Fixed Wings!

[Nigan]

Hello everyone,,
So I just finished my first plane build, my second plane overall. Should be maidening it today. Im actually starting to find planes more fun than my quads. Their movement is a lot more... fluid, and the electronics portion english news capread of it is way easier. Anyone else flying fixed wings?

 

[Earthman]

I fly and enjoy about a dozen RC fixed-wing too, but I don’t have time to build them from a kit or from scratch. All of my fixed-wing aircraft and transmitters are made by HorizonHobbies and Spektrum respectively. The aircraft are of the BAF foam type.

I also enjoy fixed-wing more than multi-rotor. This is because I also like the way they move and I have a Private Pilot’s license. I have a dozen multi-rotors as well including three I use for commercial work. I’m not yet good enough for FPV freestyle or racing, but I’m working on it.

Here are a couple of links to 360 FPV videos I made while flying my Pitts S1-S and P-17:

If you don’t see these in VR mode, try opening them in YouTube.

I’ve attached some photos of my favorite fixed-wing RC aircraft. They are the UMX and 800mm Pitts S1-S, the 1.1m PT-17, and the UMX and 1.5m Timbers.

 

[tevek]

Used to fly, crash and burn fixed wings before I took my less than stellar ability across to racing quads. Whilst I won’t be moving along from my current fixation with multirotors, I was looking at getting either a glider or small plane to take to my local oval before I put the goggles on and fly some of the fleet.
Any suggestions for an intro back into fixed wing gear. Probably looking for a rtf kit for around $200 AUD, or gear that I can run with my Taranis QX7S (xm+, R-XSR receiver or similar).
Cheers

 

[Earthman]

You can buy a Plug ‘n Play (PNP) version of many foam fixed-wing RC aircraft that you’ll have to install your own transmitter-compatible receiver in.

If learning to fly, pick a light, electric park flyer with high wings (typically referred to as a “trainer”). The smaller, slower and lighter the trainer, the less damage when you crash. You can hand-launch in a small field and land in the grass.

The nice thing about the HorizonHobbies aircraft is many of them have receivers that include AS3X and SAFE modes that make flying and learning to fly fixed-wing easier. These receivers have microprocessors, gyros and accelerometers that reduce the affects of wind gusts and can limit the pitch and roll angles to help keep you out of trouble. They also have one or two aircraft with GPS geofencing and auto-land capabilities. Most if not all of these “helper modes” can be switched off with the transmitter at will. However, these advanced Spektrum receivers require a Spektrum transmitter. Check out HorizonHobbies’ website.

I got away from fixed-wing RC after wearing out a small trainer (a FireFox I think) that used NiMh batteries and 27-MHz frequencies. I had a blast with it but literally wore it out after hundreds of flights. I got back into RC aircraft 5 or 6 years ago when I found a HorizonHobbies RTF Champ with 24-MHz transmitter at a local thrift store for $20. It’s fun to fly for beginners and nearly indestructible on grass since it’s so light.

Here’s a link to a short video I made of a friend flying my Champ for the first time after a brief explanation of the transmitter controls and some verbal coaching from me as I shot the video:

Dave crashed a lot, damaging his pride but not the Champ at all. I cut the video to make him look good.

I think HorizonHobbies has a newer version of the Champ that has GPS geofencing and auto-land for less than $200.

I think the next HorizonHobbies RC fixed-wing aircraft I got after I grew out of the Champ was a Bind ‘n Fly (BNF) Timber, which is a 1.5m STOL aircraft with flaps, and tundra wheels and landing gear. I have a Private Pilot’s license, so I know the aerodynamics of fixed-wing flight well enough to skip a few levels of RC fixed-wing training. I now have a dozen of HorizonHobbies’ foam aircraft and enjoy them all.

Good luck!

 

[tevek]

You can buy a Plug ‘n Play (PNP) version of many foam fixed-wing RC aircraft that you’ll have to install your own transmitter-compatible receiver in.

If learning to fly, pick a light, electric park flyer with high wings (typically referred to as a “trainer”). The smaller, slower and lighter the trainer, the less damage when you crash. You can hand-launch in a small field and land in the grass.

The nice thing about the HorizonHobbies aircraft is many of them have receivers that include AS3X and SAFE modes that make flying and learning to fly fixed-wing easier. These receivers have microprocessors, gyros and accelerometers that reduce the affects of wind gusts and can limit the pitch and roll angles to help keep you out of trouble. They also have one or two aircraft with GPS geofencing and auto-land capabilities. Most if not all of these “helper modes” can be switched off with the transmitter at will. However, these advanced Spektrum receivers require a Spektrum transmitter. Check out HorizonHobbies’ website.

I got away from fixed-wing RC after wearing out a small trainer (a FireFox I think) that used NiMh batteries and 27-MHz frequencies. I had a blast with it but literally wore it out after hundreds of flights. I got back into RC aircraft 5 or 6 years ago when I found a HorizonHobbies RTF Champ with 24-MHz transmitter at a local thrift store for $20. It’s fun to fly for beginners and nearly indestructible on grass since it’s so light.

Here’s a link to a short video I made of a friend flying my Champ for the first time after a brief explanation of the transmitter controls and some verbal coaching from me as I shot the video:

Dave crashed a lot, damaging his pride but not the Champ at all. I cut the video to make him look good.

I think HorizonHobbies has a newer version of the Champ that has GPS geofencing and auto-land for less than $200.

I think the next HorizonHobbies RC fixed-wing aircraft I got after I grew out of the Champ was a Bind ‘n Fly (BNF) Timber, which is a 1.5m STOL aircraft with flaps, and tundra wheels and landing gear. I have a Private Pilot’s license, so I know the aerodynamics of fixed-wing flight well enough to skip a few levels of RC fixed-wing training. I now have a dozen of HorizonHobbies’ foam aircraft and enjoy them all.

Good luck!

Thanks big guy! As a matter of fact I was looking at the champ rtf kit yesterday and it’s available locally. They look a bit more robust than similar kit that I had years ago, they would invariably explode on impact and the motors would tear out of the cheap polystyrene and be lost forever.
My confidence is up having flown some fairly psychotic racing quads of late so I’m going to pull the trigger on the champ.
Having said that, I’ll post up the fiery remains of my first flight later...
Cheers

 

[Earthman]

Thanks big guy! As a matter of fact I was looking at the champ rtf kit yesterday and it’s available locally. They look a bit more robust than similar kit that I had years ago, they would invariably explode on impact and the motors would tear out of the cheap polystyrene and be lost forever.
My confidence is up having flown some fairly psychotic racing quads of late so I’m going to pull the trigger on the champ.
Having said that, I’ll post up the fiery remains of my first flight later...
Cheers

About the only thing you can do wrong with the Champ is put it into a tree. Crashing into the grass shouldn’t hurt it. Be sure to read the manual and adjust the CG as needed. It will fly better if nose heavy, and won’t fly at all if tail heavy. If moving the battery forward isn’t enough to get the CG within limits, add a small weight on the nose.

Have fun!

 

[tevek]

About the only thing you can do wrong with the Champ is put it into a tree. Crashing into the grass shouldn’t hurt it. Be sure to read the manual and adjust the CG as needed. It will fly better if nose heavy, and won’t fly at all if tail heavy. If moving the battery forward isn’t enough to get the CG within limits, add a small weight on the nose.

Have fun!

Thanks again. I’ll give it a run at the local footy oval before I take it to the smaller tree infested local kids park. I’ll take your advice about the C of G and probably use blue tack to adjust if need be.