Life of the Simple Scout...

Marty72

Elite member
I'm planning on flying and crashing the HH Sport Crash Cub S a bit longer until it just isn't useful in anyway. At the rate I'm going, it shouldn't be much longer. Yesterday, I nosed dived into the grass at speed and spent a fair amount of time getting the nose back together and the motor aligned properly. So today I had to trim everything up, as these hard crashing and repair change things slightly. I did a really good job getting the motor axis aligned (hot glue repair). Today, I learned that I can fly the plane with the SAFE off if I fly it like a 3 channel plane. If I stay away from any aileron inputs, I seem to be able to control the plane for the most part. When things do go astray, I hit the panic button and switch over to beginner mode until I get my act together. So I'm going to experiment with this and see what I can learn before I start crashing another plane. However, at the end of my session today, I got in trouble and the panic button didn't work and I augered into the ground once again, nose first. I did get a lot of flying in this morning, so it wasn't a complete lose. I'm not sure why the panic didn't work, first time it has failed me (but I have missed it or flipped the switch from intermediate to expert by accident and crashed).

Today's damage was the engine mount was separated from the foam and the nose was cracked badly again (top and bottom). I cleared away all the silicone holding the motor mount and potted it in with hot glue. I got the motor axis in line as best I could and glued up all the foam. I did some check outs on the bench, the Crash Cub is ready for another go. I'll have to check the trim again next flight. Now, I don't like that I'm damaging the plane by driving it into the ground, but I really don't mind repairing and straightening everything out. To me, it's part of the hobby. As long as I feel I'm learning and moving forward with this, I'll continue as I am. TBD

Yes, your comments on the transmitter are in line with most say, get the DX6 or better. I'm still planning on a Simple Scout build in the near future, just hoping/waiting for a sale to come up. I was watching the build video last night, looks like something I would really like to do.
 

BATTLEAXE

Legendary member
I'm planning on flying and crashing the HH Sport Crash Cub S a bit longer until it just isn't useful in anyway. At the rate I'm going, it shouldn't be much longer. Yesterday, I nosed dived into the grass at speed and spent a fair amount of time getting the nose back together and the motor aligned properly. So today I had to trim everything up, as these hard crashing and repair change things slightly. I did a really good job getting the motor axis aligned (hot glue repair). Today, I learned that I can fly the plane with the SAFE off if I fly it like a 3 channel plane. If I stay away from any aileron inputs, I seem to be able to control the plane for the most part. When things do go astray, I hit the panic button and switch over to beginner mode until I get my act together. So I'm going to experiment with this and see what I can learn before I start crashing another plane. However, at the end of my session today, I got in trouble and the panic button didn't work and I augered into the ground once again, nose first. I did get a lot of flying in this morning, so it wasn't a complete lose. I'm not sure why the panic didn't work, first time it has failed me (but I have missed it or flipped the switch from intermediate to expert by accident and crashed).

Today's damage was the engine mount was separated from the foam and the nose was cracked badly again (top and bottom). I cleared away all the silicone holding the motor mount and potted it in with hot glue. I got the motor axis in line as best I could and glued up all the foam. I did some check outs on the bench, the Crash Cub is ready for another go. I'll have to check the trim again next flight. Now, I don't like that I'm damaging the plane by driving it into the ground, but I really don't mind repairing and straightening everything out. To me, it's part of the hobby. As long as I feel I'm learning and moving forward with this, I'll continue as I am. TBD

Yes, your comments on the transmitter are in line with most say, get the DX6 or better. I'm still planning on a Simple Scout build in the near future, just hoping/waiting for a sale to come up. I was watching the build video last night, looks like something I would really like to do.
Good job on the flying man, can't learn if you don't crash. And the repairs get easier the more you do them, to a point, when it gets beyond repair and the plane is nothing but glue left to fly lol.

I went out today and flew the Baby Blender, with no crashes again. Practicing my aerobatics with more inverted and hammer heads. Over the past few flights i have been playing with the pull up to vertical, roll at stall to upright and dive out to change direction. Today I was doing the opposite, roll to inverted and let it drop and pull up and out to change direction. Then of coarse the usual full snap rolls and loops or any combination of. Trying to get more confident with the low passes as well, glide slopes. I did attempt another knife edge and didn't execute very well. This is a coordinated combination of stick inputs that I haven't got down to muscle memory yet, I still hafta think about it while I am doing it so sometimes i move the sticks in the wrong direction. Had a couple of close calls in low altitude but pulled out of them just in time. Also had the ESC over heat on me mid air, still had control of the surfaces just no throttle, shut down the throttle on the glide and pushed it back up to half and it kicked in again. All in all a good flying morning. I was looking for the GoPro but it has been put somewhere in the Bermuda triangle of the woman's heap of stuff in a recent clean up, I am not about to go through the search, might take a week for me to find it lol.

