Offshoot RC Models/Drone Hobby Thread

764

Goodonya mate, I always appreciate your replies and words of wisdom from the old days of where this addiction started! :ok_hand::raised_hands:

Itā€™s honestly mindboggling just getting back into these hobbies and learning how far advanced they are these days.

It is extremely easier and less expensive than what we had to play with in the old days, with modern technology just exceeding anything that we could ever have have imagined.

So even though being experienced in this stuff since the late 70ā€™s/early 80ā€™s ā€¦ Iā€™m completely blown away by how far the Jonnie have evolved and the prices have plummeted to be able to purchase such amazing products.

765

Yeah, Iā€™m not learning on that Mustang, Iā€™m smashing the shit out of that $70 400mm Corsair Foamie before moving onto destroying the 560mm Mustang, on my way up to the 1220mm FMS Ranger and the 1100mm Corsair as my final victims! :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

766

Honestly from a quick look around that Ranger would be the GO for a beginner, comes with everything.

Whatā€™s the seller? Got a link? Iā€™m seeing $380 for it at local shop. I might buy one myself :joy:

767

Iā€™ll share the link here, around $340 delivered to Australia with the whole RTF shebang including the Floats, or only around $220 as a PNP without the Floats.

Hopefully this is the right link to where I purchased mine, but like any online shopping, can research further to get the Landing Gear only models for a lot cheaper. :+1:

768

100% right mate!
Luckily Iā€™m actually an old 1980ā€™s Balsa Wood Crash ā€œpilotā€, so having a fully stabilised modern Foamy can make me look like an absolute LEGEND in the sky, even though Iā€™m actually an old fart struggling to see the Airplane in the sky and my eye/hand coordination being about 1/4 of what it used to be. :joy::pensive:

769

The Warbirds are low wing Aircraft, which I have never ever Flown before in the old hobby, so are quite a challenge, but very handy in being such a different aircraft to fly, hopping back into this Ranger High Wing Cessna Trainer should bring back the old muscle memory. :grin::+1:

I ordered the Red one specifically after watching many reviews and noting that the Yellow or Green versions will not stand out in our Australian skies and background environmentsā€¦ especially with my fkd up eyesight! :joy:

The Red gives high definition patterns to be able to recognise against any background compared to the other colours, so hopefully can recognise being arse over tit when this thing is way out above the local Weir no matter what the conditions. :ok_hand:

Itā€™s all about what works for you, not what looks Cool showing off to your mates.

770

I found a big wheel one for my rough landing area and my finger slipped. Must have that finger looked at one day. :joy:

Fms Pa-18 1300mm Remote Control Model Plane 1.3m J3 Piper Super Cub Rc Airplane Pnp Trainer Electric Aircraft Outdoor Sports - AliExpress

771

Hereā€™s a good American video relating to your comments here in Australia mate.

772

Mateā€¦fkn AWESOME! :clap:
Showing as $190 my end, which is honestly rediculousy cheap for a quality FMS 1300MM Aircraft compared with what a similar model would have cost us back in the 1980ā€™s. :hushed:

Complete with Flaps and navigation lights, itā€™s even better equipped than the 1220mm Ranger, and have watched many good reviews of that Airplane.

You are gonna have an absolute blast mate, and glad that your slipping finger is just as bad as mine! :joy::ok_hand:

Still have one of these sitting in the Cart as a 650mm high wing trainer with two batteries and two Props for under $100ā€¦ but thatā€™s money best spent holding onto for something much better like the model that you have just purchased! :ok_hand:

773

For sure I was looking at the ranger but the only thing holding me back was the smallish wheels. For my next one I wanted a big wheel bush plane type for my rough runways.

Was looking at a 1500mm Maul or something FMS, then I bumped in to the Piper and the price , uh oh thatā€™s the one Iā€™m looking for. Flaps and lights. Pretty good deal. Parts will be no problem as Iā€™ll be needing those :joy:

Checked some reviews, seems pretty good. Bit touchy on the controls but Iā€™ll be able to dial that down with the TX9 I have.

774

Sounds like a great deal with plenty of features for the price.

Yeah definitely need big wheels for your neck of the woods, and is the same reason why I chose the Ranger, because Iā€™m gonna run it on the floats, those little wheels arenā€™t gonna be an issue. :grin:

775

Ohā€¦ itā€™s been a fun couple of days.:face_exhaling:
Now only having the two boats left in the water after the TYLOSAURUS snapping the drive cable, today the ARROW decided to SHRED the Brushless Motorā€¦ Iā€™m actually down to just one Boatā€¦sort of.:hushed:

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Yesterday it made a weird knocking sound after I had used it to rescue the Mad Flowā€¦ because that decided to come to a complete brown out in the middle of the Weir. :roll_eyes:

Must have gotten water in the Reciever, as completely lost signal, and now I have to keep resetting it EVERY time I plug the battery in, because itā€™s no longer storing the bind to the TX nor the throttle signal for the ESC. :face_with_diagonal_mouth:

Luckily have several brand new Waterproof RX/TX Kits spare in the parts pile already!

