anyone into planes?

[slotcarrod]

I have a few Parkzone war birds and a eflight Mentor. That I all love! I sadly crashed my Hyperion Stuka a few weeks ago. The darn rx lost bind!

[LTO_Dave]

I've always wanted to get a glider, so I'm planning to get one since I'm back to work. I just like how simple they are.

[DerbyDan]

I used to go flying R/C planes with my Dad - to begin with, he built them whilst I would fly them (although I had built a couple of balsa/tissue paper free flight models in my early teens) I then built my first R/C plane (I was about 15) from the semi-scale Super Cub kit from 'Flair' - this was fitted with an OS 40 4-stroke motor & had full 4-channel operation - so was a step up from the 3ch vintage model that I had been flying previously in that it was more manouvreable & more capable of gentle aerobatics. I then brought a (Chris Foss) Wot4 which someone had started to build but hadn't finished - this was a more advanced trainer/aerobatic model, here in the UK it must be the most popular sport model going! I finished off the build & had many successfull flights honing my skills, this was the last model plane I flew before concentrating on the cars.

... moving onto now, I would like to have a gentle flyer for those calm evenings & have been looking at some of these mini-sized RTR planes that you guys seem to be talking about (I don't have the room in my own house to store a 'proper' R/C plane) I just wondered if any members on here could share their experiences & advice of these small planes; in particular I have been looking at the Hobbywing models - there seems to be three sizes;

Micro
http://alshobbies.com/shop/lookupstock.php?pc=41853

Mini
http://alshobbies.com/shop/lookupstock.php?pc=37118

& a bit bigger
http://alshobbies.com/shop/lookupstock.php?pc=38962

Then there's these offerings from Kyosho;

Minium range;
http://alshobbies.com/shop/lookupstock.php?pc=39586

Arium;
http://alshobbies.com/shop/lookupstock.php?pc=41319

& this presumably this is the old version of the above model?
http://alshobbies.com/shop/lookupstock.php?pc=2650

I don't want anything to wizz around the sky at too much of a hectic rate & do mad stunts with just something that can be guided around the sky in a relaxing manor

[rctenracer]

Sold off all my rc plane stuff in the early 90's . All thats left of the old days is my byron mig 15 hanging in the garage.

[rhino1]

I fly all the time I have a Great Planes Cessna 182, Hanger 9 P47 Thunderbolt And my fav. is my Nick Zirroli AT6 Texan with a Walker 4.2 Robart landing gear And smoke system. I love flying almost as much as restoring vintage rc.

[kaiser]

dan, in your first link is the hobbyzone champ, thats what i'm flying as my first plane.

it's tough.
it has good runtime, 10 minutes full throttle, 15+ cruising 1/2 throttle.
it's only a 3 channel, great for me but might leave more experienced pilots wanting more. (check out parkzones t28 trojan micro for an awesome low wing 4 channel, my next palne)
parts are dirt cheap, so are the 1s batts.
dsm, so you can bind to spektum radios.

i've flown the heck out of mine, crashed alot and it keeps going.

[DerbyDan]

Thanks for the reply Kaiser.... its good to hear positive feedback as I must admit to being somewhat dubious about these RTF planes, having had bad reports from friends who brought very similar things but were more of a toy-shop grade P.S; can you tell me how the champ flies outside - I presume a very 'still' evening is required?

I've been continuing to look into these & found that there is a RTF version of my old Wot4;



Looking at a You Tube clip its certainly an impressive performer & perhaps hold more interest for me in the long run....... but its also going to cost me the best part of £250 by the time I get a radio, 3S Lipo & suitable charger

[kaiser]

i was suprised at how well the champ flew in the wind.

i have flown it in 5mph winds without issue, sure the gusts toss it around a bit but it's easy to get back control.

i also like the fact that i can use the batts from the champ in my next plane and in the micro helis.

i'm not stepping up to 3s planes for a while. from what i have seen i'm getting more runtime compared to the bigger electrics.

i've been around quite a few micros this week and the champ is better then them all.

cox skyranger, fast as all get out on 2s, crashed once, bent motor shaft.
i've seen a few parkzone j3 cub's, looks an awfull lot like the champ but the prop shaft is thinner and bends, plus the plane seems cheap compared to the champ.

[kaiser]

the champ is 89 bux shipped to boot! hard to beat it.

