Where to start?

[Flying Monkey fab]

Okay, what is the best compromise between easy to build (and rebuild) and easy to fly but is 3 axis?

Experienced pilot but no RC experience.

Would the Tiny Trainer be a good start? Could I modify the polyhedral wing to use ailerons?

thanx

 

[cranialrectosis]

The tiny trainer speed build kit comes with two wings. The training wing is a polyhedral wing designed for 3 channel use. The sport wing has a bit of dihedral and ailerons for 4 channel use.

It's a great plane to learn on!

 

[DamoRC]

Agree with @cranialrectosis - the tiny trainer is a great start and you can move onto the sport wing when you are ready.

Went camping with a bunch of friends last month and there were a half dozen younger kids (7 - 12) there. I brought the tiny trainer to buddy box with the kids and we had a blast. Set up right, she'll fly by herself as I discovered during one of the buddy box flights when the battery disconnected. With no power or control she happily floated around the field once before gently landing in a tree.

DamoRC

 

[Hai-Lee]

As yet another somewhat similar voice I will say that the Tiny Trainer is very good, As for your question about adding ailerons to the Polyhedral wing I suggest that you do not bother. As stated previously the kit comes with both of the two wings designs and when I was starting back into the hobby I was struggling with actually flying until I did 2 things, got a tiny trainer and a halfway decent radio with antenna diversity on the Receivers.

Having learnt to fly 3 channel quite well the thought of using ailerons was a little scary but I had built the sport wing but not fitted the servos at the time. One day I just wanted to see if the wing worked so I fitted it anyway and launched. Well wasn't I surprised the sport wing, (minus servos), flew and flew well. Within a single battery I was doing every maneuver that I had been able to do with the 3 channel wing and so I went home and fitted the servos. Next day I started to fly using ailerons and the transition was seamless.

If you look around the forum there are a myriad of posts of different add-ons for the Tiny Trainer which can give a wide range of different flying experiences.

Definitely go the TT

Have fun!

 

[Forster]

Third vote for the tiny trainer. it's light and pretty crash resistant. You can grow your skills with it. I would recommend buying a radio you can program easily for things like aileron rates and such. Back in the day (late 1970's) you couldn't program in switchable roll rates or expo and as you grow into a better pilot, it's nice to be able to add features on a switch so you can climb up a mistake or two before taking the next step. I bought a Spektrum DX6e and think it's a great beginner level radio that you can grow with.

 

[sprzout]

I must be one of the odd men out, because of the way I learned. I was flying the old school Microsoft Flight Simulator on my Mac IIsi back in the 90's, and then playing other flight sims on the PC up until the early 2000's. Flying in Crimson Skies and learning how to loop and pull hard left and right turns, using a rudder in addition to ailerons, to be able to shoot the bad guy? That's where I think I mastered the concept of rudder.

Then, I went from that to learning quads, so I was using yaw to effectively turn my quad, because roll/ailerons weren't doing it at all...And all of that transferred into the first time I flew the 4 channel Apprentice. LOL.

 

[FoamyDM]

I have been having a LOT of fun with the FT-Simple Soarer. That will fly well as 2 channel (throttle for elevator) and 3channel, Rudder plugged into the aileron slot.

But I agree the TT is a great start and works with 3 or 4 channels.

 

[Flying Monkey fab]

I must be one of the odd men out, because of the way I learned. I was flying the old school Microsoft Flight Simulator on my Mac IIsi back in the 90's, and then playing other flight sims on the PC up until the early 2000's. Flying in Crimson Skies and learning how to loop and pull hard left and right turns, using a rudder in addition to ailerons, to be able to shoot the bad guy? That's where I think I mastered the concept of rudder.

Then, I went from that to learning quads, so I was using yaw to effectively turn my quad, because roll/ailerons weren't doing it at all...And all of that transferred into the first time I flew the 4 channel Apprentice. LOL.

That's my thing, 2000 plus hours IRL and all but 100 or so I've had separate roll and yaw available to me. I think I'll try to make it. The worst it can be is a failed experiment.

 

[cranialrectosis]

Film the maiden. If she flies we will all fly with you. If she crashes, we may be able to help tell you why.

 

[DharanFlyer]

That's my thing, 2000 plus hours IRL and all but 100 or so I've had separate roll and yaw available to me. I think I'll try to make it. The worst it can be is a failed experiment.

My hours are a tad lower than yours (cough60cough) and there is almost no translation of skill from GA to RC. At least beyond theory.

I personally find the FT Explorer super easy to fly on the sport wing. I agree with going 4 channel (throttle, yaw, roll, and pitch) first and skipping the 3 channel. I find it teaches bad habits.

PS if you have your instructor and by Chicago let me know

 

[sprzout]

My hours are a tad lower than yours (cough60cough) and there is almost no translation of skill from GA to RC. At least beyond theory.

I personally find the FT Explorer super easy to fly on the sport wing. I agree with going 4 channel (throttle, yaw, roll, and pitch) first and skipping the 3 channel. I find it teaches bad habits.

