wind friendly beginner birds

[sirex]

I'm looking for a decent plane but i've got myself a dilemma !

This'll be just the second aircraft ever for me; i'm currently on a hobbyzone champ which is great... when there's no wind. The thing is i live in wellington, new zealand. Which is (literally) the windiest city in the world.

I'm a real fan of the ultra micro sized aircraft - and that's all i can reasonably fit in my park, so this has left me with a few choices:

a) a umx t28 trojan
b) a corsair UMX (with AS3X)
c) something else (warhark umx with as3x maybe?)

I'd definitely like a 4 chan plane, and i know most people rave about the T28, but i worry about the lack of AS3X tech on it, which i'd really like to try and help beat the wind a bit. Recently i took my champ up above tree height and nearly never saw it again ! On the other hand, the corsair is harder to fly i believe ? I'm ok with the champ - but not ready for inverted flight etc.

 

[Mid7night]

I say give in to the wind.

 

[sirex]

oh it can be fun for sure, sometimes. But when its at max throttle and going backwards away from you with you running after it, it kinda sucks a bit ;p

If i keep it near the deck its better. I basically have the choice of going low below the trees and having very unpredictable but reasonable wind gusts, or high up and have predictable wind - but maybe never see my plane again

I'm kind of hoping i can beat the gusts with AS3X, then learn to cut grass keeping it 1/2 a mistake high.

 

[rcspaceflight]

Buy a plane that isn't RTF. Then put on an oversized motor and use a too big battery. The extra weight will make it harder for the wind to push it around. The extra power will make it actually flyable because of how over weight it will be. You'll have to fly the plane fast and can't exactly slow it down, but it'll be flyable.

Or buy something with the AS3X so the computer can fight the wind for you.

I've flown heavy over powered planes before, I've never used AS3X, so... it's up to you. But both are reasonable ways to go. Just don't go crazy over weight or crazy overpowered.

 

[pgerts]

UMX are rarely any speed demons that you need when it is windy.
The Park sized Trojan and Corsair are a lot better in wind.
I think that i have seen something like that modified with a bigger ESC and bigger propeller making it a really fast plane.
Then you have the small warbirds with 4 cells.

 

[RAM]

If it were me, I would build a heavy version of the Simple Storch using Elmers board and a powerful motor. Maybe even some extra weight.

 

[Raptortech]

In my experience, wings tend to fair pretty well in the wind. If you are confident flying, you should build yourself an FT Versa Wing. The heavier foamboard will actually help in this case!

 

[Capt_Beavis]

They aren't warbids, but Josh and Josh and the Bee Gee and the Beast out in fairly windy conditions. They use 2S batteries so I assume they have more power than the 1S planes.

 

[sirex]

They aren't warbids, but Josh and Josh and the Bee Gee and the Beast out in fairly windy conditions. They use 2S batteries so I assume they have more power than the 1S planes.

That's very interesting, i didn't know they were 2S. I saw the ep with the beast and would prefer that over a wing or a foamie speed build (im into scale to be honest). I know the beast had AS3X but i also heard it was fairly hard to fly originally (compared to a t28 umx or such) and i wasn't sure if that'd be enough to make up the difference plus wind.

Maybe i should bite the bullet and just get a bigger place to fly - then go for a park sized t28 or corsair? Just seems like a lot of cash to lay down for something that'll prolly get smashed. On the other hand at least a umx i might be able to fly indoors once winter comes and the wind goes mental.

In the mean time, i bought phoenix 5 to try and get used to 4 chans ahead of time. I get flipped upside down a fair bit with the wind so it'd be good knowledge.

Also, i can attest that a champ will fly inverted with enough wind speed !

Thanks for the thoughts all

 

[Capt_Beavis]

Have you thought about an FT spitfire of mustang?

 

[sirex]

Have you thought about an FT spitfire of mustang?

briefly. It can be a little tricky to get parts in NZ so i wasn't sure about building from scratch so early. I've actually built a balsa from scratch before as a kid in the UK, but here it might be a little trickier. I'll visit the model shop tomorrow and see what they've got, hopefully more than airfix.

Took the champ out today and got the rudder ripped off in wind induced cartwheel on landing, so i need to go get some glue anyhow. Fun times !

 

[rcspaceflight]

A lot of companies sell "profile" style warbirds made out of EPP. Hobby King sells an ARF that needs a motor anyway so you can easily just buy a bigger motor for it and use a bigger battery (after some modifications to fit the bigger battery). Probably also buy the "correct" sized battery incase a 2200mah 3S is too heavy rather than the recommended 1000mah 3S.

I agree with you about scratch building. It's great to build an FT design when you can use the same material as FT. If you can't use the same material, then things start to get iffy and complicated and may not work.

