richard cohen Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 now don't go telling everyone but I find myself looking at el*ctric models but find myself in an area of which I have little knowledge. As I prefer scale type aircraft I have homed in on Hobbyking as they seem sensibly priced and come as a plug 'n' play format so i just need to add Rx and Lipo without fretting over motors/esc's etc. The 3 models I am looking at are the Lancaster, B25 Mitchell and B17 fortress. My questions are: The reviews on these models seem ok but Lancaster lacks a rudder :/ but any experience appreciated. Can you mount a 2.4 Rx and aerials inside fuselage ( does the foam block a signal ?) or do aerials need to protrude fuse. Battery range for these models are 3s 1800-2200mah and Hobbyking list Turnigy lipos for only £7 - this sounds quite cheap or is this normal ? any guidance appreciated Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john stones 1 - Moderator Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 I can answer some of that Richard, the foam wont block the signal and H.K. sell some good stuff at very reasonable prices the Zippy lipos are good as are their motors. With models maybe post a link to them and you may get more feedback John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Geezer Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 Huge range from HK, quality can be a bit uneven tho'. Lots of scale-ish civilian airframes at HK too. They're a bit more money, but pretty well any war birds from the US (Eflite et al) look good and fly well. Have a look at the reviews on this site - then there's E-Zone and RC Universe - plenty to get your teeth into - in fact you've got a lot of "work" ahead of you if you decide to go through that lot! You'll have to post what you decide to buy, and tell us how you get on. ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard cohen Posted January 2, 2015 Author Share Posted January 2, 2015 Cheers John, glad to know Rx can be tucked away. Lipo's are good news too - just assumed lipos would be more money than that but i'm not complaining. Gurth, i did have a look at other manufacturers but while Eflite are quality they are a bit dearer for a first excursion into the black art. Regards civvy stuff, i confess to being a proper warbird nut (unless i find a Dehavilland Rapide - favourite plane ever ! ) so a multi engine bomber is a must Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Hopkin Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 Hi Richard Like all things you can pay a lot or a little for LiPos - at worst the cheaper LiPos wont last as many charge/discharge cycles as the more expensive ones, many of the cheaper ones have quite low amerage rates (the C rating) that doesnt matter providing its less than the max current your motor(s) draw and you are not looking to charge them in superfast times - if you want to field charge LiPos quickly then you need the higher C rating Personally I never field charge, I much prefer to have several batteries and charge them slowly and gently at home, seldom charging at over 1A, I'm in no rush in the evenings Foam has no effect on 2.4 (or any other radio frequency) but carbon fibre does. but the odd bit of CF wont affect you at all, as long as the aerial is straight it will be fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanN Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 Posted by richard cohen on 02/01/2015 22:05:5 The reviews on these models seem ok but Lancaster lacks a rudder :/ but any experience appreciated. Not all of the commentary on the HK Lancaster has been ok. December RCMW highlighted a no of issues - didn't sound like a particularly pleasurable experience. Would be interested to hear from anyone who has one, and found differently Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard cohen Posted January 3, 2015 Author Share Posted January 3, 2015 Cheers Dave, as a first try i think careful charging of the HK batteries would be better than buying really dear ones. at least if i make a mistake i wont be upset to cook a cheaper cell pack. Ian thanks for the RCMW tip. will slip out today and see if i can scope one out to get the gen. i had heard to previous model had issues but if the new one has problems then it might guide my purchase towards an unpatriotic U.S design Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 I don't think you will find it in the shops. The January RCMW has been out since 18 December, December issue would have been out in mid November! Traplet sell back issues if you need to get a copy. Edited By kc on 03/01/2015 12:03:45 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanN Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Richard, or, PM me your email address and I'll send you a scanned copy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard cohen Posted January 3, 2015 Author Share Posted January 3, 2015 yes. no joy with the December issue (even asking if they had a copy out the back) but thanks to Ian for the scan offer - pm message sent. If anyone has any of these models i would appreciate their input. Rich Edited By richard cohen on 03/01/2015 19:37:38 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinegar Dave Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 I think one of the things i found irritating is the different connectors that are put on them. Sometimes it is a bananna plug and another a deans and i got a helli once with an HT plug connector on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Hopkin Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Posted by Vinegar Dave on 07/01/2015 14:18:01: I think one of the things i found irritating is the different connectors that are put on them. Sometimes it is a bananna plug and another a deans and i got a helli once with an HT plug connector on it. It drives me nuts..... I did once change the connector on a LiPo, whikst it was ultimately sucessfull it was a terrifying process!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill_B Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 I think Hobbyking and Durafly use the XT60 connector on most of their planes, and the intermediate sized Zippy LiPos have them too so they well matched. I must confess to having changed most of my leccy stuff over to XT60 connectors as they seem so much easier to solder up and more reliable in use than some of the other types. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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