Micro and Mini outdoor flying

[rcdude07]

Here are a couple of pics of my place to give you an idea.

Definitely enough space for micro planes and experienced pilots with up to 40" wingspan foamies.

I'll pass the word around and see what comes out of it. I'm booked solid for the next couple of weeks and my fiance has already expressed disapproval about going to someone's house I haven't met in person before.

[brainerj]

Completely understandable Maybe sometime soon we can meet up at the Hobby shop and BS. It will give me an excuse to go buy something else I don't need. I don't know how far of a drive that the shop is for you though.

[Diggs]

Hey gents. One of you was kind enough to clue me in on this thread via Facebook. I know that I should be able to get at least 3 people including myself to attend an event. I have been looking for an indoor venue for a few years now and either can't find enough folks interested or a facility that will accommodate us or both.

I have been to the event in Eden and it is great fun. However, I can rarely go due to my work schedule and the distance. It would be great if there were some way I could duplicate that without the big drive.

Let me know details and I will gladly mention it on the show. Also, for those of you that don't belong to a club and want to fly with other pilots then you should check out Dix Field. I go there more than any other place. I am a member at Lake Jordan, but rarely make the drive out. Dix is so close and typically there is a great turnout. On the 13th of March there will be a bunch of DLG (Discus Launch Glider) pilots out having an informal competition, so I expect several people to be there if the weather allows.

You can find Dix here on Google Maps.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=&daddr=35.767791,-78.66388&hl=en&geocode=&mra=mi&mrsp=0&sz=17&sll=35.768452,-78.661916&sspn=0.008653,0.019451&ie=UTF8&ll=35.768452,-78.659878&spn=0.008653,0.015364&t=h&z=17

I fly only electric planes that range from micro to 2.5 meter gliders. 90% of my planes are foam, even the big glider. I do fly some fast stuff to include a Ritewing Demon Lite that hits around 140mph. There are no facilities at this field, but it is right behind the farmers market, and there is a subway with a restroom just down the road.

Just look for the trailer with ATTF on the side and I will be happy to fly with you. The more the merrier! Hope to see you there and let me know about this or any other local event. I am happy to promote and attend!


Diggs
http://allthingsthatfly.com/

[brainerj]

Awesome!
Thanks for the info. Dix is only about 45 min. from my house and about 20 min. from my work. I may have to call an early day soon and go out there, maybe Rcdude would be interested too. Are there club fees or membership fees for beginner pilots to fly there?

How long do you expect the event to last Saturday? My wife and I are down to one car and she has plans that will keep her around the area for the afternoon at least. It would be nice to come out and meet some guys who can fly these well.


How about Saturday the 27th at my place? Here is the location :

http://maps.google.com/maps?oe=utf-8&rl ... CAcQ8gEwAA

Don't be too mislead, the sat photo is old and there is landscaping in our yard and some ground level obstructions so it's not as open as the photo. The obstructions are not excessive however and there is a decent amount of airspace for micros and most parkflyers. There is also the asphalt culdesac out front and the the track out back for landings, takeoffs, etc.

See if anyone is interested in that date for a small event. If we get some interest then it's on

I also have a decent sized off-road baja track at the back of my property if anyone likes to drive RC also. It's great to get my RC fix when the wind doesn't cooperate and doubles as a nice sandy landing strip.

EDIT:
Sorry about that, somehow the link got switched on me, I have updated it with my address.

[rcdude07]

Awesome!
Thanks for the info. Dix is only about 45 min. from my house and about 20 min. from my work. I may have to call an early day soon and go out there, maybe Rcdude would be interested too. Are there club fees or membership fees for beginner pilots to fly there?

How long do you expect the event to last Saturday? My wife and I are down to one car and she has plans that will keep her around the area for the afternoon at least. It would be nice to come out and meet some guys who can fly these well.


How about Saturday the 27th at my place? Here is the location :

http://maps.google.com/maps?oe=utf-8&rl ... CAcQ8gEwAA

Don't be too mislead, the sat photo is old and there is landscaping in our yard and some ground level obstructions so it's not as open as the photo. The obstructions are not excessive however and there is a decent amount of airspace for micros and most parkflyers. There is also the asphalt culdesac out front and the the track out back for landings, takeoffs, etc.

See if anyone is interested in that date for a small event. If we get some interest then it's on

I also have a decent sized off-road baja track at the back of my property if anyone likes to drive RC also. It's great to get my RC fix when the wind doesn't cooperate and doubles as a nice sandy landing strip.

EDIT:
Sorry about that, somehow the link got switched on me, I have updated it with my address.

I can't make it on the 27th. I'll be out of town.

There is no club at Dix. It's just the big grassy field on the property of Dix Hospital. I flew my Blade CP there once on a weekday afternoon when I was learning forward flight and the campus was too cramped for comfort. There's just a bunch of people who informally get together and fly there. Check out Diggs' ATTF thread on RCGroups for pics and more information.

