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Forum Index : Electronics : Back into the hobby (again)
| Author | Message | ||||
| Jerry Giles Newbie  Joined: 10/08/2024 Location: United KingdomPosts: 1 |
After (another) 10 year absence, I'm getting back into the hobby. Enjoyed it immensely in my 20's and early 30's...then stopped to raise a family...had a pit stop 10 years ago to try and get my boys into it (didn't work)...now they are out of the house and I am looking at getting back into it as I approach my late 50's. All my old planes and equipment are long gone but it appears much has changed anyway. I went into my LHS and was taken aback...no kits and not really many planes to choose from and all are RTF, ARF, or BNF...and a pretty sparse selection to boot. The old LHS owner retired and it appears the new owner has gravitated toward RC cars...nothing wrong with that but just not my thing. Saddened, I stumbled out of the store in a daze and went home to my computer and started googling. My old club happened to have a 'trainer night" last evening so I went out just to get a feel for where things are in the hobby. A gentlemen offered to take me up on a buddy box but after hearing of my experience, he let me take solo control and I was able to take off, fly around for 5 minutes, and land without issue. Whew, at least I can still manage a high wing trainer :-) After some further googling, and absorbing some knowledge from the gentlemen at the field, I decided I would proceed with electric flight (at least initially). The technology has obviously improved dramatically in the last 10 years. So, I just ordered a RTF (my first)...a Cirrus SR22 V2 1.4m RTF from an online retailer (would have used the LHS but they didn't have one...sadly). The guys at the field suggested the Apprentice as a good re-entry into the hobby but I know I'll get bored with whatever "safe" plane I purchase and I kind of wanted a 'tail dragger' just for the sheer fun of take offs :-) Anyway, I'm excited to get back into the hobby and eager to learn what all the new technology brings. I don't care for all the SAFE this and that but maybe it's not a bad thing. What I would like to learn is how to move to electric from gas/nitro. Seems like it's not as simple as stabbing an electric motor where the engine would have been. Is everyone just buying RTF's and BNF's these days? Is everything foam? I would love to put a good electric motor in an old Sig 4Star40 or similar and do some knife edges :-) I'm sure the answers are buried in the forum and I'll do my research...just looking for general advice on what everyone is doing these days and where I should spend my money and, more importantly, where I shouldn't. Thanks for any and all advice!! |
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Revlac Guru  Joined: 31/12/2016 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1020 |
Hi Jerry, Not sure if or how many aircraft conversions are here, perhaps before I joined here, RC aircraft can be a lot of fun, but mostly out of my price range and mistakes flying them often end up in a pile of small pieces on the ground.....but some are just very good at controlling RC flight and have no problems, The local air field had some 1/3 scale RC aircraft and looked great. I don't think converting to electric would be too difficult you could look up https://www.modelflight.com.au/blog/how-to-converting-gas-rc-planes-to-electric-power?srsltid=AfmBOooRSJ_UDveDc_RezmrJHy48KmJHjL94EpDmDh9arBSNM1WLhpXq may be of some help. Enjoy your hobby and please let us know how your conversion works, others might be interested.  Cheers Aaron Off The Grid |
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