful flight!
Don't give up! You will crash... a lot but that's part of the fun.
If I can make a recommendation for your next plane(s). The versa wing is a quick, easy build, and a ton of fun to fly. Different characteristics from a traditional air frame so will challenge you in a different way.
Simple Storch, this was actuality my very first build. Personally, I loved it! It was harder to build than the versa but being an avid DIY'er it didn't phase me a bit. Also, having landing gear imo helped tremendously just starting out. I was terrified of hand launching and being a one man band... ultimately, I never had a successful flight with it and moved on to the versa. In hind sight, this was 100%due to the transmitter issue and I have no doubt I would have had a successful flight the first time I tried to do more than just a hop. To this day its still my favorite plane to fly, though having just built and flown(briefly due to faulty servo) a Viggen, I have a feeling it's about to be supplanted.
Finally... once you've mastered (ish) those above,the Viggen is a great way to enter into the jet level. It's a challenging but rewarding build and a blast to fly.
Last, don't bother painting your first models unless maybe just a quick single coat of something... im just now painting my first plane (Viggen) and it's certainly time consuming which in the beginning... probably isn't worth it since it likely won't last long! Gl man and welcome to the family!
Gonna second the Versa Wing. They're Fun builds, you can put one together in the process of an afternoon, they stack flat and can fit into a car trunk easily, and they're pretty tough (although, I did manage to kill one and split it about 2" off of the middle in an out of control flight).
On the plus side, if you have all of the electronics ready to go, you can build one for about $5 in tape, hot glue, and foam board.
It's well worth it!
On the plus side, if you have all of the electronics ready to go, you can build one for about $5 in tape, hot glue, and foam board.
It's well worth it!Day 2!
Awright, I have completely finished construction of that Simple Scout I mentioned in my original post (just had to add the wheels and square away the wiring). Thanks for the welcome! A bunch more goodies arrived today from FT, so of course I'm excited all over again.
JimCR120, I was just waiting on my transmitter to arrive in the mail, which it did today (Woohoo!). It's a Groupner nine chan that came with a pair of six chan receivers, from the FT store. There are a ton of switches and stuff on it... I don't possess the willpower just now to read all the instructions lol, but I did get the thing bound to my plane and get the controls working with the correct servos. I'll make sure and become familiar with the TX before I attempt my first flight, but seriously, that manual is -thick-! I don't have any family or friends interested in joining this hobby with me just yet, but I'm hoping I can pester my wife into getting into it at least a little bit. She does fly the quadcopter around a little, but she crashed it once and it literally caught fire (brushed motors, Chinesium ESCs, it happens) and now she's a little scared of breaking more of my toys. Hopefully after she sees me smash the plane up and fix it a few times she will be less anxious lol.
Sprzout, Epsilon, I'll definitely check out that Versa Wing. I ordered another pair of airplanes and they just arrived today. It was one of those two-in-one deals, mini mustang and mini corsair. Definitely eager to build them. I hear that the minis are harder to fly. Have you guys found that to be the case? Hopefully this is something I can overcome as a newbie. I decided to get them because I live on about 5 acres, with just about enough room in the front yard to fly a mini comfortably. The rest of the property is just too brushy, so not quite enough room for the "normal" sized planes, at least from what I can tell from reading/videos. Speaking of videos, I have definitely been watching all the 101 vids from Flite Test. Those guys make some very entertaining stuff. As for painting the planes, I will probably go ahead and paint them all, just to help make them more visible. I am definitely going to deck out my Scout, since it's my first plane and all. I used to paint cars and do collision repair for a living, so with about an hour with a rattle can and a few decals, I can make a plane look pretty respectable. I mean, I totally see your point; this thing is going to get bashed pretty bad, but I still want to make it look cool at least once LOL! I'll be sure and post pics (before and after inevitable carnage!)
Anyway, thanks for your replies, I look forward to getting behind the sticks and providing a debrief following my first flight!
Awright, I have completely finished construction of that Simple Scout I mentioned in my original post (just had to add the wheels and square away the wiring). Thanks for the welcome! A bunch more goodies arrived today from FT, so of course I'm excited all over again.
JimCR120, I was just waiting on my transmitter to arrive in the mail, which it did today (Woohoo!). It's a Groupner nine chan that came with a pair of six chan receivers, from the FT store. There are a ton of switches and stuff on it... I don't possess the willpower just now to read all the instructions lol, but I did get the thing bound to my plane and get the controls working with the correct servos. I'll make sure and become familiar with the TX before I attempt my first flight, but seriously, that manual is -thick-! I don't have any family or friends interested in joining this hobby with me just yet, but I'm hoping I can pester my wife into getting into it at least a little bit. She does fly the quadcopter around a little, but she crashed it once and it literally caught fire (brushed motors, Chinesium ESCs, it happens) and now she's a little scared of breaking more of my toys. Hopefully after she sees me smash the plane up and fix it a few times she will be less anxious lol.
