Need Recommendations for ARF RC Model Airplane

What bigger stuff you looking at TNP? You thinking IC is in your future? mk

Reply to
MJKolodziej
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Well probably still electric,as every time the model size I want goes up the electric prices come down ;-)

Biggest so far is 60" with 55" in scale stuff..but 1/4 scale is loomimg one day.

I know, its not HUGE, but its getting a shade beyond 'rough field flying'.

Probably do a 96" vintage thing soon..

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

In the clubs that I belonged to, you couldn't get your wings unless you could take off in both directions without standing behind the model. You had to be able to land left to right using a left hand circuit (left turns only) and right to left using the right hand circuit (right turns only). The circuits had to be rectangular. This exercise had to be demonstrated in cross winds also.

Stall and spin recovery were also part of the training and had to be mastered.

It was intensive and the student pilot really sweated it out.

The instructors in the clubs were chosen from the best pilots in the club by the members of the executive committee. No one was allowed to instruct unless approved by the committee.

Reply to
Worn Out Retread

Then I guess that you don't know how to properly tune a two stroke engine.

Reply to
Worn Out Retread

OK, a vote for NextStar. I just got back from the Hobby TownUSA shop in Glen Burnie, MD. They told me the NextStrar models are very good trainers. What's up with the gyro?

Tom

Reply to
Tom

Very thought provoking reply. What do you think of four cycle engines? I'm thinking I'd like a four cycle engine. (When I was kid I did a lot of control line flying. My favorite planes was a model of a Pitts Special biplane. Very tough to fly that little sucker. At one point I had a Madewell one cubic inch engine which, I think, was four cycle. I never used it just picked up from a friend of my father.)

I'm beginning to form a picture of what I need.

Tom

Reply to
Tom

"Six_O'Clock_High" also means it is unsafe. During this phase we also address the issue of

I live in the Lutherville, baltimore, MAryland area. Do you know of some clubs that might have instructors avialble? What about buying used equipment? Is that a no no?

Tom

Reply to
Tom

I'm thinking instructor, club route is the way to go for me.

Tom

Reply to
Tom

"Tom" wrote

4 cycle engines are more to fiddle with, heavier per unit power than a 2 stroke. More expensive, usually.

They do swing a larger prop, and sound cool.

While ball bearing OS engines will last longer, and make a little more power, the non ball bearing OS engines are still fine running engines.

My experience is, that with fresh fuel, an a good initial carb set up, any of the OS's will run without fiddling. It is rare that I tweak the mixture more than 2 clicks (about 1/32 of a turn) on my plain bearing .15, and then just run it.

I have a .40 Fox ball bearing ABC, and it has a two needle carb. One guy gave me his, because he could not get it to run without it quitting mid flight.

Fox has some special instructions about sanding the shape of the high speed needle to a profile that will make consistent runs over the whole RPM range. I took the time to understand it, and fiddle with it, and finally got it right. It now runs very well.

My point is that there are some brands of engines that will need an experienced hand to make run consistently. OS does not need to be fiddled with.

My opinion about the right equipment is to go with relatively cheap stuff. The engine does need to be easy to set up and run. You may well break some of the servos and other stuff in the first year or two, or you may lose interest and quit. If you stay involved, and get some skill, you will know what kind of good stuff you want to buy to move up.

Reply to
Morgans

Thanks Richard. What's the advantage(s) of a 2,4GHZ raidio?

Tom

Reply to
Tom

What are IC engines? Definitely getting a SIM.

tom

Reply to
Tom

Those jet engines sure sound sexy. :-) I really like the slow flying four cycle engine powered biplanes. If I can afford I'm going to get a four cycle engine. During the late eighties I got as collateral for a loan a assembled P47. Don't remember the kit maker. I've got a box with the unused engine and parts. The plane just needs servos and I think it's ready to go but it's not a trainer by any stretch.

tom

Reply to
Tom

What's an EDF hawk?

Tom

Reply to
Tom
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Yes, reading these posts I'm thinking, if I get lucky, I might be able to find a suitable setup for a reasonale price and meet some helpful people at a club.

tom

Reply to
Tom

I just dug it all out. It's a Top Flight 1976 he 7 Thunderbot w/ a K&B .61 RC engine w/ muffler. It was built by the resident professional photographer at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Bob Meyers. But it's no trainer. Mayber after a year of two of flying trainers. Is there a market out there for thirty year old planes in mint condition? Bob was a careful guy with every thing he did.

tom

Reply to
Tom

Reply to
Tom

For what it's worth I do know how to tune a 2 stroke but with todays power race these engines are becoming less tolerant of extended low speed running.

Next time you may want to contribute something meaningful to the discussion.

Reply to
The Raven

That's a fair comment. However they rarely need fiddling with, will idle for extended periods without problem, transition immediately to power, have lower fuel consumption (for a comparitively sized 2 stroke), and sound better (subjective but applicable to scale aircraft).

They sound way cool. Of course, some planes just demand a screaming two stroke.

Nothing wrong with plain bearings other than they'll eventually have some oil seepage from the front of the engine. Of course, it takes quite a few flying hours to get one that worn.

If an OS 2 stroke is your choice, simply determine whether you want a low cost, medium powered, engine that will last forever (say a 46LA) or a higher cost, high output, ball bearing engine (say a 46AX). There's not much price difference between the two now but the 46AX may be better if you wanted to move that into sport planes later on.

I've had similar experience although brand new 46AXs did tend to have a flat spot during transition from low to high. If you lived with that for a while it would eventually go away as the engine ran in.

Take GMS engines, a lot of people hate them but I've found them very powerful, cheap, long lasting (my 47 outlasted a 46AX), and they ran well (at speed). They aren't an engine designed for puttering around the sky, they like throttle.

Reply to
The Raven

Some 2.4 GHz radios are almost bullet proof. That means you don't have to worry about someone else turning on a radio on your frequency while you are in the air. All manufacturers now have 2.4 stuff on the market, but there ARE problems in some of the systems. The hard part is that sometimes it is difficult to identify if the problem is the equipment, the user, or the installation of the equipment as they all have positive and negative impacts on the final result. Do some research carefully.

Good luck and look carefully for an instructor. Here is a suggestion of how to find what might be a good one for you. Go to the local hobby shop (nearest if you have no local shop) and ask for club flying field locations. If more than one, plan on spending a nice Sunday afternoon at each just watching and not volunteering that you are looking for a good instructor. That avoids the egos that do exist in all hobbies. Once you have seen a 'community' that interests you, go back and ask about instructors. Try to spend another day just watching those 'candidates' because if one yells too much it may contribute to longer time on the buddy box while another may fit your personality just right. That cannot be decided at first meeting and probably not until second or third flight.

@Ed: We do disagree about the flat bottomed airfoil trainers. What I was trying to say is that they do make the student work harder, but they also learn more from them. Remember I think we are trying to teach folks how to plan where the plane is going to go and understanding the change in flight characteristics is a large part of that and I think flat bottomed airfoils get right to that particular lesson first off rather than later. Sooner is always better than later.Other airfoils are nice, but I have found it to be more difficult to teach the changing characteristics with symmetrical or semi symmetrical wings.

Jim Branaum AMA 1428

Reply to
Six_O'Clock_High

I'm really perplexed about 2 cycles not idling. A Thunder Tiger .46 PRO is a really good engine. Now they do quit running when you hit the prop on the runway. Does a 4 stroke not do that? :) mk

Reply to
MJKolodziej

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