Plane questions

[grampi]

Just to give you a little background on me, I have over 20 years flying experience, flying everything from trainers to ducted fans, but I have been away from the hobby for about 10 years. I was an instructor in all the clubs I belonged to, and I was usually the person others came to when they had a new plane they wanted test flown and weren't comfortable doing it themselves.

That said, I have always flown glo and never battery powered, so this is a bit of a new world for me. I have pretty much narrowed my chioces to either the Edge or the Yak. I plan to teach myself 3D flying by starting out with limited control surface throws, then gradulally dialing in more and more throw as I get more use to the manuvers.

Since I sold all of my RC gear, I'm basically starting from square one in terms of what I need to buy and I could use some advice in this area.

I don't have a lot money to spend, so I need to get the best possible equipment while spending the least amount of money. I'm thinking about going with a combo package as that seams like a less expensive way to get going, unless there would be a reason this wouldn't be a good idea. I do have some aprehension about doing this as I was into RC cars a few years ago and I purchased a few of the combo packages. To say the least, the quality of some of items in this package were not very good, and I don't want run into the same thing with an aircraft combo, so if you think I shouldn't go the combo route, please let me know.

I read what you wrote about how the Edge and Yak fly, but that really didn't help me decide which one I should go with. I don't know what will be the deciding factor here.

How much flight time can I expect to get from a battery pack? I know the time varies depending on the amount of throttle used, but try to give me a good ballpark figure. This will help me determine which batterires I will want to buy.

The next thing is a radio. There seems to many different types of radios for the electric 3Ds. It sounds like I need something with expo, and is it possible to buy transmitters and receivers together without the servos? If so, would this even offer a cost advantage? If they have to be purchased separately, what's the best I can get for the least amount of money? I've notice the combo kits come with Hitec servos. Does Hitec make good radio products? Does this mean I have to use Hitec receivers and transmitters?

I will obviously be wanting to buy additional battery packs and a charger or chargers. What are the best batteries for the money? Chargers? Where's the best place to buy them and who has the best prices?

Is there anything else I haven't covered that I may need to consider? Is there anything that's part of the combo package I may want to consider upgrading?

Lastly, I'm hoping to get started with a total ready-to-fly investment of
$400. Is that doable, or is that an unrealistic goal. I realize that price doesn't account for the additional batteries as I will be purchasing them over time.

Sorry for all the questions, but I want to make sure I get all the right stuff intially so I don't have to waste money buying stuff that I will have to replace with upgrades later on. Thanks.

[Mikey]

I have been in the hobby a long time also so your questions make very much since to me. It is what I would be asking if I got out for ten years and was currently getting back in. For one Hetec in this day and age you have to forget about what they made in the past they have stepped there game up. That being said there prices are no longer cheaper than the other guys.

Yes that is the way to do it. One thing that has really changed is the flying style and the planes. As you know with our old sport planes we tended to fly them with the throttle in one place wide open for the most part. In 3D you don’t do this starting out you use very little throttle around half with burst of wide open on a 1320 pack will give you 5-8 minutes depending on how you managing the throttle. On the yak it will climb at around half throttle hang on the prop at a little less than that. Back in the day when we got around 1 to 1 that was considered way overpowered today that is thought of as way underpowered. 5-8 mins does not seem to be the a lot when you are use to the 10-15 minute flight times that were in the past. But on that note 10 years ago we weren’t doing things that take the level of consecration and skill to do. I can say after 3-4 minutes of going at it doing all out 3D mentally I need a break. The plane is going to surprise you in how well they fly compared to the planes of old they will fly very slow in post stall and stalled condition with full control of the plane. The deference with sport flying of old and 3D is two basic things rudder and throttle. These become primary controls along with elevator and aileron. You will use the ruder and throttle as much as elevator and aileron to make the plane do what you want. I would go with the yak. It is a little more stable. My dad is starting to get into 3D and he was like you the local hotdog pilot. He has his choice of what plane to fly and he likes the Yak the best to practice with he has almost demolished my old yak. What happens to the planes is all crashes are repairable but the glue starts to add up in weight and then they get heavy and don’t fly that well anymore what I have found is that around 23-24 oz they start to stink that is a lot of repairs you just go easy with the glue.

As far as radio I would go with a used a JR8103 from RCU you can get them all day for 200 bucks. This radio will last you several years and when you want to start adding mixes it can. So if you go with something lesser you will end up doing what you are trying to avoid and that is spend more money down the road cause you did not buy something adequate.

The combo kit is great all the stuff is really good. Go with it you will not fell the deference of upgrading any thing in it. Going from the HS55 to the HS65 or HS56 is money you really don’t need to spend at this point you will wear the servos out before you get any benefit from the better servos. But if you just want the best they offer them in the combo kit as an upgrade.

Batteries bang for you buck would be the apex but I think they are out of stock everywhere? Charges if you go with like a triton it will charge everything that you have that ever needs to be charged it will charge any type of battery. If you don’t think you need all those options a good alterative is the thunder power. I have four deferent charges and for just charging lipos I can’t say one is better for getting them charged. On that note with the triton you can see how much your battery is holding and how much you pulled out.

400 is a little unrealistic to do what you are trying to do buy the right stuff the first time. I will lay out what I think I would do if I were you.

Charger “triton 2” $125 You will never have to upgrade and this will allow you to keep an eye on hard you are being to your batts to save them wear and tear on them making for a longer life of your pack.