Sprzout, Epsilon, I'll definitely check out that Versa Wing. I ordered another pair of airplanes and they just arrived today. It was one of those two-in-one deals, mini mustang and mini corsair. Definitely eager to build them. I hear that the minis are harder to fly. Have you guys found that to be the case? Hopefully this is something I can overcome as a newbie. I decided to get them because I live on about 5 acres, with just about enough room in the front yard to fly a mini comfortably. The rest of the property is just too brushy, so not quite enough room for the "normal" sized planes, at least from what I can tell from reading/videos. Speaking of videos, I have definitely been watching all the 101 vids from Flite Test. Those guys make some very entertaining stuff. As for painting the planes, I will probably go ahead and paint them all, just to help make them more visible. I am definitely going to deck out my Scout, since it's my first plane and all. I used to paint cars and do collision repair for a living, so with about an hour with a rattle can and a few decals, I can make a plane look pretty respectable. I mean, I totally see your point; this thing is going to get bashed pretty bad, but I still want to make it look cool at least once LOL! I'll be sure and post pics (before and after inevitable carnage!)
Anyway, thanks for your replies, I look forward to getting behind the sticks and providing a debrief following my first flight!
I like your attitude toward your wife. People are always more important than things and flying alone is not nearly as enjoyable as with someone.
I'm looking forward to photos and videos of your projects & flights.
By the way, we have a transmitter thread that maybe you could input toward. You a one of 2 individuals I now know of with a Graupner which has been a highly recommended radio. As you learn more about the radio and if you wouldn't mind I would ask you to consider offering some thoughts on why you might recommend it. Do you think you might be interested?
I'm looking forward to photos and videos of your projects & flights.
By the way, we have a transmitter thread that maybe you could input toward. You a one of 2 individuals I now know of with a Graupner which has been a highly recommended radio. As you learn more about the radio and if you wouldn't mind I would ask you to consider offering some thoughts on why you might recommend it. Do you think you might be interested?
I think you'll find the Minis to be more touchy and harder to control. Some mini planes (Horizon Hobby has a whole line of UMX, or Ultra Micro sized planes and vehicles) have self leveling capabilities, but they still are pretty susceptible to wind. That's why so many pilots prefer bigger planes; they don't get pushed around easily by a light breeze.
That said, if you learn to fly the minis in wind, you'll be a better pilot for it, but I wouldn't start off trying to chuck those things out and try flying them immediately. Start with your Simple Scout - that's a good place to start off with - and maybe head down to your local Dollar Tree or WalMart, pick up a couple of sheets of white foamboard, and cut out your own Versa Wing from the free plans. You only need 2 sheets of foam, and if you wreck it, they're REALLY easy to make new ones. I'm making my 3rd Versa Wing right now (I built one, flew it, and killed it, helped my father build one for him, and now the 3rd one is the resurrection of the first wing) because they're so simple to put together.
As for the quad, bummer on it burning out - but maybe now you can look at a different one, like a TinyWhoop/Micro drone to fly around the house and torture family members/pets with.
basslord1124
Master member
Awesome welcome aboard Threedog! It's a fun addictive hobby.
Since you haven't dove too much into the radio manual, I'm going to suggest 2 things to definitely look at: dual rates and expo. Look in your manual on how to set those up for each control surface and test it with your model inside (with no prop on of course).
Dual rates are basically the amount of travel your servo can do. You want to set a high and low setting. Use the throw gauge with the model to determine how far the servo needs to travel for high rates and low rates and then just program that into your radio.
Expo is basically the sensitivity of the sticks on your radio to whatever model you are flying. This is especially nice if you think you may have nervous/twitchy hands on that first flight. I know I do. Every radio manufacturer is different so check your manual or ask here if you have questions. I tend to prefer mine not too sensitive...so I can move the stick quite a bit and the control surface won't move that much...well until I reach the end.
If you set those both up, it will help to make a first flight not quite as scary.
It's a fun addictive hobby. Since you haven't dove too much into the radio manual, I'm going to suggest 2 things to definitely look at: dual rates and expo. Look in your manual on how to set those up for each control surface and test it with your model inside (with no prop on of course).
Dual rates are basically the amount of travel your servo can do. You want to set a high and low setting. Use the throw gauge with the model to determine how far the servo needs to travel for high rates and low rates and then just program that into your radio.
Expo is basically the sensitivity of the sticks on your radio to whatever model you are flying. This is especially nice if you think you may have nervous/twitchy hands on that first flight. I know I do.
Every radio manufacturer is different so check your manual or ask here if you have questions. I tend to prefer mine not too sensitive...so I can move the stick quite a bit and the control surface won't move that much...well until I reach the end. If you set those both up, it will help to make a first flight not quite as scary.
Awesome welcome aboard Threedog!
Since you haven't dove too much into the radio manual, I'm going to suggest 2 things to definitely look at: dual rates and expo. Look in your manual on how to set those up for each control surface and test it with your model inside (with no prop on of course).
Dual rates are basically the amount of travel your servo can do. You want to set a high and low setting. Use the throw gauge with the model to determine how far the servo needs to travel for high rates and low rates and then just program that into your radio.
Expo is basically the sensitivity of the sticks on your radio to whatever model you are flying. This is especially nice if you think you may have nervous/twitchy hands on that first flight. I know I do.
If you set those both up, it will help to make a first flight not quite as scary.
Oh, so -that's- what dual rate and expo are. Yeah, that sounds like something I should take the time to dial in, for sure. Thanks for the tip!
Sure, I'd be happy to talk about the Graupner. Of course I don't have anything to compare it to, but once I figure out what all the switches and stuff do, I'll take a crack at it.
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