Ordered my first plane - any setup vids?

[chipbutty]

I've been flying helis for a few years now. I don't know what came over me, maybe it's the nice weather we're enjoying here, but I've ordered a plank. I ordered the Kinetic 800 Mini Glider (Multiplex Merlin clone) from HK. It's a powered glider. Looks really nice. I'm sure planes must be easier to setup than helis but I'm sure they must have their own particular quirks. Are there any videos similar to Finless Bob's showing setup and things to be aware of?

[suresharp]

That glider will go very fast. So start off with about 40% expo on low rates for alerions,elevator and rudder. You will need a good size field. Keep it in front of you at all times and do not let it fly over your head. These plans are real blast. At first climb up in a circle until you get 40 feet then do what ever you want. ENJOY

[chipbutty]

Thanks. Lots of expo then. I didn't realise how much space I'd need after looking at other videos! Maybe I'd have been better off with something else. Initially I was attracted to the Parkzone Ultra Micro planes but thought I'd soon hanker after something bigger. Still, this thing should be fairly leisurely to fly with the ability to go a bit more ballistic on 3s if needed.

[Mojappa]

Just make sure the control surfaces are as straight as you can get them mechanically and that the surface move in the correct direction prior to launch. Planes are a cake walk compared to helis so you shouldn't have much problem getting it flying.

[chipbutty]

Ok. So there's a degree of mechanical trimming involved. Is it more acceptable to use the trims on the Tx when trimming a plane? On our helis I know we always try to not use the Tx trims if possible and do all the trimming mechanically.

I'm looking forward to crashing something which won't explode into a hundred pieces :-)

[Mojappa]

I would always eyeball it at first and then fly it. I trim it out and when I land Iake the mechanical adjustment, recenter the trim and test it. Trim isn't forbidden per say, a click or two is fine, too much and you may not get equal throw or it may be a sign that something is unaligned or warped.

[chipbutty]

Thanks again. Will no doubt me back with more questions once it arrives.

I have loads of small servos, motors and ESCs lying around from heli projects. Getting a bit off topic here but thinking of using them to build another plank. Quite fancy something like this for a small garden.

[suresharp]

Re Trim: In your manual you will find high and low measurements for elevator and alerons. Set the servo control arms up so alerons are perfectly even with wing when servo arm is centered. With travel adjust you set up how much your alerons rise or lower. If they go up to high you will flip very fast which could cause lose of orintation. Aftertake off at full throtle reduce speed so you can have a chance to fly it. You can use the trims on the radio after all this has been set up BUT with little experence with this model you just will not have the time

[suresharp]

Man I wish I could be there to see you fly this for the first time. That would be a real rush for anyone

[Mojappa]

3D foamies are awesome and also relaxing to fly. My Twistedhobbys Vector is my favorite aircraft at this point, if I could only keep one RC thing that would be it, don't take that as me not liking helis, just that the overall experience and stress level is better with the foamy. Granted, once I get the board back in my mCP that may shift a bit.

[chipbutty]

Now this is something else I was going to ask. Thanks. I guess this is like the 6 to 8 degrees of movement we go for on cyclic on a heli. At least that's easy to measure with a pitch gauge but it looks like a little guess work is needed when setting the travel on a plane? I found this in the Multiplex Merlin manual. I don't know how you measure it though. I guess all will be clearer when I receive it.


7.3 Control surface settings (guide only!) and initial test-run
Control surface travels (measured at the widest point of the
control surface):
Ailerons: 12 / 6 mm +/-
Elevator: 6 / 6 mm +/-
Rudder: 12 / 12 mm +/-
Flaps: < 4 mm down
Spoilers: 7 mm up

Elevator trim compensation:
Spoilers 1 mm “down”
Flaps < 1 mm +/-
Motor < 1 mm “down”
Centre of Gravity: approx. 40 mm aft of
the wing root leading edge
Longitudinal dihedral: 1 - 1.5°

Originally Posted by suresharp

Re Trim: In your manual you will find high and low measurements for elevator and alerons. Set the servo control arms up so alerons are perfectly even with wing when servo arm is centered. With travel adjust you set up how much your alerons rise or lower. If they go up to high you will flip very fast which could cause lose of orintation. Aftertake off at full throtle reduce speed so you can have a chance to fly it. You can use the trims on the radio after all this has been set up BUT with little experence with this model you just will not have the time

[chipbutty]

I'll send you the crash video

Originally Posted by suresharp

Man I wish I could be there to see you fly this for the first time. That would be a real rush for anyone

[chipbutty]

That one looks nice.

