Newbie (wanabe) here, Thought I'd try my hand at flight, so got this small ,cheap, electric 2 channel airplane called Angell. It seems a bit shy to take to the air though. I followed the manual that came with it, and hand launch it, but it just goes about 30 or so yards and comes down to ground. That's with charged batteries and full throttle. Please can anyone advise what could be stopping my maiden voyage as it is so annoying. And frustrating. Not to mention, my Angell is looking a bit punch drunk, and it ain't even got properly airborne yet!! Thank you in advance.
Try and find a slope that faces a light wind, give it a firm launch into the wind and stay off the the elevator even though it'll be sinking - if you try and pull up, it'll just create drag and the plane won't get any airspeed. As it gets nearer the ground, try pulling back on the elevator lightly, just enough to keep it off the ground - no more. Before long it should have enough airspeed to start to climb.
I've had planes that you literally had to skim along the top of the weeds for a while before it'd get any height.
Thank you. That's really great advice to keep in mind. Sadly, no elevator control on this model. Only motor control. Think I should have put more thought into the best plane to have started with perhaps.
You already know what I'm going to say, by experience.
However, if there are others out there reading this newsgroup with thoughts of getting into R/C flying at the cheapest possible level, be warned that if the model that you are considering purchasing has two engines/motors and no movable control surfaces, it is not a suitable choice.
For just a little more money you can purchase a model with engine control, rudder/ailerons and elevator. This is the type of model to buy.
Ah. Try raising the front of the main wing a little..say 1mm or so.
If, after launch, it starts behaving like a porpoise, you have gone too far. Also launch it with wings level..and run with it till it feels like it wants to leave your hand.
I dunno. These aren't RC so much as radio affected free flight...actually the discipline of flying with minimal control will probably make a better modeller of him in the end.
Starting with a major disadvantage is not an advantage to my way of seeing things. The damned thing won't even maintain altitude from his description, much less climb.
Why are some of you guys giving him such a hard time ? He described his problem in detail and asked for help. If you have none to offer leave it alone. I have never seen so much piss and vinegar in one place before. To the few that were courteous and offered help ... well done. Now go and have a nice day, Charlie
If your "Angell" is anything like an electric plane I got as a gift, there is not much you can do to make it climb from the transmitter. The one I had was just turn on the power, launch the plane and after climb out you could turn by interrupting power to one motor or the other.
Performance is very poor. The position of the battery pack affects the center of gravity quite a bit. If it's moveable at all, try moving it to the rear of the battery compartment.
If the battery is not moveable, try adding a small amount of weight to the tail of the plane. "Small" being very small relative to the weight of the plane itself. Not seeing you plane, or knowing anything about it, I just guess at a weight the size of a quarter coin or less.
Conversely, can you remove any weight from the front of the plane. If it comes with landing gear, can you remove them?
The best of all possible scenarios would be to lighten the model any way you can while moving the CG "slightly" aft. The more you lighten it the less you have to move the CG around. Moving the CG too far aft is worse than what you have now, so proceed with caution. Let us know how it all comes out.
No offense, but I have read every post and saw no one giving him a hard time. Even the one about buying a better plane for a little more $. They're trying to help.
If David have exhausted all attempts to fly by the advice given, then he may want to buy a plane that flies more readily. It will be a lesson well learned.
Just for fun, I bought a cheapo electric toy plane ($19). The instructions said not to input control until 6 seconds of launch. By then, the plane was into the ground. That's the lesson I learned.
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