Are you looking for a sale on the transmitter or the plane? The plane you can just print off the free plans and buy 3 sheets of Dollar Tree foamboard at the cost of $3 and cut it out yourself. It may allow you to build while you still have life left in the Sport Cub, the when that gives up the ghost you have a plane that's pretty much ready for you fly. If you have any questions on building the Scout do not hesitate to ask, I am more then happy to help however I can. I have built so many planes it all is pretty intuitive now. I am sure I have some tricks to make the build easier and helps keep things more accurate and square. I actually look forward to you building it
 

Marty72

Elite member
Wow! You are way ahead on me in all respect of RC.

Yeah, I'm hoping for a sale on transmitters and the components.

I just realize (today) that when people fly 3 channel, they use the right stick for the rudder. I can see how this would be easier (as most people are right handed) but when you go to 4 channel, the rudder moves to the left stick. Seems like this would lengthen the training process, not short it. Anyway, I'm on board to 3 channel for awhile and that's the way I'd built up the Scout initially.
 

BATTLEAXE

Legendary member
Wow! You are way ahead on me in all respect of RC.

Yeah, I'm hoping for a sale on transmitters and the components.

I just realize (today) that when people fly 3 channel, they use the right stick for the rudder. I can see how this would be easier (as most people are right handed) but when you go to 4 channel, the rudder moves to the left stick. Seems like this would lengthen the training process, not short it. Anyway, I'm on board to 3 channel for awhile and that's the way I'd built up the Scout initially.
Can I give you a huge piece of advice, and I only am telling you this just because I went the same direction you are planning on going, and very recently. And this will help your piloting learning curve exponentially faster then mine was. I really like your enthusiasm for this rudder revelation you just had but I will let you know, If you are planning on building a 3 channel Scout you will want to do it a AET, (aileron/elevator/throttle) 3 channel and I will explain why.

The rudder is actually used very little in real RC flight, actually mostly for aerobatics and even then not even that often. The usual 3 channel even though mentally it seems like it would be easy, really actually causes more issues then benefits. As a RET, (rudder/elevator/throttle) 3 channel set up they do set the rudder for the right stick to make the transition from 3 to 4 channel, only because when you input rudder movements into the right stick the plane will react like you are using ailerons by banking to the right and giving you a yaw movement in the same direction. Problem is it is hard to recover the tip stall, (plane leans to far to the same direction and greatly loses altitude), called a Dutch roll. Pilot the wants to recover by using hard inputs in the opposite direction to regain level flight, which now requires up elevator, thus slowing the plane down and back into a stall again. As you may have noticed flying your Sport Cub you are in trouble, plane is going for the ground and you switch over to SAFE mode to recover and the plane levels out as long as you are on the throttle, (the one input the SAFE mode doesn't control).

One day I took out 2 planes, my Spitfire and the Mini Scout. I started off with the Mini Scout because I already had flown it a few times and it was my "calm the nerves, build confidence" plane to gain enough fortitude to MAIDEN my Spitfire, (set up as a 3 channel AET, no rudder). Up till this point I already had the Spitfire built and ready to fly for a few weeks but I was to scared to crash it the first flight out like so many of my other standard size planes had done. I put a couple battery packs through the Mini Scout and now it was time to maiden the Spit... never had flown with ailerons without a SAFE mode. Reluctantly I tossed up the Spit and to my amazement it took very little trim to get it leveled out and it was a breeze to fly, easier and way more real time responsive then the Mini Scout. Why you ask? if the plane needed to turn it was a little right aileron to tip it over and a little back pressure on the elevator to maintain the turn and elevation, once the turn is done just tip the stick to the left till the plane levels out and let go to maintain center. No drop in elevation, no loss of speed, no stalling to recover from, easier to control then the RET, and more real time and real response. I got exactly out of the plane what I put into it. The first mistake I did with my Simple Scout was make it a RET as well. that lasted barely 10seconds of flight before the tail got ripped off on its maiden, tip stall, heavy drill to the ground, right wing tip first, to a spastic cartwheel, no more tail feathers anywhere near the plane when all the dust settled. Refer to earlier posts in this thread and you will see.

