whats the use of a fuel line over the control horn ?

also a canard is a good plane to start they don't stall
avoid planes with 2 edf
let an experience pilot do the maiden flight
avoid flying when there is allot of wind
remember that the plane isn't maneuverable when flying slow

Originally Posted by ace dogfigter

whats the use of a fuel line over the control horn ?

also a canard is a good plane to start they don't stall
avoid planes with 2 edf
let an experience pilot do the maiden flight
avoid flying when there is allot of wind
remember that the plane isn't maneuverable when flying slow

Keeps the clasp tight in the control horn...most of these EDF have pretty crummy linkages. Just a bit of added insurance!

well, there are 2 fule line tricks.

one, it goes on the clevis prior to clamping it down on the horn, then you slid the tube forward to keep it clenched.


two, would be to put it between the stab and your control surface over your little hinges. stops the WOT "flutter"

Early generation fighters (1950's) are also a good place to start - MiG15 and F86 spring to mind. Generous amount of wing.

WRONG..

modern fighters are better with lifting bodies.

a f-22 will land better than an f-36 any day.
SABER DANCE anyone...

Originally Posted by BEELZEBOB

LOL

i dont even own one.

but a few hours on my buddies sim, and a Custom lethargic F-4, i learned a lot.

that short time was invaluable.

i love my jets, and want more people to share my joy.

but you gotta use your freggin head!!!


research research research.

and DO not use RTF TX and RX's ever. get a nice solid radio.

and DO NOT USE FREGGIN SHOE GO OR THE RUBBER CEMENT THAT COMES IN THE KIT.

60sec, 5min and 10min epoxy are your friends.

Mm its funny, "Custom lethargic F-4"

The sooner someone brings out an ultra-micro edf the better. Then rookies like me can train on a little edf that can take many crashes like a ultra micro P51.

I am one of those rookies who bough an EDF based on looks - 50mm AMX, I picked the plane with the smallest wing surface area from the 50mm series. but I am listening to advice and I'm not going to fly it until I have more experience.

However, I also bought a 50mm F-35 and I'm going to fly this one soon even if I crash it first time, the airframes are very cheap, and I have to learn on something since there is no ultra-micro edf to learn with.

Also, I'm not a fan of simulators, they can never model real life exactly, theres gust of wind, ground effect, and all sorts of other little things that a simulator can never teach you. When I learned to drive a car I didnt go on the simulator, never touched a steering wheel before but there I was, straight into the real thing. Sure its a steeper learning curve but for me its the only way to go.

Sorry guys I think I must be an exception although I freely admit I crashed a lot to start with. I adore aeroplanes I have done from a very early age. I have built my own designs since I was a kid partly because I couldn't afford kits but partly because the kits were overly complicated and didn't fly any better than my own efforts. I remember a Sopwith Camel from Kiel Kraft. I had the CG spot on I carried out the test glide and it broke a strut. It never flew properly and I had invested hours into that rubber powered freeflight monstrosity. I have next to no money to spend on this hobby so I fly a cheap and nasty 35mhz TX, and I learnt on my on design EDFs

EDF can be a good starting point but build it from EPP so it bounces if you arrive a little heavy. I designed my own, so my TSR2 was a full function effort with a 24" wingspan but I recognised that a 70mph twin 55mm plane would not be a good place to start, so I built something that looked a bit like SR71 named it Orangebird a 19" twin with a speed range from about 15 mph to about 50 mph several years later and it needs new elevon hinges but other than that it is still flying I learnt to fly on this. I had built and designed a lovely 72" .40 super Tigre powered balsa, spruce and ply machine years before and crashed on the maiden when it flew beautifully but had a tendency to roll left and after 10 minutes in the air I lost orientation as I was approaching the field and lost sight of it behind some trees and picked up the pieces 1/4 of a mile away where it had cartwheeled in I still have the fuselage but the wing was matchwood, one day I will rebuild that wing. It had only needed trimming but as a complete novice with RC I couldn't seem to find the time to trim it out. So basically having had some time on a simulator I learnt to fly on EDF. Unlike someone I was trying to teach I was always nervous of doing too much with the sticks. Apparently the norm is that people just move them til they stop. Hence why a novice could put about 6g on a trainer type thing I built for them with a prop. My second plane was the TSR2 and it is seriously nervous 1/2 movement on pitch is enough to do pretty well anything 1/2 movement on roll is a snap roll. Rudder and taileron is needed to make really big smooth turns, as it allows you to keed the nose attitude spot on. I have been flying these for three years now and the trainer design was a prop effort and I found it very relaxing to fly now awaiting version 2. TSR2 is now faster and heavier and has a redesigned and strengethened wing as it will happily pull quite high g in a turn, and the new wing profile which is slightly closer to the original glides remarkably well

I had built upwards of fifty free flight chuck gliders some of which were very good mostly loosely based on WW2 fighters although the most successful were canard desgns that I was building in the early eighties, one of which flew over four hundred yards downwind from a hand launch on flat ground and was never more than 40 feet above ground level and had a flight time of 52 seconds.

