General What plane to buy?

[coolgabsi]

Ok. So you all know me from helis. All I do is helis. I love them and heck .. I can't see myself not flying them. But every now and then I really really really wanna fly a plane. Now I have bought and sold some trainers. Flying helis I am not looking for orientation practice obviously. Give me 30 minutes and I can take off and fly around and do knife edges too if plane is big enough and high enough Hahahaha

But here is the thing, I don't know the first thing about what all is out there. I know I love some war birds. I have a great planes p-51. The plane does not want to fly. I don't know why. It has had wierd flight characteristics .. And that is the opinion of a lot of people. All that to say. I am not so good at landings .. Like at all.

My end goal is to have a gas war bird. F4u or p-51... But I know warbirds and I know that they are freaking notorious!!! So I need to practice my airplane skills.

So here is what I am looking for :

--- mid or hopefully low wing

-- flaps (I want full flap function.. As I want to practice that) if you think my engine size limits the plane to a size that is too small for flaps.. Tell me.. Correct me

--- I need to have a plane with retracts.. There is no way I am flying one without. Even if you think that's stupid, it's ok, I just think they make it look so freaking amazing.

-- nitro / gas models ONLY... I have OS .46 motor with muffler .. NONE of that electric crap. I need some oil on my plane when I am done.

--- plane doesn't need to be aggressive 3D .. But very nimble. Big enough and notorious enough that I can learn landings and take offs.. And stable enough that I can trust it


I know that it's a tall order. But hey! I know y'all can help. Of course the price is a factor but let's keep that aside ... Open to new or used. I just need help deciding what Model? Which company? Obviously balsa/ fiberglass.. And yes repairable haha


So please help me on this.

 

[Tony]

the first thing I read was you wanted to do a knife edge. A warbird is not going to knife edge worth a crap. Second, you want to learn how to land, this again is not good with a war bird. They have a high wing loading and need speed on take off and landing.

I know you said you wanted nitro (which is an engine, not a motor), but I have a plane that would be perfect for you. However, you are going to have to come off your nitro high horse

If you want to make a deal on this plane, we can talk.

If you are wanting something with nitro or gas, then I would suggest a 26% Edge 540 with a 30cc DLE engine. You will have close to $1500 or so in it to get it flying, but they are some of the most stable, mid wing planes you can get.

If you are dead set on a war bird, then look at the Hangar9 P-51 Gold Edition. It's a great plane and if you get one large enough, it will be easy to land. Well, easier than a small wing plane.

 

[Derek]

ummmm, since Gaba is looking for a plane to fly....I think it's time that he built the RCH Trainer, lol. I think he is the only Mod that doesn't have one. I think I read that in the Terms of Service, lol.

Ok, I'm just poking at ya, Gaba! Based on all the criteria that you mentioned, I am not going to be much help. I just wanted to post a comment to give ya a hard time.

 

[coolgabsi]

Tony ... No I want to work upto a war bird. So no not looking for a warbird now. Looking for a sport flier that can train me well on landings, flaps, manuever ability , dead sticks, landing in horrible conditions ... The whole bit.


War bird will be come later when I am confident and yes definitely , a warbird , when I build it , will be built for pattern flying, low passes, dog fight slow manuevers, and such.. Lol


What plane you got tony??

Derek, lol, I would, but I really only have do much space. I want to get one thing I like.. As transport is a big issue as well. I am BAD at foam builds. Tried them several times but just never had good success. It wasn't the plans. Wanst the plane. Just the builder . Lol

 

[Derek]

no problem buddy! I was just giving you a hard time. I'm sure Tony can help you choose a plane to start with and build up your confidence. Good luck!!!

 

[Tony]

Derek, Gaba did have the RCH Trainer V1 dubbed "Mothra". He took it out by dead straight nailing a light poll lmao. That was the last we saw of it. I'm sure if you search, you will find that video.

Gaba, I have a couple 3d planes that I'm willing to part with. Extra 260, Edge 540, both 40" wing so easy to transport. The Extra has removable wings so very easy to transport. However, no flaps. They are straight up 3D machines.

 

[BOKI]

mountaindewdude76 ; Derek I bought a Sig LT40 EG ARF & just built it about a month ago ! A old super nice expert RC guy in my club has been training me with one ! OS 46 cc engine & flies really good & a nice Trainer & not a bad price !

 

[RandyDSok]

I'll weigh in on this one...

