Offshoot RC Models/Drone Hobby Thread

[DocBob]

I’m just trying to get as many hours as possible on the sticks with the cheap little 400mm Corsair before moving onto the larger models, which hasn’t been easy with the weather lately.

You aren’t meant to fly in high winds with these tiny little floating Foamies, but there’s no point in relearning my skills in perfectly calm weather, because that really doesn’t teach you much about how to control an Aircraft properly!

Pretty much all the crashes so far have been due to some pretty gnarly wind conditions and me being too slow to react, so just trying to build back the hand-eye coordination on something cheap and robust before stepping back into the larger Aircraft.

The hardest thing will be resisting the temptation to build and fly the larger scale models as soon as they arrive… no different to receiving each new Gelblaster!

Next step up from the 400mm Corsair will be a 560mm P51 Mustang to keep on progressing, but it is much easier to fly larger and heavier Aircraft than the tiny lightweight and twitchy smaller stuff!

Have already bookmarked all the online spare parts sites for each model that I have on the way, and have ordered spare Props for the Tail Draggers already!

[DocBob]

Ooops…560mm Mustang, not 520!
When the scale is this small, every inch matters.

On the same topic, just got these delivered and are NOT going to fit the Corsair being only millimetres larger at 800mAh.
Battery space is tiny with zero room for anything but the exact same batteries as standard.

Luckily I have another 5 on the way that WILL fit and are 550mAh instead of the stock 400mAh for a bit longer time in the sky.

[Maiphut]

C’mon I went up in high winds and it was going backwards.

Then I had a brownout on a 1700mm Cessna. That went down hard. Had to burn it There was no fixing that one.

But yes you are correct got to be about 20k’s and less in windspeed for the foamies.

Or else it’s flaps 5, gear down coming in hot

This poor Piper next is in for a rough time

[DocBob]

That going backwards thing is my favourite thing to do with the Corsair…great fun!

Shame about the Brown Out on the Cessna, that would be heartbreaking to watch, and have also had the obligatory Funeral Pyre for a few of my Cousin’s Aircraft that became lawn darts in the middle of the Wheat paddocks.

I’ve been watching shittonnes of RC Aircraft Crash Compilation videos, just to get more comfortable by watching hobby nuts with huge scale Aircraft worth many thousands of dollars exploding into the ground in a shower of splinters and broken dreams, making it less stressful thinking about destroying my own cheap $100-$300 FMS/ARROWS stuff!

[Maiphut]

yes that’s why the foamies are good instead of spending time and hours on the wood ones. Bit like the real ones.

One wrong move and it’s game over. The foamies bit more accommodating in that respect you can glue em back together. Get going again but only so much.

The one and only time I lost a Lipo 4S was the big Cessna on impact it crossed the wires and started to sizzle. So was the flight investigation after anyway

But still that F4U with the radial motor in it I was watching the other week. That was awesome but I’m not qualified for that methinks

[DocBob]

Yeah too right… much time to be saved with these modern PNP Foam Aircraft rather than many months spent building the old Balsa Wood Aircraft, making it less stressful when things only require a quick dab of foam glue to put the pieces back together compared to a pile of matchsticks.

Seeing those Volkswagen Beetle sized Corsairs with the 3 cylinder radials crashing within the first few seconds of their maiden flights is crazy, and would hate to think how much time and money the owners had sunk into them in the first place.

Yeah, no thanks, I’ll just stick with the cheap Foamie Crash Test Dummies!

[DocBob]

Just had an idea how to make use of those 800mAh 3.7V batteries that just arrived.

The Mustang uses 7.4V 600mAh 25C batteries, so if I make up a couple of packs with the 3.7V/800mAh batteries in series, they will technically be the same size and weight, but give me 7.4V at 1600mAh spare batteries for the Mustang instead!

[DocBob]

Dickhead me just had another lightbulb moment.

I’ve already got dozens of different size/types of “high” power 7.4V and 11.1V batteries leftover from the Gelbaster Hobby doing nothing, along with heaps of the RC Crawler Hobby batteries that can be used in the Mustang!

We all know that these Chinese Checkers are nowhere near their rated capacities, but neither are the 600mAh ones supplied with the small RC Planes… but these will definitely last a lot longer for sure!

[Maiphut]

Sorry to sidetrack . Delivery today from the Doctor arrival

Just got to get to the big smoke myself. Thank you I’ll pass on a pic of the Clod for ya

[DocBob]

Cheers mate, hopefully they will fit the big girl and see some good 'ole SA topsoil on them soon!

