That plane is an EXCELLENT trainer with awesome aerobatic capability when you learn to fly. Large wing area with lots of lift, it will fly slow as well as fast. The only thing I can suggest is a bigger engine, it looks like you hav a .20 there (??) and while it will fly fine with a .20 you will LOVE a .40.
Other thing, you will probably NOT need that starter on this engine, it's just one more thing to lug around. A pair of heavy leather gloves and a few brisk flips on the prop will start it up very easily.
itsme1 said:
Yes this is my first one, why is there something you would like to tell me i'll take all the advice i can get on this one i dont want to see my $$$ go up in flames.
Okay! Well for a first time flier . . .
1. With the fuel tank full, it is ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL that a beginner have a perfect COG (center of gravity.) This allows you to release the controls when you get in trouble and it will glide (see below.) With the fuel and batteries in the plane, have someone put a finger under the center of one wing tip while you do the same on the other. Lift it off the ground. The plane should hang by these two points almost dead level, if it does not, put some putty or other weights inside near the nose or tail until it does. While you can trim out a nose or tail-heavy condition, until you learn to fly it's just going to make it harder.
i was half tempted to go out and taxi it . . . .
2. One of the very first things I learned is that you will do more harm taxiing than getting it off the ground. Air doesn't break wings and props, the ground does. When you try to taxi, you're going to want to get some speed up, it's going to get light on you, begin to wobble right and left, and will try to tip you over. So if you taxi, KEEP SLOW. Promise, you will regret trying to RC it around.
3. You tune these a little differently (and easier) than ground RC. Get it started, and hold the plane by the fuselage and/or wings firmly. Throttle it up to about 3/4 throttle.
Now point the nose directly skyward. That's right, point the plane straight up. In this position, begin leaning the engine until it bogs (plane engines have a thumbscrew, no screwdriver needed,) then turn it back to rich until it runs smooth. Perfect, you're ready to fly, throttle it back to idle and get ready to NOT crash.
4. To take off, you have to trust your intuition and GO for it. Don't try to spin up slow. Set it on the runway, and just hammer that throttle - full forward. Don't horse around. The slow spool up will wind up tipping you over, promise.
When you hit full throttle, the torque of the engine will initially make the plane want to snap to the right, so be ready for it - when you throttle up give it just a LITTLE left rudder (LEFT stick) and as it gets up to speed re-center it and GET READY to pull back the right stick. A little FORWARD push on the right stick will keep it on the ground until you're up to speed. If you can gas it hard and keep it in a straight line, you're going to lift off, and with that plane, I'd say in less than 50 feet.
5. If you want to go at it yourself: the very first mistake you're likely to make is over-elevating on takeoff. When you give it some elevator by pulling the right stick back, it points the nose up. You're all adrenalized and nervous as hell, and your brain will associate the back-stick with
UP! UP! UP! But what will happen if you hold the elevator back is the
nose will continue going up, in essence trying to do a loop before it has enough speed, it will stall and lose lift, roll off to the side and then in you go.
As soon as the wheels leave the ground, LEVEL OFF THE ELEVATOR a little, watch the plane, let it have no more than a 10 degree attitude and let it climb at that attitude and get up to speed. Safely away from the ground, apply a LITTLE back-and-right on the right stick, this will begin to roll it around in a turn. You need to add a little back-stick as you turn to regain the lift you lose when you bank into the turn.
Once it's in the air and the jitters start to go away, you want to KEEP IT CLOSE. You'll be amazed at how fast even a slow flyer will get to a range where you can't read it's attitude. If it starts to go crazy on you, THROTTLE DOWN and RELEASE ALL CONTROLS. That's right, let go of everything - a slow flyer like that should glide just fine, letting go of the controls allows it to recenter itself and glide.
6. Okay how in the hell do you get it back down.
A landing should consist of a pass right in front of you, a 90 degree turn at the end of the runway (with room to come in,) and another 90 degree turn to line up with the runway and come in, like
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Practice several passes at this at a safe altitude before you try to come in. As you practice the landing pass and it comes past you, throttle down to about half or 1/4 throttle, what you're looking for is the slowest speed it can fly and still maintain control.
When you're ready, make your landing pattern and as you line up with the runway, throttle down, and give little nudges forward on the elevator to drop the altitude. If you're throttled down right, you may not even need to do this - let it come down, smooth and easy, don't let the jitters take control. If you think you're in trouble, throttle up and pull the stick back (but don't forget the takeoff lesson, level it off a little!) and make another pass.
The next part requires balls of steel the first time, but once you do it it will be as easy as blowing an air biscuit.
When you get better at it, you'll even want to practice this dead-stick, that is, with no power, and with that plane it will be **really** easy because it's got such a high wing area and lots of lift. This requires two steps, and is a smooth motion on the right stick, back then level, to slow it down and set it down.
As it comes in and is no more than 2 feet above the runway, drop the throttle a little more and begin easing back on the elevator (right) stick, watching carefully for a stall. If it starts to stall, ease the stick forward. This is called
feathering the landing, and what it does is tips the nose up just before touching down and slows the air speed even more, the tricky part is doing it at just the right altitude. When you feather the landing, it will slow it down and lose lift. Now JUST before it touches down, push the stick back forward (or let go of it) and it will level off and and set on the runway (without bouncing and breaking a prop.) The first time you do it right you will blow a wad, it can be done so the wheels don't even bounce.
Now go for the hooting and hollering.
The last bit of advice - FLY AWAY FROM THE SUN. Position yourself so that the sun is ALWAYS at your back, and don't fly behind yourself. This will crash you for sure if you're new at it.
Dammit itsme, now I need to go buy a f***ing plane and get back into fixed wings, just talking about it is giving me a woody.
That's OK, I just got a Blade CP yesterday, got my hands full here!
EDIT:
id like to get a plane, but i hear you can't fly them if there is wind.... is this true?
For planes, wind is your friend. Helis, different story. Nothing more fun than tacking a plane into the wind and holding it hovering there. But you have to be able to gauge exactly HOW MUCH wind is too much. 3-5 MPH is awesome, I used to love getting it up to about 500 feet and cutting the engine completely, you can stay up there for hours on a windy day, if you're careful enough to not let it get too far downwind.
