To be a pilot with the Northern Virginia Radio Controlled Club
 

On Sun, 9 Mar 2014 05:24:07 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

On Saturday, March 8, 2014 9:00:27 PM UTC-5, John H. wrote:

I went by the field this evening and was introduced to another 'expert'. He also advised the Super

Cub and offered to teach me to fly it. I think that's what I'll go with and get the upgraded

transmitter.

Whatever you do, don't take it to the local park to "try it out" before you go to the field for your first lesson. No matter how straight the control surfaces look and how careful you are setting things up, a new airplane will not fly straight until it's trimmed out. It will bank, turn, dive or climb, and usually more than one of those. It can be a handful for an experienced RC pilot to keep a really bad one in the air until you get the trim set so it'll fly straight with the sticks at rest. For someone's very first flight? Forget it.

The group at the school has a Facebook page, which I found out yesterday. Funny you should say what
you did, 'cause I was thinking of exactly that - wanting to be able to fly the thing before getting
my first 'lesson'. But I'll be 'good' and wait for one of the guys to show me.

To be a pilot with the Northern Virginia Radio Controlled Club
 

On Sun, 09 Mar 2014 08:36:38 -0400, Wayne.B wrote:

On Sun, 9 Mar 2014 05:24:07 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

On Saturday, March 8, 2014 9:00:27 PM UTC-5, John H. wrote:

I went by the field this evening and was introduced to another 'expert'. He also advised the Super

Cub and offered to teach me to fly it. I think that's what I'll go with and get the upgraded

transmitter.

Whatever you do, don't take it to the local park to "try it out" before you go to the field for your
first lesson. No matter how straight the control surfaces look and how careful you are setting
things up, a new airplane will not fly straight until it's trimmed out. It will bank, turn, dive or
climb, and usually more than one of those. It can be a handful for an experienced RC pilot to
keep a really bad one in the air until you get the trim set so it'll fly straight with the sticks at rest.
For someone's very first flight? Forget it.

===

Do you adjust the trim while it's in the air or do you have to bring
it back down for each adjustment?

In flight and on the ground.

http://rcvehicles.about.com/od/rcair...rplaneTrim.htm

To be a pilot with the Northern Virginia Radio Controlled Club
 

On Sun, 9 Mar 2014 09:15:52 -0400, BAR wrote:

In article , says...

On Sat, 8 Mar 2014 12:41:59 -0500, BAR wrote:

In article , says...

On Sat, 8 Mar 2014 05:44:01 -0800 (PST), wrote:

On Saturday, March 8, 2014 8:22:15 AM UTC-5, John H. wrote:
On Sat, 8 Mar 2014 04:50:31 -0800 (PST), wrote:




Where's this? Do you fly? What?

I'm in SC. I fly airplanes mostly, from a couple of small electrics up to a giant-scale gas plane. I have a small indoor heli I play with sometimes.

This is our club: http://congareeflyer.com/

I'm building a set of floats to put on an old, .40 glow sized trainer to give float flying a shot. One of the local clubs hosts a float fly on the local lake where I boat every year.

Wow! Very nice flying facility. The pictures are great. I'll bet the new runway is a boon to
take-offs and landings.

Thanks for the link. That was fun.

Now, I could use some advice, 'cause I'm getting conflicting answers. I am considering two
airplanes:

Super Cub, BNF and the dx6i 6 channel transmitter:
http://www.horizonhobby.com/products...bnf-HBZ7380#t2
http://www.horizonhobby.com/products...ode-2-SPMR6610

or, the Apprentice, RTF,
http://www.horizonhobby.com/products...nology-EFL3100

The flyers I've talked to say to go with the Super Cub. When I call the model shops, they say go
with the Apprentice. The Apprentice is bigger, has brushless motor, SAFE technology, etc, but only
the dx5e 5 channel transmitter which has a lot less capability than the dx6i. If I get the Super Cub
BNF with the upgraded transmitter, the costs are getting pretty close between the two choices.

What do you think?

It appears that your choice is flying your plane or fixing your plane. Which one do you want
to do the most?

Why do you say that?

The Apprentice has the "SAFE" feature which will keep your plane from making a Blew Crater.
One piece blew over there, one piece blew over that way...

One of the experts at the 'airfield' says to forget the 'SAFE'. His attitude was 'we'll teach you
how to fly 'safe'!

The plane I'm considering, the Super Cub, will be sold with the 'SAFE' technology in the next month
or two. Haven't decided if I want to wait. Everything else on the plane will be the same as on the
current model, and, surprisingly, the addition of the 'SAFE' technology doesn't add to the cost of
the plane.

