New member/Old Dawg

[Mike H]

Hello everyone, my name is Mike and as I said I'm new to the site, and new to the art of RC, building and flying.
I'm also starting late in the game, I'm 51 years old, but young in heart. I drove a tractor trailer for the past 25 years and recently got some health problems that has caused me to stop working, so I now have a lot of time on my hands. I always wanted to do RC building, and flying but never had the time. My first project that I'm currently working on is a Top Flite F4U-Corsair kit. So far so good, but I do have some questions which is why I joined the site originally, but I'm also sure that there will be many things I can learn from others on the site. I'm looking forward to talking, and learning from you guys. Thanks. Mike H.

 

[Smoggie]

Hi Mike, welcome to the site and to the great RC hobby!

The Corsair is a fantastic plane and they usually fly pretty good as an RC model because they have plenty of wing area. That said they really arent a suitable plane to be flying as a first venture into RC, to try to fly that model without experience would only ever end badly, which would be a real shame. My advice would be take your time building the Corsair and in the meantime get a purpose designed trainer to learn on. The eFlite Apprentice S is a good way to start because it has some very clever auto stabilising technology that helps you over the initial stage of learning. Even as a second plane the TF Corsair would be very ambitious, most people would only take on a model of that type after mastering at least a couple of easier to fly planes.

Getting some practice in on an RC flight simulator such a Realflite or Phoenix is also a good idea but you need some real life flying under your belt too.

Steve

 

[Admiral]

Hi Mike, welcome to the forum.

I agree with Smoggie would be a shame to wreck all that hard work on such a great model, the RC Flight SIM is a great tool, my brother-in-law had a successful first flight after about 10 hours on a SIM.

His second flight wasn't so good but that was a problem with judging distance not controlling the plane, that bloody tree just popped up out of nowhere.

 

[Mike H]

Hi guys, ya I totally agree with both of you, I'm building the Corsair so I have my winter covered as far as something to do. As a first plane I was going to buy the RTF Avistar from Tower Hobbies. I'm going to power the Corsair with an O.S. 1.20 4 stroke gas. Right now I'm at the point of installing the Century Jet Retracts, I'm taking my time with this part because I don't want to drill the hole in the wrong location in spar doubler, the hole is for the retract electric cylinder. Between this and cutting the wing sheeting to accommodate the landing gear is probably going to be my most challenging part of the build, I also want to glass the kit. If anyone has any suggestions that would help me I'd appreciate it. Any way, thanks for welcoming me to the site, this is my first time on a forum so I hope I do all this correctly.

 

[D.O.G.]

Welcome aboard Mike H . You'll get some excellent advice from these gentlemen on this site. Your not old... your only as old as you feel in your heart. I'm 53 and still having fun. A little broken up but not destroyed . I enjoy this hobby and these guys help make this hobby fun and easier to understand. Good luck, have fun and oh yeah

 

[Mike H]

Thanks D.O.G. , I'm really glad I found this site. Looking forward to talking with all of you.

 

[Smoggie]

Sounds like a nice build on the Corsair. It was many years ago that i did any glassing. The thing to watch is weight, it's very easy to make a plane too heavy if you leave too much reson on. There are probably videos online that explain it better than i can but you need to use the thin viscosity finishing grade epoxy resin. You have to 'squeegee' out as much resin as you can using something like an old plastic bank card. When you have finished you shouldnt have any thick patches of resin, you should be able to see the weave of the glass cloth.

 

[Mike H]

Ya you are right, there are many Utube videos of the correct way to glass and they all say the same as you about getting as much resin off as possible. As you know I'm new here so what is the best way to ask a question? Should I look for the subject on the past forums ,or do I just start a new thread with a new subject header. Thanks.

 

[Tony]

Feel free to create a new thread.

 

[KLA]

Hey Mike, welcome to RCHelp! I really don't know too much about planes, I'm a helicopter guy, but I wanted to ask, what is glassing?

Anyway, on a different note, there are a lot of great people here that are very knowledgeable and willing to help any way they can. To get the quickest and best answers just start and new thread with your concerns in either the general airplane section or a more specific airplane category below.

Also, we would live to see some pics of your build, if you get a chance.

 

[Smoggie]

Keith,
'glassing' is the application of very lightweight glass cloth and resin over the top of wood or foam to produce a smooth and tough fibreglass skin. It's popular on large scale models because it can produce a very scale like finish for warbirds and jets etc. It's a lot or work though, you need to do a lot of sanding and filling and more sanding and more filling (repeating ad nauseam) to get a perfect finish, something of a labour of love.

