Any R/C airplane flyers here?

[user48067]

This is as close as I could come. It's the USS Missouri, (Sterling Models) 56 inches long, Full electric R/C control, blows smoke out of the smoke stack. Only took 12 years to finish it. Don't think I can ever part with it. The engine is actually an electric model airplane drive unit ..(4 to 1 reduction)

 

[MEASURE TWICE]

Sail boat I have wore out the metal gear sail servo. Seems a new one plus shipping is about 30 dollars.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hitec-HS-64...633599?hash=item2c7ff9ba3f:g:y38AAOSwZAtXJbnE

Looking at getting this one for it. Snapped the top of the mast also, but will epoxy it. Its an out of production pre-built type 27MHz 2 control Megatech Nirvana II Racing Sail Boat.

http://www.hobby-estore.com/Megatech-NIRVANA-II-Sailboat-p/eb-meg-nirvana.htm

It has been through a lot. I actually got insurance coverage and they paid out when it sunk. They did not want the sunk boat back and said I could keep it. Just needed electronics replaced, now I maybe should be thinking of an automatic bailer. The thing is not so well sealed. Maybe I could just make it better with RTV around critical places.

The smart thing on the boat electronics that was simple that saved the receiver only, was that it said put it in a rubber balloon and twist tie it where the wires come out!

 

[Dave31]

Do not own a r/c but I did go out and watch the Tucson R/C Jet Rally last month. It was really kool!

I actually found the Tucson International Modelplex Park while exploring on my motorized bicycle a year or two ago. Had no idea that was out there in the desert.

http://www.tucsonjetrally.com/jet rally 2017/Jet 2017 spectator color_01172017.pdf

 

[MEASURE TWICE]

I ordered a Savox SW-0230MG Waterproof HV Metal Gear Digital .13/111.1 High Voltage Servo.

IP67 rating basically cost an additional 7 dollars over the other I would have bought.

Read it means 1 meter 30 minutes submerged in water and it passes test being still functional.

Still fixing up the boat is necessary to not take on water. They do have not an automatic bailer, but a drain hole in the electronics compartment that goes to the inside of the hull. Ofcourse that helps keeps the electronics dry for a while until the extra weight in the hull sinks, or partially sinks the boat. Then the electronics is underwater as it were with my sinking by 3 inches of water. Everything on the boat electrical was toast eventually, now I have some better parts for it.

 

[2door]

Sorry guys. To be honest I'd forgotten about this thread. This getting old thing ain't for sissies. Now, what was I going to say????

Oh, yeah, R/C planes. Yep, I've done a fair amount of flying since I started this thread a little over a year ago. I settled on a 7 channel Spektrum DX-7 G-2. It has so far served me well. I have a couple of new planes along with several of my older ones that had been in retirement for a long time.

I had never owned an ARF but I've been pleased with the two I bought. One is a Ryan STA from Phoenix, a Vietnamese company, and a Piper Pawnee from Hanger 9. Both planes have accrued many hours and seem to be holding up well. I still prefer to build and I currently have a Sig Four Star 120 kit underway.

Ray, thanks for sharing your very impressive stable of aircraft with us. That Sportster is a beauty. Is that the GP ARF?

Thanks to all of you who have responded. R/C is a good hobby.

Here's a few of what I'm currently flying. I have a few more too and maybe I'll post a couple here later.

Tom

 

[ckangaroo70]

Tom

I have had six Super Sportsters. I had two of the 40 size ARFs. I built two Super Sporter 90/120 size from kit. I built one Super Sporter 90/120 from scratch off of plans and i also have had the Giant Super Sportster ARF with a Zenoah G38 gasser on the nose. I love Super Sportsters.lol
I have also test flown that Hangar 9 Piper Pawnee. Trimmed one out for a club member. Neat airplane for sure. All the Phoenix planes i have owned and flown for others have all been good flyers.I did fly a Phoenix Decathalon one time that a guy had balanced wayyy tail heavy and it was all i could do to get it down in one piece...but i did. That plane almost ruined my record of never crashing an airplane that i didnt own. I was sweating it for sure.

 

[2door]

Ray,
Yeah, the Sportster is probably one of the best flyers out there. It can do anything as far as aerobatics but it can be flown slow and can be docile for a new intermediate flyer. I've had one 40 size and two 60 size Sportsters and that GP 120 size is looking very attractive right now because I have a YS-120 that needs a home.

I had some fun with these phots on a R/C forum and I'll share them here.

The first one, in black & white was taken by a Miami Herald photographer back in 1974 at an air show our R/C club used to put on at the Tamiami Airport in Miami Florida. (It's now called 'Miami Executive) Yes, that's me and an original Jenson 'Das Ugly Stick'. It was used to tow banners at the air shows and one of my favorite regular flyers.

