FT Flyer - First ever attempt at RC flying!

by DrBones | September 16, 2013 | (5) Posted in Just Fun

Well, I finally made it!  I've been hovering around flitetest for a while now, inspired by you guys and the fabulous job you do in getting people into the hobby. I'm completely new to this - other than my childhood memories with a friend, butilding a balsa glider..which subsequently crashed and broke into a million pieces..and my friend was in tears...

First lesson learned: From what I can tell from my local hobbyshop, it appears that many RC flyers think that it is the priveledge of the elite to do this.  One comment to me was: "You have to committ if you want to try this!" - This after a lecture of how I had to buy a $200+ simulator, a $200+ transmitter, and insurance, and club membership, and, and, and...

Well, I fell back on flitetest and the simple and cheap method.  This and my fascination of the proliferation of accessible technology coming out of China - watched a bunch of reviews and ordered myself an OrangeRx T-Six with a couple of receivers from HobbyKing.  Prior to that, I actually ordered a WLToys v959 quadcopter with a video camera from www.banggood.com (free shipping!) for $67 as I really want to get into quadcopter FPV flying.  

I've actually become quite proficient at flying the little thing and so far it has survived many a crash without leaving me stranded...which leads me to my FT Flyer experience!

Now, I downloaded the plans, got the foamboard, sealed it with Minwax, proceeded to cutting out the parts, and ordered the powerpod electronics from www.lazertoyz.com.  Along the way, I cut my finger with the exacto knife and figured out that sanding the hinges down with sandpaper was easier and cleaner.

So, this last weekend, I finally made it out to the local park.  I handlaunched..and it flew!  A horrible right turn tendency, which I couldn't trim out fast enough..and I 'landed' - breaking the prop in the process. I did that again..this time a bigger loop and crashed it softly to the ground...breaking the prop yet again.  So, next lesson learned: buy DOZENS of props until I get to learning the landing part! Oh yes, and that little black rubber for the 'prop saver' - well you can get dozens of those at Lowe's in plumbing under rubber gaskets ($2.78 for a dozen) - because I've lost that also a few times now.

 Also - I recommend to those of us who are complete newbies in flying, to re-inforce the FT Flyer fuselage (not the power pod) with those wooden tongue depressors/ice cream sticks.  As I repeatedly crashed my plane (albeit softly) into the ground, the wooden stick holding the powerpod on tore into the fuselage, pushing the entire plane into the firewall.  Gluing those wooden ice cream/tongue depressors into the inside of the inner fuselage fixed that.  Now, all I've got to wait for is more props!

Other than that: Excellent plane to learn on..and quite crash resistant.  Just remember: buy MANY spare props! It might be counterintuitive, but landing is low on my priority list with this plane.  I'll be happy to cruise around a few times for a sustained time!  Landing will come - one way or another!

COMMENTS

ccrawford on September 19, 2013
Very familiar story! I have a jar of busted props on my desk, and still buy them by the dozen.

Be careful of over-strengthening the plane...it makes it heavy and your motor will take more of a beating on crashes.

Don't dismiss the simulator idea too quickly. You don't need to spend $200. You can get a lower-priced one (clearview isn't bad for the price), and a trainer port to USB adapter for your radio.
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andy_spoo on September 20, 2013
Actually, there's a cheaper version of Clearview called 'Clearview SE'. It's the same simulator, but you just pay for the models you want. Currently, there site states:- "Super Sale: Get 5 or more models (or flying fields), and pay only $2 per item!" So, you can get the simulator, with 5 models of your choice for $10 ...... definitely worth it :-)
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andy_spoo on September 20, 2013
Ooh. Forgot the link (sorry). here it is:- http://bestflightsim.com/index.php

If your transmitter has one of the usual connectors on the back, you can buy a USB to transmitter cable from ebay for about $6



