PNW Tim

Hi everyone:
A quick introduction. I got into RC airplanes when I was in the the army back in the 80's. I was stationed at Ft. Eustis in Virginia for AIT and they had a modelers club area and so it began. Continued flying and building when relocated to Germany. Left the military and went to college, built a career, got married, had children and all the rest. Fast forward to this January and I have retired. There is a flying field just a few miles from my house and recently stopped in to introduce myself. Long story short, getting back into RC after a 35 year break and man, what a difference out there! This leads me to a series of questions I hope all the "up to date" pros and amateurs can help me with. I have broken my questions down into buckets for easier responses. I am a kit builder at heart as I enjoy the building as much as the flying so my questions are coming from that angle. I have recently acquired a 1/8 scale TF Gold Corsair and still have some plans from before for a couple of scratch builds (which I have not attempted but looking forward to). OK, so here goes:

Radio - will be building and flying sport scale up to possible giant scale warbirds. I am assuming at least 8 channels but the world has changed and I am sure there are things out there I am simply unaware of. I was familiar with Futaba and Airtronics, both of which seem to have gone the way of the dodo. What is recommended?

Suppliers - Tower Hobbies used to be my go to but again, seems as though the dodo has struck. These would mainly be for all the bits and pieces necessary to finish a plane from fuel tanks to hinges, wheels, retracts, field boxes and equipment, etc.

Tools - I would like to think there have been improvements in this area so a list of common tools most are using would be helpful. The only thing I have remaining is my trusty Xacto knife and small razor saw with the red handle.

I will be sticking with glow or gas so no need to include anything related to running electrics for now. I will have my hands full for at least a year but am itching to get started. Thanks in advance for all your feedback, help and comments.

Hydro Junkie

Let's see if I can throw some light onto all of this
Not sure about Airtronics but Futaba is alive and well. You can get information on them at https://futabausa.com/


Tower is still around but, unfortunately, doesn't have what it used to. You can also order direct from some manufacturers such as Dubro and Sullivan if desired.

Exactos are always a go to in model building. I would put Dremel tools and the various accessories into that category as well. As for other tools that would be beneficial, I can go on for several days, but for brevity, I'll try to keep the list short:
Clamps of all sorts and sizes
Clamp blocks to keeps things square
Power sanders
Sanding blocks
Tap and die sets in hobby sizes
Drills and drill bits of different types
Power saws
For hobby sized tools, I buy most of mine through Micro Mark. They have a wide assortment of smaller, hobby sized tools ranging from hand tools to power and machine tools. Their website is https://www.micromark.com/

I know, you said you're running fuel fired engines but batteries have evolved, even for radio gear. Futaba still sells nicad packs. They also sell LiFe packs, requiring a different charging system. The LiFe battery is preferred by some due to its more consistent discharge. Unlike a nicad, which has a semi-linear decreasing voltage discharge, with a LiFe pack, the voltage stays fairly constant until the battery pack reaches a certain point. At that point, the voltage drops off very quickly, usually with catastrophic results to the pack and/or the model.

PNW Tim

Hydro Junkie Thanks for the reply and addressing each of my questions. As always when diving back into something the answers raise more questions:

Glad to hear Futaba is still around. Can you tell me how they compare to Spektrum? They seem to be everywhere I look and relatively competitively priced.

I have been checking out the individual suppliers and I suppose will just have to continue to dig to find the items I need.

As far as tools go, this is very helpful. I have a full woodshop with large tools and I remember Micromark from back in the day and will check them out.

I am seriously debating building a magnetic set up as I historically used T pins and a cork board (back when large pieces of cork were available) but like the idea of the magnets for a number of reasons. I already have a solid core fire door which is going to be my substrate and I have the ability to make a lot of the little fixtures that are used. Are there any cons to this setup I should be aware of?

Hydro Junkie

I don't really know enough about Spektrum to give you an honest answer. I know, when the Spektrum 2.4GHz first came out, there was serious issues with them when used in a marine environment. Several boats were damaged or destroyed by signal reflection off the water. Due to that, I don't know of anyone that uses one in a boat. I've heard many use them in aircraft but that's all second hand info.
Getting back to tools, I've found some, for lack of a better way to say it, miniature power tools that have come in very handy while building boats. The smaller size makes cutting stick stock and thinner plywoods much easier. Here are links to a few of them:
https://www.micromark.com/MicroLux-M...op-Hobby-Use_2
https://www.micromark.com/Proxxon-Mi...-for-Hobby-Use
https://www.micromark.com/Allwin-Ben...sk-Belt-Sander

speedracerntrixie

My Feedback: (29)

It looks like the main topic is the radio brands currently available. As Hydro has already stated, there were initial issues with Spektrum. All have been rectified at this point. At this point they are the more popular brand. Horizon also does many ready to fly models including their UMX micro models that can only be flown with Spektrum TX. Unlike back in the day now we buy radio components separately. This holds true with all manufacturers. Currently there is Spektrum, Futaba, JR, FLsky, Radiomaster, Jeti and for the super high end Mikado and Powerbox. Of the bunch Spektrum and Futaba will be the easiest to program and anything that states as being “ Open Source “ will be most difficult.

Servos have made huge advances as well. We now have servos that will put out 500+ oz of torque. For general sport airplanes the “ standard “ servos put out by many manufacturers will work just fine. The only issue you may run into is some of the older Futaba and JR servos are voltage limited to 4.8 volts. The Newer battery technology is 6.6 volt LiFe batteries. As Hydro has stated, they are more voltage constant and have a steep drop off. They are also smaller and lighter so running a 1400 mah battery in a .40 size plane is no issue and would last a good 10 flights. Of course a new charging system is required but honestly the old wall wart chargers are a thing of the past. A good multi chemistry battery charger is relatively inexpensive and have features that lead to better battery lifespan.

Kits, as you have seen I’m sure, kits are just about extinct. I do swap meets, club contacts and classifieds. I’m always on the lookout and just completed an Airtronics New Era III and Andrews Aeromaster I picked up last year. There are some small kit cutters but IMO buyer beware.

Engines. I am a bit opinionated on this one. I don’t like anything currently being manufactured except for some YS 4 strokes. My current inventory of engines were all made in the ‘80’s and purchased from friends, swap meets and forum classifieds. The main problem with glow engines is finding fuel in some locations. Glow plugs have become insanely expensive as well.

Tools. Many different opinions here. The tools that I feel I can’t do without are a scroll saw, drill press, Dremel tool and a hand drill. Anything else will be personal preference.

Welcome back, things have changed but overall it’s still fun. You will also want to check into new FAA regulations as well.

PNW Tim

Thank you for the welcome. Although much is changed I am still pretty excited. I love kit building as much as flying and if I need to move to purely scratch built, so be it! I bought my corsair kit off FB marketplace locally (paid double what the price tag on the box said) but that's OK, it is what it is.

I do have a couple of glow engines, specifically and OS .40 and a K&B .61, both brand new from about 1988. I am interested in these newer 2 strokes but don't really want to go in blindly. Looked at this one to power my Corsair build:

Can't post the URL since I don't have 10 posts but its the NGH GT17

Is this junk or actually something that works? Seems like a good alternative to glow but I was always enamored with the simplicity of glow engines - heat it up, flip the prop and start flying.

I have also joined a local club and taken the requisite courses which probably address your FAA comment above. Love being looped into the drone control but it is the feds so status quo.

Anyhow, looking forward to buying new stuff, building a new plane and getting out there and flying. Thanks again for the feedback.