Back on the bench to fix it and the first thing I did was cut in ailerons and fly it again, with very successful results, very successful, could not slap the smile off my face. I would suggest to you that setting your Scout up as an AET 3 channel will benefit you so much more then RET even right out of the gate, actually practice on your Sport Cub as using the left stick only for throttle and use your right stick to practice turns and leveling out with nothing but the right stick, called a bank and yank. This will take your piloting skills to the next level way faster and with less disappointment and confusion. It will be the way you will normally fly your planes once you get more experience with it. To tell you the truth I will never build a plane as a RET set up again, most instructors won't even teach people on a 3 channel RET set up either, just to many problems to overcome, especially for a new pilot.

Recap entering turns: Right aileron to tip the plane, back elevator to turn and maintain altitude.
Recap finishing turns: Left aileron to center roll of plane, (upright), center elevator to maintain altitude.
All this is done with slight movements as coarse corrections, no hard left or right, let the plane fly and you just adjust to keep it out of danger.

Do this in laps in front of you kinda like a NASCAR race, all turns in the same direction for one full battery pack to the right, One full battery pack with only left turns. Then mix it up and do figure eights for a full battery pack or two. Seems like it will be boring but if you can do this without crashing it will be a huge achievement, And now you will have the muscle memory for it and you wont have to think about it anymore. The cool thing is you won't need SAFE mode anymore either. That in itself is a celebration that is beer worthy. I hope this helps you out man, I really wish someone told me this a long time ago. Good Luck(y):cool:(y)
 
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Marty72

Elite member
Thanks for the advice! After posting, I started doing searches on 3 channel flying and I'm seeing your point. I'm still going to work with the Crash Cub for awhile, focusing on flying without SAFE, by any means. I'm getting the muscle memory pretty well sorted out as far as turn direction, throttle and elevation. I've been doing drills for almost all the flights to help me wire my brain to react with the controls. I started out the first 2 days flying the Crash Cub using SAFE and didn't crash. I was just so surprised how much harder it is to control the plane without SAFE. That's when the crashing started.

I really appreciate your response and I'll re-read it later to help soak it all in. I initially thought that 3 channel was a dead end approach and your comments support that.
 

BATTLEAXE

Legendary member
It's funny too, for me it was like I crashed the day before and the next day it just clicked. More flight time means faster results. I like to go out twice a day with 2 battery packs per session. If I had more batteries I would do more. But it will come eventually.
 

Marty72

Elite member
Yesterday was a turning point for me, your comments along with some digging on my part, helped me find a way forward.

I had a pretty good session this morning. I trimmed out the plane, and found a nice slow comfortable speed, and worked the right stick only flying circles and figure 8s using intermediate mode. I was able to do this (for the first time) occasionally switching to beginner mode when I wasn't comfortable with the situation. Worked great, not really pretty but it's a path forward and I now know it's not the transmitter or the plane, it's me . I can fix that. I got a lot of flight time (over 50 minutes in the air) this morning, too much actually and ended the day with a crash (lack of focus, got sloppy). I should have stopped earlier but we have bad weather coming in tomorrow and so it's going to be a few days before I can fly again.

A little nose damage but that's ok, I can now reset the thrust angle of the motor. It was a little off after yesterdays repair.

Thanks Battle Axe, I done with the RET idea.

The beginner mode is good for one thing, teaching you left, right, up, down and throttle. It's done it's job for me, as I'm very close to
intuitively knowing which way to push the stick, now it's a matter of finesse and timing.
 

BATTLEAXE

Legendary member
Yesterday was a turning point for me, your comments along with some digging on my part, helped me find a way forward.

I had a pretty good session this morning. I trimmed out the plane, and found a nice slow comfortable speed, and worked the right stick only flying circles and figure 8s using intermediate mode. I was able to do this (for the first time) occasionally switching to beginner mode when I wasn't comfortable with the situation. Worked great, not really pretty but it's a path forward and I now know it's not the transmitter or the plane, it's me . I can fix that. I got a lot of flight time (over 50 minutes in the air) this morning, too much actually and ended the day with a crash (lack of focus, got sloppy). I should have stopped earlier but we have bad weather coming in tomorrow and so it's going to be a few days before I can fly again.

A little nose damage but that's ok, I can now reset the thrust angle of the motor. It was a little off after yesterdays repair.

Thanks Battle Axe, I done with the RET idea.

The beginner mode is good for one thing, teaching you left, right, up, down and throttle. It's done it's job for me, as I'm very close to
intuitively knowing which way to push the stick, now it's a matter of finesse and timing.