The color photo was take more recently at our flying field here in Denver. Yep, that's me...... and the same old plane. R/C airplanes don't usually last forty plus years but that old bird has survived and has given me countless hours of enjoyment. In the early photo it was powered by a Fox 78 twin glow plug 2 stroke. Today it has a Saito 91 4 stroke bolted to the nose. And it still flies perfectly.

Tom

 

[ckangaroo70]

Tom

Just can't beat an Ugly Stick. I had an old 60 size stick I flew for years. Most of the covering had been replaced by packing tape, duct tape and scraps of monokote and ultrakote. It had been repaired so many times it was carrying an extra 2lbs of epoxy and CA, but it was one of those planes I would drag out when it just wasn't fit to fly much of anything else.

Love the photos Tom and neat that you have had that same plane that long. I bet the Saito does a sweet job on that Plane. The Saito 4 strokes are my favorite glow four strokes and I have had many. In fact I had an old Saito 100 on that old Ugly Stick of mine.
Had a Sig LT-40 trainer that I had a Saito 56 on. On a windy day you could actually put the plane into the wind and fly backwards. A plane that is already almost impossible to stall, but paired with a 4 stroke swinging a large prop...you could fly it to a crawl and actually backwards with enough practice.

 

[2door]

The Sig LT-40 is a great airplane. It can be a docile trainer or, if you leave out the dihedral in the wing it can perform some very respectable aerobatics. I have one that is pictured in post #13 that was used to carry a digital camera. It has a Saito 91 that can haul the weight of the plane and camera easily.

The LT-40 has probably taught more people to fly R/C than any other trainer.
Tomorrow I'm taking an old Andrew's Aeromaster out to see if it can still fly and if I can still fly it. It's been hanging in my basement since 1996. I had sold all of my older 2 stroke engines but a flying buddy gave me a like new Magnum 61. I have the plane ready to fly and charging as I type this. I hope the old bird holds together. The Aeromaster was always one of my favorites and I want to see this one fly again. I'll let you know how it goes.

Tom

 

[MEASURE TWICE]

Somewhat old thread, but I need some information about binding my transmitter RadioLink T8FB with the receiver R8EF. I tried using superglue.... OK kidding there.

The explanation says power on the TX and then power on the RX and push the button on the RX twice within 2 second. The dang button is under the heat shrink that protects the board, but is still a bit flexible. Only do I see the red light blink about 2 times and never go to the Solid Red Light or the Solid Purple Light indicating pairing in PWM for 8 channels or SBUS for channel 1 and PWM for 2 trough 8.

It comes with the cable that you can attach to the transmitter to program via an Android Phone or a Computer. I thought that is just for tweaking somethings that do not have anything to do with binding necessary for the TX to make the connection to the RX and control it. Battery using 6 volts and tried with and without a servo attached. Only did the servo when trying to bind twitch a bit but never a control to it and never the indicating LED Light to be come Solid ON with either Red or Purple.

Anyone had this problem. I'm not sure I should use the programming cable. Also on the side of the box for the set it has a check mark that says Mode 2.

 

[ckangaroo70]

Mode 2 just means throttle and rudder on left stick and ailreons and elecator on right stick. Most Americans fly mode 2. Other side of pond fly mode 1 which means sticks opposite.
Most 2.4 reciscers will have a bind jumper. Insert the jumper in the receiver and power it up...then turn on transmitter.

 

[MEASURE TWICE]

Thanks. I know that the manufacturer said there TX and RX set is only compatible with using there own, so I have no way of checking the RX with another TX I have of another brand. I got an answer from a rep and he said that setup with the cable to android or computer is not needed to bind. Anyway I still tried the cable and did manage to get the computer but not the android to communicate with the TX to do setup. The only thing that was interesting was I could set the battery voltage alarm and verified it works on the TX buy moving it to different settings. Some times it gets stuck and the program will not start, but eventually it does. Read and Write to the TX works, but really now of no use to me, I got a refund and buy something else.

 

[2door]

Well poo-poo, I forgot all about this old thread. Shame on me. Hey guys. Good to see there are a few of you who share the hobby with me. Ray, I knew you did but I didn't get a chance to see your stable of beautiful planes when I was at your place. Nice collection, sir.

Anyway, since last posting here I've ben deeply back into my R/C planes and enjoying the hobby.
Lots of things have changed over the years, some good, some, well,,,,not for me. I don't like Styrofoam, I don't like the sound of electric motors, especially ducted fans in foamie jets. They remine me of the dentist office. But I love the smell of glow/nitro fuel exhaust and a good running four stroke engine. The bigger, the better.

