RC Groups - Beginner Training Area (Aircraft-Electric)

Discussion micro telemaster?

slickscustoms — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 04:15:25 GMT

im considering building a micro or a mini telemaster. but i know nothing about electric power. i bought a 1000kv motor and a 30a esc. the motor came from e-bay (hong kong) so all i know about it is its a 1000kv motor. what would be a good motor-esc-batt. combo for each of these?? thanks

Discussion 4 ch or not??

kidagain — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:55:09 GMT

Hi everyone, I am new to this group. I would like some advise.
I went from the razor to a 2ch RTF Cessna Airbus. It is great. I have now flown if many times without crashing. And a piece of junk SIM.
Thinking of moving to a 4ch foam RTF like Hobbico FlyZone Piper J3 Cub EP 2.4GHz RTF 38.1" or
Dynam "I can Fly" 4 Channel Brushless/ESC /Lipo Electric Airplane nitroplanes,
Any suggestions? Or should I step to a 3ch first. I also a FMS Skyline 182 - 55" Trainer from Nitro Planes. Want to stay in the $150 range.:rolleyes:

Discussion Looking for a second plane

ragsmckay — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:22:11 GMT

Hey, been a while since I have been here. and well I know there is some excelent advice to be found. So I am looking at getting a second plane preferably with ailerons, but not needed. Now I have tried the Tiger Moth 400 from GWS and although I love the look of it, I was not happy with the strength of the model. It was wrecked 3 times in storage, and I did mess up the integrity of the model during construction. i.e. made the battery compartment too big for the weight of the battery.(Tried to get better flight times) So I was thinking of a balsa setup, but again not set on it.

I was wondering if anyone here had any information on this model: http://www.nitroplanes.com/timo32bielar.html Like I said I do like the tiger moth, or any bipe for that matter.

My history with planes have been the firebird freedom, and the easystar. Both of which I have done well with and enjoyed them both. The firebird was mine and the easystar was a friends who let me fly it. i may end up getting a easystar, but would like something both a little more realistic, and a little more aerobatical.

So with all of that said What would be any recomendations.

Discussion Slo-v question

lehrscott4 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:28:53 GMT

I have a parkzone slo-v and a supercub. Will it hurt the slo-v to use the stock 7 cell 1000mah 8.4 volt batteries from the supercub? I think the slo-v battery is 7.2v 700mah.

Discussion Looking for a 3rd plane

mvf42 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:30:41 GMT

Hello folks,

After flying, smashing, fixing and flying a HZ mini cub, I built a Mountain Models Dandy. Repeat fly, smash, fix, fly cycle with first the slow-fly wing and then the sport wing.

I have gotten to the point where accidental ground contact occurs almost exclusively when I don't have the sense to stay on the ground when it's getting dark enough for me to get into orientation problems. Or when I don't have the sense to stay out of winds that ground some of the glow guys. But HEY flying backwards is cool!!!

My first two thoughts were to either get a Dandy GT wing or a Switcback (original size). But I've beaten my fuse up enough that it's not as pretty as it once was. So I would like to build a new fuse.

I guess I'm wondering what the next step up in sportiness would be in a park-flyer type electric that I can run on inexpensive gear? Any thoughts?

Question Help with/link to info on chattering servo

bruintriton — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:13:34 GMT

I orginally posted this to "Parkflyers", but it qualifies as newbie question...

Does anyone have any advice on how I might go about fixing a chattering/twitching servo on a Freedom Firebird?

First, will the twitching affect flight considerably? The movement is constant but is only about 2 mm or less in either direction.

Second, if it will affect flight, is there a common repair for twitching servos?

I have another freedom firebird I bought for parts, and so I could pull the servo from the backup plane, but it's a hassle as I'd need to pull out the insides on both, un-solder the twitching servo and solder in the new servo. I'm afraid of doing damage to the control board.

Finally, if I should replace the servo, does it matter that the backup plane (the source of the replacement servo) works on channel 3 while the main plane works on channel 5? As long as I don't replace control boards, will the new servo work with the original (ch 5) control board?

Any links on chattering/twitching servos would be appreciated as well. Thanks.

Discussion The MISTAKE Thread!!

tmb55 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:22:56 GMT

Well I made a mistake that I thought you people would enjoy. Tried finding an appropriate thread to post it in but gave up. So here is a NEW thread that we can post Noob and not so newbie errors.

Here is mine for today.

I get to park after a hard days work, There is about a 1/2 hour of decent light left. Turn on tx, install batt, proceed to pull antenna to full length and bump throttle (this esc/rx does not have any safety as it is a cheapy made for brushed motors). Well holy crap, It's Alive, what I'd do? quickly reverse last action. Last action being extending antenna, Now I have a bent antenna and this thing is still clawing it's way out of my van. Throttle, throttle, ah, whew, SHooT.. Broken antenna and broken prop. No flying tonight.

