Hello!

[David Davis]

Posted by adam abbott on 28/01/2021 17:45:17:

Posted by kc on 28/01/2021 17:37:00:

Adam, what radio did you buy with the Max Thrust Riot? That plane sometimes comes bundled with a Microzone Tx.

Its a Microzone PC 1024

It's a rare make Adam. When you get to join a club check what the instructors are using and buy the same make as theirs.

[adam abbott]

Posted by David Davis on 28/01/2021 17:47:57:

Posted by adam abbott on 28/01/2021 17:45:17:

Posted by kc on 28/01/2021 17:37:00:

Adam, what radio did you buy with the Max Thrust Riot? That plane sometimes comes bundled with a Microzone Tx.

Its a Microzone PC 1024

It's a rare make Adam. When you get to join a club check what the instructors are using and buy the same make as theirs.

Cheers, will do. I take it this controller does have a buddy like feature?

[kevin b]

Lots to think about! My girl is worried she's going to be a model widow!

Thanks Ad

[kc]

Frankly Adam I don't think many people would have advised buying that radio for use with the Spitfire or other models but would have suggested a more versatile Tx that had many memories, expo, buddy system, etc, etc. Probably most would say use what your instructor uses which would probably be Spektrum, or Futaba etc. Cost more I expect but cheaper in the long run.

Whilst the Microzone would no doubt work OK and fly the Riot it does not seem ideal.   If it doesn't have a buddy lead it's not really waht you need.

My advice would be to look up what features that TX has and decide whether that's going to be right for you with your Spitfire etc. in the long run. If you bought online there is a period ( 14 days maybe) when you could reject the goods. If you are able to do so my advice would be to do that and maybe ask the dealer to do a deal to supply a Riot with Spektrum or Futuaba whatever your club uses ( with memories- very important!)

Sorry to have give you this advice!

Edited By kc on 28/01/2021 18:32:10

[adam abbott]

Posted by kc on 28/01/2021 18:29:19:

Frankly Adam I don't think many people would have advised buying that radio for use with the Spitfire or other models but would have suggested a more versatile Tx that had many memories, expo, buddy system, etc, etc. Probably most would say use what your instructor uses which would probably be Spektrum, or Futaba etc. Cost more I expect but cheaper in the long run.

Whilst the Microzone would no doubt work OK and fly the Riot it does not seem ideal. If it doesn't have a buddy lead it's not really waht you need.

My advice would be to look up what features that TX has and decide whether that's going to be right for you with your Spitfire etc. in the long run. If you bought online there is a period ( 14 days maybe) when you could reject the goods. If you are able to do so my advice would be to do that and maybe ask the dealer to do a deal to supply a Riot with Spektrum or Futuaba whatever your club uses ( with memories- very important!)

Sorry to have give you this advice!

Edited By kc on 28/01/2021 18:32:10

Hi mate, I bought the riot kit as a whole unit just to learn to fly, any future models I was planning to get a better transmitter and receiver that then fits the bill. No need to apologize for your knowledge! That’s what I’m here for!
I’ll be dropping down on some other threads and asking questions to find and pinch knowledge! 😂😂

thanks mate!

[kc]

The point is most clubs want to train with a buddy lead. If you have some unusual Tx then you need to provide an extra Tx yourself! Cheaper to get the same as the instructor. Buddy lead will save a costly crash.

You could have bought a Riot with a Futaba T6L for £211 or with a Spektrum DXe for £226. ( without Lipo charger) You still can from Steve Webb models. These are basic Tx with no memory but more acceptable to most clubs I reckon. My advice would be to try to swop for one of those.

[David Davis]

I agree with kc. Make contact with the club, see what equipment and which mode the instructors use and buy a transmitter to match. If you can trade in the Microzone against the new purchase, so much the better. If you keep the Microzone, the chances are you'll never use it.

All may not be lost however, many clubs have their own trainer with transmitters and buddy boxes which anyone can use. My club has two trainers one guided by Futaba equipment, the other by Spektrum.

I am the guardian of the Spektrum trainer. I kept my Spektrum Dx6i when I bought a Spektrum DX9 and now use it as a slave transmitter with which to teach beginners. I have been given the use of a Mode 1 Spektrum DX5 transmitter too. This is essential here in France because 85% of pilots are Mode 1. In practice it's difficult for me to give ab initio instruction to a Mode 1 trainee but I can give flight experience to a beginner who has already gained some experience on Mode 1. This means that he does not have to wait for the Chief Flying Instructor to become available!

