RC Plane newbie

[Chevyboy62]

Hi Everyone, I'm new here. :)
Last week I picked up 2 nitro planes with everything to run them. I've been wanting to fly a RC plane since I was about 5 years old. :) I've mostly had electric & gas powered 1:10th scale RC cars & trucks over the years.

The 1st plane I got had some repair work done that needs to be corrected, is it real hard to reapply the styrein(sp) sheet over the frame? And is it real hard to fix an exisiting structure that has been built out of balsa wood? I would like to fix the poorly fixed areas first before going out to start flying.

The steering wheel on it is not hooked up to the rutter to turn at the same time, I hooked it up, but it binded. Can I reposition the rod in the body pretty easy to correct this, or should I fix the front wheel in a fixed position? :confused:

The 2nd plane I got is a Hobbico with a O.S. 40 or 45 engine that is built, but never has been flown. :cool:

I would love to get some pointers on flying, the do's & do'nt's, but most importantly, where to fly them in or around Modesto, Ca area. :) I can post pics of both planes I got, and of the areas that needs to be fixed on the 1st plane.
TIA,
David

[Cubber]

Welcome to RCgroups.

Repairing balsa structures is not particularly difficult. Of course it helps if you have some previous kit building experience.. At any rate, get pieces of balsa or light ply similar to what you are attempting to repair. Get some thin CA, Medium CA and Epoxy. Each of these glues have specific uses and will be much needed throughout your flying/building/repairing endeavours. Covering (i suppose you are talking Monokote here) is another thing you will have to learn to keep your stuff up to shape.

It seems your planes were not in top shape. You will need to make your front wheel movable in order to taxi on the ground and take-off. You will need also to take care of any mechanics required, such as linkages. You don't want to put a plane in the air that is gonna fail you and cause possible damage to property or other people.

Since you have some cars and truck RC experience, you probably are a good candidate to learing to fly your plane safely in a short amount of time, but you will still need the help of an instructor for a short while. Check the clubs in your area. Besides benefiting from an instructor, you`ll be able to tap into other people`s RC experience and they will make sure your planes are safe to fly. While RCgroups is a nice ressource for knowledge, you'll be able to learn more and faster, talking to other people at the field, than you would do in front of your computer.

Have fun, this is a great hobby.

[perttime]

In addition to finding a club/teacher and browsing rcgroups, you might find a simulator helpful. Commercial simulators are apparently nice but even FMS (a free download) can help.

[Chevyboy62]

Thanks Guys. :)
I took some pics of the red plane that was damaged, and 1 of of the Hobbico plane.
Tomorrow i'm heading to the Hobby shop to get a few parts for the red plane.
While i'm there i'm going to also ask about areas to fly to meet up with some local aviators before I go try to fly either plane. :)
On the rutter(sp)/tail wing, zip ties were used as hinges, is this safe?
Virtual RC training, that pretty slick. :cool: I'll have to look into that. :)
Here's a link to the RC plane pics, they start at the bottom of the first page, and most of the second page.
RC pics (http://community.webshots.com/album/346728991HUDUab/0)
Many thanks,
David

[abenn]

The red one looks rough, but repairable :( What's that bit of thick chipboard (?) behind the servos? Probably an attempt to repair some structural damage.

Personally, I would remove all the covering material so that I can see better what's broken, and remove the chipboard. Most repairs can probably be done simply by cyanoing (or epoxying) the broken pieces together, though you may need a bit of liteply if a frame is broken, and you may want to add a triangular balsa fillet where the tailplane has probably been broken :) I really don't like the look of the zip-ties hinges -- you should replace them with proper ones while the model is stripped down.

Once you've stripped it down, post photos of any damage you want specific advice on.

As Cubber has said, you'll probably convert quite quickly to model planes. But your best move will be to find a club and to have an expert look over, and test fly, your models before you try to learn on them :cool:

[fhhuber506771]

From the pictures... the "Nexstar" will be easier to get flying than the other.

It looks like a major project to fix the red one (complete cover removal and a lot of replacing of broken, improperly repaired wood) It can be made flyable again.... but you'll need in-person guidance on that one. (or set it aside till you have built 2-3 kits...)

While simply CAing the broken pieces together works in a lot of instances... if you CA it crooked its worse than the break being left alone.

If there's cracked/broken plastic shell on the Nexstar... you would carefully align it and use a q-tip or small brush to apply PVC cement LIGHTLY. Its better to need to apply the cement 2 or 3 times than to apply too much. Appx 1 hr after the PVC cement feels dry its ready to fly. (the plastic is still soft for a while) To re-attach the plastic to the wood frame lightly sand the plastic and apply some "Gorrilla glue" The light sanding is just to rough the surface and ensure there's no mold release remaining. Use very fine (280 to 400) sandpaper and just lightly go actross the area 4 to 6 strokes to make it look scratched a bit.

