New with prior experience

[rmatt]

Flew for many years in the 60's and 70's Ceased activity 1978 the year my dad passed. Not the reason but stopped. The interest is renewed. I'm thinking about an E-Flight "Timber". I have flown pretty much all the types available in the day and thought this top wing with flaps might get me up to speed before moving to some form of low wing. Last plane I flew was an Andrews Aeromaster bipe. Dating myself. I am amazed at the technology changes. I think I am going to fly electric. At my age too much stuff to mass to scratch build and acquire engines and related support. I learned to fly mode one and I see mode 2 is popular now, so it looks like I will be on my own. Too old to try to learn another mode. Any recommendations would be appreciated.
I have joined the AMA and presently looking for a club in my area.
Bob

[xviper]

There are a lot of Timbers flying around these days - 3 at my field alone and all are greatly enjoyed and all fly very well. You can buy a mode 1 transmitter. The Timber comes as "Bind and Fly", in which case, you need a Spektrum radio or you can get it as "Plug and Play", where you put in your own receiver. Then you can get whatever transmitter that is compatible with that receiver and you can get it as mode 1. If you go this route, you must keep in mind how you are going to grow into this hobby again and the planes you get in the future will need to be flyable with that radio system. IE, if you choose Spektrum, then you are destined to stay with Spektrum compatible receivers. If you go with Futaba or Detrum or other brand or some of the HobbyKing offerings, know what they can or can't do. You don't want to get one type of radio only to discover that it's going to limit you in what planes and gear you buy in the future.
The current generations of computerized Spektrum radios allows you to assign whatever you like to whatever sticks you like. However, if you want it to be mode 1, you'll need to open it up and move the throttle stick to the other side or it won't have the same feel to it. All sticks, as I'm sure you know is spring loaded to return to center, except for the throttle stick, which has no spring and stays where you leave it.

[doctormike]

Welcome back!!! I have used Spektrum for years. Very happy with it. Foam PNP's are great. Easy to repair. Pick out a high wing trainer first, even if you have prior experience. The new technology is absolutely amazing! Buy a simulator, a great way to practice during those long winter months. Good luck!!! Doc

[Twowingtj]

Welcome back to the hobby and to the Squawk rmatt. Your story, including time frame, is much like my own. I got back into it 5 years ago. As you've noticed, the hobby has really evolved. The Timber is a good choice. It has a wide flight envelope and is very forgiving.

xviper2 offered some very sound advice on selecting a transmitter and brand. Research what brand seems most popular, is most versatile and has the best customer/technical support. Also, buy the best radio you can afford in terms of number of channels, options, features, and model storage.

Powering planes has many more options than what we were limited to. Gas engines have come a long way and are good choices for 20cc and up size birds. Electric power has become very popular for almost any sized birds from micro to 100cc giant scale. It's clean and relatively quiet, which is important for many flying fields. Learning how to select a power system for aircraft you build yourself can take a little research. Once you get the "watts per pound" concept down, it's pretty easy.

The nice part about the state of the hobby today, is that most of the companies , like Motion RC, have made getting back into the hobby a breeze. They have designed a veriety of aircraft from gliders to jets. Most fly very well, are affordable, and really shorten the time between the bench and the flying field. It's a great time to be flying again.

Being able to fly at or with a club is still a lot of fun and sometimes the only option to have a good safe place to fly. There is a link in the AMA website that might help you find what clubs are in your area.

[rpellicciotti]

Flew for many years in the 60's and 70's Ceased activity 1978 the year my dad passed. Not the reason but stopped. The interest is renewed. I'm thinking about an E-Flight "Timber". I have flown pretty much all the types available in the day and thought this top wing with flaps might get me up to speed before moving to some form of low wing. Last plane I flew was an Andrews Aeromaster bipe. Dating myself. I am amazed at the technology changes. I think I am going to fly electric. At my age too much stuff to mass to scratch build and acquire engines and related support. I learned to fly mode one and I see mode 2 is popular now, so it looks like I will be on my own. Too old to try to learn another mode. Any recommendations would be appreciated.
I have joined the AMA and presently looking for a club in my area.
Bob

I flew models for 30 years and stopped in the early 90's. Like you, I flew mode 1 and all nitro powered stuff including pattern competition. About 3 years ago I decided to get back into it. I did a lot of research, renewed my AMA membership and visited a local club field. I settled on Spektrum equipment and a high wing, tail dragger with electric power for starters. It took a lot of concentration and fighting muscle memory but I am flying Mode 2 now. After getting back in the hang of it, I went ahead and got a low wing airplane (E-Flite P-51) and started work on a new pattern plane. I have been flying regularly now for 3 years and really enjoying the new stuff that is available now. I have a Freewing Avanti S EDF jet that is a blast to fly.

Welcome back! I know you will enjoy it.

Rick

[rmatt]

Thanks for the replies. I have been researching radios and I think I'm in for a Spektrum DX8. It looks easy enough to convert to Mode 1. I have re-joined the AMA and looking for flying clubs in my area. Think I'm going to say with the foam aircraft. Too late in life to mass all the stuff to scratch build again. I'm a boater so the E-flite timber with floats has me interested. Where I keep my boat there is plenty open cove water to fly a float plane. Being retired I can fly off the water on days when there are virtually no people around.

[xviper]

Take a look at the HobbyKing Tundra. It comes with floats and it has reverse in case you get stuck nosed into something. Then you can back out. Their upcoming BushMule can be purchased with floats. It's a twin electric with reverse. Or you can get the Timber and install a HobbyKing reversing ESC.

[Captian Hero]

Rmatt, here is me flying my Timber off the lake at our cottage in Canada. Like you I was out of the hobby for 20 years and just got back in. The Timber is a GREAT "get back in" plane. You can also customize it like ive done with my 2 timbers

[rmatt]

Thant to all for the good info and suggestions. I did spring for a Spektrum DX8 Gen 2 and have changed it to mode 1. Next on to the aircraft. Now I need some experience in receiver battery packs and flight packs, to choose a charger and so on.

[xviper]

Thant to all for the good info and suggestions. I did spring for a Spektrum DX8 Gen 2 and have changed it to mode 1. Next on to the aircraft. Now I need some experience in receiver battery packs and flight packs, to choose a charger and so on.

If you use an ESC with built-in BEC, you don't need a receiver pack. As for flight packs and chargers, take a look at the offerings at MotionRC. Admiral batteries are pretty darn good. If you fly low performance prop planes, then a low C battery will suffice. EDF jets will do better with high C batteries. It all depends on what kind of plane you plane to put the battery in and what the specs call for in that plane. There are lots of chargers on the market today. You must decide if you are going to progress in this hobby and if your battery needs will also increase. You want a charger that will handle the size of batteries (how many cells) and the amount of mah you will need. Do you want a single balance charger or a dual or a quadruple?