Hey guys!!!

This has probably been asked before and I am going to do some more reading through the forum but if you have any advice before I get started I would appreciate it.


Let me start off by stating I don't know what the hell I am doing... I have never flown a plane and all of this will be new to me.

I do however want to get an RC Plane for my 8 year old son - he really likes his RC Cars (Stampedex2) and I think he would really enjoy some air time.

I know we both need to get on a SIM, and we both need to be prepared and I have a lot of work to do but I would just like some opinions on which plane to start out with for someone his age.

I was settled in on a slow stick but was reading information on the YAK55 which supposed to be indestructible. I am going to go ahead and predict there is going to be some crashes.... sh*t may get broken.... heads might roll -- so what do you think?

It doesn't matter to me if it is ARF or RTF - I think we both would enjoy the time together working on ARF though...

HobbyZone Champ....

Cheap, Ready to fly, EASY to fix, spare parts readily available...

Originally Posted by rkathner

HobbyZone Champ....

Cheap, Ready to fly, EASY to fix, spare parts readily available...

Wow... haven't even considered this one... looks like something we can jump right into

It was my first foray into the RC world....it's super stable and can putt around on very little throttle. Just be careful to make sure the wind isn't blowing - this is a very light little plane.


Be warned - this hobby becomes VERY addictive

+1 for the sim and +1 for the Champ.

Just keep in mind that you'll be flying a plane that weighs next to nothing and as such you want to fly in ZERO wind, especially if you're learning.

ARF can mean a variety of things, depending on where you shop - most of the time it doesn't necessarily mean that a lot (or even any amount) of assembly is involved, typically it's more an indication of how complete the plane you're buying is. Again: not all ARFs are created equal.
The way to go starting out is to get something RTF, since this means that you'll get a TX and RX with it, a suitable battery, motor, ESC and probably a battery charger.

It's complicated enough to get started, focus on having fun and learning as you go.

My grandson, he's 9, and I started with a couple of Hobbyzone mini supercubs not long ago. He crashed quite a bit until I got a simulator. Not a high dollar one, $17 plus shipping and down loads free on the internet. What a difference a couple evenings on the simulator makes. He flies much better and my new tubes of epoxy, unopened for now.

Welcome,

Champ is a great starter and let this be your 3rd warning about wind

You need <2 mph wind, throttle controls height and speed, find a grassy field and hand launch after sim practice. G'luck dad.

ya get a cheap sim.

if yall got an xbox 360 there are several ancient flight sims that have been ported over for like a dollar. they're pretty bad but you can learn left/right and control reversal for about nothing

Originally Posted by rcnoobz

Hey guys!!!

This...........
..........I was settled in on a slow stick but was reading information on the YAK55 which supposed to be indestructible. I am going to go ahead and predict there is going to be some crashes.... sh*t may get broken.... heads might roll -- so what do you think?

...

Yak55 is not for beginers by all means. Those indestructible planes are more than likely made out of super tough foam a.k.a EPP foam and are only and only for those who have mastered all the basics and wanting to learn aerobatic manuevers.

Horizon Hobby Champ is a great choice and if you plan to keep flying, get the BNF version and invest your money on a good Spektrum radio with the DX6i as the minimum. This way you can use the same transmitter for other HH bnf planes.

What an incredible response!!! Thank you all for the help I wasn't expecting this much assistance. It is greatly appreciated...

Yeah, stay far away from a Yak55. Doesn't matter if it's made of EPP, if you don't have the fundamental basics down on how to fly, you probably won't even get it airborne, and at that point you won't be breaking the airplane, you'll be breaking the more expensive equipment (batteries, motor, speed control, servos, ect.).

A Hobby Zone Champ RTF is what you should focus your signs on. Just find a calm morning, and have the hobby shop run you through the basics. More than likely, they will have a simulator setup so you can try it out before actually flying

Champ is a good choice. I have nose dive crashed mine into the ground more then 50 times and it's still flying. Since it's foam you can easily repair any broken wing, tail with some foam safe ca glue. This thing really can take a beating. For 89 bucks you really can't go wrong with the champ it comes with everything you need to get started.
Extra batteries are cheap too. Tons of resources on here about the champ if you have any questions.

Originally Posted by rcnoobz

I do however want to get an RC Plane for my 8 year old son - he really likes his RC Cars (Stampedex2) and I think he would really enjoy some air time.

Always remind yourself that this is yur idea and be accepting if he doesn't enjoy it the way you think or hope he might. It's a very difficult thing having a plane and wanting your son to come out and fly but he would rather play basketball or fly a kite instead.

I know we both need to get on a SIM, and we both need to be prepared and I have a lot of work to do but I would just like some opinions on which plane to start out with for someone his age.

You should be more prepared than him. As the Adult, your mind is better able to predict where the plane is headed at it's current speed and direction. Your mind is better able to make decisions about where to fly, when the weather conditions are appropriate, how high to go, and how far away to go. Your mind is more concious of safety.

As the Trainer, you should know enough to help him avoid fly-aways, avoid flying over people or roads, and avoid flying into ponds or trees. You should also be able to do some repairs so that he doesn't become so afraid of crashing that he won't fly again.

As the Father you should be careful about becoming angry if he doesn't show the interest you expect, or crashes it and breaks the wing, or flys it straight into the ground. The best thing to do is fix it and let him try again when he's ready.


