Hey everyone, getting back into RC after a bit over a decade away and have decided to try getting into airplanes as well. I have an old Hobbyzone Super Cub DSM that's been sitting in my storage unit for all that time, ordered a new lipo for it and it appears to still be airworthy; I've never gotten it in the air but the local club guys didn't have too much trouble with it. So that was neat! That said, pretty much everything that came with and on that plane appears to be hilariously outdated; the DX4e lacks a lot of modern functionality and the little geared-down brushed motor seems to be seriously lacking some power. I've looked at some new RTF/BNFs and there's a ton of good options these days, but I still feel a bit silly paying 200-300 bucks for foamies. When I was doing RC car stuff I was always more into kits anyways, so I've ended up looking at a lot of FliteTest stuff.
Currently I'm trying to find out everything I need to assemble some tough planes. Based on the lackluster stock at my local dollar stores, I can't seem to find any DTFB within a hundred miles so already off to a bad start there lol. Walmart has their offbrand Pen+Gear foam board but I haven't seen much info on using that for planes. Then for assembly, what would be the ideal adhesives? I like Titebond from some brief woodworking I've done but idk how that'll fare with foam. Hot glue seems easy but way too heavy. Got plenty of packing tape at least.
Also with carbon fiber being super accessible these days, I've been wondering about using some CF spars in builds to significantly stiffen/strengthen them up, especially for the wings. Not sure what size and form factor to get them in, nor how to attach them to the foam, but looks interesting. Which also reminds me, do yall use some kinda jigs to hold stuff together while the glue dries?
Then electronics. My local club members almost exclusively use Spektrum but I've been looking at some of the Radiomaster ELRS offerings that seem more compelling, not sure if there's any other cheap brands to consider for TX/RXs. I see lots of motors, servos, and ESCs available on Amazon but if there's other places to get them for cheaper or to get more reliable hardware. It would be convenient to get everything from one place but I am a cheapskate to a fault and would love to get stuff for a good deal lol. Plus it seems complicated to match motor KV to a given prop to a given airframe and whatnot. Also curious how easy it would be to move electronics from plane to plane; I could justify buying nicer, more expensive hardware if I could swap it around without much hassle.
At a glance, the kind of laid back silly STOL-ish flying they do on the Tail Heavy Productions youtube channel looks right up my alley, and a lot of planes they showcase look like a good time except for the cost lol. It'd be neat to see some FliteTest airframes in those kinda situations and see how they hold up. Whatever they're doing, I wanna find out the path I need to take to get there with my own builds and skills.
Lastly, what's the deal with flight controllers and gyros and other fancy modern computer stuff? Is that just a QoL kinda thing, or will it be more of a crutch that will ingrain some bad habits down the road?
Sorry for the rambling wall of text lol. But thanks for reading and I appreciate any info you can provide. Thanks!
Currently I'm trying to find out everything I need to assemble some tough planes. Based on the lackluster stock at my local dollar stores, I can't seem to find any DTFB within a hundred miles so already off to a bad start there lol. Walmart has their offbrand Pen+Gear foam board but I haven't seen much info on using that for planes. Then for assembly, what would be the ideal adhesives? I like Titebond from some brief woodworking I've done but idk how that'll fare with foam. Hot glue seems easy but way too heavy. Got plenty of packing tape at least.
Also with carbon fiber being super accessible these days, I've been wondering about using some CF spars in builds to significantly stiffen/strengthen them up, especially for the wings. Not sure what size and form factor to get them in, nor how to attach them to the foam, but looks interesting. Which also reminds me, do yall use some kinda jigs to hold stuff together while the glue dries?
Then electronics. My local club members almost exclusively use Spektrum but I've been looking at some of the Radiomaster ELRS offerings that seem more compelling, not sure if there's any other cheap brands to consider for TX/RXs. I see lots of motors, servos, and ESCs available on Amazon but if there's other places to get them for cheaper or to get more reliable hardware. It would be convenient to get everything from one place but I am a cheapskate to a fault and would love to get stuff for a good deal lol. Plus it seems complicated to match motor KV to a given prop to a given airframe and whatnot. Also curious how easy it would be to move electronics from plane to plane; I could justify buying nicer, more expensive hardware if I could swap it around without much hassle.
At a glance, the kind of laid back silly STOL-ish flying they do on the Tail Heavy Productions youtube channel looks right up my alley, and a lot of planes they showcase look like a good time except for the cost lol. It'd be neat to see some FliteTest airframes in those kinda situations and see how they hold up. Whatever they're doing, I wanna find out the path I need to take to get there with my own builds and skills.
Lastly, what's the deal with flight controllers and gyros and other fancy modern computer stuff? Is that just a QoL kinda thing, or will it be more of a crutch that will ingrain some bad habits down the road?
Sorry for the rambling wall of text lol. But thanks for reading and I appreciate any info you can provide. Thanks!