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Went over to a friend's place in another state for the weekend, and after playing with his trainer, we went to the lhs and I picked up a mini super cub so we could get it in the air before dark. There's a perfect huge field right outside my neighborhood that is rarely used except for occasional practices. Oh god what I gotten myself into, I've already read this thread a second time and am listing what I need for mods I've found on rcgroups.
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May 7, 2012 18:19
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| # ¿ May 11, 2024 06:45 |
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Is rcgroups pretty much the go-to forums for R/C planes? Obviously this isn't a huge thread, and as a beginner I'd rather learn through osmosis and reading tons of threads instead of asking stupid beginner newbie questions to people who are clearly a couple of levels beyond a 3-ch trainer. Is there a good R/C electrical beginner tutorial with respect to tying together ESCs, motors, battery systems, radio, etc within the plane? I have a fairly good idea of what everything does obviously, but I'm looking for something a little more in-depth, like how relationships between prop size/engine/esc rating are affected when you change components that I can use as a reference. You get some of that while reading through threads here and there, but unless I take notes it's just noise. I'm looking to take the next step and move up to a real controller and a full 4ch+ plane I can just bind and fly. I'd like to get something that will be able to handle my future plans for some time to come - a short-medium range FPV learner, an EDF jet, then build up to a medium-long range FPV platform. Would the Spectrum DX7s be a decent choice for that?
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Sep 10, 2012 15:12
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Yeah, long range is a whole different ballgame. 1KM with 2.4 ghz is plenty right now, and will far outweigh the range of any initial fpv system that I build up. Start slow, build it right, fly it right, then and only then move on to something bigger and better seems to be the order of the day when it comes to FPV.
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Sep 10, 2012 22:02
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I got some 800mah batteries (compared to stock 200mah) and modded the minicub to fit them. Took it out at lunch today, and got it trimmed out so it would lazily circle with little to no lift. I put in a fresh battery, started the timer, and did nothing but wide open throttle the whole time. 21 minutes until low voltage cutoff. 
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Sep 29, 2012 01:49
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Just got the DX7s I asked for for Christmas!  ...now to buy a plane I can pair it with, all I've had thus far is a Mini-Cub, though I have flown my friends 4-ch stuff without problems. I'm thinking a Bixler 2 is the way to go, gets me something with a bit more performance than the mini-cub as well as ailerons, but looks to be very forgiving with the large wingspan. Plus, plenty of wing loading for FPV stuff in the future. 
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Dec 28, 2012 16:04
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I know the gist.  It comes with one DSMx receiver in the box, but i'll throw a couple of these in with my order when I order the esc/batteries I'll need.
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Dec 29, 2012 04:26
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Have my shopping cart ready to mash buy on as soon as a check arrives wednesday - Bixler 2 ARF and associated batteries, etc, as well as a Freewing Stinger EDF sport jet. Can't wait to have some real planes beyond the Mini Super Cub I started with back in the summer. It's okay to fly in cold weather as long as your fingers don't go numb on the controls, right? 
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Jan 1, 2013 01:29
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I can't wait for the hong kong order from hobbyking with all of my batteries to arrive, I just did another order this morning for a battery from the US warehouse so I can get this plane in the air.
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Jan 11, 2013 00:58
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First EDF jet hand launch tonight after work, wish me luck so I don't nose a brand new plane straight in the ground. 
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Jan 15, 2013 13:45
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Just took some spare wood and $5 worth of hardware and pipe insulation and built some ceiling mounts for my planes. 
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Jan 30, 2013 18:38
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Weather finally cooperated yesterday and I was able to take the Bixler 2 out for its maiden. It has a ridiculous amount of lift even before bringing in the flaps and is an incredibly stable plane. Unfortunately I didn't do a good enough job of gluing the bottom part of the wing that supports the wing carbon fiber support, and it popped out mid-flight and the wing broke off...oops. Damage wasn't too bad beyond the broken wing, just took a little bit of hot water soaking on the front. Since I had to strip it anyways, I took the whole thing apart and i'm doing a bunch of mods. - Relocate rudder/elevator servos to rear - Use the servo channels to add extra carbon fiber reinforcement for the tail - Add carbon fiber reinforcement to the horizontal stabilizer - Add another carbon fiber tube inside the wing support strut - Relocate the ESC and open up the interior of the plane for easier wiring - Add a door on the side for accessing interior wiring - Magnets on the wings for easier assembly I've also stripped off the waterslide decals, but have no idea on where to even begin on finding a paint scheme. I need a cheaper hobby, and I haven't even started in on the FPV road just yet. 
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Feb 5, 2013 17:17
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All back together and ready to fly with all mods done with the exception of two minor issues to deal with. Thanks foam safe CA!
