New flyer, need advice on progression

[weekend_flyer]

Hi all,

I didn't get a good start in the RC hobby, so I'll probably need lots of guidance in future RC matters.

I'm interested in flying electric RC planes and the first plane that I bought was a J3 made by Easysky. It was an rtf set and I flew it in September. I crashed it (each "flight" lasted less than 30 seconds) and broke the 2 props it came with so I'm grounded. Furthermore, it looks like the motor mount broke so I'll need to fix that as well.

I bought it as it was an EPO plane and was a 4 channel plane. I thought the J3 would be forgiving as it was a high wing trainer but I just wasn't ready yet. Still, it was a good plane with plenty of power and despite the horrific crash, the electronics still worked and the EPO airframe needed no repairs. I will probably be flying it again when I get better.

Anyway, I'm not giving up on the hobby yet but I have been humbled and I did more research so at least I think I've found a better place to start again. I guess my problems with the J3 was that:
a) CG was not set up well (tail heavy) as it pitched upwards readily when throttle was applied
b) It was probably too fast for me at this stage
c) I should have gotten a computer radio with expo and dual rates to ease myself into the controls of the (relatively) small plane since I had no prior RC flying experience
d) Not enough time on the simulator, but I'm practicing now with FMS and an Xbox controller.

I've constructed a list below to chart my progression in this hobby based on what people suggest on RCgroups. I'd like to end up flying more difficult edfs and warbirds eventually (with retracts and flaps), but I guess we'll have to see how long I will stay with the hobby. One thing's for sure, RC flying sure looks great on youtube

To do:
a) Get a computer radio. Any of the below (please suggest other radios with an equivalent value and quality proposition)
- Hitec Optic 6, Turnigy 9x v2, Airtronics 6ch, Futaba T6J, Walkera Devo 8

b) High wing trainer (purchasing/flying in the order below)1) ********* Bixler Plug and Play (influenced by watchingthe flitetest channel on youtube)2) Dynam 1.2 m J3/Cessna/ my old Easysky J3

c) Low wing trainer:1) Dynam T28 1.2m / FMS T28 1.4m

d) "Gentle" Warbirds (Parkzone F4F, Kyosho Airium ME109)

e) "Difficult" Warbirds (FMS Mini series)

f) "Easy" edfs (Jpower T45/F86)

g) "Medium" edfs (64mm "airfield" edfs)

h) Upgrade to 9 channel tx

i) Big warbirds (FMS 1.4m with retracts and flaps)

j) "Difficult" edfs and warbirds (Lanxiang F4U 1.6m, 8+ channels 90mm FA18)


Is this list a realistic progression from a flight difficulty point of view? I understand that it looks like I'll be buying many planes and my house will probably be a hangar, but my ultimate goal in this hobby is to be able to fly and enjoy planes like the Lanxiang F4U or their crazy 12 channel EDFs someday.

How long (based on experience) do you think a complete beginner will take to reach the stage of being able to fly planes like the 12 channel EDF?

Thank you for reading and I appreciate all comments. Happy flying

[Creative]

Hi fellow newbie.
Let me share you mine learning experience.

Last time, i bought hk tx and cloudsfly. hurriedly went out to fly w/o playing simulator(was in fact full of confident). Crashed, but still airworthy.

After that, went to buy dx6i. Had enough flight time virtually before heading out again. It's only in the simulator did i realised, how much i missed out.

Had a fellow forumer who help me maiden the 2nd time.
After which i fly better and better.
Now that i can fly with much ease, i'm still try to fly smoother; less twitchy in another words.

Regarding trainer, i wouldnt recommend front prop ones; they are less crash worthy than pusher like cloudsfly or skysurfer

[weekend_flyer]

Yeah, I've decided not to get a front prop trainer. I hope I don't fail the Bixler.

[foxkilo]

...
c) Low wing trainer:1) Dynam T28 1.2m / FMS T28 1.4m

d) "Gentle" Warbirds (Parkzone F4F, Kyosho Airium ME109)

e) "Difficult" Warbirds (FMS Mini series)
...

I wouldn't recommend using those large-span Trojans as your first low-wing trainer... they have retracts and flaps, extra complications that you don't need at this stage. Furthermore, it's more pricey and wasted if you crash.

Not all the FMS Mini 800mm span series models are "difficult" warbirds. Their Trojan is a good low-wing trainer and can run on smaller capacity 2s or 3s lipos - although the pure warbirds can be quite a handful if you have little experience at this stage.

And as you mentioned, CG, expo and control surface throws are also critical to set correctly.

[weekend_flyer]

Hi foxkilo,

I checked the prices of the dynam planes, and I have to agree with you on your pointers

I heard that the T28 mini is one of the easiest to fly, other than the ME109, which is supposedly the easiest of all with the long fuselage. However, I think it's out of production or something as no one carries it in stock in S'pore, even the US stores are out...

The reason why I classified the FMS minis as difficult to fly is because they get small very fast when flying I guess. Also, I would guess that wind will affect these mini planes more than their larger cousins....

I saw a PC-9 made by art-tech on nitroplanes, that could be a low wing trainer I could try... Slightly larger, fixed landing gear. Either that or a low wing dynam cessna with fixed gear...


