I've got a new mantra after seeing a great statement:

The mark of a truly superior pilot is the use of his superior judgment to avoid situations requiring the use of his superior skill.

Originally Posted by Saxguy1000

I've got a new mantra after seeing a great statement:

The mark of a truly superior pilot is the use of his superior judgment to avoid situations requiring the use of his superior skill.

If It Isn't Broken, Your Not Flying It Correctly!!

Oh, yeah... that wasn't my new mantra. I didn't get to my new mantra. This is what I say from now on:

The mark of a truly superior pilot is he who uses his superior craftsmanship to avoid bends, scrapes and crashes requiring the use of his superior skill to repair, rebuild, and to fashion new parts from his hobby room trash... And, the helicopter does not weigh more than the inertia provided by the stock kit.

Originally Posted by Saxguy1000

I've got a new mantra after seeing a great statement:

The mark of a truly superior pilot is the use of his superior judgment to avoid situations requiring the use of his superior skill.

I must not be a superior pilot then...when I was still flying RC planes my judgement would get me into situations that my very good skills couldn't always get me out of...

Hi all,

I've been lurking here since I got my 120SR 3 months ago. (I tried to read all 10 million posts... but I had to cheat and skip a few ). Anyway, the 120SR is my first RC heli, and first RC anything since I was a kid 20 years ago. With some knowledge picked up here, it's been a blast, and I feel fairly competent with it now, both indoors and out. I'm considering an mCPX in the not too distant future.

But I've also been thinking about trying my hand at planes, and wanted to get some advice from the 120SR peeps. So, slightly off topic:

A 3-ch Super Cub or Champ seems to be the most popular beginner choice. But I'm wondering if my heli experience will translate well, allowing me to perhaps skip to a 4 channel? It seems that part of the learning curve in flying may apply to both helis and planes: getting used to the sticks, orientation, and aerodynamic effects.

I don't mind starting at the bottom. The idea of something small, simple, durable and cheap like the Champ is very appealing. On the other hand, "skipping" ahead to something more capable wouldn't be so bad either. So I'm looking for some general advice on transitioning to planes and what some good options are for me. I have a DX6i and a BNF would be great.

Thanks!
James

Originally Posted by Saxguy1000

Oh, yeah... that wasn't my new mantra. I didn't get to my new mantra. This is what I say from now on:

The mark of a truly superior pilot is he who uses his superior craftsmanship to avoid bends, scrapes and crashes requiring the use of his superior skill to repair, rebuild, and to fashion new parts from his hobby room trash... And, the helicopter does not weigh more than the inertia provided by the stock kit.

The mark of superior flying is not having to tell your next door neighbor that you are sorry!

@chimivee...

I was advised when I got into planes this past summer not to jump right into 4 channel right away. I was going to ignore that advise and buy the Carbon Cub as my first plane. I abandoned that idea, not because I didn't think I could fly it, but because of all the issues it had, so I bought the Champ instead and I'm kind of glad now that it worked out that way. The 4 channels don't usually have the self righting feature of the wing dihedral that's built into most 3 channel trainers... something that I feel, no matter how good your heli skills are, is desirable for at least your first handful of flights if you're learning planes on your own and not buddy boxing.... you probably will crash the 3 channel (probably won't even damage it if it's not an epic crash ) so it's even more likely you'll crash the 4 channel which is usually faster, not self righting and sometimes not as strong depending which one you buy.

... I was worried that I'd only need a trainer for a very short period before I'd be bored of it or ready to jump up to the next thing and shelve it with it kind of being a waste of money. I was told by alot of experienced flyers that probably wouldn't happen... that planes like the Champ and HZ Super Cub are so much fun and stress free and easy and cheap to repair that I'd still be flying them even if moving on to more advanced birds. Well, when I got my Champ, I couldn't put it down... in fact, I pretty much abandoned all other areas of RC for the majority of the summer. I didn't even really desire moving on to a 4 channel either and I'm still kind of at that point. I did move up to a bigger plane, but I got the 3 channel Super Cub

I've noticed in the places I hang around RCGroups, there are alot of experienced flyers who own some pretty cool more advanced planes who mostly come on here to talk about flying their Champs and Super Cubs

If you feel you still want to jump into 4 channel right form the get go... the T-28 Trojan is the most recommended aileron trainer I've come across on this forum. It just doesn't really appeal to me personally.

