Old hand needs new start

[IrishBarney]

I need advice for equipment to start flying electrics. I have considerable experience flying gas and glider R/C in a previous life but my old 72MHz Heathkit and Citizenship analog radios are a little obsolete! I’m not afraid to build plane from scratch. Last one I built was balsa kit with Ambroid glue and Monokote. Anyway I would like recommendation for radio, plane, motor(brush or brushless?), speed controller, prop, battery, charger, etc. A medium to large size warbird might be fun. Is Tower Hobbies still a good mail order house? How immune are the new radios to interference?
Thanks, Barney

[Unclebuck21228]

I too returned to the hobby after 20ish years. I pursched up a Spektrum DX8 radio, a used Stinson SR-10 (Parkzone), an off brand fairly inexpensive Lipo charger and Tunigy 2200 3s Lipos from Hobby King. There are loads of ready to fly planes that use that size lipo. It was nice to have something to fly while I returned to building. I chose the radio because the club instructor recommended and also enabled the trainer cord hookup. I also got a really good deal on it from my LHS. It came with 3 receivers! I haven't had any trouble with the plane and it fly's great and looks fantastic in the air.

My first returning building project was a Sig Cub that I converted to electric. I have had the kit for 20ish years. The motor, ESC and BEC i purchased from HeadsUpRc. Its off brand stuff but super affordable and the folks there are super helpful. Plus shipping is only $2. In my experience their customer service is above exceptional.

I am currently refurbishing a Sig Kadet Senorita that suffered 20 years of hangar rash and also getting electrified. Also from HeadsUpRC.

With the plethora of brushless motors on the market I would not even consider a brushed motor unless it came in a micro and if you haven't looked at them give it a whirl. They are loads of fun if one just wants to run out in the yard and get some flying done!

Welcome back!

[CHELLIE]

Originally Posted by IrishBarney

I need advice for equipment to start flying electrics. I have considerable experience flying gas and glider R/C in a previous life but my old 72MHz Heathkit and Citizenship analog radios are a little obsolete! I’m not afraid to build plane from scratch. Last one I built was balsa kit with Ambroid glue and Monokote. Anyway I would like recommendation for radio, plane, motor(brush or brushless?), speed controller, prop, battery, charger, etc. A medium to large size warbird might be fun. Is Tower Hobbies still a good mail order house? How immune are the new radios to interference?
Thanks, Barney

Hi Barney and Welcome to Wattflyers There is Nothing wrong with 72Mhz, as long as you are using a narrow band Transmitter, I like the JR Radios, and only use a BERG Receiver with Electric power with 72Mhz, as they have the Quality ceramic filters built into them, most other Receivers will glitch with 72Mhz,

2.4 is nice if you have big $$$$, the reason i say that is because the full range 2.4 receivers are expensive, you do not want to use the parkflier receivers IMHO because they are short range and are prone to Masking the transmitter signal, when using a 2.4 Receiver, you want to use a seperate UBEC or seperate battery pack for the electronics, because if the voltage gets drawn down to far on the main power battery and bec, it will cause the 2.4 receiver to Reboot/Brownout and the plane will crash, there is a lot to learn about the 2.4 radio system before you use them to keep yourself out of trouble IMHO, I had a 2.4 Radio a DX6i, the transmitter was nice, but i could not Afford to equip all of my planes with full range receivers, big $$$$$$, so i sold it and went back to 72Mhz with no problems at all, IMHO 2.4 is a Big Hype. got to have thing, to each their own I started out with building CL planes with Balsa,Ambroid Glue, tissue paper and dope Thank my father for getting me started in CL
Take care and have fun, Chellie

[CHELLIE]

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXXEK1&P=0

REQUIRES: Radio: 4-channel
Servo: Three micro
Motor: 28-30-950 outrunner brushless
ESC: 25A minimum
Battery: 11.1V 1500mAh LiPo
Charger: LiPo compatible
Misc Items: Propeller, building and field equipment


SPECS: Wingspan: 41.5" (1055mm)
Wing Area: 270 sq in (17.4 sq dm)
Weight: 23 - 29oz (650 - 820 g)
Wing Loading: 12.3 - 15.5 oz/sq ft (38 - 47 g/sq dm)
Length: 31.5" (800mm)
Center of Gravity (CG): 2.5" (64mm) back from the leading edge of the
wing at the wing root
Control Throws- Low Rate High Rate
Elevator: 1/4" (6mm) 7° 1/2" (13mm) 15°
Rudder: 1/2 (13mm) 10° 7/8" (22mm) 17°
Ailerons:

[CHELLIE]

On the PT19, Contact Jeff at Heads UP Rc for a power system, Jeff has the best prices and service around, lots of us Wattfliers Buy from Jeff at Headsuprc. Jeff can answer all of your questions on any planes power system and be right on the money , Hope that helps, Chellie

http://www.headsuprc.com/servlet/StoreFront

[CHELLIE]

JR Transmitter

http://www.ebay.com/itm/JR-XP6102-RC...item43b6fc9b60


72Mhz or 2.4
http://www.ebay.com/itm/JR-XP9303-RC...item27cd79bf54

[AEAJR]

Originally Posted by IrishBarney

I need advice for equipment to start flying electrics. I have considerable experience flying gas and glider R/C in a previous life but my old 72MHz Heathkit and Citizenship analog radios are a little obsolete! I’m not afraid to build plane from scratch. Last one I built was balsa kit with Ambroid glue and Monokote. Anyway I would like recommendation for radio, plane, motor(brush or brushless?), speed controller, prop, battery, charger, etc. A medium to large size warbird might be fun. Is Tower Hobbies still a good mail order house? How immune are the new radios to interference?
Thanks, Barney

Budget?

What do you have to spend on a radio? $100 or $1000?. Today computer radios on 2.4 GHZ is the way to go. Hitec, Futaba, JR, Spektrum and Airtronics are the major brands. All are good.

If you want to get into the air quickly there are lots of good RTFs you can fly as you build your kit.

Foam planes are wildly popular, even among experienced pilots.

Looking for kits? Www.mountainmodels.com has a nice selection.

How much room do you have to fly?

Indoor flying of interest?

how large are we talking about? 36" wing spa? 100 inch wing span?

I am an active glider pilot so we can talk thermal or slope soaring using hi-start, winch, hand launch or electric launch methods.


Budget - how much do you have to spend?

[rcers]

Hey Barney - welcome to WattFlyer!

Where in Texas are you at? I am in the DFW area...

2.4GHz is the way to go - receivers are in fact now dirt cheap and the technology is really far advanced from those 72MHz systems of years past (and yes I used them for MANY years).

I recommend the Spektrum line for just starting out simply due to the fact that they have so many Ultra Micro (UM's) that are just a blast to fly and use Spektrum receivers (2.4GHz is brand specific).

So Ed asks a good question with budget - then we can get you started.

Mike

[kyleservicetech]

Originally Posted by rcers

Hey Barney - welcome to WattFlyer!

Where in Texas are you at? I am in the DFW area...

2.4GHz is the way to go - receivers are in fact now dirt cheap and the technology is really far advanced from those 72MHz systems of years past (and yes I used them for MANY years).

I recommend the Spektrum line for just starting out simply due to the fact that they have so many Ultra Micro (UM's) that are just a blast to fly and use Spektrum receivers (2.4GHz is brand specific).

So Ed asks a good question with budget - then we can get you started.

Mike

Another guy for those Spektrum radio systems. I've had two DX7's for 6 years, they've been flawless. And you can't beat their warranty policy.

In addition, Spektrum/JR has what's called "Model Match", a feature where if you've programmed a "Cub" model in your transmitter, and try to take off with a different model, that model won't move. Period. (Think taking off with reversed ailerons for that different model.)

That said, I'd stay away from the cheapest Spektrum transmitter that sells for about $50 or so. The DX6, and DX7 series are pretty good. I've picked up the DX8 transmitter last summer, that transmitter is an order of magnitude easier to program than my DX7 transmitter, when using two servos for ailerons, two for elevators and similar mixes in the transmitter.

And, now, Spektrum is advertising a budget full range 4 channel receiver for $30.00. Pretty good price.

The latest Model Aviation magazine ran an article on the signal range of these 2.4 Ghz radios. They had results of over 3 miles on just about all of them, far, far beyond the range of vision.

As for interference, that is pretty much a non-issue for these 2.4 Ghz (2400 Megahertz) radio systems. It is not easy to generate 2.4 Ghz frequencies without special integrated circuits designed for that purpose. And just about impossible to generate 2.4 Ghz by accident with metal to metal contacts between pushrods and engines and so on. Also, these 2.4 Ghz radios don't need to worry about who is on what frequency. It's automatic when you turn yours on. Think cellphone technology.

