EnjoyHobbies NewsWEDNESDAY 22 APRIL, 2009 |
 How to choose a new/first plane How to Choose a New or First RC Airplane How to choose a RC airplane is a frequently asked question on forums. It is a relevant question not only when you are deciding to buy your first plane, but all along the journey, as you acquire a fleet. Many planes are similar, so getting them is kind of useless if you already have one from the same category. Everyone prefers a diversified fleet, and probably will add several planes and drop others along the way. The beginner's temptation (not only beginners...) is to buy many planes, as they all look so nice. DON'T!!! Many people will regret it and discover that the purchase is not really what they wanted, or is just not adding any more fun to the existing fleet. What are the angles to think about? Let's review these one by one: 1. Type of equipment necessary for this plane Think about buying equipment that will be reusable with other planes. For example, avoid planes with batteries or receiver/radios that are compatible with only one plane. Check that the radio equipment is compatible with your country allowed frequencies. Check that the frequency won't disturb anyone at the place you plan to fly. Think about how it will be, if you discover that this hobby is just not for you and decide to resell. 2. How difficult it is to build If you are not familiar with building methods, choose an ARF (Almost Ready to Fly), and choose an easy one. Some "ARF" are complicated to build, and take many hours. So ask the vendor, Ezone, before buying a particular model. Building a plane can become hell very quickly and there is the risk of never flying properly if built improperly, so ask your questions upfront and do your research. In general, most ARF are ok. 3. How difficult it is to transport to the field Never forget you'll need to carry your airplanes from your home to the flying field. Too many big planes, or planes with wings made of one single piece will be inconvenient to carry. When you choose the size of your plane, I always recommend to take the one with the biggest wingspan, but still not too big: 90 cm to 1.4 meter is good (35.4 to 55.1 inches). A plane measuring 2 meters, but with 2 wings of a meter each, is also a fine. 4. How difficult it is to fly Small planes, even the very nice ones that are easy to carry, present a problem because they often are not easy to fly. They are very nervous, sometimes too nervous, and are not easy to see while flying. I would not recommend anything less than 90 cm (35.4 inches) in wingspan. Ailerons or no ailerons? There are two schools of thought here. The first one asserts that ailerons/elevators with very small extensions of the servos provide good control and shorten a pilot's learning curve. The second one believes that using only rudder/elevators for starting is easier and safer. 5. How much flying time it has Some RC airplanes, especially the small ones, can't accept big batteries, and are limited to a certain space/weight. However, since they are also light, their flying time may not be shorter. In general, before you buy anything, check that the flying time, using the standard setup, provides a minimum of 4 minutes, full speed, and 6 minutes with throttle management. 10 minutes will be even better! Any flying time below that won't provide a beginner with much pleasure. 6. Do you live near a location where you will be able to fly Buy an RC airplane that suits your lifestyle. Don't purchase a plane that needs to take off from the ground, if you don't have a proper runway to use. Don't buy a plane, which is too light, if you plan to fly it outside, knowing it will be windy. Along the same line, don't buy a big plane that needs space, if you plan to fly indoors. 7. Money you want to spend When you start this hobby, it is important to know the overall cost of a complete system, ready to fly. All the standard equipment is covered in the next chapter, Start in Electronic Flying. The cost for a basic setup could be around $300, all included. Out of this total, we can assume that the plane, motor, props and the servos are not reusable. However, the radio receiver, battery, and ESC can be used for other planes, to leverage the investment.
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