[Maiphut]

They wil fit right for sure. I’m knackered after the service. Think I lost my voice

Good send off for the fellow

[DocBob]

“Celebrate the life, not mourn the death” is how we were raised, which sounds good in theory and does help make things a bit easier, but still don’t stop the deep feeling of loss that’s for sure.

[Maiphut]

For sure, have fun while you have time

I’m having some of that right now fk it time for a beer well overdue

[DocBob]

Awesome day up at the Weir.
After several days of high winds, storms and relentless rain, today was the calm after the storm.
Clear blue skies, sun shining, zero wind and the water like glass.

Ran through 5 battery packs in the Corsair and 12 packs through the little 915 Twin Hull and ARROW Speedboats, as well as 3 batteries through various Rock Crawlers.

The beauty of this Hobby is the people who come and say gudday, interested in whatever it is I’m “playing” with at the time.

Mums, Dads, Kids, Grandparents… they all come and say thanks for the entertainment or looking for information to buy similar models after watching for themselves or their kids/grandkids.

I’ve always handed over the controls for these people/kids to have a go… except the Aircraft, as that takes serious skills to achieve!

Just today alone I had 3 different Grandparents, one middle aged bloke, 3 kids and a Father and Son all come and check everything out, having a blast after handing them the Transmitters and all asking where they could buy their own models.

It’s mind-blowing how many people are interested, or already in the hobby, but simply don’t know where to start looking for such models.

I was just about to leave the Weir as the Sun had gone down, when another 4WD rolled up, and suddenly heard that all too familiar sound of two RC Speedboats hitting the water!

Naturally turned off the Patrol and went to chat with this father and son team.
Turned out that this was their first time on the water after finding a couple of second hand Boats that they blew their Tax Returns on and had come down to give them a trial run.

Unfortunately, being second hand, they were having a LOT of issues with bad electronics and servos, making the Boats basically uncontrollable and useless… even though they are much bigger and extremely more expensive than my cheap little Chinese AliExpress models, they still suffer the same issues.

Helped them out with a bit of advice and fiddled around with a few things for them, but by then too dark to get them into the water again.

I’m charging up all my battery packs tonight, and hoping to see them again tomorrow to help them with a proper test and tune to get them working properly.

I’m just looking forward to Monday/Tuesday, when I should be getting the P51 Mustang and 1220mm FMS RANGER Float Plane delivered!

[Friendly_Fire]

That’s the way, Doc.

Very good of you to give a little guidance to the newcomers to the hobby… might keep 'em coming back for more. Good karma points.

It’s always the social side of a hobby that’s the cherry on top… a bit like this forum, hey?

[DocBob]

Cheers mate, getting out and sharing intetests with others is about all I got to do these days!

Many are a bit like myself, and @Maiphut to an extent, who have been in the hobby decades ago and are now getting back into it now that work/family life has allowed a bit more spare time for them to re-engage in the hobby… except for Maiphut!

They are in the same boat as me, finding out that much has changed, technology has advanced significantly and it’s all quite different to what it used to be 30+ years ago!

So good fun in the sense that we all know how everything works and the systems involved, but nowadays it’s much more technical and expansive than it ever was, so there’s much relearning to be had.

[Maiphut]

What’s this extent business Have you got a 29cc 2 stroke.

Joking of course.

Your rain dance worked, 14mm. But could you quit the high winds and ICE.

[DocBob]

Can stop rain dancing now?

[Maiphut]

Not yet. But it’s a start. I’ve got the drums out. Might even see if co workers can pull the Kuma Tae` .

Fk is that funny when you have a knock off beer and a few get the Hakka going, really good too.

[DocBob]

What a long and interesting day on the water.

The RANGER and Mustang fly really nice and look fantastic… but the RANGER doesn’t like water.

Who would ever have thunk that an Airplane ESC isn’t Waterproof!

Only got one single flight in, and was practicing water takeoffs and landings, until the Prop copped a splash of water, flexing the blades just enough for the Spinner to pop off and water got sprayed into the engine cowling!

Never learnt my lesson from the Speedboats about glueing foam into detachable parts to keep them afloat, not even thinking about it being an Airplane, so that Spinner has also joined all the other Speedboat parts on the murky bed of the Weir.

As for the ESC, it got a bath and has stopped working.
Being fitted in an Aircraft, it ain’t waterproof, and is located right at the front lowest section of the Cowling…a PERFECT place to get fan forced water all through it.

Excellent spot for maximum air cooling when flying off the ground, but shit house for a Waterborne Aircraft.

The things you learn, and not even consider when flying an Airplane.
Already have a 50A Waterproof ESC on the way to replace the 20A sponge that it was suplied with.

Now I’m starting to get a little concerned about the longevity and reliability of the control servos in the wings and fuselage, as they definitely ain’t waterproof versions either.