Discussion delete

DaveG99 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:59:25 GMT

delete please

Discussion 2nd Flight with HZ SuperCub problems...

Dagwood_55 — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:35:39 GMT

So, into my 2 flight with my newly accuired SC. Everything is going fine, but it banks and crashes. I get to it, (forget to shut down throttle), looks OK, but nothing works and it has a kinda burning smell to it. I take everything apart, everthing looks normmal, change battery, but still no power or controls.....

Whats up??? Help a newbie get back into the air....

Help! Need help giving friend advice on a good beginner's electric!

Garret H — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:58:43 GMT

Hello All:

A friend in my flying club who has been flying for a quite a while is looking for a good electric plane to continue his instruction. He is an elderly gentleman who has flown nitro .40 and .60-sized trainers. I really want to find something that would be easy for him to fly, behave like a larger bird, and is strong. He had a PZ Super Cub for a while and did well with it, but it was not the strongest plane! I also want something that is preferably plug-n'-play because he does not know much about electrics -- it would be nice if it came with a charger too!

So, I was thinking either the new electric mini Nexstar or the PZ Trojan...any other ideas?

thanks,
Garret

Discussion Handling Characteristics of Mid-Wing (non-aerobatic) Planes?

Kee Bird — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:23:55 GMT

Being new to RC flight, I've been trying to read up on as much as I can about the subject so I know what to expect when I get a plane in the air. I read something recently about wing types (high, mid, low) and how wing position affects handling of the airplane. Every source I've seen has said that mid-wing airplanes are the most difficult to fly, that they're not self-righting and therefore lack the stability that a novice needs when learning how to fly. Is that true for ALL mid-wing aircraft, or just some?

If you've seen my other threads, you know that I'm working on a B-29 right now. It started out as one of those cheap differential thrust controlled kits, with the wings mounted high on the fuselage instead of mid-fuselage like the real thing. I've already moved the wings to mid-fuselage, but I didn't take out the dihedral. Dihedral was reduced a little, but no more than a few degrees (still a nice shallow "V" appearance). There's also a brace to stiffen the wings, so dihedral increase is negligible with the weight of the fuselage hanging by the wings.

With all of that said, can anyone tell me what to expect when I am ready to fly this plane? Can it be safely flown without ailerons? Will the dihedral in the wings give the plane enough stability to make it easy (or easy-ish) to fly? Or is this thing going to wrestle me every second it's negotiating any turn? Thanks!

Question Any control issues on planes without ailerons?

jcantara — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:01:13 GMT

I'm looking at getting a Multiplex Easystar as my first plane. Read a lot about it, and like what I've heard.

One thing that confuses me a bit is the lack of ailerons. I've seen plenty of threads of people that add their own later on (after becoming more proficient fliers). But is control of the plane limited with just the rudder/elevator? Can you do a roll at all? What if the plane banks on its own (due to wind or whatnot), can you compensate that out with just the rudder?

I'm used to thinking that rudder = yaw, ailerons = roll, elevator = pitch; so what happens when you do have some (or want to cause some) roll without ailerons.

Thanks

Discussion 1st try

antonlubo — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:38:01 GMT

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Discussion RC electronics setup guide anywhere?

XV+ — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:26:34 GMT

Hey, I am looking for a tutorial on how to connect everything together, connector considerations, proper soldering/heatshrinking techniques that are RC specific, and any other things I might miss. I tried looking in the FAQ but there are no such instructions, and the manuals for the various components dont really go into detail on connecting things together. Is there such a guide with all this information?
Thanks

Discussion which flys better and more fun ?

benrock — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:33:23 GMT

parkzone t-28 or parkzone p-51 ?

thanks , looking for new plane to get

Discussion Esc / motor problem

Pico Jim — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:08:47 GMT

Started working on a Sopwith Pup. Everything where it should be.
The servos work ..the receiver light is on.. but the motor will not turn..

Using a electrifly 8a esc and a rimfire 250 motor..

Help please !

Question Sunupp su/r-6fm/ppm 6 chan receiver

cdm — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:59:13 GMT

Just got one of these figuring if it is no good, no great loss. Question is, where do you plug the battery in? It is simply marked 1 through 6 with no BATT indication. I assume it plugs to one of these inputs but then it is a 5 channel unit but thats another story. Thanks for any help.

Discussion "Twitching" control surfaces...

slappySF — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:08:24 GMT

Something weird happened with my lazy bee.

Power setup is Eflite power 10/TB54 ESC/2200 mah lipo.

Powered up the radio, spektrum DX6i first.

Plugged in battery to ESC second. Standard procedure.

The control surfaces began twitching. First just slight twitching up and down on the elevator and rudder, then going to full up elevator and staying there.

I played with the sticks a bit and things returned to normal.

Then some more slight twitching.

After about a minute it calmed down.

