FB Commander 2 help

[mpaniwozik]

I recently purchased a FB commander 2 and upon flying it for the first time it seems to climb way to much. We adjusted the tail wing, and it made it a little better but kind of restricted some of the climb rate. Could this be because the plane is nose heavy? The tail wing is now broken and I'll be ordering the indestructible wing, so i should be back in the air next week. Also, should I add the shim to the wing? Any set up tips would be much appreciated.

I've also got a friend looking to purchase an Multiplex Easy Star, Is this a good recommendation for a beginner? I've read good things but wanted to get some input from other with first hand expierence. Thanks.

[firemanbill]

Hi mpaniwozik, Welcome to Wattflyer!

I'm not familiar with the ins and outs of that plane but I'm sure someone will pipe in here real soon to help you out.

Good luck!:D

[flydiver]

I've also got a friend looking to purchase an Multiplex Easy Star, Is this a good recommendation for a beginner? I've read good things but wanted to get some input from other with first hand expierence. Thanks.

You are going to be VERY jealous of the EZ. It is one of the best planes for new fliers-tough and flies well. Super Cub, Slow Stick, and Wing Dragon are a few others. FBC2 is not on the list. It's on a different list....:{

Do some searching on your plane. It's a pretty challenging plane for a new flier, limited in what it can do, and limited in the useful modifications that can be made to it.

[theluckyone17]

If the FC2 is anything like my Firebird Freedom, it loves to climb when you pour the throttle on... I've been testing my luck by flying in stronger winds than I should, and I've had to up the throttle whenever I'm heading into the wind. When I do, I've got to force the nose down to keep 'er from trying to join the angels.

But the FC2 is 2 channel, right? So you shouldn't have that problem, unless you're running full throttle all the time... or so this newbie figures.

[Mr.Clean]

I recently purchased a FB commander 2 and upon flying it for the first time it seems to climb way to much. We adjusted the tail wing, and it made it a little better but kind of restricted some of the climb rate. Could this be because the plane is nose heavy? The tail wing is now broken and I'll be ordering the indestructible wing, so i should be back in the air next week. Also, should I add the shim to the wing? Any set up tips would be much appreciated.

I've also got a friend looking to purchase an Multiplex Easy Star, Is this a good recommendation for a beginner? I've read good things but wanted to get some input from other with first hand expierence. Thanks.


I own both the Fire Bird and the Easy Star. I hate to say this to a begainer but the Easy Star is a much better purchase.

The Fire Bird Commander when I first started was a difficult plane to fly. With no way to reduce altitude except by shutting off the power or making a series of very tight turns, it is hard to control.
I can make several suggestions. The are all my opponion though.

1) Do not fly in over 5 mph wind. She will climb uncontrolably and turn poorly.
2) Don't try to force the plane in one direction. If you want to bring the plane back to you and it seems to be giving you more control on the right side and less on the left just turn right. The wind and those control wires tend to play games.
3) If you are determined to make the FBC2 work for you buy the 7 cell 1000mah battery upgrade. The extra power and weight in the nose helps a bit. Plus the 1000mah is a very versitile battery for a begainer.
4) You will have the most success if you treat the plne like a glider more than a plane. Climb up to a comfortable height (75 to 100ft) and cut the engine. Glide it around, play on the wind. Work on your control of the plane.
5) Dont spend too much time or money on the plane. It is a very basic design that does not have enough mass to fight anything but the lightest breezes. I fell into the trap of buying replacenemt parts over and over again. I thing I paid for the plane 3x over. It is just not worth it.
6) When you are ready invest in an Easy Star. The Easy Star is a great reliable plane that you can fly all day and never out grow. There are a ton of modifications that can be made to the plane. And even after owning mine for 2 years she goes with me every time I fly. I even keep it with me when I am out just in case. I can not say that about any of the other plane I own.

Good luck, Welcome to Watt flyer. Dont be a stranger.

Clean

[mpaniwozik]

Thanks for all the replys. I'm just going to have to practice with it. I think i'll be purchasing an easy star in the near future. Thanks again.

