Newbie following directions.

[Obi-Wan B.O.B.]

Hello all! I’m a newbie so I’m just following directions and posting like they say I should.

I live on the plains of Nebraska. I’ve been a lifelong aviation enthusiast, starting all the way back with watching my dad make balsa/tissue rubber powered models. After he passed away while I was still young, I remember making gliders using straws as frames, Elmers glue and saran wrap as the wrap. After graduating high school, I served four years in the USAF as a structural tech on the B1 bomber and the KC135 tanker. That was many, many years ago.

Anyway, after catching a few videos on Youtube purely by chance, I decided to give some the FT goodies a try and started with the Tiny Trainer. Had fun building and in a short two weeks I have now crashed the crap out of it. It would take a lot of tape and hotmelt to get it into good flying shape now. Not sure what the next build is going to be but it’s either something like the Old Fogey or a wing of some sort. Part of me says the sllllllooooooowwwww speed of the Fogey is what I need to prevent the onset of sudden impact syndrome, but on the other hand, I actually do better with wings on the simulator and the idea of a rear prop is appealing since I’ve gone through 10 of those buggers already.

So here I am.

 

[CappyAmeric]

Hello all! I’m a newbie so I’m just following directions and posting like they say I should.

I live on the plains of Nebraska. I’ve been a lifelong aviation enthusiast, starting all the way back with watching my dad make balsa/tissue rubber powered models. After he passed away while I was still young, I remember making gliders using straws as frames, Elmers glue and saran wrap as the wrap. After graduating high school, I served four years in the USAF as a structural tech on the B1 bomber and the KC135 tanker. That was many, many years ago.

Anyway, after catching a few videos on Youtube purely by chance, I decided to give some the FT goodies a try and started with the Tiny Trainer. Had fun building and in a short two weeks I have now crashed the crap out of it. It would take a lot of tape and hotmelt to get it into good flying shape now. Not sure what the next build is going to be but it’s either something like the Old Fogey or a wing of some sort. Part of me says the sllllllooooooowwwww speed of the Fogey is what I need to prevent the onset of sudden impact syndrome, but on the other hand, I actually do better with wings on the simulator and the idea of a rear prop is appealing since I’ve gone through 10 of those buggers already.

So here I am.

If you want to try a wing, build the FT Arrow. Simple build, flies great and you won’t break props.

 

[Obi-Wan B.O.B.]

If you want to try a wing, build the FT Arrow. Simple build, flies great and you won’t break props.

I assume you're referring to the Mini Arrow? Searching didn't turn up another "full-size" Arrow.

I was actually thinking of the Spear. I don't do FPV yet (obviously..... I'd be REALLY dangerous at this point!) but I do have a Gopro. I was also thinking that a larger wing might be less twitchy. Plus there is room for an Aura maybe?

What say the experienced folks here?

 

[CappyAmeric]

I assume you're referring to the Mini Arrow? Searching didn't turn up another "full-size" Arrow.

I was actually thinking of the Spear. I don't do FPV yet (obviously..... I'd be REALLY dangerous at this point!) but I do have a Gopro. I was also thinking that a larger wing might be less twitchy. Plus there is room for an Aura maybe?

What say the experienced folks here?

The Spear is great, as is the Versa, but for a beginner, the Arrow’s small size makes launching it a breeze. It flies exceptionally well on an F pack.

 

[Obi-Wan B.O.B.]

Slava Ukraini!

 

[Gray Harlequin]

My second FT plane was a pusher version Versa Wing. While it looks and sounds awesome in the air, I did have some issues with it. The build was very easy, but mounting the battery was a huge pain. Also had issues with balancing it correctly. My main problem though was that in the air it was laterally unstable. It just didn't want to settle out in bank and took a lot of input to keep it level. It could be something with my build, but that was my experience. Had the arrow or spear been out at the time, I would probably have opted for one of those.

 

[Robert S]

You don't have to put FPV in the Arrow if you don't want. The Mini-Arrow is a great little park flier. It can go fast but it can go reasonably slow too.

 

[checkerboardflyer]

Flite Test has a model called the FT Tenet. It's a pusher with the prop up high and behind the wing. It would be difficult to break a prop. It comes with a variety of wing and tail configurations, and it's a quick build. Plus there are excellent build videos on the FT YouTube channel. Included below a few pics of my Tenet. More info on my blog: https://foamboardflyers.com

 

[Off-topic jes]

Hello all! I’m a newbie so I’m just following directions and posting like they say I should.

I live on the plains of Nebraska. I’ve been a lifelong aviation enthusiast, starting all the way back with watching my dad make balsa/tissue rubber powered models. After he passed away while I was still young, I remember making gliders using straws as frames, Elmers glue and saran wrap as the wrap. After graduating high school, I served four years in the USAF as a structural tech on the B1 bomber and the KC135 tanker. That was many, many years ago.

Anyway, after catching a few videos on Youtube purely by chance, I decided to give some the FT goodies a try and started with the Tiny Trainer. Had fun building and in a short two weeks I have now crashed the crap out of it. It would take a lot of tape and hotmelt to get it into good flying shape now. Not sure what the next build is going to be but it’s either something like the Old Fogey or a wing of some sort. Part of me says the sllllllooooooowwwww speed of the Fogey is what I need to prevent the onset of sudden impact syndrome, but on the other hand, I actually do better with wings on the simulator and the idea of a rear prop is appealing since I’ve gone through 10 of those buggers already.

So here I am.

Welcome to the forms also I love your name Obi-Wan Kenobi is my favorite character! Love the new show!