First plane....couple of questions...

[mcvickj]

In the process of helping my uncle move we found a frame of a plane that he was working on for a while, then stored it. He said that if I wanted it it was mine. Otherwise it was gonna be burned. I am going to go over and pick it up sometime this week. He said that it is going to require a .40 engine and it needs to be skinned and electronics.

What is a good engine to get? How much work is skinning a plane take? Any good howto sites to read?

I will take my digicam over and get some pics for all to see.

-JR

 

[Çh®i§tiªñ]

Skinning a plane wont be hard if you have the right tools and patience. MonoKote will work well. I would seek some 'hands'on' assistance from an LHS that deals in planes if you can find one around you.

As far as engines go.... Well, of the 100's of planes I have seen on the flight fields, it would be safe to say that 90% + all had O.S. under the hood if they were nitro.

Lets see those pics!

Is this a first plane for you? If so, a .40 can go pretty fast in the right setup. Well, let me ask again, is this your first plane?

 

[mcvickj]

Yes. This will be my first attempt at leaving the ground and trying not to test the gravity theory out. My dad and uncle both have some limited experience under their belts. When they were younger they built a plane together. My dad still had the orginal electronics from their plane but its an AM setup. From what he was telling me the electonics he owns has been banned by the FCC for sometime.

 

[Çh®i§tiªñ]

You definately want to invest in good electrics! Most of the time these exceed the cost of the plane! However, you usually only have to buy the bulk of it once. RX's and Servos you want to get suited for each plane you have. The TX should work on all.

A .40 class is usually pretty fast and can be DANGEROUS! I knew it was your fist plane, I just wanted to stress the importance of having a flight pro around. Just starting the plane can take off a hand or even a chunk of you leg. Things like 'stays' and a wussy finger starter stick are a MUST!

I would really suggest starting with something like a Zagi 400x, Zagi Fixx or even a hobby zone slow flyer like a FireBird XL or Pro just to get it down. I'd hate to see you to put all that work into it only to have it crash first day out or even worse yet, get injured.

Lastly, PROPS HAVE TO BE BALANCED PROPERLY! Very easy to do and the tool is cheap.

Find someone to help get you up in the air. Even someone who flys regularly who would be willing to take it up for its first flight to get trims and radio set properly. Then, when they get it up in the air at a high enough altitude, you can take over the controls. This will give them enough time to recover the plane in the event you get into a bad situation.

To me, landing properly is the toughest part.

Good luck and ENJOY! 3d flight is a BLAST!

 

[kwong2001]

Get a 4 channel radio. If you get a radio from like 10-20 years ago, it won't be legal. They changed requirements on radios in like 1992 so you'll have to check up on that.

As far as learning how to fly, I will guarantee you that you'll crash if you try to fly on your own. Get an instructor and don't get overconfident cuz learning to fly isn't easy and it's not like 3 flights and bam...you're pro.

If you buy your own radio, get a futaba. And get a buddy cord. Join a flying club cuz they're good about teaching you to fly.

I hope the plane is a trainer because if it isn't, learning to fly will become much harder, but not impossible.

Most important part, have fun with it

 

[mcvickj]

What does a buddy cord do?

Just from looking at the plane I doubt this is a trainer. It looks like something an experienced flyer would be using.

What do you mean by a trainer? It is like a beginner plane to help newbies learn to fly? Is there a good computer simulator for RC flying?

 

[Çh®i§tiªñ]

Real Flight G2 Simulator is as close as you can get. Took me a year to PROPERLY fly a heli on the sim, so its safe to say its damn close to real life.

A buddy cord (usually found on Futaba radios) will allow you and a trainer person to both have control. This way if you get into a bad bad bad situation fast, the trainer will be able to haul you out of it. Great idea!

I have 2 diff. Futaba radios for flying and they both have plenty of options. 6xa and 6xas for heli. Check them out. 6 channel FM. And if you get REal Flight G2 you will be able to hook your own controller up directly.

Trainer planes are typically slow flyers that are easy to control. Fast or 'Hot Stick' planes are something advanced pilots will usually have. Kind of imagine seeing a Cessna in flight right next to one of the Blue angels. Now you have the idea.....

Like I was saying about the Zagis, they are virtually indestructable. Take a pounding! Crash into trees and they just keep on going... http://www.trickrc.com/

 

[mcvickj]

I finally managed to get over to see my uncle this weekend so I got some pics of the project. Turns out there are two planes. One is a smaller than the other and is mostly just a pile of balsa wood. The other one is further along but needs some TLC. Here are the pics....

http://www.jrmcvicker.com/plane.htm

These are all higher quality pics so it will take a min or two for em to load. There are about 11 all together. So what do you guys think? Looking at the paper work I brought home from those boxes I have some instructions for each and the blue prints for the larger plane. Still sifting thru the papers for blue prints on the smaller one.

 

[Çh®i§tiªñ]

They look like perfectly fine planes that just need to be finished and cleaned up. I would still recommend something slower and less expensive to get up in the air for the first few times. It would really suck to get all that work and money into those 2 only to have something bad happen the first time out.

Also, make darn sure you fly with a veteran on hand the first couple of flights. They can assist in trim setups and give tips that are much needed for both take-off and landing.

 

[Nitroaddict]

MCvickj - head the previous posts to the upmost! I cannot stress how important it is to have someone TEACH yu how to fly. It is very different than nitro cars. I have had about 10 different planes prior to getting into the world of rc cars, and it took me about 3 years before i could master a 6 channel bottom wing sport plane. Some of these sport aircraft wil approach speeds of almost 200mph!!!!! A good trainer or even a scale plane such as the J3 cubs will cruise around 50 or 60, and that is considered slow. The plane you took pictures of, its hard to tell, but is it a high wing, or a low wing aircraft? if it is a high wing, u should be able to learn easy enough with it. Also, take it to the hobby shop, and ask if you can't put a smaller engine in it. Most 40 size planes will run just fine with a good .25 and that will help you with slowing the plane down. Alas, the engines on aircraft are MUCH cheaper than on cars. You can get a good OS .25 for less than 60.00

Good luck, take your time, and u will have lots of fun!

 

[mcvickj]

Yes. The red plane is a top wing plane. My dad was saying the same thing about how they are easier to learn on.

It was looking around for an engine for it on Tower's website and I couldn't believe how the prices are so much cheaper compared to car or truck engines.

I would imagine that I would have to go thru the same type of break-in procedures correct? Is there a way to break the engine in with out it being in the plane?

 

[Nitroaddict]

you must break it in also, but it is not quite as time consuming as the high performance car engines.

U will want to break it in on a bench stand, wich is really just a peice of wood held inside a workbench clamp. MAKE SURE U BREAK IT IN WITH THE PROP ON! Also, make sure the prop is balanced before starting it. If not, it could splinter, or break off and hit u in the face. this will hurt. alot. if u do not have a conical starter to use to start the engine, u can use a chicken stick, but it will wear u out if the engine is new.

Try looking into some used engines at the LHS. I know my LHS sells them, already broken in and in great shape for about 60% off new. U can get a nice OS .60 for about 75.00