Never flown an RC plane before :)

[Havak37]

Hello I am brand new to RC planes.

I was a fan of the Tailspin cartoon and doing Youtube searches pipe dreaming about airplanes. I came across the FT Sea Duck. I instantly fell in love with it. Looks really sexy and fun to fly and speed boat. No need to suggest other planes cause the only reason I am getting into the hobby is to fly the Sea Duck irl hah. After adding up the cost to get everything to fly it I put the idea aside because of how much everything costs even though the plane only costs $46. Until my family asked me for Christmas present ideas. I usually say nothing when they ask me what I want for Christmas. This year I kinda "registered" with Flite Test hah. Said I needed a sea duck, power pack C (twin) and a transmitter, or just Flight Test gift cards.

I was glad to learn that top wing is the norm for "trainer" planes and in all the video's everyone says its really easy to fly. I will also be doing the FT newbie video series "run out a few batteries taxi'ing", then a few batteries doing lift and set it down in a straight line hah. I am from Oklahoma City so the only challenge will be it tends to be pretty windy here. But we have our calm days and that is when I will get it out. So pretty much why I ended up on the forums is I am just waiting for the mail man/Christmas day reading up as much as I can and watching as many video's as I can to limit the newbie mistakes I make.

My goal would be to make changes to the FT design and streamline it and try to race it/combat later when piloting skill permits. Making the Sea Duck my one and only plane and just get really good/familiar with it. I am also interested in the buddy system where I can let my niece and nephew fly and flip a switch to take over if they get in trouble, or just launch and land it for them until they learn. I really like the big cargo/firefighting planes like in the movie Always and the Canadair CL-415. So I may try to scratch build one or maybe try to make a Sea Duck firefighting version.

My name is Christian and I tend to talk alot when I am excited about something^^^^^

 

[rfd]

welcome to the wonderful world of radio control aircraft, christian!

i do hear ya, yer dead set on the sea duck, a twin no less. if you are truly new to r/c in any manner, fixed wing or rotor, yer making a BIG MISTAKE that will not end up well for your ship or you. the odds of any kinda successful flying of that plane, on yer own, is nil at best. it's not for a rank r/c newbie. just being brutally honest with ya, in yer best interests.

here's what you should do FIRST - get local one-on-one r/c advice and assistance from folks who know. a club is a great place to start. whether or not you get that personal help, yer intro to r/c aircraft is best handled by a good flight sim such as real flight or phoenix. you WILL crash a LOT, but yer virtual aircraft will survive over and over.

if you must do it on yer own, start off with a plane that you will at least have a chance to learn on, of a good size (because bigger IS better), slow, stable, and has excellent free flight characterics - the FT old fogey. get it in the FT "kit" form, get the associated flight pack, get a radio system that'll be easy to understand (and program, if need be). there is a phoenix sim of the old fogey, so you can get lotsa stick time in, learn about LOS flying orientation, hone yer piloting skills.

good luck!

 

[CrashRecovery]

Another good beginner is the ft flyer. One sheet of foam, two servos is all this airframe needs to fly. Well besides the power pod and radio gear. Also don't forget about the tiny trainer. Both are in the top three of beginner planes to start with. Nothing fancy, they just fly.

 

[jaredstrees]

I agree 100%. Get something you will have a better chance of success with. Tiny Trainer, Old Fogey, even simple cub would be better to start on. All the electrics can be used for the next plane, but don't start to ambitious or you'll get frustrated. Then set your goal to be the Sea Duck and with practice you'll get there! Good luck!

 

[Havak37]

Thanks for the reply's and the effort to link me some video's even. I really appreciate the feed back. And for all the good luck

 

[Chuppster]

My first build was the Explorer... the wings folded. Then I built a Simple Cub and man, that thing is awesome! Not only is it easy to fly, I have to have crashed it at least 30 times. A little tape and glue and it'll go right back into the air. Can't recommend it enough.

 

[Havak37]

Did the Explorer wings fold because of crashes or weak spur? Or whatever it's called. Also the Simple Cub looks pretty sturdy. Did you do the wheels or the pontoons? Do you have any pictures or video? 😎

 

[rockyboy]

Don't lose that excitement Christian! :applause:

Yes, build the Sea Duck - it's going to be an awesome fun plane. But it's going to take a while to build too.

