Hello

[Naval]

Brethren:

50 years ago I built balsa kits and flew them, typically nitro .010 to .15 size U-control.  Now I have the bug to build a BTE Flyin' King.  I have already bought an old ST .60 blue head engine.  Starting from scratch here... plan to buy a new 6 channel radio  rig, and all the tools to build and cover.  I have been looking at many YouTube videos teaching building and covering techniques.

Recently I visited an RC model show that had turbine powered jets,  Wow!

This is a Flyin' King:

[GrumpyGnome]

Welcome.

 

Best advice (whether you want it or not) we could possibly give you, is to join your nearest club to help you on your journey. Much better than Youtube 'experts'...

[Paul De Tourtoulon]

Welcome aboard,,,

[Futura57]

Strap in and place your tray in the upright position. 😁

 

+1 join a club

[David Davis]

Welcome Naval.

 

May I echo the advice you've been given above. I'd recommend that you visit some clubs in your area and discuss your situation with the membership. They may even have a trainer with which you can learn to fly before you go spending any more money. It would also be wise for you to buy the same make of radio as your instructor. That way he could bind your radio to his and you could fly on linked transmitters, the so called "buddy box" which allows the instructor to take back control with the release of a sprung-loaded button or lever. There may even be a few greybeards in the club who could help you with the build!

 

However, if you'll take my advice, I'd start with an Amost Ready To Fly trainer and go onto the Flyin' King once you've learned how to fly. I'm sure that the Flyin' King builds into a good trainer going on its proportions but if you crash an ARTF, well that's unfortunate but if you crash something you've put a lot of time and effort into building, it's heart-breaking!

 

 

 

 

[ken anderson.]

Welcome from me Naval...

 

Ken Anderson ne....1 ...welcome dept.

[Naval]

THANK YOU

Thanks for all of your positive inputs!  I just mailed off my application for membership to a big RC Aero club that is about a half hour drive away.  I see the point of getting involved with a club early.  It may well keep me from buying the wrong stuff, or stuff I could get at a swap meet.  Perhaps I will meet people there that can mentor me through the many equipment choices and build techniques.  The new club may talk me out of learning to fly with the BTE Flyin' King, but I do plan to build it over the winter anyway.

 

RADIO

I will wait for my club involvement of course, but I have been eyeing a Spectrum DX6e with a telemetry receiver.  It has a wireless trainer link.  Getting altitude displayed on the transmitter sounds cool, as well as the ability to tie in a GPS unit onto the communication bus.   I have no sound process to select the capacity of the receiver battery, I am guessing 2200mAh, based on 6 standard sized servos drawing 1.5A(?) average worst case.  From what I read it is process best done by experience.

 

BATTERIES

I am attracted to the LiFePO4 chemistry, and smart Spectrum batteries and chargers.  I know the club's field has stations for powering chargers.

 

COVERING

I've been playing around with a color scheme for an UltraCote covering.  My current favorite is attached below.  I don't want to exceed 3 colors.

 

MOTOR MOUTH

I'm probably exceeding the boundaries of this post area (in length and subjects), so I'll cut it off (but so many details are involved with the first time RC build!).

[Don Fry]

Nowt wrong with a DX6e, I’ve got one, and would see you through the learning process, and beyond. Other makes exist.

I like LiFe batteries as well, but you are way over size. A 1400 batter is easily big enough. A 1000 is also fine. I’m assuming to want to do an hour in the air, and go home with half a charge left in it. ie, no stress. Buy a good switch, mine display voltage. Be very wary about fake Spektrum receivers, most on E bay are fake. 

 

Colour scheme, look at your projected colour scheme, and imagine it against a sky. It will disappear. Your picture above tells the story. 

Ugly as sin, but visible.

Red top surface. 
Black bottom surface

Fluorescent span wise wraparound stripe, on the wing leading edge.Fluorescent tail feathers.

Red and black contrast and also stand out against the sky. That leading edge stripe come into vision when to turns it to face you, and the rest of the airframe becomes thin. One of the skills you will acquire is muscle memories to KNOW what the plane is doing from stick inputs, and what they will do to the plane, rather than what you hope it will do. 

[EvilC57]

Yep, concur with Don. Don’t use sky blue, it’ll disappear against a blue sky. Don’t use green either - why do you think fighter planes use green for camouflage?!

 

Black, or at least wide black stripes or blocks are good for visibility on the bottom of a model, and use contrasting colours and patterns on the top & bottom. It’s very important to be able to tell top from bottom of the model at a distance.

[Naval]

'Tis ugly for sure, but better to come home ugly than not come home at all.  There's a punch line in there, but I diverse.

