Last flew RC 30 years ago

[heartlandaccents]

Bought a Hobbyzone Carbon Cub S+ 1.3M and a Spektrum DX8G2. So a lot has changed since my RC days. (had Kraft Radios) Maybe some help on a couple questions. Hope to start flying as soon as we get some nicer weather. Do I have to bind every time I make a change in my transmitter? Why does it take so long to hook to the airplanes GPS? Takes a couple of minutes. Seems to be burning a lot of battery time. Thanks in advance for any help.

[fhhuber]

You only bind Spektrum for certain changes that affect its "fail-safe" system.
Most changes do not require a rebind.

If throttle reverse is needed you would want to rebind such that the throttle will go to 0 on loss of control (like if you drop and break the transmitter)

My personal preference is to set the fail-safes assuming control will never come back. 0 throttle, significant rudder and significant up elevator with a goal of inducing a spin. An aircraft in a spin isn't going far (except down) Sending all controls to neutral the model could potentially fly a very long distance. "Hold Last Command" is generally not even an option for modern fail-safe systems.

Spektrum's default fail-safe is the control positions at time of binding. Some of the more advanced receivers have an additional setting, with the binding positions being where the controls go at turn-on until it finds the transmitter, then another setting for if the receiver detects loss of transmitter signal.

You can cause the system to lose bind (the receiver "forgets" what transmitter and model memory it is supposed to listen to) Always turn on the transmitter first and turn the receiver off first except when going through the binding procedure.

The GPS and stabilization systems have to link up and that can take time.
GPS has to locate and recognize position before it indicates it is ready You might note when you activate an automotive GPS that it can take a couple of minutes saying its looking for satellites.
The gyro systems can take extra time if the model is not perfectly still. excess movement can cause the stabilization system to indicate it failed to initialize properly.

Note that for stabilization systems installed in tail-dragger models its often a good idea to prop the tail up so the aircraft is in level flight attitude while it is initializing. Initialization for many detects what "level" is and if the nose is pitched up, its going to want to fly your airplane in that attitude. Some of the newer ones this is not as much of an issue as it used to be.

Power used during the initialization of the GPS and/or stabilization is minimal. There's no flight load on the servos and the model's power system isn't operating. Several minutes of sitting in this condition would only mean a few seconds of lost flight time for an electric powered model.

[heartlandaccents]

Thanks.......I'm sure more questions will come up and it is very nice to have somewhere to get help. Thanks again

[Grossman56]

Hi and welcome to the Squawk Heartlandaccents!
You'll find that some things have changed to be sure, most, if not all for the better. Flying still remains the same and I'm sure that it will be like riding a bike for you.
Good luck and welcome back to the Hobby!!

Grossman56

[Alpha]

Welcome to Hobby Squawk, Heartlandaccents! I still have my first Kraft radio, although I haven't flown it in this century. Those were good times!

Most modern RC airplane aircraft don't use GPS, except some trainers. Satellite link time will depend on your geographic location and certain other local factors. Don't worry about consuming battery power for those few minutes it's sitting there. I don't recall that Cub having GPS, though.

As the others said, there's no need to rebind your receiver every time. Battery in, and GO!

[F22trainer]

Welcome!
I too bought an HZ Cub to refresh my skills after about the same time hiatus.
GPS takes longer on the first startup at the field, subsequent starts are much shorter, but that said, I never used the GPS related functions and always disabled it - one of my flying friends and I still want to try out the auto land.
you may need to trim in some down elevator as it just wants to climb like crazy and the only way to get it down is reduced power, which does work good in beginner mode for those first landings. Rudder input is severely limited in beginner mode during take off and land when you add up elevator - making straightforward rudder control difficult unless in experienced mode.
But you picked a great airplane to re-enter the hobby. The SAFE modes will soon become a hinderance as your skills return - I.e. In intermediate and beginner modes a sub-mode kicks in at 50' agl to limit pitch down...you'll figure it out.
i think we will try the auto land next weekend for fun, but first I have to figure out why it won't allow throttle after pressing the bind to register 'home position'. I just got in the habit of disabling it.

https://youtu.be/0e2yiyrDKRI

and, there's a bonus blooper at about 55 seconds, the guy flying at the other end of the field - puts his Corsair into the dirt.
same guy who backed into my car when it was parked all by itself - but that's another story.

[Woodcock]

Welcome back to the hobby, "heartland", Much has changed. I got ya beat, when I came back I hadn't flown an RC plane for 40+ years. I loved the hobby though, and actually love that they're so many ready to fly planes available today. I can say I use to build a lot, not anymore, just mods. Even the mods can take time, but I won't be framing any more air frames from balsa any more. The emotional attachment you get from spending a year or so building a nice scale war bird, then turning it into confetti the first time out is something I can totally live without. This is great in my opinion.

Try not to get to deboggaled with all the selections on your transmitter set. As with your Cub simply follow the instructions to set it up line by line. If it's confusing look to, "Youtube" for a how too video. Youtube is full of how too videos, I use it quite frequently to get thru snags I often encounter.

My personal advise, look at the E-flight T-28 micro, and the E-flight Wild Cat Micro. These are tiny planes complete out of the box. Usually under a hundred bucks if you catch them on sale. Just bind them and fly them. You can fly them anywhere. I usually take them to the local park here by my house early in the AM, and always get a few flights in prior to work.

You would think flying these things would be kinda like riding a bicycle, but after 40 years I simply lost my prospective. Flying model RC planes is very visual, it's like you have to get the vision back, and your prospective.

One last thing a good flight simulator helps an awfully lot. If you're like me you will find it very frustrating at first. But stick with it.

Best Regards
Woody