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Feb 7, 2013 03:25
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loving weather needs to cooperate, it's either too windy, too cold, or too much precipitation as far as the forecast can see. 
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Feb 15, 2013 16:52
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Aileron servo in the Bixler decided to die while flying it last weekend, it's like the internal gears are stripped and doesn't do full travel. That was fun trying to get it down cleanly. Hobbyking is sure taking their sweet-rear end time to ship the replacements I ordered from the US warehouse, and the wind has been too much for the jet or the mini-cub lately, so I haven't been able to fly for a week. 
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Mar 14, 2013 22:22
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Attempted to migrate the guts of my mini super cub to another less beat up body shell a friend gave me and somehow one of the servos on the board got jacked up and won't work. A new ESC/receiver unit is $30. To go full-retard 1700kv brushless would be $54 not including shipping, I think I know what i'll be doing.
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Mar 18, 2013 15:52
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Birthday present from the wife (because I told her, heh), a Durafly Critical Mass Micro. I have no idea how the logistics worked out so perfectly, but the battery order I made three weeks ago from hobbyking's hong kong warehouse, a servo order from hobbyking's us warehouse, and her separate order of this plane last week from the US warehouse all arrived at the same time. Haven't gotten it up yet, drat you wind.
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Mar 27, 2013 14:36
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I'm mostly hoping that significant legislation doesn't come down the pipe loving hobbyists. I'm about a year out from starting to buy FPV gear, and given the price it'll probably be much later next year by the time I'll have the money saved to buy a proper setup even just for LOS range.
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Apr 3, 2013 20:37
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Finally had a successful* flight of the EDF. * When the only thing broken on landing was a 10c control horn that hit a branch and the first 3 flights ended nose in WOT, nose in WOT, nose in at a slight angle that barely broke the nose, I consider that a success!
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Apr 8, 2013 13:08
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Golluk posted:And a plane! leaning towards a bixler II, skywalker, or something of that sort. They do have a ARF bixler II which has the motor, prop, and servos, so that would remove worrying about those parts. The Bixler II is a drat good plane, it's the one I fly most often because it can handle wind that I wouldn't dare take the EDF or any of my micros up in. It's easy to fly, pretty drat tough, and once you add in the flaps it gets crazy lift for gliding against the wind/launch. Once you get it trimmed out it practically flies itself with minimal aileron input. Some recommendations: - Tape the leading edge of the wings and the entire underside of the body to help protect it on landing. - Figure out a good way to secure the battery inside the compartment so its not flopping around. - 3S 2200 35-70C mAh Turnigy Nano-Techs get me at least ten minutes, I've never run one down to throttle cut-off yet. - Unless you have the space in your vehicle for transport and at home for storage, ditch the screw attachment method for the wings, and get yourself some angled forceps for reassembly/pushing servo wires into the fuselage at the field. Use velcro on the ends of the wings to hold them together. I also added some magnets in where the screws should go, but I got them too deep and they're not as effective as I had hoped they would be. - Get servos for flaps right away; you don't have to use them but part of the build is to glue a strip into the wing over the servo channel. Glue it liberally, and TAPE IT DOWN as well along the entire length. You don't want the support spar popping out mid-flight, bad things will happen. Once you've glued it run your support spar inside the wing to make sure the channel is clear of glue, but don't let it get glued into it. - Unless you modify the servo orientation on one side, you'll need to get an in-line servo reverser due to how the servos are oriented the flaps. - When ordering servos for the flaps, get one or two extra as spares, I had the gears on one of the aileron servos strip mid-flight, thankfully I was able to get it down cleanly. - You don't have to do it right away, but the carbon fiber tube wing support they provide isn't very stiff. I glued another rod inside of it to help with flexibility. - If you manage to crash it bad enough to need to split it open, relocate the servos to the rear. This gives you the side benefit of the channel tubes being empty, so put some more carbon fiber rod in there to help reinforce the tail. Any other questions i'd be happy to answer. I also have the Thunder AC6 and it's a drat good charger. devmd01 fucked around with this message at 16:23 on Apr 10, 2013 |
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Apr 10, 2013 14:48
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Just took the Bixler II up in 15 mph winds. Totally doable, but 
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Apr 13, 2013 16:11
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ouch. that's one of the big reasons I haven't gotten a quad for tooling around in the yard, if something goes wrong, it goes wrong horribly with no way to recover. This is true for most RC stuff, but I feel like quads are particularly susceptible. I crash enough with regular planes. 
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Apr 21, 2013 03:24
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Bob A Feet posted:Don't buy a DX6i or any spektrum controller because there are just too many cool things that you can fly with it you will end up owning them all Ain't that the truth! I just got a Durafly Critical Mass Micro for my birthday last month (great little parkflyer with lots of acrobatic potential), and now i'm looking at a Parkzone UM Stryker 180 as well. I love the micro/minicub size planes, there's a field right next to my neighborhood that I can go fly for 30 minutes after I get home from work to decompress.