First, I think the Edge that Tony has would be a great place to start for several reasons... First off you'd get a great deal on it. Second, even though it doesn't meet many of the criteria ( ie it's electric, no flaps and static LG ) ... a 3D plane, if setup with mild settings has a lot of stability while still being able to go wild when you want it. They have a light wing loading making take offs and landings easier IMO since you can almost go down to a stall and still have stability. Once you've actually learned how to fly stalled ( what most 3D's are made for ) you can even stall them in for a landing. PS... doing an alpha landing can take it's toll on the LG if you are just learning them, so expect to fix them if you practice this one much.

I setup my first 3D with triple rates so I could have docile settings on low, regular settings for my mid rate and wild for my high. It made learning much easier than what I actually started with ( a foamy P-51 )

Personally... I like the looks and flight characteristics of the Edge, so that is what I'd consider myself if I were in the market for another one ( I've already got a nice 40" Edge... better than Tony's of course... lol ). Having said that, if you don't mind re-covering, I've seen a couple of Extra's ( they were 300/330's actually ) that look good when dressed up as a warplane... in fact, I had to do a double take on the ones I've seen pictured.

If you aren't interested in what Tony has... I can recommend just about anything from 3D Hobby Shop. Flight characterist's and build quality are probably second to none. I own 4 of them in fact. The Extra 300 SHP can't be beat for a starter 3D... it's mild on low settings and can get a wild as you want. The Slick is probably their most liked model and usually the one the Pro's pick for 3D contests, it can do anything you throw at it. The Edge's are the favorite for those looking for great knife edges and sport flying. The Vyper is also one of my favorites because it marries a pattern plane with 3D... so if you also want to carve some pretty lines in the sky it's great for it and it doesn't stop you from any of the 3D stunts. They also have most available in either gas or electric.

 

[coolgabsi]

Tony, PM me bro.. What you want for them. Can you send me some pics of the planes ...


Randy.. I have heard of 3d hobby shop. I will take a look. While my end goal is not 3D... I need more a plane that can train me for a real warbird ..


I'll look into This

But please , I know there could be more ideas... Throw them out

 

[coolgabsi]

OKAY folks! good news! Something good came out of all this!

I today picked up a BRAND FREAKING NEW IN BOX .. "non molested" as the owner put it.. plane. Like its not even put together and its an ARF. Its beautiful!

The plane is Hangar 9 RV-8 .. It does NOT have retracts, but every one told me to master my landings first.. THEN go retract.. UGHH.. OKay.... hate it when people are right.. lol JK

but anywaz..

Here is alink .. http://www.horizonhobby.com/products/rv-8-46-arf-HAN4840 .. retail is $209 .. I picked the new baby up for $100 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

VEry happy. as my .46 will fit it..!! YAY and I will be able to build a new bird. All I need now are servos and RX. I will need a 9 channel rx to set it up right way with my radio .. just so I can do the mixing correctly. My radio has sliders which I can use to deploy as much flaps as I want.. Thats going to be AWESOME!

 

[Tony]

Looks like a great plane. and yes, you should practice yoru landings before using retracts. Last thing you need is doing a belly landing because you forgot to put them down because there are too many things running through your head lmao. Low wing, large wing, fits your engine, sounds like you are going to be happy with this thing. VIDEO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Lee]

Nice looking plane Gaba. Look forward to seeing the maiden flight. Lots of pictures please

 

[Derek]

Well done, Gaba! Looks very nice!

 

[coolgabsi]

I will. I definitely will. Opened the package to check the contents and man this kit is comprehensive.

The last owner really hadn't even opened the part bag seals and the deals for wings and fuse.. So it's really brand new.

The only thing this doesn't come with from hangar 9 is a prop spinner and a prop.

Stopped by the new Rc hobby shop near the hiker today. Picked up some cheap hitec servos. Needs 7 servos. I had one for throttle , so picked 6 up for the rest of the plane.

Also ended up picking up a prop , fuel filler valve, and a SERVO SIGNAL REVERSER -- because the kit has a design flaw (or so I see it) .. If you plug servos for flaps in the same channel, the way they are sitting, they will operate like ailerons, so either you use two channels and mix.. Or use a servo reverser to make sure the other servo goes opposite direction...

The kit comes with engine mount.. And pre assembled tank. The kit is beautiful. I haven't opened any bags anything at all. I just wanted to check contents.. So when I do I will take some pics. The hardest part should be installing the canopy on the hatch part .. So that's good!!