That's awesome man. Happy to see you are progressing. The one thing that I do like about the Sport Cub is its slight and gentle glide slope. Doesn't need much throttle to maintain flight, it's so light. And on expert mode it makes for a great trainer, even 1/3rd throttle in calm weather it will perform simple maneuvers like turns and figure eights to train the pilot. I used to fly mine in the backyard all the time just going through battery after battery to get the stick movements down for the simple stuff.

I also watched a lot of YouTube to get tips and tricks to flying with orientation involved. Flitetest has a great 6 episode beginner series that helps with understanding orientation, well with all aspects of beginner flight, but has helped take the guess work out of it. Probably saved me from a few crashes anyway. Stuff that is still relevant now as well.

I am in the end game of building my P-40 warbird, doing the prep work for paint. I just got done the smoothing and sealing of the foam board and I plan to fully paint this one. It will be the first time i have used and iron to smooth out and seal the exposed edges, the first time i have built a speed wing, the first time i have used polyurethane to seal and water proof the foam board, and the first time to completely paint a plane. It should look good once it is done. I am going to have to do some research here on the forum and on YouTube to make sure i get the steps right, I put a lot of time into this one so I don't want to ruin it on the home stretch. This is a plane i decided to do for a couple of reasons, 1. I loved flying my Spitfire and I need to replace it. 2. It was a FT design that just begged for modifications to make it look and perform better. 3. I love to push my limits on all aspects of the hobby, building and flying, so on the build side this is a plane that will get me ready for what to expect in a Master Series build.

The Master Series, if you look it up on Flitetest or on YouTube, are the F4U Corsair or the P-47. They also have the P-51 Mustang, another Spitfire, F-16 Fighter, and the F-14A Tomcat in the works as well. A lot of people here on the forum have done the Corsair and the P-47 was recently released so there are a couple of people taking on that one right now. I am holding out for the P-51 Mustang at this point. Although the P-47 and the Spitfire look like intriguing builds as well.

Hey Marty where do you live and where do you get to fly?

Here are a couple vids of the Baby Blender biplane I fly in the greenspace 3 minutes away from my house. Check it out, like and subcribe
 
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Marty72

Elite member
Yep, I watch all the ft beginner videos, watched many others too.

P40 will be cool, look forward to seeing the pics when it's done.

I'm in Asheville, NC. Old baseball field and a soccer field are my current flying areas. I can fly in front of my house at risk, to test. More than anything, I need calm conditions.

I've got build questions for you, Mr FT model builder:

Did you buy FT's Servo Tester to center the servo arms before the build? Josh says it's important to do that. I'm thinking there may be another way.

What did you use to print out the plans? A whole bunch of A sized prints taped together or did you go somewhere, give them the pdf and have them do a full size print?
 

BATTLEAXE

Legendary member
Yep, I watch all the ft beginner videos, watched many others too.

P40 will be cool, look forward to seeing the pics when it's done.

I'm in Asheville, NC. Old baseball field and a soccer field are my current flying areas. I can fly in front of my house at risk, to test. More than anything, I need calm conditions.

I've got build questions for you, Mr FT model builder:

Did you buy FT's Servo Tester to center the servo arms before the build? Josh says it's important to do that. I'm thinking there may be another way.

What did you use to print out the plans? A whole bunch of A sized prints taped together or did you go somewhere, give them the pdf and have them do a full size print?
Using a servo tester is so helpful when it comes to fabricating and installing the control rods, and on some applications where once the servo is installed you won't have access to the servo arm screw. the servo tester can be useful to test motors and ESC's as well. I would be surprised if you pay more then $10 for one but it is worth it weight in gold. You could use your receiver and transmitter but the servo tester is more accurate and is way easier to use.

As far as the plans go I usually print out the tiled plans and tape them together. There was one instance where i went to Staples to have them print me out a set, but it costed me $5 a sheet. Then I learned how to use Adobe Acrobat Reader and can tile my own full sheet plans then tape those together, I like cheap and/or free my friend. The only cost I can afford is the cost of time lol.
 

Marty72

Elite member
Hey I didn't see your videos until just now. That's a great flying location, much better than mine. I feel constricted by the trees around the fields I fly. Also, like the biplane, not a fan of the name.

Josh has the plan already tiled out for A size so I'm good to go. Alright, I'll buy the servo tester, I thought maybe he was just being a salesman. And yes, watching the build video, once you put the servos in the fuselage, you aren't going to be able to get to them without a lot of pain and ugliness. Thanks!

OH, one other thing. What do you do with your old FT planes? Do you tear them apart for the components or leave them as they are?
 