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iflyfoam2112 on September 19, 2013
I have a similar experience each time I go to my LHS. I recently returned to RC flying after about a 20 year hiatus and all the reasons why I quit came flooding back to me as soon as I stepped into the hobby shop in my town. It is a fairly large shop that has some car racing near the back. It seems like a nice place, but the prices are out of control and the staff seems to cater to the car guys, and the old guys flying their awesome 1/2 scale Extra 300's and Trex helicopters. I remebered being 16 and broke and wanting to fly so bad that I would have done anything for the chance.I managed to scrape up some cash with a part time job and bought my first balsa kit. It took me about 6 or 8 months to actually get it to the point of covering it and getting my linkages all hooked up and ready to receive electronics. That's when being broke started to suck really bad. Radio, engine, servos, Receiver, receiver battery, etc, etc, etc. 6 more months go by and a birthday, Christmas and some begging, and it's finally ready to fly. Off to the airfield. What? it's a club field? I have to join a club? To make a long story short, 1 guy at the field was willing to even speak to me and went so far as to maiden my plane and give me a few pointers for future builds. That plane flew a total of 4 times and never by myself. So into the rafters it went and life went on without flying for years and years. Not 1 person at the hobby shop ever showed any interest in getting kids into the hobby. There was no scratchbuilding happening outside the "group" of old guys at the very exclusive flying field.
But now it is different. We have the ability to bypass the LHS folks and let our creativity and curiosity run amok, and hopefully not go bankrupt in the process. Radios are more affordable and vastly superior now. FOAMBOARD!!! where was this magical material in my early years.
Don't let the Hobby Shop guys rain on your parade. Scratch building is going to keep this hobby alive and the more people that get involved and follow that curiosity, the better this hobby will be for everyone.
Internet + Foamboard + Flitetest and other youtube RC channels = bright future

Keep flying and building
All the best
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DrBones on September 19, 2013
Hahaha - you are so right! I even got my retired neighbor into flitetest and scratch building after be had nearly given up on his hobby store bought trainer and a few crashes. He was all excited after my first dismal attempts just by seeing that my only observation was that I should have bought the props by the dozen! Kudos to the crew at flitetest! Thanks so much!
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rezq911 on September 20, 2013
Drones, glad to see your success with theFt Flyer. A few tips:
1. Try using tiny zip ties instead of o-rings. The still break away in a crash and you can get 50 or so for $1. They also don't tend to pop off under full throttle!
2. Try getting some of the GWS orange props. The seem to be more flexible/crash resistant.
3. Buy the "G5 12 in 1 simulator" from Amazon. It's about $10-15 and includes connectors for many different radios including OrangeRX.
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sailorJohn on September 20, 2013
1st joining the AMA is the responsible thing to do unless you can tolerate a million dollar lawsuit. 2nd simulators are extremely helpful. 3rd Joining a club enhances the RC experience. 4th Many clubs have a buddybox training program to save your models(props). 5th throwing the LHS a bone now and then may mean getting a part or prop on the way to flying plus being able to see(touch) products before purchasing. I buy a lot from china (BLACKMARKET) but LHS's usually will stand behind what they sell. 6th I haven't determined if orange transmitters are legal in the USA ,hope they are I'd like to get one. I fly some 40 sized fuel planes but mostly electric foamboard scratch builds with knockoff receivers, but often receive help from guys flying 2 and 3 thousand dollar 30% scale planes. Many cities have anti rc laws ,Nashville parks require a permit ,not cheap .
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JasonEricAnderson on September 20, 2013
Very similar story. Only I started by crashing a nutball and then going with the FT Flyer. LOVE this plane. I took a narrow strip of the extreme packing tape and reinforce the leading edges of all the surfaces. This helps keep the dents and dings into becoming tears or peeling back the paper.

My last bad crash caused the frame to buckle right in front of the tail assembly. In my next build of it I'm going to hot glue in two skewers in that area to stiffen it without adding much weight.
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RoyBro on September 23, 2013
Thanks for sharing your experience and the tip about the prop saver bands. What camera did you use and where did you mount it?
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DrBones on September 25, 2013
The camera is on my WLToys v959 quadcopter. It's a keychain type camera and sells for about $21. Nice thing about it, it has a swivel pinhole lens with a micro SD card and weighs very little. Downside is that it connects to the flight controller through which you switch it on/off and/or take individual pictures - In other words: you unfortunately can't just put it on another plane - or at least you'd have to figure out how to do the on/off switching via whatever receiver you have and adapt the plug.
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DrBones on September 26, 2013
UPDATE: I finally flew the FT Flyer - This plane is incredibly easy to fly. Lessons learned: Take your time trimming it. Mine had an awful tendency to fly to the right. Next: once you direct the plane to go left/right - you need to counter steer to get it to straight! Yes, I remember Josh saying something about that...but learned the hard way!

Also - This plane - if you panic - just cut the throttle - It'll simply 'float' to the ground. No biggie! Crashing is definitely not a big issue as long as you don't land in trees!
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DrBones on September 27, 2013
Here is my flight video from today! It was so much fun...great experience...just wish my son would've gotten the orientation lock off on his phone when he filmed it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCIYhIl0e34
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Wes Vasher on October 2, 2013
I went through twenty props pretty quick. Now I haven't broken one in a couple weeks. As soon as my plane gets in trouble it's now instinct to cut the throttle.
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Yogenh on April 29, 2014
sounds like all of you are doing good at having fun that is what it is all about. Good luck!!!

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FT Flyer - First ever attempt at RC flying!