So train your thumbs on another plane first, and get a bunch of the early bumps, bruises, and unintended high speed vertical landings out of the way on a high wing trainer type plane and/or a simulator.

I re-learned to fly on the Tiny Trainer & a Duet, but if I were starting in the hobby today I'd go for the FT Simple Cub and/or a UMX Timber.

We want you to be in the hobby a long time and have a ton of fun with it - and pretty much all of us remember that first plane taking some hard hits when we didn't know if the problem was the plane or our thumbs, and we'd hate to see you go through that on the Sea Duck.

But Don't Lose That Excitement! We're all pulling for you on this! :applause:

 

[sprzout]

Christian,

You and I are pretty much alike in a LOT of ways. I found the Sea Duck and Flite Test and and said, "I GOTTA build this thing!"

The Sea Duck is my first build of a plane, and I actually won Model of the Month with my club when I brought it in - it impressed the hell out of everyone there that a first timer built this plane. It's a great plane, and yes, it is easy to fly, and VERY stable in flight, and she'll do corkscrews, barrel rolls, and loops without a problem.

All of that said? Like everyone else is saying, it's NOT a first plane.

I haven't crashed mine yet, BUT, I put in a LOT of time on simulators, and a racing quadcopter was my first aerial vehicle. I also went through a "pilot's license" course at my field, before they'd let me fly on my own. With that, we learned to fly with Apprentice S15e's, which are a basic trainer plane that is very forgiving, with a great glide slope, fixed tricycle landing gear, and in general, a VERY solid first plane. I got good with that and got my license, which took me about 2 1/2 - 3 months of flying every Monday night during the summer, before they ok'd me and I maidened the Sea Duck.

It IS a great plane, and it IS easy to fly, but you want to be solid on the landings first with another plane before you try to land the Sea Duck, because it basically STOPS when it lands. There is no "I'm gonna slide on the runway for another 30 feet out of the way of everyone else" landing with it, and if you land wrong, you're going to rip a pontoon off or damage the wing. I've got a definite love for this plane, and everyone at my field knows I'm there if they see a sea plane in the air, because I'm the only one who seems to be willing/weird enough/crazy enough to land a sea plane with no wheels on an asphalt runway.

Seriously, start with a different plane first, like the Simple Cub, but DEFINITELY keep the Sea Duck as a plane to build. I will NOT discourage that one iota. And with people who tell you that the twin engine setup is difficult to fly, don't listen to them. The hardest part is getting differential thrust set up (don't do the rudder setup; I thought about it, but the more I fly it, I realize that the differential thrust is the better option and more fun than a rudder), but there are plenty of videos out there on YouTube and Flite Test that show you how to set it up. You won't be able to wipe the smile off of your face once you're a confident pilot and this thing is in the air.

Again, something like a Simple Cub would be a better start to learn to fly an RC plane than the Sea Duck, especially if you're having an instructor work with you on helping you to learn to fly (which I HIGHLY recommend - find a club or people at an RC field who are willing to teach you). The Sea Duck flies well, but it's a better second plane than a first plane, and this is coming from someone who built it as their first plane - I don't want you to wreck and have to rebuild it at $46 for the speed build kit...

 

[Chuppster]

Did the Explorer wings fold because of crashes or weak spur? Or whatever it's called. Also the Simple Cub looks pretty sturdy. Did you do the wheels or the pontoons? Do you have any pictures or video? 

The wings folded because it was my first build and I cut too much foam out for the dihedral. Going back I would not put dihedral on the wing.

I 3d printed some wheels for my cub but ended up taking them off and just belly landing.

 

[jblaven]

Hi Christian...

As others have said, keep with your plans to build your twin engine plane :applause:. ...but understand that without time in a simulator or with flying a trainer to learn the RC controls, you may find yourself discouraged after a very short flight and an unexpected crash :black_eyed:.

