N00b flyer orders first gear, Thank you Flite Test!

[Xephius]

Hey FT!

First, I would like to say a big Thank You to everyone on the Flite Test Crew! I stumbled onto FT because I was looking for great examples of YouTube episode production for reference with my project. And as everyone has said, the production quality, show chemistry, project vision, all amazing. You guys have really rocked it. The new partnership/acquisition sounds amazing as well. Nice to have a partner with those capabilities!

After watching about 15 or so episodes, my wife started asking what I was laughing about. So I showed her. We both feel the show is a lot like Top Gear, the segments are great! I started pointing out all the things I liked about your show (love the short FT into/splash BTW) and was taking notes on how we could learn and improve our show. Lots of great take aways! You can see her channel here:

http://www.youtube.com/user/HoneyBmama

So after watching almost all your episodes (I have to actually work too), I decided I was going to give flying a chance. So I went down to the Dollar Store and grabbed all the foam core they had and came home to start cutting. I have cut out all the parts for Nutball, Delta, Flyer and Bloody Wonder 2, And I will probably start on the Storch next. I really want to build the Cruise, many I love dual/quad engine war birds.... Anyway, I also ordered a bunch of parts from Hobby King. I am fairly sure I didn't go too far off course for the first attempt, here is my order list....

Hobby King:
TURNIGY BESC Programming Card X 1
Hobby King 2.4Ghz 6Ch Tx USB Cable X 1
Turnigy TG9e 9g / 1.5kg / 0.10sec Eco Micro Servo X 4
Hobby King 2.4Ghz 6Ch Tx & Rx V2 - Mode 2 X 1
Car Cigarette Lighter Adapter for Battery Chargers X 1
hexTronik 24gram Brushless Outrunner 1300kv X 1
TURNIGY Plush 18amp Speed Controller X 1
8045 Turnigy Slow Fly Propeller CW Rotation (Red) (2pcs) X 2
Rhino 610mAh 3S 11.1v 20C Lipoly Pack X 3
Female JST battery pigtail 12cm length (10pcs/bag) X 1
3.5mm 3 wire Bullet-connector for motor (5pairs/bag) X 1
Linkage Stopper M3x2xL11.2mm (10pcs/set) X 1
Nylon Clevis 2x29mm (10pcs) X 1
Hobbyking® DC-4S Balance Charger & Cell Checker 30w 2s~4s X 1
Turnigy 1000mAh 3S 20C Lipo Pack X 1
Control Horns 13.5x16mm (10pcs) X 1

Flite Test:
Control Horn (20 pieces)
Landing Gear Kit (2 pk)
Linkage Stoppers 6 pack
Push Rods - 8 Pack 16.5"
Pushrods 8 pack
Swappable Firewalls 5-pack

Let me know if I am missing anything, or made any mis-steps in my first round of gearing up! Thanks for all the support, and great community support! You guys are a great model for others to follow.

Clear skies,
John

 

[makattack]

Welcome to the community! You may want to order more propellers -- I noticed you ordered clockwise props. For a tractor pull airplane, which is what a swappable powerpod build is, I believe you'll want traditional props which are designed for counter-clockwise rotation (when looking at it at the nose / numbers printed on the props).

I'm not familiar with the HobbyKing products, but I see you ordered everything needed for a build, but I don't see a RC transmitter / receiver combo listed. Do you already have those? You may also need some servo extensions and Y connectors for some of the bigger builds like the Storch.

If you're new to flight, and haven't flown before, I highly recommend downloading one of many free flight simulators out there and practicing with the software:
RCDesktop
crrcsim
flightgear

Dave

 

[BridgeInspector]

A few more props (they tend to be first thing to hit ground when learning to fly), prop saver rubber bands and prop saver if motor doesnt come with one ( can not remember).
I use 7x3.8 on my ft flyer and works well, if you want to try a different prop size.
If the 3.5 mm bullets are in stock I usually pick up a few more.
I use 10 amp ESC with no issue on the 24g motor.

Not sure the 24g motor is big enough for FT BWv2. But I have not tryed it.

 

[Xephius]

Welcome to the community! You may want to order more propellers -- I noticed you ordered clockwise props. For a tractor pull airplane, which is what a swappable powerpod build is, I believe you'll want traditional props which are designed for counter-clockwise rotation (when looking at it at the nose / numbers printed on the props).

