Transitioning into RC planes from helis

[Mojappa]

Originally Posted by TheBum

There's more than just the flying characteristics to consider. For me, flying a plane is a way to feed my passion for warbirds, particularly of the WWII variety. I would love to try some combat flying once I get some experience.

Agreed but I'm also a fanatic for warbirds and have managed to keep from falling for the allure of one. If I have learned anything from RC vehicles and beginner helis it's that performance limitations lead to limited enjoyment for me. I like the looks of scale helis as well but I know after a handful of scale passes I'd grow bored ether quickly an it would become a shelf queen, same if it were a scale plane. To each their own, this is just my experience. After flying some of my dad's warbirds I saw the limited lifespan and saved my money for more capable aircraft.

On a side note, lining up in the sim is WAY harder than it is in real life. My dad has always ha that problem to the point where he doesn't even really fly the aim but has almost no problems landing at the actual field we fly at.

[TheBum]

Originally Posted by Mojappa

On a side note, lining up in the sim is WAY harder than it is in real life. My dad has always ha that problem to the point where he doesn't even really fly the aim but has almost no problems landing at the actual field we fly at.

That's encouraging, considering how much I struggle with landings in the sim while waiting for E-Flite to release their Hawker Hurricane 25e.

I learned one thing from a flying buddy of mine who flies planes in addition to helis: if you're performing a death spiral, gravity may not be enough to give you sufficient airspeed to pull out of it, so you may have to give a little throttle as the plane is plummeting headlong toward the ground, which is a somewhat scary thought. He crashed twice before discovering that fact.

[BaconRaygun]

Check this video out... a spin (aka 'death spiral') is your worst enemy if you don't know how to recover.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBes98c8RSA&feature=related[/ame]

[bradharvy]

I like his plane!
I as well went to the fixed wing toys for a bit and loving it! NOT boring at all. As soon as ya get a decent sport/aerobatic plane the fun is limitless.. People always say, do a low fly by! Well at 80 to 100 mph and a big toy that cost 1500 dollars is quite an Adrenalin rush coming at ya 1 foot off the ground! I never have done it! My low fly bys are about ten feet and feel like about 1 foot!! Finally moved out of the trainer and went with a ultra stick 40. Tail dragger or tryc. gears. Lands better than the trainer and is a blast with a saito 56! Will roll and fly inverted NP.
Best thing for me is you can see the damn thing from quite a ways out, Less cost other than gas, Haven't found a BIG enough battery powered plane yet I like. I am having a ton a fun and have spent half the money! Too many moving parts on a heli!
Heli's are harder to master for sure but you can do some neat stuff with a plane. And when the runway is covered in ice or snow, I'll fire the 450 up and hover around where ever!!! See, not all plank pilots can do that!! I know several that will not touch a heli, lol.
Skip the trainer, imho, and go with a good second plane, You will enjoy for a while. I was gonna get the great planes Cherokee but ended up with a great deal on the Ultra Stick.

[janol]

Originally Posted by bradharvy

Haven't found a BIG enough battery powered plane yet I like.

Joe Smith flying 3DHS 89 Slick @ Joe Nall (6 min 40 sec)

[janol]

sorry, wrong video, you wanted electric
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caKRbTq6KJw&feature=player_embedded[/ame]

[Elios000]

well if were posting videos of planks here is my 68" Edge
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYxiwCtG5W0[/ame]

[WickedDragon]

I fly both. Always wanted to fly both and I like both. It's seems to be easier for me to "be" in the plane than with a Heli. I like the Heli's because of the bolt together aspects of building and repair. The planes, especially the nicer models, take a lot more time on the front end and are often too trashed to repair after a mishap.

Now, if you're really a speed junkie, planes are the way to go. Yeah, the Heli's can be fast too, but throw some more motor and prop on a plane and you go faster, with a Heli, you can only spin the blades so fast.

There are lots more option for planes too.... props, ducted fans 3D and 4D. Don't get me wrong, I'll never pass on the Heli's but do routinely swear go to them exclusively because the planes take so much longer to build. BUT.... I pretty much stick to electric on my fixed wings. There's nothing quite like making a 100+ mph pass with a flying wing, slick sportster or 150+ mph with a EDF.

Landings..... easier IRL than on the sim. They slow down faster than on the sim.

Bottom line.... flying is flying; it's all good!!!

