gas rc planes

Gas Rc Airplanes

RC Jet Information for Beginner Pilots by Michael Cottier

RC jets are by far the most exciting and exhilarating of any remote control airplane that a person can fly. Radio controlled jets come in many different sizes, engine types and shapes. The most amazing thing about these toy jets are that they can reach speeds of up to 100 miles per hour! Of course that isn't the average speed for all remote control jets, but it does give you an idea of what you can do in the future when you get to be a more experienced pilot.

So you want to fly RC jets? Well then I can help you by teaching you the basics that you need to know too get started. First off, you need to learn about the different types of RC jets that exist on the market, and what type of engine powers them.

Ducted fan jets are the most popular among hobbyist, and are very easy to fly also. Plus, they are a lot less dangerous, since the propeller and engine is located inside of a duct, which protects adults and children from it. Ducted fan jets also are very quiet and operate smoothly, requiring very little maintenance and fine tuning.

The next type of jet is called pusher jets, and they are much easier, slower and inexpensive then ducted fan jets are. RC pusher jets have a propeller dead center in the back of them that just pushes it along through the air. Plus, with an aerodynamic design, it gives the jet that extra speed and maneuverability that we all love about them.

Last but not least we will talk about turbine ducted powered RC jets, which are as close as you can come to owning a real jet. Turbine ducted engines use real jet fuel and run just like a real jet engine does. For hobbyists who want the realistic jet flying experience, this type of R/C jet is for you. Of course, you need experience flying and operating remote control airplanes before you progress to turbine ducted jets.

The speeds of turbine engines are very fast and can actually turn your model jet into a lethal weapon if you can't fly it properly. This means that you could get seriously injured if you don't know what you are doing. So if you are going to get into remote control jets, start with a pusher, then progress to a ducted fan jet. After you have gained experience from those crafts, then you should move onto turbine ducted engines.

The next important thing to discuss is about RC jet maintenance and what you need to do too take care of your jet properly. You should always use a good, high quality, fuel that has the right amount of oil in it. Also, make sure turbine ducted engines have the proper fuel and air mixture going through its engine.

Another good maintenance tip is to keep your engine properly tuned if it is a fuel powered turbine jet, but if it is electric, just make sure that you keep it in a cool dry place so the motor will stay operational.

Remote control jets can be so fun sometimes that it is scary, but every flyer needs to always keep in mind that it can be dangerous if flown near people, because of the speed of them. Also, remember that jet engines, electric or gas, operate at very high speeds, so to much use in one flight can cause your engine or motor to overheat and fail.

Read more about RC jets on Michael's website. Plus, you can get more information on RC model airplanes by exploring the rest of his site.

If your interested in electric rc airplanes, you can vist my other blog.
posted by Kevin at 6:10 PM | 0 comments links to this post
Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Gas Rc Airplanes

Gas Rc Airplanes

The Pros and Cons of Gas rc airplanes by Michael Cottier

Gas rc airplanes, also known as nitro planes, are very realistic and are the most popular type of airplane amongst remote control hobbyist. The only problem is that many beginners buy one without ever having a clue to what work is really involved with a fuel powered RC airplane.
First off beginners need to know that owning gas rc airplanes is actually like owning a real airplane. You have to maintain it, refuel it, keep its oil clean and adjust certain parts to achieve the best possible flight. Some may be turned off when they hear that, thinking that is too much work for a hobby!

Well the fact is some people actually like that and they enjoy taking care of an rc airplane. You may even be one of those people and don't even know it.

It is enjoying too get your hands dirty and actually build and repair something. That is why many people get into hobbies, to build things. But then again, it is also nice to just go to a park, or your backyard, and have a quick flight without the hassle that comes with fuel powered engines. Electric powered rc airplanes don't require much work at all, and will have you flying in minutes, so that is the best alternative.

There are many ups and downs to gas powered rc airplanes, so let's discus them now, starting with the bad side to them. First off they are noisy, which can actually be a problem for some people who live in an area where noise is a concern.

The next bad thing about nitro planes is they cost more to buy and keep operational compared to electric rc airplanes. Finally, another con to gas rc airplanes is that they take a much longer time to construct and put together. Sometimes they can come with just balsa wood, and you have to cut out each piece yourself. Some people will actually not even be able to do this because of lack of tools and skills.

Now let's talk about the good side to gas rc airplanes and why they can be a good choice for some beginner pilot's. The best thing, in my opinion, about nitro planes is that they can fly for a much longer time then an electric engine that is powered by a battery. This is ideal for people who want to spend hours flying, not just fifteen or twenty minutes.

The next best thing is the authenticity that comes with a gas powered engine and plane. If you are one of those people who want the most realistic experience possible, then you definitely want a gas rc airplane. Not only do they sound authentic, but they also fly and operate like a real airplane does. Unfortunately it also comes with the maintenance like a real plane does, but like I said before, some people find that enjoyable.

