I decided after many years to learn to fly an RC plane after building many but never flying one with my father back in the 1970s. I bought a Hobbyzone Sport Cub S2 and flew it last weekend. All was great and kept it in beginner mode. Flew it for two evenings in very still conditions and was enjoying it. However, last flight of the evening was eventful. After hand launching the plane seemed to catch a sudden gust and rose a lot higher in the air. I tried to bring it back down, but it appeared not to respond. I dropped the throttle and hoped it would glide down, but it increased in altitude even further. Anyhow, that’s the last I saw of it, it climbed even higher and then went out of range. Annoying because it was going so well. I would guess that’s a problem with such a light aircraft. I’ve ordered another. but will definitely be more wary next time.
BATTLEAXE
Legendary member
Welcome to the hobby my friend. I too have the Sport Cub S and still play with it sometimes. Gonna teach the boys how to fly on it.
It is a light aircraft and will get away on you if you are not careful. It could even be flown indoors which is ideal for something that small. But the cool part is the flight stabilizer it uses with befinner and intermediate modes.
I do find though that it doesnt like to drop with down elevator in beginner mode, you have to cut the throttle by a lot to get it to drop. That being said if you are in a decent breeze, physics will dictate the fate of your bird.
You should try a larger plane. Have you considered building and easy FT design?
Just asking because it doesnt hurt the wallet as much when you crash or lose it. Larger planes tend to be easier to fly in less then ideal conditions. Plus if you completely mess up the plane in a crash you can salvage out the eletronics and build another one.
OliverW
Legendary member
And they're also cheaper than most of these micros if you scratch build them and use power pack equivalents
BATTLEAXE
Legendary member
Correct
Really appreciate your replies. Interesting regarding the down elevator in beginner mode, it just didn’t want to come down whatever I tried. Now I’m thinking maybe I should have taken it out of beginner mode and tried that. Anyhow it’s too late now. My thoughts are there is a trade-off to having a plane so light, as you say a bigger aircraft is more stable in anything less than still conditions (and how often does that happen?). I was just disappointed having got on so well. I was thinking of moving up to the Carbon Cub, maybe I should look at building one instead.
BATTLEAXE
Legendary member
I agree. Building is the way to go. Download some plans to the Simple Scout. Grab a C pack or equivalent electronics and get to building one. I have a dedicated Scout thread if you want to check it out. Just built another one myself. Love that airframe. Here is the link...
https://forum.flitetest.com/index.php?threads/life-of-the-simple-scout.59993/
https://forum.flitetest.com/index.php?threads/life-of-the-simple-scout.59993/
BATTLEAXE
Legendary member
Any other questions feel free to PM me at anytime. Good luck
Thanks, I will keep posting my progress!
There are times when you want to buy an already built kit - for example, Horizon Hobby's A-10 Thunderbolt, which has some nice details to it- and there are other times when you want to build it yourself. The FT A-10 just doesn't have quite the same panache as Horizon's...It breaks down to how much time you want to spend building, how much detail you want in the plane, how much $$$ you want to sink into it, and your skill level. I wouldn't recommend a newbie pilot go out and pick up the Horizon version; it's a LOT of plane and it takes skill to bring it down smoothly without trashing the retractable landing gear or even the rest of the plane.
But, as others have said, bigger planes do have advantages - they tend to be a little more stable in flight in breezy conditions, and my favorite thing, they're easier to see at a distance than the little micro planes.
As your eyes get older, you tend to appreciate that. I would recommend something bigger, like the Scout that Battleaxe recommended, or a Simple Cub or Bushwacker if you want a Cub style of plane. Have fun with it all, and remember this motto:Build - Fly - Crash - Repeat
And crashes are ok - you get to learn from them! What caused it? Was it equipment failure? Was it pilot error? Did a hawk come by and try to kill it? (And yes, I have had that happen - a red tailed hawk tried to kill my UMX Timber, and hummingbirds have wanted to eviscerate my Inductrix on multiple occasions) Just remember that if you crash a Flite Test plane, you can likely strip the electronics out and rebuild it for just a couple bucks in foam board from the local Dollar Tree.
