Bellanca Decathlon 480 RTF

[Flyboone]

http://www.hobby-lobby.com/images/pel4106.jpg (http://www.hobby-lobby.com/bellanca.htm?c1=ezone&source=trd&kw=decathlon)

PEL4106 "Bellanca Decathlon 480" RTF

40" wingspan, 29-1/2" long, 245 sq. in. wing area, 21-1/2 oz. flying weight. A fine airplane for a beginner to RC. Airplane has a large wing area that makes it easy to fly. It takes off from a smooth surface or with a hand launch. It's easy to land. Made of injection molded dense beaded foam. Assembly time is a few hours, most of it waiting for the glue to dry. Main landing gear snaps into position, tail wheel is steerable, functional lift struts lock into place with cotter pins. Everything is here: It includes 4 channel radio (only 3 channels are used - rudder, elevator, throttle - ailerons included but are not used), motor, prop, 8-cell 600 mAh 9.6V NiMH flight battery and 110V plug-in wall charger. Spare propeller and spinner are included.

For more information and to watch the video click HERE (www.hobby-lobby.com/bellanca.htm?c1=ezone&source=trd&kw=decathlon)

Use this thread to discuss any and all things related to "Bellanca Decathlon 480"

[fly4fun]

Can a Beginner fly this airplane without any Assistance? Is there any step by step build threads of this airplane.

[mtdoramike]

If you check the reviews on the plane, you will see that it's not recommended as a first plane. that is unless you have an instructor and will be buddy boxing. But it would probably make a great second plane.

[fly4fun]

If you check the reviews on the plane, you will see that it's not recommended as a first plane. that is unless you have an instructor and will be buddy boxing. But it would probably make a great second plane.

Thanks for the comments. I posted before reading the review.

[minitelemaster]

If your looking for a first plane try the wingdragon 4: cheap, durable, and easy to fly.

[fly4fun]

If your looking for a first plane try the wingdragon 4: cheap, durable, and easy to fly.

Nah not me. A friend of my bought this airplane.

[F-86FLIER4LIFE]

this airplane is NOT a begginer. I thought it was and figured out it isn't. For a begginer I would suggest the Wingo from Hobby Lobby.

[reedbaron]

I bought this plane for my first and once I got it up in the air it flew pretty good.

[JASPERRDM]

Does any one know the part number for smart charter 2030 ADAPTOR for the battery which comes with this model?

[The Raddish]

I purchased two of these during the five week sale earlier this year.

I crashed the first one in short order. I've been using it for spare parts to keep the second one alive and flying.

My ESC went out on the second one recently, so I replaced it with the ESC from the first one. After a few flights, it went out as well. I'm pretty conservative with my throttle management in my flying, so I'm a bit surprised that they both went out so quickly.

When I get another brushed ESC I'm going to hook it to a Watt meter and see just how much it's pulling, but it shouldn't be much.

The plane does fly pretty good and I've enjoyed the time I've had it in the air.

[BIZJET68]

Yea. the ESC's are junk, the radio isn't much better. I have replaced both and now it fly's well. This is my first 3 channel I have learned a lot with it. Not a bad little plane and easy enough to fix after crashing. I even added GWS floats for at the lake. FYI the ESC I replaced it with is a GWS 20 amp, more than enough for the 12-14 amp draw of this moter at full throttle.

[JASPERRDM]

has anyone upgraded the receiver to 72 mhz?

[arielo]

hello:
i have a little question about the airplane can i put "Bombs away" cause i read that you nid one channel and one servo and the airplane only needs 3 of his 4 channel and has a servo reversing on all channels or what extra thing i nid for that or can i put some floats thnx....

[F-86FLIER4LIFE]

I put floats on mine and it worked just fine, but if you do floats, don't put a bomb on it, to much weight

[pepper68]

I am looking at the j3 piper cub military version for a starter plane. Is this a good choice?

[F-86FLIER4LIFE]

it is just as long as you keep the speed up on approach. great flight characteristics.

[drumaboy590]

The thing I liked most about the deal, is it's one of the cheapest deals you can find on a plane like this, that includes a durable plane, a motor, all the hardware, and a remote control. It's definitely worth it.

I have not had any experience flying r.c. planes, more than watching them and flying (Microsoft) Flight Sim X. This is not the 'best learner plane', but I have learned on it, and you won't tear it up so bad that it can't be fixed for just a few dollars.

The BEST THING about the plane is that all of the spare parts (except for gear, motor mount, and some other small things) are available. If you're like me and tend to do a wing-side cartwheel for a landing, this is great! The parts ship really fast also.