Last but not least, gas rc airplanes have much more speed and torque then a measly electric engine ever could have. This makes it ideal for pilot racers or people who just want a fast airplane. I have even seen some gas rc airplanes before that actually could go hundreds of miler per hour, and even required real jet fuel!

Now I will end this discussion with some final words of wisdom that I hope every pilot will take into consideration. Make sure you keep your gas plane and engine as clean as possible, and properly maintained before and after every flight. You also need to remember to keep the oil changed so your engine stays clean on the inside. Proper tuning is also very important to make sure that your engine runs at maximum speed and uses as little fuel as possible, plus it needs to have the proper fuel and air mixture.

Learn about gas RC planes and more at Michael's remote control airplane web site. Plus, get updated news about RC model airplanes in his blog.

Gas Rc Airplanes

Persistence pays off

TUESDAY, JANUARY 05, 2010
Slope Soaring
Although not exactly new for me (I started doing it last summer - you now know "what I did last summer") slope soaring is something I've never written about on the blog. But it is something I should write about because it is quite a unique experience in model aviation.

Slope soaring is dead cheap to get into - you need a two channel radio and a rudder/elevator, aileron/elevator or elevon style model and a steep, tallish hill which gets the full force of a strong breeze. Clearly as we are gliding a throttle channel is unnecessary. But if you are already flying RC models and want to give it a go without converting or getting a special aircraft then if you have a flying wing you can normally have a crack (flying wing includes things like funjets, strykers etc). However, you may find you need to use the cheat stick (throttle) a little, as the extra weight you are carrying (power and motor) do affect how much lift you get.

Now - as you probably know slope soaring relies on the updraft created by the wind coming up and over the mountain. How much wind do you need? Quite a bit. Don't even bother at 10km/hr. At 20km/hr it will be starting to get useful.

Of course, the easiest way will be to hook up with slope soarers in your area and get them to show you the best hills/mountains etc.

One other thing - don't take "nice models" to go slope soaring. Typically the landing areas, well - aren't landing areas. You model will need to be able to survive a toughish landing, so an EPP flying wing or the sort is perfect for the job.

Anyway - in the near future I'll try and write about flying off the slope (it is quite different to normal flying) as well as arranging some pictures from off the top of some of my favourite hills (another nice thing about slope soaring is the views - maybe not s

Persistence pays off

Persistence pays off:
Yep, if you try for long enough, lady luck will find you and sure enough, I got my very first ever training flight, and a second flight in the last 8 weeks, right before christmas. How was it? It was excellent, totally bloody excellent. One of the club guys gave up an evening to help and show me how to setup and prepare my plane (Thanks Dave) and the guys at the field really helped me loads in showing me safely, what not to do, and safe ways for the "to-do's" and getting it all started and fuelled up for flight.. Its somewhat nerve wracking getting your plane started for the first time ever, but with my plane fuelled up and running, it was time to fly, finally, after what was feeling like "forever" I was getting some air-time..

My instructor took off, flew about for a bit, trimmed the plane and told me what he wanted me to do, then said those magic words I havent heard since I was a teenager "You have control"!

Well, after around 10 minutes of flying around in circuits, and even a few loops, he landed the plane and that was that, back to the pitts to clean-up the mess
Freezing fingers, wet ground, and a plane covered in castor oil... Niceeee:(

I didnt give a damn, I had my first flight, and nothing was going to put a frown on my face that day.. Thanks Jim & Steve (If you ever see this)
It really is a great feeling to get airbourne for the first time and do something "Outside of your comfort zone"

Electric foamies

Well, given that the Twinstar II is my project plane, I want something I can fly NOW, so, having looked around, and already being a big fan of Multiplex models based on all the endless hours of youtubing, I've got onto modelspot.com (Multiplex specialists) and just ordered me the Multiplex Easystar (kit only), and the Multiplex Mentor (Radio ready model).

Multiplex Easystar
Multiplex Mentor

For the Multiplex Easystar, I've already bought a Turnigy Brushless Inrunner 2700 motor (18) for it and a Turnigy Plush 40amp ESC (£22) from Ebay, which is totally OVERKILL, but, best to have more than you need, than not enough, and for the price its big enough to use in other models too in future, although I think given what everybody says about the easystar, I can see this one being a long term favourite...

Very happy with the service from Modelspot.com so far, placed my order over the phone, the chap was very helpful, advising and patient, told me the 2 kits will be posted out tomorrow along with the servo's I added to the order, all is good

So, once this little lot arrives, I'll be sure to snap some video and show you more on these 2 models..

