Duraplane Blues or You Can Fly Too!
The process of becoming an R/C pilot can be a long arduous journey filled with many disappointments with the result that many aspiring pilots give up and abandon the pursuit. There are many reasons for this, and I'll discuss a few. First the traditional advice given by veteran flyers, hobby shops, and many forums is inconsistent and confusing. Price can be a big factor often beyond the means of many. Good instructors who have the patience and skill to teach a usually diverse group of people are rare. But probably the biggest barrier to entry is the nature of our society.
However, before I go on, I should answer some questions about myself, because you're probably asking yourself, "Who the Hell is this expert?" Well I'm a retired Navy pilot with some 40 years of experience flying military aircraft. When I retired a couple of years ago, I took up R/C models. Without Uncle Sam footing the fuel and maintenance bills ignoring the costs of the aircraft, I wasn't going to reach into my own pocket.
We live in a society where many folks want instant gratification. The idea of pursuing something that takes more than a few hours to learn and costs more than the price of a video game is a very foreign notion. When these people realize what R/C flying involves, they go back to their Sony PSPs.
The typical advice given by the cognoscenti is to get a RTF and find an instructor. If you're lucky, you might find a patient helpful individual who can spend the time to solo you. I wish you luck in this regard. The knucklehead I had managed to destroy my plane due to his incompetence in our second session. He thoughtlessly lifted his thumb off the trainer button when I was making an approach!
There is another side to the student-instructor relationship. As the student, you have to make the time to show up for your lessons. That might seem obvious, but in a busy world, you might find it difficult to fulfill your role.
I have a beef with hobby shops. They know that the sport is a revolving door. After the novice crashes his first ARF or RTF, he likely will give up. Hence they have only one opportunity to make a sale, and they are going to recommend what can put the most bucks in their pockets.
So my purpose is to give you an alternative to the traditional flight path (pun intended). I'm going to recommend an approach that will not only cost you practically nothing but you'll learn if the hobby is for you. Instead of getting a RTF, an instructor, and all the ancillary garbage you'll need at the flight line, get a flight simulator. There is a free one, and I use it. It's called the Flying Model Simulator (FMS) that you can obtain here:
Here's the deal. A flight simulator is an efficient and cost effective solution to learning to fly not only models but full-scale airplanes. I should know, because I have spent thousand of hours in them. Also you'll quickly find out if R/C flying is for you. If you don't enjoy flying on the simulator, you won't like the real thing!
To get the most benefit from your experience, you'll need to set up a training program. If all you plan to do is burn holes in the sky, you'll be wasting your time. After you become familiar with the program, set the wind and gusts to zero. Next select a training aircraft. I recommend the Ultra Stick 40 as an excellent trainer. Next develop your regime:
- With the throttle set to about half, trim the aircraft so you can maintain straight and level flight.
- Practice flying a pattern (left and right). When you get good, you can alternate them.
- Take offs are very natural - power, takeoff roll, and then rotation.
- Landings aren't so intuitive, but you'll quickly get the hang of them after a bit of time. Remember that power determines the sink rate and pitch airspeed. If you are sinking too fast, just add some power. If your airspeed falls off, just point the nose down.
- Learn how the sticks operate when the aircraft is heading towards and away from you. Correct manipulation of the controls will become second nature in short order.
- Crank in some wind and gusts. It's paramount you learn to fly in wind, because it is nearly always present except in the early morning and late evening (wind is created by the heating of the atmosphere).
Assuming you like it, you'll need a plane and some field equipment. You can be looking for this stuff while working on the simulator. I recommend Ebay for some really good deals. Tower Hobbies also has a lot of good buys if you're willing to spend the time looking.
However, I have very specific recommendations for a plane and engine. Your plane needs a high quality reliable fuel efficient powerful engine. Only the OS Max machines truly meet this intimidating list of demands. The OS engines cost a couple of bucks more, but they're worth every penny. The difference in price between a Max and the rest may be ten or fifteen dollars or chump change. I recommend the OS Max 40 LA (or FX) as the perfect engine for a 40 sized trainer. It develops one hp, will give you approximately fifteen minutes of flight time with an
8 oz fuel tank (running at half throttle). I use a kitchen timer set for 15 minutes and bring her in when it starts to beep.
Go out to any flying field nearly any day, and I guarantee you'll see plenty of crack ups. I seldom see any with minor damage. Most need extensive repairs, and if they were mine, I'd pitch them. I just don't have the interest or patience to fix them. Beginners and experts alike bash 'em in. What a novice pilot needs is something that takes a beating and keeps on ticking. Fortunately there is one such plane that meets the challenge - the Duraplane Trainer 40.
This is truly a great little plane that is practically indestructible. Minor mishaps that would disable the typical balsa model barely faze the Duraplane. I have had dozens of little incidences simply to walk over pick it up and keep on flying! Once I let it get out of my sight where I couldn't tell if it was coming or going. I just shut down the engine and let it land itself. It didn't have a scratch on it!
The Duraplane requires some very simple assembly, three wheels (2.75" recommended), 8 oz gas tank, and two rolls of Econocote or Towercote. The only difficult part of the build was making the hinge slots, and for this, I recommend the Great Planes Hinge Slotting Tool. I did them by hand, and that's why I recommend it!
Folks buy ARF or RTF to avoid building, so why buy a Duraplane kit ($55 from Tower)? Well after you crack up that pretty RTF, you'll be doing some serious building while the Duraplane guy is happily cruising the warm blue summer skies laughing the whole time! It's either build today or tomorrow (and many thereafter).
Finally, I have some suggestions about radios. You'll need a simple
4-channel unit. The major makers are Futaba, JR, Airtronics, and Hitec. The first three are Japanese while Hitec is German. All are good quality, but there are other considerations. First Futaba and Airtronics only have a one year warranty. JR has a three year while Hitec has a two. Warranty work on the Airtronics can only be done at their facility in California while the others have warranty stations. For example, I live in Indiana and there is a warranty station in Champaign, Illinois for Futaba and JR. Unfortunately I own an Airtronics VG400 that I had to send in twice for warranty work. Turnaround was two weeks for each repair!
I have followed Ebay for quite some time, and I can tell you there are a lot of really good deals on the low-end systems (four channels) of the major brands. Less than $50 will get you a complete system (Tx, Rx,
4 servos, switch harness, aileron extension, charger, and battery packs for both Tx and Rx).
When you become really good with your simulator, you'll be ready to hit the flying field. You'll only need a couple of hours of an instructor's time, and you can then quickly dispense with him.
Well that's it. Happy trails partner!
Ciao,
Mr Akimoto