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Apr 23, 2013 14:33
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Beautiful evening tonight, just enough wind to maintain/climb altitude at 1/4 throttle. not shown: the insane vertical dive I made when I heard a prop plane heading my direction (I am well over 5 miles from any airport). devmd01 fucked around with this message at 02:02 on Apr 27, 2013 |
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Apr 27, 2013 01:57
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I did get a plane to waggle its wings at me a couple of weeks ago!
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Apr 27, 2013 18:17
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Went to go fly at lunch, charged my batteries back up at work in the afternoon. Got in a hurry getting out the door and didn't unplug the last battery from the charger. I get on the interstate, go "what's that smell?!?" but don't think much of it for some reason. I get home, go to put away the charger, and
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May 3, 2013 23:42
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I've seen them in my local Hobbytown USA.
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May 6, 2013 02:30
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loving hobbyking generic servos with plastic gears, that's the second one that's stripped on me. At least this time it wasn't while in the air and I had a metal gear spare sitting around for such an occasion. Always do your pre-flight checks!
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May 13, 2013 13:57
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I just got a new motor and the smallpartscnc bixler 2 mount so I can run a 9x6e. Now to wait for the rest of the parts I need to arrive from the international hobbyking warehouse. 
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May 23, 2013 20:19
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Just installed a new motor and bigger prop in the bixler 2, used the smallpartscnc aluminum motor mount, balances perfectly with a 4000ma 4s battery. Maiden when the wind dies down. 
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Jun 1, 2013 18:40
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I am shocked and amazed that I was just able to get 95% of my order from the hobbyking US warehouse.
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Jul 17, 2013 23:17
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Picked up a radjet 420 and maidened it last night, fast little fucker for a micro on 2S. I've got it dialed back to 60 dr and 50 expo and it handles really well, flip it over to 100/0 and drat it's twitchy. Well worth the $60 + $10 if you already have some 2S 180-300mAhs. 
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Jul 28, 2013 13:12
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Golluk posted:Oh well, lots of time to figure that out while I source a new wing spar. the last crash wasn't very gentle. Can't tell if you're in the US or not, but you can get a solid 6mm thick 1m spar here, it ran about $35 shipped after their outrageous shipping/handling charges. How much more powerful is the motor you added, and did you get the smallpartscnc motor mount? I had some serious torque roll issues when I upgraded to a significantly more powerful motor (unlimited vertical  ). If you can angle the motor to the left slightly, 6:30 if the nose as at 12 and you're looking at it from the top down. I'll try and remember to get a picture for you when I get home.
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Jul 31, 2013 14:25
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I loving give up for a while, I suck at R/C planes. The minicub is in pieces until I can get a replacement receiver board. The Critical Mass is in pieces waiting for a replacement motor to arrive. The Stinger 64 is in one piece but the new body has already had the nose ripped off once. I took the radjet 420 in nose first full throttle yesterday, likely not repairable. And something just loving broke on the Bixler 2 and spiraled in from 300 feet right on top of a school, right after I got a brand new carbon spar and two 45-90c batteries to run in parallel. Hopefully it doesn't catch on fire! 
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Aug 2, 2013 01:26
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Flying them isn't the problem; I have correct CG, throws, D/R and expo set so they're not out of control when flying normally. The problem is when I flip the D/R and Expo over to 100% up in the air and start loving around trying to do more advanced acrobatic maneuvers. I'm not gonna sell my stuff off, but I am gonna take a break for a bit - i'm tired of throwing money at this right now and the frustration that comes with it.
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Aug 2, 2013 16:28
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I have the Thunder AC680, it works well and can do up to 6S. 1S/2S typically use JST connectors. 3S and up can use all types, the most common and popular right now is XT60, or you can also do Deans T connectors. Balance leads should all be the same. The Thunder AC680 didn't come with a deans charge lead, but I just took one of the included wires I didn't need and made it myself. Some people do parallel charging, but that won't allow you to do a balance charge, which is really how you should always charge 2S and up.
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Aug 5, 2013 17:40
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uXs posted:I see words but they don't seem to have any meaning. I have become what I hated when I started with R/C stuff, people talking about things and assuming so much. Apparently you can, this has lots of good info: https://sites.google.com/site/tjinguytech/charging-how-tos/parallel-charging
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Aug 5, 2013 18:21
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| # ¿ May 11, 2024 06:45 |
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Got the bixler back from the school. nose is shot, i've had one too many nose-ins and it's pretty much nothing but glue at this point. ...I guess I shouldn't have blipped the throttle after it crashed to try and locate it.
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Aug 7, 2013 12:23
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