[David Hazell 1]

Here's my take as someone in almost exactly the same position as you , just one year on. I had a eureka moment which I described as a safer kind of midlife crisis last January, that I wanted to re-enter the world of radio controlled model building and flying. I'd last meddled with it in my teens (I'm now 48). I too thought seriously about a warbird, didn't hit the buy button though and got some advice on here. I ended up buying a low wing sports model for a building experience and picked up a second hand Flair ATS Kite Mk IV for a hundred quid as a trainer. The advice given to me was the same - don't spend months building something that you will then crash and be heartbroken.

So my purchase was made just before lockdown last year - typical - I made arrangements to join my local club though and ended up waiting until the reduced fees in July for my BMFA membership.

After some more investigations, I discovered that I could get a simulator for my macbook pro and I ended up buying aerofly rc7 from mac app store for twenty quid or so. I then found a USB tx sim from amazon for about 25 quid. When the Tx arrived it actually came with a CD with loads of ripped off sim software on it and a bunch of dodgy passwords - this probably all works but not on a mac so I didn't use it! Once I got the software working with the USB Tx, I must have spent about 10 hours on it just trying to get a decent landing done. Took forever! But with perseverence, I got better and became proficient at landing 9 out of 10 times. Must have smashed through about 20 hours on the sim just taking off, going round in a circuit and then landing. I flipped the wind direction and made sure I could also successfully do the same in the other direction.

When I was eventually able to get down to the flying field (by now mid July!), I struggled to get anyone with a buddy lead at the club at the same time, so eventually, I plucked up the courage to fly with an experienced club member Toby next to me - he firstly flew the plane, trimmed it out, commented about how nice it actually was, then handed me the controls. I'd been putting off flying because a buddy box solution had never presented itself in a timely fashion. But within about 3 seconds, Toby said "You don't need a buddy lead!". I was nervous as hell, and the adrenaline was coursing through me, but my sim time had given me the touch I needed. I landed successfully that day, but last flight managed to drop a wing with a stall causing trivial damage, but I was elated. Moral of story for me was the simulator helped massively! Crashing pixels is way less upsetting than exploding balsa.

I still use the simulator to reinforce my (vey basic) skills. I'm using the sim to perfect my figure 8's for my A test too. For me, it was absolutely invaluable.

Also, I went mode 2 for the TX as I think it's quite a bit more ubiquitous these days although that will split opinions. I actually found the old futaba TX from my teens and was bemused to find that back when I was 15 I was learning on a mode 1! I gave up back then though when I discovered beer and girls.

If you're seriously thinking about changing TX, it might be worth getting an OpenTX one as the value for money is just outstanding - example, for £60 from unmannedtech: https://www.unmannedtechshop.co.uk/product/radiomaster-t12-pro-opentx-radio-transmitter-mode-2/ - if you've got not massive hands, this is pretty amazing - you _do_ also have to get a couple of batteries for it, but if you got this you'd also be able to use it for your simulator via a USB cable. But again, it's a minefield and I'm opening a can of worms there.

I echo the other comments about not trying to tackle the spit for your first build. You will make a mistake or two and it's better to do that on something that's quite a bit cheaper! I'm sure you will get lots more suggestions for what to get just to whet your balsa bashing appetite.

Good luck!

[Robin Etherton]

David

what an uplifting post.

could do with a few more like you.

spot on.

[adam abbott]

Cheers, Dave, great advise here, I didn’t find this forum until after I had done soe initial research, seems it wasn’t enough!

I plan to build the Spit as I learn other skills, as well as learning to fly. It will defo be the last plane I take up after I have learnt what needs to be learned. I run an iMac so Ill check out the Appstore for that sim, all the one I have seen so far have been PC based. ‘Crashing pixels’ that’s my new go to phrase!

Seriously, thanks for pointing me in this direction and providing some great info!

As with everyone else on here that I’ve chatted to so far, the openness and freely given advise is a pleasant surprise to most of what’s on the web.

Thanks!

Ad

[David Hazell 1]

Posted by adam abbott on 29/01/2021 16:12:00:

Cheers, Dave, great advise here, I didn’t find this forum until after I had done soe initial research, seems it wasn’t enough!

I plan to build the Spit as I learn other skills, as well as learning to fly. It will defo be the last plane I take up after I have learnt what needs to be learned. I run an iMac so Ill check out the Appstore for that sim, all the one I have seen so far have been PC based. ‘Crashing pixels’ that’s my new go to phrase!

Seriously, thanks for pointing me in this direction and providing some great info!

As with everyone else on here that I’ve chatted to so far, the openness and freely given advise is a pleasant surprise to most of what’s on the web.

Thanks!

Ad

You can get a newer version of aerofly but it's about a hundred quid - the version for me has been plenty good enough! Good luck with everything!