Son's birthday is around the corner...help out two NOOBs

InWyo

Member
Hello,

My son and I have been building plastic models for a couple years now and we have also been attending fly-inns with the local AMA club. Last week he and I build the Simple Soarer (as a toss glider), and he's really excited about scratch building and his birthday is a couple weeks away. I'd like to get him the 3-pack, but we also need EVERYTHING, and I'd also like to get him two power pods...I read there's a starter pod and a 'beef' pod and both work relatively well with all swapables (correct me if I'm wrong). We also need a couple of transmitters so we can fly with the umbilical chord.

There are no hobby shops in Wyoming. Can someone point me in the right direction for everything that I need?

From what I gather, I'll need the following:
  • low-power pod
  • "Beef" Power Pod
  • Batteries (at least two for each power pod)
  • A reasonable charger with appropriate safety measures etc.
  • two transmitters capable of slave/master and recievers (FRSky6 was what I was looking at)
  • Anything else?


I've attempted to match the lists on the web-site and also seek links in the forum but I haven't had great results yet. Anyone else go through something similar relatively recently?
 

InWyo

Member
It's getting a bit more expensive than I anticipated.

I definitely want to go scratch build. That's a major component of what he and I really enjoy, but I thought I could get everything for under $200. I'd be willing to sacrifice the 'beef' and an extra transmitter, and it's still really difficult to get under $200
 

OGBugsy

Junior Member
It's not required, (most hobby shops will solder for $), but a good soldering iron is a very handy tool. Also, a good self-healing cutting mat and quality zippy/exacto knives make the building process go a lot smoother.

I personally recommend starting off with a cheap flight stabilizer as well. They make the learning process much easier, and once you and you're son get better, they can be switched off or on as you please. I use the OrangeRx rx3s V3 with the receiver built into the stabilizer from Hobby King for $25. There are quite a few others to choose from as well, but for the price, I have no complaints with the OrangeRx V3.

Sorry, I can't be much help on the motor part. I'm still trying to understand it all myself. :) I bought a couple of the O.S. Motors and I am very pleased with the OMA-3805-1200. I had to add a larger basswood plate to the front of the powerpod, very easy, but it still balances fine and I have used it on the versa, mustang and the spitfire is waiting to maiden with the O.S. OMA-3810-1050. I'm positive there are cheaper motors to use that will work just fine, I just went to my LHS and these were too perty to pass up. :)

I think this is the best part of what FliteTest is all about. A father scratch building and learning to fly with his son. I'm sure you guys will have many hours of great fun. All the best!

OGBugsy
 

InWyo

Member
I do have a start on many of the 'ingredients' that will help us. I have a drill press, band saw, ROS sander, sodering iron, glue gun, and my own shop that houses it all. All of that will come in helpful if we care to execute our own designs off of insulation foam. It's really just getting started that's a bit tough to swallow.
 

OGBugsy

Junior Member
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I built this for my grandson and all in it's at:

dtfb/colored tape/hot glue = $3
OrangeRx V3 = $25
Motor = $15
Esc = $30 (you can find these cheaper)
9g servos x2 = $4
Landing gear = $4
Prop= $2.50
Battery = $20

Total = $103.50

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
OGBugsy
 
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SnowRocker88

Amateur pilot and builder
Start with a simulator if you can. Even the cheesy ones you can download on a smartphone (such as Absolute RC Plane Sim) will be helpful. The main thing to overcome is usually the change in orientation between flying towards yourself and flying away. ON THE SIM do a lot of passes back and fourth, towards yourself and away. This isn't how you will fly in the real world but eventually you will wind up with the plane coming at you and you need to be able to correct in the proper direction.

Other than that, if you're looking to go cheap, go with HobbyKing components (Orange Rx, Orange Tx, turnigy servos, battery, ESC and motor) and just scratch build from the printable plans. The main cost is going to be in your power pod and Rx/Tx. After that having a "3-pack" of planes will only cost you servos (about $5 a servo times 3-4 servos so $15-20).

Build something you don't mind being ugly as your first build. Getting the hang of cutting out from plans takes about a build judging by my own learning curve and my friend's. BUT, that first plane will get crashed plenty too so just go for it. I recommend building an FT Storch first. The thing flies wonderfully! Makes for a great trainer. Just be mindful of strong winds and you will probably want the "beef" package for that big of an airframe.
 

rcspaceflight

creator of virtual planes
This article is a bit dated, but will still be helpful: http://www.flitetest.com/articles/stingy-old-fogey

I agree with the author of the article about getting crimp on connectors. That's how I started. Soldering is a much, much, much better way to go, but crimp on connectors work fine. The only problem I had with them is that a hard crash would usually result in the connector getting pulled off of the wire instead of the connector getting disconnected. Basically crimp on connectors are more expensive in the long run, but cheaper at the beginning.

You don't need a better charger at first. The cheap one suggested in the article will work. You can always get a better charger later. The radio suggested doesn't allow for buddy boxing. I believe the Dx6i does and is a great first radio. You can't really go wrong with any 2.4ghz radio. Even the cheap ones have great range.


If you can, I suggest buying Dollar Tree Foam Board and using the speed build kits as templates. The best advice for when you're first starting out is to pick an airframe and stick with that one until you get the hang of it. Any "problems" you have flying is not going to be the airframe if it's a proven design. It's going to be flaws with the build or inexperienced piloting. Keep making FT Flyers until you get the hang of it. Because the speed build kits only come with enough firewalls and control horns for one plane, buy extra. FT sells them for cheap and they are better quality hobby plywood than you're likely to find locally.