Know what's causing this, and how to prevent it? Especially if it were to happen in flight. That would be curtains.

Thanks in advance gang.

Discussion FMA CoPilot Stabilization System

fmw — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:20:18 GMT

Any experience with this thing?

Help! What is a good elec setup program??

jasonetgriff — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:16:07 GMT

I have electricalc v2 its old and doesnt have what i need as far as edf setups.
What is a good program out now that has prop and edf data bases
any help would be great

jason

Discussion e-Flight T-34 Mentor

GSWeb8 — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:44:49 GMT

Hi,
I'm brand new to the hobby, and while visiting a club in Hemet CA, one of the members spoke very highly of the e-flight T-34 Mentor as a trainer and in general as a plane to grow into. Another person suggested is was a better 2 nd plane. Anyone have any experiences with the T-34?

Idea Good plane to donate?

Invertedflyby — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 04:59:11 GMT

I'm looking for a durable easy to fly plane that won't cost more money in the future. (ha, I just realized that doesn't exist) My work sponsors a different needy family every year and the kids in the family get to list what they want. This year the 10yr old boy said he wanted model car / model planes. I don't know what that means but I figure there are alot of new cheap rtf electric r/c planes out there now. So what is out there that is easy to fly, comes with everything and will last quite a while that's reasonably priced? I will never meet them so don't want anything too difficult. Or should I just skip this idea and give a plastic testors plane or donate cash? Thanks

Discussion dx6i md1 or md2?

DaveG99 — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 04:41:42 GMT

whats the difference between md1 and md2?

Discussion where to buy a pz t-28

rileywinch — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 03:02:18 GMT

I've been wanting to get back into planes for a while and used to fly a gas trainer around the park next to my parents house when i was a teenager. I'm an actual pilot and have been monkeying around with fms a lot lately and find myself with a torn ACL looking for a new hobby. I was pretty good with the gas plane and think i could probably give the parkzone t-28 rtf a go but I can't find anywhere to buy one. any help would be appreciated, its almost christmas and this is on top of my list.

Discussion how do I decide on a good RTF airplane for under $125

lemonlime — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:45:00 GMT

I haven't ever played with an RC plane before. I've read up on some basics but don't know how to decide on a good ready to fly kit that doesn't make me bankrupt.

My goal is to eventually make a uav using ardupilot. What kit will be the best in the long run? I've seen a couple which are under $125 but I don't know how difficult it will be to add ardupilot to them.

thanks

Discussion Bought new Super Cub LP with a few problems...

Guest99 — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:15 GMT

G'dday everyone, I took advise from many people here, to get Super Cub for my first trainer. So i did order one online. But i didnt have a chance to put it together for about 2 weeks plus the weather here is super HOT.

Last night i thought well let see if we can power it up and see this baby going.

I charge the Lipo battery and then connect battery to the Rx box to center the servo. But hang on there's one servo keep glitching itself. i quickly use my Tx move it, it work but once i put it to nutrual the servo itself keep moving it self. I thought could be the bad connector, let swap the 2 servos connector port. Exact same servo did the same thing. So to me look like a bad servo

Also the car charger from Hobbyzone is broken not even been use!!!.... Bugger man, what a sunday for me!!!!

I might take some video to show u guy. Hmm what should i do?

Question Motor runs backwards on E-Flite Alpha 450 PNP?

Brownie433 — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 22:36:09 GMT

Hi,

This is my first electric (not first plane, just first electric) and I just completed the assembly of the E-Flite Alpha 450 PNP (plug n play). I installed an AR7000 and am using my DX7. Everything except the motor works correctly. The motor runs in reverse. I checked the bullet connectors from the motor to the ESC and the blue/red/black colors match. The throttle servo connector coming from the ESC into the receiver has the polarity shown by the AR7000.

Since this is all Horizon stuff I would not think anything needs to be connected in reverse??

I did not receive any instructions on the ESC so I am unaware of any programming that needs to be done. I do here a series of beeps when I plug in the battery.

My battery has E-Flite connectors and and the ESC is E-Flite as well.

Not sure what I need to do, to get the motor to run in the correct direction??

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Brownie

Link--> Alpha 450 PNP

(FYI - I did searching and read in these situations the motor wires need to be reversed, but since this is a PNP and everything seems correct, I didn't think I should go this direction)

Help! push rod

awlang53 — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 16:10:36 GMT

best way to hook up push rods on servos

Discussion First flight video - critiques welcome

s.lang — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 16:07:26 GMT

Hey guys, heres my first flight video, taken this morning...

Any constructive criticism welcome, but take it easy on me, I've only been flying 8 weeks or so......

11-15-09 Morning Flight Huntington Beach 1 (4 min 10 sec)

Discussion hd lock gyro

heady — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 12:44:30 GMT

hi can you fit a EK2-0704B Lock Head Gyro in a plane what would be the diffrence between that and a normal gyro?