I bought the RealFlight simulator and have been practicing in advance of my first RC flight. The biggest realization for me is training my fingers to operate the controls in reverse as you turn the plane back towards yourself. Without getting this under your belt, I'm afraid any plane is prone to be flown directly into the ground .

lt is crazy to think this would happen as a result of the plane doing exactly what you tell it. I can't tell you how many times I have flown into the ground in the simulator lol. Thank the Lord for the reset button!

Fortunately, trainers can be built and flown and crashed forgivingly.

I say this as a father and newbie RC pilot. For Christmas, I bought the FT Pietenpol kit, Power Pack, DX6, etc for my 3 kids (ages 8, 14, & 17). I also picked up some Dollar Store foam board and printed out the plans for the FT Simple Scout, as I know we will be fixing a broken plane soon enough . I have been making the kids practice flying in the simulator, so hopefully that will help.

Start building something simple that you can practice with and fix quickly. As I mentioned earlier, learning the controls in reverse is a must, because without that familiarity, you will crash. The crazy thing is, that has nothing to do with how slow or easy a plane is to fly.

I'm excited for you! Have fun, and don't get discouraged. Merry Christmas Christian!

 

[Havak37]

Hey sprzout it is nice to meet a kindred spirit The Sea duck will also be my first build, but I doubt I will win any competitions, and I am not a member of a flying club. I think I will be way more into building and modifying than flying. or maybe both as much hah. Good job on not crashing your Sea Duck!

See you in the skies(eventually)

 

[rockyboy]

Hey sprzout it is nice to meet a kindred spirit The Sea duck will also be my first build, but I doubt I will win any competitions, and I am not a member of a flying club. I think I will be way more into building and modifying than flying. or maybe both as much hah. Good job on not crashing your Sea Duck!

See you in the skies(eventually)

Yes! Another fully addicted builder!

I've found in the hobby that some people just want to fly stuff, and are happy to get a ready to fly plane and go punch holes in the sky. At the other end of the spektrum are people like me who just want to build stuff, and flying is a way to test out how well I built it. Once I've flown a plane a half dozen or so times, I'm ready to let it find a new home so I have room to build more

 

[sprzout]

Yes! Another fully addicted builder!

I've found in the hobby that some people just want to fly stuff, and are happy to get a ready to fly plane and go punch holes in the sky. At the other end of the spektrum are people like me who just want to build stuff, and flying is a way to test out how well I built it. Once I've flown a plane a half dozen or so times, I'm ready to let it find a new home so I have room to build more

I'm getting to be that same way. I have a few planes in my stable, so to speak, that I've built for fun. The Sea Duck is just a blast, and I LOVE flying it because it puts SO many smiles on people's faces, from the people watching me fly it to me as well.

I've got a Versa Wing that I just built to eventually fly in Combat (I've only flown it once, and I'm still trying to figure out the best way to get it launched so that I can fly it on my own). I've got a MiG-3 that I've rebuilt and haven't flown yet (The very first flight of the first airframe, I turned it into a lawn dart when I stalled it and couldn't recover - broke the body in half, split the wing at the dihedral, and bent the motor shaft on the cheap, $7 Turnigy motor - oh darn, $7 on the motor and $3 worth of foam board LOL), I've got a Duster that's essentially needing a receiver, ESC, and motor that's sitting on the back burner, and I've got this reliable little BNF Cessna that I won at an auction last month that's just something to put in the air and fly comfortably. I already had some 2S batteries that fit into it, just had to replace a broken clevis that controlled the rudder, shim up the elevator that was loose, and it was ready to go! Only issue I've had with the last plane is getting used to the glide slope - it wants to glide better than the other planes, and so I tend to use the entire runway to put it down until I get a little more used to its characteristics, but hey, it's a new plane to me. LOL

We're all out here to just have fun, whether it be building or it be flying or both, right?

Oh, and one last thing for the new pilots - your mantra for Flite Test - "Build - Fly - Crash - Repeat". Build a foam plane, fly it, if you crash it (and it's quite possible you will), REBUILD/BUILD a new one!

A lot of the time, you'll learn things on the rebuild/repair stage, like, "My plane had a weak point at this glue joint; let me put some more glue here or smear it better to get a better join," or "Ok, my servo wasn't aligned properly and the wire kept getting hung up; let me change the angle this time around." It's always a learning point, and you'll build stuff that'll fly great and be nearly bulletproof at some point.

