First time flyer

[Valkpilot]

Well i heard you guys and cancelled my RadioLink purchase.. I read a couple of biased reviews i guess stating range to be 4km and after reading your comments i researched more and found a ground distance test that measured 0.7km.. Oh my you can easily go wrong with this hobby.. I have my eyes on FrSky Taranis X9 Lite now, what do you think ? Yes i meant Simulator.. Its funny that i mentioned im a newbie, cause even if i hadn't you guys would still get it xD

Hold off on buying a transmitter, you've got to walk before you run. Contact a local club if available and get a simulator. The one I mentioned not only has the plane I mentioned but also has the Eflite Apprentice which many on this site recommend, and the Hobbyzone Mini Apprentice. Try them out on the sim, and see which one you prefer, and get proficient in it. On the sim, try to find a place that matches where you will be flying, and also be sure that during this training you "tweek" the flying conditions, like raising the wind speed. Once you feel proficient, then get the Ready To Fly(RTF) version, which will come with a transmitter, plane, built-in receiver, battery, and charger. I also recommend you get an extra battery and matching charger to add flight time. Most of the RTF have the receiver all ready bound (tuned in to) the transmitter. Once you have become proficient and comfortable with the trainer, you can move on to another, faster plane, such as the T-28 and THEN choose which transmitter and receiver you want. Others will help you with recommendations on which to buy, but I prefer a Spektrum transmitter and Motion RC's Admiral receivers.

[xviper]

I'm more of a Spektrum guy but I understand that the Taranis product is a very good one and you should do well with it. It's versatile and RX's are readily available. Insofar as range is concerned, until you get into the larger sailplanes or FPV, you won't be flying that far away. 0.5 km distance can be very scary when you're new to the hobby. At 1km, you'll be lucky if you can keep your eyes on that tiny little dot in the sky. Even a plane with a 10 foot wingspan becomes hard to track at 1km. You can lose it very easily. You can't control what you can't see.

[b1str0s]

Well i heard you guys and cancelled my RadioLink purchase.. I read a couple of biased reviews i guess stating range to be 4km and after reading your comments i researched more and found a ground distance test that measured 0.7km.. Oh my you can easily go wrong with this hobby.. I have my eyes on FrSky Taranis X9 Lite now, what do you think ? Yes i meant Simulator.. Its funny that i mentioned im a newbie, cause even if i hadn't you guys would still get it xD

[Valkpilot]

Hello ! Newbie here as well but very keen to learn. I also love the F22 and naturally its what i want as my first plane as well (good job i fell on this thread) ! I have only ordered the radio, got the RadioLink AT10 II and planning to do emulations in order to learn how to fly.
Will emulations be alright or do you also suggest i buy a trainer plane ? I am also looking at the Freewing F22 64mm 4s PNP and now after reading the F22 manual i am confused with take off weight and Thrust, there must be a way to calculate how much weight i can put on my plane before the thrust becomes too weak. I was planning to use a good battery, but i am missing information as to what the cell limit for the F22 is, can i use a 5s battery? Will it not work or will it just be too heavy ? Also there are 4s batteries weighing 172g(1600mAh) to 394g(3600mAh), do i have to compromise for a balance of power and weight ? Or can this F22 carry all 4s batteries ?

All help appreciated

First off, can you get your money back on the transmitter? If so, do that. If not, put it away somewhere safe that you won't forget about, because it and that F-22 you want to get are a long way off. Now these are my personal recommendations, and do not reflect on Motion RC, and I'm sure that others will provide input, but here's what I feel is a good starter/self learner package. Additionally, try and find a local flying club in your area and see about help. First, you want to get a flight simulator, which is what I think you mean by emulator. I recommend you get the RealFlight Simulator with controller (https://www.horizonhobby.com/product...oller--rfl1100). Once you have it installed, look for the Hobbyzone Aeroscout. If it isn't listed, go to this web page (http://www.knifeedge.com/forums/down...=file&id=24773), download the file, and import it into RealFlight. Once you feel proficient in flying it on the simulator, get the ready to fly version of the Aeroscout (https://www.horizonhobby.com/product...1m-rtf-hbz3800) This will come with the plane, a transmitter for the plane, a charger, and a battery. I also recommend you purchase an extra charger and battery, especially if your flying site is a little distance away. Each battery should give you 12 minutes of flight time, but I recommend you set a stopwatch for 10 minutes and land when the stop watch goes off.After a couple of moths flying the Aeroscout, and you feel confident in flying it, check back on the F-22.