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BATTLEAXE

Legendary member
Hey I didn't see your videos until just now. That's a great flying location, much better than mine. I feel constricted by the trees around the fields I fly. Also, like the biplane, not a fan of the name.

Josh has the plan already tiled out for A size so I'm good to go. Alright, I'll buy the servo tester, I thought maybe he was just being a salesman. And yes, watching the build video, once you put the servos in the fuselage, you aren't going to be able to get to them without a lot of pain and ugliness. Thanks!

OH, one other thing. What do you do with your old FT planes? Do you tear them apart for the components or leave them as they are?

The name of the Baby Blender is kinda off putting but it is a great plane. Was awesome to build and as you can tell is great to fly as well. Here are some pics of the biplane...
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I salvage everything out of the old planes, even the Velcro. If I end up repairing a plane a couple times I scrap it and build a new one. I have used the same motor in all my standard planes, until recently I have acquired a second C pack from a friend and now I have two motors to play with. One I use for all my tractor style planes and the other is for the pusher style. I am going to build a new pusher, maybe the FT-22 jet, which just so happens to be a pusher prop flyer. Lots of people say it's pretty fun to rip around on. It just uses elevons for control so it has the elevator and ailerons mixed into the same control surfaces.
 

Marty72

Elite member
More build questions:
Did you buy the Push Rods, horns, bulkhead from FT or did you get the materials else where? If so where? How about the hot glue sticks, did you buy theirs or is it bs. Are they just plan old hot glue sticks? I'm printing out the plan now.
 

BATTLEAXE

Legendary member
More build questions:
Did you buy the Push Rods, horns, bulkhead from FT or did you get the materials else where? If so where? How about the hot glue sticks, did you buy theirs or is it bs. Are they just plan old hot glue sticks? I'm printing out the plan now.
I don't buy anything I can build myself. Here are a couple tricks for the stuff you can do yourself. The dollar store is a gold mine of materials. Glue sticks are dollar store. Push rods can be made from a number of materials, Marker flag wire makes decent push rods, I have even made them from BBQ skewers, that trick is actually in this thread I think or the Baby Blender thread. Control horns can be made from anything like gift cards, wood, even dental floss sticks, there is a thread on control horns in the making right now, just checked it out today. The firewalls are something I have usually made out of aircraft grade 3/16" plywood but I have broken a few of those so i came u with a new one. I cut a firewall out of Dollar Store plastic kitchen cutting board, it's about an 1/8" thick and cuts and drills easily, the kicker is that it has some flex to it, so it won't break. Probably the only firewall you will ever have to make.

You can post your pics of your build to document your progress and get suggestions from other members. I just posted on my P-40 thread earlier this afternoon and I already have a few replies to check out. Everyone loves watching others do builds, it's like they are building themselves lol.
 

whackflyer

Master member
I usually get pushrods and control horns from FT. The best glue sticks I’ve found so far are the gorilla glue ones, you can get a 20 pack for like 7$ at Walmart. They’re stronger and a much better deal then the FT ones... have fun!
 

BATTLEAXE

Legendary member
I usually get pushrods and control horns from FT. The best glue sticks I’ve found so far are the gorilla glue ones, you can get a 20 pack for like 7$ at Walmart. They’re stronger and a much better deal then the FT ones... have fun!
There you go, I just learned something, I didn't know GG did hot glue sticks. I am going to look for them
 

The Hangar

Fly harder!
Mentor
So you think the Mini Scout is a better choice? Do you have to fly the Simple Scout faster making it require a larger field? I figured the larger Simple Scout would be easier to build (more room for hands). The reason for my interest in the Scout is I like the look of the WWI planes. I'd love to build a Bi or Tri plane, but we know how that would end, in tears at this point. The best choice for me is probably the Tiny Trainer but I'm just not excited by it. The Scout's have some style to them.

I appreciate the motor size suggestions. Does running a bigger, heavier motor require a higher flying speed or it insignificant? I've found flying slow allows me more time to work on fundamentals and trying to wire my brain to my controller so inputs up,down, left, right, throttle are second nature. I do like the idea of reusing all the components as much as possible and saving $.

It's interesting that you had the same plane, Sport Cub, and had the same experience. That SAFE system works too well. I can't believe how fast I can tip stall and end up diving into the ground without the SAFE on. The other issue with the Sports Cub is the brush motor doesn't last long at all.
The full size scout will actually probably slow down even more than the mini scout. Maybe it’s just because I always make my minis pretty heavy, but the full size scout is super slow and forgiving (if you haven’t mad your choice yet - I haven’t finished reading the thread!)