 

[4U2NVME]

Christian,

Welcome aboard, I like you seem to be 'flying' the same journey..... I have had what I would call my first successful today. I got the plane up in the air three times on three batteries and I did not cost me a Prop, Wing, Power Pod, or any thing. That is a major accomplishment... at least for me I would say. I started out on what people called trainers here...

My very fist build was the FT Tiny Sparrow.. people labeled it as a trainer.. it was good build, learned lots, but trying to figure out the flaperon mixing was a PITA. I did finally get it figured out.. like you this is my first ever plane I have both built and flown... It turned out ok, but to balance it out correctly I had to use to much nose weight. This turned it more into a Scud missle seeking its target and going down in a mighty crash. I did get a second flight from it, but the second fight was just to much and I bent up the main body and it was only good for parts.

My second build was the FT Tiny Trainer. It has trainer in the name right? So it must be great to learn on, that make sense to me. What I found, with the 2200KV motor and 4 or 5 inch prop, it still was more or less a mini missle, that thing could cover ground in a hurry even with a LP2S battery!! I did get some flight time, a few loops of my back yard, and even a surprised congratulatory comment from the wife and a yahoo or two from me, but like the Tiny Sparrow it was just seeking its target and eventually found it mark on the ground and created a small crater. The good thing about the Tiny Trainer, is that is was a bit lighter and took the impact much more. The only thing it cost me for about 10 flights was 9 props.... YES 9. A new prop for every fight ( buy many ).. some hot glue to repair and a few marbles I lost during the education period.

I then came on here seeking help, asking for something slow, stable, good trainer, and was correctly directed to the FT Old Fogey. Its a very easy build, and can be done out of 2 sheets of foam board and a bit and resembles much a plane. I used a 1.4 KV motor and still a 1000 mha LP2S cell, this gave me about 5 - 7 minutes of flight.... You notice a difference here Christian.. .I gave an actual flight time.. and that is because for three batteries today, I kept it in the air for the full three flights!! It did not cost me any Props ( Kinda, if I post video I show you what I mean ) at anyrate still using the same prop, No wings, no new battery pods, no nothing. I was able to get it slightly trimmed out ( I think I need to adjust the servo arm one on the tail elevator as its trimmed up 100% and still wants to dive a bit, but other then that it flys.

Its a good feeling, again I assume like you I don't have anyobody to show me how to fly beyond FT, No buddy or buddy boxing for me, but today I built something, got it outside in the snow, and was able to feel even if for a few minutes as if I was soaring up in the air with little to any care in the world.

Long story short Christian, start with the FT Old Fogey, it will give you a good chance for success, fly a 9 or 10 inch prop on a 2S Lipo battery, plenty of power to fly, but not so much power and speed that it flys faster then your brain and turns it into a Scud misssle.

-NV

 

[jblaven]

...start with the FT Old Fogey, it will give you a good chance for success, fly a 9 or 10 inch prop on a 2S Lipo battery, plenty of power to fly, but not so much power and speed that it flys faster then your brain and turns it into a Scud misssle.

-NV

Hey NV, I like your suggestion. I think I'll start building the FT Old Fogey next.

I just spent a few hours cutting out the FT Simple Scout. Tomorrow will be scoring and gluing.

 

[Havak37]

Hey there jblaven. That is awesome that you are gunna teach your three kids how to fly airplanes! I want to do something similar with my niece and nephew and gf hah. I have a DX6e that has wireless buddy system, so once I figure out what controller it can take over I will get that for helping my niece and gf get launched and anti crash resistance hah. Right now I am just gathering up all the thingies to start my Hangar. I should be learning to use a glue gun and doing some soldering and crafting and what not next week after xmas. Should be lots of fun.

And Merry Christmas to you too man!

 

[epiper93]

My first plane would be an Apprentice if I were you, welcome to the hobby!

