Engines

[planejane]

I see 2 and 4 stroke engines on hobby store websites listed as "airplane", "helicopter" and "boat"...whats the difference in these engines?
Do you think those kits from BalsaUSA (not the hugest ones) are a good way to go if one wants to build a flying R/C plane if you have nothing to start with?
Or buy some kind of plane kit that may have all the servos etc?

[thymekiller]

Depends on your money, skill, and taste. A full house rtf biplane could run 600 or so and they arnt recommended for beginners.
A package deal [ flight pack ] is generally cheaper than buying all new seperatly. You can haunt ebay and buy a crashed for cheap, but you take your chances. Balsa usa and/or your local hobby shop can help you match a flight pack to your plane. I have a couple links that may be of use.
Is this your first r/c? Is money an issue? I can point out some decent trainers around 100 , radio and all. If they crash, [ and they all do ] you can build a kit plane with the parts. Thats what I did.
A local club is the way to go for something like that. Somebody might cut you a deal on a fixer/upper.
I have the balsa usa taube. [ unbuilt, so far ] I prefer kits because I control the quality of the craft. Also, I'm more of a builder than a flyer.

Cant help on the engine thing. Sorry.

thymekiller

[thymekiller]

Something else I thought of that might help. There are alot of kit makers. Which one is best depends on who you ask. You can also buy just the plans from a plans service.
Almost all of Guillows kits can be made r/c.

thymekiller

[BillParker]

I'm in the middle of learning to fly R/C right now.

So far, I've bought 3 RTF (everything in one box) planes. One of which flew over the horizon never to return. (So, I have two left in in inventory, with a spare radio)

I can't say it loud enough or clear enough, FIND AND JOIN YOUR CLOSEST R/C CLUB, AND DO WHATEVER THEY SAY.

Don't go buy anything until you work with these guys. They'll save you time, money, frustration, embarrassment, and half a dozen other bad things.

This is what I wish that I had done. Guess I was too smart.


bp

[thymekiller]

I ruined alot of those el-cheapo rtf types before I learned. Join a club and see what they are flying. A good trainer is about 100 bucks. Spend wisly.

thymekille

[SteveM]

My first R/C plane was a kit build, that'll make you do a careful preflight check. I went to the club field when no one was there, and took off on my and the plane's maiden voyage on a breezy morning and promptly started heading downwind towards the trees. I tried to bring it back to no avail and ended up ditching short of the trees and managed to hit a 1" diameter small tree with the wing which took it off and ripped out the wing mounting.

I didn't learn my lesson and kept trying on my own and managed to keep from crashing most flights. It was not till later when other club members saw me flying that I started getting advice from them and that is when I truly started to learn. I may have gotten into the air on my own, but I sure didn't know how to fly.

On a Guillow's related note, my 400 series P-51 motor is back in my hands and I'll be finishing up repairs and getting ready to fly it soon one of these weekends.

[dbcisco]

IMHO a flight sim is a must. FMS is free and you might just need a cable to connect one of your transmitters to the computer.

Electric flight is, in most cases, cheaper, cleaner, slower and safer than a gasser.
Checkout some of the electric trainers or a slowflyer (indoor like a gymnasium or outside park/field on very calm days). If a club is near you definitely seek their help.

[SteveM]

Aye, a simulator is a good tool to have. I did not see that at first when I started out and tried FMS. The camera has issues where you quickly lose track of the ground and all you see is sky and and no idea which way is up or down. The models can also be wildly inaccurate, I found the ME-109 much easier to control than any of the high wing trainer style. And pretty much any plane you can just punch full throttle, pull back on the elevator, and do infinite loops right above the runway. All in all it was worth what a paid for it and I decide simulators in general were worthless.

That is until I purchased Real Flight and learned a simulator really can be accurate and useful. So try FMS, but if you don't like it don't assume all simulators are that bad the way I did.

[dbcisco]

I have RF G4/4.5, Aerofly Pro Deluxe and FS-one. I mostly fly slowfyers and helis so take that into account. I found FMS just as good as any of the commercial products. The "litemoth" model(s) available is almost identical to my picomoth, including stalling when trying to loop. The helis available are from stable coaxials that act just like Esky lamas and Eflite CXes to FPes that are a handful as well as 3d flying with a T-rex.

All the sims do for me is keep my mind sharp with orientation and my fingers light and nibble on the sticks. I honestly wish I didn't spend the almost $1000 on all the sims (I was a game addict), I could have stuck with FMS until I needed the advanced features (not yet for me) and aircraft on the commercial sims. I honestly think a newcomer should get an inexpensive trainer plane and pay someone experienced to teach them rather than purchase a commercial sim.

Just my opinion, your mileage will vary.