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

[Dave M]

I don't know.

Which weighs more, a pound of bricks or a pound of feathers?

each weighs a pound!

[Joe 1320]

each weighs a pound!

That depends on who weighs it.

[Joe 1320]

Hey Joe. Did it ever occur to you that it is a countless blessing that you are a RC pilot, not a real one?

Actually, real pilots make crummy RC pilots. They can't adapt to the reversing of contros that you have to do when the plane changes direction and comes towards you. There was a challenge once with real Navy pilots vs. some RC pilots using RC jets, and the real pilots fubar'd the missions. Of course, it's no doubt that the RC pilots would have sat there with their thumbs up their butts in a real cockpit. I guess fair is fair.

Honestly, Joe, I have to get one of those. Whadya say? a grand or so for an entire complete setup?

I try not to give advice, in this case I'm compelled. Unless you've flown before, there are some things I will suggest. It appears that the very best pilots trained with a glider. The theory is that in order to fly anything else well, you need to learn how to master air currents and unpowered plane flight dynamics. I can vouch that once went back and flew gliders for a bit, I ended up a way better pilot when the speeds and power ramped up. Because of all that stick time on gliders, I'm now a decent pilot. I've got some stuff on video that I have to convert over to DVD so I can post them, but you;ll see what I mean.

If you want in to the hobby, the best realistic start would be this:

http://www.aeroacemods.com/aam/aeroace/

It's a twin pusher prop molded EPP Foam. It is probably the best indoor or next to zero wind outdoor plane to try your hand at flying. They are fun, they bounce and don't break and compare rather well to the $250 lightweight flyers. They are found at KMart, Target, Walmart and Toys-r-us. Don't pay more that $30, that's the average. If you can manouver that around with any authoriity, then I can recommend lots of options. Once you are out of the trainers, a decent starter Jet can be built for under $500 total. After that, the sky is the limit. There are people with more in a Jet than we have in cars.

Here is what my F-22 looks like in flight, I think this could be maybe be built for $500.
http://media.putfile.com/F-22-First-Flight-29

Here is my next build, it will about a 6' fuselage. That's a good size plane folks!

http://media.putfile.com/F16_Lake_Promo_Vid

[fastTa]

each weighs a pound!

What if the feathers were weighed at the North Pole and the bricks were weighed at the equator?

[Kevin - Blown 95 TA]

Thanks for the advice, Joe.

- Kevin - Are you bored or what?

[fastTa]

- Kevin - Are you bored or what?

Of the plane on the conveyor discussion.......absolutely.

[fastTa]

I try not to give advice, in this case I'm compelled. Unless you've flown before, there are some things I will suggest. It appears that the very best pilots trained with a glider. The theory is that in order to fly anything else well, you need to learn how to master air currents and unpowered plane flight dynamics. I can vouch that once went back and flew gliders for a bit, I ended up a way better pilot when the speeds and power ramped up. Because of all that stick time on gliders, I'm now a decent pilot. I've got some stuff on video that I have to convert over to DVD so I can post them, but you;ll see what I mean.

If you want in to the hobby, the best realistic start would be this:

http://www.aeroacemods.com/aam/aeroace/

When I was younger, I was really into building and launching rockets. I even made a few from scratch and used the little Estes rocket engines that you could get at Toys R Us back then. All this talk about RC planes has got me really interested.

I am going to pick up one of those Aero Ace planes at Wal Mart for starters I guess.

I looked at these planes at KB Toys. The looks, speed, and altitude were the first things that got my attention, but then I saw the lousy 1.5 minute flight time. Not too cool.

KB Toys also had this one. The XB-39 Eagleye with a built-in digital camera. That would be pretty cool, but I wonder how good the quality is of the photos. This plane would come in really handy if you lived next door to Hugh Hefner.

Joe, what do you think about this Firebird? ----> http://www.hobby-lobby.com/firebird.htm

[Joe 1320]

When I was younger, I was really into building and launching rockets. I even made a few from scratch and used the little Estes rocket engines that you could get at Toys R Us back then. All this talk about RC planes has got me really interested.

I am going to pick up one of those Aero Ace planes at Wal Mart for starters I guess.

If you can, find it elsewhere. Walmart is the most expensive on this item ($40). Go figure. $30 at Target, kmart and Toys-r-us.

I looked at these planes at KB Toys. The looks, speed, and altitude were the first things that got my attention, but then I saw the lousy 1.5 minute flight time. Not too cool.

Well.... jets take more power and therefore without high tech batteries, you get short flight times. I have a couple of those, they are rudder only and you'll crash it without getting some more stick time. Kinda fun, but not really good control. properly cycled batteries will give a 3 minute flight, it's actually plenty. The secret is to get 4-5 battery packs. Charge them all, and when the plane lands you merely swap packs and launch again. This one can fly away if you aren't careful, there is no out of range cut off. Think of this as a free flight plane with radio controlled rudder. Once you start it, there is no shutting off the motor until battery voltage drops. If it gets out of range from the transmitter........ start running.

