1st build

[BroncoSquid]

Originally Posted by drummaker

Hi Broncosquid.

I see you are in the Navy. My son is in the Army... Thank you for your service to our country

Thank you sir, just past 20yrs.

I am really diging the "Crash Test Dummy" paint scheme on the cub. And those drums.......AWESOME!

[drummaker]

Originally Posted by BroncoSquid

Thank you sir, just past 20yrs.

I am really diging the "Crash Test Dummy" paint scheme on the cub. And those drums.......AWESOME!

The drum making thing is something else I went into both feet first.
We now have so many custom built drums that they are taking over the house.

We have monthly drum circle, and most people don't even bother bringing their own. Most of which I either made or put a head on...

[maxflyer]

I hate to beat MY drum drummaker, but on a concurrent thread in the beginners' forum we have been talking about starting with an easy-to-build foamy called the STC. Not only have I advocated this as a good first trainer, I also have tried to make the point that building even something as simple as this ends up giving one a well-rounded learning experience that carries forward into future efforts. The mistakes you list are mistakes that all builders experience. After you make the same mistake a few times, you get to the point where it becomes second nature NOT to make it. I'm not sure how else you get to this point without traveling down the road. Aviation...real and model aviation, is a complex subject. I am amazed at how many people think you just have to choose an appropriate first model and you're on your way. I have spent my life building models of all types, and real airplanes too. I just don't think there are any quick or easy ways to get to competence in aviation. Maybe this is also a good thing, as this hobby, like most others, can quickly become droll if you don' continually expand your horizons with new challenges. Patience can be hard to find, but I think the discipline is worth something. don' be discouraged by mistakes, but perhaps, consider a more simple route to competence. It can be a lot easier on your ego and your wallet. Hang in there.

[drummaker]

Originally Posted by maxflyer

I hate to beat MY drum drummaker, but on a concurrent thread in the beginners' forum we have been talking about starting with an easy-to-build foamy called the STC. Not only have I advocated this as a good first trainer, I also have tried to make the point that building even something as simple as this ends up giving one a well-rounded learning experience that carries forward into future efforts. The mistakes you list are mistakes that all builders experience. After you make the same mistake a few times, you get to the point where it becomes second nature NOT to make it. I'm not sure how else you get to this point without traveling down the road. Aviation...real and model aviation, is a complex subject. I am amazed at how many people think you just have to choose an appropriate first model and you're on your way. I have spent my life building models of all types, and real airplanes too. I just don't think there are any quick or easy ways to get to competence in aviation. Maybe this is also a good thing, as this hobby, like most others, can quickly become droll if you don' continually expand your horizons with new challenges. Patience can be hard to find, but I think the discipline is worth something. don' be discouraged by mistakes, but perhaps, consider a more simple route to competence. It can be a lot easier on your ego and your wallet. Hang in there.

Thanks for the comment. I feel encouraged and discouraged. I really feel that my Cub will fly just fine. It is straight.. Weighs in at 19 oz. has the right amount of digedral, isn't twisted, The CG is right according to the Cg machine. the max throws on all the control surfaces is there. I used more motor than necessary but not too much and everything is soldered well. I tested out the battery life at 3/4 throttle.

Did you notice something I didn't?

[rcers]

Just a note on your battery testing..

Never, ever do a ground test of more than 15-20 seconds. That will cause you to smoke stuff. It just does not cool properly.

Mike

[drummaker]

Originally Posted by rcers

Just a note on your battery testing..

Never, ever do a ground test of more than 15-20 seconds. That will cause you to smoke stuff. It just does not cool properly.

Mike

Does that mean that I need a bigger prop? I was able to go 10 min at 3/4 throttle and had no real heat from either motor or esc

[rcers]

Hard to say without a watt meter. If they are little above ambient temp you are likely safe but that isn't always a good indicator. Watt meters tell you what is going on rather than just guessing.

I had a good buddy that used the "heat" test and he cooked a large number of items before he purchased a meter.

Mike

[Scirocco14]

Building your first kit can be intimidating, especially an RC kit which is expected to fly well.

When I got into RC a few years ago, I had a little experience building kits back in the 70s when I was teenager, building control line planes and rubber powered kits (Comet, Guillow's). Before I built my first RC plane (a SIG 4*Star), I went to the local hobby shop and bought a couple of small rubber powered kits to relearn the skills needed. The nice part is they're pretty simple and easy to build and if you make a mistake, not a big deal.

I'd recommend to anyone thinking about building their first RC kit to get a couple of small rubber powered kits and build those first and practice. You can build the entire plane, covering and all, using just Elmer's wood glue.

In fact, I've built about 10 RC kits in the last 4 years, and a few more ARF rebuilds, and 99% of the time I just use Elmer's or Titebond aliphatic resins. They're more forgiving while building than CA, sands easier, and it's cheaper glue! It does take a little longer to complete the build.

Once you've built and flown your own RC plane, you can't wait to build the next one. There's just something special about flying a plane you built yourself out of a box of sticks!

Mark

[drummaker]

Originally Posted by rcers

Hard to say without a watt meter. If they are little above ambient temp you are likely safe but that isn't always a good indicator. Watt meters tell you what is going on rather than just guessing.

I had a good buddy that used the "heat" test and he cooked a large number of items before he purchased a meter.

Mike

I ordered one a while back on amazon and It still hasn't come. I just ordered another today. I will have it soon
thanks for the good advice.