Transmitter used from RCU “JR 8103” $200 bucks never have to worry about upgrading when you get ready to add mixing into your fling and has plenty of channels if you start going bigger.

Combo kit “AirfoilZ Yak” $260 with receiver and crystal it is on sale this second just saw plus free shipping. It is normally $269 with out receiver and crystal.

Battery see if you can find the apex they are 29 bucks for one or two for 54.

125 + 200 + 260+29= 614

[grampi]

Thanks for the reply. From what I've been reading about these two planes, most people prefer the Edge over the Yak. I don't mind the Edge being a bit less stable than the Yak if it's a better performer, and it sounds like it is.

Does the Triton charger "balance" the batteries? What other functions does it have? From what I've read, the charger is the most important device you can choose to get the maximum life from your batteries. Common Sense RC has a charger for $89 that seems to do pretty much everything lipo batteries need.

Would a Hitec Optic 6 be a suitable sub for the JR 8103? I don't see the need to pay the extra money for two more channels that I'll never use. I've seen the Hitec new for as low as $129.

Where are these combo kits available w/rx and crystal for $260? That's a good price.

The Apex battery packs, is that $29 for the 1300 mah or 2100 mah?

If I could go with the Hitec radio and the Common Sense charger, that would get my starting price down around $500, which is a little closer to my goal.

Again, thanks for the info.

[grampi]

Where'd you go?

[paulg]

Working on a answer.

[Mikey]

Sorry I made a mistake!

[grampi]

Here is the link http://www.3dxhobbies.com/product_p/edge540combo.htm for the plane that is on sale. I cannot comment on the optic 6 I have never owned one or the common sense charger. The apex battery that I was talking about is the 1320 located here http://www.3dxhobbies.com/category_s/69.htm. Sorry I cannot offer more help on those certain items I just can't comment on something I have never used.

Thanks for the info. Let me ask you this. What functions should I be looking for in a radio? Thanks.

[grampi]

Also, checking out your first link, the kit price is $269, and the receiver adds another $30. I don't see the batteries listed for the prices you quoted either.

[msprygada]

The CellPro 4s charger (http://www.fmadirect.com/detail.htm?item=2116&section=45) can be had for $59.95 and is a plug and play charger. You may have to buy an adaptor plug for the batteries you buy but from all the research I did, this was the charger to have for the price. Yes there are balancing chargers out there but they are nearly twice the price. But then with all of these, you will have to find a 12 volt power supply. I just made one of the computer power supply conversions (http://web2.murraystate.edu/andy.batts/ps/POWERSUPPLY.HTM) in a few hours. Pretty easy and only cost a few bucks. I guess the real killer of batteries according to a guy I talked to at Thunder Power is how far you run them down. The farther down you run them, the more life you take out of them. So I bought a CellShield (http://www.dimensionengineering.com/CellShield.htm) and set it on the highest setting. This shuts down the power to the plane based on the voltage of the lowest cell in the pack not the total voltage of the pack which tells you nothing of what the power of the individual cells are.


Thanks for the reply. From what I've been reading about these two planes, most people prefer the Edge over the Yak. I don't mind the Edge being a bit less stable than the Yak if it's a better performer, and it sounds like it is.

Does the Triton charger "balance" the batteries? What other functions does it have? From what I've read, the charger is the most important device you can choose to get the maximum life from your batteries. Common Sense RC has a charger for $89 that seems to do pretty much everything lipo batteries need.

Would a Hitec Optic 6 be a suitable sub for the JR 8103? I don't see the need to pay the extra money for two more channels that I'll never use. I've seen the Hitec new for as low as $129.

Where are these combo kits available w/rx and crystal for $260? That's a good price.

The Apex battery packs, is that $29 for the 1300 mah or 2100 mah?

If I could go with the Hitec radio and the Common Sense charger, that would get my starting price down around $500, which is a little closer to my goal.

Again, thanks for the info.

[Mikey]

Sorry I made a mistake!

[grampi]

That's okay about the price. $269 is still a pretty price good considering how inclusive the kit is.

Are you saying all chargers require a 12V power supply? I thought you just plugged them into the wall?

Also, what functions should I be looking for in a radio? Thanks.

[Mikey]

• 6 channel
• FM / Q-PCM
• 8 Model Memory
• Spectra compatible
• Digital trims
• Model name
• Dual timer
• Switch Assignability
• EPA
• Dual rates
• Exponential
• Fail safe

• Throttle lock
• Engine Cut
• Three flight modes
• 2 open mixes
• Gyro gain
• Throttle curves
• Pitch Curves
• Revo mix
• CCPM mixing
• CROW Mixing
• Camber
• Reflex

This is what the optic six will do that is a lot for the price. I have never looked at this radio before but quite impressed for only 129 u said. I think the only limitions down the road will be only the two flight mixes it has. All the chargers that I am aware of are 12V the reason for this I was told was that they could not get the chargers UL certified.

[msprygada]

That's okay about the price. $269 is still a pretty price good considering how inclusive the kit is.

Are you saying all chargers require a 12V power supply? I thought you just plugged them into the wall?

Also, what functions should I be looking for in a radio? Thanks.


Being able to plug the charger into the wall will not do you much good out in the field. Now we have a nice field with a pavilion and 120 outlets but what are you going to do if you don't have 120 where you plan to fly your plane? You will be only able to fly as many times as you have batteries and you are done for the day. If you have a 12 volt charger, you can at least attach it to the car battery to charge the plane batteries. As it sounds like you are trying to keep the price low, I doubt that you will have 6 or 8 batteries when you go flying.