two outta three aint bad or is it ?

hdoug5

Junior Member
hi guys
I put together a nutball , an ft flyer, and a baby blender. the nutball is just that, how on earth do you guys get em off the ground ? my nut ball went straight for about 10 feet then started spinning I throttled back applied opposite rudder to straighten it out gave some throttle and off she goes the other way never got more than 5 inches off the ground im thinking my wheels may be binding but im not sure its a mess right now! the ft flyer nice lil plane rigged it and tossed it to see how far it would glide, well not far but was almost level just a tad nose down I put her on the pavement and gave it some throttle and off she went, made it about 100 feet then sharp bank to the left and into the pavement upside down.
the lil blender I love the only problem ive had with it is the bottom wing, I glued it in to the fuselage and after a couple of rough landings or crashes as you may call it, the glue separated from the wing and I didn't notice it til it was taxying and then the next thing I saw was the rudder up against the wings, believe me cg had nothing to do with this not flying anymore. im letting my pride heal before I put them back together, but I wish Scott, Scott and David would make some video's on how not to build one of these classy lil planes I cant believe their planes go from work bench to flying hands off on the first flights, c'mon guys a lot of newbys like myself take your word as gospel till we go out with our newly damaged planes. anyway you guys are awesome
 

Craftydan

Hostage Taker of Quads
Staff member
Moderator
Mentor
Doug,

Haven't built any of the swappables yet (someday, and soon), but the first plane I "scratch built" had a similar fate. for me, there were subtle mistakes that I'm not sure anyone would bring up in a build video. Had an experienced pilot trim it out for me and what I learned watching him made all the difference.

The planes you built were probably sound airframes, but needed an expert to trim. I'd like to encourage you -- keep building, but find a local flying club to learn the little things everyone assumes everyone knows.

Don't make an a$$ of yourself, but in the same way, if they look down their nose at you and your toy paper airplane find another club. You don't have to drive out of your way every time you want to fly, but once you find a good bunch who will lend a hand to a noob while having a blast on the field, you won't mind the drive.
 

zev

lumpy member
I had the same experience with the nutball, no idea why. that said, the FT old fogey (my second build) turned out awesome.
 

pgerts

Old age member
Mentor
I would never recommend anyone to start with a scratchbuild. Learn to fly with a RTF like the Champ, EmberII or something bigger like the Bixler or CUB. Then it is a lot more easy to know how to fly your own creations. The Flite Test Team are experienced pilots all of them and can take anything up and look like it is easy. The FT team know "by heart" the correct combination of battery-motor- prop and thottle to make the plane fly smooth. A little less or more of anything and the plane will race or stall. Keep on trying and you will finally get the feeling yourself or get a "buddy" to help you out. The internet is great but "hands on" help is the best.
 
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hdoug5

Junior Member
ty Dan, Zev and Pgerts
the information you guys gave is awesome :) the only tjhing is theres not a club within75 miles of me so im left out in left field with trial and error I do have some flying experience but not enough to say im proficient lol 2 outta 3 aint bad right :) ive just about got my blender back together as it seemed to fly the best, i think my glueing was a bit sparce trying to save weight and may be the cause of the lower wing separation, I have also started on the cruiser, it looks sporty and I have quite a few sheets of dollar tree foam board on hand im hoping the boss (wife) will get the cam ready to show my next flight or fright. but guys thanks for getting back to me I really appreciate it :)
 

aiidanwings

Senior Member
I agree with pgerts. Building a 'kit' plane is a great learning experience, but not that much help for actual flying.

RTF planes can be had really cheap, and foam is easy to glue back together.
 

zev

lumpy member
my first plane ever was a ft old fogey, most awesome experience ever. love that thing.
 

brfrompa

New member
The big killers are:
building it too crooked
building too heavy. (0r gear is too heavy)
Center of Gravity wrong. That one is a biggy.
Control throws are too aggressive. (controls going the wrong direction is pretty bad, too.)
Too much throttle on those early flights. That one always gets me. Nothing is worse than being "behind" a plane that is out of trim and going so fast that it is super touchy.

Really analyze that stuff and things will go much better.

Regards,
Brent