So back to the ARROW: the autopsy is showing that the Stator appears to have moved backwards on the central shaft somehow, causing the Windings to contact the screws at the rear of the Rotor Casing, arcing out on the screws, cutting through the Windings and the whole lot going up in a cloud of LUCAS smoke.

That ā€œknockingā€ sound the day before must have been the beginning of the Stator just starting to catch on the Rotor screws. :neutral_face:

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Was already planning on swapping the parts out of the TYLOSAURUS into the ARROW anyways, as it has a higher rated Motor and ESC that has a bit more punch and top speed, and better water cooling to boot. :ok_hand:

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The TYLOSAURUS is getting completely stripped out back to a bare smooth inner Hull anyrate, so that I can fit my FLYCOLOR 150A 6S ESC, larger wiring/plugs and epoxy resin an aftermarket motor mount to be able to run a larger variety of Motors and heavier duty Prop Drive Cables.

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Looks like Iā€™m gonna be off the water for a little while while I get all the parts fitted and modifications done to strengthen everything, including having some long copper/brass lubricated drive bushings to fit into the stuffing tubes to support the drive shaft much better than those flogged out short little drive bushes I drilled out and removed. :ok_hand:

Have one more Speedboat on the way (only been 2 months waiting so far, which is another story for later!), and a couple of Aircraft turning up in the next couple of weeks to get me away from the house on those nice sunny calm days.

Stay tuned for even more Shenanigans! :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

776

Gotta admit that I really should have looked at these before ordering the FMS Ranger, as these have extras such as larger wheels, nav lights, flaps and Floats included as well :ok_hand:

Have this sitting in my shopping cart, but honestly, have two other Aircraft to arrive yet and plenty of time on the sticks required before thinking about adding to the collection of Crash Test Dummies!:stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

777

I nearly bought the Maule. Then found the Piper and thatā€™s me :sunglasses:

778

Gotta love the Piperā€¦ I donā€™t blame ya! :ok_hand:
I just grabbed the FMS Ranger as has plenty of great reviews as a good Trainer Aircraft, but also because was the only type I could find at the time that came with Floats as well.

Only just came across a seller who has the Maule with Floats and the other goodies on Sale for around the same price, so actually would have purchased that instead if I had seen it earlier. :face_with_diagonal_mouth:

A Float Plane just ticks all the boxes to be able to use up at the Weir while Iā€™m out with the Boats and Rock Crawlers, but at least those models also come with decent ground landing gear for use elsewhere if required. :+1:

779

The guts are out, now itā€™s time to strip out the ARROW and swap everything over as one complete system.

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Will see how long this lasts! :joy:

780

20 minutes later, hardest part was running the water cooling tube through the Hull back to the Rudder.

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Showing how far the Motor moved backwards, where the cable drive adaptor actually dug into the old Alloy motor cooling block. :hushed:

Normal gap:

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LESS than gap!:

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Also glued the RHS landing gear back into the wing as well as blades back on Props on the Corsair.

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Another beautiful Sunny and calm Winters Day in WA, so currently charging batteries for a run on the water and in the Air this afternoon. :sunglasses:

Was going to swap out the RX/TX in the Mad Flow as wellā€¦ wait and see if I can be bothered right now, or leave it to this afternoon when everything else comes back in pieces. :roll_eyes::joy:

781

This one would be cool :sunglasses:

EPO Foam Plane RC Airplane Models Hobby Toys 1210mm Wingspan Twin Motor Power G-44 EP Seaplane with Landing Gear KIT or PNP set - AliExpress 26

Pity about the postage being more than the model :unamused:

782

Yeah mate, thatā€™s the reason for bulk of the time spent researching products, where the Retail Price is clickbait, because the shipping is twice the price of the actual product. :roll_eyes:

Everything I purchase is Free Shipping, and through Guaranteed Delivery sites with fully warranted backup for any issues that might be encountered. :ok_hand:

Thatā€™s a BEAUTIFUL looking Seaplane though! :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

783

White/Green Death in the Mad Flow Reciever, so just opened it up and coated everything in INOX, including the Plugs, but is still not functioning correctly.

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Thinking about fitting the leftover TX/RX out of the ARROW, seeing as though itā€™s all just sitting there, is 100% waterproof and has the LVC and Range Alarms built in. :+1: