Anyone Know About Park Flyers ?

[SysError]

Sad but true, RC land is just getting old to me, I saw a cool little Park Flyer Bi-Plane at Tower that I'd like to try out. It does not include a radio, so does anyone know about radio gear for these things ?

How does the BEC work and how is the reciever powered with those little cells ? What about micro helis ? same question...
I am clueless here and want to know the basics.
thanks !!!

SystemError

 

[mcfig]

Aren't park flyers the planes on a string?

 

[chvman]

I believe most park flyers are normal R/C but ussually only 2 or 3 channels. Great for learning to fly bigger more advanced planes or great if you don't care about do tricks or 3D flight. But thats all I know. Now as far as Micro Heli's go about a year ago I bought a HoneyBee II and have yet to fly it. Of course I found that the simulator that came with it was only ok and I don't feel the need to spend $250 for RealFlight I decided I would try to learn to fly it again when I have a big garage or basement where I can learn out of the wind. Now as far as the battery question on the heli it's a 3 cell lipo pack. The reciever has a built in voltage cut off.

 

[JAy jordan2]

I had a post on there several months ago geared toward beginners and R/C Heli's.
I'm an RC heli pilot and have had just about everything (LMH 100, blade CP, MX400, Trex 450XL, Trex 450SE, Raptor 30, Compass Knight 50 sport).
Believe me, Realflight is worth 100X's it weight and cost!!! If you are learning and crash a lot, your wallet will thank you for getting a good quality sim!

Park flyers are *hobby grade RCs* which are small enough to fly in your back yard or a local park.
The most common ones are the foamies or flat outs which are made of flat styrofoam sheets. These can also be homemade from the blue home insulating foam found at the local home store.
If they break, you can use foam safe CA and fix it in minutes and be up in the air. They can be fully capable of doing stunts just like the larger aircraft do.

The power system will include:
- a lipo pack (2S or 3S depending on size of aircraft and motor type)
- motor (most common are BL like 400 size or smaller, some come with a brushed motor). My recommendation is to get a BL motor
- ESC which will include a built in BEC if it's designed for small electric aircraft.
Most include the BEC.
- 3-4 micro servos
- receiver

Just about any aircraft radio will work.
Please, please if you are flying near a sanctioned flying field, get a frequency checker!
There is nothing more frustrating than flying your $$ aircraft only to have someone nearby turn on your radio and destroy your aircraft!
This is one of the reasons I switched to the DX7.

Most aircraft ESC's have a builtin low lovatge cutoff when your lipo starts to dump so the lipo is protected. Just follow the recommended directions.
Since you are searching on Tower, I would go with their recommended bundle packages. They typically have the right combos.
Best to get some foam safe CA at the LHS and order some extra props.

Hope this helps,
JAy

 

[Nutz4rc]

I like these for fun flying

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXGFK0&P=ML

I have several of these and have upgraded the radio in one to a Futaba four channel for a trainer plane. Hard to beat for the price and easy to get parts right thru Tower. If you have someone who knows that they are doing trim it out and practice on a day with NO WIND it will go right where you point it and they fly great. Loops and rolls are not to bad ( no airelons but for a first plane to learn you may not want them) Plane will fly in a pretty good wind once you got the hang of it but learning is soooo much better if you have the patience to wait for a day with no wind. Just before dark the wind here usually dies right down to nothing and flying is like silk. I only have two things to say. The stock timer charger on one HAS stuck on me once and started to melt the battery. (My bad for not babysitting it) I now use Parkzone peak chargers which you can get off ebay cheap and they do excellant. The other is DO NOT get the mini ventura!!! It lacks power the bigger one has and the control linkages are not as good. For the price difference get the bigger plane. Heres the parts page link. Get a spare battery and a prop or two and you should be good. I also fly The parkzone stryker and a couple 3D planes with brushless lipo setups. Fun but a handful. I also have two Helis but I aint to the flying part yet. Kudos to those who can fly those. Heres the link to the pars for the ventura at Tower I really do like this plane. I have flown nitro planes of various types and the mess aint worth the hassle ( to me. )


http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/WTI0095P?FVSEARCH=ventura&FVPROFIL=++

Also if you are new to learning the Hobbyzone Supercub is a really good plane to learn on. Do a ebay search for Hobbyzone Supercub (and then with the Super Cub) There are sellers on ther who will add a free extra battery and prop and sometimes other goodies and free shipping. The ACT anti crash system is questionable by many but ignore it (leave it off) and the planes is a good flyer. I have some Firebird Freedoms (Don't waste your money on these. They are OK but a lot better plane can be had for the loot) And the act system does seem to make it better in high winds but that could be me. I never use it otherwise just messing around.