You do need to be aware of a solid battery source for these 2.4 Ghz receivers though. Last year, I caught a fellow club member flying a $$$$ wet turbine model with a 5 cell 2800 Mah "AA" size receiver battery. He was very lucky to have not lost his model. It was loaded full of high current servos. Those pen cells just can't provide sufficient power to run much more than a basic model with four servos. I've got a giant scale model with 7 Hitec 645MG servos in it. The peak total servo current on that model was actually measured at 14 Amperes with a $$$$ Fluke 87V digital multimeter.

That 14 Amps peak load is enough of a load to drop the voltage on a 5 cell AA battery pack to below the operating voltage of these 2.4 Ghz receivers.

These newer ESC's such as Castle Creations ICE series includes a Switching Power Supply type of BEC (Battery Elimination Circuit) that works well for most of the models under perhaps 1500 watts motor power.

Nowdays with these high power brushless motors, and LiPo or A123 battery packs, it is not hard to build an electric model that will outperform a glow engine of the same size. I happen to like the Hacker series of motors and own their motor sizes including the A30 series, A40, A50 and two A60 (2500 Watt) motors. They work and work well, and will perform to their published specifications. Mine have been pretty much trouble free after many hundreds of flights on each of them.

Just a bit of warning though, going to these giant scale electric models, their price skyrockets, and field charging their batteries becomes a major issue.

Take a look:
Great Planes Giant Big Stick Electric Conversion
http://www.wattflyer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65052

Thread on 70 size glow engine conversion to electric
http://www.wattflyer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45222

Hacker 6S2P A123 powered Models
http://www.wattflyer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44686

AEAJR's Site on Electric Power
http://www.wattflyer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18521

Hope that helps.

[maxflyer]

Welcome Barney, I'm a newb myself, coming back in after a 10 yr layoff from the 72 MHZ brushed motor era. Even then I had minimal experience - I'm sure, no where near yours. Still, I figured there was a lot to learn, and I didn't want to bugger up a nice airplane while learning. I built a simple sheet foam 3 ch. trainer called the STC by its designer, Charles Pirkey (plans on RC Universe). I equipped it with a small 1300 KV outrunner (popularly called a Blue Wonder), two 5-gram servos, a 10A ESC, and one of Hitec's Minima RXs. I've been using 2S 950 MAH batteries, which give me at least 10 minutes of leisurely flying and thermaling, with half the capacity still remaining. I did a couple of mods to the plane, including expanding the span to 37" to make it more of a floater at my 7000' MSL altitude. AUW is only 8 OZ. Including all the RC gear, I have no more than about $70 invested. I went with a 2.4 GHZ Hitec Eclipse 7 Pro TX, partly because of its outstanding display, which helps my aging and diminished vision. Frankly, within minutes you'll feel like an old hand again with this airframe. I'm having a ball just capturing thermals out behind my house. But the real value in this method has been to familiarize myself with the new radio gear, and the complexity of all the equipment, components, and procedures necessary to function in today's electrics environment. I now have a sense of how the power and capacity differences of batteries and motors relate to each other, and what I might need for heavier and more complex setups. I've had hands-on experience with batteries, chargers, power supplies, watt meters, component installations, and more. I can now easily step up to a more complex aircraft (though I will likely continue to design and build my own foam birds). I may also have a leg up because I am still an active pilot, flying my own plans-built AC. This certainly doesn't sound like a glamorous way to start out, but I've been having a blast, while gaining much-needed knowledge, and have had to risk little.

[hayofstacks]

I'm flying on an old fm radio. If yours is still in decent shape, go ahead and use it. I still charge mine up when I fly our old gassers.

If your going to keep flying, the spectrum technology works well, and is actually cheaper then a lot of 72mhz systems.

[rcers]

Originally Posted by hayofstacks

I'm flying on an old fm radio. If yours is still in decent shape, go ahead and use it. I still charge mine up when I fly our old gassers.

If your going to keep flying, the spectrum technology works well, and is actually cheaper then a lot of 72mhz systems.

Sadly his systems are "very" old and likely not AMA Gold narrow band standard and actually illegal to use today.

[solentlife]

I too am a 'returnee' ....

Bought a Lanyu ME109 RTF ....

Bought a Fly Sky 9x 2.4Ghx radio

Everything just improved from there ... the RTF got me back in the air and it was surprising how quick my fingers got back in the groove ! The 9x provided the next step to kit and ARF models.
Fitted with FrSky module - the Rx's are full range and less price than most others ..

I budget seriously my modelling ...