The quality is amazing!! I am very impressed. I have had good quality planes but never brand new (non trainer) balsa. So this is cool

 

[coolgabsi]

One thing to add about servos.. Kit says recommended high torque ds821 servos. I didn't have that coin. Lol so I picked up hitec servos


Difference :: jr821 is rated at 72oz-in at 4.8v

And the hitecs:: rated at 48oz-in at 4.8v and 51 on 6v

So I am hoping with my nickel battery pack and a reciever, I should have just enough torque to do the job... Well not as much as the jr digital servos but still .. The hitecs were less than half the price.. 12bucks a pop. And I know hitecs are good quality. Now.. Torque....? I don't know.. The servos say they are built for .40 size plane which basically this is.. But what do y'all think?

 

[RandyDSok]

One thing to add about servos.. Kit says recommended high torque ds821 servos. I didn't have that coin. Lol so I picked up hitec servos


Difference :: jr821 is rated at 72oz-in at 4.8v

And the hitecs:: rated at 48oz-in at 4.8v and 51 on 6v

So I am hoping with my nickel battery pack and a reciever, I should have just enough torque to do the job... Well not as much as the jr digital servos but still .. The hitecs were less than half the price.. 12bucks a pop. And I know hitecs are good quality. Now.. Torque....? I don't know.. The servos say they are built for .40 size plane which basically this is.. But what do y'all think?

You may want to, and I"d urge you... to reconsider that purchase on servo's.

HH seldom recommends servo's that are very over rated... they'll suggest the least you should use ( which will have just a little extra headroom for those rare cases you ask more of them ).... Using a servo rated at almost half of the recommended torque probably isn't going to cut it. You won't want to be a loop, power dive or other scenerio and then NOT be able to pull out of it because the control surfaces are over powering the servo's you installed.

One other thing... At the price you mentioned... those are unlikely to be ball bearing servos unless you got some Black Friday special. If I'm correct, they will wear out quickly and develop a lot of slop in them. On that size of a plane, I'd also go with metal gear on the servo's for the flight surfaces ( and retracts when you get some ).

 

[coolgabsi]

can you suggest some servos then ? I am not able to spend 50 bucks on a servo .. Thats just not possible. And I wanna keep away from HK till I absolutely have to go there. So PLease suggest a servo you think will work

 

[RandyDSok]

can you suggest some servos then ? I am not able to spend 50 bucks on a servo .. Thats just not possible. And I wanna keep away from HK till I absolutely have to go there. So PLease suggest a servo you think will work

First let me link you to a page with the spec's of most of the Hitec servo's ...

http://www.servocity.com/html/hitec_servos.html

In general... a servo with BB after it's model number is a ball bearing with nylon gears. One with HB is a ball bearing with composite gears ( carbonite ) slightly stronger than nylon but not as strong as metal. One with MG in the model name has ball bearings and metal gears.

If going with digital servo's ( which cost a bit more of course )

An equivalant to the JR would be the HS-5485HB http://www.servocity.com/html/hs-5485hb_servo.html

I mentioned that on control surfaces and retracts, or anywhere you really need some strength in the gear... I'd go with metal gear ... something like HS-5625MG http://www.servocity.com/html/hs-5625mg_digital_speed.html


Personally... I usually go with analog servo's which will save a bit of cash in the process at the expense of accuracy

Analog equivalant of the JR ( which is digital btw ) is the HS-485HB which is a composite servo http://www.servocity.com/html/hs-485hb_servo.html ( slightly less torque but not much )

Metal geared the HS-625MG http://www.servocity.com/html/hs-625mg_ultra_speed.html


To properly compare different servo's... Look at torque and speed as well as the type of gear it uses. If it's going to be used in an area where a lot of strength is recommended I always go with metal. For me, unless it's a foamy... I also always go with a ball bearing type servo instead of a bushing simply because bushings always get sloppy quickly. When it's a servo size that I use often... I upgrade to the metal gears even if I plan to use them in a lower stress area since I can later reuse them in other applications after I've retired ( or crashed ) an airframe.

 

[coolgabsi]

took your advice.. hs5485hb ordered.. i got the shop to do an exchange for the ones that i had bought.

I can slowly upgrade as I go along. I want to upgrade this to 4 stroke gas sometime. So sometime.. later. I can change out the necessary servos and the engine..

 

[RandyDSok]

You're likely to hate me after this.... but I just found out about the sale, so it isn't my fault... lol

Hyperion P-51D Mustang 25E Speedball Alice scheme - $107.95 All e RC | HYPERION P-51D MUSTANG 25E SPEEDBALL ALICE OLIVE GREEN ARF - GENUINE ORACOVER [HP-P51D25OL]


I've actually got one of these when they put them on sale before about a year ago. I've not had the budget to outfit it yet, so mine is still in the box. While they state oracover... that is only the wings, the fuse is fiberglass. They sold out pretty quick before... so if you are interested don't dally around.