The biggest hurdles to flying are Orientation and over controlling. Orientation takes time to learn and fast models make this a lot worse. Over controlling and EDF is more disastrous than over controlling a prop plane as mentioned by others. so for a trainer maximum throws should be small and just sufficient to get about a 3-4 g rate of change of direction at full speed and that will be about 1-2 g at landing speed. Somebody mentioned space if you are learning then I would say if you can see a tree it is too near. When you start you will find that trees are magnetic when it comes to models. Somebody said they are difficult to land without power. Not true they are not bad to land power off. Keep the speed fairly high on the approach and a delta will let you bleed the speed off by just flaring until it just gently settles. It looks better with power because you can come in with 25% power or more and the nose up and in a high drag configuration all the way down the glide slope.

It does depend on the plane if you can land with no power...I always land with power because I think it is a safe habit to get into with the EDF's IMO!

bighead93 I am not really disagreeing with you over the power on landing thing, just that having tried with and without power I would agree that with power is preferable as it is much more controllable that way, but it is not impossible without power as a rule. Some planes anyone would certainly be nervous of trying it.

so after reading a bit. im still not sure what to get first. i like the eurofighter but like the f35 also. is the f35 going to be a decent first edf? i flew alot for 3 yrs all season flyer patch in hand. also every time i goto the h/s i spend at least 10 min or more on the sim. ican still land smooth on the sim with the jets. going out for the first time next weekend with a buddie to fly a f15 flat foamie to see how i do. i like the f35 due to the price. does it glide well? like the f22? i used to have the wattage f22 that i converted to edf but lost after a controll linkage failure. i know the eurofighter would be a good choice but what are your thoughts. and please no bickering here please. ive read alot of that and thats what drove me away from cars (again).

The F-35 does fly pretty good! Does glide ok but be careful! If you have 3 years of flying experience you should be ok!

thanks for the info. ill keep reading and should be able to get a jet as soon as a guy buys my rc truck. (he has been ho humming and its driving me nuts) i need to get airborne soon!

I don't land with the power on. I just line up pretty far out and slowly reduce the power and carry enough speed to avoid tip stalling. Not saying that's the way to do it but, it's what makes me comfortable and works for me. As far as first EDF's go I've said it many times, the HL-F86 is a great little EDF for first timers.

I think 1 big problem is all the new jets coming out are thrust vectored, pilot ejecting, smoke trailing, have retractable landing gear, drag chutes, and whatever else they can think of to get you to buy them. A couple of us were trying to give a guy advise on a first EDF a few days ago and he bought a SU-47....CRAZY. Too many flashy EDF's with no disclaimer. Should read: New Pilots Need Not Apply.

If you're looking for a first EDF get something cheap. No need to spend $200+ on your first EDF to have a good flier. Get something that has replacement parts that are easy to get. Do not buy a gray plane. Read the thread about the plane and ask questions. Some people will just buy what they want, which is fine since it's their money. They just need to buy a lot of glue.

My advise to anyone that want's to get into flying EDF's your first plane should be a Parkzone Stryker C. It will get you used to flying fast and you can still fly slow. It is the perfect EDF trainer.

Originally Posted by kuczy

I don't land with the power on. I just line up pretty far out and slowly reduce the power and carry enough speed to avoid tip stalling. Not saying that's the way to do it but, it's what makes me comfortable and works for me. As far as first EDF's go I've said it many times, the HL-F86 is a great little EDF for first timers.

I think 1 big problem is all the new jets coming out are thrust vectored, pilot ejecting, smoke trailing, have retractable landing gear, drag chutes, and whatever else they can think of to get you to buy them. A couple of us were trying to give a guy advise on a first EDF a few days ago and he bought a SU-47....CRAZY. Too many flashy EDF's with no disclaimer. Should read: New Pilots Need Not Apply.

If you're looking for a first EDF get something cheap. No need to spend $200+ on your first EDF to have a good flier. Get something that has replacement parts that are easy to get. Do not buy a gray plane. Read the thread about the plane and ask questions. Some people will just buy what they want, which is fine since it's their money. They just need to buy a lot of glue.

My advise to anyone that want's to get into flying EDF's your first plane should be a Parkzone Stryker C. It will get you used to flying fast and you can still fly slow. It is the perfect EDF trainer.

totally agree

The first plane I ever flew was an Art Tech Typhoon EDF. Now the stock battery sucked big time but once I swapped that out for a descent one, got the CoG spot on and introduced sufficient control throw she was an absolute pussycat to fly. I still have it, albeit now running on 4s, and fly it regularly. So my advice:

1. Start with a Delta (Squall, Typhoon, Rafale etc). My Tyohoon is super-chuckable and very forgiving, especially in the stall.
2. Get the CoG absolutely right
3. Ensure you have plenty of control throw but also set up a dual rate of 50% and a hefty expo shoudl you need to select it in a hurry.
4. Take off from the ground if possible, there's no going back from a hand launch.
5. Buy a model which you can readily get spares for. This is really important. I've re-skinned my Typhoon several times and I now know the model very well so can set one up perfectly first time. If you can't simply replace the nose cone or a wing after a crash you may feel compelled to buy a whole new model, which may bring the temptation to buy something different/better/shinier. Trouble is, that you start the learning process all over again and may never set the thing up properly or get used to it's characteristics. More crashes, more frustration.

Just my $0.02

Si