The smallest engine I have is a Saito 91 but I typically fly planes with a Saito 150 or a 180. Asked why I fly such big plans I tell the truth. "Cause I need 'em big so I can see 'em." The smallest planes are a couple of 60 size Super Sportsters. My Saito 91s are just right for them. The biggest is a nine foot span Cessna 140 I built from a Jack Stafford kit. It has a YS 140 in the nose. I'm cramped for shop space so the ARFs (almost ready to fly) planes are more attractive right now. I have several of them. My favorite is a Seagull Spacewalker but I also have a Ryan STA, a Phoenix Spitfire, a Pawnee, and a big stick with a 95 inch wingspan.

I'm heading to the flying field tomorrow so I need to go pack up some stuff. Keep in touch.

Tom

 

[ckangaroo70]

Tom
Glad to see you are still enjoying flying. I haven't done a whole lot last few years simply because we lost our flying field we had for 20 years. Mainly fly my drones, but like you...I really enjoy the flying machines that make noise and the smell of nitro.

You say you really like your SpaceWalker...I really enjoyed that plane over the years as well. I had a kit built Sig1/3 scale SpaceWalker I built that had Zenoah G61 and I also had a 90 size Great Planes ARF SpaceWalker with a Saito 91 in i and a few others as well. Both planes were a blast to fly, but the 90 size one was a good test plane for new 90 size O.S, Magnum and Saito engines. Never had too many YS engines. The SpaceWalker was an easy plane to dead stick if the need arose.

Enjoy your flying tomorrow and good to hear from you friend.

 

[Greg58]

I have no idea what y'all are talking about in plane lingo but they look cool to me.

 

[2door]

Greg,
Like every hobby, sport or pass time, R/C planes have their own language that just comes naturally after you've been associated with it for a while. Basically we were discussing certain planes, engines, manufacturers and suppliers. Example: Saito. A line of very precision built four stroke engines produced in Japan. I have a good selection of them and they are my favorites.

Ray, I agree about the Spacewalker. It is probably my favorite and has uncountable flights on it. It certainly isn't the prettiest, it has some hanger rash and some dings and scrapes but it will do any maneuver I'm capable of and makes me look like a great flyer.
We're having a Fun-Fly next Wednesday. The challenge is to climb to altitude, as high as you can until the judge tells you to "Kill the engine". Now you have to keep it in the air as long as you can and then dead stick it and get extra points for a spot landing. I'll probably rely on the Spacewalker for that one. I'll let you know how it goes.

Tom

 

[Greg58]

Tom good to hear you are doing well.

 

[MEASURE TWICE]

Yes Tom glad to hear your flying those great looking aircraft models!

I did get another TX / RX set. The Hitek Flash 7 with the Maxima 9 receiver. Funny you would always think a TX is only TX and RX is only RX, that until Telemetry is included. With the no frills (meaning not buying extra optional dodads to add on), I got voltage reporting back from my Model Land Yacht. Only the voltage of the batteries there and the Transmitter Batteries on the LCD Display of the Transmitter there showing up too. If I want audio notification or to change the point at which the alert on the display says it went under voltage, I have to shell out for optional stuff. The battery case in the transmitter is not a rectangle. Two of the 4 sides angle inward and there is not enough room for a 5 cell NiMh pack on the market that would give rechargeable with a better time before swapping in other recharged 4ea AA NiMh's. If I buy those NiMh AA batteries (5ea) with the solder tabs already attached, I may create a pack shape with just barely enough room to fit. After 3/10 a volt drop on the 4ea AA NiMh's seems like also I am not really discharging each individual AA Battery enough that possible recharging so soon will mess up with the battery chemistry. I used them in my flash light for a while and then recharge before they go back in the TX, but that is not really a good answer. If I check to see what current I need on the TX, I could instead use a DC to DC micro sized converter I have to increase the voltage of the 4AA battery rechargeables in the battery holder and also have the batteries discharge a greater deal, but not too much.

 

[2door]

Too bad I didn't scroll back a few posts. I would have been reminded that I had posted the same photos years ago. Ya know, getting old just ain't for sissies! Memory loss isn't all bad though. I can re-read some of my old books and its just like reading them for the first time.

Sorry about the duplicate photos guys. And an update. The big quarter scale Cessna 140 is no more. Me thinks it was a receiver battery failure but that's never been confirmed. Nevertheless, like many R/C planes it reached its expiration date. Too bad. It was a neat plane.

Tom

 

[steampunk]

Man, I haven't been here for ages!......Tom, my number is the same...ide love to come fly with you sometime (ama member etc) I just need to get my baron back together...call/text me sometime