Nigel

[IrishBarney]

Many thanks to all for the interesting and informative replies and I'm climbing the learning curve pretty well with reading all the articles and ads! Back in the '70s it was all word-of-mouth and learning the hard way. I live in Richmond,Tx near Houston and just discovered there is a club nearby with very nice flying field. Will check it out soon.

I started with a budget of about $500 but that may not be enough. Now I understand the Lipo battery stuff so think it's best to start with name brands and matched power system components. The hangup is cost of good chargers, they're more than the plane! I want an automatic Lipo charger with cell balancer. Multiple outputs has the obvious advantage or I could just charge up several batteries at home on a single charger. The 1C charge rate makes for pretty long down time with only one battery I suppose.

Right now the Great Planes 38" Chipmunk looks good. Just go with the recommended power system to get started. The 2.4GHz radios are great!. No more frequency conflicts and getting shot down. We have no slopes here but I really enjoyed thermal gliders in the past. I had a Mark's Models Windward launched with rubber cord.

Oh but how I'm gonna miss those noisy nitro engines, expensive fuel and cleaning up all that oily mess!

[kyleservicetech]

Originally Posted by IrishBarney

Many thanks to all for the interesting and informative replies and I'm climbing the learning curve pretty well with reading all the articles and ads! Back in the '70s it was all word-of-mouth and learning the hard way. I live in Richmond,Tx near Houston and just discovered there is a club nearby with very nice flying field. Will check it out soon.

I started with a budget of about $500 but that may not be enough. Now I understand the Lipo battery stuff so think it's best to start with name brands and matched power system components. The hangup is cost of good chargers, they're more than the plane! I want an automatic Lipo charger with cell balancer. Multiple outputs has the obvious advantage or I could just charge up several batteries at home on a single charger. The 1C charge rate makes for pretty long down time with only one battery I suppose.

Right now the Great Planes 38" Chipmunk looks good. Just go with the recommended power system to get started. The 2.4GHz radios are great!. No more frequency conflicts and getting shot down. We have no slopes here but I really enjoyed thermal gliders in the past. I had a Mark's Models Windward launched with rubber cord.

Oh but how I'm gonna miss those noisy nitro engines, expensive fuel and cleaning up all that oily mess!

If you're planning on going to larger models down the road, the Cellpro 10xP charger will handle your needs for a long while. Several club members have it, one of the club members put all of his other chargers into a cardboard box, and uses the 10xP exclusively now.

http://www.store.revolectrix.com/Products/Cellpro-10XP

Nice thing about electric power, no $$$$ glow fuel, no glow fuel staining the inside of your car, no engine vibration shaking your model apart, no fuel soaking the airplane, the list goes on. And on.

Interesting, the latest issue of Model Aviation has a column about international control line competition, where the top four winners were flying electric models. That is a surprise.

[hayofstacks]

Originally Posted by IrishBarney

Many thanks to all for the interesting and informative replies and I'm climbing the learning curve pretty well with reading all the articles and ads! Back in the '70s it was all word-of-mouth and learning the hard way. I live in Richmond,Tx near Houston and just discovered there is a club nearby with very nice flying field. Will check it out soon.

I started with a budget of about $500 but that may not be enough. Now I understand the Lipo battery stuff so think it's best to start with name brands and matched power system components. The hangup is cost of good chargers, they're more than the plane! I want an automatic Lipo charger with cell balancer. Multiple outputs has the obvious advantage or I could just charge up several batteries at home on a single charger. The 1C charge rate makes for pretty long down time with only one battery I suppose.

Right now the Great Planes 38" Chipmunk looks good. Just go with the recommended power system to get started. The 2.4GHz radios are great!. No more frequency conflicts and getting shot down. We have no slopes here but I really enjoyed thermal gliders in the past. I had a Mark's Models Windward launched with rubber cord.

Oh but how I'm gonna miss those noisy nitro engines, expensive fuel and cleaning up all that oily mess!

Which marks models?

My dad uses to build their "race" engines for pylon racers and did all the catalog stuff for a marks models here in utah.

[AEAJR]

Originally Posted by IrishBarney

snip...

I started with a budget of about $500 but that may not be enough. Now I understand the Lipo battery stuff so think it's best to start with name brands and matched power system components. The hangup is cost of good chargers, they're more than the plane! I want an automatic Lipo charger with cell balancer. Multiple outputs has the obvious advantage or I could just charge up several batteries at home on a single charger. The 1C charge rate makes for pretty long down time with only one battery I suppose.