Multiplex Mentor Pt.01

Now, the Multiplex Mentor I bought from modelspot arrived within a a few days and I've now finally finished pratting about putting it together and took it up to the flying field to plug it all in and test it all, even taxi it around on the runway for half hour to check it all stays in 1 peice and that the new battery is all good...

Here it is finished in standard format:


Nothing special to look at, but its my very first proper electric trainer, and its freakin massive!!!!

I seriously need to do something about the wings too because carrying them around is messing them up in the box as I keep throwing in other bits, screwdrivers and what-not and the servo wires are rubbing against the foam too, so I'll definately have to come up with some sort of "wing-bag" for these ASAP!

I'm really looking forward to flying this plane, I feel a lot more confident with this electric foamie than I would with a nitro plane thats for sure.

When your learning, you really need something reliable that you can depend on, and nitro for me, welllll, it just doesnt cut it as reliable given the amount of "dead-sticks" (Engine cut-outs) I've seen at our flying field over the last few months of spectating. With electric, you just plug-in, and go fly, and as long as everything is wired correctly and properly, you wont have any problems.

With the Mentor, Radio ready model, I did have to change the ESC (speed controller) plug to my own preference of an XT60 because they come with the multiplex plug on, ready for a multiplex lipo battery, but I think if you buy just the speed controller, its just wires only, nothing to cut off or de-solder.

I am seriously impressed though at its shear size, and all up weight, with my 5000mAh 3cell lipo is 1950g or 1.95kg, so it has a reasonable amount of weight.

Multiplex Easystar Pt.01

Hey ho web neighbours

Well, The Multiplex Easystar I bought from Modelspot arrived, and 8 weeks later I've got it out the box and built it all, and made a few small modifications, nothing major as I'm still an amateur and learning, so want to find my feet first as I'm still needing to master safe take-off and landings.

So, heres what my Multiplex Easystar looks like now its finsihed:



Multiplex Easystar foam kit
40amp Turnigy Plush ESC mounted on the top by cutting away the top to make it flat.
2700KV Turnigy brushless inrunner motor glued into the fuselage
APC 4.5 x 4.1 prop with aluminium prop mount to help with the CG over the rear.
Futaba 7ch receiver, purely because thats what I had available at the time.

Entire all up flying cost for this plane is under £100, and it packs plenty of serious punch.

When I built this model, I did some reading up on various websites and found that many had crashed and broken the fuselage, so I decided to coat the internal cockpit area with Zacki glue, let that harden, then fibre tape the entire inside of the battery compartment with a little extra UHU Por to hold in the velcro for the batteries.

I then covered the entire fuselage in Fibre tape to strengthen it and protect it from whats called "hanger rash" (Damaging it during transport to/from the flying field) so after spending an entire afternoon taping the living daylights out of it, I then covered all the fibre tape in coloured sticky tape to protect the fibre tape from disintegrating because sunlight makes it go nasty yellow and UV light ruines the fibre tape, plus it looks rubbish just covered in fibre tape, so 1 roll of yellow and 1 roll of red purchased from Avicraft and 3 hours of cutting and sticking, a-vwoala, its ready to fly

I deliberately put the ESC on the top to keep it cool because the inside of the easystar is tiny, and the inside of the fuselage before glued together isnt big enough and has zero ventilation, so the roof was pretty much the only place left, short of cutting out the bottom and making some sort of belly box to put it in, which I am still thinking about with a new fuselage if I ever smash this one up...

Entire build took me about a week of messing about and experimenting but it turned out really well, and I'm now trying to get some decent video of me flying it

2nd R/C Flight School Learn how to fly radio control planes and helicopter in five days. All fuel, planes and equipment furnished. Small or private

Posted by Rich
Well folks, after seeing Ali from Avicraft with his slowfly EPP firefly at our interclub funfly on Sunday (16th May), I dashed over to Avicraft on Monday to go get one for myself. Really impressed with how strong and tough it is, and it flies really slowly too, perfect for a beginner like me, I can crash it as much as I like and not break it (almost maybe).

So, I got it home, shot a quick video of it, and now need to get it painted and put together asap for some amateur proof testing and learning.

I have a feeling this is going to be a ton-o-fun.

Avicraft are making their own kits, laser cut, for £19.99 with plywood laser cut motor mounting and they can supply you with whatever specification you want to fly it, but I went with 3 servo's, the linkages, GWS slowfly propellor, motor and a 10amp Speed controller, for "around" the £80 mark. I'll slap in a 4ch parkfly futaba receiver I have and a 2cell lipo battery!

Several of us @ Croydon Airport Model Flying Club have bought one this week..
Here's the quick vid I made to show you:


Avicraft FireFly 01 - Flying ceiling tile! Before I get to work from 123rc.net on Vimeo.

Now all I need to do is get it painted and assembled, I'll show you once I've done mine.