Re: Co-Pilot (FMA Direct)

by the time you buy

Okay Dave! Sounds like we've got another SPADMAN! ;) The nice thing about the QHOR is the size. It's only 3 feet x 3 feet, so I can throw a couple in the car and not worry about space for the fuel (backpack), folding chair and my oversized plastic tool box. Getting in and out of tight spaces is easy for these planes. Jam the tail into a wall real hard? No Damage! I'm so rough on these things, I worry about stripping out a servo.

The price is really right if you take all the hardware from your trainer or crashed fun-fly. :)

If I have a horrible crash and rip up the wings and break the motor mount, I still have enough left-over Coro, U-channel and cutting board to make a couple new planes to fly again the next day. (No damage so far).

New pilots like the QHOR. For training, I would reduce the throws. Using the Barn-door settings makes it harder to fly at first. Use lots of Expo on the elevator and ailerons. I turned mine off Sunday and found it harder flying in the wind. (But not too hard). I turned it back on when I got down close to the ground. (under 2 meters). Don't worry about "being big enough to see". It will be real close to you most of the time. It can go so slow that you could fly inside of a 40x40x40 meter area real easy. I'm a newbie and I could fly mine around in a 20x20x20 meter box all day long. You just pull back on the stick and it slows down to walking speed (Add some power)! ;)

It is not the best plane for flying fast. Designed for low-n-slow. If you want to go faster (and still have a lot of low-n-slow), the SPA3D is better.

One of the better pilots at my club flew my SPA3D like a Helicopter! He loved it and will be building his own soon.

Have fun! Rich

CRS maybe.....

David

There's a difference between 'modeler' and 'flier' in my book. The 'modeler' builds his airplanes from at least a kit, the best can build from a set of plans. The cream can design plans and build from.

The 'flier' takes a finished plane to the field and flies it.

Can the 'modeler' fly - not necessarily. Can the 'flier' model - not necessarily.

David

The problem is that the 'nuts-n-bolts' cost too damn much to get anywhere near the performance of the 'appliance'.

I built my first 2M xcvr from a Heathkit - HW2036 synthesized. I took it over to Heathkit in Dallas (when they still existed) to ask a question about the radio. The HK guy looked at it and said to another HK guy " I didn't know the factory built any of these!" to which I replied " They didn't - that's all my work in there, including the wire harness rework." That radio was cost effective, but nothing since that for 2M work.

David

I have built a few Heathkits myself, David. Remember the GD-19 R/C system? That was one of them. It was fun. I never did build any of their amateur gear, but I did maintain a few pieces of Heath amateur gear here and there.

The Ace Commander series of R/C systems and oodles of Ace Bantam Midget servos were a fun thing also. I had a few of those flight packs that I built, but only one transmitter by Ace. Those D&R plastic sticks were impossible to keep the stick pots clean. I tuned the receivers up to my Kraft transmitters and flew the devil out of them.

I'm just an old fart that's reminiscing, that's all. I don't really want to go back in time. At least not technology wise.

Ed Cregger

"David AMA40795 / KC5UH" wrote

I own a thunder tiger trainer II and do not call myself an air-plane modeler (rocket modeler is another story) I only had to epoxy the horizontal stab, attach the elevator rod, glue the wings together to get it up to the instructions level of "ready to fly" I've owned the plane for about 11.5 months and have only had 2 flights on it (busy with rockets)

So what am I? you might notice i am not one of the political loudmouths that clubs have, nor am i a plane builder that never flies, or a parts collector, or someone too scared to fly and crash (50% sucess rate so far)

What?

Did someone say something.......?

Ed Cregger

(just kidding Tater)

I have to put you in the flier group. Maybe later you will enter the modeler group, who knows.

I am NOT badmouthing the guys who want to toss an ARF together and go fly ! If a guy wants to pay someone else to build for him to fly, so be it. There's a guy in my club who is like that. I showed up at the field one day with a plane that I had built from a set of plans ( so I'm a modeler), he walked over, looked at it, and asked "how much do you want for it". I flew it several times, agreed on a price less engine and radio !

I'm currently flying a SPAD Debonair - gutter pipe and corrugated plastic that I threw together because I needed a tough plane for practicing my landings in windy North Texas. I had crashed my Big Stik ( and a flier too), and my 40 Cub is too light for very much wind.

I'm currently building a Dynaflite 1/4 scale Super Cub I'll power with a Ryobi weedie engine that I converted myself with purchased parts.

As the old saying goes "Different strokes for different folks"

David