SB

Oh yeah, My 6yr old learned on a Champ flying in a gym this past winter. Then I learned on a Champ 5 months later.

SB

i started control at 11 and R/C at 13. never anything but solo. (28 now). my dad was an amazing builder. best i've ever known or seen. he flew control line growing up & had tried R/C one time in the 70's (it was a fly away & shelved afterwards). the plan was i would learn to fly first & teach him to fly later. (Face it "there's no sub for experience, but when neither of you have any the kid is gunna learn faster LoL!) i never had a problem not crashing / learning. in 17 years of flying i've totaled only 5 planes. 3 were my fault due to pilot error (1 pure pilot error, 2 "nobody told me you couldn't..." type crashes and two mechanical failures. a receiver wire cut itself in half under high G load. not pulled apart, not broke on a solder joint. literally cut itself in half)

i think the biggest points with these blah little intro planes that companies try to pass off are:
1) expectations. no, it's not going to fly well/have power to get out of trouble/survive *that* long
2) wind, do absolutely not fly in wind. weather.com put in your area and don't even GO if it lists above 5mph for the hour. IF YOU CAN SEE LEAVES ON TREES MOVING DO NOT LEAVE THE HOUSE TO FLY IT
win wise it's best to do it at sun-up or sun-set.
3) be a man. if he wrecks, he wrecks. dont be a jerk and get pissed when your couple hundred bucks is down the tube. its 99% gunna happen so just write it off already. you're just paying time spending money.



Now I taught a lot of people to fly on bigger .20-40-60 size nitro trainers. Not that what I say means jack anything, but the morals are. Noobs don't give noobs good advice. So you know... Keep whatever commands clear & concise. Make sure YOU are right before opening your mouth regarding "emergency flight commands". It likely is money down the tube PHYSICALLY at some point, but you can have an amazing time spending time together.
dont be a jackass and yell commands at him. even little kids are not morons. they can see the plane going down or up or blah blah blah. just give sound general advice "let's get a little higher", "ok time to turn around". keep in mind. you're a total noob too, so YOUR view of what the plane doing has a BIGGER chance of being wrong than the pilot's. IDC what the age of the pilot is. the pilot and only the pilot knows what & how much input he's giving & how the plane is responding to it. orientation changes as you fly left/right reverses coming towards you. when all of a sudden the plane gets a little far out visually it can be hard to figure out which way is going and which way is coming. Up is easy. if you pull up, it'll go up (or go down and eventually wind up going back up LoL). Man I'm from the south, so not like I'm saying mollycoddle a kid trying to fly, but I remember my third R/C flight resulted in a crash b/c a jerk at the field wanted to fly my plane to "help me out" that i was sucessfully flying & landing and HE crashed it. Really jerk? I COULD HAVE CRASHED IT!? lulz!

I got asked once to test fly / buddy box a kid one time waaaay back when I was in highschool for this random ass dad & his young kid at the field. I'll fly anything.... But even I turned him down. This guy shows up with this CRAZY out of whack .40 sized trainer. I mean beat into a million pieces, nothing repaired even remotely straight. wing/fin/tail incidences all over the place, god knows what the firewall/thrust line was. We get it cranked & running and more or less tuned so his kid gets it up and *obviously* despite being nicely told by several adult members the plane is not going to work out. Plane is all over the place. The kid makes half a circuit while he's shouting BOGUS commands the entire time. LEFT LEFT RIGHT UP UP UP UP UP IUP UP UP UP. But the simple fact is the engine couldn't pull the POS UPWARDS at the rate he wanted to see it go up. He's screaming commands at the kid putting this trainer in deeper & deeper stalls, tip stalls, all over the place. Finally the kid just can't keep together what basic inputs the plane needs VS what this jackass father that knows nothing is going ballistic yelling at him and WHAM full throttle piledrive after a very deep stall from maybe 40'. plane hits the ground at about a -60 to -70* down angle and plane is obliterated. This guy is going off all over the place liked to have started spanking the crap out of him (which my dad was NOT opposed too I'll tell ya LoL!). my dad winds up nearing kicking his ass and him and another couple of older club members (grandfather age) more or less show him down into just packing up and leaving the club for the day.








You want it to last at least the first entire timed flight without breaking? (not including landing hah) Then learn the concept of "Mistakes High" You don't want to be flying at low altitude close to the ground if you're not a good pilot. You want to be high enough so that when you put in the wrong control (and you will! typically due to disorentation) you've got plenty of time to figure out "maybe I should push the stick the OTHER way" before it hits the ground.

A good rule of thumb is you get 1 mistake per 100' of altitude. It's hard for someone new to judge altitude, but just imagine most trees being about 75-100' tall. You wanna be a couple tree tops high. Not flying too slow, not too fast. Once you get to a nice reasonable altitude normally between a little over 1/2 throttle and 3/4 throttle is a typical amount for power for most planes to just dillydally at.

Oh. And R/C planes are not footballs. You're NOT trying to throw a 70yd touchdown pass. If you try throwing it like a javelon it will go STRAIGHT up in the air 20-30 feet. Deep stall & come STRAIGHT back down in the ground. When you hand-launch one. All you're looking to do is get it NEAR flying speed. Doesn't even have to be TO flying speed, just "there abouts".
To get the hang of how to hand launch most planes. Just do a light jog with the plane over your head & more or less push it forward. That'll be a nice sedate 15-20mph. It'll dip down a couple feet as it picks up speed & then you just fly it off.