 

[Mike H]

Hi Keith, and thanks. Glassing is just short for fiberglassing, applying fiberglass strengthens the wings and fuselage. If I can figure it out I'd love to post some pics of the build. I've got an iPad, so if anyone can give me some pointers on uploading pics I get them up as soon as possible. Actually I think I saw a thread on uploading pics, I'll have to check it out, I'm still figuring out this site and how to use it. I appreciate all the good wishers and welcomers on this site.

 

[KLA]

Thanks Steve. I kinda figured that's what it was but wasn't sure. I guess the sanding and filling is like doin very meticulous bodywork on a car. That's something I never had enough pacience for.

Mike, somewhere in the general or help sections of this forum Tony has a video on how to post pictures. When I find it, I'll post a link to the video for you. That is unless someone else beats me to it.

You said you're a retired truck driver? I'm a current truck driver/heavy equipment operator for the past 22 years. And I do believe that Tony, the owner and founder of this site, is also a truck driver. I just think that's cool that a bunch of us have similar history.

 

[Mike H]

Ya that is pretty neat, for most of my years of driving I delivered all types of freight, the last 2 years I hauled an oil tanker. I like the way you worded it "Retired", I wish that was the cacse, I ended up with kidney failure that's why I no longer work. Enough about that, I'll check out that video that Tony has about the pics. Glassing is very tedious but that's the main reason I went with a somewhat large kit, I need something to kill time with, and in the meantime I'll practice my flying with a trainer. I'll be ordering one next week when my monthly pay arrives, and I'm also going to order Dubro skis, it's only a matter of time before the snow starts falling around here. Have you ever flown your helicopters in the snow? Talk to all later, I'll have to get some pics up too.

 

[Mike H]

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I guess I got lucky, I wanted to write below the pic but I'll figure that out later. What you see here are the tail feathers. I'm starting to build the wings next, but I'm waiting to get a Dremel because I purchased electric landing gears and I need to drill and grind openings for the gear struts and the electric cylinder. I'll have to post pics or even better a video of the gears in motion, there very scale(IMO).

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It did write below the pic, hot damn.

 

[Tony]

Just an FYI, if you reply to your thread within 20 minutes of your last post, it will automatically merge the posts into one. This helps keep the threads much cleaner and not near as long.

And those look like some great tail feathers. If you want to post below the pictures, on the very top left of the reply box there is a button with two "A" in it. Not the one with the red X. If you click that, it's what is called the What You See Is What You Get editor or WYSIWYG. You can use that to help make your post look the way you want it to look. Hope this helps and keep us updated on this build.

 

[Mike H]

Thanks For compliment, and thanks for the info. Tony.

 

[KLA]

Oops! Sorry, Mike. Didn't realize that you had to stop driving cause of health issues. That really sucks! But, you're probably better off getting off the road anyway. People are idiots! That's my biggest complaint about driving a truck, the other drivers. They are always cutting you off cause they always have to be in front of the truck.
I used to pull a tanker also. I hauled liquid asphalt to a bunch of Asphalt Plants in and around Pittsburgh. Now I drive a tri axle dump and operate heavy equipment.

Oh, and by the way, yes, I have flown my helicopters in the snow. I just let my helis sit outside for about 15 minutes or so to let the electronics adjust to the cold temperatures. But keep your batteries warm until you are ready to use them. They will perform better that way. Also, the snow cushions the blow a bit when you crash.

 

[Tony]

Getting a whole trucking family in here. I might have to make a new profile for those that drive.

As for crashing in the snow, I have done it. Didn't help lmao. Of course I'm in Oklahoma so there is an inch of snow on top of an inch of ice hahahaha

 

[Mike H]

Hi Tony, hi Kieth, no problem KLA, don't feel bad. I'll tell you that was my biggest problem too, the damn 4wheelers always in a hurry and like you said they have to be in front of a truck, it's the same everywhere,especially here in ct. the people in the north east are the most rude IMO. As far as winter flying, I never thought of letting the electronics get down to the outside temp, and using a warm batt., But it makes sense. And ya I thought the same thing, the snow cushioning a bad landing a little better than hard earth. Tony I know what you mean about an Oklahoma snow, I was stationed in New Mexico for 2 years while in the AirForce.

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Here's just a pic. of my work bench. The apt. is small, but I make due