BTW, I got my first 6ch radio too, a Hitec Optic 6 bought from a bro in the marketplace

Thanks for all the comments so far!

[TWE75]

Regarding those small planes getting hard to see when you fly them further out .

I actually crashed my kinect 800 again yesterday after 2 repairs for the same reason . I was flying it pretty fast yesterday til it got quite far away from me and it was approaching a bus stop , i attempted to turn but due to its small size and distance away from me , i wasn't sure whether its turning or not so i decided to give it some aileron to turn but instead cause it to crash cos i kind of lost my orientation of the plane due to the white foam against the white paint of the HDB in the background .

I've decided to chuck away the body to go for the merlin kit instead and use back the same electronics for the kinect 800 for it . Anyone here know whether the merlin can accommodate a 850mah 3s battery ? Cos it recommend for 450mah only .

[raidor88]

hey we have a similar story.

When I can't even fly more than 10s with my beginner plane last year, I was blown over by the LX Mig-29 which came out middle of last year. I told myself that was my ultimate plane to fly.

So I started off roughly like this:

-Those high wing planes like e-starter, TW747 cessna. Never had more than 10s flight in them due to variety of reasons like tail heavy, wrong aileron setup, etc...nearly gave up totally. I even destroyed a $150 balsa warbird. Super heart pain...and moved on to boating...
After getting bored with the 2-channels, I was back again!

-Got some discounted parkzone T-28 ultra mini. Crashed countless times but it still flew. Learnt aileron controls. Now it resembled a bandaged plane with a number of rods but still flyable.

-moved on to parkzone Corsair ultra mini. More challenging than T-28. Learnt to control it in windy conditions. Crashed many times too...but minimum damage due to grass.

-there was a store opening sales early this year and got a couple of "cheap" special offered FMS mini warbirds like P-47, T-28.
The P-47 was really a tough bird. It withstood so many bad hand launches, crash landings and even crashing into a jungle which broke a few branches. Suffered some broken wings, splitted cowling, motor change. Spent more time on fixing than flying. Lots of epoxy glue and hot water. But it still flies well....even today.

-the turning point came when I managed to learn how to trim the plane after hand launching. Right hand on the controls, left hand on the trim tabs. Takes a lot of practice and don't gan jeong. Try to fly higher to trim. Once it is trimmed, try to fly higher to allow allowance for mistakes.

-After "sacrificing" this P-47, I more or less can handle other warbirds of this series, so I slowing collected them...like T-28, corsair, AT-6, and also moved on the the smaller 50mm edf then to 64mm and 70mm.

After over 30 planes (all different kinds..super addictive), still have some crashes now and then due to carelessness, faulty electronics, bad landing but at least I am finally flying instead of being a 10s warrior.

Also finally got the LX Mig-29 ...but big problem is no place to safely takeoff unless maybe the far western side.

[weekend_flyer]

Hi Raidor, it's glad to know that you were in the same situation once too

Your first trainer was a UM T-28? Most people in RCGroups wouldn't recommend it to me as a first trainer but it looks like it survived you and taught you to fly

Were the FMS minis harder to fly than the parkzone offerings?

Not sure if I'm being optimistic here, but was your progression to the LX Mig 29 in 1 year "easily" replicable? I hope I get to fly those before I graduate from uni LOL.

I think I will practice your flight procedures when I get the Bixler too, hopefully I won't write off this second trainer.

[raidor88]

UM T-28 is a very forgiving plane. Can tolerate minor crashes. Just find some tall grass fields, and standby some toothpicks and epoxy.
I think one of my earlier problem was orientation. Used to turn the wrong way when plane was facing me. Or forgot to put some up elevator when turning, resulting in a stall.
If it is a FMS warbird...be prepared for a crash and another repairing session..:P
Once more confident, you can increase the aileron/elevator throw + dual rates. Then can try a few loops and rolls. shiok!

[hurhurhurhur]

buy CHAMP RTF. damn good to learn. cheap too

[kekelala]

Hiya

Don't try the minis as a trainer -- they are too fast and small to see in the air for a beginner. If you google "rc plane trainer" most of them appear to be class 40 to 60 size, which wings are spanned between 1.5m to 1.7m.

The bigger the plane, the easier to fly it (comparing it to smaller planes). They are also less sensitive to wind. Fly planes with motor (and propeller) mounted on the top fuselage. For example: The Floater-Jet, Bixler and Sky Surfer etc etc. They are very crash-forgiving so you can repair the crash on-the-spot with CA (for EPO foam) and fly again. I used to learn flying with the Floater-Jet. I learned it hard for 2 months (every Sunday at Tuas), crash after crash. I had no Simulator at all. Totally practical practices.

In fact these trainers I stated are mid-low wingers because of the position the motors are mounted. That means they can be quite sensitive and tend to roll (bank) out of control easily for beginners. They are in fact more difficult to manage than typical Pipers.

However once trained with these trainers, you will be amazed you could fly a cub with much ease.

[sabbeth]

I start with the Champ... handing is easy and good beside that parts are available locally. Would suggest to newbie who wanted to start flying... its slow and steady.

just my experience...