Applewood Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 Hi all, This is my first post on this forum so go easy on me. I've taught myself to fly with a Hobbyzone Champ and more recently Hobbyzone delta ray. Both planes are great fun but im always wondering what's next. Should I upgrade delta ray to brushless, removing the safe receiver etc. Or just move onto the next plane. The LHS recommended a) the apprentice 15e with safe but explained I would have to remove the safe RX if I joined a club and went for A certification. B) the ripmax Wot 4 mk2+ foam-e, which local club uses as a trainer. I have a full range devo tx (yes bad choice i know but it does work). It's got deviation software and supports full range dsmx protocol. I also have a couple of 2200 3s lipos from my trex heli which would be right for the Wot 4. The other issue I have with plane choice is with landing and taking off in the field that I have farmers permission to fly on. Its currently stocked with long grass 2feet, to be cut soon. This is great for belly landing the delta ray and champ. However not sure it will be OK to land the Wot 4? Not sure if you can fly the wottie slow enough to land on long grass without doing damage, or rough ground when it gets cut. Is there any other option I should be looking at? Thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Hopkin Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 Firstly you would NOT have to remove the SAFE tech from the Apprentice just because you joined a club - you can fly with it in 99% of clubs for as long as you want, As for the A cert, on as long as you disable the SAFE tech you can fly an A test with it fitted - though if your at the level of taking an A Cert you really shouldn't need it anyway The other plane you could look at is the ST Discovery - cheap and a good stable trainer But any wheeled aircraft will struggle in long grass both landing and taking off - stubble will be just as bad The option I would recommend is to join the local club and fly from there and take advantage of the skills transfer that happens in clubs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Mchugh Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 Applewood Welcome to the forum! I will give you my experience and see if any of it is relevant. I also, thought I could teach myself to fly, but very quickly realised that it wasn't going to happen. I joined Greenacres Model Aero Club in April 2014, the chaps there taught me to fly up to "A" Cert level in just five months, and I got my "A" Cert in October 2014. Join a club mate, best thing I ever did! You'll be properly insured, looked after and have the "protection" that comes from more experienced pilots guiding you in what you do. Yes, there may well be some rules, but they are to protect you and the public etc... As for the model, I pulled an old Arising Star out of a skip, converted it to electric, and trained and passed with that. Max Thrust Riot is an excellent second plane / trainer if you already have the basics of flying... Just my experience so far... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Biddulph Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 Like you I am teaching myself to fly, and like you I am flying from a silage field, I started with a firebird stratos, (without the wheels) now I fly the Apprentice s when the field is cut, and a Bixler when the grass is long. The Apprentice is an absolute joy to fly very sedate and manageable, the bixler is a little more demanding (no safe technology) but still manageable. Different planes for different lengths of grass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Biddulph Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 Edited By Graham Biddulph on 16/06/2015 16:44:13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Biddulph Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 Edited By Graham Biddulph on 16/06/2015 16:42:55 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Applewood Posted June 16, 2015 Author Share Posted June 16, 2015 Posted by Graham Biddulph on 16/06/2015 16:40:41: Like you I am teaching myself to fly, and like you I am flying from a silage field, I started with a firebird stratos, (without the wheels) now I fly the Apprentice s when the field is cut, and a Bixler when the grass is long. The Apprentice is an absolute joy to fly very sedate and manageable, the bixler is a little more demanding (no safe technology) but still manageable. Different planes for different lengths of grass. I like the idea of a plane for every length of grass. The bixler looks interesting and cost effective. Can you take the wing off during transport? Which type of bixler have you got 1, 2 or 3? It's about 1\3 of the cost of the apprentice bnf. Thanks to Jim and Dave for the feedback. I haven't ruled out joining a club, its just the convieience of the local farmers field that I like at the moment. The club guy said that I would need to change the apprentice rx, not sure if this is true or was trying to persuade me to get the wottie. Applewood Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Hopkin Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 I am afraid the club guy has it wrong the book of words says that autopilot/gyros must be removed or shown to be disabled - As far as I know the "SAFE" tech in the Apprentice is controlled by a pair of DIP switches on the RX so you can show its disabled. The A schedule is here if you havent seen it **LINK** The Bixler is a great plane, pretty docile but is probably not heavy enough to take the A Test with, in any case the wheels are pants! Its much better as a powered glider when the grass is too long/wet for wheels or in the snow (thats why I got mine!) - I have a Bix3 btw though now the weathers better it hasnt been oit of the shed for a while If you join a club you can still fly in your local field, with the added advantage that you will have insurance Personally I am not a great fan of the Wot-4 as a basic trainer, it has no dihedral so is less forgiving and the undercart isnt the strongest in the world - Have a look at the Hobbyking Trainstar £80 add your own RX and battery - its a tough little blighter and flies well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Biddulph Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 You can take the wing off the Bixler but it is a pain (its bolt on and very fiddly). I have the Bixler 2, without wheels. It flies a lot faster than the Apprentice and is very elevator sensitive. Also hand launches can be tricky, mine always seems to dive towards the ground so you have to be quick with some up elevator. Once in the air its lovely, I have learned a lot from it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Applewood Posted June 17, 2015 Author Share Posted June 17, 2015 I have had a look at hk website and there is a Bixler3 how does that compare. Is that the one to go for out of the bix range? Looking over the forums there is quite a lot of love for the Bixler range. Too many choices. I like the flexibility of the bixler2/3 and looks like a good step up from the delta ray. It might be possible I could use this for the a test. 890g + 190g battery would take it over the 1kg threshold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Hopkin Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 @ Graham I find that for a Bix 3 hand launch, it works well at about 2/3 throttle, and about 15 degrees upwards works well, it then catch it on the dive, I always use a neck strap when hand launching too @ Applewood Its possible the examiner would allow a Bix to be used in the A Test, personally I think the bigger issue would be the rise of grass problem, very spindley legs and small wheels so unless you fly from something very smooth its going to be problematic - but saying that the Bix will teach you a lot about flying (and put a smile on your face too!) But I would still tend to go for a trike for a plane to take you into the A Test Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Biddulph Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 I don't know about the bixler 3 or Bixler 1, what I will say is that I moved on to the BIxler 2 after the Firebird Stratos, I managed o.k. I bought the Apprentice as plane number 3, this was probably the wrong order, Apprentice may have been better as plane number two. Having said that I do fly the Bixler the most because of the grass lengh problem. I fly the Bixler with a 2200 lipo and it will stay up for about half an hour on slightly less than half throttle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.