Right now the Great Planes 38" Chipmunk looks good. Just go with the recommended power system to get started. The 2.4GHz radios are great!. No more frequency conflicts and getting shot down. We have no slopes here but I really enjoyed thermal gliders in the past. I had a Mark's Models Windward launched with rubber cord.

Oh but how I'm gonna miss those noisy nitro engines, expensive fuel and cleaning up all that oily mess!

If you have not found it yet, you should read this free on-line book:

EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT ELECTRIC POWERED FLIGHT
http://www.wattflyer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31368


I am an avid glider pilot so if you want to talk thermals, slope soaring, hand launch, hi-starts, winches or slope soaring, I am your man. Visit the High Performance and sailplane forum.

Unless you need the noise and the smoke, you are going to love the clean, quiet and powerful world of electric power. You pay more up front for charges and batteries but it evens out over a season or two.



I presume this is the plane you are considering:
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXCEVR&P=ML

Looks like it will be around 24 ounces all up weight.

Recommended motor, according to Tower:
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXLWT6&P=V

Input Voltage: 7.4-11.1V (2-3S LiPo)
Max. Constant Current: 14A
Max Constant Watts: 155W
Suggested Prop Sizes: 8x6 - 10x4 slow fly

On a 2S you would use a 10X4 prop
On a 3S you would use an 8X6 prop.

This is the recommended ESC
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXKSY4&P=V
Pre-installed WS Deans Ultra male connector for battery


I would probably go with the 3S pack recommendation. This battery might be a good choice but you are going to have to check to see what the dimmensions are of the battery compartment. It has the right battery connector (Deans) for the recommended ESC. Would give you about 7 minutes of full throttle or about 12-14 minutes of mixed throttle flying.
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXXLS4&P=7

Capacity: 1600mAh
Power Rating: 17.8W
Max. Charge Current (3C):4.8A
Max. Continuous Discharge Current: 40.0A

Note that the specs say it can be charged at 3C rate so that is about 20 minutes to charge if you have a charger that can charge at 4.8 amps. I would probably charge at about 2 to 2.5C at the field when flying and charging between flights. At home I would charge at 1 to 2C which is a little easier on the battery pack.

Note that battery to ESC connectors are not standardized. Deans Ultra Plug is among the most common, which is what this ESC and battery have. I am standardized on Deans Ultra Plug.
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXKX39&P=ML


The EC3 connector is also common, but there are othes. My suggestion is standardize on one of these two and then change the connector on any battery or ESC that you get to the standard you set. I hope you can solder.
http://www.horizonhobby.com/webapp/w...pe=productgrid


Of course you can make up adapters too. If you made EC3 to Deans and Deans to EC3 adapters you would have most battery/ESC combinations covered. Something like this:
http://www.horizonhobby.com/products...-deans-DYN5021


Also note that balance plugs are not standard. There are at least 6 different balance plug configurations. Some chargers have adapters so that charger can charge using a variety of different balance plugs.

If you are going to stay in planes under 5 pounds, then most of your packs will likely be 2S to 4S packs so you will want a charger that can handle these.

If you want to charge at higher than 1C rate, and you will, then you want a charger that can handle at least 4 amp charge rate and higher max charge rate will give you more flexibility but will also cost more.

[AEAJR]

For the electric pilot there are two places where you want to buy the best you can afford. Your radio and your charger or chargers as many end up with more than one so they can charge more than one pack at a time. Having two chargers is often less expensive than one charger that can handle two batteries.


The less expensive chargers max out around 50 to 60 watts. Charging a 3S lipo pack, that would top out around 4 amps. So charge time will vary depending on the capacity of your battery. If you stay in planes of 4 pounds and less one of these would be a good fit. A typical 50 watt charger can charge a 3S 2000 mah pack in 30 minutes (2C rate) or a 4000 mah pack in an hour (1C rate).


Cheap chargers will work but the better chargers do a better job and protect your batteries better. I will let others recommend lower cost, lower end chargers. I will tell you what I would recommend and what I prefer.

My favorite is the CellPro line. I have several chargers but my CellPro 4S is my favorite.


