Talk me out of
Discussion
getting into RC airplanes
Ive been watching a lot of Flite test and its kinda given me the bug. But im really in 2 minds about it.
The scratch builds look awesome, that's what mainly draws me too it, the cheapness of the airframe (the bit id crash into the ground) but the initial outlay for the Radio Controller and batteries is putting me off. I have enough hobbies as it is that I can never be arsed to do.
Ive been watching a lot of Flite test and its kinda given me the bug. But im really in 2 minds about it.
The scratch builds look awesome, that's what mainly draws me too it, the cheapness of the airframe (the bit id crash into the ground) but the initial outlay for the Radio Controller and batteries is putting me off. I have enough hobbies as it is that I can never be arsed to do.
It's a big time commitment.
Unlike r/c cars, you can't really "take it easy" and fly really slowly at first.
You'll dispose of airframes (plus motors, batteries and servos) faster than you can put them together if you're in the normal part of the bell-curve. You get the occassional person who can self-teach immediately, but they are the exception that proves the rule. Most people benefit significantly from buddy-cable instruction from someone who knows what they're doing.
You should seriously consider 3rd party liability insurance. You get £5,000,000 (IIRC) cover included in subscription fees to the BMFA, LMA or SAA.
Airframes take a huge amount of time to build:
This took me a while:
Parked it shortly after that when my first daughter was born - she started school 2 weeks ago. It's fibreglassed and filled and I have a plug for vacuum forming the canopy made but that's as far as I got.
If you are over-subscribed time-wise and want to actually fly rather than generate balsa dust, get ARTF foamies instead. If you smash it, so what?
Unlike r/c cars, you can't really "take it easy" and fly really slowly at first.
You'll dispose of airframes (plus motors, batteries and servos) faster than you can put them together if you're in the normal part of the bell-curve. You get the occassional person who can self-teach immediately, but they are the exception that proves the rule. Most people benefit significantly from buddy-cable instruction from someone who knows what they're doing.
You should seriously consider 3rd party liability insurance. You get £5,000,000 (IIRC) cover included in subscription fees to the BMFA, LMA or SAA.
Airframes take a huge amount of time to build:
This took me a while:
Parked it shortly after that when my first daughter was born - she started school 2 weeks ago. It's fibreglassed and filled and I have a plug for vacuum forming the canopy made but that's as far as I got.
If you are over-subscribed time-wise and want to actually fly rather than generate balsa dust, get ARTF foamies instead. If you smash it, so what?
Flite test started me off in this hobby, too. I can wholeheartedly recommend scratch building with foam, either from FT plans or others (if you want you can send me a pm, I will try and dig out some other plans). You literally need basic craft stuff, some depron foam, and a few electric bits and bobs to get started, and if you scratch build then when (not if) you crash it you already know how to rebuild it.
My first plane was a self built EA Photon (see here) and I flew it straight into the floor. It flew less than 3 metres. On your first flight, maybe get an experienced flyer along to get you up to altitude (at least 1 mistake high) then you can get a feel for things without worrying too much.
My first plane was a self built EA Photon (see here) and I flew it straight into the floor. It flew less than 3 metres. On your first flight, maybe get an experienced flyer along to get you up to altitude (at least 1 mistake high) then you can get a feel for things without worrying too much.
OP, it will always be too windy on the one day when you can actually go out, or the batteries won't have charged. If by some miracle the day off, the weather and the lack of anything more important to do actually coincide and everything works perfectly at home, by the time you drive to the flying site the gremlins will have stuffed the batteries, servos or receiver.
Never before have I had a hobby where so much could go wrong out in the field that worked perfectly in the garage when it is lashing with rain outside. I started with a powered glider that i ultimately pulled out of the ground after it buried itself like a spear after the wings folded up during a rather panicked manoeuvre. My eyesight was never good enough to tell which way the plane was actually flying, away or toward me, or even which way up, not good when up actually results in down into the ground.
Lastly my parkzone mustang missed the soft grassy landing site and instead came to rest on a pebble beach at a million miles an hour. Top tip, take lots of bin bags, thats how the mustang arrived back home.
On the up side the parkzone rtf stuff is quite good if you want to give it a go as the controller, batteries and chargers come in the box.
Never before have I had a hobby where so much could go wrong out in the field that worked perfectly in the garage when it is lashing with rain outside. I started with a powered glider that i ultimately pulled out of the ground after it buried itself like a spear after the wings folded up during a rather panicked manoeuvre. My eyesight was never good enough to tell which way the plane was actually flying, away or toward me, or even which way up, not good when up actually results in down into the ground.
Lastly my parkzone mustang missed the soft grassy landing site and instead came to rest on a pebble beach at a million miles an hour. Top tip, take lots of bin bags, thats how the mustang arrived back home.
On the up side the parkzone rtf stuff is quite good if you want to give it a go as the controller, batteries and chargers come in the box.
Also work out where you will fly. Is there a local club to you with a good field that you could join and use? or a suitable area of open ground that is free of people?
I have a couple of electric gliders (phoneix 2000 from Hobby king and a ST Blaze). They are fab and are hand launched and land on rough grass. I fly them up at Waterhship down, BUT that is a 30-45 min drive each way so it is a 2 hour round trip for a little flying, which means I hardly ever get to go.
A friend can fly his planes from his field at the back of his house in Wales. He gets to fly all the time as a result.
Depending on where you could go fly will determine which type of plane is right. I'd love the Seavixen that hobby king do ,but I need to get around to joining my local club and passing their flying exams so I can use there nice grass field with smooth landing strip first.
I have a couple of electric gliders (phoneix 2000 from Hobby king and a ST Blaze). They are fab and are hand launched and land on rough grass. I fly them up at Waterhship down, BUT that is a 30-45 min drive each way so it is a 2 hour round trip for a little flying, which means I hardly ever get to go.
A friend can fly his planes from his field at the back of his house in Wales. He gets to fly all the time as a result.
Depending on where you could go fly will determine which type of plane is right. I'd love the Seavixen that hobby king do ,but I need to get around to joining my local club and passing their flying exams so I can use there nice grass field with smooth landing strip first.
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