[600bob]

One thing I like about planes is the variety of models and sizes. I went to a local heli fly day and I saw a lot of Align 600 and 700 pod and boom. The main difference was color of canopy and glow or electric. Even the few that were not Align didn't look much different. Didn't see many scale heli either.

Now I have 5 planes and no 2 are the same, smallest is a UM T-28, the largest is a World Models trainer with an 80 inch wingspan and a friend has a trainer that is 96 inches, then you get into large scale planes and that's just cool

[Brick]

i wanted to try something different, so i didn't get burned out on heli's. i bought a little Champ micro...super easy to fly. now i just got a Parkzone micro P-51....this thing is a blast to fly !

[racin06]

I first learned to fly helis, as well. While teaching myself to fly helis, I was also spending quite a bit of time flying airplanes in the sim. My first airplane was a 3D foamie and the transition from flying helis was very smooth. So, IMO, if you can fly a heli and have spent some time flying virtual airplanes in the sim, you can skip the high-winged trainer and move directly into a low-winged airplane like the Parkzone T-28 or even a 3D airplane. One thing to remember is that a 3D airplane can be tamed down to a sport flyer by reducing the control surface throws. As your skills progress, you increase the throws.

I love flying my electric-powered 3D Hobby Shop 72" Extra 330SC airplane and it continues to raise the eyebrows of some of the fuel-only airplane pilots in my club. Setup and video below.

- Hacker A50-12L 348kv Motor
- Xoar 18 x 8E Prop
- Extreme Flight 3" Spinner
- Castle Creations Phoenix ICE 100A ESC
- Castle Creations BEC Pro
- Hitec HS-985MG Servos x 4
- Spektrum AR7600 Receiver
- Sky Lipo 8S 4000mAH 40C Lipos (2 - 4S 4000mAh lipos in series)
- AUW - 10.14 lbs.

WOT Data -

- Current: 104.7 amps
- Voltage: 29.06 volts
- Power: 3043 watts

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6WjR4Sx9Bw[/ame]

Another favorite of mine is my Extreme Flight 60" Edge 540T. This is a great flying airplane and IMO, airplanes in the 60" size range are perfect...not too small, not too big, can be seen well in the air and are easy to transport...even in a car. Below I'm working on some slow, high-alpha harrier-type flying. Actually, I find that performing this type of flying, along with hovering an airplane has some simularities to flying a heli...working both sticks and throttle management is a must.

- Extreme Flight RC Torque 4016T-500Kv Motor
- Castle Creations Phoenix ICE Lite 75A Speed Controller
- Castle Creations 10A BEC
- Hitec 225MG Servos x 4
- Xoar 15 x 6 Prop
- Spektrum AR6210 Receiver
- Sky Lipo 22.2V 3300mAh 40C Lithium Polymer Battery
- AUW - 5.51 lbs.

WOT Data -

- Current: 54 amps
- Voltage: 23.46 volts
- Power: 1267 watts

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foijhlH3zCo[/ame]

[Dylan Hudock]

Flying planes is boring compared to helis! You will have no problem flying a plane.

[Mojappa]

Boredom level depends on the plane and how you wanna fly it, try hovering a plane below 10' and doing rolling harriers smoothly on the deck, just as much pucker factor and equally as hard to master the coordination and timing. Plus balsa planes rarely survive a crash unlike a heli which will only require a handful of parts depending on the crash. Planes are almost always a rekit when you mess up. I will agree that just flying around in a scale/sport manor with things less than full 3D capable planes will get boring fast but not everything is for adrenaline. To me I do other things for a rush (ie: downhill mountain biking) and fly to relax, even with helis at this point. To each their own.

[Brick]

Originally Posted by Dylan Hudock

Flying planes is boring compared to helis! You will have no problem flying a plane.

[WickedDragon]

I was talking about this with an avid Jet Flyer the other day..... he commented that jets would be pretty easy to fly for most 3D heli pilots.

[Mojappa]

That's most likely because they require a gentle touch to fly and heli pilots generally develop this "light touch" more so than our plank brethren. If I didn't start with helis I woul have probably had a bit more difficulty starting out, instead my first plank was a micro 3D foamy (UM 4-site) which would be the last recommendation from any experienced planker as a first plane. Also worth noting, it still flies a year and a half later if that's a testament to the ease of transitioning from helis to planes.