Since I'm a noob for r.c. planes and this plane is my 1st and only trainer, there are a few things I would advise for anyone else wanting to buy the plane:

-Reinforce the wing. If you use all four provided rubber bands, it takes the stubs that hold them, and cuts into both the fuselage, and cuts into the wing, eventually cracking it. I cut strips of poster board, and clear-taped them along the parts where the rubber bands cut grooves on the edges of the wings, and I only use TWO of the four rubber bands. It'll look (only) slightly tacky, but will definitely prevent the wings breaking from simply being held onto the fuselage in the correct installation. That would be stupid. But likely.
-Don't over charge the batteries. The manual said no more than 2 and a half hours. I accidentally left one overnight... I got to use it once more, and then it held no more charge. It is fried. The batteries aren't all that expensive, but they're the most expensive replacement part, and they're the ones that affect your overall flying time more than anything. Expect a 10-15 minute flight off of a full charge depending on your flying style and the wind gusts.
-Build a brace for the new gear. If you crash more than once on any side of the plane, the gear will most likely rip out, bend the plastic cover that holds the battery in, and make using the gear again really hard. Don't let this scare you if you're a beginner flyer. I've done plenty of repairs on my gear, and on a non-gusty day they work great! Take a metal coat hanger, and cut it up to line up with the gear and then create metal brace on the body. If this is confusing, then just think the brace should be connected (mine is connected with several layers of tape) to the existing gear, and then also connected to the body on the backside of the gear (because if they bend back, no only can it rip it all up like I described, and take foam off the plane with it, but the boots on the gear can go so far back as to puncture wholes in the fuselage). The gear REALLY NEEDS TO BE BRACED somehow.

There's several other things that I've broken on the plane and fixed, so if you want a new plane that FLIES VERY NICELY or need a trainer plane but don't wanna get one of the small crappy ones, THIS IS THE PLANE FOR YOU. I'm definitely willing to converse with you about how to fix most of the problems you will come across on this plane, and most likely, if you wreck it and break something, I've done it. If I haven't, I'll brainstorm with you on how to fix it. Feel free to email me @ drumaboy590@yahoo.com .

Like I said
-Don't overcharge the battery
-Reinforce the wings to prevent regular wear and tear
-Brace the landing gear so that YOU CAN USE THEM.

And buy the plane because it is currently (as of now) the BEST deal on a beginners plane in the ENTIRE market.

Have fun! And email me with any help you might need!

[Frankster]

I have had mine for 1 year. The receiver quit working, so I installed a Corona synthesized 4 channel 72mhz with a Simple Series 20 Amp ESC. I decided to go all the way and bought a 1000 mHa 3C LiPo battery.
Now I have an airplane! It has a bit more power and I can fly for at least 20 minutes and only use half of the juice in the battery. Plus it is a ounce lighter.This is a great setup to give new life to the plane.

[ErwinNH]

Hey druma,

Recently bought this plane. Gear did everything you mentioned. But one time when I was trying to bend it back into position, it snapped. Do they not sell replacement gear? What is this gear made out of? Think I can solder it back together? Replace the whole thing with a coat hanger? I don't like the stock gear anyway, so if you come up with a way to fashion better gear i'm all ears.

Erwin

[drumaboy590]

I don't think there is anything you can do to fix the stock gear. Me and a friend bent a wire coat hanger into place to brace the gear from not only bending outwards, but also bending backwards. Highly advised to do so if you intend on flying with gear. I've never found replacement gear for this plane yet. :(

The gear WILL BREAK if you can't land properly (which I couldn't when I started.)

However, you can take them off easily, and tape some posterboard all along the bottom surface (except the battery slot) and you can make very nice and smooth grass landings.



The props are pretty strong on this plane! You might break them, and I was told that I would, but I've caught the prop before on several things before, and it occasionally gets in the way when I try to grass land, and it still has yet to break.




This plane DOES do good stunts; you will need to adapt the ailerons (and figure out how to make them work good) and you will need to get used to how much altitude loss the plane has depending on your maneuvers. It's very fun though, and I fly it all the time.



Email me if you have any questions, (or even suggestions for me!), or if you wanna just talk about the plane. drumaboy590@yahoo.com

Thanks for the emails guys! I'm just trying to help y'all out, and I'm glad to know that it's working.


Videos of some of the flying we did with this plane (and some other cool stuff!!):
http://www.youtube.com/user/120ftDiveBombers