Clear packing tape works well for patching small holes in covering. Better grade tape will last a long time. Cheap stuff will have the sun's UV rays destroy the adhesive after a few days at the flying field.

[Chevyboy62]

Thanks for the replies Guys. :)
I picked up some nylon hinges for the tail section (they look like door hinges on a house). Once I get the red plane stripped down to the skeleton/frame, i'll post some more pics. :)

The more I look at the red plane, i'm just going to take my time, and rebuilt it over the winter, then have the Nexstar as my regular plane. :cool: I didn't get the instruction manual with the Nexstar, but since it is brand new, there is 3 different colored lines coming out of the front of the plane.

1 has a chrome plug at the end of it, i'm assuming this is the refill line? Then the other ones goes to the carb, and the other on the exhuast, is this how the 3 fuel line setup works? :confused:
TIA,
David

[abenn]

You've got the right idea about the fuel lines. But there is one important difference between the three lines, and it's inside the tank :( The lines that are to be the filler line (the one with the plug in it) and the pressure line (the one that goes to the nipple on the muffler) both should bend upwards towards the roof of the tank, just inside the tank. The other line, which is for fuel to the carb, should have a flexible pipe on it, with a heavy brass fitting on the end (the clunk), inside the tank so that it wall always fall to the bottom of the tank and pick up the last bit of fuel :)

If you don't know which is which, and it's difficult to see the tank, you can check, when the tank is about half full of fuel, by disconnecting the lines from the carb and muffler (keep the stopper in the filler line) and blowing gently down each one in turn: If it's the fuel line to the carb that you're blowing, nothing but air should come out the other line; if you're blowing down the pressure line, fuel should come out the other line :)

[perttime]

Here is alink to the free simulator:
http://n.ethz.ch/student/mmoeller/fms/index_e.html

I have the beta 7 version and it works OK for me.
It is not exactly realistic but it helped me a lot with orientation. I just "fly" with the keyboard.

[jnida63]

Here is the Nexstar manual link, will be useful to you

http://www.hobbiconexstar.com/manual.html

[indoruwet]

The lines that are to be the filler line (the one with the plug in it) and the pressure line (the one that goes to the nipple on the muffler) both should bend upwards towards the roof of the tank, just inside the tank.

Whoa.....
The pressure line from the exhaust nipple should be bent upwards. The filler line should be bent DOWN. If it is upwards, it will be OK, but then you can not empty the tank from that line. You have to disconnect the carb line, and that was not the purpose of a three line system. So bend it down (rotate) and then add a small piece of fuel so that it sits against the bottom of the tank.

Look at this diagramme:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4423121&postcount=3

[ivanc]

Whoa.....
The pressure line from the exhaust nipple should be bent upwards. The filler line should be bent DOWN. If it is upwards, it will be OK, but then you can not empty the tank from that line. You have to disconnect the carb line, and that was not the purpose of a three line system. So bend it down (rotate) and then add a small piece of fuel tubing so that it sits against the bottom of the tank.

Look at this diagramme:Just a small correction... ;) I.

[indoruwet]

Oops.....

Thanks Ivanc. You have justified your existence again.....

[Chevyboy62]

THanks for the replies Everyone. :)
I'm so sorry I haven't been on here for awhile. :(
Monday I tore the skin off of the red plane. :o I'm so glad I did not try to attempt to fly it as is, it would have ripped into 2-3 pieces. :eek:

It looks like some of the inner structure was not put it, or back in after it was damaged. The whole back half just bounces/sways. :o I did take some up close pics of the frame/skeleton, and i'll try to get them up later this eveing sometime. :)
Thanks again,
David

[Chevyboy62]

I finally got the pics uploaded. :)
David

Pic 1 (http://community.webshots.com/photo/346728991/482140331FmtszD)
Pic 2 (http://community.webshots.com/photo/346728991/482140135BeedHW)
Pic 3 (http://community.webshots.com/photo/482140421/482140421lLjoUk)

[abenn]

Whoa.....
The pressure line from the exhaust nipple should be bent upwards. The filler line should be bent DOWN. If it is upwards, it will be OK, but then you can not empty the tank from that line. You have to disconnect the carb line, and that was not the purpose of a three line system. So bend it down (rotate) and then add a small piece of fuel so that it sits against the bottom of the tank.
Thats interesting. I've assembled many tanks (American and European) according to the manufacturers' instructions and have never seen that layout. I can see the logic of it though :)

As for your red model, Chevyboy, that's a terrible repair :eek: But it's quite easy to sort it out using 1/4" square (or whatever size those members are) balsa to replace the missing and damaged pieces. There's obviously some vertical struts missing, and I would also expect there to be a piece across the top at each place where there's verticals. What kind of material is the tail fin made out of? If it's not balsa, you should replace it with a new one. Same goes for all those other bits of dark coloured wood :(