Their basic, all chemistry charger is the Cellpro 4S multi. This is a 58 watt charger that does a superb job on a variety of battery types, but I will focus on Lipos. Maximum 4S lipo pack and a max charge rate of 4 amps up to a maximum of 58 watts. This would be good for packs up to about 4000 mah. It can charge larger packs but it will take longer than an hour. I would consider 3000 mah and smaller packs the sweet spot for this charger. That would be good for planes of about 4 pounds and up to about 5 pounds.
http://www.revolectrix.com/m4_specs_tab.htm



In the relm of more powerful chargers, the Cellpro Power Lab 6 would probably be a good choice for battery packs up to 6S respectively for planes up to about 10 pounds. This is a 400W charger as compared to the 50 watt chargers that are typical. This one can also do up to 6 packs at once.
http://www.usastore.revolectrix.com/...-EC5-version_2

Expensive, but worth it if you are going to get into bigger planes and bigger battery packs or want to charge a bunch of smaller packs at once. Some of the newer 50C and higher discharge rated packs can be charged at up to 5C. So this charger could charge a 6S 4000 mah pack at 4C in 15 minutes. A pack of that size would be appropriate to a plane of about 6 to 8 pounds. If you plan to get up into planes of this size, then this charger is a good investment. Or start with the CellPro 4S and add this one later if your planes get bigger.

Cellpro has chargers that can handle up to 10S packs for those really big electric planes.
http://www.usastore.revolectrix.com/...pro-Chargers_2

[IrishBarney]

haofstacks, I think Mark's Models was in California back in the '70s. They made other glider and power kits too.

I haven't decided on radio yet but leaning to Futaba 6J or 4YF. They are both 2.4GHz and FHSS. I don't know if I really need all the added features of the 6J.

Will the 4YF fly interference-free with all other systems? Thanks again for the interesting replies.

[AEAJR]

6J is a valid choice for an entry level 6 channel computer radio.

4YF is a 4 channel standard radio. I would not recommend it for that reason. It is so limited in its capabilities that I would not recommend it unless you plan to have a dedicated radio for each plane.

[dahawk]

I love my Icharger 206B with 350 watt PS. Can charge just about anything. Had it for 2 years, no problems. +1 on a good 2.4 radio. Many choices out there. I'm a Futaba guy FASST and if I were upgrading, I'd be getting the 8FG Super. Frankly, they are all good. Latest plane is the Cessna 310 . Next up besides my scratchbuilt crazy airliner will be the FMS 1400mm ME 109. You've got an All Star line up of helpers above.
Welcome Back and good luck. Check out the 114thrc aero squadron if you're near DFW.

Best,

Hawk

[kyleservicetech]

Originally Posted by IrishBarney

haofstacks, I think Mark's Models was in California back in the '70s. They made other glider and power kits too.

I haven't decided on radio yet but leaning to Futaba 6J or 4YF. They are both 2.4GHz and FHSS. I don't know if I really need all the added features of the 6J.

Will the 4YF fly interference-free with all other systems? Thanks again for the interesting replies.

Yeah, just about any of these 2.4 Ghz radios are pretty much interference free. They all work and work well.

There are a lot of clones out there, can't vouch for them, but I'll never use one.

One thing to watch for is the price of the receivers for your radio system. It's not hard to spend more for a handful of receivers than you spent for the transmitter. And, you can't use a Spektrum receiver on a Futaba transmitter, or any other brand. Same for Futaba transmitters, and all the other brands. Each system has its own unique transmitted signal coding.

Spektrum has a basic 4 channel full range receiver for $29.00. Not bad.

[dahawk]

If you go with Futaba, I recommend
FASST. I picked up a slightly used 6EX with Rx and extra tx battery shipped for $90 off of RC Groups. Now I have 2

[IrishBarney]

AEAJR,
Correct me if I'm wrong but with the Futaba 6J I can use CH6 variable knob on TX to operate the ailerons as flaps simultaneously with normal aileron control on right stick. I would need separate servos on the ailerons and some setup work on the TX.

[AEAJR]

Originally Posted by IrishBarney

AEAJR,
Correct me if I'm wrong but with the Futaba 6J I can use CH6 variable knob on TX to operate the ailerons as flaps simultaneously with normal aileron control on right stick. I would need separate servos on the ailerons and some setup work on the TX.

What you are describing is flapperons. This is where the two ailerons have their own servo, are set on their own channels and, using a mix, can operate as both ailerons and flaps. Standard radios can't do this.

I don't have the 6J radio so I do not speak from experience. I suggest you read the manual which is usually available on-line. However that does sound like a likely method for setting up and using flapperons as flaps.

I prefer a lever, a side slider or a 3 way switch rather than a dial, but that is me. I have found a dial forces me to take my hand off the stick to operate it. Levers, sliders or switches do not require me to take my hand off the stick.