Returning to rc planes

[Ewreck]

Hi everyone. Getting back into the hobby after a 10 year hiatus. Flew some low wing gas ARFs for a few years before quitting but seeing the electric jets has given me the itch again. I picked up a Sky King trainer from Motion RC and had a couple electric noob questions. Should the wings be glued on this particular model and the shaft that holds propeller is not aligned with airframe. I'm sure I will have a ton of questions so thanks in advance.

[Elbee]

EW, Welcome to Hobby Squawk! :Cool: And welcome back to RC! Sorry I cannot answer your question, I do not have that particular airframe, but someone will no doubt have you an answer soon. There are great folks here and the information is top notch. Best, LB

[Aros]

Welcome back to the addicti, er, hobby! And welcome to Hobby Squawk! I see you have excellent taste in dogs as well! :)

[Ewreck]

Welcome back to the addicti, er, hobby! And welcome to Hobby Squawk! I see you have excellent taste in dogs as well! :)

[Aros]

(best dogs ever)

[xviper]

Hi everyone. Getting back into the hobby after a 10 year hiatus. Flew some low wing gas ARFs for a few years before quitting but seeing the electric jets has given me the itch again. I picked up a Sky King trainer from Motion RC and had a couple electric noob questions. Should the wings be glued on this particular model and the shaft that holds propeller is not aligned with airframe. I'm sure I will have a ton of questions so thanks in advance.

As for gluing, what does the manual say about putting it together? When you say the shaft is not aligned with the airframe, do you mean what it looks like in the picture - how it's sorta cocked to one side? As long as the motor itself is secured properly, that's the way it's supposed to look. Electric foamies all have some motor offset to counter the torque. If it wasn't like that, it would fly to one side or in a circle and do loops. You'd have a tough time trimming it in flight.

[Ewreck]

As for gluing, what does the manual say about putting it together? When you say the shaft is not aligned with the airframe, do you mean what it looks like in the picture - how it's sorta cocked to one side? As long as the motor itself is secured properly, that's the way it's supposed to look. Electric foamies all have some motor offset to counter the torque. If it wasn't like that, it would fly to one side or in a circle and do loops. You'd have a tough time trimming it in flight.

Says nothing about glueing and the offset now makes sense as I didn't think of the counter torque. Thanks. I've never flown foam nor electric and the wings do have a spar and fit snug so I assume it's more than enough for this particular setup. Only one way to find out and I've blown a C note in much worse ways.

[xviper]

Looking at the pictures of the wings, it appears as though they are like the original Radian sailplane. They are pressure fit. However, as you put them together and take them apart enough times, they will start to get loose. At that time, you can do what we used to do with the Radian. You can wrap a layer of fiber tape around the wing root to thicken it up so it applies more pressure to keep themselves in. Don't do this prematurely as it will loosen again and you'll need even more tape.

[fhhuber]

I back up the friction fit of wing on spar with a strip of tape. It doesn't take much since its an insurance policy, not a requirement (until repeated disassembly reduces the friction)

Pick a location where the tape will be on bare foam, not paint or a decal.
EPO is the next best thing to teflon for non-stick and tape will lift paint from the foam when you peel the tape for disassembly.

If opening a model that is held together with the self-adhesive decals (Parkzne UMX does this a lot) cut the decal, do not peel it.
Common "scotch tape" sticks to the decal and can be peeled from the decal with care if you have to open the model again.
Use care not to lift the decal.

[Ewreck]

I’m not to worried about the aesthetics of this plane but will remember that advice if/when I purchase some pretty ones. I have a huge field right out my front door but there’s also a couple RC fields near me that I’m looking forward to checking out. I was a member of The Hemet Model Masters in SoCal and my brother in law was a great mentor. I have no doubt I will be posting lots of questions here but hopefully there’s a few teachers at the fields. My main goal will be EDF jets and I’m not even sure how they do at 5000’.

[Aros]

Take some time to peruse our Knowledge Blog whenever you get a chance. There's a lot of very useful information pertaining to electric flying.

