It was a perfect weekend for flying. But I didn't

Zetoyoc

Elite member
Still waiting for my first flight ever. I have three planes built or mostly built in my first week into the hobby. I built a twin sparrow first because I thought it looked cool. ( It glides nice in the yard when tossed) But decided to purchase the motors for a power pack "a" and "b" sized plane first since I figured it would be more versatile. So I built a simple cub. It was ready to fly. I balanced it set up my rates, everything. Then I weighed it. It is heavy. Still flyable by my calculations but at the end of the b motors envelope I think, and would likely not be the best thing for a first flight .
So staring at a windless sunny day on an open field in November. I did not fly. I may retire the cub having never flown it. I revieved in the mail some flite test foam and was shocked at how much lighter it is than what I had used from a craft store. So I'll rebuild. That is a lot of the fun anyway. With rain coming for next weekend I'll have plenty of time for the dr1, mini speedster, and scout I have started cutting out. So while I try not too look outside at my missed opportunity I'll turn up the music and enjoy the building.

-J
 

FDS

Elite member
There’s only one way to see if a plane flies, that is to power it up and put it in the sky. Worst case scenari, it crashes, you fix it and go again. Planes will fly at below 1:1 thrust to weight ratio. The wing sorts that out.
You can put a 1mm or so spacer (popsicle stick) under the leading edge of the cub wing for some free added lift by giving it more incidence.
Every model is on a limited lifespan, you have to accept that or never fly anything.
The beauty of FT models is they are easy and quick to repair. If the worst happens a new model is just a sheet or two of board and an evening’s work away.
This happened to my TT, which was my daily flier for nearly a year.
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40 mins and some tape and glue later it was back to this-
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The Hangar

Fly harder!
Mentor
You might consider building a Storch for your first plane to fly. I haven’t built one yet, but I really want to. I know people who have had great success starting off with the Storch. Have fun!
 

Zetoyoc

Elite member
I do believe I will fly the cub at some point. But at 700g and still tail heavy. I'd have to add more weight and fly a lot faster than I had hoped. And I just didn't know how much room I'd need and if I had enough. Hard to judge without experience. And yes, only one way to get it. :) Good tip about the popsicle sticks though. I'll get in the air soon. It just wasn't feeling right for my first attempt. It may have been some first time nervousness involved for sure. But I'll err on side of caution and comfort this time.
The Storch is on my short list to build. I'll likely end up building everything I can get my hands on over the winter. My rocket room may get some company with parked aircraft :)
 

buzzbomb

I know nothing!
I'm with @FDS. If you're waiting for the perfect plane to fly, you'll never get to. If you've got a plane, and you're wondering if it will fly? Never give up a good flying day. Take it out and see what happens. The worse case scenario is no worse than never flying it at all. :)

Erring on the side of caution is always wise. Just don't let fear stop you. Until you've experienced that rush of the first successful thirty-seconds in the air, you just don't know what you're missing! :D
 

Zetoyoc

Elite member
If you have done everything and it’s balanced right then its ready to fly. My Sportster came in at a whopping 900g loaded, it still flew.
You are probably right. About the weight. Your Sportster probably wasn't flying on a 2212-1050kV b pack motor and a 3cel but yea. It likely would have flown ok. Oh well another day to dream of that feeling of flight you all talk about. Back to my current pile of foam I have ready to glue up.
 

K3V0

Elite member
I spent several sessions learning to take off and touch down. Even flying for ten feet then landing was a challenge I think I definitely went through a whole plane that period! But I got a lot of practice putting them together and moved on to making other mistakes😆. I’m coming from the other side in the cub/ storch question though. I built the storch and have cub plans printed and waiting. Do you have any pictures of your cub?
 

The Hangar

Fly harder!
Mentor
I spent several sessions learning to take off and touch down. Even flying for ten feet then landing was a challenge I think I definitely went through a whole plane that period! But I got a lot of practice putting them together and moved on to making other mistakes😆. I’m coming from the other side in the cub/ storch question though. I built the storch and have cub plans printed and waiting. Do you have any pictures of your cub?
Here are some pictures of my cub. It has a lot of battle scars from Flitefest this years, but she still flys!
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(Picture quality was reduced)
 

BATTLEAXE

Legendary member
If you have done everything and it’s balanced right then its ready to fly. My Sportster came in at a whopping 900g loaded, it still flew.
I love the Sportster, even though it's big, the wing is big as well. So much surface area for light wing loading.

@Zetoyoc is a builder, build a whole collection man, you will get to the flying at some point. Enjoy the hobby and it's many facets. I told the woman I wasn't goin to build till I figured out my communication problem... then I printed out a new set of plans tonight, go figure lol
 

FDS

Elite member
@Zetoyoc My Sportster was on a 2212/1000kv. My Scout is about 700g, that is still on a 2212/1000.
Both of those are running 3 cell packs. I wouldn’t have commented otherwise.
I put a 2822/1000 on the sportster after it’s first few flights as that balanced the tail better and gave more power.
The main thing is to have fun with the hobby,wether that’s building, flying or crashing.