In case you did not know most of the better Parkzone and Hobbyzone planes can be equipped with different "Modules" That allow you to do several things. Ones a Parachute dropper, comes with para chtue and other little things. (Also drops marshmellows and similiar. Will not hold to heavy an object (for good reason.....) The next is a nite flite module which certain planes wings get lite up by brite well placed LEDS for flying at night. FUN but not for a beginner. The LEDS shine on the wings and tail to help you orinetate the plane. The other and my fav is the sonic combat module. Once you and a buddy can fly these planes you pop these units on and the plane can "shoot" a sonic sound wave out the font of the module. If the other plane(s) are in the sonic beam the "hit" plance will scream (very loud noise) and loose motor power for about ten seconds. But still have control of the steering and elevator. This allows you to make a landing or move out of the way till the power comes back (remember ten seconds). You can have fights with these in the air all day! Its a blast. Be prepared for crashes. They ARE gonna happen doing this. Some planes are foam and can be epoxied and taped backtogether and will fly when you would think they would not.

The ventura is not able to be equiped with the modules. Many Parkzone and Hobbyzone are. I can point you in more directions if you have special needs or wants. Email me. Bill

[email protected]

 

[SysError]

Thanks for all the info !
I was thinking of one of these;

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXMSH8&P=ML

any suggestions ?

 

[Nutz4rc]

Could be should be

Nice looking plane but not a trainer. By the time you get all the stuff ready to go you will have about $175.00 or so in it. MAybe less if you shop carefully. You would want to put a strong motor in it so it can climb out well. And the thorws on the control surfaces would have to be set very small to prevent you from over controlling. I would not recommend that for a first plane. They are very cpable of advanced manuevers but this can cause a newcomer to flight to get out of control just as fast.
I would buy a simpler high wing plane to learn on or at least find someone who has one who would teach you. Then if you can totally handle that you could fly this one you are looking at. A pretty plane will not look so pretty if it does a lawn dart into the grond at a good speed. A lot of people also like airplanes with the prop up behind the wing more out of harms way. A plane called the "Begin-Air" is like that and its a good trainer with airelons that you can leave disconnected till yo have mastered three channel flight then plug in the fourth servo and learn airelons. The "Easy star" also has the prop up behind the wing to when you hit something the prop and motor are not damaged as easily as a front prop job. You can do an Ebay search or Google them to see them.
Where you live do you have an airfield near you? A lot of flying places have very affordable learn to fly classes where they supply everything and have a buddy box trainer system so if you goof up the training pilot has only to flip a switch on his unit and they take control to save the plane from doom.
Then once its stable again they give you control again. Its considered by a lot of people to be the best way to learn and its usually the cheapest as they use thier equipment. Once you have flown a little there you can get an idea of just how much plane you can handle. Going to far forward to fast will turn you off to planes if you keep crashing and they are to fun to miss!
On that note you could be ready to solo after a flight or two. My first flight was a solo because I got sick of old codgers at the flying sites near me trying to tell me all this and all that about how hard it was. They would proclaim like they were the only ones to know that when its coming at you everythings reversed!!!! I corrected them telling them that up is still up and down is down. Its just left and right is backwards and I have been driving RC for 15 plus years so I kinda got that figured out. I got so pissed I took my plane to Northern Michigan to my families area where monster open fields are and took off right down the road. I had a BALL! The plane was nitro powered and it did flame out on me three times so I had to learn the hard way to land with no power but I managed and it was great. Back in Indiana at the field I would fly and the old farts would be proud to see thier planes up thier just flying around in a oval shape. I was doing loops and flips and attempting tricks that I am sure have no name and they were freaking out. If I wanted a plane to fly straight and level I would be on it going to Vegas!
Anyways if you buy that plane do it right and find someone to trim it out for you on its first flight or train on a trainer till you can handle it. Then put that baby in the air. Setting trims can be a little nerve racking if you are not close with them when you launch it and got a good feel for flying already. And last but not least FLY HIGH (no not on drugs) I have seen to many crashes from people who fly low and do not have time to correct when they make an error. There is an old saying. When trying something new, Fly at least three mistakes (or saves) high. This will give you the time to correct and save your bird at least three times. As high as you can still see it well is good. Low flying is cool but $$$ if you are not ready for it and hit something. Patience VS pocketbook here. You decide. Bill

 

[Nutz4rc]

Or..........