[xviper]

Hello ! Newbie here as well but very keen to learn. I also love the F22 and naturally its what i want as my first plane as well (good job i fell on this thread) ! I have only ordered the radio, got the RadioLink AT10 II and planning to do emulations in order to learn how to fly.
Will emulations be alright or do you also suggest i buy a trainer plane ? I am also looking at the Freewing F22 64mm 4s PNP and now after reading the F22 manual i am confused with take off weight and Thrust, there must be a way to calculate how much weight i can put on my plane before the thrust becomes too weak. I was planning to use a good battery, but i am missing information as to what the cell limit for the F22 is, can i use a 5s battery? Will it not work or will it just be too heavy ? Also there are 4s batteries weighing 172g(1600mAh) to 394g(3600mAh), do i have to compromise for a balance of power and weight ? Or can this F22 carry all 4s batteries ?

All help appreciated

First, I've never heard of "RadioLink". Is it something unique to UK? It's protocol will likely restrict you to always getting that type and brand of receiver, which may or may not be easy to do. It will also restrict you from getting many of the BindNFly planes that Horizon Hobby sells (one of the larger distributors of planes). This may or may not be a hindrance to your growth in the hobby, depending on where you want to go from here.
By "emulations", do you mean a simulator? A sim is always a good idea when learning to fly RC. It will help you to develop muscle memory in your fingers so when you start flying the real model, it won't be too much of a surprise. A "trainer" plane is always a good idea, however, the F-22 is not what I consider an "expensive" model, so even if you have a catastrophic event, you're not losing much. A trainer plane can also be "totaled" in seconds but your chance for success is greater due in part to it being "tamer" and easier to fly.
You should take a look at the product page for this plane: https://www.motionrc.com/products/fr...mm-edf-jet-pnp
That gives you the recommendations for stuff like batteries. It's a 4s plane and unless you plan to upgrade the motor/ESC, a higher cell battery will likely burn something up on the first flight. The product page also gives you the recommended battery size range. It's 1600mah to 2200mah and it even gives you the recommended minimum "C" rating. You can go smaller but that will reduce your flight time. You can go bigger but that will add weight and make flight characteristics odd, assuming it's not too heavy to get off the ground. So, no, it can't and shouldn't carry ALL 4s batteries. Stay within the recommendations. A lower "C" rating will not give your plane the desired grunt. A higher "C" rating will likely cost more, add a bit more weight, but will give the plane much more performance. Note that the "C" rating on the label of the battery is usually overstated. In real world testing, the "C" ratings are closer to 1/2 what it says. Brand name batteries can give more than 1/2, while no name brands will give less than 1/2

[b1str0s]

Hello ! Newbie here as well but very keen to learn. I also love the F22 and naturally its what i want as my first plane as well (good job i fell on this thread) ! I have only ordered the radio, got the RadioLink AT10 II and planning to do emulations in order to learn how to fly.
Will emulations be alright or do you also suggest i buy a trainer plane ? I am also looking at the Freewing F22 64mm 4s PNP and now after reading the F22 manual i am confused with take off weight and Thrust, there must be a way to calculate how much weight i can put on my plane before the thrust becomes too weak. I was planning to use a good battery, but i am missing information as to what the cell limit for the F22 is, can i use a 5s battery? Will it not work or will it just be too heavy ? Also there are 4s batteries weighing 172g(1600mAh) to 394g(3600mAh), do i have to compromise for a balance of power and weight ? Or can this F22 carry all 4s batteries ?

All help appreciated

[Valkpilot]

I am a first time flyer. I just received my ready to fly freewing 64mm f22 ready to fly kit. Any tips, pointers, suggestions? I would really appreciate them.

First and foremost, take the F-22 and put it in a cupboard, because you need to get the basics first. Then do what benjack71 suggested. However I would like to make a few changes. Don't get the Champ. I tried to learn on it and found it too fragile and require ideal conditions to fly. My third attempt was with the Flyzone Sensei, and I learned on it and became proficient enough to advance to faster aircraft. However, after a year's hiatus, I found myself having to go back to square one, and on the first flight, the electrical systems on the five year old Sensei fried. So I saw the HobbyZone AeroScout, but didn't want to spend the money, so I got an Esky Eagle, which is the same plane but without the HobbyZone electronics. Used it to get my "mojo" back, but had a friend who liked the art I did on it, so I gave it to them and bought an AeroScout anyway. You'll want to get the RTF version, because it comes with the transmitter, a battery that will give you at least 10 minutes of flight, and a charger for the battery. One of the reasons I recommend the plane is because it has ROBUST tricycle landing gear for those first bumpy landings, and with tricycle gear, you don't have to worry about it nosing over like you would a Cub type. Plus it's a pusher prop, so you have the air frame itself protecting the prop. And in closing, if you have a computer, get a flight sim like RealFlight. It'll help with the basics without you damaging your aircraft.

