Transferring skills from UM to full-size park fliers...advice please!

[splash1MiG]

I'm a new flier and have worked myself up from the Parkzone Supercub (full-size) to the UM T-28 Trojan. I've pretty well mastered the Supercub and I can now handle the T-28 quite easily. Basic flying is no problem at all and I can successfully do a wide range of basic aerobatics (loops, rolls, inverted flight etc). Still have trouble landing on a narrow strip, but setting it down in the infield of a baseball diamond is no problem at all. I want to work up to full-sized warbirds and I hope to get the full-size T-28 soon (since it seems this is the most docile warbird out there). If I can handle the UM, am I ready for the bigger bird? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[wolfewinde]

I would think you are ready to move up - if you have a decent radio. If you can program in the rates and expo, you can tame the warbirds down some until you get used to them.

I have flown the PZ Trojan, Corsair, SE5a, Spitfire, and Me 109. I listed them in the order of difficulty to fly - easiest to hardest.

There is not much difference in the Trojan and Corsair. Both use the same power system and both glide in well to land. If you can fly either one, you can just as easily fly the other one, so just pick the one you like the best.

Wolfe

[dkrhardy]

IMHO, the UM trainers are very twitchy to fly. Short wings and wind/breeze issues make you stay on top of 'em! More wing, more weight makes most planes easier to control. My $.02

I guesss I'm saying that it sounds like you could do well with your T28 choice.

[dumo01]

If you are doing well with the SC and uMT28 you should do well with the bigger T28. The biggest differences you will see is that the T28 will be faster, but will be less twitchy than the uM T28. You will most likely be flying it further out than the uM which will offset the perceived speed difference somewhat, the speed difference will be most noticeable on landing. I would spend some time on the first few flights setting up some slow passes down the runway to get a feel for landing.
Good luck with it.

[splash1MiG]

Thanks for the advice! After getting pretty good w/ the supercub, I got the Phoenix sim and eventually could handle all the electric prop planes it had (trojan, corsair, 109, Thunderbolt) so, thinking I was ready, I picked up the Parkzone Wildcat. That didn't go so well. The trim was all out of whack after an early crash and I got a couple successful flights out of it before I smashed it up pretty good. I then decided to try the micros since they're cheaper and sturdier. I have just a basic Spectrum DX5e radio, so I can't adjust any expo, but I do fly my UM trojan with the High rate (since it makes aerobatics easier for me). My plan is to get the UM P-51 this week (which I heard is faster and more challenging than the t-28) and once I'm good with that I'm gonna give the big T-28 a shot (I already have it on order!). The SE 5a and Spitfire are the ones that I'm aiming to eventually work up to! Thanks again!!!

[splash1MiG]

Originally Posted by dumo01

If you are doing well with the SC and uMT28 you should do well with the bigger T28. The biggest differences you will see is that the T28 will be faster, but will be less twitchy than the uM T28. You will most likely be flying it further out than the uM which will offset the perceived speed difference somewhat, the speed difference will be most noticeable on landing. I would spend some time on the first few flights setting up some slow passes down the runway to get a feel for landing.
Good luck with it.

Oh ya, and I've read/heard that I can remove the landing gear on the T-28 and belly-land it on grass. I plan on reinforcing the bottom with some tape and practice belly landing before moving on to landing w/ wheels. Do you think that's a good idea?

[dumo01]

Oh ya, and I've read/heard that I can remove the landing gear on the T-28 and belly-land it on grass. I plan on reinforcing the bottom with some tape and practice belly landing before moving on to landing w/ wheels. Do you think that's a good idea?



A lot of that would depend on what type of surface you will be flying off of. If you are flying from a long grass field than taking the wheels off will probably work well. Use some tape like you said to protect the bottom as well as the leading edge of the wing and wing tips. I would tape the leading edge and tips even if you are using the wheels just to protect them from dings. If you are flying from a hard surface or short grass, the tape will protect the plane for the most part. Just remember to stop the motor before the plane touches down.
The stock wheels on the T28 will work on a hard surface or short grass. If the grass is longer when you start doing wheels on, you might want to replace the wheels with bigger wheels that will cut through the grass more easily. DuBro, among others, make replacement wheels of various styles and sizes. 2 or 2 1/2 inch work well

[mclarkson]

In my opinion, UMs are in many ways more difficult to fly because everything happens so darned fast. My UM Cub can be upside-down and headed for the ground in a fraction of a second. My 30" cubs just won't roll that fast. Et cetera.

Larger = slower. You'll need more space to land and take off. More space to fly and land.

In reality, of course, larger planes are going much faster but UMs are quicker.

[wolfewinde]

You would be better off to get the DX6i than to get the Mustang

Wolfe

[eagle33]

I second Wolfe's Dx6i comment.

[NJSwede]

Originally Posted by splash1MiG

Oh ya, and I've read/heard that I can remove the landing gear on the T-28 and belly-land it on grass. I plan on reinforcing the bottom with some tape and practice belly landing before moving on to landing w/ wheels. Do you think that's a good idea?

You could, but I'd recommend against it. You'll probably go through more props and motor mounts than you'd like to...

Instead, order three 2 1/4" -- 2 1/2" wheels and put them on. The stock wheels for the ParkZone P47 fit perfectly and have the exact right size. You'll be able to land in pretty rough and tall grass and the whole thing will set you back some $5.

Here's what mine looks like with the P47 wheels:

[splash1MiG]

Got my T-28 in this week and I love it! All your comments were pretty well spot on! I do find the actual flying of the big T-28 much easier than the micros (I also did get the P-51). dumo01: You're so right about the biggest difference being the landing speed. Gotta say it's even faster than I would have expected, since I'm used to landing the Supercub on the infield of a baseball diamond! I find that it's also more challenging to get the big bird to "sit" down for a landing, it just wants to keep going and going!

After unboxing the plane, I decided to use the landing gear. I've been able to make a couple nice greased landings, but I still need work on my approaches, especially in the wind. Since my favorite flying field has some longer grass, I've had to use the soccer field at the school where I work since the grass is much more sparse there. I've already ordered the 2.5" Thunderbolt wheels too!

Thanks again everybody! I really appreciate all the advice!!!

[dumo01]

Glad to hear it is going well for you, it is a great airplane. Mine is about three years old and while heavily repaired and modified is still going strong and fun to fly. The only hitch at the moment with it is I noticed last time I flew it, one of the aileron servos is not quietly centering when it should and will probably need to be replaced. That will be somewhat difficult since the wing has long since been glued into the fuselage. But maybe that would improve some of the twitchiness it had on the last flight; at least I can claim it was not pilot input

[splash1MiG]

If my T-28 lasts three years, I'll be beyond satisfied! I hope to use it (along w/ my Phoenix sim) as a trainer/transition plane. My ultimate goal is to be get good enough to handle the PZ Spitfire (which is my dream plane). The PZ SE5a and Thunderbolt are also warbirds that I'm drooling over right now....