I stated $175.00 for that to go but thats with good deals on used stuff. If you bought all new its gonna be closer to $275.00 plus. Hard to argue with the Ventura for $99.00 with all you need to fly. Plus cheap parts and the plane will take hard landing and a bushy tree or two with minimal damage. Onve you got a cheap plane figured out then a better unit is a must. There are cheaper planes out there than the Venrtura but NEVER get less than a three channel. You wnat to be able to contol elevator and rudder and motor speed is nice. Some cheap two channel planes have just rudder and motor control and its usually on/off for the motor and even full left or full right for the tail. These planes will drive you away from RC Planes quick. The Ventura IS full proportional on both rudder and elevator AND the motors speed control. DO NOT SETTLE FOR ANY PLANE THAT DOES NOT OFFER AT LEAST THAT!!!!!!! They make it all so much nicer and enjoyable. Bill

 

[kevin107]

what about something like this?

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXKLV7&P=ML

 

[Nutz4rc]

Skyfly..... maybe...maybe not

I will say this. I have seen a lot of people that have and sorta like the Skyfly but you should know this. To save cost and weight the control lines to the rear tail is FISHING line. The line simply pulls on the elevator and rudder and little rubber bands pull back. It is light weight and works. But those who do have them get rid of the fishline and put solid links on it and they swear its a entirely different and better plane. You do have to take care of the rubber bands cause if one gets dryrotted or worn and fails in flight its gonna crash.

One other thing you really need to consider is your takeoff and landing. Landing gear will not handle grass with any length. Unless its a big plane with big wheels. Light planes will flip over on the top when they hit the grass. A plane with no gear can be gently belly flopped into grass as long as the props not in the way. Thus a rear prop or a Folding prop (Like the ventura sports) will be out of the way on landing. If you are lucky enough to have a full blown asphalt landing and takeoff strip (then I am jealous) you will love having landing gear. A lot of simpler planes though have no steering on the ground (The Skyfly is one. Its going straight on the ground. No steering) If you get the Hobbyzone Supercub it has steering on the tailwheel and can be driven around and adjusted for corrections.

I hand lauch my Venturas and Parkzone Strykers then just glide them in for belly landings on the grass. Tall grass can be even better as I glide in slow and then climb at the last second and stall and the plane may fall a foot or two into tall grass. My Firebird Freedom is the same. You can put landing gear on it if you have a strip or pop it off for grass landing.

I have a BEE GEE 3-D palne that takes off in about two feet so I launch it off the back deck and then it will glide so slow I just set it down on the landing gear usually moving about 2 mph. I have flipped it over once. But the props so big on it you gotta keep the wheels.

If you GOTTA have landing gear and you have the space for it a simple cheap way to make a nice runway is go raid a carpet places dumpster and place the carpet out on short mowed area upsdie dwn. The backside of the carpet makes for a good landing surface. You can hook one long piece to another to make it long enough. Perfect? No but the price is usually right. Bill

Oh yeah if you happen to live where you get snow they make super light skis that will allow you to take off and land on any snow thats got a little surface to it.

 

[SysError]

Nutz4RC and others- thanks for all the great advice ! I have learned a lot already; To be honest, I don't care for the Ventura, I just don't like the way it looks and the low-end radio system. I don't want to drop $100 on it and quickly out-grow the plane and be bored by it. Maybe it's me, but I'd rather get a three or four channel plane with a real radio that I could grow with and also be able to re-use the radio in other planes later. That's why I like the bi-plane or the Flat-Outs, that Tower has. I am pretty confident I could learn fast- like you, the "old geezer" fly clubs turn me off. I can hit a deserted field with spare parts and learn it myself, my way ! I know a lot of people who have done just that and enjoyed the hobby more so.

So how about the radio system for that bi-plane ? (LOL) Any ideas ?
and a SkyFly with better linkages.. maybe more motor... hmm, that sounds interesting !
great general topic ! thanks again

System
(I always did like those airshots... )

 

[speedythecat]

I bought a $39 plane called an Airhogs Aeroace. That's fully rtr with battery and contoller/charger. It weighs one ounce. Let me say this about that. When they say CALM conditions outside, they mean CALM. LMAO I got mine wet and ruined it. When I took it back for exchange they were out of stock, I just never bothered to replace it.

That same company has a micro heli completely rtr for like $28 at Wal-mart I hear. It's supposed to rock for $28. If you go to rcuniverse you can read about all that stuff till your brain goes numb.