 

[rfd]

Hey there jblaven. That is awesome that you are gunna teach your three kids how to fly airplanes! I want to do something similar with my niece and nephew and gf hah. I have a DX6e that has wireless buddy system, so once I figure out what controller it can take over I will get that for helping my niece and gf get launched and anti crash resistance hah. Right now I am just gathering up all the thingies to start my Hangar. I should be learning to use a glue gun and doing some soldering and crafting and what not next week after xmas. Should be lots of fun.

if yer still hell bent on a sea duck maiden, i sure hope santa gifts ya a good flight sim and ya use it a *LOT* before doing the flight thing for real. yes, there is a "static art of beauty" with certain aircraft that are the apple of our eyes. it's when we decide to control them dynamically that the bubble can burst. sorry to be playing the bad cop on ya, i just don't wanna see you get spiral-crash-disillusioned rather than successfully fulfilling yer flight dreams. keep the dream alive, pay yer dues with a flight sim.

 

[Havak37]

Yes! Another fully addicted builder!

I've found in the hobby that some people just want to fly stuff, and are happy to get a ready to fly plane and go punch holes in the sky. At the other end of the spektrum are people like me who just want to build stuff, and flying is a way to test out how well I built it. Once I've flown a plane a half dozen or so times, I'm ready to let it find a new home so I have room to build more

Yes! it may be kinda premature cause I haven't even built one plane yet. But I am already thinking of ways to change the build of the sea duck and things I think would make it more aerodynamic with less drag or just more streamlined and smooth looking, be it changes to the pontoons, or finish and sanding it with clear after the paint. I have an idea for like using some huge 20" ducting with a fan and hang the Sea Duck (fuselage only) in it. Tying it in all the directions so it stays relatively straight with like a fish scale tied to the front to measure drag in lbs/ounces and then make my own fuselage with more angled back windshield area and closing up the rear hatch area, and later making it less boxy and more like a sea plane boat bottom or just curved sides and put it in the same "wind tunnel" and measure the drag on the fish scale. may not work or might be hard to get a powerful enough fan. But it will be fun and interesting.

I have also thought about once I am used to how the Sea Duck flies putting some extra foam board to cover up the rear hatch area and see how it flies differently, idk if they made it like that because it was causing some fuselage lift or something they didn't want, or if it was just to have the optional rear hatch opening thing. Also closing in the cambered wing tips in favor of a full flat bottom wing for less drag and faster speeds and see how much it affects flight characteristics. They could just be filler structures taped in and not permanent unless I like how it flies better then I could build it into the next one. Maybe I can get a radar gun, but probably just use a chronograph from like paintball gun calibrating and try to fly over the top of it so I can show if the improvements made it go faster or how fast certain battery/prop setups go. I also need to learn how to make "plans" in the FT style so I can share my changes so other people could build the "Speed Duck" if they want. Obviously I like that it has slow props and cambered wing tips to use as a trainer, but I am sure once I get the hang of it I will get "The Need for Speed!"

I also plan on capturing everything with video so other people that wonder can see how it actually is vs peoples assumptions/guesses. Like everyone asks on these motors/esc's 3s or 4s whatever, I have both batteries ordered and I will run the diff batteries/prop setups and I have a meter thing ordered that shows how many amps and watts the motors are pulling and I saw a video how you can run the motors as pushers on a scale to see thrust, and yeah people are gunna complain that its pushing against a solid surface and there will be not as much resistance in the air, but until I can run the watt/amp meter in the cargo hold with a light and camera on it for in air test this will have to do.

I also have the advantage of starting as a newbie, so my info will be about a newb, by a newb, and for newbs. Like the FT video's are super helpful but those guys have done this so long they leave out little details or steps that they just know or take for granted. Like in the Sea Duck build video they accidentally skipped the power pod build and people are wondering in the comments. Yes its a simple thing and I found a link to a diff build video of another plane that shows it in detail to direct people to.

My channel will be everything Sea Duck. Obviously some things will translate to other planes. C pack motors with 30A esc's and working with foam and hot glue, but I will just focus on the one plane for now. Soon as I figure out where "Build threads" are supposed to go on here I will start one. Or maybe just keep using this thread idk.

But yeah the engineer/mechanic side really appeals to me. For channel content maybe I will just figure out and video answer peoples comments section questions that go unanswered by the original poster