Doh! Yep, well, I didn't know that... and didn't catch it in a video. I will grab a few from the local hobby shop until my next order from HK. Again, complete N00b when it comes to air hitting the wing. I have been a long time simulator fan. So what happens if I use these props running the motor in reverse?

I'm not familiar with the HobbyKing products, but I see you ordered everything needed for a build, but I don't see a RC transmitter / receiver combo listed. Do you already have those? You may also need some servo extensions and Y connectors for some of the bigger builds like the Storch.

I did pick up the HK 6Ch 2.4ghz RX & TX set along with the USB cable. I was hoping to find a simulator that wouldn't be too expensive, thanks for the links! I will add the a buddy cable, servo extensions and Y-cables to my list. I will order a second motor and ESC of the same make and a larger one for when I am ready to grow. I was also thinking of ordering the OrangeRX receiver with built in flight stabilizer. For now, I just wanted to get the basics to get into the air. But I will start logging simulator hours ASAP.

If you're new to flight, and haven't flown before, I highly recommend downloading one of many free flight simulators out there and practicing with the software:
RCDesktop
crrcsim
flightgear

Dave

Do you have a preference?

Clear skies,
John

 

[makattack]

I think you can run with those props you have with the motor running the other direction, but you still want the numbers facing the direction of travel/forward.

If you're building FT planes, I think RCDeskPILOT (sorry, I mixed up the name) is great because there's a forum member who created a bunch of FT models:

http://forum.flitetest.com/showthre...tions-for-RC-Desk-Pilot&highlight=rcdeskpilot

I also forgot about a web based one with FT planes: http://www.flitetest.com/articles/free-in-browser-rc-flight-sim-in-development

 

[BigGary]

If you want to save a little money you can get fuel tubing and cut small sections for rubber bands. We have been doing this and it works really good.

 

[BridgeInspector]

Note that the orangex rx do not work with the tx you have purchased. You need to stick with flysky (not Frsky) or HKv2 receivers.

 

[Ron B]

Your are ordering linkage stoppers from hk and ft. you are also ordering control horns from both.
it doesn't hurt to have plenty on hand for doing multiple builds. If put in properly ft. control horns will never pull out.
now for building tools. blade, straight edge, hot glue gun and glue, bbq skewers, popsicle sticks, wire cutters or dremel tool, sanding block, cutting board (so wife doesn't holler about cuts in the furniture.

 

[Ironman79]

Hey everyone! Paul here. I'm new to the forums and am getting back into RC after a few years away. I have recently discovered FT and the approachability, fun and genuine nature of the FT crew and community has inspired me to jump back into the hobby. Thank you!

I'm upgrading my gear and am looking forward to scratch building several FT models, especially the bloody wonder, ft-22 and simple storch. I don't mean to hijack this thread, so I'll get to the point. I'm somewhat in the same boat as Xephius. I'm putting together an order from HobbyKing and while I still need to add a few things to the order, I wanted to check the shipping. It already comes to $100 for shipping. I suppose that this is fair considering that I'm getting a great price on most of the items to to them coming from overseas, but I'm wondering if anyone has "done the math" on ordering from a place that has higher prices but lower shipping? Any suggestions? Also, does my motor/esc/battery choice look good for most of the models that I mentioned? Thank you for looking.

 

[engineer]

Hey ironman, welcome to the forum!
Hobbyking defaults to their global warehouse, but there is a west coast USA warehouse also where shipping is MUCH better price!
There is not as much diversity in products, but you can find something similar pretty easy.
The taranis radio is not available in the USA warehouse yet (and its backordered), but there are other domestic options that carry it, like Aloft Hobbies based in California.

I'd suggest taking a look at building your shopping list again using the USA warehouse only (click 'global warehouse' at top of the sidebar, and switch to west coast USA), save $80 for other purchases!

 

[KenJ]

Hobbyking defaults to their global warehouse, but there is a west coast USA warehouse also where shipping is MUCH better price!

That hasn't been my experience. The Seattle warehouse is great if you can pick orders up in person. Otherwise they seem to default to $6 Priority Mail as a minimum and go up from there. International shipping can be as low as $1 depending on weight and size, but of course the cheaper shipping options can take up to 3 weeks to arrive.

You can't mix orders, but I'd check both options before deciding where to order from.