Helicopters

These are some pics of my new helicopters. I just got some better pics so here they are. Somebody gave them to me so I know nothing about them but I have been talking to another person and they are going to teach me so I cant wait. I will have tips and other info on these later.

Mini Helicopters

I just got these helicopters the other day and they are awesome. They are not the best helis you will ever get but they are very fun. They are called super battleplanes and you can shoot at each other with infared lasers. when you get hit the first time your plane will spit, second time it will drop and the third time it will drop and shut off.

This is another mini helicopter I got and this one is just as fun. A friend gave it to me when he saw I could fly it better than he could. He hated it and I loved it. You cant battle with it but it is just as fun.

Great Planes Triton charger

I just got a Triton charger from a friend and haven't tried it yet but i want to put some specs about it. He was getting out of the hobby so he gave it to me and I think it is going to work great. I have the accu cycle elite and that works awesome but that another post. Some of the guys I fly with have this charger and they say it is easy to use and they wont buy anything else. I have also read good reviews about it online too. It is also cheap and i cant wait to get it setup. Here are some of the specs.

Types of batteries and numbers cells
1-24 NiMH cells
1-24 NiCd cells
1-4 Lithium ion or Lithium ion polymer cells
6v,12v, or 24v lead acid batteries

General features
Screen constantly updates capacity, battery voltage, current and elapsed time
10.5v –15v DC input voltage
Adjustable current (charge or discharge) in 100mA increments
Displays input and output voltages and memorizes peak and average voltages
Adjustable sound cues
Cooling fan
Stores parameters for 10 batteries

Safety features
Cool-off time delay between charge cycles
Current overload
Reverse polarity protection
Optional thermal cut off probe (not included)
Adjustable maximum charging time cut off
Warning messages for improper input voltage, poor connections, and reverse polarity
connections

NiMH and NiCd specific features
Delta peak with adjustable sensitivity
Adjustable fast charge current from 0.1 to 5.0 amps
Adjustable discharge current from 0.1 to 3.0 amps
0-250 mAh self adjusting trickle charge (dependent on intitial charge rate)
Performs 1-10 cycles for conditioning and evaluation of battery condition
NiMH top-off feature fully charges NiMH without over heating

Lithium ion and Lithium ion polymer specific features
Constant current / constant voltage charge method (explained in detail later)
0.1 –2.5 amp adjustable charge / discharge current
1 – 4 cells in series (unlimited in parallel)
Setting to either 3.6 or 3.7 volts per cell nominal, results in 4.1 or 4.2 volts per cell fully
charged.

Lead acid (Pb) specific features
Charges 6v, 12v or 24v cells
Uses constant current / constant voltage charge method

There are some of the specs and i hope it works as good as they say. It also looks realy cool.

New 2.4GHz Radios

2.4GHz radios that Futaba is making are great. Some are a little expensive but they are a great buy if you fly at a field and there is someone else with the same crystal as you. I have a spectrum radio that I use on my RC cars and boats and it works great. I haven't had one problem with it yet. When you get a new receiver it only take seconds to link to the radio. and its like any other normal FM receiver but without an antenna. I look at a few Futaba systems and they are just as good. I like to use futaba for anything and I highly recomend buying their radios becuase I have flown using them for many years. You can use them on any planes from park flyers to giant scale planes. If you are just starting on out you can still hook a buddy chord to the radio. they are no different than any other radio just that you dont need a crystal.

A few of my planes

This my kadet after lots and lots of flying and crashing. I have fixed this one many times and it still flies better than any other plane I have.

This is an older ARF that I bought and put together. It is a Thundertiger V-Bat it has a OS .15 on it and it is very fast.

I just got the helicopter from a friend and I havent flown it yet but I cant wait. It has a OS .37 in it and new everything in it.