If you're going to use the speed build kits at templates, then you're going to need all of the scratch build supplies. Not just a hot glue gun, but a good cutting board, a hobby knife, packing tape, wire for control rods, control horns, popsicle sticks (for repairs), bamboo skewers.

Even though it's a great idea to have two power pods, it's probably not necessary at first. I suggest a 3S battery, an 8x4 prop, and a 1100kv-1400kv motor. You'd think that slower is better for a noob, but it's great to have the pulling power to quickly get out of bad situations. You don't want to end up flying at full throttle the entire flight. Cruising at 30-50% and then being able to punch the throttle and pull back on the elevator to quickly gain altitude will save your plane more than once.
 

SnowRocker88

Amateur pilot and builder
Even though it's a great idea to have two power pods, it's probably not necessary at first. I suggest a 3S battery, an 8x4 prop, and a 1100kv-1400kv motor. You'd think that slower is better for a noob, but it's great to have the pulling power to quickly get out of bad situations. You don't want to end up flying at full throttle the entire flight. Cruising at 30-50% and then being able to punch the throttle and pull back on the elevator to quickly gain altitude will save your plane more than once.

I will agree with this especially. It's a struggle of wills between wanting to have a 'safe' and slow power setup that will keep you from rocketing out of control but really that extra umpf of power comes in handy in bad situations (like a stall) and the rest of the time just practice some throttle discipline and keep it dialed back.

Or, if you REALLY think it's going to be an issue, having too much power for your son to fly, maybe you can calibrate your ESC with some fake settings to give it a sort of lowered max power that way. Never done it myself but I don't see why it wouldn't work.
 

Aeronaut

Build+Crash= +more power!
Just came across this thread and I have some input on this as I am an relatively new pilot as well. First off I recommend the Hobby King orange Rx T-six transmitter. Its 60 bucks and does everything the dx6i does (except DSMX the t-6 uses DSM2) and the T-6 has a back lit screen which is really nice. I do agree with building FT flyers first at you can do a plethora of mods to them. Personally I mastered Rudder and elevator flying first with the flyer. but then i had it lying around and added ailerons to making it a 4ch plane. It as a great way to step up to ailerons and you don't need another airframe, just another servo and control horns. The T-6 can bind to any spectrum receiver and the orange rx 3 axis as well.

I hope you are your son have a great time flying!
Jack
 

SnowRocker88

Amateur pilot and builder
The T-6 can bind to any spectrum receiver and the orange rx 3 axis as well.

He brings up a good tip here. Orange Rx released a DSM2 receiver with a 3 axis flight stabilization board incorporated. Basically you plug it up, set the sensitivity and the Rx will counteract the effects of wind and torque rolling pretty well with its 3 gyroscope sensors. Really good thing for new pilots. Also VERY cheap.

Orange Rx RX3S DSM2 Receiver ($25)

Orange Rx T-6 Transmitter ($65)
 

InWyo

Member
I suppose this isn't really all that expensive when you consider this power pod will work for nearly all the swappables so each additional plane can be build for as little as $3. Good call on the stabilizer, and I've decided the storch would be more fun for the little man.

Now i'll have to read up on the water-proofing because there's going to be snow when he wants to fly...
 

SnowRocker88

Amateur pilot and builder
I suppose this isn't really all that expensive when you consider this power pod will work for nearly all the swappables so each additional plane can be build for as little as $3. Good call on the stabilizer, and I've decided the storch would be more fun for the little man.

Now i'll have to read up on the water-proofing because there's going to be snow when he wants to fly...

Well, planes are $3 + servos and horns which can be another $20 or so but again $23 is nothing for a Swappable ready airframe.

...WOW Hobby King has TERRIBLE service

Time to start from square one for the 4th time

What seems to be the problem? Or are you just reading over reviews? There are always going to be trade-offs for low prices. Horizon Hobby and Tower Hobbies etc etc charge what they do to pay their great service representatives and to be able to research and develop new product...HK charges little because their service department is small and generic and they have knock-off products for the most part.

They usually make good on their sales but you certainly have to wait for their product to arrive when it ships from their international warehouse. The nearest US warehouse to you should have products to your door in less than a week tho. (Prices are typically a little higher for the US warehouses).

Only problem I have had with HK is when I ordered my LiPo's from them. They took 3 months to get here and they couldn't really tell me where they were. Some Malaysian post issue...but other than that they've been on the money. They will even respond to issues on open orders pretty fast.
 

InWyo

Member
It may be seamless if you work with pay-pal. I was trying to use a card because I don't have pay-pal, and they now have a limit to only accepting 3d enabled cards (which are very popular in Europe, but very limited in the US), so they won't accept payment...but it still posted a tentative charge on my card (which has yet to be removed, and I have yet to get a response on the phone or through chat).

Ordered all the parts from HobbyPartz, and it ended up being a good $40 cheaper on the base bill and free shipping (though I didn't get a 3-axis stabilizer, but I did get what appears to be a better transmitter).
 

rcspaceflight

creator of virtual planes
If you go with the FT Storch, the advice still applies to stick to that one airframe until you get the hang of it.

The FT Storch is a much more complicated build than the FT Flyer, but certainly should be a great first plane. Either buy the speed build kit and use it as a template, or print off the plans and either make a foam board template with them, or laminate the paper so the plans will last a long time.

Just be prepared to make a lot of them. Your first one is not likely to be built quite right. Nor is it likely to last very long. But the more you build the easier it will be and better the planes will turn out.

Incase you don't know, you can actually have a case of DTFB shipped to your door. Cases come with 25 sheets of foam board and cost $25, but that's still a bargain. http://www.dollartree.com/office-sc...rds/610c567c567p16450/index.pro?method=search