My FT Bushwhacker

Timmy

Legendary member
So I just built my fresh new FT Bushwhacker and I know its more of an advanced flyer which is why I built it, as a stepping stone to advanced flight. Obviously I am having difficulty flying, and I'm learning from my mistakes. Unfortunately those mistakes include a broken prop and landing on the side of my wing among other things. I am having problems coordinating my rudder and ailerons (I'm used to bank and yank planes), I started with a tiny trainer and the rudder on that isn't very effective so I'm kinda new at that. Also, I need help on not striking my prop on take off and landing (which is how I broke my prop). Instead of learning from my mistakes I figured I could get some tips and learn from other people's mistakes. So ... any tips?
 
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mrjdstewart

Legendary member
more info if you can,

what motor? what size prop? why the excessive rudder usage?

flying a 4-channel is really not much diff than a yank and bank. why people freak out so much just makes me scratch my head. the rudder on the Bushwhacker is significant and has a huge effect on flight. it was designed to be "3D" capable and to do that, you need a rudder. but...in most cases you don't. you can fly all day long and only use rudder for ground handling. i would recommend just flying right stick for now and slowing introduce the left. no one say's you have to use rudder. of course you will want to assuming you want to advance, but the only thing you can't fly without is elevator. the rest is just icing on the cake.

good luck,

me :cool:
 

Merv

Site Moderator
Staff member
I would suggest turning your rates down. You will need a bit of trial and error to get the rates. Without knowing where you are starting from, a guess would be, high rate 20% lower than current & low rates 20% below high. If you can’t or don’t want to mess with dual rates, split the difference at 30% lower. If you end up going below 50%, I would adjust your linkage. To lower the throws, on the servo, move the linkage inward 1 hole OR on the control surface, move the linkage outward 1 hole, which ever is easiest. Then turn the rates up to get about the same throw you were expecting before the linkage change.
 
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Timmy

Legendary member
Motor: 1000kv Prop: 10 x 4.5
I currently fly on the recommended low rates which is 10 degrees deflection except on rudder for ground handling
 
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The Hangar

Fly harder!
Mentor
As I mentioned on the “what did you crash” thread I’d reccomend switching it out to an APC 10x5 or 10x8 thin prop. Those will fix your issue of having props break.
 

BATTLEAXE

Legendary member
Motor: 1000kv Prop: 10 x 8.45
I currently fly on the recommended low rates which is 10 degrees deflection except on rudder for ground handling
10x8 would be a lot of prop on the BW. I would do what @The Hangar suggested and drop the pitch down to 10x5. Much easier to fly and less torque roll. If you go with the APC sport props you will be breaking firewalls before the prop. With a beginner plane you will find that you will crash alot and in crashing means repairs or re-build. It isnt easy to get past that novice hump, but once you do it comes as natural as breathing.

The rudder control will help you in turns to keep from tip stalling just because yoh can use the ailerons to counter the rudder to keep the wings relatively level in a turn. Helps keep the wing flying. But if you up your speed a bit i the turn to keep from tip stalling you will have a much more stable plane, without rudder
 

Timmy

Legendary member
10x8 would be a lot of prop on the BW. I would do what @The Hangar suggested and drop the pitch down to 10x5. Much easier to fly and less torque roll. If you go with the APC sport props you will be breaking firewalls before the prop. With a beginner plane you will find that you will crash alot and in crashing means repairs or re-build. It isnt easy to get past that novice hump, but once you do it comes as natural as breathing.

The rudder control will help you in turns to keep from tip stalling just because yoh can use the ailerons to counter the rudder to keep the wings relatively level in a turn. Helps keep the wing flying. But if you up your speed a bit i the turn to keep from tip stalling you will have a much more stable plane, without rudder
Sorry I meant 10 x 4.5 props not 8.45
I fixed it
 

The Hangar

Fly harder!
Mentor
Any advice for take off/ landing in grass specifically?
When taking off, make sure to wait till the wing is creating lift - if you take off too early you might stall and crash. Just give it throttle and gradually give a little elevator until it lifts off the ground. Landing is a bit more tricky. Come in at a nice slow speed, even cutting the throttle if you need, however as soon as your wheels hit the ground give it a little throttle to keep the nose of the plane pulling it through the grass. If you don't do that very often the grass will catch the tires and it'll flip over onto it's nose.
 