PS if you have your instructor and by Chicago let me know

I think it's the concept for some of us, on how yaw works. I had no problem translating it; I wanted to test it to see how it worked at first, and then I started doing hard left and hard right turns with rudder and Aileron at the same time, and my instructors are freaking out, going, "Where did you learn that? Ease up, you're gonna rip the plane apart!" LOL I won't sa it translates for everyone - far from it - but it definitely helped me.

 

[DharanFlyer]

I think it's the concept for some of us, on how yaw works. I had no problem translating it; I wanted to test it to see how it worked at first, and then I started doing hard left and hard right turns with rudder and Aileron at the same time, and my instructors are freaking out, going, "Where did you learn that? Ease up, you're gonna rip the plane apart!" LOL I won't sa it translates for everyone - far from it - but it definitely helped me.

I suppose to more clear it's the orientation issue and loss of feel from flying in the cockpit to being on the ground that makes the difference.

 

[sprzout]

I suppose to more clear it's the orientation issue and loss of feel from flying in the cockpit to being on the ground that makes the difference.

That makes complete sense. I had a horrible time transferring from FPV to Line of sight with my quad, and I know that if I were to ever actually REALLY go flying (ie, in a Cessna or Beechcraft or something similar) I would freak and not be able to handle it...

 

[Namactual]

I started with 3 channel bank and yank, but you really need to get over the reverse controls when you are coming back at yourself head on. This is where a sim comes in handy.

With the Rudder, if you hold the wrong way head on you will just turn the wrong way. With Ailerons you will continue to roll inverted and beyond. That can spell disaster in a hurry.

 

[Flying Monkey fab]

I started with 3 channel bank and yank, but you really need to get over the reverse controls when you are coming back at yourself head on. This is where a sim comes in handy.

With the Rudder, if you hold the wrong way head on you will just turn the wrong way. With Ailerons you will continue to roll inverted and beyond. That can spell disaster in a hurry.

Even though foamys don't make you cry as much to crash them I have every intention of getting some simulator time in.

 

[nhk750]

The TT is kind of a fast little plane, there are some foam trainers out there with SAFE that fly really slow and would be really easy to learn on. Just google them. I cant remember the name of them right now...

 

[sprzout]

The TT is kind of a fast little plane, there are some foam trainers out there with SAFE that fly really slow and would be really easy to learn on. Just google them. I cant remember the name of them right now...

If you want a really fun, inexpensive 3 channel that you can fly in the house, the UMX Vapor is a blast. Just a warning - cats see it as a bird and will leap to kill it.

You can fly it outside as well, but you need virtually NO wind whatsoever to fly it because it's so light.

Another fun one that we bought for my father last year for Christmas was the UMX Radian. It's got SAFE and is perhaps one of the easiest planes out there to put up into the air and glide with.

If you want more channels, the UMX Timber is a really nice little STOL plane, foam, with LED lights on the wingtips, that will take off in virtually nothing (I want to say 10 ft of runway or less?), and utilizes 5 channels, if you include the flaps (although you don't need to use them, but it makes it easier to slow that plane down and set it on the ground!)

Of course, those are all pretty much RTF/BNF planes, but they're still a lot of fun that are EASY to get up in the air and tool around with.

 

[Hai-Lee]

If you look around for the TT modifications you might find one about a long span wing.

When flying, (Gliding), using the long span wing in a slight breeze/light wind I often find that the plane is either stationary or actually moving backwards WRT the ground.

As for a trainer foamie you could try either a Bixler or a Radian.

Have fun!

 

[Gazoo]

As a full scale pilot your knowledge will help but it really comes down to getting that muscle memory. You will have dumb thumbs for a while.

Concepts that you already know:
1. power controls altitude
2. pitch controls airspeed
3. how to fly into ground effect and flair for landing
4. coordinated flight using rudder especially at low airspeed
5. left turn tendencies
6. center of gravity in relation to center of lift

Orientation is a huge factor when standing on the ground. Polyhedral or dihedral will help with this. I have not flown the TT with the polyhedral wing, only with ailerons. I don't think it requires that much rudder though. Plus, there is under-camber at the wing tips so you won't have to worry too much on the base-to-final turn.

I started flying RC with a Spektrum DX5e which does not have Expo or anything. This taught me to be very light and gentle with the sticks. It's all about the muscle memory. Now I have the DX6i which has Expo and whatnot but I rarely use it.

Just make sure to cut the throttle when you lose orientation. That will lessen the damage in a crash.

Be prepared to stick it into a tree and into the ground.
Also, be prepared to make repairs.
Have extra props and pliers to change them.
Bring along a rope and roll of duct tape. Tie the rope through the tape roll and toss into the tree to free your bird.
The electronics are reusable but foam board is disposable.
Build a few air frames to swap your electronics into.

Build, fly, crash, repeat...oh, and have fun. You have to laugh vigorously at the crashes. TAKE PICTURES AND VIDEO when you can. Remember, there is a kid (or kid at heart) following your journey through the forum and is learning and getting inspiration from your posts.

 

[Flying Monkey fab]

The TT is kind of a fast little plane, there are some foam trainers out there with SAFE that fly really slow and would be really easy to learn on. Just google them. I cant remember the name of them right now...

Dissenting opinions make it hard to decide. You have a point so I am torn. A TT would be so easy to rebuild but a safe mode machine would probably be a nicer first experience.