I'll probably try something air related again. For the few minutes I had mine up, it was a blast!!

 

[Nutz4rc]

Get your fly on....

I will say this. The ventura radio may not be high dollar but its a good unit and will control the airplane much farther away than you can see it. I have NEVER had a glitch on one of these Ventura stock radios and I have much more $$$ Futabas that have gave me trouble. A lot of the three channel Parkzones use the same thing. One thing that does ring true is you can use these radios in other planes but a nice four channel with mixing is nice in case you get a Delta wing or V tail plane. (A lot of these three channels have mixing as any V tail needs it and planes like the stryker.) I have V-tails but I do not like them as much as T tails.
I myself like the Venturas looks. But thats me. It is aireeeooodynamic so that helps it goes a little faster and stay up for less battery. Like I said before I liked it so much I bought several just for Sh^ts and giggles. Bottom line for $100.00 you will be hard pressed to find a better flying plane thats all in one box. I have about twenty five planes and have flown a couple dozen different ones and I will stick to that its a good plane.
That other plane you showed us. The Bi-plane. That plane also needs several hours of assembly in case you missed that. Watch out for that when buying a plane. If you get into that it can be fun to build it fron the kit. If not it can be an ugly mess to geal with.


Here are a couple other planes that are nearly ready to fly and you can have them ready to go by the time the battery is charged. The first is the Parkzone Stryker. A kinda cool looking delta wing. A lot of people say its to hard to fly for a first timer but it aint. The thing is very stable. It also comes with radio similair to the Ventura thoguh. But its a fun plane. It will move along good but it will slow to a crawl in the air(Its ALL WING) for landing or messing around.

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-ParkZone-F-27B-F-27-Stryker-RC-R-C-Airplane-COMBO_W0QQitemZ250113580270QQihZ015QQcategoryZ2563QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


This is the upgraded Stryker that comes with a Lipo battery and brushless motor. This plane is supposed to do unlimited vertical and 80MPH. Some say it will not do that only it will only do that in a dive and others claim thiers will fly over 80mph in level flight. It also comes with a better four channel double stick radio. The other stryker can use the modules for dogfighting but this one does not have that option.

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-ParkZone-F-27C-Stryker-RTF-RC-Airplane-MANY-EXTRAS_W0QQitemZ250112468691QQihZ015QQcategoryZ2563QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

This next plane is the HobbyZone Supercub. Its a good affordable plane and it looks kinda neat. If you trash it parts are cheap and tape can be use to hold it together and all these "foam" planes can be epoxied or foam safe CA used to hook them back together. This plane can also be steered on the ground

http://cgi.ebay.com/Hobbyzone-Super-Cub-RTF-Electric-Airplane-HBZ7100_W0QQitemZ230130077474QQihZ013QQcategoryZ2563QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

And if you are thinking of the Skyfly I will see about finding more info on the parts needed for the tail linkage upgrade. It should not take much to figure out. Just figure the balance point BEFORE you pull the fish line off and after the solid links are on rebalance the plane to the same spot. A plane out of balance will be very hard to fly no matter what.

Here is a site you can read for HOURs on. If you want into clean electric flight its about the best thing going.

http://www.wattflyer.com/forums/

I am no plane builder and I like to fly more than build. They do have a lot of other designs that you may like. I can only say to help you out make the first plane a HIGH wing and not a LOW wing. Bigger wings make for slower capable speeds and give you more time to react. Its to bad your not close. I could get you hear and let you fly four or five planes and see what you like.

Click the link below and look at Hobbyzone. Then you can look at Hobby zone and Parkzone and Park zone. These are mostly RTF planes for decent prices.

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?sofocus=unknown&sbrftog=1&from=R10&satitle=hobbyzone&sacat=-1&catref=C6&bs=Search&sargn=-1&saslc=2&sadis=200&fpos=49455&ftrt=1&ftrv=1&saprclo=&saprchi=&fsop=2&fsoo=2&coaction=compare&copagenum=1&coentrypage=search&fgtp=

Tower also sells a lot of planes and a lot of them are of much higher quality. But a lot need building time and will cost two to three times as much. Are you looking into a lot of building or do you want to take it out of the box and attach landing gear and the wing while the battery is charging?

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXNVC0**&P=ML

This plane is a good trainer with good strong brushless power but its a trainer and not a wower. It will climb out good but not straight up. Nice as no mess from glow fuel. It has airelons so you can use those or not till you are comfy with just tail flying.