Timmy

Legendary member
When taking off, make sure to wait till the wing is creating lift - if you take off too early you might stall and crash. Just give it throttle and gradually give a little elevator until it lifts off the ground. Landing is a bit more tricky. Come in at a nice slow speed, even cutting the throttle if you need, however as soon as your wheels hit the ground give it a little throttle to keep the nose of the plane pulling it through the grass. If you don't do that very often the grass will catch the tires and it'll flip over onto it's nose.
Thank you very much!
 

Ryan O.

Out of Foam Board!
I broke 6+ props and cartwheeled at least 8 times. I programed in a rudder mix, but you could also use differential. However, once you consistently take off and land without incident, it's always a good idea to decrease the mix each succesfull flight. That way you can learn the rudder control. I almost lost my bushwacker when I had trouble turning just with aileron, so rudder control is pretty important. What ended up teaching me rudder was a combination of my Bushwacker and my tiny whoop. Now whenever I fly rudderless planes I find myself putting in "phantom rudder" and being confused when nothing happens 😅
 
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Hondo76251

Legendary member
I learned to fly "full scale" tail draggers long before I ever flew a model. Rudder is everything! I never learned to "bank and yank" so I've found myself at somewhat of a loss when trying to teach my kids. I'm not a great teacher anyway, kinda just sink or swim with me, so I have a hard time even explaining what to do when flying... and like @Ryan O. said, if you're used to a rudder and then don't have one... well, I can't fix that in my brain.

As far as the bushwacker goes, I'd do like has been previously suggested and add a rudder mix so that it can be flown "bank and yank" so to speak. "Bush" style planes like the bushwacker really need rudder. This is what I've done to the UMX Timber for my kids to fly and it seems to work well. The next step is still a mystery to me, how to start integrating rudder if you're not familiar with it... My instinct tells me that you should do it like you would in a real plane. You need to practice setting up slips for landings where you "cross control" the rudder. You can start to get the feel for yaw being a separate control from roll. The trouble is, this is much easier to learn with your butt in the seat, when you can look out the window and feel the forces in play as you manipulate the controls. So that being said, maybe a small FPV Drone is the way to go. This is where I'm at with my kids, they're learning 4 channel on simple FPV mini quads. Is this the best way? I'm not sure, but it seems to be working so far... time will tell I suppose...
 

The Hangar

Fly harder!
Mentor
I learned to fly "full scale" tail draggers long before I ever flew a model. Rudder is everything! I never learned to "bank and yank" so I've found myself at somewhat of a loss when trying to teach my kids. I'm not a great teacher anyway, kinda just sink or swim with me, so I have a hard time even explaining what to do when flying... and like @Ryan O. said, if you're used to a rudder and then don't have one... well, I can't fix that in my brain.

As far as the bushwacker goes, I'd do like has been previously suggested and add a rudder mix so that it can be flown "bank and yank" so to speak. "Bush" style planes like the bushwacker really need rudder. This is what I've done to the UMX Timber for my kids to fly and it seems to work well. The next step is still a mystery to me, how to start integrating rudder if you're not familiar with it... My instinct tells me that you should do it like you would in a real plane. You need to practice setting up slips for landings where you "cross control" the rudder. You can start to get the feel for yaw being a separate control from roll. The trouble is, this is much easier to learn with your butt in the seat, when you can look out the window and feel the forces in play as you manipulate the controls. So that being said, maybe a small FPV Drone is the way to go. This is where I'm at with my kids, they're learning 4 channel on simple FPV mini quads. Is this the best way? I'm not sure, but it seems to be working so far... time will tell I suppose...
I didn't use rudder untill I built the FT-3d. You can't get away without using rudder AT ALL with a 3D plane lol!
 

Timmy

Legendary member
I need to get used to using ailerons and rudder at the same time. For me I've always seen my left hand as just throttle, so I guess programing a mix and slowly getting rid of it is the best way for me? I'll try that.