KB Toys also had this one. The XB-39 Eagleye with a built-in digital camera. That would be pretty cool, but I wonder how good the quality is of the photos. This plane would come in really handy if you lived next door to Hugh Hefner.

not really good quality photos, the controls lock for an instant as the power is transferred to the camera to take the shot. It's OK, but not the hottest.

Joe, what do you think about this Firebird? ----> http://www.hobby-lobby.com/firebird.htm

Well..... it's fast and handles well. That's the basic design of sport jet that is the current rage. A delta wing, one or two upright stabs and either a ducted fan or pusher prop. It still takes some skill as they cover ground pretty fast.

[fastTa]

I see a lot of these RC jets advertising "anti fly-away" circuitry that is supposed to prevent losing the plane due to exceeding the range.

What does this actually do, just warn you with a light or an alarm when you are approaching the range limit?

So do you think I could start with that Firebird? It sounds like it is pretty durable even if crashed.

[Dave M]

I see a lot of these RC jets advertising "anti fly-away" circuitry that is supposed to prevent losing the plane due to exceeding the range.

What does this actually do, just warn you with a light or an alarm when you are approaching the range limit?

So do you think I could start with that Firebird? It sounds like it is pretty durable even if crashed.

Everything I've ever known with that technology simply lands the jet if it exceeds the range.

[Joe 1320]

Everything I've ever known with that technology simply lands the jet if it exceeds the range.

Sort of. The motor cuts off. If the plane was a good glider that was trimmed well for a dead stick landing, then yes it would land itself. Typically in a tree or on a housetop as luck would have it. now if the last stick input was a dive heading away from you, that plane is going to do an impersonation of a bunker buster. The ideal solution is to get a strong transmitter and receiver. My futaba is good for a half mile in the air, way more than I need because I like to keep things within a quarter mile. Jets can make things difficult. As the speed increases, so does the required flying area and therefore the range of the equipment must be really good. It does depend on the size of the plane and it's speed but generally with range, the more the better.

honestly, before you go with that firebird, I would suggest the Firebird Scout. It uses a pusher prop, it has dual modes for beginner and advanced. If you can fly that, then try the Firebird Jet. Even that might be pushing it. Yes, they can handle crashes but you still have to know how to crash to minimize damage. Do the Aero Ace ($30), then do Firebird Scout ($60), then look at maybe a 3 channel something, perhaps a jet. The first two will go a long way toward the 3rd plane being successful. The first you can horse around and laugh your butt off while learning the control. The 2nd one will teach you a little bit of finesse to get it going exactly where you want it to go, especially in wind. Touch and go, loops, unpowered gliding, etc. It's a good 2nd plane. I actually still use one. When I want to test the wind currents, I send up the scout to find out just what is going on up there. Wind currents at 50ft are different than 500ft. Once you can fly those, then you are ready for something more serious. I can tell you one thing for sure. The odds of someone flying that Firebird Jet having never flown before are about as good as a Pruis laying the smack down on a LS6 Vette. You'll not only crash but likely destroy it the first time out and that is no fun.

If you are intent on flying, repeat after me:

"I am going to crash, period. I'll just try to stay in the air as long as possible and minimize the damage when crashing or hard landing".

That is what it sould read because even the best pilots crash. And yes, it is way harder than flying a real one.

[Steel2686]

I hate to cut in here, Joe. I just had a question...

I've been talking on here for a while about getting into R/C planes. I have a nitro truck that's a ton of fun, but getting into the planes was always something I wanted to do. I decided to try this winter.

I want to start with an indoor flyer. Is there a particular one you recommend? I'll play around with that all fall/winter, then see where I am from there.

Thanks.

[Joe 1320]

I hate to cut in here, Joe. I just had a question...

I've been talking on here for a while about getting into R/C planes. I have a nitro truck that's a ton of fun, but getting into the planes was always something I wanted to do. I decided to try this winter.

I want to start with an indoor flyer. Is there a particular one you recommend? I'll play around with that all fall/winter, then see where I am from there.

Thanks.

Scroll up in this thread and find the link on the Aero Ace. It is very competitive to the expensive $250 flyers and is $30. It's more durable too. It will tolerate a 2-3 mph wind tops, if you get the hang of it in biplane configuration it can me modded into a mono wing that flies about twice as fast. That single wing will tolerate more wind too. It's faster, agile and makes a good 1st indoor/outdoor plane.


Had some great flights this morning, had some birds playing "tag" and follow the leader with me. It's awesome to interact with nature.

[Steel2686]

Scroll up in this thread and find the link on the Aero Ace. It is very competitive to the expensive $250 flyers and is $30. It's more durable too. It will tolerate a 2-3 mph wind tops, if you get the hang of it in biplane configuration it can me modded into a mono wing that flies about twice as fast. That single wing will tolerate more wind too. It's faster, agile and makes a good 1st indoor/outdoor plane.


Had some great flights this morning, had some birds playing "tag" and follow the leader with me. It's awesome to interact with nature.

Cool. Thanks, Joe.

[fastTa]

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