Originally Posted by chimivee

Hi all,
I don't mind starting at the bottom. The idea of something small, simple, durable and cheap like the Champ is very appealing. On the other hand, "skipping" ahead to something more capable wouldn't be so bad either. So I'm looking for some general advice on transitioning to planes and what some good options are for me. I live in I have a DX6i and a BNF would be great.

Thanks!
James

The Champ is great. The Super cub is great. Both have "dihedral" wings, so they somewhat self-correct. The Champ, being smaller, will survive many crashes. The bigger they are, the harder they break.
The most often recommended aileron trainer is the micro T-28. It's cheap and durable. I think if I had it to do over I'd start with a Radian powered glider. You need room for that, though. The Champ you can throw in it's box and keep it in the car and fly anywhere.
I "skipped ahead" to bigger and less stable planes (read expensive mistakes).
I wouldn't recommend it unless you don't mind fixing and flying ugly (patched) planes.

Originally Posted by Brian VT

The Champ is great. The Super cub is great. Both have "dihedral" wings, so they somewhat self-correct. The Champ, being smaller, will survive many crashes. The bigger they are, the harder they break.
The most often recommended aileron trainer is the micro T-28. It's cheap and durable. I think if I had it to do over I'd start with a Radian powered glider. You need room for that, though. The Champ you can throw in it's box and keep it in the car and fly anywhere.
I "skipped ahead" to bigger and less stable planes (read expensive mistakes).
I wouldn't recommend it unless you don't mind fixing and flying ugly (patched) planes.

I recommend the Champ and the T-28 for anyone. The Champ is my favorite for simple stress-free flying. The T-28 is just as good, but I like the 4-ch for the ailerons. Also, after flying the 120SR, you will have the thumbs for the 4-ch control. You use the the rudder much more on a heli than you do on a plane. A lot of guys only use the rudder for taxi and take off. After that, if you only use ailerons, there is no difference at all between the 3-ch Champ and the 4-ch T-28.

Originally Posted by Saxguy1000

You use the the rudder much more on a heli than you do on a plane.

It is kinda nice that the tail just follows the rest of the plane, unlike a heli.

Originally Posted by Brian VT

It is kinda nice that the tail just follows the rest of the plane, unlike a heli.

Going from helis to planes, I kept using the rudder too much. Finally, my brother-in-law, a plank dude, told me that most don't even use the rudder on planes. Duhhh, I guess that's why they can't land on a dime like my heli!!!

Originally Posted by Brian VT

It is kinda nice that the tail just follows the rest of the plane, unlike a heli.

Is this the 120SR thread

Yeah Baby

I like turtles.

Zombie Kid Likes Turtles (0 min 17 sec)

Originally Posted by Saxguy1000

I recommend the Champ and the T-28 for anyone. The Champ is my favorite for simple stress-free flying. The T-28 is just as good, but I like the 4-ch for the ailerons. Also, after flying the 120SR, you will have the thumbs for the 4-ch control. You use the the rudder much more on a heli than you do on a plane. A lot of guys only use the rudder for taxi and take off. After that, if you only use ailerons, there is no difference at all between the 3-ch Champ and the 4-ch T-28.

+1 Smaller and lighter doesn't mean easier to fly when you add ailerons. After a year and a half becoming quite proficient with the 120SR I decided to try a fixed wing. Against the advice of just about everyone I went with the Carbon Cub; it only took about 30 seconds total flight time to smash not one but TWO of them to smithereens. Now I fly the Champ indoors or in dead calm outdoors and the T-28 outdoors.

It took one flight to master the Champ on my own, and a couple of flights on a buddy box prepared me to solo the much bigger and faster T-28. I'd recommend both of them for any beginner with a decent radio. I'd also recommend spending some time on a good simulator before attempting to fly the T-28; it saved me from losing mine.

Originally Posted by Chap1012

Is this the 120SR thread

Yeah Baby

What's a 120sr?