To be a pilot with the Northern Virginia Radio Controlled Club
 

On Sunday, March 9, 2014 8:36:38 AM UTC-4, Wayne. B wrote:
On Sun, 9 Mar 2014 05:24:07 -0700 (PDT), wrote:



On Saturday, March 8, 2014 9:00:27 PM UTC-5, John H. wrote:



I went by the field this evening and was introduced to another 'expert'. He also advised the Super



Cub and offered to teach me to fly it. I think that's what I'll go with and get the upgraded



transmitter.



Whatever you do, don't take it to the local park to "try it out" before you go to the field for your

first lesson. No matter how straight the control surfaces look and how careful you are setting

things up, a new airplane will not fly straight until it's trimmed out. It will bank, turn, dive or

climb, and usually more than one of those. It can be a handful for an experienced RC pilot to

keep a really bad one in the air until you get the trim set so it'll fly straight with the sticks at rest.

For someone's very first flight? Forget it.



===



Do you adjust the trim while it's in the air or do you have to bring

it back down for each adjustment?

You do it with trim tabs (small sliders on the transmitter beside the joysticks) while in the air on it's maiden flight. If things are way out, you can re-adjust the linkage when back on the ground to get your trim tabs back close to center, but if it's that far out something else is wrong (warped wing, CG, etc.).

To be a pilot with the Northern Virginia Radio Controlled Club
 

On Saturday, March 8, 2014 2:52:36 PM UTC-5, wrote:
On Saturday, March 8, 2014 10:07:46 AM UTC-5, John H. wrote:

On Sat, 8 Mar 2014 05:44:01 -0800 (PST), wrote:







On Saturday, March 8, 2014 8:22:15 AM UTC-5, John H. wrote:



On Sat, 8 Mar 2014 04:50:31 -0800 (PST), wrote:



















Where's this? Do you fly? What?







I'm in SC. I fly airplanes mostly, from a couple of small electrics up to a giant-scale gas plane. I have a small indoor heli I play with sometimes.







This is our club: http://congareeflyer.com/







I'm building a set of floats to put on an old, .40 glow sized trainer to give float flying a shot. One of the local clubs hosts a float fly on the local lake where I boat every year.







Wow! Very nice flying facility. The pictures are great. I'll bet the new runway is a boon to



take-offs and landings.







Thanks for the link. That was fun.







Now, I could use some advice, 'cause I'm getting conflicting answers. I am considering two



airplanes:







Super Cub, BNF and the dx6i 6 channel transmitter:



http://www.horizonhobby.com/products...bnf-HBZ7380#t2



http://www.horizonhobby.com/products...ode-2-SPMR6610







or, the Apprentice, RTF,



http://www.horizonhobby.com/products...nology-EFL3100







The flyers I've talked to say to go with the Super Cub. When I call the model shops, they say go



with the Apprentice. The Apprentice is bigger, has brushless motor, SAFE technology, etc, but only



the dx5e 5 channel transmitter which has a lot less capability than the dx6i. If I get the Super Cub



BNF with the upgraded transmitter, the costs are getting pretty close between the two choices.







What do you think?



The Super Cub is a taildragger, which is a little more challenging to taxi, take off, and land. The Apprentice, being a trike gear plane, will be easier on the ground. Both being high winged aircraft with essentially flat bottom airfoils, they will have similar flight characteristics (self-righting and docile). That's what you want in a trainer. The Cub may be a bit more fun when you get more advanced with your skills, which may be why the flyers are suggesting it. Bigger flies better, and IMO, the Apprentice will be the easiest to learn with.



As far as the radios, the basic 5 channel will do the job for learning. You may find that you don't really like RC. The 6 channel does have the features that you'll want if you stick with it and get good. When you get into aerobatic planes, exponential and dual rates are a must, and multi-model memory is great so you don't have to carry multiple transmitters to the field when your fleet grows.



I started with a fairly basic transmitter, then bought a full-blown 8 channel computer one when for my second plane. Still use the basic one for one of my glow powered fun flyers. Oh, and a third one for electrics.



Good luck and have fun!

Well, now it's change #1. I just got back from a hobby shop over in Fairfax that carries both planes, along with a whole lot of other RC stuff. The manager spent about 20 minutes with me, talking about the pros and cons of both airplanes. He had both in stock, along with the transmitters. I have been convinced, with what he said and what you've said, and all the reviews, to go with the Apprentice - especially since he'll knock $25 off the price. I'll live with the DX5e for a while.