Spektrum has a 900mAh and a 1400maH.  I will probably have short flights, so 900 should work I guess.

A switch with voltage reading, you mean the main power switch on the fuselage for the receiver gear?  Or the battery charger itself?

[Don Fry]

Variations on the scheme are possible, buts that’s efficient and quick.

Yes, the main power switch on the aircraft. 
To be more specific an electronic switch that fails on, and also as a side function of battery volts. Not vital, as telemetry functions relay receiver voltage in real time, and allow for low voltage alarms. The point here, cheap mechanical slide switch, I don’t trust.

Re Spektrum branded smart batteries, I know they are expensive, mine are just run of the mill generic units from known suppliers. Cost a lot less. Perhaps someone can explain Smart battery benefits, but I’ve never looked or found any.

The sizes you mention are fine. 

[Naval]

I can't stomach that paint scheme.  Perhaps something like this.  I could use the Windex technique for the stars.

[kc]

Personally I find a white or yellow upper surface to the wing shows how far the wing is banked over in a turn which is very useful.   Putting splodges of colour is like camouflaging a plane and is the worst thing to do because it disguises the shape.   Do the opposite of camouflage - band of bright colour to give distinct wingtips and leading edge.    Different colour top and bottom and different design so you know immediately when it's inverted.

Observe other peoples models when they are a long way off to see what designs are easist to see which way they are up.    A pretty model that easily loses orientation is no use!

 

 

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

I'll endorse white on the upper surface being effective - it's something that I use on any colour scheme that I am free to design.  For example:

 

 

The underside is all in the dark red - it's likely to be silhouetted in any difficult situation.

[Cliff Bastow]

Careful its addictive!

Welcome

[Naval]

That "Ohmen" looks really sharp!

Thanks for the feedback.  I hate the way fluorescent colors look on my plane.  I'll try, for the top, a white leading edge, with orange, and black trim.   And maybe a totally different pattern on the bottom. 

How is the visibility of the checkered pattern film?

Back to the drawing board.

[Naval]

My new Club just emailed me.  Woo Hoo!  I can burn their ears instead.   Thanks for all your input, I will post in a few months to show progress.

[David Davis 2]

Picture of my old Flair Hooligan. The white stripe on the top of the wing showed up well during aerobatics. The underside was finished in flourescent red. I regret selling this model and the Radio Queen pictured with it.

[Naval]

Yes, I see how the Hooligan fits the bill as far as an effective color scheme.  That makes sense.  You know so many online RC plane pictures show models in colors that look attractive, but would be hard to see in the sky.

I joined AMA by the way, just thought I'd say.

[GrumpyGnome]

Being largely European based, lots of things we recommend may be unavailable in the US... 🙂

[Naval]

I ordered a Senior Telemaster full kit from Carolina Custom Kits.  Full kit trainers in this size are hard to find.  It has split wings, flaps, 96" wingspan.  It should be a real floater.   Going with a Spektrum 8ch.  Staying with the Super Tigre G60 for now (keeping it quasi-old school).  I bought a Jett Stream muffler, nice fit.   Glow fuel is rare and expensive though.  For the cost of a few gallons of glow I could buy a 4-stroke.  But I already have the glow engine.

 

Been accumulating building equipment.  

 

I plan to go with this color scheme:

[Simon Chaddock]

Naval

Red is fine but just imagine your plane is flying directly towards you at some distance. Its always a stressful situation as the frontal area on any plane is relatively small when compared to that of the under or side views. On this basis white leading edges might not be the best option.

 

By far my easiest plane to "see" was an all black Cessna Skymaster. It stood out well against both white clouds and a clear blue sky but it was best not flown in a fading light. After all the black scheme was for special night ops in Vietnam.😉  

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

I would go for a contrasting scheme underneath so that you can orientate with the model quickly in an unexpected situation.  As illustrated, it’s only the black details which are different and they may not show up to any great extent at a distance or in low light. 
 

I find that it’s the white that jumps out in most situations - but try doing an approach with a camouflaged warbird against trees in the background in less than perfect conditions for some real entertainment!

[David Davis 2]

I used to import the Telemaster range into Europe.

 

I doubt that you'll have any difficulty with orientation whichever colour scheme you choose. The Senior Telemaster is such a big slow-flying aeroplane. Mine features the original Karl Heinz Denzin multi-spar wing with inset, so-called, "Barn Door" ailerons rather than the strip ailerons of the Joe Bridi wing which was adopted by the manufacturers once production had shifted to America. Mine is powered by a Thunder Tigre 91 FS.

[Paul De Tourtoulon]

Our club in the late 1990's had one for towing and teaching with an ST .90, a great plane for beginners.