One thing for sure there are PLENTY of choices. You just gotta put down a list of what you want it to do. I hotrod plane thats a good trainer... Hmmmm Now thats a toughy. The two are sorta opposite ends of the scale.

Then you got flying boats.... Not for beginners unless your a natural...

http://cgi.ebay.com/NO-RESERVE-4CH-AIR-SHIP-HYDROFOAM-FLYING-CAR-BOAT-BFB_W0QQitemZ290116800143QQihZ019QQcategoryZ2563QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

And this cooler looking one (to me). But assembly required

http://www.hobby-lobby.com/hydro3d.htm

And last but not least look around here a little. Lotsa good setups and quality planes. ANd they show you all what you will need to get airborn. Except skill..

http://www.hobby-lobby.com/index.htm

Now I gotta get me some wings on a Clod...........

 

[SysError]

thanks again for all the info, yes I knew the bi-plane has to be assembled- dude, that's what I want ! I am not looking for some "age 8 and above" Toy, I want a REAL plane, with real electronics that I can grow with. If it crashes, so be it, I'll have parts and a radio. I have NO FEAR. I don't want a TOY I want a plane that will be fun to build, learn and can begin basic aerobatics. I do NOT want a RTR WalMart kids Toy- I want a real 3-4 channel plane. I'm a big kid, I can handle it, LOL. I am confident I will have no trouble with the bi-plane, once I get it set-up. But I still need to know about radio and BEC in mini flyers.... ? any help here or or you are just gunna keep telling me I can't fly it...

System

 

[SysError]

I bought a $39 plane called an Airhogs Aeroace. That's fully rtr with battery and contoller/charger. It weighs one ounce. Let me say this about that. When they say CALM conditions outside, they mean CALM. LMAO I got mine wet and ruined it. When I took it back for exchange they were out of stock, I just never bothered to replace it.

That same company has a micro heli completely rtr for like $28 at Wal-mart I hear. It's supposed to rock for $28. If you go to rcuniverse you can read about all that stuff till your brain goes numb.

I'll probably try something air related again. For the few minutes I had mine up, it was a blast!!

those airhogs are kid toys, not hobby grade flight

 

[Nutz4rc]

Go fly a......Biplane?

I do not consider any of the planes I listed as toy grade. Just a lot of good fun. Especailly for the price. In your original post of the Biplane the link shows the plane. Right below it shows an Ultimate combo. Get that and you have all you need. Even a brushless setup and a lipo and charger for it. The radio in that combo is a nice Futaba:

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXEFJ4**&P=ML

but I would call tower or see if I could upgrade to this Futaba at least as sits a LOT nicer radio for $20.00 more bucks or so. It has a lot of extras for that little bit. Multi-model memory and computer trims for starters. Read up on it. I have a few of the above but sometimes wish I had the LCD screen on the Futabas. (My Fancier radios are all computer jobs of one sort or another.)

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXKJD8**&P=ML

At the very least go order the plane and all the parts they list below it. They have nice links for you to find them all separately. Snag two or three batts though. Then you can get some good airtime in.

I also have JR radios and these are very nice radios as well. If you search airplane radios on Towers site you will be able to look at a ton of radios and decide what you want to pay and what extra bells and whistles you want. Some computer Plane radios have so many functions they make car radios look like two cans on a string. Some can even be programmed to do a particalur manuever automatically. But what fun is that? If you are already buying a nice four channel a six channel is not much more ( I do not know how deep your posckets are.... :] ) And you could later maybe add a bomb bay door to drop small items or a camera to take pictures from the air. (This can be FUN and profitable.)
Its not that I do not think you cannot fly that bird. Its just better to learn and perhaps crash a cheaper plane that will be easy to fix. Some planes bounce a little and others just obliterate themsleves in an impact) Also do a little home work on the Biplane to make sure you do not need a wing building jig to get the wing straight. If you do you gotta add it to the total cost. Some planes need funny things to build a kit and some fall together like a puzzle then you glue. I know thats more of a Red Barron plane but Snoopy as a pilot would rule.
If thats your plane go for it. Let us know how you do. The links they offer on the planes Tower page offer as good a setup as you should need. If you REALLLLLLY wanna go nuts call tower about a more powerfull motor. Extra power trying to get a plane to climb is always a good thing. A weak plane can stall during a hard climb attempt and if you are low can crash. So power there can help save you. The motor the combo comes with should be quite decent in power. Bill