[Hoomi]

Oh, and let's not forget that fatal mistake I think all of us make at one time or another when we're learning, and which is worse the faster the plane moves -

TAKING YOUR EYES OFF THE PLANE FOR A MOMENT!

With a larger, slower moving plane, it's a more forgivable mistake. The plane is more likely to remain in stable flight until we get our eyes back on it. With a fast-moving, especially small, plane, we may not find it again until we've tromped around in the brush for a half-hour or more (sometimes MUCH more) and find the pieces. The military jets, especially those painted in the grey schemes, can disappear in the sky very easily. One of our experienced EDF flyers in our club, flew his F-35 for the first time, and before the second time, painted the wingtips bright red so he could keep it in sight, and tell the orientation. Remember - with active fighter aircraft, military leaders do not want them to be easy to see in the sky, and the scale model paint jobs retain that effect.

[benjack71]

Welcome...

I did the same as you. Ran out and bought the plane I wanted to fly.. the Corsair. Came here and received the same advice your reading from these good people. I know it hurts to hear.. but please take heed. I did. Went and got the mini-apprentice and after learning how to be a aircraft repair man, was very happy I did. To this day, I've only flown the Corsair a few times... every time just happy to bring 'er home in one piece. So yeah, definitely get yourself a decent trainer aircraft to get started with. I'm still too chicken chit to try an EDF model myself... but really want to so bad.

Be safe and have fun out there...

My first nitro was a world model corsair. If you know much about them, that particular model had the fiber glass fuse. It was heavy for a 50 size. I had no idea about cg, how to do the fuel tank, nothing. I finally got the cg figured out. But, I did my tank plumbing wrong. I had virtually no fuel in the tank and I thought it was full. To make a long story short. I got it in the air, made a circle. It ran out of fuel. I stood watching like a deer in the headlights as it fell to earth. Back to the learning board for me lol

[BluesDragon]

Welcome...

I did the same as you. Ran out and bought the plane I wanted to fly.. the Corsair. Came here and received the same advice your reading from these good people. I know it hurts to hear.. but please take heed. I did. Went and got the mini-apprentice and after learning how to be a aircraft repair man, was very happy I did. To this day, I've only flown the Corsair a few times... every time just happy to bring 'er home in one piece. So yeah, definitely get yourself a decent trainer aircraft to get started with. I'm still too chicken chit to try an EDF model myself... but really want to so bad.

Be safe and have fun out there...

[benjack71]

I am a first time flyer. I just received my ready to fly freewing 64mm f22 ready to fly kit. Any tips, pointers, suggestions? I would really appreciate them.

Glad you are showing interest in the fixed wing hobby!

1. Find an AMA club or at least someone who actually flies model airplanes.
2. Get a trainer plane. As an example this one. Not to be taken as an endorsement.

https://www.horizonhobby.com/product/airplanes/ultra-micros/trainer/champ-rtf-hbz4900

I have no idea your budget, but the larger the trainer the better in my opinion. Just make sure its a nice high wing trainer. Fly it with someone who is experienced at model airplane flying. Most clubs offer a trainer program. Some clubs, like ours, even has trainers they will bring and let you fly.
3. Use videos and ask questions. Assemble your F22. Look at videos how to weather it if you want, or add nomenclature decals. Or maybe mess around with a scale cockpit. Have fun with it. Just do not try to fly it.
4. Spend the time to get into some faster prop planes. Get use to the speed. Learn some about stall characteristics. Military prop planes such as a P-51 or F4U Corsair would be a natural progression in my opinion to faster edf planes. Because those planes will stall. They will tumble out of the sky and end up into little pieces. That is what will happen to your F22 if you let it get to slow. Jets stall even faster. They have less lift from the wings and depend more on speed.
5. This is how you will know if you get a plane that is to fast and your not ready for it. You will start flying it farther and farther out. You will do this because even though the speed of the plane is the same, the farther away it is the illusion your eyes and mind tell you its slower. Then you will lose orientation. Then it becomes a crap shoot on rather you get the plane back, or if you end up inverted, you do not know it and you plow it in the ground.
6. Please do not take this as being a bunch of downer information. Not the intent on my part or anyone else that I can tell. This information is because we do not want you to crash your plane. We want you to fly your F22.