Here's an article specific to flying our jets at higher altitudes...

https://www.motionrc.com/blogs/motion-rc-blog/having-trouble-flying-your-jet-at-higher-altitudes

[xviper]

I'm at 3500 feet and whenever possible, I get the "high speed" version to get that extra little punch to get off the grass. If you have a smooth runway, that may not be necessary but at your altitude, any extra grunt will help it fly around. The 90mm F-16 can be a heavy, sluggish plane to wheel around the sky, even though it can cover a lot of space in a very short time. You may surprised how tiny a huge field can get when you see an EDF heading to the far side. If you have homes and property around that field, "huge" may not be big enough and I'm not sure if your local laws would permit flying a model plane in the type of situation around your home. On the other side of the coin, you may not need "huge" if it doesn't stay in the air very long. I've seen guys fly their planes right into their cars that are parked BEHIND them. Remember, some of these "foamies" can kill when they become a 10 lb lawn dart. A small, lighter trainer may be a better place to start till you iron out the wrinkles.

[Alpha]

Welcome, Ewreck!

5,000ft ASL is going to be tough on any EDF. As Xviper said, opt for the propeller planes first to get used to the power curve, then when you jump into EDFs, opt for the higher power versions. You'll benefit from higher RPM and higher blade count to get the air moving faster out the back end. I think a model like the Freewing Venom would be well suited for higher altitude. Big floaty wing so it doesn't require high throttle usage all the time, oversized inlets which are a good thing in higher altitudes, and overall a very pleasant EDF to fly either fast or slow. It's also one of the most efficient 90mm EDF jets we produce, with double the flight time compared to a 90mm F-16 at sea level, so I imagine you'll still get reasonable flight times even with the natural reductions due to your altitude.

[Ewreck]

Take some time to peruse our Knowledge Blog whenever you get a chance. There's a lot of very useful information pertaining to electric flying.

Here's an article specific to flying our jets at higher altitudes...

https://www.motionrc.com/blogs/motio...gher-altitudes

Oh I definitely will and I’m in no hurry as I fully understand experience in this hobby is what matters. Thanks for the link.

[Ewreck]

I'm at 3500 feet and whenever possible, I get the "high speed" version to get that extra little punch to get off the grass. If you have a smooth runway, that may not be necessary but at your altitude, any extra grunt will help it fly around. The 90mm F-16 can be a heavy, sluggish plane to wheel around the sky, even though it can cover a lot of space in a very short time. You may surprised how tiny a huge field can get when you see an EDF heading to the far side. If you have homes and property around that field, "huge" may not be big enough and I'm not sure if your local laws would permit flying a model plane in the type of situation around your home. On the other side of the coin, you may not need "huge" if it doesn't stay in the air very long. I've seen guys fly their planes right into their cars that are parked BEHIND them. Remember, some of these "foamies" can kill when they become a 10 lb lawn dart. A small, lighter trainer may be a better place to start till you iron out the wrinkles.

My “field” is over 50 acres of nothing but I understand and am fully aware of the dangers of RC. If/when I jump to EDF it will be at the RC fields near me but I’m confident this hand launch trainer I picked up only poses a threat to prairie dogs.

[Ewreck]

Welcome, Ewreck!

5,000ft ASL is going to be tough on any EDF. As Xviper said, opt for the propeller planes first to get used to the power curve, then when you jump into EDFs, opt for the higher power versions. You'll benefit from higher RPM and higher blade count to get the air moving faster out the back end. I think a model like the Freewing Venom would be well suited for higher altitude. Big floaty wing so it doesn't require high throttle usage all the time, oversized inlets which are a good thing in higher altitudes, and overall a very pleasant EDF to fly either fast or slow. It's also one of the most efficient 90mm EDF jets we produce, with double the flight time compared to a 90mm F-16 at sea level, so I imagine you'll still get reasonable flight times even with the natural reductions due to your altitude.

Thank you for the info and there will be a few other models I’d purchase to get the rust out and back into the game. That doesn’t mean I won’t buy a few jets to look at in my shop for motivation.;)

[icepirate3]

I fly EDF's at just short of 5000ft and my stock 80mm A6 and Mig 21 both needed motor/fan/esc upgrades. The A6 would only fly clean and even then would barely have enough umph to stay airborne. I do have a few stock 70mm EDF's that seem to handle the elevation quite well. It will take some experimenting and asking around to see what others at that altitude are flying though. I'm sure you will get different opinions but at least you will hopefully get enough info to make some informed decisions.