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=918309

I've been wanting to get out there on a Saturday or Sunday but just don't have the time yet.


It might just be best to put a start time and/or an ending time. Worse case would be to figure 5-10 minute flying time per battery and you probably want no more than 2 planes in the air at your location. I would expect most people to have a charger or 3+ batteries for their aircraft.

[R/C Sailer]

Hey guys,
I live near you brainerj and I am looking to get into flying...what do you suggest for a good starter plane? I have flown a toytronics egull without an issue and a megatech Capital Flyer (a loose definition of flying). I really like the Parkzone Super Decathlon B/L but it will limit the places I can fly. I also like the Parkzone mini J3 but do they have any trim adjustments on the RTF transmitter? Let me know maybe I could have something by the 27th. Thanks in advance

[rcdude07]

Hey guys,
I live near you brainerj and I am looking to get into flying...what do you suggest for a good starter plane? I have flown a toytronics egull without an issue and a megatech Capital Flyer (a loose definition of flying). I really like the Parkzone Super Decathlon B/L but it will limit the places I can fly. I also like the Parkzone mini J3 but do they have any trim adjustments on the RTF transmitter? Let me know maybe I could have something by the 27th. Thanks in advance

Hello R/C Sailer,

My advice for you is to start with either a 3 channel or 4 channel Cub or trainer. The Micro J-3 Cub will allow you to have an easier to learn to fly aircraft that can be flown in parks, large backyards, etc... Typically for your first plane you want a flat bottom airfoil wing that has dihedral. This will help keep the plane more stable and will allow for some forgiveness. The toughest part about learning R/C flight is: orientation and touchiness of the controls. I learned on a .40 size glow engine Tower Hobbies Trainer. An equivalent aircraft that is not as large is the Apprentice by Horizon Hobby. If you go with a full 4 channel aircraft, I will recommend using the Buddy Box and having a trainer help you.

Buddy Boxes work in the following manner:
The trainer has the primary TX and the student has the buddy box (dummy TX). The teacher has full control of the aircraft until he/she holds the Trainer switch down, then the student has full control of the aircraft. If the plane should get in a precarious situation and need saving, the teacher releases the Trainer switch and gains full control of the aircraft.


If you have access to an R/C computer simulator, this will help you learn orientation and stick movement.

Another great first time R/C airplane is the Vapor by Horizon Hobby. It's a 3 channel, easy to fly aircraft that can be flown in doors.


As far as your question about trim tabs on RTF TX's from HH, I don't know. I have not had the opportunity to use one of these TX's. I fly with a Spectrum Dx6i and the 72MHz TX that came with the Blade CP heli.



After my return from my out of town, if you and BrainerJ are both interested in learning to fly R/C still, and have the appropriate aircraft, maybe the three of us can get together regularly and I can help train ya'll. Just a suggestion. I'll have to clear it with my other half.


If you have something by the 27th, and Diggs from ATTF (All Things that Fly) is able to come, he should be able to help you. Listen to his podcasts at www.allthingsthatfly.com.

[brainerj]

Great,
Hope you can make it. Personally I have had great luck with my mini super cub. New w/ everything you can pick one up for 99.00, Toytown stocks these sometimes I know, if not they can get you one for a good price. It's bigger than the micros, it's easier to see (larger and bright white with red wing stripes), it is fairly durable, you can fly it slow. The downside is it has an am transmitter, but mine appears to be working well. I have been putting about a flight a day on mine and went from barely keeping the plane up to repeated spot on landings at will.
Here is the info:
http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products/De ... ID=HBZ4800

I just got the micro j3 cub too. It is an easy flyer and depending on your airspace may be a better choice for you due to it's size. The good thing is that it is DSM but the included RTF transmitter is kinda cheap and wont relly prep you for using a real radio. I would suggest the Bind and fly version J3 and a DX5E Transmitter. The DX5E is a very nice DSM transmitter for 60 bucks. They had the J3 and the DX5E at Toytown a week or two ago. It would be about 150.00 bucks for this setup however
It would be nice though because you can use that transmitter with any other DSM2 receivers if you choose to get a different plane ever. But it is still 50 bucks more than just grabbing the mini cub.

I'm sure there are a couple more suggestions for starter planes too. A flight simulator will help also. I learned a lot from just the included lessons and I just have an FSone Sim. It's not bad but there are better sims out there.

And don't sweat it if you don't get one before the 27th. Bring what ya got, if anything, and come on out. You can pilot some of mine. I've got a Micro Cessna, Citabria,J-3 Cub, Sukhoi, P-51, Vapor, Ember 2, Blade CX2 and CX3, and my little mini super cub Plus 3 chargers and enough lipos to fly for 2 days straight

[brainerj]

You beat me to it Rcdude!

[brainerj]

That is a cool site. I'm hoping the weather cooperates saturday, I am planning on going out to that event at Dix.