Speaking for myself I can tell you my mistakes as I got into planes I was not ready for. Fortunately for me I got lucky a lot and or I was at a club that had people around who could literally help me fly it. I still had my share of crashes, from stalls, orientation, etc. I still crash some. I planted my flightline tigercat this past weekend. Tried to do a invert into a roll out at to low of altitude. It was a cool though (:.
Been wanting the FMS Blue Tigercat anyway lol.
Anyway, welcome to the hobby. Please enjoy it, do not let it get to serious, and have fun with it

[Hoomi]

In this video, I have runway passes by the four planes I flew that day, including the Stinger. When the Stinger goes over, it's not running at full throttle, and it's still a matter of, "blink and you'll miss it." When compared to the Simple Scout from Flite Test, which almost gives you enough time to go grab a soda while it makes it pass over the runway, you should be able to see how much difference the styles of plane can make.

[fhhuber]

F22 as a first plane is a crash waiting to happen. And the wait will be very brief with the first flight attempt.

As above, start with a more appropriate aircraft. Basic proportions of a Cessna 152/172/182 or Piper Cub are very good.

The 64mm series EDF models really are not all that fast, but they are small and their size makes them appear to be going faster.
The F22 is very sensitive to control input. Beginners have enough trouble due to over-controlling with a much more docile airplane.
Also EDFs lose speed in hard maneuvering and that plus over-controling is a formula for stalls and spins.

[xviper]

That's a pretty fast plane for a first timer. An anecdote from this morning at the flying field............................. A new flyer came to the field again today after many, many crash/repair cycles on his small trainer plane (rudder and elevator only). He's a real nice fellow and we all want him to succeed. We must give him a lot of credit for continuing to try. Today, on his first flight, he was having problems (again) with his plane. He needed a lot of trimming on the elevator but couldn't move his hand off the sticks to do it. I went to his side and talked him through what he needed to do to keep the plane from heading for the clouds and stalling repeatedly, getting further and further away. He finally got it to stop going nose up and brought it back. Then I asked if he'd like me to trim it as he flew and naturally, he agreed. It needed about all of the elevator trim there was to fly level and some AIL trim as well. The plane now flew pretty good "hands off". Now, here's the point I want to make. When it was coming back at us in preparation for landing, the plane was all over the place. He hadn't developed the skill to fly it when it was coming at him. Took quite a few circuits before he finally landed .............. well, thumped it onto the runway. This was a slow flying trainer. If it had been a jet like this, it would have flown away before he managed to figure out that "left is right and right is left". Likely ending up with foam popcorn.

[mr.frankenjet]

e flight valiant or apprentice are a really good way to get started, f22 a 3rd plane at best. Join a club or get with an experienced flyer to spend some time with you, planning to start with that jet will require a trash bag to bring it back home in. Good luck and happy landings

[F22trainer]

Get help, go slow....Glad you are here!

X2

[Hoomi]

I recently flew my EDF 64mm Stinger for the first time, after having been flying for nearly 2 years. I'll add my agreement to the idea of starting with a slower, trainer aircraft. They may not seem as exciting as the F-22, but I think you'll quickly find that starting with something slower and more forgiving will serve you better in the long run. EDF's are tougher to fly - they move faster, meaning you have far less time to react if something starts to happen, and typically suffer more damage when an 'aw crap' occurs. They don't respond as quickly to throttle changes, meaning if you're hanging on the verge of stalling, you can't just gun the throttle and move out as easily as you can with a propeller plane. Additionally, a propeller pushes (or pulls depending on configuration) air over the wings and tail surfaces, giving more response at that ragged edge speed. With an EDF, you won't have much control (if any) until you have sufficient actual airspeed moving across your wings and tail surfaces.

As frustrating as it might be to have an awesome plane like the F-22 just sitting and waiting, I can tell you from experience that it's also frustrating (and a bit expensive) to crash. I'd say, put the F-22 together, and display it someplace for now as a motivator, and learn the ropes with something that will truly help you to enjoy a successful maiden flight with the Raptor.

[Hardway]

Get help, go slow....Glad you are here!

[RRHandy]

I will third the first, R

[vdanger]

My advice is to put your F22 away for now.

Start with an Eflite apprentice.

When you get good with that, then try the F22.

Even though I am telling you to buy another airplane, you will learn quicker and spend less if you go this route.