I'm tempted by the reviews and price on this one - Edge 540 I have all the parts lying around to put one together. I've no idea how to assemble one or what kind of glues I'd need!

Originally Posted by Mojappa

3D foamies are awesome and also relaxing to fly. My Twistedhobbys Vector is my favorite aircraft at this point, if I could only keep one RC thing that would be it, don't take that as me not liking helis, just that the overall experience and stress level is better with the foamy. Granted, once I get the board back in my mCP that may shift a bit.

[chipbutty]

Grrr. There's been a mess up with my order. Not HK's fault. For some reason PayPal decided to pay with an echeque rather than a direct payment. Echeques take up to seven days to clear. Of course by that time HK had sold out of Kinetic 800s. I received a generic email from PayPal informing me how not to pay with echeques. The only reason they give is that my card could be out of date, which it isn't. I've been using it just fine for the past two years. Anyway, I cancelled the order with HK. I may go for the Multiplex Merlin once the refund (fingers crossed) has come through.

Anyone else had this experience with PayPal even though their card is fine?

I'm not alone Hold on e-check payments even though i have a credit card backup

[suresharp]

Well thats to bad. Aweek is not so long as long as they still have stock. This will give you achance to sharpen your nerves of steel

[chipbutty]

Hopefully they won't be out of stock for too long. But you never know with HK. It could be days or even months.

Sent from my ZTE-BLADE using Tapatalk

[bugbitten]

Originally Posted by chipbutty

Grrr. There's been a mess up with my order. Not HK's fault. For some reason PayPal decided to pay with an echeque rather than a direct payment. Echeques take up to seven days to clear. Of course by that time HK had sold out of Kinetic 800s. I received a generic email from PayPal informing me how not to pay with echeques. The only reason they give is that my card could be out of date, which it isn't. I've been using it just fine for the past two years. Anyway, I cancelled the order with HK. I may go for the Multiplex Merlin once the refund (fingers crossed) has come through.

Anyone else had this experience with PayPal even though their card is fine?

I'm not alone Hold on e-check payments even though i have a credit card backup

Same thing happened to me. Never used an echeck before with PP. Did something change in their default setup? Cost me loss of goods. Could not get your link to work.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

[chipbutty]

There have been some very heated threads about this on Paypal's forum. The only explanation given by Paypal employees who join the discussion is that each transaction is unique. They then wheel out the tired old line saying the most likely cause is a card that is out of date (yawn). Of course this is happening to people whose cards haven't expired and are not due to expire. Creates a lot of frustration between buyers and sellers. I've used Paypal without issue for years but I'll think twice now about using it.

Originally Posted by bugbitten

Same thing happened to me. Never used an echeck before with PP. Did something change in their default setup? Cost me loss of goods. Could not get your link to work.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

Sent from my ZTE-BLADE using Tapatalk

[chipbutty]

While I'm waiting for the Kinetic to come back in stock I ordered the Parkzone BNF Ultra Micro Sukhoi SU26-XP. I was contemplating the Parkzone UM T-28 Trojan but I think I'd get bored with it. Great looking micro though. I should be able to grow with the XP as it's pretty acrobatic. Not exactly a beginners plane but I've flown some very twitchy helis before. I'll start off with low rates and increase the high rate as I get better. Also I have a stack of 150/180mah 1S batteries from my MSR I can use.

[Mojappa]

You shoul be fine with it, the Sukhoi was my second plane after the UM 4-site which is also not a typical first plane. The Trojan is nice but you're right, they get boring kinda fast, no matter how relaxing they are the entertainment doesn't last. High wings are the coaxials of planes, low wings/warbirds are the FP's, and Aerobats/3D planes are the CP's of the plane world. I always buy with replay value in mind and that's kept me from jumping on every nice looking warbird they release, how many scale passes could one possibly do before growing tired of it? Have fun with the XP, a 5043 prop will give it a bit more power to fight breezes with.