CZ28 addresses the airplane on a conveyor belt riddle...

[Joe 1320]

Greg, here is the Air Hogs Aero Ace that Joe recommended.

Air Hogs Aero Ace at Toys R Us

I think I might try this Air Hog Defender they have at Target as well. It is also $30 like the Aero Ace at Toys R Us.

What do you know about the Defender Joe?

Air Hogs Defender at Target

As far as the Defender, you can try them, the transmitter is more like a video game. It is gated and makes for difficult action. It is flyable once you get the hang of it. A double charge is recommended for each flight. The Dominator (F-117 clone) is a pig. The F-16 from Target is great, but difficult to land smoothly. I've never flown a Defender so I cannot comment on it's flight, but the electronics are the same for each model. The defender uses conventional puller props, everything else uses pusher props. if it flies anything like the F-16, you'll need some room. It flies pretty fast for it's size and covers some ground in a hurry.

There is a new product due out soon, I know the inventor and can tell you that this little beauty is going to be something to have:
http://www.airhogs.com/

Easier to fly than the current kits, good flight times and it's basically turn key. The battery is the only thing seperate.

[fastTa]

Ok, I think I will stay away from the Defender then. I want to fly some planes that will allow me to progress towards flying something a little faster and more responsive like maybe eventually a 3 channel 72 MHz plane.

I know I will crash the Air Hogs Aero Ace plenty at first....I am reckless by nature. I think the hardest thing to adapt to will be flying the plane towards you and having to reverse the lateral vectoring.

EDIT: Ok, now I see the flash ad for the Storm Launcher.

I think that Storm Lancher is already out? I've seen it at Wal Mart and Target, maybe it's a different model?

[Joe 1320]

Ok, I think I will stay away from the Defender then. I want to fly some planes that will allow me to progress towards flying something a little faster and more responsive like maybe eventually a 3 channel 72 MHz plane.

I know I will crash the Air Hogs Aero Ace plenty at first....I am reckless by nature. I think the hardest thing to adapt to will be flying the plane towards you and having to reverse the lateral vectoring.

What's the new product from Air Hogs coming out? You just linked the Air Hogs home page.

It's called the Storm launcher. Go to that page and wait for the video.


I still say some stick time on this would be very helpful...........
http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...ProdID=HBZ4600

The best $50 plane out there, it flies well!


When you are ready for some speed:
http://www.nesail.com/detail.php?productID=2678

Fast and fun!

[fastTa]

Ok, I took your advice and ordered the Firebird Scout RTF from that Horizon Hobby. It looks like $49.99 is about the cheapest across the board. $4.99 shipping is great. Any mods that you know of to the Firebird Scout RTF?

On RC Universe, they were talking about the quality of the Aero Ace, and it appeared to be hit ot miss. Some guys were showing pictures of deformed wings and struts. Other guys said the one Aero Ace would porpoise really bad and another would fly just fine.

I might hold off on the Aero Ace though. We rarely, if ever, have a day here with less than a 5 MPH breeze. 29 MPH gusts here today with consistant winds in the teens. Most days are fairly breezy here and it sounds like the Aero Ace would struggle in that kind of breeze.

I wonder how that F-16 would do in 10-15 MPH winds?

[Joe 1320]

I wonder how that F-16 would do in 10-15 MPH winds?

Crash. Although I have flown in those winds, that plane just can't handle it well. It's easy to fly downwind though.

You have to remember, that you are dealing with SCALE wind speed. A 10 mph wind to a full size airplane is nothing. A 10 mph wind to a 24" wingspan RC plane is the equivilant of a 90 mph wind on a full sized plane. The response is about the same. In order to fly in that kind of wind, you will need a minimum of 3 channels, 4 would be better and a really hot powerplant to punch through the air. You'll find that early morning is when the air is most calm. For a beginner..... don't fly in that kind of wind, that's when equipment breaks. Wind is enemy #1.

with an Aero Ace, 2-3 mph is tops. 5 mph and it climbs in the wind but cannot make headway. It actually is moving backwars while climbing. That's where I fly the mono wing versions.

As far as comments about the aero ace, sure you can get a bad one in any bunch. When you do, take it back and exchange it. I wouldn't steer you wrong on the Aero Ace. There are plenty of mods to change the porpoising. In reality, all it means is that it has plenty of reserve power. A lot of people just can't understand the concept of backing off the throttle and only using WOT when needed. Flight times are longer and the porpoising is a minimum. I have 5 of them in different configurations from landing gear to lighting, single wing too. Here's my Flying tiger.....



Here's one for light winds and good reflexes. The real B-2 is flown by computer. The R/C version is not! It's a handfull.



Actually have two of them, one that's pretty scale, the lighter color is the one that gets flown most.

[Trans Am]

For a beginner..... don't fly in that kind of wind, that's when equipment breaks.

that's when equipment breaks as in crashes funny

[fastTa]

that's when equipment breaks as in crashes funny

What?

----------------------------------------------------
Joe, I was thinking about the scaling effect of the winds on these RC planes.....especially with them being so much less dense than a real plane. I think flying that Aero Ace in a 10 MPH wind would be easily equivalent to flying a real bipane in a CAT 2-3 hurricane.