[DerbyDan]

i was suprised at how well the champ flew in the wind.

i have flown it in 5mph winds without issue, sure the gusts toss it around a bit but it's easy to get back control.

i also like the fact that i can use the batts from the champ in my next plane and in the micro helis.

i'm not stepping up to 3s planes for a while. from what i have seen i'm getting more runtime compared to the bigger electrics.

i've been around quite a few micros this week and the champ is better then them all.

cox skyranger, fast as all get out on 2s, crashed once, bent motor shaft.
i've seen a few parkzone j3 cub's, looks an awfull lot like the champ but the prop shaft is thinner and bends, plus the plane seems cheap compared to the champ.

Great info! The Champ is certainly on my shortlist..... I did also look at the Parkzone Cub, but on your advice I think I will steer clear of this one

[dangermouse]

DerbyDan, how big of a flying space do you have?

The AXN Foater Jet from Hobbyking is extremely popular out at my club with new and experienced pilots alike. Quite often you'll get several up flying in formation doing group touch and goes. They fly quite well on stock electronics included with the plug and fly version.

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=8359

There are 3 versions. Plug and fly, ARF with motor, and ARF. If they are backordered the best thing is to sign up for the Email stock arrival alert.

Pretty much they are a slghtly smaller rip off of the Multiplex Easy Star, but modded for ailerons standard. The Easy Star is more durable, but more expensive to set up. Both are good planes, plenty of vids on youtube if you are interested in a look.

You would obviously need to get your own radio, receiver and 2200mah 3s packs. The rest depends on which way you would want to go. If you wanted to select all your own electrics, then get a bare ARF airframe.

[DerbyDan]

Haha - so thats another one on the shortlist!! Thanks for the link Dangermouse

Like the Wot4 - I will need to invest in a radio set, 3S battery & charger to run the floater jet.... but the cost of this model is so rediculously cheap (as are the other items on the HobbyKing site) It starts to look like I could give this model a try & if I find flying is something I want to get back into then I would have the kit to tranfer into something else perhaps a bit more durable??

P.S I have a number of options on where to fly - my father-in-law's house backs onto a large School playing field, which would be ideal. The thing that attracts me to these smaller electric models is the ability to fly relatively descretely - I used to fly I.C (before electric models were a feasible option) at a couple of club sites, obviously as soon as you get involved with a club there are club fees.. insurance etc.... i'm not sure I want to get that involved at this stage.

[dangermouse]

I have a couple of different radios for my planes. A Flysky/Turnigy/iMax 9x 2.4Ghz radio is the one I'm using the most lately for my smaller planes and helis. They are very cheap for what you get and are quite powerful in their programming functions. Compared to buying a Specktrum DX6i with a single receiver, you can buy a Turnigy 9x, 9 extra receivers (10 in total), and you still have about $70 left over to go towards a plane kit.

Another plane to consider is a GWS Slowstick. Go for the Slope Glider version which has no motor. Read up on RC Groups for suitable brushless lipo power combos. These things are quite fun, can carry a lot of weight if you wanted to carry a camera. They have plenty of scope for mods as you go along with aftermarket wing kits etc. to hot them up.



My favourite go to small area plane (anywhere actually) is a MS Composit Mini Swift. Probably not the ideal trainer considering it is a Flying wing with elevons, but if built light with a moderate power system they will fly at a fast walking speed. Super durable being made out of EPP foam, you can smack them into the ground time and time again and the only thing you will break is props. You can take them from mild to wild with a motor/esc/lipo upgrade. A couple of hours on a flight sim and a bit of care with setup and you would have a sweet little fly anywhere plane. It is also sold as a Hacker Skyfighter.



A simulator would be something you should look at. You can buy cheap sim radios with cables to hook up to your PC on ebay. A free sim like FMS would give you a head start if you want to try flying.

[DerbyDan]

dan, in your first link is the hobbyzone champ, thats what i'm flying as my first plane.

it's tough.
it has good runtime, 10 minutes full throttle, 15+ cruising 1/2 throttle.
it's only a 3 channel, great for me but might leave more experienced pilots wanting more. (check out parkzones t28 trojan micro for an awesome low wing 4 channel, my next palne)
parts are dirt cheap, so are the 1s batts.
dsm, so you can bind to spektum radios.

i've flown the heck out of mine, crashed alot and it keeps going.

The helicopter thread reminded me of this one.....

Thanks kaiser, on your recomendation I brought a Hobbizone Champ as a birthday present to myself back at the end of the summer I had to wait for it to arrive as Horizon UK were out of stock, but i'm really pleased with it - flies really well & so far seems robust.. kinds fits the bill for what I wanted

[kaiser]

i'm glad to hear you like it, it's a great starter plane.
my next plane will be a parkzone (same company as hobbyzone) trojan t28.
it takes the same batteries but is 4 channel. tough to beat these cheap, tough, foamies.