[john339]

We flew my son's Commander this evening in about 5 mph wind.
Lots of fun and finally his battery wore out.
We put in a 2 cell lipo and took off.
We learned another thing about these small airplanes.
Check the center of gravity when you put in a much lighter battery.
It went up and up and up and when we killed the motor it wouldn't come down.
It landed? in a tree about a 1/4 mile away.
We will go and try to get it down tomorrow morning. We will take 5 sections of pvc to help retrieve it.

[flydiver]

We learned another thing about these small airplanes.
Check the center of gravity when you put in a much lighter battery.


True for weight changes in ALL planes. Doubly so in planes where there is little or no option to move weight around. In my Aerobird I cut the small foam spacer in the nose in half. That way I could shift the battery a little depending on using a 6 or 7-cell. It helped a little.

If you get it down be careful with the battery-it'll be VERY discharged, something lipos DO NOT LIKE!!
The discharged part is OK-little danger from a dead cell. Charging it is the touch part. ::o There is risk and many people will recommend you pitch it now.
Your charger may not accept it since it is now too low of a voltage.

What kind of lipo charger do you have? There is a technique for possibly saving discharged lipos but more info is needed. Is there any voltage left in the cell at all?

[Arkitexas]

My first plane was a FB Commander 2 and I had similar problems. It flew much better with the ACT turned OFF. I broke a lot of wings until I learned to reinforce them with carbon fiber rods. On one occasion the servo/radio board broke loose inside the fuse which gave me fits trying to find out why the tail controls were erratic. Pay close attention to the tail feathers as they can easily malfunction for a variety of reasons.

It is best to fly the FBC2 in NO wind. One day my plane flew away because it couldn't turn back around in a moderate wind. I didn't bother to go look for it.

Good things (for me) that came about because of this plane:
1. I learned to read more before I buy.
2. I appreciated the flying ability of ALL the planes I have owned since.
3. I began to learn how to repair planes and make improvements.
4. I learned to be proficient at aviation CSI (crash scene investigation) which, for me, is part of the fun of this hobby. It is very rewarding to uncover the source of a problem or the reason for a crash.

If you learn to fly this plane, you will be able to easily handle most any "beginner" plane. Have fun with it and turn anything that happens into a learning experience.

Rick

[herk_1]

I flew my Firebird Commander 2 so many flights, I finally wore the motor out. Then I retired it. Once you learn the plane, it can easily be flown in moderate winds (10-15mph), and it's fun to do so. But first, you have to learn to do the "death spiral" to get the plane down quickly if needed to prevent flyaway.

Learning the "death spiral" also teaches you the most important thing about this plane -- that pushing up the power makes the plane climb ONLY when the plane's wings are level (no bank)! If it is in a bank, all bets are off. So don't go making turns anywhere near the ground with this plane, because when the plane starts to drop (after you bank the wings), and you push up power to climb, all that will happen is that the plane will just descend more quickly, and crash. That's how I killed my first FBC -- which was my first RC plane -- though I didn't understand what was going on at the time. You will see this behavior if you practice "death spirals" at different power settings. The higher the power, the tighter the spiral, and the faster the plane descends!

BTW, I never once used the ACT feature...I deactivated it before every flight (plus, I taped over the lower ACT sensor with black electrical tape). You have to have ACT turned off or it will prevent you from doing the "death spiral" emergency descent.

[john339]

My son's Commander is still in the tree and we have tried everything to get it down.
Too high up. About 70 feet and smooth lower trunk so no climbing. Unless the wind gets it down we will write it off.
I have ordered the poor man's Easy Star which is called the Wild Hawk.
http://www.raidentech.com/rtfwiha54el3.html $69.95 complete with the cheap radio.
We will play with it for a while and then probably get the Easy Star when some money is saved up.
There are threads on it as well as the Easy Star.
Lots of packing tape to strengthen it. And be sure about the CG before flying.
A few glides into grass to set up the trim and off we go.
Good luck with whatever you get.
John

[Leo L]

Hi Mpaniwozik,
The Commander2 is designed to fly level at 50% throttle (when you use the slider, you will feel a small indent in its movement at the 50% position). Increase above 50% and the plane should climb. Decrease below 50% and it should decend. Make your judgement and adjust as necessary for the 50% position. Adding a little weight to the front of the plane (I used to use a four quarters with my original Commander) can be helpful too.

The EasyStar is a terrific beginner plane. Also consider the HobbyZone SuperCub, which by most accounts is the best beginner plane available today.