Radios

If you are just starting out and you do not know with I would recommend a Futaba radio. They are great radios and i have never had a problem with them. If you get the trainer plane you will only need a 4-channel radio. The 4-channel radio is cheap and does not have lots of extra buttons. When you get into the hobby more then later you will want the 6-channel and above. I went and spent a little more money and bought a radio with digital trim . This was a BIG help because I dint have to worry about hitting the trim and forgetting were it was. It also helps when zeroing them out when you want to set the servos in the right positions.

Garage sales

Believe it or not but garage sales are great for finding planes or plane parts. Sometime you find great deals on engines radios and even planes. I have found many planes and engines at garage sales. Even if the plane crashed look and see if the internals are still there. sometime those are worth some good money. Estate sales are also great and you never know what else you can find!

Glue

When it comes to flying RC planes glue is your best friend. It does not matter if you are new or you are the best RC pilot out there crashes happen. There are many glues out there and I have tried many and I found that the best glue is either ZAP glue or Great planes CA glue. I use them the most and I think they are great for fixing things. There are also different thicknesses that glue comes in. They usually come in thin thick and ultra thick. Glue also comes in different type for different uses also. The thin is usually used for quick fixes and it dries fast. I always carry a bottle of thin glue with me when I fly. Thick is used for gluing pieces that are fairly big and need some extra grip. It is slow to dry but is good for putting planes back together. The ultrathick or gap filler is a very thick glues and used to fill gaps and cracks in balsa. If you want a quick fix on the field you can also use a fast cureing agent or what most people call it kicker. It forces the glue to harden and you can use it right after you apply it.

How to clean your plane after a flight

Have you ever wondered what the best way to clean your oil and grass covered gas RC plane. It is very easy actually. All you have to do is take fantastic cleaner or Windex glass cleaner and mix it with some water. The mixture has to be about 50/50 but not exact (just eye it). This works on all monocote and any other brands of coating. Its a cheap and great way to clean your plane. It will also work on electric plane if they get a little dirty.

How to clean a RC gas engine

If you have been flying for awhile you might have noticed that your engines might be discoloring or they look dirty. I doubt that you want to clean every little piece of the engine with a toothpick or something. There is an easy way but it is a toxic and should be done outside away from children and animals. I learned this from a veteran RC pilot and I do it every time that a engine seizes or needs to be clean. First you need a bottle of antifreeze and a crock pot. You will not be able to use the crock pot for anything else but this after. I would suggest you buy a cheap one and not the expensive one that your wife or mother uses because they might not like that too much. I went to Walmart and bought a $30 crock pot and it works just fine. Make sure that the crock pot is big enough for the whole engine. You will also need a mesh basket or a rag. Fill the crock to the top and turn it on low so it will heat while you prepare the engine for its "bath". To prepare the engine you will need it off the plane and all the necessary tools to take it apart. You start with the glow plug and muffler then start takin everything else off. I would then go and take all the screws off the head. Then take the carburetor off and leave everything on it. Make sure the prop washer and nut ore off then take the back plate off. Pull the piston off the shaft and push it out the top with the sleeve. Now you can take the shaft out and get ready to soak it. You do not need the screws so leave them out and put every thing in your rag or wire mesh basket. when everything is ready lower it into the crock and let the part sit for at least a day in the crock while it is on low. When you think it is done open the crock and take all of the part out. BE CAREFUL AND TRY NOT TO BREATHE IN ANY FUMES BECAUSE ANTIFREEZE IS VERY TOXIC. Let the parts cool to a bearable temperature and then start to put the engine back together. When putting the piston and the sleeve back into the engine use a synthetic oil to coat ever thing so it slides in nice. If it gets scratched or dinged then the piston will not move well so you have to be carefully putting it back together. I would oil everything that makes contact. You can also use after run oil from Great Planes, it works just the same. When everything is put back together put your engine on the plane and run it. Before you take off make sure it is tuned and ready to go. I will go over tuning in another post. If you have any questions email me at metalmole@citlink.net or comment here.