 

[Montiey]

May I recommend the Sport Cub S?
http://www.horizonhobby.com/category/airplanes/airplanes-14501--1/bind-n-fly
it's a little bigger than a Champ, but mainly it is a 4 channel plane with SAFE and AS3X.
If you put a large (200mAh) battery in it, it should handle the wind better than with the original battery.

Some other options to consider for windy conditions:
http://www.horizonhobby.com/product/airplanes/seaplanes/bind-n-fly/ultra-micro-icon-a5-bnf-with-as3x®-technology-pkzu2380


This one is a bit old and not supported much more, but Horizon has it on clearance.
http://www.horizonhobby.com/airplanes/plug-n-play/c-ray-180-pnp-efl3075

Here are some hobbyking planes that look plausible:
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/...ed_light_aircraft_EPO_R_C_plane_Plug_Fly.html
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__16657__EPO_182_With_LED_Lighting_PNP_.html
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/...r_and_Servos_Plug_and_Fly_Deluxe_Version.html
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__20949__HobbyKing_Windragon_Parkflyer_EPO_660mm_PNF_.html


Just remember to oversize the battery not to much to make it unflyable, but more than the original to get good wind penetration. Also, if you choose a PNP/PNF (plug and play/plug and fly) plane, be sure to add a receiver that has 3 axis stabilization, as it will be a nightmare to handle in the wind without one.

 

[pgerts]

May I recommend the Sport Cub S?
http://www.horizonhobby.com/category/airplanes/airplanes-14501--1/bind-n-fly
it's a little bigger than a Champ, but mainly it is a 4 channel plane with SAFE and AS3X.
If you put a large (200mAh) battery in it, it should handle the wind better than with the original battery.
..

Go for the next size of the Sport CUB - the 130 cm span one.
http://www.horizonhobby.com/product...y/sport-cub-bnf-with-as3x®-technology-pkz6880
I read the october article in RCM&E where the author needed a plane to be able to stand some wind.
I flew some batteries yesterday with my HZ Sport CUB S2. I could compare with the Multiplex FunCub and everyone on the field could see that there was a big differense in both ground and air stability in the favor to the PZ Sport CUB.

 

[Ace2317]

You mentioned the UMX Trojan in the original post. I really like that plane, but it CANNOT handle much wind. It's so light that it gets knocked around pretty badly.

However, my second plane was a UMX Spitfire (not in production anymore). It's a fun little plane and has AS3X so it could really handle the wind. I think the UMX P-51 is their rough replacement now. Maybe look into one of those. I can definitely say that I really liked learning with a small plane. Less inertia means less damage.

 

[sirex]

You mentioned the UMX Trojan in the original post. I really like that plane, but it CANNOT handle much wind. It's so light that it gets knocked around pretty badly.

However, my second plane was a UMX Spitfire (not in production anymore). It's a fun little plane and has AS3X so it could really handle the wind. I think the UMX P-51 is their rough replacement now. Maybe look into one of those. I can definitely say that I really liked learning with a small plane. Less inertia means less damage.

That's good to know. The corsair umx has as3x on it too. The p51 is actually my favorite aircraft since childhood, so I might go for that. I actually wanted that originally but being a 4 Chan the model shop recommended a champ instead, which makes sense I guess.

Got the champ repaired again so hopefully I can get it out tomorrow. I think I'll have a crack at making a ft mustang also in addition to getting a umx. Should be big enough to get to the predictable wind heights and fast enough to beat it.

 

[Ace2317]

Yeah, just make sure you're comfortable with the Champ first and understand that flying a four channel will be a little different. As long as you understand what the stick is going to do, you'll be fine with it. Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

 

[Capt_Beavis]

When I first moved to 4 channel I used mode 4 which put the rudder on the right control, this is how my champ, duet and umx radian worked. As soon as I got comfortable with the ailerons (which didn't take long) I switched it back. It really helped me for a couple of flights though.

 

[SkyEye]

Well I've been looking at the PZ T-28 Trojan as a good 4 channel trainer hope it's as good as they say

 

[FAI-F1D]

I take a different perspective on this whole thing...a good electric sailplane (balsa or composite) is excellent in wind. You'll need to pay attention to your field size, of course, or at least have the ability to add some flap mixes so that you can get it to stop flying when you want to land.

Another choice that's been recommended to me for just this sort of thing is the HobbyKing Mini Swift. It's small and fast, but surprisingly forgiving. Being foam, it'll bounce just fine if you have a less than perfect landing. So long as you don't open the throttle all the way when you're learning to fly it, you'll be fine. And it's dirt cheap!

If you're looking for an efficient airplane, take a look at the R2 Hobbies Passer X. You'll want to take your time learning to fly it, since it has quite a bit of control authority and an extremely wide speed envelope, but I've not heard a single negative comment about the design, and it has all the speed and power you'll ever need to deal with wind while still being able to slow down and behave for landing. And it's a very economical airplane, too. Flight times would be in the 35-40 minute range in calm weather...probably more like 20 in high winds.