Timmy
Legendary member
How would I go about doing that? I've trashed my guinea landing gear (not retractable).
Start with non-retractable landing gear, and bring the plane in smoothly without ripping them off.
Once you can do that consistently, keep that in mind when you move up to the retractable gear. You don't dump the plane off and try to land it short on a runway, you use the entire runway to bring it down and land, and taxi it back. That's one of the first things I learned about the MiG-3 - you land it at speed, and don't try to stall it like you would with say, a Versa Wing or a Bushwacker...
It’ll be a while before I have the balls to venture into retractable undercarriages
That Pitts biplane is pretty nice.
I've got a hankering for the Gee Bee, but it seems to be rather difficult to find for purchase - I might just have to order it from online somewhere.Ah yes, the Gee Bee... one of my favourite aircrafts!That Pitts biplane is pretty nice.
Hoomi
Master member
As Battleaxe said, the Simple Scout is a decent plane. I picked up one of the Speed Build Kits at a hobby shop last year, on a whim. It was my first Flite Test plane, and now, over a year later, she's still one of my favorite planes (and I now have 6 Flite Test birds built and flying). The Scout is a very capable plane, able to float along at low speeds and docile moves, but also able to handle more radical flying. She's small enough to transport easily, while still big enough to easily see in the air (especially given a bright paint job). If you're not sure about cutting your own from stock foamboard, the SBK is reasonably priced.
One suggestion, that took me several builds before I caught it on one of the Flite Test build videos, is, if you buy the speed build kit, also pick up some poster board, and trace the parts before building. This will give you the full-sized pattern for spare parts (or another build), without having to download, print, and stitch together the online plans.
That's one beauty of the Flite Test planes. If we crash, spare parts are as close as the nearest supply of foam board.
One suggestion, that took me several builds before I caught it on one of the Flite Test build videos, is, if you buy the speed build kit, also pick up some poster board, and trace the parts before building. This will give you the full-sized pattern for spare parts (or another build), without having to download, print, and stitch together the online plans.
That's one beauty of the Flite Test planes. If we crash, spare parts are as close as the nearest supply of foam board.
Piotrsko
Master member
You were in a monster thermal, the only fix would be full up and full turn, to start a stall/spin. down wont do anything but fly faster. Annoying to you, but a glider pilots holy grail. Btw put your name and contact info somewhere visible, it might bring the plane back.
PoorManRC
Master member
WELCOME ABOARD Glenn!!
This is simply the best place for beginners, intermediates and experts. We're ALL here to help with whatever might come up...
And things DO come up in RC Aircraft!!! 😖
I'll FIFTH the recommendation for the Simple Scout. Good Flying, taking off AND landing...
Just a good, honest Aircraft.
And.... not EVERYBODY can print up plans, line them up correctly, properly trace them to Foam Board, and then precisely cut them out....
EVERYONE can LEARN it!! It's just not something you're required to have.
...... I STILL can't cut Foam well (due to Disability).
What I can do, and what you can do as well, is first purchase a FT Speed Build Kit. They're relatively cheap here in the Colonies, might be a bit more in England.
This will come with everything you'll need to build the whole Airframe - minus adhesives, Motor, ESC, Prop, Servos, Batry and Radio....
Or for some extra money, get a "Power Pack C" with the Kit, and that will add Motor, 2 Props, ESC, Servos and all necessary Hardware - plus TOOLS!
Right then.... If you've done that, and you've got the new Kit in front of you,
BEFORE building - Trace rack piece of the Kit, onto plain Craft Core Foam Board.
That would give you a template for making any spare bits you'll break along the way...
You can even use the same Template to make a Friend or Family member, their own nearly FREE RC Aircrafts!!! 😁
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