I was just thinking....the winds are usually pretty steady here, but I am moving to the Tampa area in about 4-5 weeks; no longer San Jose. From what some of my friends there tell me, it is likely more windy there in the Tampa area than here. It sure would be fun to fly an RC at the beach, but I'm sure the winds and thermals wouldn't allow it unless you were a pro with a high powered aircraft.

[Joe 1320]

What?

----------------------------------------------------
Joe, I was thinking about the scaling effect of the winds on these RC planes.....especially with them being so much less dense than a real plane. I think flying that Aero Ace in a 10 MPH wind would be easily equivalent to flying a real bipane in a CAT 2-3 hurricane.

I was just thinking....the winds are usually pretty steady here, but I am moving to the Tampa area in about 4-5 weeks; no longer San Jose. From what some of my friends there tell me, it is likely more windy there in the Tampa area than here. It sure would be fun to fly an RC at the beach, but I'm sure the winds and thermals wouldn't allow it unless you were a pro with a high powered aircraft.

Yep. hurricane scale winds for sure. As far as Tampa, lived there a few times and I'm there visiting all the time. Not real windy at all. It all depends on the time and the seasons. Beautiful weather, beaches, etc.....

I'm telling ya..... early morning and early evening. The best flying time is 6:30 am until about 8:45 am. Then, depending on the day it settles down again in the evening. I flew a 747 out over Tampa Bay one day. Perfectly calm, just a little hazy and from on the beach it looked damned real. Sand isn't good though. You have to find a place to land.

One can fly in wind if you are skilled enough and the plane is designed to handle wind. The wrong combination of skill and aircraft design is disaster.

[Joe 1320]

that's when equipment breaks as in crashes funny

It can be. I was laughing my butt off on a few crashes. Then again, there are a few that made me about as well.

[fastTa]

Yep. hurricane scale winds for sure. As far as Tampa, lived there a few times and I'm there visiting all the time. Not real windy at all. It all depends on the time and the seasons. Beautiful weather, beaches, etc.....

I'm telling ya..... early morning and early evening. The best flying time is 6:30 am until about 8:45 am. Then, depending on the day it settles down again in the evening. I flew a 747 out over Tampa Bay one day. Perfectly calm, just a little hazy and from on the beach it looked damned real. Sand isn't good though. You have to find a place to land.

One can fly in wind if you are skilled enough and the plane is designed to handle wind. The wrong combination of skill and aircraft design is disaster.

I'm moving into a condo there in Clearwater over on Pinellas. From what I've seen, it looks like a beautiful area. It's kinda a long story, but I am moving out there to finish getting the last of my CCIE certifications; Security and Voice. Where I go from there will largely depend on what kind of job offers I get.

Can you drive anywhere on the beaches there in the Pinellas County area?

[Steel2686]

Thanks for the link, Kevin.

I'm definitely stopping into Toys R Us later today. Hopefully they stock them.

Congrats on the move. Tampa is a great area. My cousin lives an hour south in Seista Key (right off Sarasota). Been to Tampa a bunch of times. Busch Gardens is awesome. You'll love it over there.

[fastTa]

Thanks for the link, Kevin.

I'm definitely stopping into Toys R Us later today. Hopefully they stock them.

Congrats on the move. Tampa is a great area. My cousin lives an hour south in Seista Key (right off Sarasota). Been to Tampa a bunch of times. Busch Gardens is awesome. You'll love it over there.

I found these RC planes also at Harbor Freight Tools:

Harbor Freight RC Planes

Maybe Joe will know something about them. I would have never thought these beginner RC planes would be so cheap.

Yeah, I am looking forward to the move actually. Heard lots of good things about the Tampa area. Hopefully I won't have to play chicken with any hurricanes.

[Joe 1320]

Kevin, you can't drive on the beaches over there. That is limited to certain area on the east coast over by Daytona.

The little plane from Harbor Freight has been popular with many people. Never flew one.

[Steel2686]

Joe... You really like the $30.00 Toys R Us plane as an indoor/outdoor flyer more than the $230.00 plane they sell at my local hobby center? I hope that's the case. I was worried my first novice flyer would cost me close to what my nitro truck went for.

[Joe 1320]

Joe... You really like the $30.00 Toys R Us plane as an indoor/outdoor flyer more than the $230.00 plane they sell at my local hobby center? I hope that's the case. I was worried my first novice flyer would cost me close to what my nitro truck went for.

The Aero Ace is the best kept secret in micro indoor planes. They are very robust compared to the other comparable models which are fragile. Indoor flyers don't necessarily mean easy to fly. Once you fly an Aero Ace in biplane form, then modify it to a mono wing and can successfully put it where you want it to go, you are ready for something more.

The biggest challenge in R/C is controlling direction when the thing is headed toward you. Moving away isn't so hard, coming at you the controls are basically reversed as Kevin pointed out earlier. The plane is flying toward you, a turn left stick input is given and the plane turns left.... only if it is flying toward you it turns to your right.